26th – Australian Test Cricketer Ian Chappell was born on the day in 1943. The older brother of Greg, Ian enjoyed a successful Test career until 1977 when he became skipper of one of Kerry Packer’s breakaway teams. He appeared in 75 Tests, 71 of them consecutively, ssoring 5345 runs (average 42.42). In 1973 he became a member of that select band of players to score two centuries in the same Test match, against New Zealand in Wellington where, uniquely, brother Greg achieved the same feat in the same match. In 1956 by beating Anderlecht 10-0 in the European Cup, Manchester United became the first British club to score ten goals in a match in one of the three major European club tournaments. The first two matches in the Football League Cup competition, which has been known by many other names, were played on this day in 1960. Bristol Rovers beat Fulham 2-1 and West Ham beat Charlton Athletic 3-1. Franz Beckenbauer made his international debut for Germany in a 2-1 win over Sweden in 1965. He would win a further 102 caps in illustrious career. The longest winning streak in any sport to date ended on this day in 1983 when Australia II, skippered by John Bertland, captured the America’s Cup from the US yacht Liberty, with Dennis Conner at the helm, at Newport Rhode Island. The trophy, originally called the One Thousand Guineas Cup, has been in the hand of the New York Yacht Club since the competition was inaugurated in 1851.

 

27th – The most amazing “grand slam” in golfing history was complete in this day in 1930. Amateur golfer Bobby Jones has already won the British Amateur Championships at St Andrews, the British Open at Hoylake and the US Open at Minneapolis when he made his way to Merion for the US Amateur Championship. He registered easy wins in his first four matches before dispatching Eugene Hormans 8 and 7 in the final to win the title and earn this unique Grand Slam and it is doubtful in this day and age whether any man could now come close to equalling that record. One of the most successful player in either men’s or women’s golf, Kathy Whitworth was born in 1939. She won 88 events on the US Ladies Tour, including six Majors. The US Women’s Open eluded her however and in 1981 she became the first woman to reach career earnings of $1 million on the LPGA Tour. Joe Louis’ attempt to regain the world heavyweight title 18 months after announcing his retirement ended in a points defeat by Ezzard Chares at the Yankee Stadium in 1950. The European Ryder Cup team made history at Muirfield Village, Ohio, in 1987 when they became the first to beat a US team on home soil since the tournament began in 1927. Under the leadership of their non-playing captain, Tony Jacklin, Europe retained the trophy with a 15-13 win. Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was sent home from the Seoul Olympic Games in disgrace in 1988 and stripped of his 100m gold medal after testing positive for drugs. Samples of Johnson’s urine were tested for drugs immediately after the 100m final three days previously which he won in a world record time of 9.79 seconds.

                                       

28th – A great horseracing career was launched this day in 1870 when 13 year-old Fred Archer rode his first winner, partnering Athol Daisy to victory at Chesterfield. It was the first of 2748 winners for Archer whose all-too-brief career ended in suicide at the age of 29. Born on this day in 1943, Winston “Win” Percy, three times British Touring Car Chamption and regarded by many os the World’s number one Touring Car Driver. Norm Van Brocklin set an NFL record in 1951 when he passed 554 yards playing for the Los Angeles Rams against the New York Yanks. Britain’s Lloyd Honeyghan stopped champion Donald curry at Atlantic City in 1986 to win the world welterweight titel and become the first British holder of the title since John H Stracey in 1976.

 

