Dec. 12, 1965

Gale Sayers, the Chicago Bears' remarkable rookie, scores six touchdowns, tying a National Football League record set by the Chicago Cardinals' Ernie Nevers in 1929 and matched by the Cleveland Browns' Dub Jones in 1951.

Sayers' first touchdown comes on an 80-yard screen pass and his last is on an 85-yard punt return. In between he scores on runs of 21, 7, 50 and 1 yard in the Bears' 61-20 rout of the San Francisco 49ers in Wrigley Field. The 6-foot, 200-pound Sayers gains a total of 336 yards -- 113 rushing, 89 on receptions and 134 on punt returns.

The touchdown outburst brings Sayers' season total to 21, one more than the previous NFL best. He will finish the year with 22, but that record will be broken several times, the last by Dallas Cowboy Emmitt Smith, who will score 25 in 1995. However, no first-year player will break Sayers' rookie record of 22 touchdowns.