events-Sports & Games

1. Angling � see appendix below

2. Archery� see appendix below

3. Badminton � see appendix below

4. Baseball � see appendix below

5. Basketball � see appendix below

6. Billiards � see appendix below

7. Bobsleighing � see appendix below

8. Bowls� see appendix below

9. Bridge � see appendix below

10. Canoeing � see appendix below

11. Chess � see appendix below

12. Croquet � see appendix below

13. Curling � see appendix below

14. Cycling � see appendix below

15. Darts � see appendix below

16. Fencing � see appendix below

17. Greyhound racing � see appendix below

18. Hockey and Ice Hockey - see appendix below

19. Hurling � see appendix below

20. Judo � see appendix below

21. Lacrosse � see appendix below

Polo � see appendix below
Rackets � see appendix below
Poker � see appendix below
Rowing� -� see appendix below
Shooting � see appendix below
Skating, ice skating, roller skating � see appendix below
Skiing - see appendix below
Water skiing � see appendix below
Snooker � see appendix below
Softball �see appendix below
Squash � see appendix below
Swimming. � see appendix below

34. Volleyball � see appendix below

35. Water Polo � see appendix below

36. Weightlifting � see appendix below

37. Wrestling � see appendix below

38. Yachting � see appendix below

19 May 2007, In London, the new Wembley Stadium was officially opened.

16 January 1978, Philip Wills, gliding champion, died.

4 October 1974, The American, David Kunst, completed the first round the world trip on foot, 14,450 miles, having started in 1970.

6 September 1974. Stuntman Evel Knievel, a 34 year old former salesman, failed in his attempt to fly a rocket across the Snake River Canyon in Idaho. He plunged 1,500 feet into the river 30 seconds after take off.

1973, Skateboarding became popular in the USA, after the invention of the polyurethane wheel.

1972, In Britain, the Sports Council was set up.

11 November 1962, Kendra Slawinski, netball champion, was born.

16 August 1954, The weekly magazine Sports Illustrated was launched. It did not return a profit until 1964.

27 September 1949, Geofftrey Peck, orienteering, was born.

19 June 1948, Barry Hearn, sporting events promoter, was born

14 June 1934, Arnaud Marquesuzaa, French sports champion, was born.

4 September 1923. Birth of Birmingham politician Lord Howell, Britain�s first Minister for Sport.

26 March 1921, Gaby Braun, French sports champion, was born.

2 December 1917, The first official handball match was played in Berlin.

4 March 1883, John Chalmers, sports administrator, died.

264 BCE, The first accounts of Roman gladiatorial games. They were banned in 325 AD by Emperor Constantine.

Angling,

1957, The World Freshwater Championship competition was inaugurated.

24 August 1933, Ray W. Scott, Jr., American angler who created the Bassmaster Classic and other professional fishing tournaments was born, in Montgomery, Alabama.

1903, In Britain, the National Federation of Anglers was formed.

Archery

27 March 1974, Simon Terry, archery champion, was born.

22 February 1965, Steve Hallard, archery champion, was born in Rugby.

22 October 1954, Louise Nettleton, archery champion, was born.

8 October 1954, William Dodd, archery champion, died (born 18 July 1867).

3 January 1948, Alice Lee, archery champion, was born.

12 September 1946, Albert le Tyrant, French archery champion, was born.

1931, FITA (Federacion Internationale de Tir a l�Arc) was established, the world governing body of archery. Its original members were Belgium, France, Poland and Sweden. Britain joined in 1932, and the USa and Czechoslovakia joined in 1933.

24 June 1929, Sybil Queenie Newall, archery champion, died.

1879, The National Archery Association, USA, was established.

18 July 1867, William Dodd, archery champion, was born (died 8 October 1954).

1861, The British Grand National Archery Society was established.

1844, The first Grand National Archery Meeting was held, in York.

1785, The Woodmen of Arden archery society was founded.

1781, Sir Ashton Lever, of Alkrington Hall, Manchester, with his secretary Thomas Waring., a skilled bowmaker, founded the Toxophilite Society. It became the Royal Toxophilite Society in 1847.

1676, The Royal Company of Archers was founded in Edinburgh.

1673, The Scorton Arrow competition began

1650, Archery was no longer important in warfare, and interest in it was declining.

1545, Roger Ascham wrote a book, Toxophilus; the Scole of Shooting, in which he recpommended the sport to the future Queen Elizabeth I for exercise and recreation.

1244, The first Dunmow Flitch archery competition in England was held.

Badminton

27 October 1988, Frank Devlin, badminton champion, died (born 16 January 1900).

1977, The World Championship Badminton Contest was inaugurated.

1967, The European Badminton Union was formed.

7 November 1964, Helen Troke, badminton champion, was born.

2 September 1961, Gillian Clark, badminton player, was born.

28 March 1961, Stephen Baddeley, British badminton player, was born.

1959, The Asian� Badminton Confederation was formed.

1957, The Uber Cup, a badminton contest for women, was first held.

9 January 1952, Margaret Beck, badminton player, was born.

20 June 1950, Gillian Gilks, badminton champion, was born.

23 June 1951, Raymond Stevens, badminton champion, was born.

1949, The Thomas Cup, badminton contest, was frst held

5 April 1949, Mike Tredgett, badminton champion, was born.

1947, In Japan the Nippon Badminton Association was formed.

1939, The South African Badminton Association was formed.

10 March 1939, Robert McCoig, badminton champion, was born.

1936, The American Badminton Association was formed.

1935, The Badminton Association of India (formerly the All-India Badminton Association) was formed.

1935, The Australian Badminton Association was formed.

1934, The Badminton Association of Malaysia was formed.

1934, The International Badminton Federation was formed.

1930, The Danish Badminton Association was formed.

1928, The Welsh Badminton Union was formed.

1927, The New Zealand Badminton Federation was formed.

1924, The Badminton Association of Western Australia was formed.

1921, The Canadian Badminton Association was formed.

5 October 1919, Frank Peard, badminton champion, was born.

1911, The Scottish Badminton Union was formed.

12 January 1911, Thelma Kingsbury, badminton champion, was born.

25 January 1909, Leone Kingsbury, badminton champion, was born.

6 September 1907, Donald Hume, badminton champion, was born (died 3 May 1986)

2 June 1906, Betty Uber, badminton champion, was born (died 30 April 1983).

1900, The All England Badminton Championship was first held.

1899, The Badminton Union of Ireland was formed.

1893, The Badminton Association was formed in England. Laws of the game were standardised; before then even the size of the courts had varied markedly. The 1893 court size was fixed, back then it narrowed at the middle at the net. The court was made fully rectangular in 1901.

