Events in Sport
- 1907 Eugene Corri becomes 1st referee in a boxing ring
PGA Championship
1929 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Hillcrest CC: Defending champion Leo Diegel defeats Johnny Farrell, 6 & 4 in the final
Leo Diegel
- 1930 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Fresh Meadows CC: American based Scotsman Tommy Armour defeats Gene Sarazen 1 up in the final for the 2nd of his 3 major titles
Event of Interest
1931 After scoring 226 in 1st Test in Brisbane, Don Bradman belts 219 for NSW against the visiting South Africa at the Sydney Cricket Ground
Donald Bradman
- 1935 CFL Grey Cup, AAA Grounds, Hamilton: Winnipeg Pegs (later Blue Bombers) defeat Hamilton Tigers, 18-12
Contract of Interest
1937 Red Sox acquire the contract of 19-year-old Ted Williams
Ted Williams
- 1937 Russian chess player Alexander Alekhine recaptures his final world title from Dutch grand master Max Euwe by a large margin (+10−4=11)
Hall of Fame
1939 Lou Gehrig, 36, is elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame
Lou Gehrig
- 1940 CFL Grey Cup (Game 2), Lansdowne Park, Ottawa: Ottawa beats Toronto Balmy Beach, 12-5
- 1949 15th Heisman Trophy Award: Leon Hart (end), Notre Dame
- 1956 Australian swimmer Murray Rose claims his 3rd gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics when he wins the 1,500m in 17:58.9; also wins 400m & 4 x 200m relay
- 1956 American diver Pat McCormick wraps up the women's double when she wins the 10m platform gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics with 84.85 points; also won the 3m springboard gold
- 1956 Soviet artistic gymnast Larisa Latynina takes her gold medal tally to 4 at the Melbourne Olympics; wins teams and individual all-round titles having earlier won vault and floor exercise sections
- 1957 Tony Kubek of the Yanks selected as AL Rookie of the Year
- 1973 Orioles sell pitcher Eddie Watt to the Phillies
- 1973 Phillies sell infielder-outfielder Cesar Tovar to the Texas Rangers
Event of Interest
1975 Romanian tennis star Ilie Năstase wins his 4th season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix title with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 rout of Björn Borg of Sweden in Stockholm
Ilie Năstase
Björn Borg
NHL Record
1978 Islander's Mike Bossy's 1st career hat trick
Mike Bossy
- 1980 69th Davis Cup: Czechoslovakia beats Italy in Prague (4-1)
Event of Interest
1980 PGA Seniors' Championship Men's Golf, Turnberry Isle CC: Arnold Palmer wins with a birdie on the 1st playoff hole against Paul Harney
Arnold Palmer
Event of Interest
1984 Allan Border's 1st Test Cricket match as captain (v WI Adelaide)
Allan Border
- 1985 51st Heisman Trophy Award: Bo Jackson, Auburn (RB)
Australian Open Women's Tennis
1985 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Martina Navratilova beats Chris Evert-Lloyd 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 for her 3rd and final Australian singles crown
Martina Navratilova
Chris Evert
- 1988 NHL NY Islanders fire head coach Terry Simpson, and replace him with former coach Al Arbour
Contract of Interest
1988 MLB Texas Rangers sign free-agent pitcher Nolan Ryan to a one-year contract
Nolan Ryan
- 1995 NBA settles strike of referees, refs to return on Dec 12
- 1996 5th SEC Championship Game: #4 Florida beats #11 Alabama, 45-30
- 1996 1st Big 12 Championship Game: Texas beats #3 Nebraska, 37-27
- 1996 Australian rugby union team ends 12-game European tour unbeaten after 39-19 victory over the Barbarians at Twickenham; Wallabies fullback Matt Burke scores 2 tries and lands 4 conversions, 2 penalties
- 2002 11th SEC Championship Game: #4 Georgia beats #22 Arkansas, 30-3
- 2013 22nd SEC Championship Game: #3 Auburn beats #5 Missouri, 59-42
- 2013 9th ACC Championship Game: #1 Florida State beats #20 Duke, 45-7
Football Awards
2017 Ballon d'Or: Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo wins his 5th award to equal Lionel Messi's record; 2nd consecutive win for Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Birthdays in Sport
