December 1959 in Sports History

Events in Sport

Heisman Trophy

Dec 1 25th Heisman Trophy Award: Billy Cannon, LSU (HB)

Dec 5 Future Pakistan cricket captain Intikhab Alam bowls Australian opener Colin McDonald with his first ball in Test cricket in drawn 3rd Test in Karachi

Cricket History

Dec 8 President Eisenhower watches Pakistan v Aust Test Cricket at Karachi

34th US President & WWII General Dwight D. Eisenhower

Baseball Trade

Dec 11 NY Yankees trade Marv Thronberry, Don Larsen, Hank Bauer and Norm Seibern for Roger Maris, Kent Hadley and Joe Deaestri

Dec 12 Jack Brabham finishes 4th in season-ending US Grand Prix at Sebring to become first Australian F1 World Drivers Championship winner; takes title by 4 points from Briton Tony Brooks

Ballon d'Or

Dec 15 Ballon d'Or: Real Madrid forward Alfredo Di Stéfano wins his second award for best football player in Europe ahead of teammate Raymond Kopa and Juventus' Welsh utility John Charles

Football Player and Coach Alfredo Di Stéfano

Sports History

Dec 18 Sammy Baugh named 1st coach of NY Titans (AFL)

American Football Player and Coach Sammy Baugh

Dec 20 Indian cricket spin bowler Jasubhai Patel takes 9-69 in Australia's 1st innings 219 in 2nd Test at Kanpur

Sports History

Dec 21 Tom Landry accepts coaching job with Dallas Cowboys (stays until 1988)

Dec 22 NY Ranger goalie Marcel Paille wears a customized mask
Dec 27 National Football League Championship, Memorial Stadium, Baltimore: Baltimore Colts beat New York Giants, 31-16; Colts score 24 straight points in 4th quarter

Birthdays in Sport

Dec 1 Wally Lewis, Australian rugby league five eighth, coach and broadcaster (34 Tests; Queensland 38 games; RL "Immortal"), born in Brisbane, Australia
Dec 2 Greg Barton, American kayaker (Olympics gold K-1 1,000, K-2 1,000 1988), born in Jackson, Michigan
Dec 3 Kathy Jordan, American tennis player (7 Grand Slam doubles titles; Australian Open 1983 runner-up), born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Dec 4 Paul McGrath, Irish soccer defender (83 caps Rep of Ireland; Aston Villa, Manchester United), born in London, England
Dec 5 Shirley Furlong, American golfer (ANA Inspiration runner-up 1990), born in San Antonio, Texas
Dec 7 Saleem Yousuf, Pakistani cricket wicket-keeper (32 Tests, 5 x 50, 104 dismissals; Karachi, Sindh), born in Karachi, Pakistan
Dec 10 Mark Aguirre, American NBA forward (Detroit Pistons), born in Chicago, Illinois
Dec 12 Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Indian cricketer (big-hitting Indian opener), born in Madras, India
Dec 14 Jorge Vaca, Mexican boxer (WBC welterweight champion 1987), born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Dec 15 Greg Matthews, Australian cricket all-rounder (33 Tests, 61 wickets, 4 x 100s; NSW CA), born in Newcastle, Australia
Dec 15 Rashid Khan, Pakistani cricket spin bowler (4 Tests, 8 wickets, BB 3/129), and China National team coach, born Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Dec 17 Tammie Green, American golfer (du Maurier Classic 1989), born in Somerset Ohio
Dec 19 Edward Metgod, Dutch soccer goalie (Haarlem, Sparta)
Dec 19 Kathryn "Furu" Carpenter, Marshall Mich, fencer-epee (Olympics 1996)
Dec 21 Florence Griffith Joyner, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay 1988; WR 100m: 10.49; 200m: 21.34 1988), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1998)
Dec 22 Bernd Schuster, German footballer, born in Augsburg, Germany
Dec 24 Keith Deller, British darts player (BDO World Champion 1983), born in Ipswich, England
Dec 25 Chris Spice, Australian coach (field hockey: Australian assistant Olympics women's gold 1996; World Cup gold 1994, and swimming: British Performance Director Olympics 2016, 20), born in Brisbane, Australia
Dec 25 Ton Lokhoff, Dutch soccer midfielder (3 caps; PSV, NAC) and manager (NAC Breda, Excelsior, VVV-Venlo), born in Breda, Netherlands
Dec 26 Lesley Tomlinson, English cyclist (Olympics 1996), born in Derbyshire, England
Dec 27 Andre Tippett, American NFL Hall of Fame linebacker, 1982-93, 5X Pro Bowl (New England Patriots), born in Birmingham, Alabama
Dec 28 Everson Walls, NFL cornerback (Dallas Cowboys, NY Giants)

Weddings in Sport

John Madden

Dec 26 NFL coach John Madden (23) weds Virginia Fields

Deaths in Sport

Dec 5 K. S. Duleepsinhji, English-Indian cricketer (12 Tests for England, 995 runs), dies at 54
Dec 10 Charles Jones, West Indian cricket batsman (4 Tests), dies at 57

Jim Bottomley (1900-1959)

Dec 11 American Baseball HOF first baseman (MLB all-time single game RBI record [12] 1924; World Series 1926, 31; NL MVP & NL HR leader 1928; St. Louis Cardinals), dies at 59