29th – West Indian cricketer Lance Gibbs was born in 1934. He claimed a total of 309 victims in 79 Tests between 1958 and 1976. Gibbs was only the second man in cricket history to take 300 test wickets, Freddie Trueman being the first. British speed ace John Cobb was killed on this day in 1952 when his jet-engined Crusader disintegrated on Loch Ness. Born today in 1955, Ann Bancroft, explorer, author and first women to reach the North Pole on foot and also the first female to cross both polar ice caps. Former Welsh captain and fly-half Gareth Davies was born in 1956. His international career looked all but over in 1982 when the selectors blamed him for Wales’ defeat by Scotland. He earned a recall three years later and won 21 caps before retiring. Sebastian Coe was born on the same day as Gareth Davies in 1956. Considered one of Britain’s greatest middle-distance runners, he set individual world records at 800, 1000, 1500 metres and the mile between 1979 and 1981. He won Olympic gold at 1500m in 1980 and 1984 and silver in 800m at both games. Since retiring he has been a Conservative MP for Falmouth and Camborne in Cornwall (1992 to 1997), headed the successful London bid to host the2012 Summer Olympics and became chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games. In 2007, he was elected a vice-president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), and re-elected for another four-year term in 2011. In August 2015 he was elected president of the IAAF. Chelsea beat the Luxembourg club Jeunesse Hautcharage 8-0 in the first leg of their Cup-winners’ Cup encounter in 1971 and then demolished them 13-0 in the second leg at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool was in mourning in 1981, when the legendary Bill Shankley died. He took Liverpool out of the second division and turned them into one of the best and most feared teams in the world. He laid the foundations on which all subsequent Liverpool managers have built their teams.

 

30th – At the 22nd British Golf Open at St Andrews on this day in 1882 Bob Ferguson shoots a 171. On this day in 1927 Babe Ruth became the first baseball player to hit 60 home runs in a season. All 11 players in the Belgium Football Team facing Holland on this day in 1964 were from the same club, Anderlecht. This was the first time in the history of the game that places in a national side have been filled entirely by players from one professional club. Born on this day in 1980, Martina Hingis, Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as the singles world Number 1 and won five Grand Slam singles titles (three at the Australian Open, one at Wimbledon, and one at the US Open), 12 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles, winning a calendar-year doubles Grand Slam in 1998, and five Grand Slam mixed doubles titles; for a combined total of 22 major titles. In addition, she has won the season-ending WTA Championships two times in singles and three times in doubles and is an Olympic medalist, winning silver in women’s doubles at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Hingis set a series of “youngest-ever” records, including youngest-ever Grand Slam champion and youngest-ever world Number 1. In 1981, Seoul, South Korea was selected to host the 1988 Summer Olympics.

 

October 1st – in 1661 Yachting begins in England when King Charles II defeats his brother James, Duke of York in a race between Greenwich and Gravesend. On this day in 1843 the News of the World tabloid newspaper begins publication in London. While in 1847, Maria Mitchell, an American astronomer, discovers a comet, now referred to as “Miss Mitchell’s Comet” and is elected the same day to the American Academy of Arts, the first woman to be so honoured. The King of Denmark later awards her a gold medal for her discovery. In 1908, The Ford Model T, the first car for millions of Americans, hits the market. Over 15 million Model Ts are eventually sold, all of them black. Footballer Duncan Edwards was born in 1936, one of Matt Busby’s gifted Manchester United team and died of injuries received in the Munich Air Disaster. In 1955 he was the then youngest ever England International of the century when he made his debut against Scotland aged 18. On the day in 1975, the so called “Thrilla in Manila” fight took place in the Philippines where Muhammad Ali defeated Joe Frazier. In 1977 legendary footballer Pele retired. The Brazilian player played in 1363 games over his career scoring 1281 goals.

 

2nd – The first rugby match at Twickenham was played in 1909 when resident club Harlequins lined up against Richmond. Known as “Billy Williams’ Cabbage Patch” because it was built on the site of a market garden, it was the home of Rugby Football Union. Born today in 1919 was Dutch racing car driver Jan Flinterman, the first driver from the Netherlands to compete in Formula 1. Aerial circus star Clyde Pangborn and playboy Hugh Herndon, Jr. set off to complete the first nonstop flight across the Pacific Ocean from Misawa City, Japan in 1931. The great Finnish long-distance runner Paavo Nurmi aka “The Flying Finn” died on this day in 1973 aged 76. Nurmi established 22 world records ranging from 1500 m to 20 km, a record in running that was equalled only by Haile Gebrselassie. Moreover, The Flying Finn set another 36 unofficial word records during his 14 years career. The Wimbledon-Sheffield Wednesday game at Selhurst Park in 1991 attracted a gate of only 3121, the lowest at a first-division game since the war.