Vernon Tigers baseball team picture with owner Pete Maier in back center, ca. 1910. Photo from Flannel of the Month: Rule 19 Blog.
1860 - Bull & bear fighting is outlawed. The first baseball games are played in Los Angeles.
1869 – The first known bicycle appears in Los Angeles.
1871 - Los Angeles’s first roller-skating rink opens.
1879 - The Los Angeles Athletic Club is founded.
1889 – The first college football game in Los Angeles is played between St. Vincents (Loyola) and USC.
1890 – The first Tournament of Roses is held which included chariot races.
1892 - The original Los Angeles Angels baseball team, playing with the four-team California League, plays through 1893 for one season.
1893 - The California League Los Angeles Angels and the team from Stockton play a nighttime exhibition game - the first ever night professional baseball game on the Pacific Coast. The game is played at Athletic Park in Los Angeles.
1899 - An elevated bicycle path is constructed between Los Angeles and Pasadena. The Southern California Golf Association is founded.
1900 - The City of Los Angeles opens the Riverside Golf Course at Griffith Park - the first municipal golf course in the nation.
1902 - The first Tournament of Roses game is played between Stanford and Michigan. The western team was beaten so badly (49-0) that the Tournament of Roses did not restage another football game until 14 years later. Chariots races were then re-introduced to replace the football game.
1903 - Los Angeles joins the formation of the Pacific Coast League with the debut of the Los Angeles Angels baseball team. The team had no relationship to the team that played 1892-1893. The rival Pacific National League also debuts a team in Los Angeles, but it plays for barely a season.
1906 - The first Los Angeles to Honolulu Trans-Pacific yacht race held.
1907 - George Feeth introduces surfing to California at Redondo Beach.
1909 - The Pacific Coast League introduces the Vernon Tigers baseball team. The team first plays in Vernon to allow for alcohol sales that were then banned in Los Angeles. The team later plays in Venice, then back in Vernon.
1916 - The Tournament of Roses abandons chariot racing to reintroduce college football games. Washington State took revenge on the east (see 1902) by beating Brown 14-0.
1919 - Famed Hollywood comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle buys the Vernon Tigers baseball team.
1921 - Chewing-gum magnate William K. Wrigley, Jr., owner of the Chicago Cubs, buys the Pacific Coast League Los Angeles Angels.
1922 - The Rose Bowl is completed.
1923 - The Memorial Coliseum at Exposition Park opens.
1924 - Construction begins on Wrigley Field in South Los Angeles.
1925 - Los Angeles Angels owner William K. Wrigley, Jr., opens the 22,000-seat Wrigley Field in South Los Angeles at the intersection of 42nd Place and Avalon Boulevard. The ballpark serves as the new home for his baseball team. The Vernon Tigers baseball team is sold by "Fatty" Arbuckle and move to San Francisco.
1926 - The Los Angeles Buccaneers (NFL - no relation to Tampa Bay) and the Los Angeles Wildcats (American Football League I) play for one season.
1927 - The Los Angeles Open Golf Tournament is founded. George Young of Canada completes the first successful solo Catalina Island to mainland swim. He completes the swim in 15 hours and 44 minutes. Less than a month later, Myrtle Huddleston, with a time of 20 hours and 42 minutes, becomes the first woman to complete the same swim.
1928 - The USC Trojans win their first national title championship.
1932 - The X Olympiad opens in Los Angeles hosting 37 nations.
1934 - Santa Anita Park Race Track opens offering a purse of an incredible $100,000. The opening draws 34,269 race fans.
1937 - The Los Angeles Bulldogs (American Football League II) play for one season.
1938 - Babe Didrikson becomes the first and only woman to ever play in a men's PGA Tournament when she plays at the Los Angeles Open at Griffith Park. The former Pacific Coast League Vernon Tigers baseball team returns to Los Angeles from San Francisco and are renamed the Hollywood Stars.
1939 - Duke's undefeated season of not being scored upon once comes to an end in the Rose Bowl when USC scores a last-minute touchdown against Duke and wins 7-0.
1940 - Seabiscuit wins his final race at Santa Anita Park.
1942 - Security concerns due to the outbreak of war with Japan compel organizers to temporarily move the Tournament of Roses to the east coast (Durham, North Carolina). For the first time since 1923 and the only time since, the Rose Bowl is quiet on January 1.