- 1856 Wilfred Flowers, English cricket all-rounder (8 Tests), born in Calverton, Nottinghamshire (d. 1926)
- 1882 Warren Bardsley, Australian cricketer (great NSW & Aussie opening bat 1909-26), Warren, New South Wales (d. 1954)
- 1902 Janardan Navle, Indian cricketer (India's 1st Test wicket-keeper), born in Fulgaon, Maharashtra, India (d. 1979)
- 1908 John Doeg, American tennis player (US Nat C'ship 1930), born in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico (d. 1978)
- 1914 Winston Place, English cricketer (England opener in West Indies 1948), born in Rawtenstall, Lancashire, England (d. 2002)
- 1920 Fiorenzo Magni, Italian road cyclist (Giro d'Italia 1948, 51, 55; Tour of Flanders 1949, 50, 51), born in Vaiano, Italy (d. 2012)
- 1922 Rogério Pipi, Portuguese soccer forward (15 caps; Benfica), born in Lisbon, Portugal (d. 2019)
- 1923 Alan Ford, American swimmer (world 100m freestyle record 55.4; Olympic silver 1948), born in Panama Canal Zone, Panama (d. 2008)
- 1924 John Love, Zimbabwean Formula One driver, born in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (d. 2005)
- 1925 Hernando da Silva Ramos, French-Brazilian racing driver, born in Paris
- 1926 Victor Kermit Kiam II, American businessman (Remington shavers) and NFL owner (Patriots), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2001)
- 1932 François Lafortune Jr., Belgian shooter (competed at 7 Olympic Games 1952-1976, 50m Rifle, Prone Position), born in Visé, Belgium (d. 2020)
- 1936 Bo Belinsky, American baseball pitcher (no-hitter 1962; LA Angels), born in NYC, New York (d. 2001)
- 1942 Alex [Alexander] Johnson, American professional baseball player, born in Helena, Arkansas (d. 2015)
Johnny Bench
1947 Johnny Bench, American MLB catcher (Reds), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Johnny Bench
Larry Bird
1956 Larry Bird, American Basketball Hall of Fame forward, coach, executive (Boston Celtics 3-time NBA champion, 12-time NBA All Star), born in West Baden, Indiana
Larry Bird
- 1957 Geoff "Henry" Lawson, Australian cricket player, fast bowler (1980-89) and coach of Pakistan, born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
- 1957 Rohan Jayasekera, Sri Lankan cricketer (one Test Sri Lanka v Pakistan 1982), born in Colombo, Sri Lanka
- 1959 Salim Yousuf, Pakistani cricketer (Pakistani wicket-keeper in 32 Tests 1986-90), born in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
- 1963 Theo Snelders, Dutch football goalkeeper, born in Westervoort, Gelderland, Netherlands
- 1964 Peter Laviolette, American hockey defenseman (Olympics 1994), born in Franklin, Massachusetts
- 1964 Tadao Uematsu, Japanese racing driver, born in Tokyo, Japan
- 1964 Vladimir Artemov, Russian gymnast (4 Olympic gold 1988), born in Vladimir, Russia
- 1965 Colin Hendry, Scottish footballer and coach, born in Keith, Scotland
- 1965 Todd Kabel, Canadian jockey (Sovereign Award for Outstanding Jockey 1992, 95, 2003-06; Queen's Plate 1995, 2000; Prince of Wales Stakes 2000, 07), born in McCreary, Manitoba (d. 2021)
- 1966 Shinichi Itoh, Japanese motorcycle racer, born in Kakuda, Miyagi, Japan
- 1967 Tino Martinez, American baseball first baseman (MLB All-Star 1995, 97; World Series 1996, 98–2000; Seattle Mariners, NY Yankees), born in Tampa, Florida
- 1967 Václav Chalupa, Czech rower (Henley Royal Regatta 1989, Olympic silver 1992), born in Jindřichův Hradec, Czechoslovakia
- 1968 Keith Goganious, American NFL linebacker (Jacksonville Jaguars), born in Virginia Beach, Virginia
- 1968 Melissa Iverson, American rower (Olympics 1996), born in Anoka, Minnesota
- 1968 Ricky Ervins, American NFL running back (SF 49ers), born in Fort Wayne, Indiana
- 1968 Tom Myslinski, American NFL guard (Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh Steelers), born in Rome, New York
- 1968 Mark Geyer, Australian rugby league footballer, born in Granville, Australia
- 1970 Courtney Browne, Barbadian cricketer (West Indies Test wicket-keeper 1995), born in Lambeth, London
- 1971 Ben Atkins, American fencer-epee (Olympics 1996), born in NYC, New York
