Events in Sport
Donald Bradman
- 1936 Queensland cricket all out for 49 v Vic, Fleetwood-Smith 7-17
- 1949 National Football League Championship, Philadelphia Eagles beat Los Angeles Rams, 14-0; played in driving rain that caused field to become a mud pit
- 1952 Ellis W Ryan resigns as Cleveland Indians president
- 1956 Phil Rizzuto signs as NY Yankee radio-TV announcer
- 1956 Ballon d'Or: Blackpool & England winger Stanley Matthews wins inaugural award for best football player in Europe; beats Real Madrid pair Alfredo Di Stéfano & Raymond Kopa
Event of Interest
1959 Sammy Baugh named 1st coach of NY Titans (AFL)
Sammy Baugh
- 1961 For 2nd consecutive year, AP names Wilma Rudolph female athlete of year
Event of Interest
1961 Wilt Chamberlain of NBA Philadelphia Warriors scores 78 points vs LA
Wilt Chamberlain
- 1962 Ballon d'Or: Dukler Prague midfielder Josef Masopust wins award for best European football player; beats Benfica striker Eusébio and FC Köln defender Karl-Heinz Schnellinger
- 1973 Yanks sign Dick Williams as manager, overturned later by AL Pres
- 1977 Cleveland Cavaliers retire jersey # 42, Nate Thumond
- 1983 NBA San Diego Clippers ends 29 game road losing streak
- 1984 73rd Davis Cup: Sweden beats USA in Gothenburg (4-1)
- 1988 Seattle Seahawks win their 1st ever division title with 9-7 record
- 1988 Cricket Women's World Cup: Australia defeats England by 8 wickets
Event of Interest
1994 Darryl Strawberry pleads not guilty on tax evasion charges
Darryl Strawberry
- 1996 Start of 1st Test Cricket match between Zimbabwe & England
- 2001 Ballon d'Or: Liverpool forward Michael Owen is named best football player in Europe ahead of Real Madrid striker Raúl and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Kahn
- 2017 Australia regains cricket's Ashes against England, winning by an innings to take 3 game lead at the Wacca in Perth
- 2018 Manchester United sacks high profile Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho; United in 6th place in EPL, 19 points behind league leaders Liverpool; Ole Gunnar Solskjaer new caretaker manager
Birthdays in Sport
- 1907 Bill Holland, American auto racer (d. 1984)
- 1910 Eric Tindill, New Zealand rugby and cricket player (international cricket umpire, rugby referee), born in Nelson, New Zealand (d.2010)
- 1913 Ray Meyer, American basketball coach (d. 2006)
- 1915 Dario Mangiarotti, Italian fencing, gold, 2 silver (Olympic-1948, 52)
- 1929 Gino Cimoli, American baseball player
- 1930 Bill Skowron [Moose], MLB First baseman (NY Yankees), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2012)
- 1931 Noel McGregor, cricketer (batted in 25 Tests for NZ 1955-65)
- 1939 Sandro Lopopolia, Italian lightweight boxer (Olympic-Silver-1960)
- 1940 Arnold Long, cricketer (prolific wicketkeeper for Surrey & Sussex)
- 1945 Carolyn Wood, American 4 X 100m freestyle swimmer (Olympic gold 1960)
- 1946 Hubert Green, American golfer (US Open 1977, PGA C'ship 1985), born in Birmingham, Alabama (d. 2018)
- 1961 Brian Orser, Canadian figure skater (Olympic silver 1988)
- 1961 Lalchand Rajput, cricketer (Indian Test opening batsman 1985-86)
- 1963 Charles Oakley, NBA forward (NY Knicks)
- 1963 Lori McNeil, tennis star (1995 Oakland doubles), born in San Diego, California
- 1963 Karl Dorrell, American football coach
- 1964 Don Beebe, NFL wide receiver (Green Bay Packers-Super Bowl 31)
- 1965 Angeliki Kaneltopoutous, Greece, tennis star
- 1965 Brian Walton, points race cyclist (Olympic silver 1996), born in Ottawa, Ontario
- 1965 Willie Blair, Paintsville KY, pitcher (San Diego Padres)
- 1966 Aaron Jones, NFL defensive end (NE Patriots)
- 1966 Patricia Neder, American team handball right wing (Olympics 1992 & 1996), born in Waukesha, Wisconsin
