Sports Stars Born in 1956

Jan 30 Keiichi Tsuchiya, Japanese racing driver, born in Tomi, Japan
Feb 1 Mike Kitchen, Canadian ice hockey defenceman (NJ Devils) and coach (St. Louis Blues 2003-07), born in Newmarket, Canada
Feb 3 John Jefferson, American football player
Feb 5 Hector Rebaque, Mexican racing driver, born in Mexico City, Mexico
Feb 9 Philip Jackson Ford Jr, NC, basketball player (Olympic gold 1976)
Feb 13 Liam Brady, Irish footballer, born in Dublin, Ireland
Feb 13 Yiannis Kouros, Greek-Australian runner, born in Tripoli, Greece
Feb 14 Dave Dravecky, American pitcher & amputee (SF Giants), born in Youngstown, Ohio
Feb 14 Howard Edward Davis Jr., American boxer (Olympic silver 1976), born in Glen Cove, New York (d. 2015)
Feb 15 Desmond Haynes, West Indian cricket batsman and administrator (116 Tests; 7,487 runs @ 42.29; 238 ODIs; Director WI Cricket Board), born in Saint James, Barbados
Feb 15 Hitoshi Ogawa, Japanese racing driver (d. 1992)
Feb 19 Steve Randell, Tasmanian cricket Test umpire (international panel)
Feb 22 Amy Alcott, American golfer (5-time major title winner; US Open 1980), born in Kansas City, Missouri

Eddie Murray

Feb 24 Eddie Murray, American MLB Hall of Fame 1st baseman, 8x All-star, 3x Golden Glove (Baltimore Orioles, 1977-88 & 96; L.A. Dodgers, 1989-91 & 97, and three other teams), born in Los Angeles, California

Feb 25 Davie Cooper, soccer star
Feb 28 Jimmy Nicholl, Canadian-born Northern Irish footballer
Mar 1 Mark Todd, New Zealand equestrian rider (Olympic gold individual eventing 1984, 88), born in Cambridge, New Zealand
Mar 2 Eusebio Pedroza, Panamanian boxer (WBA featherweight champion 1978-85), born in Panama City, Panama (d. 2019)
Mar 2 Gary Pearce, English rugby union prop (36 caps; Northampton Saints), born in Dinton, England
Mar 3 John F Reid, New Zealand cricket batsman (19 Tests, 1296 runs @ 46.28, 6 x 100s), born in Auckland, New Zealand (d. 2020)
Mar 3 Zbigniew Boniek, Polish footballer
Mar 6 Peter Roebuck, English cricketer and journalist, born in Oddington, Oxfordshire, England (d. 2011)
Mar 8 Laurie Cunningham, English former footballer (d. 1989)
Mar 9 Mark Dantonio, American football coach for Michigan State University, born in El Paso, Texas
Mar 10 Janet Alex-Anderson, American golfer (US Open 1982), born in West Sunbury, Pennsylvania
Mar 12 Dale Murphy, American baseball slugger (NL MVP 1982–83; Silver Slugger Award 1982–85; Gold Glove Award 1982–86; 7 x MLB All-Star; NL HR leader 1984, 85; NL; Atlanta Braves), born in Portland, Oregon
Mar 14 Tessa Sanderson, British javelin thrower (Olympic gold. 1984), born in Kingston, Jamaica
Mar 14 Colin Ayre, British football player (Newcastle United), born in Ashington, Northumberland
Mar 15 Clay Matthews, NFL linebacker (Atlanta Falcons)
Mar 16 Ozzie Newsome, NFL tight end (Cleveland Browns)
Mar 18 Ingemar Stenmark, Swedish alpine skier (2 Olympic gold 1980), born in Joesjö, Sweden
Mar 21 Ingrid Kristiansen, Norwegian long distance athlete (World C'ship gold 10,000m 1987; WR 5,000m, 10,000m, marathon; NYC 1989; Boston Marathon 1986, 89), born in Trondheim, Norway
Mar 24 Ijaz Faqih, cricketer (Pakistan off-spin all-rounder in 5 Tests 80-88)
Mar 25 Sonia M Lannaman, England, 4X100m relayer (Olympic bronze 1980)
Mar 26 Tatyana Kochergina, Ukrainian handball player (Olympic gold 1976, 80 USSR), born in Ovidiopol, Ukraine
Mar 27 Brian Kelly, American CFL wide receiver (Edmonton Eskimos), born in Arcadia, California
Mar 27 Thomas Wassberg, Swedish cross country skier (4 Olympic gold 1980, 84, 88), born in Lennartsfors, Värmland, Sweden
Mar 28 Asoka De Silva, Sri Lankan cricket leg-spinner (Sri Lanka in 10 Tests 1985-91), born in Kalutara, Sri Lanka
Mar 28 Evelin Jahl, German discus thrower (Olympic-2 gold-1976), born in Annaberg-Buchholz, Germany
Mar 28 T A Sekar, Indian cricket pace-bowler (2 Tests 1982-83 little impact), born in Chennai, India
Mar 29 Kurt Thomas, American gymnast (first American male to win gold medal at World Championships, floor 1978; floor, horizontal bars 1979), and actor (Gymkata), born in Miami, Florida (d. 2020)
Apr 4 Tom Herr, American baseball player, born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Apr 6 Dilip Vengsarkar, cricketer (prolific Indian batsman 1976-92)
Apr 6 Mudassar Nazar, Pakistan cricket all-rounder (76 Tests, 10 x 100s, HS 231, 66 wickets; Lahore CA, UBL), born in Lahore, Pakistan
Apr 9 Miguel Ángel Russo, Argentine footballer, born in Lanús Partido, Argentina
Apr 13 Michael Nikolay, German gymnast (Olympics silver 1980), born in Berlin, Germany
Apr 13 Peter "Possum" Bourne, New Zealand race car driver, born in New Zealand (d. 2003)
Apr 15 Michael Cooper, American NBA star (LA Lakers), born in Los Angeles, California
Apr 18 David Edwards, American golfer (US Masters 1984 3rd; 4 PGA Tour titles), born in Neosho, Missouri
Apr 19 Sue Barker, British tennis player (French Open 1976), born in Paignton, England
Apr 21 Rick DeMont, American 400m swimmer, drug disqualification (1972 Olympics)
May 3 Gillian Rolton, Australian equestrian (Summer Olympics 1992, 1996- gold), born in Adelaide, South Australia (d. 2017)
May 4 Ulrike Meyfarth, German high jumper (Olympic gold 1972), born in Frankfurt, Germany
May 4 Ken Oberkfell, American baseball player, born in Highland, Illinois
May 6 Tim Simpson, American golfer (4 PGA Tour titles, born in Atlanta, Georgia
May 12 Bernie Federko, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Foam Lake, Saskatchewan
May 15 Alice Miller, American golfer (Nabisco Dinah Shore 1985), born in Marysville, CA
May 15 Dan Patrick, American sportscaster

