Template:December 23
From Hoopedia
- 1924 - Bob Kurland (right), the Hall of Fame center who was the game's first 7-footer, is born in St. Louis, Missouri.
- 1935 - The 71st Regiment Armory hosts a benefit doubleheader for the American Jewish College Fund. In the headline game the New York Rens (an African American team) beat the New York Jewels (a Jewish team), 29-22. In the preliminary game, the Philadelphia Hebrews beat the Brooklyn Visitations (a predominantly Irish-Catholic team), 23-16.
- 1968 - Bill Russell, player-coach of the Boston Celtics, becomes the first NBA player (or coach) to be named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.
- 1975 - Cindy Blodgett, a four-year All-American at the University of Maine and now their head coach, is born in Clinton, Maine.
- 1982 - In one of the biggest upsets in basketball history, Chaminade College, an NCAA Division II school with 850 students, beats #1-ranked Virginia, led by Ralph Sampson, 77-72, in the Maui Invitational Tournament in Honolulu.
- 1994 - Dana Barros begins his record-breaking streak, in which he makes at least one three-pointer in 89 consecutive games, through January 10, 1996.
- 2006 - Texas Tech University head coach Bob Knight ties Dean Smith for the most NCAA Division I wins as a head coach.