14 June 1881, George Thomas, badminton champion, was born (died 23 July 1972).

Baseball

3 December 2005, Herb Moford, US baseball player, died (born 1928).

13 August 1995, Mickey Mantle, baseball player, died.

7 March 1983, Taylor Tankersley, US baseball player, was born.

7 April 1973, Brett Tomko, US baseball player, was born

12 April 1972, Paul Lo Duca, US baseball player, was born.

10 April 1962, The Dodger Stadium, major league baseball�s modern showpiece, opened in Los Angeles, USA.

16 January 1961, Mickey Mantle became the highest paid baseball player to date, signing a US$ 75,000 contract.

2 August 1960, The Continental League, proposed as a third major league for baseball, came to an end after CL President Branch Rickey and co-founder William Shea concluded a meeting in Chicago with representatives of the National League and American League.

26 May 1959, Ed Walsh, US baseball player, died.

16 August 1948, George Herman Ruth, US professional baseball player, died aged 53.

29 July 1947, George Bausewine, US baseball player, died aged 78

28 May 1946, The first night-time baseball game was played at Yankee Stadium, with a crowd of 49,917.

16 March 1944, Rick Renick: US baseball player, was born.

4 April 1942, Jim Fregosi, baseball player and manager, was born in San Francisco, California (died 2015)

25 February 1940, Ron Santo, baseball player,was born �in Seattle, Washington (died 2010)

1939, The Baseball Hall of Fame opened in Cooperstown, USA.

31 December 1936, Doc Casey, US baseball player and manager, died aged 66,

31 October 1936, Deacon McGuire, US baseball player, manager and coach, died aged 72.

29 April 1936, The first professional baseball game in Japan. Nagoya defeated Dai Tokyo 8-5.

9 November 1935, Bob Gibson, baseball player, was born in Omaha, Nebraska (died 2020)

10 July 1935, Paul Hines, US baseball player, died aged 80.

8 June 1935, George Brunet, baseball player, was born in Houghton, Michigan (died 1991)

26 September 1933, Roy Wright, US baseball player, was born.

7 November 1932, Dick Stuart, baseball player, was born in San Francisco, California (died 2002)

18 April 1923, Yankee Baseball Stadium opened in The Bronx, New York City. It was the first such building of its kind, and the name �stadium� was meant to hark back to ancient Greek athletic arenas.

21 March 1925, Merle Keagle, US baseball player, was born.

5 October 1921, World Series baseball games received radio coverage for the first time. Many more fans could now follow the game, increasing its popularity.

5 April 1920, Red Sox baseball player George Herman ;Babe; Ruth was transferred to New York Yankees for a record US$125,000.

25 March 1917, In baseball, in the USA, John McGraw signed a record US$50,000 contract to manage the New York Giants for one year.

25 November 1914, Joe Di Maggio, US baseball player who married Marilyn Monroe, was born.

16 January 1910, Dizzy Dean, baseball player, was born.

10 September 1905, Pete Browning, US baseball player, died aged 44.

13 October 1903, The first US baseball World Series was won by Boston Red Sox.

1901, The Boston Red Sox US professional baseball team was founded.

1901, The American League was founded.

5 September 1901, In the USA, the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (now, Minor League Baseball) was formed in Chicago, Illinois.

6 February 1895, Babe Ruth, baseball player, was born

1885, Segregation was spreading through the baseball game in the USA, forcing Black Africans to form their own leagues such as the Negro National League. However by 1960 champion Black players were sought after by the major teams, and the Black Leagues ceased to exist.

4 January 1869, Tommy Corcoran, baseball player, was born.

1868, The first all-professional baseball club, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, was founded.

1858, The National Association of Baseball Players was formed.

19 June 1846, The first baseball code of rules was drawn up in the USA, by the Knickerbocker Club of New York. The first game played under these rules was played this day at Hoboken, New Jersey, USA.

1845, Alexander Cartwright of New York drafted the rules of modern baseball.

1843, The Washington Baseball Club was founded in New York State. The game was becoming popular in the New York area.

1839, Abner Doubleday invented the modern game of baseball, at Cooperstown, New York State, USA. It is derived from the older English game of rounders.

1786, An early version of baseball was first played at Princeton, New Jersey, USA.

Basketball.

8 July 2018, Lonnie Jewel Shelton, US basketball player, died (born 19 October 1955).

26 May 2005, Chico Carrasquel, Major League basketball player, died.

1990, The average salary of a basketball player in the Major League was US$ 890,944.

30 September 1989, Jordan Taylor, US basketball player, was born.

18 September 1989, Serge Ibaka, basketball player, was born.

28 January 1984, Andre Iguodala, basketball player, was born.

14 July 1979, Bernie Castro, baseball player, was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic

23 May 1978, Carolyn Moos, US basketball player, was born.

7 February 1978, Timothy Floyd Fuller, Missouri University basketball coach, was born.

25 July 1977, Kenny Thomas, US basketball player, was born in Atlanta, Georgia.

23 March 1974, Eric Washington, US basketball player, was born.

2 October 1971, Aaron Williams, US basketball player, was born.

1967, The American Basketball Association was founded.

23 January 1966, Haywoode Workman, US basketball player, was born.

17 February 1963, Michael Jordan, basketball player, was born.

14 August 1959, Earvin �Magic� Johnson, basketball player, was born.

28 August 1956, John Eddie Long, US basketball player, was born.

9 February 1956, Philip Jackson Ford Jr, basketball player, was born.

19 October 1955, Lonnie Jewel Shelton, US basketball player, was born (died 8 July 2018).

11 October 1955, Norm Nixon, US basketball player, was born.

1953, First women�s basketball championships held.

6 December 1952, Chuck Baker, US basketball player, was born.

1950, First men�s basketball championships held.

3 August 1946, The National Basketball Association was formed in America.

21 September 1942, Sam McDowell, baseball player, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

28 February 1940, Basketball was televised for the first time.

27 December 1938, Ron Greene, US basketball player, was born in Terre Haute, Indiana (died 2021)

1936, Basketball became an official Oympic sport, at the Games in Berlin.

21 August 1936, Wilt Chamberlain, basketball player, was born.

1932, The Federation Internationale de Basketball Amateur was formed in Geneva, FIBA had 133 national federation members by 1973. The original FIBA office was in Rome but later moved to Munich.

7 January 1927. The Harlem Globetrotters basketball team was founded.

1897, The first world basketball championships were held in the USA.

1894, The international rules of basketball were drawn up.

20 January 1892, The game of basketball, devised by Canadian doctor James Naismith in 1891, was first played at the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Pok Tapok, an ealy sport resembling basketball, was played by the ancient Central civilisations, as part pf religious ceremonies.

Billiards

11 June 1964, Henry Stevenson, billiards champion, died.

16 October 1953, Tom Reece, billiards champion, died (born 12 August 1873).

6 June 1952, William Peall, billiards champion, died (born 31 December 1854).

11 August 1951, Melbourne Inman, billiards champion, died.

5 October 1943, Thomas Newman, billiards champion, died.

19 January 1913, Minnesota Fats, US billiards player, was born.

24 April 1910, Sidney Lee, billiards champion, was born (died 10 November 1988).

25 January 1886, William Smith, billiards champion, was born (died 2 June 1982).

12 August 1873, Tom Reece, billiards champion, was born (died 16 October 1953).

1870, The World Professional Billiards Championship was first oeganised. It was held on an annual basis from 1880.