Sugar Ray Leonard

May 17 Sugar Ray Leonard, American boxer (Olympic gold 1976), born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina

May 18 Naomichi 'Joe' Ozaki, Japanese golfer (32 Japan Tour titles), born in Tekushima, Japan
May 20 Andrew Hilditch, cricketer (Australian opening bat 1979-85)
May 20 Tomas Smid, Czech, tennis star
May 23 Mark Shaw, New Zealand rugby union flanker (30 caps; Manawatu, Hawke's Bay), born in Palmerston North, New Zealand
May 23 Buck Showalter, American baseball manager (AL Manager of the Year 1994, 2004, 14; NY Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles) and analyst (ESPN, YES network), born in DeFuniak Springs, Florida
May 27 Nick Lowery, NFL kicker (NY Jets)
May 28 Jeff Dujon, cricket wicket-keeper (WI 1981-91, their most successful)
May 28 Markus Höttinger, Austrian racing driver (d. 1980)
Jun 3 Suren Nalbandyan, Soviet Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler (Olympic gold 1976), born in Geghard, Armenia, Soviet Union
Jun 3 George Burley, Scottish football player and manager
Jun 4 John Treacy, Irish marathoner (Olympic silver 1984), born in Villierstown, County Waterford
Jun 4 Terry Kennedy, American baseball player, born in Euclid, Ohio
Jun 4 Martin Adams, English darts player (BDO World Champion 2007, 10-11), born in Sutton, Surrey, England
Jun 6 Andy Pycroft, cricketer (Zimbabwe Test batsman)

Björn Borg

Jun 6 Björn Borg, Swedish tennis player (11-time Grand Slam winner), born in Stockholm, Sweden

Jun 7 Robert Dover, American equestrian dressage (Olympic bronze 1996), born in Chicago, Illinois

Joe Montana

Jun 11 Joe Montana, NFL quarterback (San Francisco 49ers), born in New Eagle, Pennsylvania

