Events in Sport
- 1871 Formation of the first Rugby Union at a meeting at Pall Mall restaurant, London, England
Event of Interest
1913 Jim Thorpe relinquishes his 1912 Olympic medals for playing as a professional
Jim Thorpe
- 1921 Soccer team GVAV of Groningen Neth forms
- 1924 American skater Charles Jewtraw claims the first ever Winter Olympic gold medal; wins 500m speed skating event in 44.0s at the Chamonix Games in France
- 1924 Australasian Championships Women's Tennis, Melbourne: All-Australian final; Sylvia Lance Harper beats Esna Boyd Robertson 6-3, 3-6, 8-6
- 1924 Australasian Championships Men's Tennis. Melbourne: James Anderson wins 2nd of 3 Australasian titles; beats fellow Australian Richard Schlesinger 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3
Donald Bradman
- 1948 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Nancye Wynne Bolton beats Marie Toomey 6-3, 6-1 for 4th straight Australian single title
- 1948 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Adrian Quist wins his 3rd Australian title; beats fellow Australian and doubles partner John Bromwich 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
- 1951 Mel Ott & Jimmie Foxx elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
- 1956 VII Winter Olympic Games open in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
Hall of Fame
1956 Hank Greenberg & Joe Cronin are elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Hank Greenberg
- 1957 Joseph F Cairnes succeeds Lou Perini as President of Milwaukee Braves
- 1959 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Mary Carter Reitano wins her 2nd home singles title; beats Renee Schuurman of South Africa 6-2, 6-3
- 1959 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: American based Peruvian Alex Olmedo wins his first Grand Slam event; beats Neale Fraser of Australia 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
- 1960 High-school basketball sensation Danny Heater scores 135 points
- 1960 Oakland Raiders enter the American Football League
Election of Interest
1960 Pete Rozelle elected NFL commissioner on 23rd ballot
Pete Rozelle
- 1963 Major League Rules Committee votes to expand strike zone
Event of Interest
1969 1st Australian Open Women's Tennis: Margaret Court wins inaugural Open event; beats American Billie Jean King 6-4, 6-1
Billie Jean King
- 1970 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Margaret Court beats fellow Australian Kerry Melville Reid 6-1, 6-3; Court retains title for 9th Australian singles crown and 1st leg of her Grand Slam
- 1976 NFL Pro Bowl: NFC beats AFC 23-20
- 1977 Soviet figure skaters Sergei Shakrai & Marine Tcherkasova are 1st to perform a quadruple twist lift in Helsinki
- 1980 Islanders & Whalers play a NHL penalty-free game
- 1982 Islanders score 4 goals within 1:38, 5 within 2:37 vs Penguins
- 1984 Nordiques' Michel Goulet scored on 9th penalty shot against Islanders
- 1985 Edmonton Oiler Wayne Gretzky scores 50th goal in 49th game of season
- 1986 Hein Vergeer becomes European skating champion
- 1986 Val Skinner wins LPGA Mazda Golf Classic
- 1986 Super Bowl XX, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans: Chicago Bears beat New England Patriots, 46-10; MVP: Richard Dent, Chicago, DE
- 1989 Allan Border takes 7-46 against the West Indies at the SCG
- 1990 Boston Red Sox hires Elaine Weddington as asst GM (highest-ranking African American female in a major-league front office)
- 1991 Houston guard Vernon Maxwell is 4th NBAer to score 30 pts in a quarter
- 1991 Jan Stenerud becomes 1st pure placekicker to make NFL Hall of Fame
Tennis Open
1991 Australian Open: Monica Seles becomes the only Yugoslav player – male or female – to win a Grand Slam singles title; beats Jana Novotná 5-7, 6-3, 6-1
Monica Seles
Jana Novotna
- 1992 Super Bowl XXVI, Metrodome, Minneapolis: Washington Redskins beat Buffalo Bills, 37-24; MVP: Mark Rypien, Washington, QB
