Events in Sport
1st Winter Olympics
1924 Gillis Grafström of Sweden wins men's figure skating gold medal at the Chamonix Winter Olympics; first to successfully defend his Summer Olympic title (1920) at the Winter Games
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- 1924 Great Britain clinch inaugural Olympic curling gold medal with a 46-4 win over France at the Chamonix Games
- 1924 Norway’s Thorleif Haug claims first of 3 gold medals at the Chamonix Winter Olympics; wins 50k cross country in a Norwegian sweep of the medals; also 18k and Nordic combined champion
- 1928 Australian Championships Women's Tennis, Sydney: Daphne Akhurst wins 3rd title; beats Esna Boyd 7-5, 6-2
- 1928 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Frenchman Jean Borotra wins his only Australian title; beats Jack Cummings of Australia 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 5-7, 6-3
- 1933 Australian Championships Women's Tennis, Melbourne: Joan Hartigan Bathurst beats Coral McInnes Buttsworth 6-4, 6-3
- 1933 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Jack Crawford wins his 3rd straight Australian title; beats Keith Gledhill of the US 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2
- 1934 Former Australian cricket spin bowler Bert Ironmonger ends Sheffield Shield career age 51 years 298 days as Victoria draws with NSW at the Sydney Cricket Ground
- 1936 New owners of baseball's Boston Braves survey newspaper journalists to pick a new team nickname; known as 'Bees' in 1940 but return to 'Braves' in 1941
- 1937 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Nancye Wynne Bolton wins her first of 6 Australian singles titles; beats Emily Hood Westacott 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
- 1937 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Vivian McGrath wins his only Grand Slam singles event; beats fellow Australian John Bromwich 6-3, 1-6, 6-0, 2-6, 6-1
- 1948 V Winter Olympic Games open in St Moritz, Switzerland
- 1950 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: In an all-American final Louise Brough beats Doris Hart 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 for her only Australian singles title
- 1950 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Frank Sedgman retains title; beats fellow Australian Ken McGregor 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
- 1956 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Mary Carter Reitano beats fellow Australian Thelma Coyne Long 3-6, 6-2, 9-7 for her 1st Australian singles title
Australian Men's Tennis Open
1956 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Lew Hoad beats fellow Australian Ken Rosewall 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 for his first Grand Slam title
Lew Hoad
Ken Rosewall
- 1956 Hallgeir Brenden of Norway wins Olympic 15k cross country gold medal at the Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Games; his 2nd career Olympic title after taking out the 18k event in Oslo (1952)
- 1956 Soviet 500m speed skating champion Yevgeni Grishin wins 2nd gold medal of the Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics when he dead heats teammate Yuri Mikhatlov in the 1,500m in world record 2:08.6
- 1958 MLB Commissioner Ford Frick announces that players and coaches, rather than fans, will vote on selections for the All-Star Game; vote returns to the fans in 1970
World Record
1966 Ard Schenk skates world record 1500m (2:05.2)
Ard Schenk
Australian Open Women's Tennis
1967 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: American Nancy Richey wins her first and only Australian title; beats home favourite Lesley Turner Bowrey 6-1, 6-4
Nancy Richey
Australian Men's Tennis Open
1967 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Roy Emerson repeats previous year's result; beats American Arthur Ashe 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 for his 5th straight Australian title
Roy Emerson
Arthur Ashe
- 1968 1968 NFL Draft: Ron Yary from USC first pick by Minnesota Vikings
- 1971 Dennis Lillee takes 5-84 in his 1st Test bowl, v England
- 1971 UCLA starts 88 basketball game winning streak
- 1973 26th NHL All-Star Game, Madison Square Garden, NYC: Eastern Division beats Western Division, 5-4; MVP: Greg Polis, Pittsburgh Penguins, LW
- 1973 1973 NFL Draft: John Matuszak from University of Tampa first pick by Houston Oilers
Event of Interest
1977 Allan Border scores 36 in his 1st-class innings (NSW v Qld)
Allan Border
- 1978 Addie Joss & Larry MacPhail elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
- 1982 WBC super welterweight champion Wilfred Benitez of Puerto Rico defeats boxing legend Roberto Durán of Panama in a 15-round unanimous decision at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas
- 1983 Hilbert van Thumb becomes European skating champ
- 1983 Super Bowl XVII, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA: Washington Redskins beat Miami Dolphins, 27-17; MVP: John Riggins, Washington, RB
- 1988 Hansie Cronje gets a pair in 2nd 1st-class game (OFS v N Tvl)
- 1989 Last day of 1st class cricket for Dav Whatmore
NHL Record
1990 LA center Wayne Gretzky sets NHL record by scoring his 100th point of the season for the 11th straight season; milestone comes with an assist in a 5-2 Kings' win over visiting New Jersey Devils
Wayne Gretzky
Australian Open Women's Tennis
1993 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Monica Seles beats Steffi Graf 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 for her 3rd consecutive Australian singles crown
Monica Seles
Steffi Graf
- 1994 Dan Jansen skates world record 500m (35.76)
World Record
1994 Kapil Dev takes 2/41 as India beats Sri Lanka by an innings and 95 runs in 2nd Cricket Test in Bengaluru; equals Sir Richard Hadlee's world record of 431 Test wickets
Kapil Dev
Richard Hadlee
Super Bowl
1994 Super Bowl XXVIII, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA: Dallas Cowboys beat Buffalo Bills, 30-13; MVP: Emmitt Smith, Dallas, RB
Emmitt Smith
- 1994 Péter Lékó becomes the youngest chess grand master.
Australian Men's Tennis Open
1994 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Pete Sampras wins 1st of 2 Australian titles; fellow American Todd Martin 7-6, 6-4, 6-4
Pete Sampras
Todd Martin
Australian Open Women's Tennis
1994 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Steffi Graf beats Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 6-0, 6-2
Steffi Graf
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Australian Open Women's Tennis
1999 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Martina Hingis of Switzerland wins her 3rd consecutive Australian title; beats unseeded Amélie Mauresmo 6-2, 6-3
Martina Hingis
- 2000 Super Bowl XXXIV, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA: St. Louis Rams beat Tennessee Titans, 23-16; MVP: Kurt Warner, St. Louis, QB
Australian Men's Tennis Open
2000 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Andre Agassi beats defending champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4; Agassi makes 4 consecutive Grand Slam finals, 1st since Rod Laver (1969)
Andre Agassi
NBA Record
2002 Utah's Karl Malone becomes 2nd player in NBA history to register 34,000 career points by scoring 18 in a 90-78 win over Chicago at the Delta Center; trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- 2005 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Marat Safin of Russia wins his second and final Grand Slam title; beats local hero Lleyton Hewitt 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Australian Open Women's Tennis
2010 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Serena Williams retains her title; beats Justine Henin of Belgium 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Serena Williams
- 2011 NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: NFC beats AFC, 55-41; MVP: DeAngelo Hall, Washington Redskins, DB
Australian Men's Tennis Open
2011 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Novak Đoković wins his 2nd Australian title; beats Scotsman Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2, 6-3
Novak Đoković
Andy Murray
- 2011 58th NHL All-Star Game, RBC Centre, Raleigh, NC: Team Lidstrom beats Team Staal, 11-10; MVP: Patrick Sharp, Chicago, LW
- 2016 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Angelique Kerber of Germany wins her first major title; beats Serena Williams 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
- 2018 Houston forward James Harden puts up highest scoring triple-double in NBA history (60 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) as the Rockets beat Orlando Magic, 114-107 in Houston
Birthdays in Sport
- 1853 Leland Hone, Irish cricketer (scored 7 & 6 in only England Test 1879), born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 1896)
- 1859 Tony Mullane, Irish-American baseball player, born in Cork, Ireland (d. 1944)
- 1912 Jadwiga Wajsowna-Marcinkiewicz, Polish discus thrower (Olympic bronze 1932), born in Pabianice, Poland
- 1913 Dicky Fuller, West Indian cricketer (one Test WI v England 1935, 1, 0-12), born in St. Ann Parish, Jamaica (d. 1987)
- 1917 Paul Frère, Belgian racing driver & motorsport journalist, born in Le Havre, France (d. 2008)
- 1925 Chalmers "Bump" Elliott, American College Football Hall of Fame halfback and coach (U of Michigan) and college athletics administrator (Iowa), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2019)
- 1929 Hugh Tayfield, South African cricketer (celebrated South African off-spinner 1949-60), born in Durban, South Africa (d. 1994)
- 1930 Sandy Amorós, Cuban baseball player, born in Havana, Cuba (d. 1992)
- 1937 Boris Spassky, Russian chess player (world champion 1969-72, born in Leningrad, Russia
- 1941 Tineke Lagerberg, Dutch swimmer, born in Bussum, Netherlands
- 1942 David J. Brown, English cricketer (Warwicks pace bowler, played 26X for England), born in Walsall, United Kingdom
- 1943 Davy Johnson, American baseball player and manager (NY Mets), born in Orlando, Florida
- 1950 Silvia Bertolaccini, Argentine golfer (4-time LPGA Tour titles), born in Rafaela, Argentina
- 1951 Bobby Stokes, English football player, born in Portsmouth, United Kingdom (d. 1995)
- 1951 Trevor Laughlin, Australian cricketer (Australian all-rounder 1978-79), born in Nyah West, Australia
- 1952 Doug Falconer, Canadian football player, born in Calgary, Canada
- 1955 Curtis Strange, American golfer (US Open 1988-89), born in Norfolk, Virginia
- 1956 Keiichi Tsuchiya, Japanese racing driver, born in Tomi, Japan
Payne Stewart
1957 Payne Stewart, American golfer (US Open 1991, 99; PGA 1989), born in Springfield, Missouri (d. 1999)
Payne Stewart
- 1961 Ranjit Madurasinghe, Sri Lankan cricketer (3 Tests for Sri Lanka 1988-92), born in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka
- 1966 Danielle Goyette, Canadian ice hockey player (Canada, Olympics 1998)
- 1968 Bob Nardella, Italian-American ice hockey defenseman (Team Italy 1998, Chicago Wolves), born in Melrose Park, Illinois
- 1970 Scott Levins, American NHL right wing (Ottawa Senators), born in Spokane, Washington
- 1971 Brent Moss, American football running back (Amsterdam Admirals), born in Racine, Wisconsin
- 1971 Chris Slade, American football player (New England Patriots), born in Newport News, Virginia
- 1971 Kimo Von Oelhoffen, American football defensive tackle (Cin Bengals), born in Kaunakakai, Hawaii
- 1971 Milko Pieren, Dutch football player (Sparta), born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- 1971 Quentin Neujahr, American ice hockey player (Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns), born in Seward, Nebraska
- 1971 Takeshi Yamanaka, Japanese ice hockey coach and player (Team Japan 1998), born in Hokkaido, Japan
- 1971 Trent Klatt, American ice hockey player (Philadelphia Flyers), born in Robbinsdale, Minnesota
- 1972 Chris Simon, Canadian ice hockey player (Colorado Avalanche), born in Wawa, Ontario
- 1973 Jalen Rose, American basketball player (Indiana Pacers), born in Detroit, Michigan
- 1973 Jimmy Oliver, Canadian football wide receiver (San Diego Chargers)
- 1973 Sharone Wright, American basketball player (Toronto Raptors), born in Macon, Georgia
- 1974 Martina Jerant, Canadian basketball player (Olympics 1996), born in Windsor, Ontario
- 1974 Robert Rollins, English cricketer (big-hitting Essex wicketkeeper-batsman), born in London, England
- 1975 Juninho Pernambucano, Brazilian footballer, born in Pernambuco, Brazil
- 1977 Deltha O'Neal, American football player, born in Palo Alto, California
- 1978 John Patterson, American baseball player, born in Orange, Texas
- 1979 Karen Smith, Australian hockey player (Olympics 1996)
- 1980 Joãozinho, Brazilian footballer, born in Sergipe, Brazil
- 1981 Dimitar Berbatov, Bulgarian footballer, born in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria
- 1981 Mathias Lauda, Austrian racing driver, born in Salzburg, Austria
- 1981 Peter Crouch, English footballer, born in Macclesfield, United Kingdom
- 1984 Jeremy Hermida, American baseball player, born in Atlanta, Georgia
- 1985 Trae Williams, American football player, born in South Brisbane, Australia
Weddings in Sport
Wedding of Interest
1985 NFL Quarterback Dan Marino (23) weds Claire Veazey at St. Regis Roman Catholic Church in Pennsylvania
Dan Marino
- 2014 NBA player Baron Davis (34) weds CAA agent Isabella Brewster (31) in a secret ceremony
Deaths in Sport
- 1943 Attila Petschauer, Hungarian fencer (Olympic gold 1928, 32), dies at 38
- 1948 Herb Pennock, pitcher (NY Yankees)/GM (Phillies), dies
- 1963 Sir Pelham Warner, English cricket batsman, tour manager and administrator (15 Tests; MCC chairman of selectors), dies at 89
- 1965 Vic Jackson, cricketer (NSW/Leicerstershire off-spinner), dies in car
- 1974 Bill Whitty, Australian cricketer (left-arm bowler 1909-12), dies at 87
- 1976 Percy Tyson "Plum" Lewis, South African cricketer (pair in only Test for South Africa), dies at 91
- 1995 George H Poyser, English soccer player (Manchester City), dies at 84
- 2002 Louis Salica, American flyweight boxer (Olympic bronze 1932), dies at 89
- 2007 Max Lanier, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1943-44; World Series 1942, 44; St. Louis Cardinals), dies at 91
- 2009 Ingemar Johansson, Swedish heavyweight professional boxing champion of the world (b. 1932)
- 2016 Ken Sailors, professional basketball player (popularized and may have invented the jump shot), dies at 95
- 2020 John Andretti, American auto racer (NASCAR Cup Series: 2 wins, 37 top tens, 4 poles), dies from colon cancer at 56