Jun 12 Terry Alderman, Australian cricketer (prolific Australian medium-pacer 1981-91), born in Subiaco, Perth, Australia
Jun 14 Fred Funk, American golfer (The Tradition 2008, 10; US Senior Open 2009), born in Takoma Park, Maryland
Jun 15 Lance Parrish 'Big Wheel', American baseball player, born in Clairton, Pennsylvania
Jun 17 Nick Cook, English cricketer (left arm slow bowler in 15 Tests 1983-89), born in Leicester
Jun 20 Peter Reid, English former footballer
Jun 21 Mikhail Burtsev, Soviet sabre fencer (Olympic gold 1976, 1980), born in Moscow (d. 2015)
Jun 21 Rick Sutcliffe, American baseball pitcher (LA Dodgers, Chicago Cubs), born in Independence, Missouri
Jun 22 Alfons De Wolf, Belgian cyclist
Jun 23 Tony Hill, American football player
Jun 27 Jeff Odintz, American horse trainer, born in Brooklyn, New York
Jun 27 Brad Childress, American football coach, born in Aurora, Illinois
Jun 29 Pedro Guerrero, Dominican MLB player (LA Dodgers), born in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic
Jul 1 Brian Sabean, American MLB executive (San Francisco Giants World Series 2010, 2012, 2014), born in Concord, New Hampshire
Jul 2 Leslie Reid, equestrian dressage (Olympics 1996), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
Jul 3 Eddie Edwards, South African tennis star, born in Johannesburg, South Africa
Jul 5 James Lofton, American NFL wide receiver (Bills, Packers, Raiders), born in Fort Ord, California
Jul 6 Matt Bahr, American NFL placekicker (NE Patriots, NY Giants), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jul 8 Millard Frank Hampton, 4x100m runner (Olympic gold 1976), born in Fresno, California
Jul 12 Mario Soto, Dominican baseball player
Jul 13 Bill Caudill, American MLB reliever (All Star 1984), born in Santa Monica, California
Jul 13 Michael Spinks, American boxer (undisputed world light heavyweight title 1983-85; lineal world heavyweight title 1985-88; Olympic gold middleweight 1976), born in St. Louis, Missouri
Jul 15 Kathy Kreiner, Canadian giant slalom (Olympic gold 1976)
Jul 15 Toshihiko Seko, Japanese runner (world record 25/30 km)

Bryan Trottier

Jul 17 Bryan Trottier, American NHL Center (NY Islanders), born in Val Marie, Saskatchewan

Jul 18 Razor Shines, American baseball player (Montreal Expos), born in Durham, North Carolina
Jul 20 Charlie Magri, Tunisian British world champ flyweight boxer (1983), born in Tunis, Tunisia

Mima Jausovec

Jul 20 Mima Jausovec, Yugoslavian tennis player (French Open-1977), born in Maribor, Yugoslavia

Dorothy Hamill

Jul 26 Dorothy Hamill, American figure skater (Olympic gold 1976), born in Chicago, Illinois

Jul 29 Teddy Atlas, American boxing trainer and commentator
Jul 31 Bill Callahan, American college football and NFL coach (Nebraska; Oakland Raiders), born in Chicago, Illinois
Aug 3 Balwinder Sandhu, Indian cricket all-rounder (8 Tests; 22 ODIs), born in Mumbai, India
Aug 3 Todd Christensen, NFL player (Oakland) and sportscaster, born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania (d. 2013)
Aug 4 Gerry Cooney, American heavyweight boxer (US Olympics team 1980), born in Manhattan, New York
Aug 10 Dianne Fromholtz Balestrat, Australian tennis player (1977 Australian Open doubles winner and single finalist), born in Albury, New South Wales
Aug 11 June Daugherty, American women's college basketball coach (Boise State Uni, Uni of Washington, Washington State University), born in Columbus, Ohio (d. 2021)
Aug 12 Sidath Wettimuny, Sri Lanka cricket opener (190 v England Lords 1984)
Aug 14 Rusty Wallace, American race car driver, born in Arnold, Missouri
Aug 16 Colleen Walker, American golfer (du Maurier Classic 1997), born in Jacksonville, Florida (d. 2012)
Aug 16 Dominic Erban, French rugby international player
Aug 16 Daniel Willems, Belgian cyclist
Aug 17 Álvaro Pino, Spanish cyclist, born in Ponteareas, Spain
Aug 18 Sandeep Patil, Indian cricketer (Indian batsman Great 174 v Adelaide 1981), born in Mumbai, India
Aug 19 Cindy Nelson, American skier (Olympic bronze 1976)
Aug 20 Alvin Greenidge, West Indian cricketer (WI opener, no relation to Gordon or Geoff), born in Bath Village, Christ Church, Barbados
Aug 22 Jeffrey Lloyd, South African jockey based in Australia, born in Durban, South Africa