1946 - The Rams football team moves from Cleveland to Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Dons (All American Football Conference) also debut.
1947 - Pasadena and UCLA's own Jackie Robinson breaks through baseball's color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field.
1948 - USC Trojans baseball makes its first appearance in the College World Series and defeats Yale 2-1. It is the first of 21 appearances and 12 wins in the College World Series. Tennis player Ricardo "Pancho" Gonzales of East Los Angeles wins his first of two consecutive U.S. Open titles and is ranked America's number one player. In 1949, he wins the title by defeating Wimbledon champion Ted Schroeder.
1949 - Tennis player Ricardo "Pancho" Gonzales wins a consecutive U.S. Open title by defeating heavily-favored Wimbledon champion, Ted Schroeder. After three years, the Los Angeles Dons (All American Football Conference) fold.
1951 - The Los Angeles Rams defeat the Cleveland Browns, 24-17, for the first major professional sports title in Los Angeles.
1954 - UCLA is ranked number one for the college football national championship in a poll by United Press International and the Football Writers Assn. of America.
1957 - The Pacific Coast League baseball era comes to an end in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Angels disband and the Hollywood Stars move to Salt Lake City to become the Bees.
1958 - The Dodgers move from Brooklyn, NY, to Los Angeles and play their first game here against the San Francisco Giants at Memorial Coliseum. They win 6-5. The Dodgers are the first Major League Baseball team to be based in the West. Vin Scully begins radio broadcasting for the Dodgers.
1959 - The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena opens. The Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Chicago White Sox 4-2 to win their first World Series title in Los Angeles.
1960 - The Lakers move from Minneapolis to Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Chargers debut for one season with the American Football League. They move to San Diego and the NFL after only one season.
1961 - Gene Autry debuts his American League Los Angeles Angels baseball team at Wrigley Field in South Los Angeles. It has no relationship to the team that disbanded in 1957. The Angels play the last professional baseball game at Wrigley Field on October 1.
1962 - USC is ranked number one for the college football national championship by a poll of sports writers and the National Football Foundation. Both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Gene Autry's Los Angeles Angels baseball teams begin playing at Chavez Ravine (later named Dodger Stadium).
1963 - The Los Angeles Dodgers win another World Series title by sweeping the New York Yankees 4-0. The Granada Hills Little League all-stars defeat Stratford, Connecticut, 2-1, for the Little League World Series championship.
1964 - John Wooden's 30-0 UCLA Bruins win their first NCAA basketball title by defeating Duke, 98-83, in the championship game.
1965 - The Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series. The Los Angeles Angels move to Anaheim and are renamed the California Angels.
1966 - American Hall of Fame jockey Johnny Longden, finishes and wins his last career race on horse "George Royal" at San Juan Capistrano Handicap at Santa Anita Park. Wrigley Field is demolished.
1967 - USC is ranked number one for the college football national championship by a poll of sports writers and the National Football Foundation. The Los Angeles Coliseum hosts the first AFL-NFL Championship Game (present-day Super Bowl) where Green Bay defeats Kansas City, 35-10. Canadian-born entrepreneur Jack Kent Cooke founds the Los Angeles Kings hockey team and builds The Forum in Inglewood. The Los Angeles Wolves (United Soccer Association), defeats Washington for the Playoff Final Championships. The team plays for only one season.
1968 - The UCLA Bruins win their second NCAA basketball title at the L.A. Memorial Sports Arena. The Los Angeles Aztecs (North American Soccer League) debut.
1970 - The Los Angeles Lakers face off the New York Knicks for the NBA Championship title but are defeated 4-3. USC Trojans baseball defeats Florida State, 2-1, for their sixth College World Series title and the first of five consecutive College World Series titles.
1972 - USC is ranked number one for the college football national championship by a poll of sports writers and the National Football Foundation. The Los Angeles Lakers defeat the New York Knicks, 4-1, for their first NBA championship title in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Sharks (World Hockey Association) debut.
1973 - Professional women's tackle football debuts in Los Angeles County with the Los Angeles Dandelions at their home field at Long Beach Veterans Stadium (1973-1980).
