Events in Sport
Event of Interest
1956 Hoboken dedicates a plaque honoring achievements of Alexander Cartwright in organizing early baseball at Elysian Field
Alexander Cartwright
- 1963 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Margaret Court beats Jan Lehane O'Neill for 4th consecutive year 6-2, 6-2
Tennis Open
1963 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Roy Emerson wins 1st of 5 straight Australian titles; beats countryman Ken Fletcher 6-3, 6-3, 6-1
Roy Emerson
- 1964 3rd AFL All Star Game, Balboa Stadium, SD: Western Division beats Eastern Division, 27-24; MVPs: Keith Lincoln, LA Chargers, RB; Archie Matsos, Oakland Raiders, LB
- 1969 8th AFL All Star Game, Gator Bowl, Jacksonville: Western Division beats Eastern Division, 38-25; MVPs: Len Dawson, KC Chiefs, QB; George Webster, Houston Oilers, LB
- 1969 19th NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: Western Conference beats Eastern Conference, 10-7; MVPs: Roman Gabriel, Los Angeles Rams, QB; Merlin Olsen, Los Angeles Rams, DT
NHL All-Star Game
1971 24th NHL All-Star Game, Boston Garden: Western Division beats Eastern Division, 2-1; MVP: Bobby Hull, Chicago, LW
Bobby Hull
- 1971 NHL Writers' Association renamed Professional Hockey Writers' Association
Hall of Fame
1972 Sandy Koufax, Yogi Berra, & Early Wynn elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Yogi Berra
- 1974 Notre Dame beats UCLA, ends NCAA-record 88-game basketball win streak
Hall of Fame
1977 Ernie Banks elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Ernie Banks
- 1978 Eddie Mathews elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Event of Interest
1981 Muhammad Ali talks a despondent 21 year old out of committing suicide
Muhammad Ali
- 1984 Francesco Moser bicycles world record time: 50,808 km
- 1990 Police break up protests in Johannesburg against the cricket players defying a boycott on playing in apartheid South Africa
- 1991 42nd NHL All-Star Game, Chicago Stadium: Campbell Conference beats Wales Conference, 11-5; Vincent Damphousse, Toronto Maple Leafs, C
- 1996 NHL Board of Governors approves sale of Winnipeg Jets, officially clearing the way for the team to move to Phoenix, Arizona in time for 1996-97 season
Event of Interest
2000 Michael Jordan, who led the Chicago Bulls to 6 NBA championships as a player, returns to the NBA, joining the Washington Wizards as part owner and President of Basketball Operations
Michael Jordan
- 2002 "Tuck Rule Game" AFC Divisional Playoff Game; with under 2 minutes to play New England Patriots trail Oakland Raiders, 13-10 in a driving snowstorm, when a Tom Brady fumble ruled an incomplete pass. Patriots win 16-13 in overtime
- 2003 AFC Championship, Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland: Oakland Raiders beat Tennessee Titans, 41-24
- 2003 NFC Championship, Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia: Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10
- 2013 The 2012-2013 NHL season begins after a 119-day lockout
Event of Interest
2013 Lance Armstrong admits to doping in all seven of his Tour de France victories
Lance Armstrong
Birthdays in Sport
- 1878 Herbert Chapman, English football player and manager (d. 1934)
- 1913 "Minnesota Fats", American billiards player (d. 1996)
- 1914 Bob Gerard, British racing driver (d. 1990)
- 1919 Dharam Singh, India, field hockey player (Olympic gold 1964)
- 1922 Arthur Morris, Australian cricketer (great lefty opening batsman), born in Sydney, New South Wales (d. 2015)
- 1930 John Waite, cricket wicket-keeper (great South African)
- 1932 Joe Schmidt, NFL Hall of Fame linebacker (Detroit Lions) and coach, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mary Mills
