January 1947 in Sports History

Events in Sport

Contract of Interest

Jan 18 Detroit Tigers sell Hank Greenberg to Pirates (for $25-35,000)

Jan 24 NFL adds 5th official (back judge) & allows sudden death in playoffs

Australian Men's Tennis Open

Jan 29 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Dinny Pails beats fellow Australian John Bromwich 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 8-6 for his only Grand Slam title

Jan 29 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Nancye Wynne Bolton wins 3rd consecutive Australian singles crown; beats Nell Hall Hopman 6-3, 6-2

Birthdays in Sport

Jan 1 Leonard Thompson, American golfer (3 x PGA Tour, 3 x PGA Champions Tour wins), born in Laurinburg, North Carolina
Jan 2 Aleksandr Tikhonov, Russian biathlete (Olympic gold biathlon relay 1968, 72, 76, 80), born in Uyskoye, Chelyabinsk, Russia
Jan 2 Calvin Hill, American NFL running back (Pro Bowl 1969, 72–74; All-Pro 1969, 73; Super Bowl 1971; Dallas Cowboys), born in Baltimore, Maryland
Jan 2 Lanny Bassham, American sports shooter (Olympic gold small-bore rifle, 3 positions 1976; silver 1972), born in Comanche, Texas
Jan 3 Fran Cotton, English rugby union prop forward (31 caps England, 7 British Lions; Coventry R.F.C., Sale), born in Wigan, England
Jan 3 Miroslav Bošković, Serbian soccer defender (6 caps Yugoslavia; Hajduk Split, FK Partizan, Angers SCO), born in Belgrade, Serbia (d. 2023)
Jan 5 Mercury Morris, American football player, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Jan 6 Ian Millar, Canadian dressage rider (World Cup 1988, 89, Olympics 1996), born in Halifax, NS, Canada
Jan 8 Igor Ivanov, Russian-born Canadian chess champion (1981-84, 1985- ), born in Leningrad, USSR
Jan 12 Tom Dempsey, American NFL kicker (Pro Bowl, First-team All-Pro 1969; New Orleans Saints; longest winning field goal, 63 yards), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 2020)
Jan 13 Carles Rexach, former Spanish-Catalan footballer and coach
Jan 13 Peter Sundelin, Swedish yachtsmen (Olympic gold 5-5m class 1968; World C'ship gold Dragon class 1971), Nacka, Sweden
Jan 14 Bill Weberniuk, Canadian snookers player, born in Winnipeg, Canada (d. 2003)
Jan 14 Rubén Olivares, Mexican boxer (4-division world champion), born in Mexico City
Jan 18 Sachio Kinugasa, Japanese baseman nicknamed Tetsujin, meaning "Iron Man", born in Kyoto, Japan (d. 2018)
Jan 20 Cyrille Guimard, French cyclist & directeur sportif, born in Bouguenais, France
Jan 24 Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian soccer striker (14 caps; Lazio, NY Cosmos), born in Carrara, Italy (d. 2012)
Jan 24 Masashi 'Jumbo' Ozaki, Japanese golfer (record 94 Japan Tour titles), born in Kaifu District, Tokushima
Jan 25 Ángel Nieto, Spanish motorcycle racer, born in Zamora, Spain (d. 2017)
Jan 25 Tostão [Eduardo Gonçalves de Andrade], Brazilian footballer, born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Jan 26 Miguel Ángel Castellini, Argentine boxer (WBA, lineal light middleweight titles 1976-77), born in Santa Rosa, Argentina (d. 2020)
Jan 28 Txetxu Rojo, Spanish soccer forward (18 caps; Athletic Bilbao 413 games) and manager (Athletic Bilbao, Celta Vigo, Osasuna, Real Zaragoza), born in Bilbao, Spain (d. 2022)

Jan 31 American Baseball HOF pitcher (MLB no-hit leader [7], strikeout leader [5,714]; World Series 1969 NY Mets; 8 x MLB All Star; California Angels, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers), born in Refugio, Texas

Deaths in Sport

Jan 14 Bill Hewitt, American Pro Football HOF end (4 × First-team All-Pro; Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles; one last players to not wear a helmet), dies in a car crash at 37

Josh Gibson (1911-1947)

Jan 20 American Baseball HOF catcher (Negro World Series 1943, 44; 12 × NL All-Star; Triple Crown 1936, 37; batting average .466 1943), dies of a brain tumor at 35

Jan 23 Roy Park, Australian cricketer (prolific Victorian bat & official), dies at 54
Jan 29 Fred Barratt, English cricket fast bowler (5 Tests, 5 wickets; Nottinghamshire CCC), dies at 52