31 December 1854, William Peall, billiards champion, was born (died 6 June 1952).

13 October 1854, William Mitchell, billiards champion, was born.

1576, Mary Queen of Scots, imprisoned, complained of being deprived of her billiards table.

1571, Billiards was invented by French artist Henrique Devigne.

Bobsleighing

7 November 1951, Francis McEvoy, bobsleigh champion, died.

1931, The annual bobsleighing world chamionships began.

1923, The International Federtaion of Bobsleigh and Tobogganing was founded. It became the International Bobsleigh Federation in 1957 when tobogganing bcame under separate control.

1884, Bobsleigh; the Cresta Run was built at St Moritz.

Bowls

1969, The first women�s bowling World Championships were held.

1966, The first men�s bowling World Championships were held.

27 November 1966, Richard Corsie, bowls champion, was born.

1961, The British Tenpin Bowling Association was formed.

1958, The Profesional Bowler�s Association was formed in the USA.

11 June 1955, Tony Allcock, bowls player, was born

1951, The English Women�s Indoor Bowling Association (EWIBA) was founded.

19 December 1938, Janet Ackland, bowls player, was born.

26 April 1938, William Wood, bowls champion, was born.

1937, The American Bowling Association was formed in the USA.

8 June 1937, Norma Shaw, bowls champion, was born.

October 1931, The English Women�s Bowling Association was formed.

9 September 1928, Mavis Steele, bowls champion, was born.

16 April 1928, The Somerset Women�s Bowling Association was formed.

1916, The Women�s International Bowling Congress was founded in St Louis.

15 June 1909, Poole Park Bowls Club, Dorset, opened.

1907, The Waterloo Handicap bowling tournament was first held, at the Waterloo Hotel, Blackpool, England.

1905, The Edinburgh Winter Bowling Association was formed.

5 April 1904, The South African Bowling Association was formed.

1895, The American Bowling Congress (ABC) was founded. The ABC standardised the game.

18 July 1895, Percy Baker, bowls champion, was born (died 3 January 1990)

5 February 1884, The Port Elizabeth (Bowls) Club opened in South Africa.

3 July 1880, The Victorian Bowling Association, Australia, was formed.

2 May 1880, The first bowling association in the world was formed with the inauguration of the New South Wales Bowling Association.

4 July 1867, Bowls became an organised sport in Australia, at a meeting held at the Bull and Mouth Hotel, Melbourne.

1861, The first bowling club in New Zealand was formed in Auckland.

1860, The sport of bowling reached New Zealand.

1844, Bowls was first played in Australia, at the Beach Tavern, Hobert.

1511, King Henry VIII of England spoke against bowling because of its association with saloons and other dissolute places where gambling took place.

400 CE, A version of bowling was played in German churches. The target was known as Heide (The JHeathen), and if the player hit it he was judged clean of sin.

5200 BCE, A form of bowling was being played in ancient Egypt. Anotyer version was played in ancient Polynesia, called Ula Naika.

Bridge

12 May 1995, Giorgio Belladonna, bridge champion, died.

1925, Contract Bridge was devised on a steamer en route from Los Angeles to Havana. From the 1930s it replaced Auction Bridge as the most popular form of the game.

1894, Bridge (successor to Whist) was first played in England at the Portland Club.

Canoeing

19 November 1966, Ivan Lawler, canoeing champion, was born.

12 January 1962, Ronald Rhodes, canoeing champion, died (born 31 October 1937)

5 June 1960, Richard Fox, canoeing champion, was born.

31 October 1937, Ronald Rhodes, canoeing champion, was born (died 12 January 1962)

25 July 1866, The Royal Canoe Club was founded at the Star and Garter Hotel, Richmond, Surrey.

1865, John MacGregor built his own canoe and sailed it for 1,000 miles across the rivers and lakes of North America. The books and lectures he authored from this helped found canoeing as a sport and in 1866 the Canoe Club was founded at the Star and Garter Hotel, Richmond, London, UK.

Chess

17 January 2008, Bobby Fisher, American world chess champion, died aged 64.

8 January 1958, Bobby Fischer, then aged 14, won the US Chess Championship.

10 August 2005, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Indian chess prodigy, was born in Chennai, India

2 January 2005, Arnold S Denker, US chess player (born 20 February 1914) died.

4 May 1997, Having lost to world chess champion Gary Kasparov in 1996, the computer Deep Blue was upgraded and this day beat Kasparov.

7 January 1995, Harry Golombek, chess player, died (born 1 March 1911).

25 December 1993, Death of US (Russian-born, 8 February 1940) chess champion, Boris Kogan.

21 October 1993, Gary Kasparov defeated Nigel Short in the chess championships.

9 November 1985, Russian Gary Kasparov became the youngest World Chess Champion at age 22, defeating Anatoly Karpov, who had held the title for 10 years.

7 January 1985, Luke McShane, chess grandmaster, was born

11 October 1983, Ruslan Ponomariov, Ukrainian chess player, was born in Horlivka.

23 July 1976, Judit Polgar, chess champion, was born.

10 May 1974, Anatoly Karpov defeated Boris Spassky to become world chess champion.

17 June 1969, Boris Spassky became world chess champion when he beat Tigran Petrosian.

26 March 1968, Chris Ward, chess player, was born.

1 June 1965, Nigel Short, chess champion, was born.

7 May 1960, The World Chess Championship 1960 ended in victory for Mikhail Tal.

30 March 1958, Gilles Andruet, French chess player, was born.

2 October 1956, John Speelman, chess player, was born

1 June 1955, Nigel Short, chess player, was born.

23 April 1955, Anthony Miles, British chess player, was born.

23 May 1951, Anatoly Karpov, Russian world chess champion in 1975, was born.

9 March 1943. Bobby Fischer, chess champion, was born in Chicago. He took the world title from Boris Spassky in 1972.

7 October 1933, Jonathan Penrose, chess champion, was born.

28 March 1931, Anatoly Lein, Soviet-American chess player, was born (died 2018)

1924, The World Chess League was founded at The Hague.

8 June 1919, Isaac Boleslavsky, Ukrainian chess player, was born in Zolotonosha, Ukraine (died 1977)

1 March 1911, Harry Golombek, chess player, was born (died 7 January 1995).

16 February 1906, Vera Menchick, chess champion, was born (died 26 June 1944).

1 November 1892, Alexander Alekhine, French chess champion, was born in Moscow (died 24 March 1946 in Estoril, Portugal)

1886, The first official world chess championships.

22 June 1874, Howard Staunton, British writer on chess, died in London (born 1810)

22 June 1837, Paul Morphy, US chess player, was born.

1561, Ruy Lopez wrote the first manual of chess instruction.

Croquet

9 June 1986, Humphrey Hicks, croquet champion, died (born 20 May 1904).

26 August 1969, Robert Fulford, croquet champion, was born.

29 July 1959, Lilias Gower,� croquet champion, died.

22 November 1931, John Solomon, croquet champion, was born.

20 May 1904, Humphrey Hicks, croquet champion, was born (died 9 June 1986).

1897, The United All-England Croquet Assciation was formed, as the game became more popular,

21 April 1884, Dorothy Steel, croquet champion, was born (died 22 January 1965).

1870, The All-England Croquet Club was established at Wimbledon, London.