1940 Mary Mills, American golfer (US Open 1963, PGA 1964, 73), born in Laurel, Mississippi
Mary Mills
- 1941 Pat Patterson, Canadian wrestler
- 1944 Dan Reeves, NFL Coach (NY Giants, Denver Broncos, Atlanta Falcons)
- 1949 Dennis Taylor, British professional snooker player & snooker commentator (1985 World Championship), born in Coalisland, United Kingdom
- 1954 Steve DeBerg, American NFL quarterback (Broncos, Chiefs, Bucs, 49ers), born in Oakland, California
- 1957 Ottis Anderson, NFL running back (NY Giants), born in West Palm Beach, Florida
- 1960 Alfrederick Joyner, American triple jumper (Olympic gold 1984), born in East St. Louis, Illinois
- 1962 Chris Sabo, American baseball 3rd baseman (3-time MLB All Star), born in Detroit, Michigan
- 1962 Hans Daams, Dutch cyclist, born in Valkenswaard, Netherlands
- 1963 Adele Peterson, LPGA golfer
- 1963 Michael Adams, American NBA guard (Charlotte Hornets), born in Hartford, Connecticut
- 1965 Ricky Reynolds, American NFL cornerback (NE Patriots), born in Sacramento, California
- 1966 Anthony Young, American baseball pitcher (NY Met, Chicago Cubs), born in Houston, Texas
- 1966 Ronnie Williams, American NFL tight end (Miami Dolphins), born in Cefneithin, United Kingdom (d. 1997)
- 1966 Stefan Edberg, Swedish tennis player (6 Grand Slam singles titles), born in Västervik, Sweden
- 1966 Sylvain Cote, Canadian NHL defenseman (Washington Capitals), born in Quebec City, Canada
- 1968 Marty Conlon, American NBA forward (Milwaukee Bucks), born in The Bronx, New York
- 1969 Andrew Murray Stone, New Zealand sailor (Olympics 1996), born in Auckland, New Zealand
- 1969 Junior Seau, American NFL inside linebacker (San Diego Chargers), born in Oceanside, California (d. 2012)
- 1969 Luc Longley, Australian NBA center (Chicago Bulls), born in Melbourne, Australia
- 1969 Orlando Palmeiro, American baseball outfielder (California Angels), born in Hoboken, New Jersey
- 1969 Predrag Mijatović, Yugoslavian footballer, born in Podgorica, Montenegro
- 1969 Steve Staunton, Irish footballer, born in Drogheda, Republic of Ireland
- 1970 Rick Krivda, American baseball pitcher (Baltimore Orioles), born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania
- 1970 T. J. Mathews, American baseball pitcher (St Louis Cardinals), born in Columbia, Illinois
- 1970 Kathleen Smet, Belgian triathlete, born in Beveren, Belgium
- 1971 Jeff Juden, American baseball pitcher (Philadelphia Phillies, SF Giants), born in Salem, Massachusetts
- 1971 Maurice Hofman, Dutch soccer player (MVV), born in Maastricht, Netherlands
- 1971 Reggie Brooks, American NFL running back (Washington Redskins), born in Tulsa, Oklahoma
- 1972 Tyrone Wheatley, American NFL running back (NY Giants), born in Inkster, Michigan
- 1973 Chris Stynes, American baseball infielder (KC Royals), born in Queens, New York
- 1973 Wang Junxia, Chinese long distance runner, born in Jiaohe, Jilin
- 1973 Yevgeny Sadovyi, Russian swimmer (Olympic gold 200fre/400fre/4x200m 1992), born in Volzhsky, Russia
- 1974 Amaury Telemaco, Dominican baseball pitcher (Chicago Cubs), born in Higüey, Dominican Republic
- 1974 Gregory Playfair, Dutch football player (PSV), born in Paramaribo, Suriname
- 1974 Tarik Oulida, Dutch football player (Ajax/Seville), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 1974 Walter Jones, American football offensive tackle (Seattle Seahawks), born in Aliceville, Alabama
- 1974 Jaime Moreno, Bolivian footballer, born in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
- 1975 Natalie Harvey, Australian 3k/5k runner (Olympics 1996)
- 1976 Sky Christopherson, American cyclist (Olympics 1996), born in Tucson, Arizona
