Events in Sport
- 1540 The first recorded race meet in England (Roodee Fields, Chester)
- 1895 William G. Morgan presents his new sport "Mintonette" to the world at Springfield College, Massachusetts, later renames it "Volleyball" [1]
- 1900 Dwight Davis establishes a new tennis trophy, the Davis Cup
- 1912 US Tennis Association amends rule taking bye away from defending champion
- 1916 NL votes down a proposal by Giants, Braves, & Cubs to increase club player limit from 21 to 22 (The Reds want to decrease to 20)
- 1920 Joint Rules Com bans foreign substances & alterations to baseballs
- 1932 USA enters Olympic 2-man bobsled competition for 1st time
- 1935 US female Figure Skating championship won by Maribel Vinson
- 1936 German skier Franz Pfnür wins the inaugural Olympic men’s combined gold medal at the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Winter Games ahead of teammate Gustav Lantschner
- 1942 Philadelphia "Phillies" change nickname (temporarily) to "Phils"
- 1943 National League of Baseball seeks a buyer for the Philadelphia Phillies as owner Gerry Nugent falls in arrears
- 1951 St Louis Browns sign pitcher Satchel Paige, 45
- 1960 AFL & NFL agree verbally to a no tampering pact
- 1964 IX Winter Olympic Games close in Innsbruck, Austria
- 1968 World champion Jean-Claude Killy of France wins the downhill at the Grenoble Winter Olympics; first of 3-event clean sweep of the alpine skiing events at the Games
- 1968 A rare 3-way tie for silver in the women's 500m speed skating at the Grenoble Winter Olympics; Soviet Lyudmila Titova wins from American trio of Jenny Fish, Mary Meyers and Dianne Holum
- 1971 Satchel Paige becomes 1st negro-league player elected to baseball hall of fame
Event of Interest
1974 US female Figure Skating championship won by Dorothy Hamill
Dorothy Hamill
Event of Interest
1980 Rick Barry, Houston, is 1st in NBA to score 8 3-pointers in a game
Rick Barry
NHL All-Star Game
1982 34th NHL All-Star Game, Capital Centre, Landover: Wales Conference beats Campbell Conference, 4-2; MVP: Mike Bossy, NY Islanders, RW
Mike Bossy
- 1984 East German speed skater Karin Enke wins the 1,500m in world record 2:03.42 at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics; also wins 1,000m gold
- 1984 Finnish cross-country skier Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen wins the 10k gold medal at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics; first of 3 individual medal sweep, also winning 5k and 20k events
- 1984 East German ski jumper Jens Weißflog wins first of 3 career Olympic gold medals in the Normal Hill individual event at the Sarajevo Winter Games
NBA All-Star Game
1986 36th NBA All-Star Game, Reunion Arena, Dallas, TX: East beats West, 139-132; MVP: Isiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons, G
Isiah Thomas
NHL All-Star Game
1988 39th NHL All-Star Game, St. Louis Arena: Wales Conference beats Campbell Conference, 6-5 (OT); MVP: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins, C
Mario Lemieux
Event of Interest
1991 Terry Norris knocks down Sugar Ray Leonard twice & beats him
Sugar Ray Leonard
NBA All-Star Game
1992 42nd NBA All-Star Game, Orlando Arena, Orlando, FL: West beats East, 153-113; MVP: Magic Johnson, LA Lakers, F
Magic Johnson
Sports Awards
1998 6th ESPY Awards: Ken Griffey Jr, Mia Hamm win
Ken Griffey Jr.
