- Dec 1 Davis Cup Tennis, Malmo, Sweden: Arnaud Boetsch beats Sweden's Nicklas Kulti in closest deciding match in Cup history 7-6, 2-6, 4-6, 7-6, 10-8 to give France 3-2 victory
David Campese
Dec 1 Flamboyant Australian rugby union winger David Campese ends his 15-year, 101 Test career at Cardiff Arms Park in Wales; Wallabies beat Wales, 28-19; Campese scores record 64 career tries
- Dec 1 South African cricket all-rounder Lance Klusener takes 8-64 on debut in Proteas' 329 run 2nd Test win v India in Kolkata
Wayne Gretzky
Dec 1 Wayne Gretzky becomes first and only player in NHL history to reach 3,000-point plateau (including playoffs); records an assist in NY Rangers' 6-2 win over Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden
Alanis Morissette Wins
Dec 4 7th Billboard Music Awards: Alanis Morissette wins
- Dec 4 NASA's 1st Mars rover launched from Cape Canaveral
- Dec 4 Orlando Magic tie NBA record of fewest points scored since inception of 24 second clock losing to Cleveland Cavalier, 84-57
- Dec 5 "Dreams & Nightmares" opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC
- Dec 5 Players union approves new collective bargaining agreement
- Dec 5 Portland's Jermaine O'Neal at 18 becomes the youngest NBA player
- Dec 6 Mashonaland defeat England in first-class tour match
- Dec 7 1st Big 12 Championship Game: Texas beats #3 Nebraska, 37-27
- Dec 7 5th SEC Championship Game: #4 Florida beats #11 Alabama, 45-30
- Dec 7 Australian rugby union team ends 12-game European tour unbeaten after 39-19 victory over the Barbarians at Twickenham; Wallabies fullback Matt Burke scores 2 tries and lands 4 conversions, 2 penalties
- Dec 7 Space Shuttle STS 80 (Columbia 21), lands
- Dec 8 Julia Sweeney's one-woman show "God Said Ha!" closes at Lyceum Theater, NYC, after 22 performances
- Dec 10 Rwandan Genocide: Maurice Baril military advisor to the UN Secretary-General and head of the UN Military Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations recommends the UN multi-national forces in Zaire stand down
- Dec 12 Assassination attempt on Uday Hussein, heir to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussain
Clemens Signs with Blue Jays
Dec 13 Free agent Roger Clemens signs with Toronto Blue Jays
Kofi Annan Secretary-General
Dec 13 Kofi Annan is elected Secretary-General of the United Nations
- Dec 14 12th Soap Opera Digest Awards - Days of Our Lives wins
- Dec 14 62nd Heisman Trophy Award: Danny Wuerffel, Florida (QB)
- Dec 17 "In My Bed" single released by Dru Hill (Billboard Song of the Year 1997)
- Dec 18 During a press conference, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Maleki states that Iran supports the free flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, but reserves the option of closing off the shipping route if it is threatened
- Dec 18 Start of 1st Test Cricket match between Zimbabwe & England
- Dec 18 The Oakland, California school board passes a resolution officially declaring "Ebonics" a language or dialect.
- Dec 18 US TV industry execs agree to adopt a ratings system
:Once Upon a Mattress"
Dec 19 Revival of Mary Rodgers and Marshall Barer's musical comedy "Once Upon a Mattress", starring Sarah Jessica Parker, opens at Broadhurst Theatre, NYC; runs for 188 performances
Scream
Dec 20 Horror film classic "Scream", starring Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox, is released
- Dec 21 Pakistan all out 67 to lose to Tasmania by an inning
Brett Hull Equals Father's Record
Dec 22 St Louis Blues’ right wing Brett Hull scores his 26th NHL career hat trick to reach 500 career goals in a 7-4 win over the LA Kings; with father Bobby Hull, first father/son combo to each record 500 goals
- Dec 22 Steelers' Kordell Stewart runs quarterback record 80 yds for TD
- Dec 22 Zimbabwe & England draw Bulawayo Test Cricket with England needing 1 run to win
- Dec 23 Four women ordained priests in Jamaica, 1st in 330-year Anglican history
Ballon d'Or
Dec 24 Ballon d'Or: Borussia Dortmund's German sweeper Matthias Sammer is named best football player in Europe ahead of PSV/Barcelona striker Ronaldo and Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer
- Dec 25 1,500 year anniversary of Catholicism in France commemorating the baptism of Clovis I in Rheims
- Dec 26 Six-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey is found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado
- Dec 26 Start of the largest strike in South Korean history.
- Dec 26 The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification goes into force
- Dec 27 Carquest Bowl 7: Miami beats Virginia, 31-21
- Dec 27 Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram air base which solidifies their buffer zone around Kabul.
- Dec 28 India all out for 66 at Durban after making 100 in cricket 1st innings
Theatrical Finale
Dec 29 David Copperfield's magic show "Dreams and Nightmares" closes at Martin Beck Theater, NYC, after 55 performances
Theatrical Finale
Dec 29 David Hare's stage drama "Skylight" starring Michael Gambon, closes at Royale Theater, NYC, after 116 performances
Mass Workers Protest
Dec 30 Proposed budget cuts by Benjamin Netanyahu spark protests from 250,000 workers who shut down services across Israel.
- Dec 30 United Nations announces that a total of 21 contracts have been approved for the limited Iraqi oil sales under Resolution 986
- Dec 31 63rd Orange Bowl: #6 Nebraska beats #10 Virginia Tech, 41-21
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