1974 - USC is selected for the college football national championship by sports writers and the National Football Foundation. The Oakland A’s defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first all-California World Series. The Los Angeles Aztecs (North American Soccer League) defeat Miami in a shootout for the Playoff Final Championship. The Los Angeles Sharks (World Hockey Association) leave Los Angeles for Michigan.
1975 - Basketball coach John Wooden wraps up his career at UCLA with its 10th NCAA championship after defeating Kentucky, 92-85. It was the 10th championship in the previous 12 seasons. Long Beach travel agent Chris Pook launches the first Grand Prix of Long Beach with a crowd of 75,000. The Pasadena Roses, a women's professional tackle football team, debut at their home field at Azusa College.
1978 - USC is ranked number one for the college football national championship by the United Press International poll. The UCLA Bruins women's basketball team wins the AIAW national championship by defeating Maryland before 9,351 fans. The Los Angeles Dodgers face off with the New York Yankees in the World Series, but are defeated 4-3. The Pasadena Roses, a women's professional tackle football team, disband.
1979 - Jack Kent Cooke sells the Los Angeles Kings, Lakers and The Forum to Dr. Jerry Buss.
1980 - The Rams move from the Los Angeles Coliseum to Anaheim Stadium in Orange County. They face off the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XIV at the Rose Bowl but succumb to the Steelers, 42-19. The Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Philadelphia 76ers, 4-2, to win the NBA Championship. Los Angeles County’s first professional women's tackle football team, the Los Angeles Dandelions, disband.
1981 - The Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the New York Yankees for their first World Series since 1965.
1982 - The Los Angeles Lakers win the NBA Playoff Championship. The Raiders football team arrives in Los Angeles from Oakland. The Major Indoor Soccer League debuts the Los Angeles Lazers at the Forum.
1983 - The Los Angeles Express (U.S. Football League) debuts.
1984 - The Los Angeles Raiders defeat the Washington Redskins, 38-9, in Super Bowl XVIII in Tampa, Florida. The XXXIII Olympiad opens in Los Angeles with a record 140 nations attending. The Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, led by Peter Ueberroth, brings in a $233 million surplus from the games. After 14 years and one playoff championship (1974), the Los Angeles Aztecs (North American Soccer League) fold.
1985 - The Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Boston Celtics to win another NBA Championship. The Los Angeles Express disbands along with the rest of the U.S. Football League. The Long Beach Marathon debuts.
1986 - The first City of Los Angeles Marathon is held.
1987 - The Los Angeles Lakers win the NBA Championship.
1988 - The Los Angeles Lakers defeat Detroit, 108-105, in the seventh game to win a consecutive NBA Championship. The Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Oakland A's, 4-1, to win the World Series. Wayne Gretzky, "The Great One," is traded to the Los Angeles Kings from Edmonton to the delight of L.A. hockey fans. Los Angeles Cobras Arena Football team makes their debut. They end their season playing the Chicago Bruisers to the only tie game in Arena Football League history (37-37). Neither team scored in 7 minutes of overtime. The Cobras fold after one season.
1989 - The Los Angeles Lazers (Major Indoor Soccer League) complete their final season. The team finishes with a win/loss record of 137-211 over seven seasons.
1992 - Pepperdine Waves baseball defeats Cal State Fullerton, 3-2, for the College World Series championship. Pepperdine is only the second Los Angeles area team (besides USC) to win (or even appear in) a College World Series. The Long Beach Little League All-Stars win the Little League World Series by defeating Zamboanga City, Philippines, 6-0.
1993 - Pasadena hosts Super Bowl XXVIII at the Rose Bowl where Dallas defeats Buffalo, 52-17. It is considered one of the best organized Super Bowls. The Long Beach Little League All-Stars, for the second year in a row, win the Little League World Series, defeating Panama City, 3-2. The Los Angeles Kings play in their first ever Stanley Cup Championship Final. They are defeated by the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1.
1994 - The Rose Bowl is venue for the first U.S. victory since 1950 in a World Cup match. The U.S. defeats Colombia, 2-1, before a crowd of 93,134 fans. Brazil wins the World Cup, 1-0, against Italy at the Rose Bowl before a crowd of 94,194 fans. The Northridge all-star little league team faces Maracaibo, Venezuela, in the Little League World Series, but is defeated 4-3.
