Tis the season to be jolly, It’s also the season that sporting events start to heat up. Here’s some of the greatest sporting events that took place on Christmas.

First up an honorable mention, the Christmas truce match of WWI which took place on December 25, 1914. The German and British troops engaged in a game of soccer/football and the British defeated the Germans two times that year as they won 3-2.

Next up was the first NFL game that took place on Christmas. It was on December 25, 1971 and It was the Chiefs vs the Dolphins. It isn’t just memorable as the first game on Christmas this game was a back and forth slugfest which resulted in it being the longest game in NFL history. The Dolphins won with a game winning field goal, 27-24.

The first NBA game on this list was another close one. However, that’s why it’s not remembered. It’s remembered as the first time Kobe Bryant  went up against former star teammate Shaquille O’neal. It took place on December 25th, 2004 and the final score was 104-102 with Miami taking the win over the Lakers.

Another NFL game here was the MIami Dolphins vs the Detroit Lions and took place in 1993. It was remembered as the game where the head coach of the Dolphins, Don Shula, passed George Halas in all time wins (319).

In 1984, on Christmas day Bernard King of the Knicks put up 60 points in an NBA outing. His team ended up ultimately losing 114-120, He ended up winning the scoring title that season and was the most points scored that season as well.

Another record shattering event took place in the NBA 2008 season as coach Phil Jackson won his 1,000th game against the Boston Celtics. The Celtics were riding on a 19 game winning streak and the Lakers upsetted them 92-83.

Another big NBA moment here was in the 2016 season as the Warriors played the Cavaliers in an NBA finals rematch. The Cavaliers came back from 14 points behind in the 4th quarter with Kyrie Irving hitting the game winner (109-108).

Last NFL game on our list took place in 2016 and was the Steelers vs the Ravens. Whoever won this game would win the division and guarantee a playoff spot. Ben Roethlisberger threw a pass and was caught by Antonio Brown at the 1 yard line and was hit. However he stretched his arm out and won the game 31-27.

Last not but least was the final NHL Christmas games which took place in 1971. It was the final time they played on that holiday as they ended the tradition to give the players a winter break. There were 6 games played and the last game played was Los Angeles Kings  vs the California Golden seals.