December 1963 in Sports History

Events in Sport

Davis Cup

Dec 28 Davis Cup Men's Tennis, Adelaide: American Chuck McKinley beats Australia's John Newcombe 10-12, 6-2, 9-7, 6-2 in the deciding rubber to give US a thrilling 3-2 victory

Tennis Player and Wimbledon Champion Chuck McKinley

F1 World Champion

Dec 28 Scottish Lotus driver Jim Clark wins his record 7th Grand Prix of the F1 season, the South African event at Prince George Circuit; first Scotsman to win the World Drivers Championship

Dec 29 National Football League Championship, Wrigley Field, Chicago: Chicago Bears beat New York Giants, 14-10; Giants 3rd consecutive championship defeat; played in temperatures under 10 °F (−12 °C)

Birthdays in Sport

Dec 1 Arjuna Ranatunga, Sri Lankan cricket batsman (93 Tests, 269 ODIs) and politician (MP 2004-present), born in Gampaha, Sri Lanka
Dec 1 Marco Greco, Brazilian motorcycle road racer and auto racer (Indy Racing League 3rd 1996-97), born in São Paulo, Brazil
Dec 1 Nathalie Lambert, Canadian short-track speed skater (Olympic gold 3,000m relay 1992; World C'ships gold overall 1991, 93-94), born in Montreal, Quebec
Dec 2 Rich Sutter, Canadian NHL right wing, 1983-95 (Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, and 4 other teams), and broadcaster (Rogers Sportsnet), born in Viking, Alberta
Dec 2 Ron Sutter, Canadian NHL center, 1982- 2001 (Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks, and 4 other teams), born in Viking, Alberta
Dec 3 Ashley De Silva, Sri Lankan cricket wicketkeeper (3 Tests; 4 ODIs), born in Colombo, Sri Lanka
Dec 3 Steve Hegg, American road and track cyclist (Olympic gold individual pursuit 1984), born in Dana Point, California
Dec 4 Nigel Heslop, English rugby union and rugby league wing (10 caps RU; Orrell RUFC, Liverpool St Helens; Oldham RLFC), born in West Hartlepool, England
Dec 4 Sergey Bubka, Ukrainian pole vaulter (Olympic gold 1988; World C'ship gold 1983, 87, 91, 93, 95, 97), born in Luhansk, Ukraine
Dec 5 Eddie "the Eagle" Edwards, English ski jumper (subject of 2015 movie "Eddie the Eagle"), born in Cheltenham, England
Dec 7 Theo Snelders, Dutch soccer goalkeeper (1 cap; FC Twente, Aberdeen 227 games, Rangers), born in Westervoort, Netherlands
Dec 9 Barry Wilburn, American NFL full safety (Philadelphia Eagles), born in Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 9 Dave Hilton, Jr., Canadian boxer, born in Port Credit, Ontario
Dec 10 Doug Henry, American baseball pitcher (NY Mets), born in Sacramento, California
Dec 10 Gerald Sandel, Dutch soccer player (Sparta), born in The Hague, Netherlands
Dec 10 Michael Lofton, fencer-sabre (Olympics 1996), born in Montgomery, Alabama

Dec 11 Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, German tennis star, born in Saarbrücken, West Germany
Dec 11 John Lammers, Dutch soccer player (NAC), born in Tilburg, Netherlands
Dec 11 Mark Greatbatch, New Zealand cricket batsman (41 Tests, 3 x 100, HS 146no; 84 ODIs, 2 x 100; Auckland, Central Districts), born in Auckland, New Zealand
Dec 16 Cathy Johnston, American golfer, (du Maurier Classic 1990), born in High Point, North Carolina
Dec 18 Charles Oakley, American NBA forward (NY Knicks) and coach, born in Cleveland, Ohio
Dec 18 Karl Dorrell, American football coach, born in Alameda, California
Dec 18 Lori McNeil, American tennis player (1995 Oakland doubles), born in San Diego, California
Dec 19 Karen Bliss-Livingston, American cyclist (Olympics 1996), born in Quakertown, Pennsylvania
Dec 20 Pam Casale, American tennis player (Marco Island finals 1985), born in Camden, New Jersey
Dec 22 Brian McMillan, South African cricket all-rounder (38 Tests, top score 113, 75 wickets; 78 ODIs), born in Welkom, South Africa
Dec 22 Giuseppe Bergomi, Italian footballer, born in Milan, Italy
Dec 23 Carol Peterka, American team handball back court (Olympics 1992, 96), born in Little Falls, Minnesota
Dec 23 Jim Harbaugh, NFL quarterback (Pro Bowl 1995; Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts) and coach (Stanford 2007–10; SF 49ers 2011–14; Michigan (2015–20), born in Toledo, Ohio
Dec 24 Jay Bilas, American basketball analyst, born in San Pedro, California
Dec 24 Timo Jutila, Finnish hockey defenseman (Team Finland), born in Tampere, Finland
Dec 27 Dana Chladek, Czech-American slalom kayaker (Olympic bronze 1992, silver 1996), born in Děčín, Czech Republic
Dec 27 Jim Leyritz, Lakewood OH, catcher (NY Yankees)
Dec 29 Sean Payton, American NFL coach (Super Bowl 2009, New Orleans Saints; AP Coach of the Year 2006; 'Bountygate'), born in San Mateo, California
Dec 30 Johnny van 't Schip, Dutch soccer star (Ajax, Genua)
Dec 30 Milan Šrejber, Czech professional tennis player, born in Prague, Czechoslovakia
Dec 31 Ed Simmons, American NFL tackle (Washington Redskins), born in French Camp, California
Dec 31 Konishiki, Japanese-Samoan sumo wrestler, born in Honolulu, Hawaii

Deaths in Sport

Jack Hobbs (1882-1963)

Dec 21 English cricket batsman (61 Tests, 5,410 runs @ 56.94, 15 x 100s; leading 1st-class run-scorer [61,760] and century-maker [199]; Surry), dies at 81