December 26, 2004: The Boxing Day Earthquake and Tsunami

December 26, 2004: An earthquake, measured at 9.2 on the Richter scale, occurs under the Indian Ocean, near the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.

The result is one of the largest tsunamis ever observed, which flowed east to west, with waves up to 30 feet high crashing into the coastal regions of the surrounding nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

It remains the deadliest natural disaster of the 21st Century, and the worst on Earth since the 1976 Tangsun Earthquake in China. Its death toll is estimated at 227,898. More than half, 167,540, occurred in Indonesia. There were 35,000 deaths in Sri Lanka, 1,000 of them in a single train wreck caused by the tsunami. It is believed that 1.75 million people, roughly the population of Philadelphia, were left  homeless.

Among the notable people killed in the disaster were Jane Attenborough, British arts activist and a member of the show-business Attenborough family; Troy Broadbridge, an Australian Rules Football star who was on his honeymoon, though his wife survived; Poom Jensen, a grandson of the then-reigning King of Thailand; and Sujeewa Kamalasuriya, a Sri Lankan cricket star. 

The earthquake became known as the Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake. Another name, given that some of these nations were once part of the British Empire, and still retain some British traditions, including celebrating the day after Christmas as "Boxing Day," is the Boxing Day Tsunami.

Aid came in from all over the world: $820 million from nearby Australia, $660 million from Germany, $500 million from Japan, $350 million from the United States, $343 million from Canada, $250 million from the World Bank, $183 million each from Norway and the Netherlands, and $113 million from Italy.

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December 26, 2004 was a Sunday. Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Reggie White and longtime New York Yankees organist Eddie Layton died that day.

Baseball was out of season. And the NHL team owners had locked the players out. These games were played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-22 at Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* The New York Jets lost to their arch-rivals, the New England Patriots, 23-7 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.

* The Houston Texans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 21-0 at Alltel Stadium (now EverBank Stadium) in Jacksonville. The Texans and the Jags are in the same Division, the AFC South, as the Tennessee Titans. The irony of this is that the Titans used to be the previous Houston team, the Houston Oilers; and, before moving to Nashville, threatened to move to Jacksonville if they didn't get the lease concessions they wanted in Houston. They got them, but later decided it wasn't enough, and moved, anyway.

* The Carolina Panthers bear the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 37-20 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

* The Miami Dolphins beat the Cleveland Browns, 10-7 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The New Orleans Saints beat their arch-rivals, the Atlanta Falcons, 26-13 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat their arch-rivals, the Washington Redskins, 13-10 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens, 20-7 at Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) in Pittsburgh.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Chicago Bears, 19-13 at Ford Field in Detroit.

* The Indianapolis Colts beat the San Diego Chargers, 34-31 at the RCA Dome (formerly the Hoosier Dome) in Indianapolis.

* The Buffalo Bills beat the San Francisco 49ers, 41-7 at Candlestick  Park (then named Monster Park) in San Francisco.

* The Seattle Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals, 24-21 at Qwest Field (now Lumen Field) in Seattle.

* The day before, Saturday, Christmas Day, The Kansas City Chiefs beat their arch-rivals, the Oakland Raiders, 31-30 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* Also on Christmas Day, the Denver Broncos beat the Tennessee Titans, 37-16 at The Coliseum (later renamed Nissan Stadium) in Nashville.

* The day before that, Friday, Christmas Eve, the Green Bay Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings, 34-31 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* And the night after, on ABC Monday Night Football, the St. Louis Rams beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 20-7 at the Edward Jones Dome (now The Dome at America's Center) in St. Louis.

There were no college football bowl games. There were no games in the NHL: The team owners locked the players out for the entire season. There were 9 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the expansion Charlotte Bobcats (later to reclaim the Hornets name), 91-82 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 96-79 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the New Orleans Hornets (later to be renamed the Pelicans), 100-91 at the Gund Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Chicago Bulls, 99-92 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Michael Redd scored 39 points.

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Washington Wizards, 109-74 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Denver Nuggets, 102-88 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver. Dirk Nowitzki scored 36 points.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Boston Celtics, 107-90 at the SBC Center (now the Frost Bank Arena) in San Antonio.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Toronto Raptors, 106-94 at the America West Arena (now the Mortgage Matchup Center) in Phoenix.

* And the Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings, 98-94 at the ARCO Arena in Sacrmamento.

And in English soccer, North London team Arsenal beat West London team Fulham, 2-0 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury.