Events in Sport
Donald Bradman
- 1937 Bradman scores 270 Aust v England at the MCG, incl 110 singles
- 1951 Indianapolis Olympians beat Rochester Royals, 75-73 in NBA-record 6 overtimes; also the longest game in NBA history
- 1970 Australian boxer Johnny Famechon retains his WBC featherweight title with a 14th-round knockout of Fighting Harada in Tokyo; re-match of questionable 15-round decision in 1969 in his first title defence
Event of Interest
1976 Ted Turner purchases Atlanta Braves for reported $12 million
Ted Turner
- 1980 Phil Flyers set NHL record of 35 straight games without a defeat
- 1980 AFC Championship, Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Houston Oilers, 27-13
- 1980 NFC Championship, Tampa Stadium: Los Angeles Rams beat Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 9-0
- 1984 Last day of Test cricket for Chappell, Marsh & Lillee
- 1985 AFC Championship, Miami Orange Bowl: Miami Dolphins beat Pittsburgh Steelers, 45-28
- 1985 NFC Championship, Candlestick Park, SF: San Francisco 49ers beat Chicago Bears, 23-0
- 1986 Last day in Test cricket for Bob Holland
- 1992 NY Yankees sign free agent Danny Tartabul
Event of Interest
1992 Sachin Tendulkar completes 148* v Australia at the SCG
Sachin Tendulkar
Event of Interest
1995 Atlanta Hawks' coach Lenny Wilkens passes the legendary Red Auerbach to become the NBA's all-time winningest coach, with 939 career victories; Hawks beat Washington, 112-90 at the Omni
Lenny Wilkens
Event of Interest
1996 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Goran Ivanišević & Iva Majoli win Croatia's first title; at 1 rubber apiece Switzerland's Marc Rosset & Martina Hingis forced to retire at 3-6, 7-6, 4-5 in the deciding doubles rubber
Iva Majoli
Martina Hingis
Event of Interest
2001 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Roger Federer beats American Jan-Michael Gambill 6-4, 6-3 to clinch Switzerland's unassailable 2-0 lead, (ends 2-1)
Roger Federer
- 2013 The NHL reaches an agreement to end a 113 day lockout
- 2014 Zach Johnson wins the 2014 PGA Tournament of Champions
- 2014 College Football, 16th BCS National Championship, Rose Bowl, Pasadena: #1 Florida State beats #2 Auburn, 34-31
- 2015 Randy Johnson, Pedro Martínez, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio are inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
- 2018 Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota scores a touchdown off own pass in 22-21 victory over Kansas City Chiefs, second NFL quarterback to do so
- 2018 Jon Gruden returns to the NFL as Oakland Raiders head coach after nearly a decade of broadcasting (Monday Night Football 2009-17)
- 2018 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Swiss pair Roger Federer & Belinda Bencic clinch 2-1 win over Germany; beat Angelique Kerber & Alexander Zverev 4-3, 4-2; Switzerland's 3rd event success
Birthdays in Sport
- 1864 Ban Johnson, American baseball executive (American League), born in Norwalk, Connecticut (d. 1931)
- 1891 Ted McDonald, Australian cricketer (great Australian quick of 20's), born in Launceston, Australia (d. 1937)
- 1920 Early Wynn, Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (9-time All Star), born in Hartford, Alabama (d. 1999)
- 1921 Cary Middlecoff, American golfer (1956 Vardon Trophy, 1955 Byron Nelson Award), born in Halls, Tennessee (d. 1998)
- 1926 Pat Flaherty, American racecar driver, born in Hanover, Pennsylvania (d. 2002)
- 1926 Kid Gavilan, Cuban boxer, born in Berrocal, Spain (d. 2003)
- 1926 Ralph Branca, American baseball player (pitched the “Shot Heard Round the World”), born in Mount Vernon, New York (d. 2016)
- 1931 Graeme Hole, Australian cricketer (Australian batsman of the fifties), born in Concord West, Australia (d. 1990)
- 1936 Rubén Amaro, Sr., Mexican baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies), born in Nuevo Laredo (d. 2017)
Darlene Hard
1936 Darlene Hard, American tennis player, born in Los Angeles, California
Darlene Hard
- 1937 Lou Holtz, American football coach (NJ Jets), born in Follansbee, West Virginia
- 1939 Murray Rose, Australian Olympic swimmer (4x oly gold), born in Birmingham, United Kingdom (d. 2012)
- 1943 Terry Venables, British soccer player & manager, born in Dagenham, England
- 1944 Robert Landers, American PGA golfer (Fort Worth-1976, 78, 80), born in Tarrant County, Texas
- 1945 Barry John, Welsh rugby player, born in Cefneithin, United Kingdom
- 1946 Harold Jackson, NFL wide receiver (LA, New Engl), born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi
- 1947 Ian Millar, Canadian dressage rider (World Cup 1988, 89, Olympics 1996), born in Halifax, NS, Canada
- 1948 Dayle Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer (brother of Richard, NZ medium-pacer of 70's), born in Riccarton, New Zealand
- 1949 Mike Boit, Kenyan 800m runner (Olympic bronze 1972), born in Eldoret, Kenya
- 1951 Don Gullett, American baseball player, born in Lynn, Kentucky
- 1954 Norbert Hahn, 2 man luge (Olympic gold 1976, 80), born in Elbingerode, Germany
- 1955 Chantal Langlacé, French runner (women's marathon & 100k world records), born in Amiens, France
Nancy Lopez
1957 Nancy Lopez, American golfer (3 Majors, 48 LPGA tour wins), born in Torrance, California
Nancy Lopez
- 1960 Paul Azinger, American golfer (PGA C'ship 1993), born in Holyoke, Massachusetts
- 1961 Howie Long, American NFL tackle/actor/broadcaster (Broken Arrow), born in Somerville, Massachusetts
- 1962 Philip Brown, English 4x400m runner (Olympic silver 1984), born in Birmingham, England
- 1962 Sean Landeta, NFL place kicker (NY Giants), born in Baltimore, Maryland
- 1963 Norm Charlton, American baseball pitcher (Seattle Mariners), born in Fort Polk, California
- 1964 Charles Haley, NFL defensive end (Dallas Cowboys), born in Gladys, Virginia
- 1964 Rafael Vidal, Venezuelan athlete, born in Caracas, Venezuela (d. 2005)
- 1964 Henry Maske, German boxer, born in Treuenbrietzen, Germany
- 1964 Jacqueline Moore, American wrestler, born in Dallas, Texas
- 1965 Christine Wachtel, German running star (world indoor record 800m), born in Altentreptow, Germany
- 1965 José DeJesús, American baseball pitcher (Kansas City Royals), born in Brooklyn, New York
- 1965 Lindsay Burns, American rower (Olympic silver 1996), born in Big Timber, Montana
- 1965 Tim McDonald, NFL player (SF 49ers), born in Fresno, California
- 1966 Bob Kratch, NFL guard (NE Patriots), born in Brooklyn, New York
- 1966 Donnell Woolford, NFL cornerback (Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears), born in Baltimore, Maryland
- 1966 Shahid Saeed, Pakistani cricketer (Pakistani batsman in Test v India 1989), born in Lahore, Pakistan
- 1966 Chris Antley, American jockey (Kentucky Derby 1991, 1999), born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (d. 2000)
- 1967 David Belcher, Australian rower (Olympics 1996), born in Penola, Australia
- 1967 Larry Donald, American boxer (Olympic-92), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- 1968 Jerry Crafts, NFL/WLAF tackle (Philadelphia Eagles, Amsterdam Admirals), born in Tulsa, Oklahoma
- 1968 Vlastimil Plavucha, Slovak hockey forward (Team Slovakia), born in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
- 1969 Alvin Morman, American baseball pitcher (Houston Astros), born in Rockingam, North Carolina
- 1969 Nick A'Hern, Australian 20k walker (Olympics 22-92, 96), born in Swansea, United Kingdom
- 1970 Daniel Naulty, American pitcher (Minnesota Twins), born in Los Angeles, California
- 1970 Gabrielle Reece, American volleyball player & actress (Extremists), born in La Jolla, California
- 1970 Geert Brusselers, Dutch football player & coach (NAC), born in Eindhoven, Netherlands
- 1970 John Gerak, NFL tight end/guide (Minnesota Vikings, St Louis Rams), born in Youngstown, Ohio
- 1970 Keenan McCardell, NFL wide receiver (Cleveland Browns, Jaguars), born in Houston, Texas
- 1970 Kerrin Petty, Swedish-American cross country skier (Olympics 1994), born in Townshend, Vermont
- 1970 René Binken, Dutch soccer player (Volendam), born in Volendam, Netherlands
- 1971 Mike Wells, NFL defensive end (Detroit Lions), born in Arnold, Missouri
- 1971 Myron Baker, NFL linebacker (Chicago Bears), born in Haughton, Louisiana
- 1972 Willie Clark, NFL cornerback (San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles), born in New Haven, Connecticut
- 1973 Sairaj Bahatule, Indian cricketer (promising Bombay leg-spin all-rounder), born in Mumbai, India
- 1974 Juan Roque, American football tackle (Detroit Lions), born in San Diego, California
- 1974 Marcus Crandell, CFL quarterback (Edmonton Eskimos), born in Charlotte, North Carolina
- 1974 Paul Grant, NBA center (Minn Timberwolves), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 1974 Daniel Cordone, Argentine footballer, born in General Rodríguez Partido, Argentina
- 1975 James Farrior, American football linebacker (NY Jets), born in Richmond, Virginia
- 1975 Laura Berg, American softball outfielder (Olympic gold 1996), born in Whittier, California
- 1975 Jeremy Linn, American 100m breaststroke (Olympics-silver/gold-96), born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- 1976 Richard Zednik, NHL forward (Team Slovakia, Wash), born in Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia
- 1977 Stacey Gartrell, Australian swimmer (Olympics 1996), born in Sydney, New South Wales
- 1978 Steve Hartsell, American pairs skater (& Danielle Hartsell), born in Ann Arbor, Michigan
- 1978 Casey Fossum, Major League Baseball player, born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey
- 1980 Steed Malbranque, French footballer, born in Mouscron, Belgium
- 1981 Asante Samuel, National Football League Defensive Back, born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- 1982 Gilbert Arenas, American basketball player, born in Tampa, Florida
- 1982 Brian Bass, American baseball player, born in Pinehurst, North Carolina
- 1984 Sean O'Brien, Australian professional windsurfer, born in Carlow, Republic of Ireland
- 1984 A. J. Hawk, American football player, born in Kettering, Ohio
- 1985 R. P. Singh, Indian cricketer, born in Raebareli District, India
- 1986 Paul McShane, Irish footballer, born in Wicklow, Republic of Ireland
- 1991 Nikola Saric, Danish footballer, born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Deaths in Sport
- 1907 Walter Read, cricketer (Engl batsman, 117 at no 10 v Aust 1884), dies
- 1915 Reginald Wood, cricketer (one Test England v Australia 1886), dies
- 1928 Alvin Kraenzlein, American track and field athlete (4 Olympic gold 1900), dies at 51
- 1934 Herbert Chapman, Legendary Manager of Arsenal and Huddersfield Town (b. 1878)
- 1936 Charles A Stoneham, pres (NY Giants), dies
- 1939 Albert Ward, cricketer (England batsman in 7 Tests 1893-95), dies
- 1941 Charley O'Leary, American baseball player (Detroit Tigers), dies at 65
- 1967 Johnny Keane, baseball player/mgr (Cards, NY Yanks), dies at 55
- 1978 Burt Munro, New Zealand motorcycle racer (b. 1899)
- 2004 Charles Dumas, American athlete (b. 1937)
- 2007 Mario Danelo, American football player (b. 1985)
- 2007 Yvon Durelle, Canadian boxer, dies at 77
- 2011 Uche Okafor, Nigerian footballer (b. 1967)
- 2013 Neil Adcock, South African cricketer, dies from bowel cancer at 81
January in History
The Beatles? 'They have no future in show business'
In 1962, an unknown group called the Beatles travelled to London for a recording contract audition with one of the major record labels. They were rejected.
January 1, 1962
'The Most Famous of All Streaks'
Erika Roe bounced into the history books on this day when, topless, she skipped onto the pitch at a rugby game to the roar of 60,000 cheering spectators.
January 2, 1982
Designer Throws His Hat Into the Ring; Creates a Sensation
The first time a man stepped out in London wearing a topper it caused a sensation, then a court case. Who now could imagine Fred Astaire without his famous top hat?
January 5, 1797
A Crackdown on Lovers in New York
New York wasn't always a free and easy city. Time was when not only adultery was a crime, but even looking at a lady in the wrong way could land a guy in trouble.
January 8, 1902