1857, First set of rules for croquet drawn up.

Crosswords

2 November 1924. The first crossword appeared in a British newspaper, the Sunday Express. It was bought from an American paper, operated by C W Shepherd, where crosswords had appeared 11 years earlier.

21 December 1913. The world�s first crossword was published, in the New York World, compiled by Liverpool-born Arthur Wynne. The first British crossword appeared on 2 November 1924.

Curling

1979, The first women�s World Curling Championship was held.

1959, The first men�s World Curling Championship was held.

19 December 1920, The first US indoor curling rink opened, at Brookline, Massachusetts.

1838, The Royal Caledonian Curling Club, the central international body for Curl8ing, was established in Edinburgh. It was originally known as the Grand Caledonian Curling Club.

1831, The Orchard Lake Curling Club, Michigan, USA, was established.

1820, Curling was introduced to the USA.

1811, The earliest book on Curling, An Account of the Game of Curling, was written by John Ramsay, a Scottish Minister and member of the Duddingstone Curling Society

1807, Curling was introduced to Canada. The Montreal Curling Club was established.

1510, The first curling club was established at Kilsyth, near Glasgow, Scotland.

Cycling

18 January 2013, Racing cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted to doping in all seven of his Tour de France victories. His titles were stripped from him.

22 June 1992, Reginald Harris, cycling champion, died.

28 April 1980, Bradley Wiggins, champion cyclist, was born.

3 September 1974, Rebecca Bailey, champion cyclist, was born in Christchurch, New Zealand

1973, The mountain bike was invented by members of Marin County Canyon Cycling Club, USA, for riding the slopes of the local canyons.

29 December 1973, Christophe Rinero, French road racing cyclist, was born.

12 February 1971, Bill Bailey, cycling champion, died (born 6 April 1888).

15 December 1968, Colin Sturgess, champion cyclist, was born.

13 July 1967, Thomas Simpson, champion cyclist, died (born 30 November 1937).

11 September 1965, Douglas Graeme Obree, champion cyclist, was born.

19 January 1964, Firmin Lambot, Belgian racing cyclist, died aged 77.

1962, The Grand Prix de Frankfurt professionsl cycling race began. In 1967 it replaced the now defunct Paris to Brussels race.

24 March 1962, Amanda Jones, champion cyclist, was born.

20 November 1961, Shaun Wallace, champion cyclist, was born.

26 June 1961, Greg LeMond, cyclist, was born

20 November 1959, Stephen Roche, champion cyclist, was born.

19 May 1958, Tony Doyle, champion cyclist, was born.

23 March 1958, Etienne De Wilde, Belgian cyclist, was born.

14 November 1954, Bernard Hinault, cyclist, was born

1951, The Milk Race, now called the Tour of Britain, was first held. Launched in 1951 and supported by the Daily Express newspaper, it wa sponsored by the Milk Marketing Board from 1958.

24 November 1948, Ian Hallam, cycling champion, was born in Nottingham.

7 April 1942, John Atkins, British cyclo-cross champion, was born.

28 April 1941, Lucien Aimar, French sports cyclist, was born.

30 November 1937, Thomas Simpson, champion cyclist, was born (died 13 July 1967).

8 July 1934, Jacques Anquetil, French professional racing cyclist, was born. In 1963 he became the foirst person ever to win te Tour de France four times.

4 June 1934, Seamus Elliott, champion cyclist, was born in Dublin.

3 November 1930, Brian Robinson, champion cyclist, was born.

27 January 1930, Lewis Meredith, champion cyclist, died (born 2 July 1882).

19 November 1929, Sean Kelly, cycling champion, was born in Waterford, Ireland.

1927, The World Professional Road Race Championship was first held at the Neuburgring, Germany.

19 July 1925, Italian cyclist Ottavio Bottecchia won the Tour de France for the second straight year.

18 October 1923, Eileen Sheridan, champion cyclist, was born.

1909, The Giro d�Italia (Tour of Italy) cycling race was inauguarated, as a counterpert to the Tour de France.

25 January 1907, Rene Pottier, French racing cyclist, died aged 27.

19 July 1903, Frenchman Maurice Garin won the first Tour de France. Only 20 out of 60 competitors completed the race,

1 July 1903, The first Tour de France cycle race started from Paris, towards Lyons, over 467 km of roads, often in poor condition. 60 competitors began the race.

1 July 1903, The first Tour de France cycle race began. It was sponsored by Henri Desgrange, the proprietor of a French newspaper, L�Auto, to poach readers from a rival publication, Le Velo, which already staged what were till then the biggest cycle races in France, Bordeaux to Paris and Paris to Brest. The Tour de France, announced in January 1903, was to be 2,500 km long, taking 19 days to complete. Just 21 of the 60 entrants completed the race, competing for prize money totalling 20,000 Francs.

19 January 1903, The creation of a new bicycle race, the Tour de France, was announced.

26 September 1901, US cyclist Robert Walthour covered 1 mile on his bicycle in 1 minute 37.4 seconds.

6 April 1888, Bill Bailey, cycling champion, was born (died 12 February 1971).

2 July 1882, Lewis Meredith, champion cyclist, was born (died 27 January 1930).

Darts

1978, The Embassy World Darts Championship was inaugurated. Held since 1986 at the Lakeside Country Club, Frimley Green, Surrey, UK.

22 March 1950, John Thomas Wilson, darts champion, was born.

21 July 1945, John Lowe, darts champion, was born.

1928, The News of the World inaugurated an annual Darts Championship. This lasted until 1990, when the newspaper withdrew its support.

1896, Brian Gamlin, of Bury, Lancashire, designed the numbering of the current darts board.

1620, Darts was probably played aboard the Mayflower in 1620

Fencing

28 June 1987, Emrys Lloyd, champion fencer, died (born 8 September 1908).

24 December 1975, Roger Tredgold, fencing champion, died.

1963, The De Beaumont Centre, London, opened as the headquarters of the Amateur Fencing Association.

22 May 1955, Petru Kuki, Romanian fencer, was born

30 September 1948, Edward Bourne, fencing champion, was born.

15 February 1940, Janet Wardell-Yerburgh, fencing champion, was born.

30 June 1931, Allan Jay, fencing champion, was born.

8 September 1908, Emrys Lloyd, champion fencer, was born (died 28 June 1987).

15 February 1880, Robert Montgomerie, fencing champion, was born (died 28 April 1939).

14 April 1867, Edgar Seligman, fencing champion, was born (died 27 September 1958).

13 July 1848, The London Fencing Club was established.

1 January 1600, Death of Camillo Agrippa, who first applied scientific porinciples to the sport of fencing and the design of the swords.