- 1992 Australian Open Mens Tennis: American Jim Courier wins 2nd career Grand Slam title and 1st Australian title; beats Stefan Edberg of Sweden 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
- 1993 Everton scores a 3-1 away win over Wimbledon at Selhurst Park in London; lowest ever attendance at an EPL fixture, 3,039
- 1995 With a record 6,254,427 ballots cast by fans in NBA All-Star Voting, Detroit's Grant Hill becomes the first rookie to lead all NBA players in All-Star votes received, earning #1 on 1,289,585 ballots
- 1997 Super Bowl XXXI, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans: Green Bay Packers beat New England Patriots, 35-21; MVP: Desmond Howard, Green Bay KR
Tennis Open
1997 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Pete Sampras wins his 2nd and last Australian title; beats Carlos Moyá of Spain 6-2, 6-3, 6-3
Pete Sampras
Tennis Open
1997 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Martina Hingis becomes first Swiss player – male or female – to win a Grand Slam singles title; beats Mary Pierce of France 6-2, 6-2
Martina Hingis
Mary Pierce
NHL Record
1997 Mario Lemieux ties NHL record with 4 goals in the 3rd period as Pittsburgh wins, 5-2 at Montreal; 39th career hat trick and 13th 4-goal game, tying NHL record shared by Wayne Gretzky & Mike Bossy
Mario Lemieux
- 2002 Australian Open Women's Tennis: American Jennifer Capriati wins her 2nd consecutive Australian title; beats Martina Hingis 4-6, 7-6, 6-2
- 2003 Super Bowl XXXVII, Qualc:omm Stadium, San Diego: Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Oakland Raiders, 48-21; MVP: Dexter Jackson, Tampa Bay, S
Tennis Open
2003 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Andre Agassi of the US wins his 8th and last Grand Slam title; beats Rainer Schuttler of Germany 6-2, 6-2, 6-1
Andre Agassi
Tennis Open
2008 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Russian Maria Sharapova wins her first and only Australian title; beats Ana Ivanovic of Serbia 7-5, 6-3
Maria Sharapova
- 2013 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus wins her 2nd straight Australian title; beats Li Na of China 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Tennis Open
2014 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland wins his first major title; beats Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Rafael Nadal
- 2014 NFL Pro Bowl: Team Rice beats Team Sanders 22-21
Birthdays in Sport
Paul Newman
1925 Paul Newman, American actor (Hud, Hombre, Hustler), racing car driver and charity food company founder (Newman's Own), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2008)
Paul Newman
- 1927 Bob Nieman, American baseball player (d. 1985)
- 1930 Buddy Melges, American sailor (Olympic gold 1972) and America's Cup skipper (America3), born in Elkhorn, Wisconsin
- 1933 Ercole Baldini, Italian cyclist
- 1935 Bob Uecker, catcher/actor (Mr Belvedere), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- 1935 Henry Jordan, Emporia Va, NFL defensive tackle (Cleveland, Green Bay)
- 1943 César Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 2005)
- 1945 Mick Hill, cricketer (NSW all-rounder 1964-75)
- 1951 Jarmila Kratochvilova, Czech, 400m/800m runner (Olympic silver 1980)
- 1952 Thomas Edward Henderson, SC, basketballer (Olympic silver 1972)
- 1954 Kim Hughes, cricketer (brilliant Australian batsman 1977-84)
- 1957 Ashok Malhotra, cricketer (Indian batsman in 7 Tests 1982-84)
- 1957 Shivlal Yadav, cricketer (Indian off-spinner 102 Test wickets 1979-87)
- 1958 Salvador Sánchez, Mexican boxer
- 1960 Gary Plummer, NFL linebacker (San Diego Chargers, SF 49ers)
- 1960 Jeanette Bolden, 4x100m runner (Olympic gold 1984), born in Los Angeles, California
Wayne Gretzky
1961 Wayne Gretzky, Canadian NHL great scorer (Oiler, King, Rangers), born in Brantford, Ontario
Wayne Gretzky
- 1962 Roshan Guneratne, cricketer (wicketless in only Test SL v Aust 1983)
- 1962 Tim May, cricketer (Australian off-spinner 1987-95)
- 1962 Oscar Ruggeri, Argentine footballer
