January 1961 in Sport

Events in Sport

  • Jan 2 47th Rose Bowl: #6 Washington beats #1 Minnesota, 17-7
  • Jan 2 27th Sugar Bowl: #2 Mississippi beats Rice, 14-6
  • Jan 2 27th Orange Bowl: #5 Missouri beats #4 Navy, 21-14
  • Jan 7 1st NFL Playoff Bowl (runner-up bowl)-Detroit beats Cleveland 17-16
  • Jan 14 Chic Bear Willard Dewveall becomes 1st NFLer to join AFL
  • Jan 15 NFL Pro Bowl: West beats East 35-31
  • Jan 17 11th NBA All-Star Game: West beats East 153-131 at Syracuse, New York
  • Jan 27 49th Women's Australian Championships: Margaret Court beats Jan Lehane O'Neill (6-1, 6-4)

Sport awardTennis Open

Jan 27 49th Men's Australian Championships: Roy Emerson beats Rod Laver (1-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4)

Tennis Player Roy Emerson
Tennis Player
Roy Emerson
Tennis Player Rod Laver
Tennis Player
Rod Laver

Birthdays in Sport

  • Jan 1 Irv Eatman, NFL tackle (Houston Oilers)
  • Jan 5 Curt Bader, sprint kayaker (Olympics 1996), born in Bloomfield, Iowa
  • Jan 6 Howie Long, former NFL tackle/actor/broadcaster (Broken Arrow)
  • Jan 8 Shoaib Mohammad, cricketer (son of Hanif Patient & prolific batsman)
  • Jan 8 Calvin Smith, American athlete
  • Jan 11 Paul Skansi, NFL wide receiver (Seattle Seahawk)
  • Jan 12 Andrea Carnevale, soccer player (Napoli)
  • Jan 13 Kelly Hrudey, Edmonton, NHL goalie (LA Kings)
  • Jan 13 Kent Hull, NFL center (Buffalo Bills)
  • Jan 17 Maia Chiburdanidze, Kutaisi USSR, women's world chess champ

Person of interestMark Messier

Jan 18 Mark Messier, NHL Center (Edmonton, NY Rangers), born in Edmonton, Alberta

NHL Legend Mark Messier
NHL Legend
Mark Messier
  • Jan 18 Peter Beardsley, English footballer
  • Jan 22 Barb Thomas Whitehead, Sibley IA, LPGA golfer (1995 Hawaiian Open)
  • Jan 23 Trey Junkin, tight end (Arizona Cardinals)
  • Jan 24 William Van Dijck, Belgian athlete

Person of interestWayne Gretzky

Jan 26 Wayne Gretzky, Canadian NHL great scorer (Oiler, King, Rangers), born in Brantford, Ontario

Ice Hockey Great Wayne Gretzky
Ice Hockey Great
Wayne Gretzky
  • Jan 27 Jean-Paul Banos, Lavelanet France, Canada sabre (Olympic 9/10-88, 92, 96)
  • Jan 29 Mike Aldrete, American baseball infielder (Oakland Athletics, NY Yankees)
  • Jan 30 Ranjit Madurasinghe, cricketer (3 Tests for Sri Lanka 1988-92)

Weddings in Sport


HeartWedding of Interest

Jan 28 NFL coach Mike Ditka (21) weds Marge Dougherty

NFL Head Coach Mike Ditka
NFL Head Coach
Mike Ditka

Deaths in Sport

  • Jan 2 Bob Catterall, South African cricketer (1555 runs/24 Tests for South Africa 1922-31), dies at 60
  • Jan 8 Lynwood Thomas "Schoolboy" Rowe, American baseball pitcher (Detroit Tigers), dies at 50

Person of interestAlfred Carlton Gilbert

Jan 24 Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American athlete, inventor, and businessman (invented the Erector Set), dies at 76

Inventor Alfred Carlton Gilbert
Inventor
Alfred Carlton Gilbert
  • Jan 26 Morris Nichols, cricketer (41 wkts in 14 Tests for Eng 1930-39), dies