1190 BCE, Records of fencing matches in Luxor, Upper Egypt.

Greyhound racing

2013, Annual attendance at Britain�s dog racing tracks had fallen to 2 million. In 1960 it was 16 million, down to 4 million in 1993 and 3 million in 2006. The number of tracks in Britain has fallen from 64 in 1960 to 25 in 2013. In 1961 dog racing tracks lost their betting monopoly when UK Parliament allowed betting shops to open, for the first time since the 19^th century. The rise of TV and the Internet also eroded attendance.

16 August 2008, The dog racing track at Walthamstow, London, held its last meeting. This left Wimbledon as the last dog racing track in the London area.

15 March 1995, Harlow greyhound racing stadium, Essex, UK, opened.

1984, (see 1928) The Greyhound Derby was moved from White City to Wimbledon and the Grand National was moved to Hall Green, Birmingham.

1931, Walthamstow greyhound racing stadium opened,

1930, Dagenham greyhound racing stadium opened.

1928, West Ham greyhound racing stadium opened.

10 December 1927, As greyhound racing grew in popularity, London�s third racecourse opened, at Wembley, to join those at Haringey and White City. Harringey stadium closed in 1987 to make way for a Sainsbury superstore.

20 June 1927, Greyhound racing began at London�s White City Stadium. This was the first time the Greyhound Derby and Grand National (using hurdles) were run. See 1984.

1926, Oxford greyhound racing track opened.

24 July 1926. The first greyhound racing track was opened by Brigadier Critchley, at Belle Vue in Manchester. From 1926 onwards, greyhound racing became the best-attended sport in Britain, retaining this popularity for several decades, into the 1960s.

1919, A circular greyhound track was opened in California, USA.

7 October 1876, The first greyhound race with an artificial hare, the Hendon Cup, was run at the Welsh Harp, Hendon, London.

1857, The Waterloo Cup was a now a competition of 64 dogs, competing in a knock-out tournament over three days.

1836, The Waterloo Cup was first held, on farmland at Great Altcar, near Southport, Lancashire, UK.

1776, The first rules of greyhound racing were drawn up.

Hockey and Ice Hockey

13 January 2006, Marc Potvin, Canadian ice hockey player, died (born 1967)

3 May 1988, Carl Erhardt, ice hockey player, died (born 13 February 1897).

20 October 1985, Harry Wragg, champion jockey, died.

21 March 1982, Marjorie Pollard, hockey and cricket champion, died (born 3 August 1899).

8 September 1981, Terence Mansergh, hockey champion, died.

9 June 1981, Brett Clouthier, Canadian ice hockey player, was born.

11 November 1980, Jens Bergenstrom, Swedish ice hockey player, was born.

26 October 1975, Katja Riipi, Finnish ice hockey player, was born in Sodankyla, Finland

29 May 1975, Bianca Langham, hockey player, was born

27 May 1973, Jack Bennett, hockey player, died.

5 September 1967, Janet Sixsmith, champion hockey player, was born.

19 November 1963, John Potter, hockey champion, was born.

9 January 1963, Karen Brown, hockey champion, was born.

13 July 1959, Richard Leman, hockey champion, was born.

24 February 1959, Stanley Shoveller, hockey champion, died (born 2 September 1881).

20 April 1958, Viacheslav Fetisov, Russian hockey champion, was, born in Moscow, Russia.

21 May 1955, Paul Barber, English hockey player, was born.

24 September 1954, Ian Taylor, hockey champion, was born.

30 September 1952, Norman Hughes, hockey champion, was born.

6 March 1952, William MacLean, hockey champion, was born.

18 July 1943, Herbert Leo Price, hockey champion, died (born 21 June 1899).

23 April 1943, Tony Esposito, Canadian ice hockey player was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (died 2021)

1938, The Amstelveen Hockey Ground, near Amsterdam, was laid out (redesigned 1970 as World Hockey Cup venue). It originally had 19 gras grounds and a hard court with electric lighting.

13 August 1938, Bill Masterton, ice hockey player, was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (died 1968)

16 May 1935, Floyd Smith, ice hockey player, was born in Perth, Ontario, Canada

1934, Wembley Lions Ice Hockey Club was founded in London.

26 October 1932, Chinadorai Deshmutu,� Indian hockey player, was born.

1930, The Irish Hockey Union opened in Dublin.

9 June 1930, Harry Cahill, hockey champion, was born.

27 November 1928, John Conroy, hockey player, was born (died 9 November 1985).

16 November 1928, Dick Gamble, ice hockey player, was born in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada (died 2018)

21 April 1928, Jack Evans, Welsh-Canadian ice hockey player, was born.

23 December 1927, John Cockett, hockey player, was born.

12 July 1921, Bob Fillion, French Canadian ice hockey player, was born in Thetford Mines, Quebec, Canada (died 2015)

1920, Ice Hockey was first included in the Olympics. In 1924 it was moved to the Winter Olympics.

26 November 1917, The National Hockey League was formed in Canada, with four treams. The first US team was admitted in 1924.

1916, The National Hockey League was first played.

10 February 1916, George Richardson, Canadian hockey player, died (born 1886)

1914, The British Ice Hockey Association was founded.

1908, The International Ice Hockey Federation was founded.

14 September 1906, George McVeagh, Irish hockey, tennis, cricket and squash player, was born (died 5 June 1968)

1903, A small English ice hockey league was formed.

25 February 1903, King Clancy, Canadian ice hockey player, was born (died 1986)

3 August 1899, Marjorie Pollard, hockey and cricket champion, was born (died 21 March 1982).

1895, The All England Women�s Hockey Association was formed.

21 June 1899, Herbert Leo Price, hockey champion, was born (died 18 July 1943).

1887, The first women�s hockey club, Moseley Ladies, was founded.

13 February 1897, Carl Erhardt, ice hockey player, was born (died 3 May 1988).

25 January 1895, Wales lost 3 � 0 to Ireland in the first ever hockey international, held at Rhyl in Wales.

1886, In Britain, the National Men�s Hockey Association was formed.

4 October 1884, Cyril Wilkinson, hockey champion, was born (died 16 December 1970).

1883, The rules for hockey were formally codified.

2 September 1881, Stanley Shoveller, hockey champion, was born (died 24 February 1959).

1879, The rules for ice hockey were drawn up by WF Robertson and RF Smith at Montreal, Canada.

1875, The Men�s Hockey Association was formed.

3 March 1875, Canada�s first organised ice hockey match was played at the Victoria Ice Skating Rink, Montreal.

1850s, Ice Hockey was first played, in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The rules of the game were drawn up ay McGill University, Montreal.

Hurling

22 August 1954, Jimmy Murphy, hurling champion, was born.

1884, The rules of hurling weer standardised by the Gaelic Athletic Association.

1879, The Irish Hurling Union was founded.

Judo

31 May 1973, Kate Howey, judo player, was born.

18 June 1966, Sharon Rendle, judo champion, was born.

27 September 1958, Neil Adams, judo player, was born.

5 October 1946, Brian Jacks, judo champion, was born.

15 April 1930, Charles Palmer, judo champion, was born.

1882, Dr Jigoro Kano opened the world�s first Dojo )Judo training hall).

