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
1st Winter Olympics
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
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- 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
- 1924 Clas Thunberg of Finland claims his first of 4 gold medals when he wins the 5,000m speed skating in 2:20.8 at the Chamonix Winter Olympics
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
Australian Open Women's Tennis
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, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans: NFC beats AFC, 23-20; MVP: Billy Johnson, Houston Oilers, WR
- 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
Event of Interest
1985 Edmonton Oiler Wayne Gretzky scores 50th goal in 49th game of season
Wayne Gretzky
- 1986 Hein Vergeer becomes European skating champion
- 1986 Super Bowl XX, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA: 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
Australian Open Women's Tennis
1991 Australian Open Women's Tennis: 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
- 1991 Houston guard Vernon Maxwell becomes 5th player in NBA history to score 30 points in a quarter in Rockets' 103-97 home win over Cleveland; joins Wilt Chamberlain, David Thompson, George Gervin & Michael Jordan
- 1992 Super Bowl XXVI, Metrodome, Minneapolis, MI: 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, LA: Green Bay Packers beat New England Patriots, 35-21; MVP: Desmond Howard, Green Bay KR
Australian Men's 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
Australian Open Women's Tennis
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, CA: Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Oakland Raiders, 48-21; MVP: Dexter Jackson, Tampa Bay, S
Australian Men'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
Australian Open Women's Tennis
2008 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Russian Maria Sharapova wins her first and only Australian title; beats Ana Ivanović of Serbia 7-5, 6-3
Maria Sharapova
Australian Open Women's Tennis
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
Li Na
Australian Men's 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, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: Team Rice beats Team Sanders, 22-21; MVPs: Nick Foles, Philadelphia, QB; Derrick Johnson, KC Chiefs, LB
Australian Open Women's Tennis
2019 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Naomi Osaka becomes world #1 ranked player with 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 win over Petra Kvitová of the Czech Republic; first Japanese player to win Australian singles title
Naomi Osaka
- 2019 64th NHL All Star Games, SAP Centre, San Jose, CA: Metropolitan All Stars win four-team, 3-on-3 tournament; MVP: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, C
Event of Interest
2020 LA Lakers basketball legend Kobe Bryant dies in a helicopter crash in foggy conditions in the hills above Calabasas, southern California; considered one of the greatest players in the game's history
Kobe Bryant
- 2020 NFL Pro Bowl, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida: AFC beats NFC, 38-33; MVP's: Lamar Jackson, QB (Baltimore Ravens), Calais Campbell, DE (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Birthdays in Sport
- 1878 A W "Dave" Nourse, cricketer ("Grand Old Man" of South African cricket)
- 1884 Walter "Doc" Meanwell, English Basketball Hall of Fame coach (University of Wisconsin 1911–1917, 1920–1934), born in Leeds, England (d. 1953)
- 1887 François Faber, Luxembourgian cyclist (Tour de France 1909), born in Aulnay-sur-lton, France (d. 1915)
- 1919 K C Ibrahim, cricketer (batted in 4 Tests India v WI 1948-49)
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
- 1934 Joe Erskine, Welsh heavyweight boxer (British heavyweight champion 1956-58), born in Cardiff, Wales (d. 1990)
- 1935 Bob Uecker, catcher/actor (Mr Belvedere), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- 1935 Henry Jordan, Emporia Va, NFL defensive tackle (Cleveland, Green Bay)
- 1940 Harold Lederman, American boxing judge, analyst (HBO), born in NYC, NY (d. 2019)
- 1943 César Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player, born in Coro, Venezuela (d. 2005)
- 1945 Mick Hill, Australian cricketer (NSW all-rounder 1964-75), born in Greensborough, Australia
