Today in Sports History: January 24th

1/24/1982 - 49ers beat Bengals in Super Bowl XVI

Super Bowl XVI was a game of firsts. It was the first Super Bowl appearance for the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals, and the first time since Super Bowl III in which neither competitor had been there before. It was the first time the Super Bowl had been held in a cold-weather city (Pontiac, Michigan) and not in California, Texas, Louisiana or Florida. It was the first time the losing team produced more touchdowns (3) than the team that won (2), the first time both teams were coming off losing seasons. And it was also the first Super Bowl in the budding career of Joe Montana, who had guided the 49ers to a 13-win season in his first complete year as their starting quarterback.

Both clubs had entered the season as long shots just to make it to the postseason, let alone the big game. San Francisco, headed by third-year coach Bill Walsh, had gone 2-14, 2-14 and 6-10 in their previous three seasons, while Cincinnati, coached by former Green Bay Packers lineman Forrest Gregg, was also coming off a 6-10 campaign. The Bengals had advanced to the Super Bowl with relative ease, crushing the San Diego Chargers 27-7 in an AFC Championship Game that was later known as the Freezer Bowl. The 49ers, meanwhile, barely survived their NFC Championship Game matchup against the Cowboys, winning 28-27 thanks to a last-minute touchdown catch -- The Catch -- by Dwight Clark to keep their season alive.

In front of 81,270 fans at the Pontiac Silverdome, the 49ers quickly asserted their dominance, taking a 20-0 lead into halftime. Down 20-7 entering the fourth, Cincinnati made it 20-14 when Ken Anderson found Dan Ross for a four-yard touchdown. San Francisco took over with 10 minutes on the clock and a suddenly dwindling lead. Just a play into their drive, the 49ers found themselves on second-and-15 at their own 22; they hadn't reached a first down the entire second half, and it looked like the Bengals were going to get the ball back. But Montana responded with a 22-yard pass to rookie receiver Mike Wilson, moving the ball to their own 44 and essentially icing the game. The 49ers milked four more minutes off the clock before Ray Wersching made his third of four field goals, putting the Niners up 23-14 with five minutes left.

"It was the biggest play of the game," Walsh was quoted saying in The Ultimate Super Bowl Book, "because it finally gave us some breathing room, improved our field position, and got us untracked."

San Francisco eventually prevailed, 26-21 -- handing the franchise its first ever title, and completing one of the largest single-season turnarounds in the history of the NFL. Montana's numbers were by no means jaw-dropping, with 14 completions in 22 attempts, 157 yards and two touchdowns, but they were still good enough to earn him the game's MVP award -- the first of three such awards he'd amass in his career.

"I honestly believe this is one of those rare moments in sports when a group of men get together without really great talent and without a lot of experience," a rejoiced Walsh told the media after the game, "but they develop an inspiration and a will, and no one could take us down this year."

It was the first of five championships the 49ers would win in a span of 14 years. They later refaced the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII, and barely came out alive with a 20-16 victory.

 (A 1982 file photo of John Madden working the telestrator. It debuted during Super Bowl XVI. Photo courtesy of AP Photo/File)

1/24/1999 - Duval wins with 59

David Duval puts together one of the best rounds of golf ever at at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Down by seven strokes at the start of the day, Duval shot a 13-under-par 59 to run away with the victory. He made zero bogeys, six pars, eleven birdies, and an eagle on No. 18 to tie the lowest round of golf in PGA history, joining Al Geiberger and Chip Beck as the only men to shoot a 59. And not only was he the first person to accomplish the feat in the final round, he did it in dramatic fashion, winning the tournament by just a single stroke.

"I was excited, I'm not going to lie to you," said Duval, who shot a 28 on the back nine "I was more excited about the score than having a chance to win the golf tournament. It was kind of like a double bonus. I certainly had aspirations of winning, but a 59 was first and foremost in my mind."

Thanks to his incredible hot streak, Duval had won nine of his last 28 tournaments and was reaffirming his status as the best golfer in the world. But Duval's reign at the top came to a startling end just a couple years later. A combination of a bad back and a few personal issues thwarted the No. 1 ranked golfer. It got so bad that in 2009, when he finished second at the U.S. Open, he hadn't won since 2001 and his ranking had dropped all the way to No. 882.