1995 - After 49 years, the Rams move from the Los Angeles area (Anaheim) to St. Louis, becoming the first professional sports team to move from west to east. The Los Angeles Raiders return to Oakland.
1996 - Long Beach Stingrays of the American Basketball League begin their first season. Tommy Lasorda retires from managing the Dodgers after 20 seasons. He returns as an interim General Manager in 1998. The newly-arrived Long Beach Ice Dogs of the International Hockey League begin their first season in Long Beach after five years in San Diego as the Gulls. The new Major League Soccer team Los Angeles Galaxy begins its first season. The team goes all the way to the Major League Soccer Cup Championship in the first season only to be defeated by the D.C. United.The Los Angeles Sparks (Women’s National Basketball League) begin their first season.
1997 - The Los Angeles Arena Company announce plans to build Staples Center, a Sports & Entertainment Facility in Downtown Los Angeles that will host the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers and Kings. The Los Angeles Sparks and the New York Liberty launch the first WNBA game at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood. Although Sparks guard Penny Toler scores the WNBA’s first basket during that game, New York wins 67-57.
1998 - The O'Malley family, long-time owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and one of the last families to own a Major League Baseball team, sells the franchise to the Fox Group. The Long Beach Stingrays fold just before the American Basketball League does.
1999 - Staples Center opens in downtown Los Angeles. The state-of-the-art arena serves as the home of the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Kings and future home of the Arena Football team Los Angeles Avengers. The Los Angeles Galaxy again loses the Major League Soccer Cup Championship to the D.C. United. The USC football team ends UCLA's longest winning streak (1991-1998) in the cross-town USC-UCLA rivalry.
2000 - The Long Beach Ice Dogs hockey teamswitches their league affiliation from the International Hockey League (IHL) to the West Coast Hockey League (WCHL). The Los Angeles Avengers re-introduce arena football to Los Angeles at Staples Center. They end their first season with a 3-7 record. The Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Indiana Pacers, 4-2, to win the 2000 NBA Championship. The WWF/NBC-owned XFL announce establishment of the Los Angeles Xtreme, a new professional football team at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The new American Basketball Association (ABA) debuts the Los Angeles Stars team. The team plays only one season.
2001 - The Los Angeles Sparks become the first WNBA team to go undefeated at home for an entire season. Los Angeles sweeps professional basketball titles when the Los Angeles Lakers win the 2001 NBA Championship (4-1 against the Philadelphia 76ers) and the Los Angeles Sparks win the 2001 WNBA Championship (2-0 against the Charlotte Sting). The Los Angeles Xtreme become XFL champions in "The Million Dollar Game," beating the San Francisco Demons 38-6 at the Los Angeles Coliseum. It is the first and final season for the team and league.
2002 - The Los Angeles Lakers win the 2002 NBA Championship. The Los Angeles Sparks defeat the New York Liberty, 2-0, to win the 2002 WNBA Championship. In a game against the Miami Sol, Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie became the first WNBA player to slam dunk. After two previous unsuccessful appearances in the Major League Soccer Cup Championship, the Los Angeles Galaxy defeats the New England Revolution, 1-0, before a record-setting crowd of 61,316 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, to finally win the Cup. The Women's Professional Football League team, Los Angeles Amazons, play their opening game at their home field at Citrus College, Glendora.
2003 - Bob Wieland, a 57-year-old Vietnam War veteran who lost both legs in the war, finished the 2003 City of Los Angeles Marathon in 173 hours and 45 minutes, entirely on a pair of prosthetic feet made out of special gel. He slept only 11 hours in eight days since beginning the race route a day ahead of the actual start time. The Home Depot Center (later StubHub Center) opens in Carson. It becomes the new home of the Los Angeles Galaxy. The American Basketball Association (ABA) debuts the Long Beach Jam. The Long Beach Ice Dogs hockey team switches their league affiliation from the WCHL to the ECHL.
2004 - Although selected as the AP National College Football Champion and winning the Rose Bowl, the USC Trojans are not selected to play in the BCS Championship game. USC, however, is later named BCS Co-Champion with Louisiana State. The Los Angeles Lakers lose the 2004 NBA Championship to the Detroit Pistons 1 game to 4. The team loses its coach, Phil Jackson. Its star center, Shaquille O'Neill, obtains a trade to Miami. The Long Beach Jam wins the ABA Champion Finals against the Kansas City Knights 126-123. The Los Angeles Stars are yet again reborn for the ABA 2004-2005 season.