- 1966 Terry Phelps, American tennis player, born in Larchmont, New York
- 1967 Bob Corkum, Salisbury, NHL center (Philadelphia Flyers)
- 1967 Dan McGwire, NFL quarterback (Miami Dolphins)
- 1967 Tracy Hayworth, NFL linebacker (Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons)
- 1967 Toine van Peperstraten, Dutch sports journalist
- 1968 Aaron Craver, NFL running back (Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers)
- 1969 Andrew Murphy, Australian long jumper/triple jumper (Olympics 1996)
- 1969 Joe Randa, infielder (KC Royals), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- 1969 Keith Piper, cricketer (Warwickshire & England A wicketkeeper)
- 1969 Marco Coleman, NFL defensive end (Miami Dolphins, San Diego Chargers)
- 1969 Santiago Cañizares, Spanish footballer
- 1969 Justin Edinburgh, English footballer
- 1970 Lucious Harris, NBA guard (NJ Nets, Dallas Mavericks)
- 1971 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Spanish tennis player (US Open 1994, French Open 1989, 94, 98), born in Barcelona, Spain
- 1971 Frank Pimiskern, CFL safety (BC Lions)
- 1971 Joe Dziedzic, NHL left wing (Pitts Penguins), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- 1971 Neil Little, Medicine Hat, NHL goalie (Philadelphia Flyers)
- 1972 Jeff Nelson, Prince Albert, NHL center (Washington Capitals)
- 1972 Marcos Ondruska, South Africa, tennis star
- 1973 Jason Williams, Gonzales LA, baseball infielder (Olympic bronze 1996)
- 1973 Keith Washington, NFL defensive end (Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Ravens)
- 1974 Peter Boulware, linebacker (Baltimore Ravens)
- 1975 Michael Barry, cyclist (Olympics 1996), born in Toronto, Ontario
- 1977 José Acevedo, Dominican baseball player
- 1978 Naomi Lang, Arcata California, dance skater (& Peter Tchernyshev)
- 1978 Ali Curtis, American soccer player
- 1979 Carlos, Portuguese footballer
- 1983 Darren Carter, English footballer
- 1987 Miki Andō, Japanese figure skater
- 1987 Fernando Jara, Panamanian-American jockey
Weddings in Sport
Wedding of Interest
1983 Wrestler Hulk Hogan (30) weds Linda Claridge
Hulk Hogan
Deaths in Sport
Bobby Jones
1971 Bobby Jones Jr., American golfer, course designer (13 major titles, Grand Slam 1930), dies of syringomyelia at 69
Bobby Jones
- 1974 Harry Hooper, American baseball player, dies at 87
- 1976 George Emmett, cricketer (England opener v Aust Old Trafford 1948), dies
- 1982 Ray Emery, New Zealand cricketer (2 Tests NZ v WI 1952, 46 runs, 2 wkts), dies at 67
- 1982 Bernard Malivoire, French cox pair (Olympic gold 1952), dies at 44
- 1991 George Abecassis, English Formula 1 driver (b. 1913)
- 2000 Stan Fox, American race car driver (b. 1952)
- 2010 Phil Cavarretta, American baseball player (NL MVP 1945), dies at 94
December in History
![Melodrama at Theatre Leaves Actor Dead]()
Melodrama at Theatre Leaves Actor Dead
One of England’s most popular actors arrived at the stage door on this day to prepare for another performance. He would never make it to the stage.
December 16, 1897![Bowled Over by William and Harry]()
Bowled Over by William and Harry
The royal princes are the latest celebrities to favour headgear that was introduced on this day
December 17, 1849![The Face that Launched a Thousand Quips...]()
The Face that Launched a Thousand Quips...
The greatest and most famous clown of them all, and by whose name, Joey, all circus clowns became known, was born on this day, December 18, 1778.
December 18, 1778!['Good Sport' in The Trenches]()
'Good Sport' in The Trenches
Prime Minister's son, Raymond Asquith tells his wife of life and death on the battlefront in World War I on this day in 1915.
December 21, 1915