Event of Interest
2006 Al Michaels joins NBC's "Sunday Night Football" broadcast with John Madden
Al Michaels
John Madden
- 2014 Slopestyle snowboarding event makes Olympic debut at Sochi Winter Games; American Jamie Anderson is inaugural women's gold medallist
- 2014 Slovak biathlete Anastasiya Kuzmina retains her Olympic 7.5k sprint title (Vancouver 2010) at the Sochi Winter Games
- 2014 Olympic teams figure skating event debuts in Sochi with Russia taking the gold medal; pairs champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov win first of 2 gold at the Games
Event of Interest
2018 XXIII Olympic Winter Games open in PyeongChang, South Korea
Chloe Kim
Birthdays in Sport
- 1876 Martin Stixrud, Norwegian figure skater (Olympic bronze 1920)
- 1882 Thomas Campbell, South African cricket wicket-keeper (5 Tests 1909-12)
- 1887 Henry Zimmerman, baseball player (1912-batted .372 with 14 HRs)
- 1907 Aubrey "Dit" Clapper, NHL hall of famer (Boston Bruins)
- 1908 Jackie Fields, American featherweight boxer (Olympic gold 1924)
- 1913 Leo van der Kar, masseur/businessman/founder (Sports funds)
Bill Veeck
1914 Bill Veeck, American MLB owner and promoter (Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1986)
Bill Veeck
- 1916 Tex Hughson, American baseball player (d. 1993)
- 1922 Jim Laker, English cricket spin bowler (46 Tests; world best 19-90 4th Test v Australia 1956), born in Bradford, Yorkshire (d. 1986)
- 1925 Vic Wertz, baseball player
- 1929 Lennox Butler, cricketer (1 Test WI v Aust 1955, 16 & 2-151)
- 1931 Josef Masopust, Czech footballer
- 1932 Tatsuro Hirooka, Japanese baseball player
- 1933 Jo Ann Prentice, American golfer (6 LPGA titles, US Open runner-up 1962), born in Birmingham, Alabama
- 1934 John A Ziegler Jr, 4th NHL president (1977-92), born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan
- 1937 Clete Boyer, American baseball player (d. 2007)
- 1942 Peder Lunde Jr, Norwegian yachtsman (Olympic gold 1960), born in Oslo, Norway
- 1943 James King, American basketball player (Olympic gold 1968), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
- 1943 Jonny Nilsson, Swedish 10K speed skater (Olympic gold 1964)
- 1945 Bill Bergey, American NFL player, born in South Dayton, New York
- 1946 Vince Papale, American football player
- 1949 Bernard Gallacher, British golfer (10 European Tour titles), born in Bathgate, Scotland
- 1950 Lloyd Weldon Keasor, American wrestler (Olympic silver 1976), born in Pumphrey, Maryland
- 1952 Danny White, quarterback (Dallas Cowboys)
- 1952 Mookie Wilson, American baseball player
- 1953 André Sevard, Canadian NHL player, born in Témiscaming, Quebec
- 1956 Philip Jackson Ford Jr, NC, basketball player (Olympic gold 1976)
- 1957 Gordon Strachan, soccer player
- 1958 Sandy Lyle, Scottish golfer (British Open 1985, US Masters 1988), born in Shrewsbury, England
- 1958 Cyrille Regis, English former footballer, born in Maripasoula, French Guiana (d. 2018)
- 1961 John Kruk, American baseball utility (MLB All-Star 1991–1993; Philadelphia Phillies), born in Charleston, West Virginia
- 1962 Diego Perez, Spanish tennis star
- 1963 Bonnie Levin, WPVA volleyballer, born in Miami, Florida
- 1963 Madusa Miceli [Debra Ann], wrestler (WCW), born in Milan, Italy
- 1963 Mike Rindel, cricketer (N Transvaal opening bat ODI ton v Pak 1995)
- 1965 David Brandon, American NFL linebacker (San Diego Chargers, Atlanta Falcons), born in Memphis, Tennessee
- 1966 Ellen van Langen, Dutch athlete
- 1967 Stevon Moore, NFL safety (Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens)
- 1967 Todd Pratt, American baseball catcher (Philadelphia Phillies)
- 1968 Derek Strong, NBA forward (LA Lakers, Orlando Magic)
- 1969 Jeff Pahukoa, NFL guard/tackle (Atlanta Falcons)