1860, Dr Jigoro Kano was born in Settsu Province, Japan; he originated the sport of Judo (Japanese� =�easy way�) �in its modern form.

Lacrosse

1969, The first World Lacrosse Championship for women was held.

1967, The first World Lacrosse Championship for men was held.

1897, The North of England Lacrosse League was formed.

1875, The Stockport Lacrosse Club, Cheshire, was founded.

1868, The English Lacrosse Association was formed.

1867, The National Lacrosse Association of Canada was formed.

1839, The Montreal Lacrosse Club was founded. The original sport was of indigenous Amerindian origin.

Poker

12 April 2006, Walter Pearson, world poker champion 1973, died (born 29 January 1929)

1821, The card game Poker was first played by US sailors at New Orleans.

Polo

16 September 1957, Gerald Balding, polo champion, died.

24 August 1903, Gerald Balding, polo champion, was born (died 16 September 1957)

16 October 1872, Walter Buckmaster, polo player, was born (died 30 October 1942).

1871, The first recorded game of polo in Britain. The name derives from a Tibetan word for �willow stick� and was already popular across Asia from Persia and India to China and Japan.� Hurlingham Polo Club, in Fulham, London, was started in 1875.

Rackets

24 June 1984, David Milford, rackets champion, died.

21 December 1981, Cyril Simpson, rackets champion, died (born 10 February 1899).

7 November 1981, James Dear, rackets champion, died (born 17 March 1910).

24 March 1963, Neil Smith, rackets player, was born.

12 July 1950, William Boone, rackets champion, was born.

23 June 1950, Harry Foster, rackets champion, died (born 30 October 1873)

20 December 1948, Eustace Miles, rackets and tennis player, died (born 22 September 1868).

29 June 1947, William Surtees, rackets champion, was born.

20 January 1927, Geoffrey Atkins, British rackets player, was born.

10 May 1918, John Thompson, rackets champion, was born.

17 March 1910, James Dear, rackets champion, was born (died 7 November 1981).

10 February 1899, Cyril Simpson, rackets champion, was born (died 21 December 1981).

2 August 1885, Clarence Bruce, rackets player, was born (died 4 October 1957).

30 October 1873, Harry Foster, rackets champion, was born (died 23 June 1950)

22 September 1868, Eustace Miles, rackets and tennis player, was born (died 20 December 1948).

Rowing

29 January 1995, Richard Burnell, champion rower, died (born 26 July 1917).

18 March 1984, The Oxford and Cambridge boat race was run on a Sunday for the first time. The day before, the race had been abandoned because the Cambridge boat had been damaged in a collision.

1 November 1983, Edward Phelps, rowing champion, died (born 17 June 1908).

25 March 1978, In the Oxford-Cambridge boat race, the Cambridge boat sank.

3 December 1977, Jack Beresford, rower, died.

29 May 1976, John Badcock, Olympic rower, died.

15 April 1976, Steve Williams, rower, was born.

1974, The women�s World Rowing Championship was first held.

1972, The National water Sports centre opened at Holme Pierrepoint, Nottinghamshire

19 July 1969, John Fairfax became the first person to row the Atlantic when he arrived at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after 180 days at sea.

15 July 1968, Shirley Robertson, rower, was born

8 May 1969, Jonathan Searle, champion rower, was born.

21 July 1968, Ernest Barry, rower, died.

1962, The men�s World Rowing Championship was first held.

23 March 1962, Steven Redgrave, champion rower, was born.

3 April 1962, Peter Haining, champion rower, was born.

29 September 1959, Julius Beresford, rower, died (born 29 June 1868).

26 March 1951, Cambridge won the Boat Race. The race had been rerun after Oxford�s boat sank on 24 March 1951.

12 December 1949, Chris Baillieu, British rowing champion, was born.

24 March 1937, Oxford finally won the Boat race, having lost 13 consecutive times to Cambridge.

8 July 1935, Guy Nickalls, rowing champion, died.

5 November 1929, Christopher Davidge, rower, was born.

28 March 1925, In the Boat Race, the Oxford boat sank.

26 July 1917, Richard Burnell, champion rower, was born (died 29 January 1995).

28 March 1912, In the Boat Race, both Oxford�s and Cambridge�s boats sank. The race was re-run.

17 June 1908, Edward Phelps, rowing champion, was born (died 1 November 1983).

17 November 1906, Hugh Edwards, Olympic rower, was born (died 21 December 1972).

24 March 1877, The only dead-heat in the history of the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race took place.

29 June 1868, Julius Beresford, rower, was born (died 29 September 1959).

1860, The Thames Rowing Club was founded.

1856, The London Rowing Club was founded, to challenge the Universoty domination of the sport at Henley.

1856, The Oxford-Cambridge boat race became an annual event.

14 June 1839. The first Henley regatta, on the Thames, took place. See 26 March 1839.

26 March 1839, The annual Henley rowing regatta was inaugurated. The first regatta was held on 14 June 1839.

1834, The Castle Garden Boat Club event, USA, was first held.

10 June 1829. The first Oxford and Cambridge boat race took place, 2 � miles from Hambledon Lock to Henley Bridge. It was won easily by Oxford.

1818, The Leander Club, amateiur rowing, was founded in London. Later it moved to Henley on Thames.

1817, The English Leander Cup was first held.

1 August 1715, Doggett�s Coat and badge race first run on the Thames. The race was created by Thomas Doggett, an Irish actor and stage manager at the Drury Lane Theatre, London, who was grateful to an apprentice Thames waterman who rowed him home on a windy night when older ferrymen had refused.

Shooting

16 March 1977, Richard Faulds, clay pigeon shooting champion, was born.

5 September 1966, Antony Ringer, shooting champion, was born.

20 December 1947, Malcolm Cooper, Olympic shooter, was born.

2 January 1947, Lanny Bassham, US sports shooter, was born

19 July 1930, Miss EM Foster became the first woman to win the King�s Prize (National Rifle Association, Bisley).

3 November 1926, Annie Oakley, sharpshooter, died.

28 September 1925, Robert Braithwaite, champion shooter, was born

1890, The first National Rifle Association meeting at Bisley. It was founded 1860 at Wimbledon.

16 September 1887, Arthur Fulton, shooting champion, was born (died 26 January 1972).

20 June 1887. Queen Victoria met Annie Oakley, the famous American markswoman who could slice a playing card in two at 30 paces sideways on.

Skating, figure skating, ice skating, roller skating

22 March 1997, Tara Lipinski, aged 14, became the youngest ever world women�s figure skating champion.

20 November 1995, Sergio Grinko, figure skater, died.

2 January 1995, Graham Sharpe, champion figure skater, died (born 19 December 1917).

15 April 1994, John Curry, figure skater, died (born 9 September 1949).

6 January 1994, US figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was injured on her right leg in an attack ordered by her rival Tonya Harding.

23 July 1993, Megan Taylor, figure skating champion, died.

6 February 1981, British pair Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won the European figure skating championship.