- 1951 Jarmila Kratochvilova, Czech 400m/800m runner (Olympic silver 1980), born in Golčův Jeníkov, Czechia
- 1952 Thomas Edward Henderson, American basketball player (Olympic silver 1972), born in Newberry, South Carolina,
- 1954 Kim Hughes, Australian cricketer (brilliant Australian batsman 1977-84), born in Margaret River, Australia
- 1957 Ashok Malhotra, Indian cricketer (Indian batsman in 7 Tests 1982-84), born in Amritsar, India
- 1957 Shivlal Yadav, Indian cricketer (Indian off-spinner 102 Test wickets 1979-87), born in Hyderabad, India
- 1958 Salvador Sánchez, Mexican boxer, born in Santiago Tianguistenco, Mexico (d. 1982)
- 1960 Gary Plummer, American NFL linebacker (San Diego Chargers, SF 49ers), born in Fremont, California
- 1960 Jeanette Bolden, American 4x100m runner (Olympic gold 1984), born in Los Angeles, California
Wayne Gretzky
1961 Wayne Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey hall of fame center (Stanley Cup 1984, 85, 87, 88; Hart Memorial Trophy [MVP] 1980–87, 89; Art Ross Trophy [scoring champion] 1981–87, 90, 91, 94; Edmonton Oilers, LA Kings), born in Brantford, Ontario
Wayne Gretzky
- 1962 Roshan Guneratne, Sri Lankan cricketer (wicketless in only Test SL v Aust 1983), born in Colombo, Sri Lanka (d. 2005)
- 1962 Tim May, Australian cricketer (Australian off-spinner 1987-95), born in North Adelaide, Australia
- 1962 Oscar Ruggeri, Argentine footballer, born in Cordoba, Argentina
- 1963 Simon O'Donnell, Australian cricketer (Deniliquin NSW ODI all-rounder 1985-90), born in Deniliquin, Australia
- 1963 José Mourinho, Portuguese football manager (Chelsea), born in Setúbal, Lisbon
- 1965 Lou Frazier, American baseball outfielder (Montreal Expos), born in St Louis, Missouri
- 1965 Tim McDonald, American football safety (San Francisco 49ers), born in Fresno, California
- 1965 Natalia Yurchenko, Soviet gymnast, born in Norilsk, Russia
- 1967 Jeff Branson, American baseball infielder (Cincinnati Reds), born in Waynesboro, Mississippi
- 1967 Tim Pugh, American baseball pitcher (Cincinnati Reds, KC Royals), born in Lake Tahoe, California
- 1968 Eric Davis, American NFL cornerback (SF 49ers, Carolina Panthers), born in Los Angeles, California
- 1968 Reggie Jordan, American NBA guard (Minn Timberwolves), born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1968 Chris Pringle, New Zealand cricket fast bowler (14 Tests; 64 ODI), born in Auckland, New Zealand
- 1970 Dan Carlson, American baseball pitcher (SF Giants), born in Portland, Oregon
- 1970 Dean Malkoc, Canadian NHL defenseman (Vancouver Canucks), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
- 1970 Ronald Moore, American NFL running back (NY Jets, St Louis Rams, Az Cardinals), born in Chowchilla, California
- 1971 Lee Naylor, Australian 400m runner (Olympics 1996), born in Walsall, United Kingdom
- 1971 Min Tang, Chinese tennis player (1995 Futures-Canberra AUS), born in Hunan, China
- 1972 Harrison Houston, NFL wide receiver (Chicago Bears)
- 1973 Tony Ramirez, American football tackle (Detroit Lions), born in Lincoln, Nebraska
- 1977 Justin Gimelstob, American tennis player (1994 doubles USTA Bakersfield), born in Livingston, New Jersey
- 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, born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- 1978 Corina Morariu, American tennis player, born in Detroit, Michigan
- 1981 Juan Jose Haedo, Argentinian cyclist, born in Chascomús, Argentina
- 1984 Iain Turner, Scottish footballer, born in Stirling, United Kingdom
- 1984 Luo Xuejuan, Chinese swimmer, born in Hangzhou, China
- 1986 Gerald Green, American basketball player, born in Houston, Texas
- 1989 Emily Hughes, American figure skater, born in Great Neck, New York
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
- 1996 Charles Jewtraw, American 500m speed skater (Olympic gold 1924), dies at 95
- 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 (5 PGA Tour titles; Ryder Cup 1953), dies at 88
- 2007 Gump Worsley, Canadian ice hockey player, dies at 77
- 2012 Roberto Mières, Argentine auto racer (USAC Road Racing C'ship Daytona 1,000 km 1959; 17 x F1 GP), dies at 87
- 2014 Tom Gola, American basketball player, dies at 81
Kobe Bryant
2020 Kobe Bryant, American basketball guard (NBA champion 2000–02, 09-10; NBA MVP 2008; 18 x NBA All Star; LA Lakers; Olympic gold 2008, 12), dies in a helicopter crash at 41
Kobe Bryant
