Today in History

On Dec. 23, 1972, in an NFL playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders, Steelers running back Franco Harris scored a game-winning touchdown on a deflected pass with less than 10 seconds left in the game. The “Immaculate Reception,” as the catch came to be known, is often cited as the greatest NFL play of all time.

Also on this date:

In 1823, the poem “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas” was published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel of New York; the verse, more popularly known as “The Night Before Christmas,” was later attributed to Clement C. Moore.

In 1913, the Federal Reserve System was created as President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act.

In 1941, during World War II, American forces on Wake Island surrendered to Japanese forces.

In 1948, former Japanese Premier Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese war leaders were executed in Tokyo.

In 1968, 82 crew members of the U.S. intelligence ship Pueblo were released by North Korea, 11 months after they had been captured.

In 1986, the experimental airplane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana (JEE’-nuh) Yeager, completed the first nonstop, nonrefueled round-the-world flight as it returned safely to Edwards Air Force Base in California.

In 2003, a jury in Chesapeake, Virginia, sentenced teen sniper Lee Boyd Malvo to life in prison, sparing him the death penalty.

Today’s Birthdays: Former Emperor Akihito of Japan is 91. Actor-comedian Harry Shearer is 81. Retired U.S. Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark is 80. Actor Susan Lucci is 78. Distance runner Bill Rodgers is 77. Football Hall of Famer Jack Ham is 76. Political commentator William Kristol is 72. Author Donna Tartt is 61. Rock musician Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam is 60. Actor Finn Wolfhard is 22.