2005 - The USC Trojans defeat Oklahoma, 55-19, in the Orange Bowl for the BCS Championship. This title is vacated in 2010, however, due to later findings of improper gifts given to player Reggie Bush. The AP title is retained. Major League Soccer adds the new Los Angeles expansion team Club Desportivo Chivas USA, a team associated with and patterned upon the storied Mexican Soccer League team Club Desportivo Guadalajara. The Los Angeles Galaxy defeat the New England Revolution, 1-0, to win the 2005 Major League Soccer Cup Championship.
2009 - The Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Orlando Magic, 4-1, to win the 2009 NBA Championship.
2010 - The Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Boston Celtics, 2-4, to win the 2010 NBA Championship. UCLA Bruins baseball is defeated by South Carolina, 2-0, in the College World Series.
2011 - For the first time, the Los Angeles Kings win the Stanley Cup. The Los Angeles Galaxy defeat the Houston Dynamo at home, 1-0, to win the 2011 Major League Soccer Cup Championship.
2012 - The Los Angeles Galaxy again defeat the Houston Dynamo, 3-1, to win the 2012 Major League Soccer Cup Championship. The Los Angeles Kings win their first NHL championship title by defeating the New Jersey Devils, 4-2, for the Stanley Cup.
2013 - UCLA Bruins baseball defeats Mississippi State, 2-0, to win the College World Series championship.
2014 - The Los Angeles Kings defeat the New York Rangers, 4-1, to win the Stanley Cup. The Los Angeles Galaxy defeat the New England Revolution, 2-1, to win the 2014 Major League Soccer Cup Championship. Rival soccer team, Club Desportivo Chivas USA, however,after years of dismal performance, is disbanded by Major League Soccer.
2016 - The Los Angeles Sparks defeat the Minnesota Lynx, 3-2, to win the 2016 WNBA Championship. After 58 years of broadcasting for the Los Angeles Dodger, radio announcer Vin Scully retires. After a 21-year absence, the NFL Rams return to Los Angeles. Their first game as the new Los Angeles Rams ends in a defeat in San Francisco against the 49ers, 0-28. Their first game back in the Los Angeles area, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, ends in a victory against the Seattle Seahawks, 9-3.
2017 - The Minnesota Lynx return a year later to face the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA Championship and defeat Los Angeles, 5-3, in the series. After 29 years, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship, 4-1, and advance to the Baseball World Series against the American League Champion Houston Astros. The NFL Chargers return to Los Angeles after 57 years. Their first game as the new Los Angeles Chargers ends in a defeat in Denver against the Broncos, 21-24. They are defeated in their first game back in the Los Angeles area, at StubHub Center in Carson, against the Miami Dolphins, 17-19.
2018 - The new Banc of California Stadium opens in Exposition Park on April 18. The new Major League Soccer team, Los Angeles Football Club, founded in 2015, play their first MLS game against the Seattle Sounders in Seattle, winning 1-0. They complete the season in third place in the Western Conference. The Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Milwaukee Brewers for the National League Championship, 4 games to 3, to advance for the second season in a row to the Baseball World Series against American League Champion, the Boston Redsox. The Dodgers are defeated in the series, 4 games to 1.
2019 - Both the Los Angeles Rams (National Football Conference or NFC) and Los Angeles Chargers (American Football Conference or AFC) proceed to NFL conference playoffs for the 2018 season. The Chargers end up being knocked out of contention by the New England Patriots, 48-21. The Rams, on the other hand, win the NFC conference championship against the New Orleans Saints, 26-23, and secure a slot in Super Bowl LII. The Rams are defeated in the Super Bowl by the New England Patriots, 13-3.
2020 - During a year of interrupted, abbreviated, and cancelled game schedules due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Miami Heat, 4-2, to win the 2020 NBA Championship. The XFL Los Angeles Wildcats debut their first game, but their season is cut short due to the pandemic. The Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series, 4-3, to advance to the Baseball World Series. There, they defeat American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays, 4-2. It was the first World Series Championship for the Dodgers in 32 years.
2022 - The Los Angeles Rams defeat the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20, to win the Super Bowl LVI championship.