- 1976 Tarso Marques, Brazilian racing driver, born in Paraná, Brazil
- 1977 Annie Miller, American tennis player (1995 Darmstadt Germany), born in Midland, Michigan
- 1977 Lauren, Cameroonian footballer, born in Kribi, Cameroon
- 1979 Josu Sarriegi, Spanish football player, born in Lazkao, Spain
- 1979 Svetlana Khorkina, Russian gymnast, born in Belgorod, Russia
- 1980 Jenson Button, English Formula One driver (World Championship 2009), born in Frome, England
- 1981 Asier Del Horno, Spanish footballer, born in Barakaldo, Spain
- 1981 Lucho González, Argentine footballer, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- 1982 Mike Komisarek, American ice hockey player, born in West Islip, New York
- 1984 Karun Chandhok, Indian racing driver, born in Chennai, India
- 1984 Thomas Vanek, Austrian ice hockey player, born in Baden bei Wien, Austria
- 1985 Benny Feilhaber, American soccer player, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 1985 Esteban Guerrieri, Argentine racing driver, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- 1987 Edgar Manucharyan, Armenian footballer, born in Yerevan, Armenia
- 1991 Tommy Fleetwood, British golfer (US Open runner-up 2018), born in Southport, England
- 1992 Shawn Johnson, American artistic gymnast, born in Des Moines, Iowa
Weddings in Sport
Wedding of Interest
1957 Golfer Gary Player (21) weds Bobby Verwey's sister Vivienne Verwey
Gary Player
- 2013 Figure skater five-time world champion Michelle Kwan (32) weds Clay Pell at the First Unitarian Church of Providence, Rhode Island
Deaths in Sport
- 1939 Cliff Heathcote, American baseball player (b. 1898)
- 1964 Joe Weatherly, American auto racer (NASCAR Sprint Cup champion 1962-63), dies of head injuries in race crash at 41
- 1964 Firmin Lambot, Belgian cyclist who twice won the Tour de France (1919, 1922), dies at 77
- 1968 Ray Harroun, American race car driver (b. 1879)
- 1982 Marc Demeyer, Belgian cyclist (Paris-Roubaix '76), dies [or 1/20]
- 1984 Max Bentley, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1920)
- 1993 Chris Street, basketball player, dies at 20
- 1999 Ivan Francescato, Italian rugby union footballer (b. 1967)
- 2004 David Hookes, Australian cricketer and coach, dies at 48
- 2006 Geoff Rabone, New Zealand cricketer (gifted all-rounder for NZ in 1950's), dies at 84
- 2008 Don Wittman, Canadian sportscaster for CBC (b. 1936)
- 2009 José Torres, Puerto Rican boxer (world light-heavyweight champion), dies of a heart attack at 72
- 2010 Bill McLaren Scottish rugby commentator (b. 1923)
- 2013 Anatoly Bannik, Ukranian chess master, dies at 91
- 2013 Milt Bolling, American MLB shortstop, dies from complications from heart surgery at 82
Stan Musial
2013 Stan Musial, American MLB hall of famer, dies from Alzheimer's disease at 92
Stan Musial
January in History
The Man Who Saved Elton John's Life
Long John Baldry was born on this day - a friend of stars from Rod Stewart to The Beatles and who, in 1969, famously took Elton John aside and saved the life.
January 12, 1941
British Museum Opens its Doors
The British Museum opened to visitors on January 15, 1759. Fearing damage to the collections by unruly hordes, nobody was admitted without a ticket.
January 15, 1759
Squaring Up for Radio Commentary
This was the day when the BBC broadcast live sports commentary for the first time and introduced a novel way of involving listeners in the action.
January 15, 1927
The British: 139. Zulu Warriors: 4,000. Let Battle Begin
It was one of the most remarkable military engagements ever: the day that 139 British soldiers took on 4,000 Zulu warriors – and won.
January 22, 1879