Paul Molitor

Aug 22 Paul Molitor, American baseball infielder (7 x MLB All-Star Milwaukee Brewers; World Series MVP 1993 Toronto Blue Jays), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota

Aug 22 Peter Taylor, Australian cricketer (Australian off-spinner 1987-92), born in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Aug 25 Henri Toivonen, Finnish rally driver (3 x World Rally C'ship round wins for Talbot, Opel, Porsche, Lancia), born in Jyväskylä, Finland (d. 1986)
Aug 26 Mark Mangino, American football coach, born in New Castle, Pennsylvania
Aug 28 Beverley Goddard-Callender, English track and field athlete (Olympic bronze 1980, 84), born in Barbados
Sep 2 Mario Tremblay, Canadian hockey player and coach
Sep 3 Hans-Georg Beyer, East German team handball player (Olympic gold 1980), born in Eisenhüttenstadt, Germany
Sep 5 Steve Denton, American tennis player (world's fastest tennis serve-138 mph), born in Kingsville, Texas
Sep 7 Byron Stevenson, British footballer (Leeds United), born in Llanelli, Wales (d. 2007)
Sep 8 Maurice Cheeks, American NBA guard (NY Knicks, Philadelphia '76ers), born in Chicago, Illinois
Sep 12 Chip Beck, American golfer (US Open 1986, 89, Masters 1993 runner-up; shot 59 in 1991), born in Fayetteville, North Carolina
Sep 12 Ricky Rudd, American auto racer (NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year 1977; IROC Champion 1992; Brickyard 400 1997, born in Norfolk County, Virginia
Sep 14 Ray Wilkins, English former footballer and captain of the National Soccer Team, born in Hillingdon, England (d. 2018)
Sep 16 Anatoly Beloglazov, Russian 52 kg freestyle wrestler (Olympic gold 1980), born in Kaliningrad, Russia
Sep 16 Sergei Beloglazov, Russian 57 kg freestyle wrestler (Olympic gold 1980, 88), born in Kaliningrad, Russia
Sep 16 Marcelo Campo, Argentine rugby union winger (20 Tests Argentina, 6 South America; Pueyrredón SC), born in Quilmes, Argentina (d. 2021)
Sep 17 Thad Bosley. American major league baseball player
Sep 18 Peter Šťastný, Slovak-Canadian ice hockey player, born in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia
Sep 19 Juan Manuel Fangio II, Argentine racing driver, born in Balcarce, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sep 21 Jack Givens, American basketball player
Sep 23 Paolo Rossi, Italian soccer striker (48 caps; FIFA World Cup 1982 [Golden Boot, Golden Ball]; L.R. Vicenza, Juventus), born in Prato, Italy (d. 2020)
Sep 24 Ilona Slupianek, German shot-putter (Olympic gold 1980), born in Demmin, East Germany
Sep 26 Steve Butler, American racing driver, born in Amarillo, Texas
Sep 28 Bob Miller, American ice hockey center (47 games USA; Boston Bruins, Colorado Rockies, LA Kings), born in Medford, Massachusetts (d. 2020)

Sebastian Coe

Sep 29 Sebastian Coe, British 1500m runner (Olympic gold 1980, 84), born in London, England

Oct 1 Leslie Burr-Howard, American equestrian rider (Olympic gold show jumping, team 1984), born in Union, New Jersey
Oct 4 Hans van Breukelen, Dutch soccer goalkeeper (73 caps; PSV Eindhoven; technical director KNVB), born in Utrecht, Netherlands

Sherri Turner

Oct 4 Sherri Turner, American golfer (Women's PGA C'ship 1988), born in Greenville, South Carolina

Oct 7 Brian Sutter, Canadian NHL left wing, 1976-88 (St. Louis Blues), and coach, 1988-2004 (St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins, and 2 other teams), born in Viking, Alberta
Oct 13 Anura Ranasinghe, Sri Lankan cricketer (Sri Lankan batsman in 3 Tests 1982), born in Kalatura, Sri Lanka

Beth Daniel

Oct 14 Beth Daniel, American golfer (Women's PGA C'ship 1990), born in Charleston, South Carolina

Oct 16 Melissa Belote, American 100m/200m swimmer (Olympics 3 gold-1972), born in Washington, D.C.
Oct 16 Johnny Chavis, American football coach
Oct 16 Roger Phegley, American NBA basketball player, 1977-84 (Washington Bullets, San Antonio Spurs, and 3 other teams), born in East Peoria, Illinois

Martina Navratilova

Oct 18 Martina Navratilova, Czech/American tennis player (18 Grand Slam singles titles), born in Prague, Czech Republic