21 August 1980, Jennifer Nicks, champion figure skater, died.

9 July 1971, Thomas Richardson, figure skating champion, died (born 16 January 1887).

12 November 1970, Tonya Harding, figure skater, was born.

13 October 1969, Nancy Kerrigan, ice skater, was born.

2 December 1967, Phyllis Johnson, figure skating champion, died.

27 July 1958, Christopher Dean, ice skater, was born.

7 October 1957, Jayne Torvill, figure skating champion, was born.

17 August 1957, Robin Cousins, figure skating champion, was born.

13 December 1953, Ethel Muckelt, figure skating champion, died (born 30 May 1885)..

9 September 1949, John Curry, figure skater, was born (died 15 April 1994).

27 September 1947, Bernard Ford, ice skater, was born.

14 February 1947, John Page, figure skating champion, died.

16 February 1946, Edgar Syers, ice skater, died (born 18 March 1863).

28 January 1941, Doreen Denny, ice dancer, was born.

14 April 1938, Gillis Grafstrom, Swedish figure skater, died aged 44.

26 August 1933, Terence Monaghan, speed skating champion, was born.

1 November 1931, Jean Westwood, ice dancing, was born.

7 July 1926, John Cronshey, speed skater, was born.

15 November 1921, James Johnson, figure skating champion, died.

28 November 1920, Cecelia Colledge, figure skating champion, was born.

19 December 1917, Graham Sharpe, champion figure skater, was born (died 2/1 /1995).

9 September 1917, Florence Syers, ice skater, died.

20 January 1912, Lutske Wester, Dutch speed skater, died (born 1870).

27 July 1907, Molly Phillips, figure skater, was born (died 15 December 1994).

8 May 1889, Arthur Cumming, figure skater, was born (died 8 May 1914).

16 January 1887, Thomas Richardson, figure skating champion, was born (died 7 January 1971).

30 May 1885, Ethel Muckelt, figure skating champion, was born (died 13 December 1953).

12 February 1879, The first artificial ice rink in North America opened, at Madison Square Gardens, New York City.

1876, The first mechanically-refrigerated ice rink, the Glaciarium, opened on the King�s Road, Chelsea, London.

2 August 1875, Britain�s first roller skating rink opened, in Belgravia, London.

1866, The world�s first ice skating rink opened at Newport, Rhode Island, USA.

1814, The first ice skating competition was held in Britain, in the Fens.

22 April 1760. The first pair of roller skates were seen.

1742, The world�s first skating club was formed in Edinburgh.

1498, A Dutch engraving depicted St Lydwina of Schiedam, patron sainto of skating. This is the earliest known illustration of the sport.

Skiing

3 December 1953, Franz Klammer, skier, was born.

6 July 1949, Georgina Hathorn, champion skier, was born.

13 August 1944, Davina Galica, skiing champion, was born.

18 March 1939, Henry Lunn, champion skier, died (born 30 July 1859).

1932, The Parsenn cable car opened at Klosters ski resprt, Switzerland, eliminating an arduous climb.

1928, The Arlberg-Kandahar ski racing cjampionships were first held at St Anton.

1927, First slalom downhill ski racing (from the Norwegian slad lam = sloping path) held.

1924, The Federation Internationale des Skieurs was founded.

1924, The Ski Club of Great Britain was founded.

1920, The Canada Amateur Ski Association was founded.

15 November 1914, Peter Lunn, skiing champion, was born.

2 December 1913, Esme Mackinnon, skiing champion, was born.

1904, The National Ski Association of America was founded.

1879, First large-scale skiing competition, at Huseby Hill, Oslo, Norway.

1866, First ski races, near Oslo, Norway.

30 July 1859, Henry Lunn, champion skier, was born (died 18 March 1939).

1843, Start of skiing as a civilian sport, at Tromso, Norway.

1767, First recorded (military) skiing races, in Norway.

Water Skiing

3 March 1963, Steve Moore, water skiing champion, was born.

3 November 1962, Andrew Mapple, water skiing champion, was born.,

14 May 1960, Elizabeth Hobbs, water skiing champion, was born.

14 April 1958, Michael Hazelwood, water skiing champion, was born.

1946, The Union Internationale de Ski Nautique was formed.

2 July 1922, Ralph Samuelson, 18, used the first water skis which he had invented at Lake Pepin, Minnesota.

Snooker

24 July 2010, Northern Irish snooker champion Alex �Hurricane� Higgins died aged 61.

10 August 1982, Shaun Murphy, snooker player, was born.

20 April 1981, Steve Davis won the world snooker championship at Sheffield, UK, beating Doug Mountjoy 18-12.

4 October 1978, Paul Hunter, snooker player, was born (died 9 October 2006)

10 July 1978, Joe Davis, snooker player, died (born 15 April 1901).

11 August 1977, Matthew Stevens, snooker player, was born.

12 May 1977, Graeme Dott, snooker player, was born.

5 December 1975, Ronald O�Sullivan, snooker champion, was born.

27 August 1970, Peter Ebdon, snooker player, was born.

13 January 1969, Stephen Hendry, snooker champion, was born.

24 February 1968, Allison Fisher, snooker champion, was born.

11 May 1964, John Parrott, snooker champion, was born.

1963, The World Amateur Snooker Championships were first held.

22 August 1957, Steve Davis, snooker player, was born.

18 March 1949, Alex Higgins, snooker champion, was born.

16 October 1947, Terence Griffiths, snooker champion, was born.

3 March 1946, John Virgo, English snooker player, was born.

18 September 1935, John Spencer, snooker champion, was born.

8 October 1932, Ray Reardon, snooker champion, was born.

1927, The World Professional Snooker Championships were first held.

12 December 1923, John Pulman, snooker champion, was born.

1920s, Snooker became popular, after Joe Davis introduced new techniques of play.

14 February 1913, Fred Davis, snooker champion, was born.

2 February 1907, Walter Donaldson, snooker champion, was born (died 24 May 1973).

1884, The first set of rules for the game of snooker were drawn up, in India. The game itself dates from the Devonshire Regiment�s HQ in India in 1875.

Softball

1966, The World Softball Championship for men began.

1965, The World Softball Championship for women began

Squash

12 May 1971, Peter Marshall, squash champion, was born.

15 August 1963, Lisa Opie, squash champion, was born.

11 March 1947, Geoff Hunt, squash player, was born in Melbourne, Australia

1928, The Squash Rackets Association was formed

27 December 1897, Victor Cazelet, squash player, was born (died 4 July 1943).

4 April 1892, Tom Jameson, squash champion, was born (died 6 February 1965)

1817, Squash was first played at Harrow School, London, UK.

Swimming.

1 February 2006, Liesel Jones, Australian swimmer, set a new world record for the 200m breast stroke of 2 minutes� 20.54 seconds.

21 June 2002, Fleur Vermeiren, Belgian swimming champion, was born.

6 March 1993, Ning Zetao, champion Chinese swimmer was born in Zhengzhou.

20 January 1990, Misaki Yamaguchi, Japanese Olympic swimmer, was born.

29 September 1968, Paul Radmilovic, swimming champion, died (born 5 March 1886).

1973, The Swimming World Championships were first held.