- 1963 Simon O'Donnell, cricketer (Deniliquin NSW ODI all-rounder 1985-90)
- 1963 José Mourinho, Portuguese football manager (Chelsea), born in Setúbal, Lisbon
- 1965 Lou Frazier, American baseball outfielder (Montreal Expos)
- 1965 Tim McDonald, safety (San Francisco 49ers)
- 1965 Natalia Yurchenko, Soviet gymnast
- 1967 Jeff Branson, American baseball infielder (Cincinnati Reds)
- 1967 Katie Peterson-Parker, LPGA golfer (1995 Oldsmobile-5th), born in Bethesda, Maryland
- 1967 Tim Pugh, Lake Tahoe CA, pitcher (Cincinnati Reds, KC Royals)
- 1968 Eric Davis, NFL cornerback (SF 49ers, Carolina Panthers)
- 1968 Reggie Jordan, NBA guard (Minn Timberwolves)
- 1970 Dan Carlson, American baseball pitcher (SF Giants)
- 1970 Dean Malkoc, NHL defenseman (Vancouver Canucks), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
- 1970 Ronald Moore, NFL running back (NY Jets, St Louis Rams, Az Cardinals)
- 1971 Jon Heidenreich, WLAF G (Frankfurt Galaxy)
- 1971 Lamar Mills, WLAF DE (Amsterdam Admirals)
- 1971 Lee Naylor, Australian 400m runner (Olympics 1996)
- 1971 Min Tang, Hunan China, tennis star (1995 Futures-Canberra AUS)
- 1972 Harrison Houston, NFL wide receiver (Chicago Bears)
- 1973 Mark Brook, WLAF LB (Rhein Fire)
- 1973 Tatsuki Katayama, hockey defenseman (Team Japan 1998)
- 1973 Tony Ramirez, tackle (Detroit Lions)
- 1976 Paul Byrne, Australian 800m ruuner (Olympics 1996)
- 1977 Justin Gimelstob, NJ, tennis star (1994 doubles USTA Bakersfield)
- 1977 Vince Carter [Vinsanity], American basketball player who famously made "Le dunk de la mort" (the Dunk of Death), born in Daytona Beach, Florida
- 1978 Estéban Germán, Dominican baseball player
- 1978 Corina Morariu, American tennis player
- 1981 Juan Jose Haedo, Argentinian Cyclist
- 1984 Iain Turner, Scottish footballer
- 1984 Luo Xuejuan, Chinese swimmer
- 1986 Gerald Green, American basketball player
- 1989 Emily Hughes, American figure skater
- 1990 Peter Sagan, Slovakian professional cyclist (World Road Champion 2016), born in Žilina, Slovakia
Weddings in Sport
Wedding of Interest
2005 Professional golfer Arnold Palmer (75) weds Kathleen Gawthrop in an intimate ceremony at a cottage on the beach at Turtle Bay Resort
Arnold Palmer
Deaths in Sport
- 1893 Abner Doubleday, Union general-major and inventor (baseball), dies at 73
- 1932 William K Wrigley, owner (Wrigley Gum, Chicago Cubs), dies
- 1961 Morris Nichols, cricketer (41 wkts in 14 Tests for Eng 1930-39), dies
- 1983 Paul "Bear" Bryant, American college football coach (Alabama), dies at 69
- 1990 Bob Gerard, British racing driver (b. 1914)
- 1995 Vic Buckingham, English soccer player/trainer (Ajax), dies at 79
- 1996 David Schultz, American wrestler (Olympic gold 1984), killed by John Du Pont at 36
- 2000 Don Budge, American tennis player (6 Grand Slam singles titles, Grand Slam 1938), dies of cardiac arrest at 84
- 2001 Al McGuire, American basketball coach (Marquette), dies at 72
- 2003 Valeriy Brumel, Soviet Olympic athlete (b. 1942)
- 2004 Fred Haas, American golfer (b. 1916)
- 2007 Gump Worsley, Canadian ice hockey player, dies at 77
- 2014 Tom Gola, American basketball player, dies at 81
January in History
'I Did Not Have Sexual Relations With That Woman'
One of the most notorious denials in political history came on this day when President Bill Clinton held a news conference on his relations with Monica Lewinsky.
January 26, 1998
Crippled Kaiser Had Grip of Iron
German Emperor 'Kaiser Bill,' was born on this day, strong-willed and determined to overcome the deformity that afflicted him from birth.
January 27, 1859
Riot Leader Accuses a Queen
How did Lord George Gordon, an aristocrat who led the Gordon Riots in London, lose a libel case on this day to French Queen Marie Antoinette?
January 28, 1788
Secret Behind Mona Lisa's Smile
The smile has beguiled art lovers for nearly 600 years and made the Mona Lisa the world's most famous work of art. But was her smile due to a medical condition?
January 29, 1987