Oct 19 Bruce Weber, American Basketball Coach, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Oct 19 Didier Theys, Belgian racing driver
Oct 23 Betsy Nagelsen, American tennis player, born in St Petersburg, Florida
Oct 23 Darrell Pace, American archer (Olympic 2 gold/silver-1976, 84, 88), born in Cincinnati, Ohio

Patty Sheehan

Oct 27 Patty Sheehan, American golfer (6 LPGA major titles; US Open 1992, 94), born in Middlebury, Vermont

Oct 29 Wilfredo Gómez, Puerto Rican boxer, born in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Oct 30 Leslie Webb, equestrian dressage (Olympics 1996)
Nov 3 Bob Welch, American baseball pitcher (AL Cy Young Award 1990; Oakland A's; World Series 1981, 89, 2001), born in Seal Beach, California (d. 2014)
Nov 6 Graeme Wood, Australian cricket batsman (59 Tests, 9 x 100, HS 172; 83 ODIs, 3 x 100; WA CA), born in East Fremantle, Australia
Nov 13 Bill Scanlon, American tennis player (World #9 1984; 6 x ATP titles), born in Dallas, Texas (d. 2021)
Nov 14 Keith Alexander, British soccer forward (3 caps St Lucia; Grimsby Town FC, Lincoln City FC) and manager (Lincoln, Peterborough, Macclesfield), born in Nottingham, England (d. 2010)
Nov 15 Zlatko Kranjčar, Croatian soccer striker (2 caps; Dinamo Zagreb, Rapid Wien) and manager (Croatia, Montenegro, Dinamo Zagreb), born in Zagreb, Croatia (d. 2021)
Nov 16 Terry Labonte, American NASCAR driver
Nov 18 Tony Franklin, American football kicker (Pro Bowl, NFL scoring leader 1986; New England Patriots), born in Big Spring, Texas
Nov 18 Warren Moon, NFL quarterback (Houston Oilers, Seahawks, Vikings)
Nov 18 Noel Brotherston, Northern Irish footballer (d. 1995)
Nov 20 Mark Gastineau, American NFL end (NY Jets, Pro Bowl 1981-85), born in Ardmore, Oklahoma
Nov 21 Mariana Simionescu, Romanian tennis player (1st wife of Björn Borg), born in Tirgu Neamt, Romania
Nov 23 Bruce Edgar, New Zealand cricketer (NZ opener through the 80's), born in Wellington, New Zealand
Nov 23 Shane Gould, Australian freestyle swimmer (Olympic-3 gold-1972), born in Sydney, Australia
Nov 25 Liana Vicens, Puerto Rico, 100m breaststroke (Olympics 1968)
Nov 26 Dale Jarrett, American race car driver (Daytona 500 champion 1993, 96, 2000), born in Conover, North Carolina
Nov 26 Marty Smith, American motocross racer (AMA 125cc 1974, 75; AMA 500cc 1977), born in San Diego, California (d. 2020)
Nov 29 Eric Laakso, American NFL player (Miami Dolphins), born in New York City
Dec 4 Bernard King, American Basketball Hall of Fame small forward (NBA All-Star 1982, 84-85, 91; NY Knicks, Washington Bullets), born in Brooklyn, New York
Dec 4 Blagoi Blagoyev, Bulgarian weightlifter (World C'ship gold - 90kg 1991, 92, 93; Olympic silver - 82.5kg 1976), born in Veliki Preslav, Bulgaria
Dec 4 Costantino Rocca, Italian golfer (British Open 1995 runner-up; hole in one 1995 Ryder Cup), born in Bergamo, Italy
Dec 5 Klaus Allofs, German footballer (1. FC Köln), born in Düsseldorf, West Germany

Larry Bird

Dec 7 Larry Bird, American Basketball Hall of Fame forward, coach, executive (Boston Celtics 3-time NBA champion, 12-time NBA All Star), born in West Baden, Indiana

Dec 12 Johan van der Velde, Dutch cyclist (won Young Rider Classification of Tour de France 1980), born in Rijbergen, Netherlands
Dec 13 Dale Berra, American baseball infielder (Pittsburgh Pirates, NY Yankees), born in Ridgewood, New Jersey
Dec 13 Phil Hubbard, American basketball player (Olympic gold 1976), born in Canton, Ohio
Dec 14 Hanni Wenzel, German alpine ski racer (Olympic-2 gold-1980), born in Straubing, Bavaria, West Germany

About 1956

How Old? 65 or 66 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer

Chinese Zodiac: Goat/Sheep (Jan 1 - Feb 11), Monkey (Feb 12 - Dec 31)

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