- 1969 Jimmy Smith, NFL wide receiver (Jacksonville Jaguars)
- 1969 Peta Edebone, Australian softball outfielder (Olympic bronze 1996)
- 1969 Todd Lyght, US football quarterback (St Louis Rams)
Glenn McGrath
1970 Glenn McGrath, Australian cricket fast bowler (124 Tests, 563 wickets @ 21.64)), born in Dubbo, New South Wales
Glenn McGrath
- 1971 Gonzalo Floyd, CFL defensive end (Hamilton Tiger Cats)
- 1971 Jason Mathews, NFL tackle (Indianapolis Colts)
- 1971 Jim Miller, NFL quarterback (Pittsburgh Steelers, Atl Falcons, Jaguars)
- 1971 Ken Felder, American baseball outfielder (Milwaukee Brewers)
- 1971 Pat O'Neill, NFL punter/place kicker (NE Patriots)
- 1971 Johan Mjällby, Swedish footballer
- 1972 Norbert Rosza, Hungarian swimmer (100m freestyle record)
- 1972 Darren Ferguson, Scottish footballer
- 1973 Svetlana Boginskaya, Soviet gymnast
- 1974 Brad Maynard, punter (NY Giants)
- 1974 John Wallace, NBA forward (Toronto Raptors)
- 1974 Orlando Bobo, guard (Minnesota Vikings)
- 1975 Viktor Chistiakov, Russian-born Australian athlete
- 1976 Georgios Korakakis, Greek footballer
- 1976 Vladimir Guerrero, Dominican baseball player
- 1978 Airton Daré, Brazilian racing driver
- 1979 "Casper" David Gray, English snooker player (2003 Scottish Open Winner), born in Lower Morden, Greater London
- 1979 Akinori Iwamura, Japanese baseball pitcher
- 1980 Angelos Charisteas, Greek footballer
- 1980 Shelly Martinez, American wrestler
- 1981 Joël Camathias, Swiss racing driver
- 1983 Mikel Arruabarrena, Spanish footballer
- 1984 Dioner Navarro, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1987 Magdalena Neuner, German biathlete
- 1987 Joe O'Cearuill, Irish footballer
Weddings in Sport
Wedding of Interest
1989 NBA power forward Charles Barkley (26) weds legal aide Maureen Blumhardt in Elkton, Maryland
Charles Barkley
Wedding of Interest
1991 Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber (42) weds equestrian Madeleine Gurdon (28) in Westminster, London
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Deaths in Sport
- 1875 Cecil De Vere, 1st official British chess champion (1866), dies at 28
- 1916 Jack Barrett, cricketer (2 Tests for Australia 1890), dies
- 1917 Francis Allan, cricket bowler (lefty in 1879 Aust-Eng Test), dies
- 1953 Charlie Spencer, English soccer defender and manager (2 caps; Newcastle United; mgr Grimsby Town 1937-51), dies at 53
- 1961 Grigory Levenfish, Russian International chess grandmaster, dies at 70
- 1961 Oscar Egg, Swiss track and road bicycle racer (3 x world hour record), dies at 70
- 1969 Manuel Plaza Reyes, Chilean marathoner (Olympic gold 1928), dies at 68
- 1978 Costante Girardengo, Italian cyclist (b. 1893)
- 1979 C I J Smith, cricket all-rounder (5 Tests for England 1935-37), dies
- 1987 Larry French, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1940; Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs; Brooklyn Dodgers), dies at 79
- 1994 Bud Wilkinson, American college football coach (Oklahoma), dies at 77
- 1996 Neil Franklin, soccer star, dies at 74
- 1998 Ken Weekes, West Indian cricket batsman (2 Tests, top score 137; first Test cricketer born in US), dies at 86
- 2000 Beau Jack, American boxer (NYSAC world lightweight champion 1942-44), dies of complications from Parkinson's disease at 78
- 2003 Vera Ralston [Věra Helena Hrubá], Czech figure skater and actress (Dakota, Accused of Murder), dies of cancer at 83
- 2006 Ron Greenwood CBE, English soccer defender (Brentford) and manager (West Ham Utd 1961-74; FA Cup 1964, European Cup Winners' Cup 1965; England 1977-82), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 84
- 2007 Hank Bauer, American baseball infielder, manager (8-time World Series champion; NY Yankees, Baltimore Orioles), dies from lung cancer at 84