- 1971 Mauricio Hadad, Colombian tennis star (1995 Bermuda), born in Cali, Colombia
- 1971 Vladimir Akopian, Armenian chess Grandmaster, born in Baku, Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union
- 1972 Bobby Schoonens, Dutch soccer player (RKC), born in Den Bosch, Netherlands
- 1972 Clay Shiver, American NFL center (Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers), born in Tifton, Georgia
- 1972 Jordi Buritlo, Spanish tennis player, born in Barcelona, Spain
- 1972 Kevin Dogins, American NFL player (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), born in Eagle Lake, Texas
- 1972 Hermann Maier, Austrian skier (2 Olympic gold medals 1998), born in Altenmarkt im Pongau, Austria
- 1973 Terrell Owens, American football wide receiver (San Francisco 49ers), born in Alexander City, Alabama
- 1974 Alex Rădulescu, Romanian tennis player, born in Bucharest, Romania
- 1974 Annette Salmeen, American biochemist and gold medalist (1996 Summer Olympics), born in Ann Arbor, Michigan
- 1975 Jamie Clapham, English footballer (Ipswich Town), born in Lincoln, England
- 1976 Alan Faneca, American football player (Pittsburgh Steelers), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
- 1976 Brent Johnson, Canadian football player (BC Lions), born in Kingston, Ontario
- 1976 Georges Laraque, Canadian ice hockey player (Edmonton Oilers), born in Montreal, Quebec
- 1977 Fernando Vargas, American welterweight boxer (Olympics 1996), born in Oxnard, California
- 1977 Luke Donald, English golfer (US Masters 2005, PGA C'ship 2006 3rd), born in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
- 1979 Lampros Choutos, Greek footballer, born in Athens, Greece
- 1980 John Terry, English soccer defender (78 caps; Chelsea), born in London, England
- 1984 Robert Kubica, Polish Formula One racing driver (1st Finnish to compete in Formula One), born in Kraków, Poland
- 1984 Luca Rigoni, Italian footballer, born in Schio, Italy
- 1984 Aaron Gray, American basketball player, born in Tarzana, California
- 1986 Billy Horschel, American golfer (FedEx Cup 2014, 5 PGA Tour titles), born in Grant, Florida
- 1988 Nathan Adrian, American swimmer (Olympic gold 100m freestyle 2012), born in Bremerton, Washington
- 1989 Kyle Hendricks, American MLB pitcher (Chicago Cubs), born in Newport Beach, California
Deaths in Sport
- 1927 Albert Griffiths ("Young Griffo"), Australian boxer (World Featherweight champion 1890-92), dies of apoplexy at 56
- 1938 Harry Moses, cricketer (6 Tests for Australia 1887-95), dies
- 1969 Lefty O'Doul, American baseball player (b. 1897)
- 1975 Beatrix Loughran, American figure skater (Olympic gold 1924, 1928, 1932), dies at 75
- 1977 Paul Gibb, cricketer (England batsman, 8 Tests), dies
- 1984 Lee Roy Yarbrough, American race car (Nascar) driver (b. 1938)
- 1994 J.C. Tremblay, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1939)
- 1997 Billy Bremner, Scottish footballer (Leeds United), dies at 54 from a suspected heart attack
- 2005 Bud Carson, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
- 2013 Jacob Matlala, South African boxer (WBO, WBU, IBA flyweight champion; shortest world champion ever at 1.47m [4-foot-10]), dies from pneumonia at 51
- 2016 Paul Elvstrøm, Danish yachtsman (4 Olympic gold, Finn class 1948, 52, 56, 60), dies at 88
- 2017 Peter Walwyn, British thoroughbred trainer (champion trainer 1974-75), dies at 84
- 2019 Chalmers "Bump" Elliott, American College Football Hall of Fame halfback and coach (U of Michigan) and college athletics administrator (Iowa), dies at 94
- 2019 Denis Lalanne, French sports journalist ('Le grand combat du XV de France'; 'Rugbymania: French flair attitude'), dies at 93
- 2019 Ron Saunders, English soccer striker (Portsmouth) and manager (Manchester City, Aston Villa, Birmingham City), dies at 87
- 2020 Dick Allen, American baseball infielder (7 × MLB All-Star; NL Rookie of the Year 1964, Philadelphia Phillies; AL MVP 1972, Chicago WS), dies at 78 [1]
- 2020 Fred Akers, American football coach (University of Wyoming; University of Texas, Austin; Purdue; career college record 108–75–3), dies at 82