21 May 1969, Martin Harris, swimming champion, was born.

22 January 1967, Nicholas Gillingham, champion swimmer, was born.

7 February 1966, Kristrin Otto, swimmer, was born.

19 February 1965, Andrew Jameson, swimming champion, was born.

29 February 1964, In Sydney, Australia, Dawn Fraser set a new record of 58.9 ceconds for the 100 metre freestyle.

25 May 1964, Adrian Moorhouse, champion swimmer, was born.

1 November 1962, Sharron Davies, champion swimmer, was born in Plymouth, UK.

29 November 1960, Andrew Astbury, English champion swimmer, was born.

19 July 1960, Philip Hubble, champion swimmer, was born.

22 March 1959, Chris Snode, diving champion, was born.

27 May 1957, Duncan Goodhew, swimmer, was born.

11 September 1951, Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the English Channel, taking 16 hours 22 minutes. On 12 October 1955 she broke that record, taking just 13 hours 33 minutes.

10 February 1950, Mark Spitz, champion US swimmer, was born in Modesto, California.

8 September 1947, Linda Ludgrove, swimming champion, was born.

10 August 1941, Anita Lonsbrough, champion swimmer, was born.

12 January 1941, Chet Jastremski, US champion swimmer, was born.

5 March 1939, Judith Grinham, champion swimmer, was born.

30/71938, Rob Derbyshire, champion swimmer, died (born 29 November 1878).

4 September 1937, Dawn Fraser, Australian Olympic swimmer, was born.

26 May 1932, John Wardrop, champion swimmer, was born.

8 October 1928, John Brockway, champion swimmer, was born.

1927, The Channel Swimming Association was formed.

5 June 1922, Jack Hale, champion swimmer, was born in Hull.

30 January 1911, Jack Besford, swimmer, was born.

1908, An international regulatory organisation for the sport of swimming was established.

1907, Water Wings, inflatable rings arpound the upper arm to increase buoyancy, were introduced to help novice swimmers.

1906, Tooting Bec Lido, Britain�s largest outdoor freshwater swimming pool, opened.

1903, First recorded use of the �crawl� stroke; the swimmer was face down, using alternate overhand strokes, assisted by rapid leg movements. Used by R Cavill, and initially termed the �trudgen� stroke.

15 August 1893, John Hatfield, champion swimmer, was born (died 30 March 1965).

22 August 1890, Duke Kahanamoku, Hawaiian surfer, was born.

5 March 1886, Paul Radmilovic, swimming champion, was born (died 29 September 1968).

17 March 1885, Henry Taylor, champion swimmer, was born (died 28 February 1951).

24 July 1883, Matthew Webb, swimming champion, died.

29 November 1878, Rob Derbyshire, champion swimmer, was born (died 30 July 1938).

24 February 1872, John Jarvis, champion swimmer, was born (died 9 May 1933).

28 May 1742. The first indoor swimming pool in England opened in London. The entrance fee was one guinea.

Volleyball

30 May 1974, Vigor Bovolenta, Italian volleyball champion, was born.

1952, The Volleyball World Championships for women were first held.

1949, The Volleyball World Championships for men were first held.

1918, Volleyball was introduced to Europe, by US troops.

9 February 1895, Volleyball was invented by William Morgan at the Holyoke YMCA. It was introduced to Europe by US troops during World War One.

Water Polo.

1973, First world water polo championships.

1885, The Swimming Association of Great Britain drew up the official rules of water polo.

26 January 1879, Charles Smith, water polo champion, was born (died 6 April 1951).

Weightlifting

24 February 1933, Philip Caira, weightlifter, was born.

8 August 1930, Launceston Elliot, weightlifter, died.

1920, The International Weightlifting Federation was formed/.

30 June 1917, Julian Creus, weightlifter, was born.

28 May 1891, The first world weightlifting championships were held at the Cafe Monico in Piccadilly, London.

Wrestling

11 March 1988, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Japanese professional wrestler, was born.

27 May 1982, Natalya Neidhart, Canadian wrestler, was born.

21 March 1972, Chris Candido, US professional wrestler, was born in Edison, New Jersey (died 2005)

18 January 1969, Dave Bautista, US professional wrestler, was born.

2 August 1968, Michael Stanco, American professional wrestler, was born (died 2014).

13 March 1966, Akira Nogami, wrestler, was born.

30 May 1955, Jake Smith (Roberts), professional wrestler, was born in Texas.

11 August 1953, Hulk Hogan, professional wrestler, was born.

1951, First freestyle world wrestling chsampionships.

26 April 1949, Jerry Blackwell, professional wrestler, was born in Stone Mountain, Georgia (died 1995)

24 August 1945, Vince McMahon, professional wrestling entrepreneur, was born.

22 July 1937, Thursday (-2,847) Yasuhiro Kojima, Japanese professional wrestler was born (died 1999)

6 October 1935, Bruno Sammartino, professional wrestler, was born.

10 July 1926, Kenneth Richmond, wrestler, was born.

9 June 1924, Ed Farhat, professional wrestler, was born in Lansing, Michigan (died 2003).

1921, First Graeco-Roman style world wrestling championships.

10 September 1917, Masahiko Kimura, Japanese wrestler, was born in Kumamoto, Japan (died 1993)

3 November 1880, Edward Barnett, wrestler, was born in Ireland.

Yachting

4 February 1991, Stewart Morris, yachting champion, died (born 25 May 1909).

29 August 1989, Peter Scott, yachtsman, died (born 14 September 1909).

8 July 1976, Dame Ellen MacArthur, yachtswoman, was born.

1973, The Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race was first held. It is now held every four years, withy the start and finish point at either Southampton or Portsmouth. Since 1989 the course has been extended to include a visit to the USA coast.

5 September 1962, Tracy Edwards, yachtswoman, was born.

1957, The Admiral�s Cup race was first held off southern England.

1925, The Fastnet Race was first held; a 975 km run from Cowes, Isle of Wight, round the Fastnet Rocks off SW Ireland, and back to Plymouth. It is held every alternate August during Cowes week, and is now the final event of the Admiral�s Cup (see 1957).

14 September 1909, Peter Scott, yachtsman, was born (died 29 August 1989).

25 May 1909, Stewart Morris, yachting champion, was born (died 4 February 1991).

17 September 1901, Sir Francis Chichester, British yachtsman and aviator, was born in Barnstaple, Devon.

1875, The Yacht Racing Association was formed, to regulate the sport.

22 August 1851, The US schooner Americas won a race around the Isle of Wight. The Americas Cup is named after this ship. In 1857 the Stevens Syndicate, owners of the America, donated the cup to the New York yacht Club as a perpetual international challenge trophy.

It was originally known as the Hundred Guinea Cup.

1823, The Royal Thames Yacht Club was founded.

1 June 1815, The Yacht Club was founded in London; membership was restricted to those with a yacht of over 10 tons. In 1817 this was raised to 20 tons.

1812, The Royal Yacht Squadron was founded at Cowes, Isle of Wight.

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