1972 in sports

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Years in sports:	1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975
Centuries:	19th century · 20th century · 21st century
Decades:	1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
Years:	1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975

Contents 1 Athletics 1.1 Marathon 2 Auto Racing 3 Baseball 4 Basketball 5 Boxing 6 Cycling 7 Field Hockey 8 Figure skating 9 Football (American) 10 Football (Australian rules football) 11 Football (Canadian) 12 Football (Soccer) 13 Golf 14 Thoroughbred Horse Racing 15 Harness Racing 16 Ice Hockey 17 Lacrosse 18 Skiing 19 Snooker 20 Swimming 20.1 Events 21 Tennis 22 General sporting events 23 Awards 24 Births 24.1 January 24.2 February 24.3 March 24.4 April 24.5 May 24.6 June 24.7 July 24.8 August 24.9 September 24.10 October 24.11 November 24.12 December 25 Deaths

[edit] Athletics

For an extensive coverage see 1972 in athletics (track and field)

[edit] Marathon

• September 10 — Olympic Marathon, Munich, West Germany
  • Men's Winner: Frank Shorter (USA) 2:12:19.8

• December 3 — Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
  • Men's Winner: Frank Shorter (USA) 2:10:30

[edit] Auto Racing

• Stock car racing:
  • February 20: A.J. Foyt won the Daytona 500
  • NASCAR Championship - Richard Petty
• Indianapolis 500 - Mark Donohue
• USAC Racing - Joe Leonard won the season championship
• Formula 5000 - Gijs van Lennep of The Netherlands
• Formula One Championship - Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil
• 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Henri Pescarolo / Graham Hill won, driving a Matra MS670
• Rally racing - Sandro Munari / Mario Manucci won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Lancia Fulvia 1.6HF
• Drag racing - Don Moody won "Top Fuel" at the NHRA Supernationals

[edit] Baseball

• 1972 in baseball
• January 19: The BBWAA elects Sandy Koufax (344 votes), Yogi Berra (339), and Early Wynn (301) to the Hall of Fame. Koufax makes it in his first try and, at 36, is the youngest honoree in history. He won three Cy Young awards in a four-year span when the honor was only given to one pitcher for both leagues. Berra played in 14 World Series (ten world champions), he had more hits in Series play than any other player, and he was a three-time MVP for the Yankees. Wynn won 300 career games, and won 20 games five times. *September 30: Roberto Clemente got his 3,000th hit against the New York Mets.
• Sparky Lyle saves 35 games for the New York Yankees, breaking Ron Perranoski's 1970 records for AL pitchers and left-handers. Lyle also becomes the first left-hander to save 100 career games in the American League.
• World Series: Oakland Athletics win their 6th World Championship by defeating the Cincinnati Reds, 4 games to 3.
• December 31 - The Pittsburgh Pirates' legendary right fielder Roberto Clemente dies in a plane crash near Puerto Rico on his way to bring relief supplies to Nicaraguan earthquake victims.

[edit] Basketball

• NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
  • UCLA wins 81-76 over Florida St.

• NBA Finals:
  • Los Angeles Lakers won 4 games to 1 over the New York Knicks

• 1972 ABA Finals:
  • Indiana Pacers defeat New York Nets 4 games to 2

[edit] Boxing

• June 26 - Roberto Duran stopped Ken Buchanan in the thirteenth round to win the WBA Lightweight Championship.

yo was up

[edit] Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Eddy Merckx of Belgium
• Tour de France - Eddy Merckx of Belgium
• World Cycling Championship: Marino Basso of Italy

[edit] Field Hockey

• Olympic Games (Men's Competition) in Munich, West Germany
  • Gold Medal: West Germany
  • Silver Medal: Pakistan
  • Bronze Medal: India

[edit] Figure skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Ondrej Nepela, Czechoslovakia
  • Ladies' champion: Beatrix Schuba, Austria
  • Pair skating champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexei Ulyanov, Soviet Union
  • Ice dancing champions: Lyudmila Pakhomova & Alexandr Gorshkov, Soviet Union

[edit] Football (American)

• January 16-Super Bowl VI: Dallas Cowboys won 24-3 over the Miami Dolphins

• 1971 NCAA Division I-A national football championship: The Nebraska Cornhuskers win 38-6 over the University of Alabama Crimson Tide to claim back-to-back National Championship titles on January 1, 1972.

[edit] Football (Australian rules football)

• Victorian Football League
  • Carlton wins the 76th VFL Premiership (Carlton 28.9 (177) d Richmond 22.18 (150))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Len Thompsom (Collingwood)

[edit] Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Hamilton Tiger-Cats won 13-10 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders
• Vanier Cup: Alberta Golden Bears won 20-7 over the Waterloo Golden Hawks

[edit] Football (Soccer)

For an extensive coverage see 1972 in football (soccer)

• Brazil: Palmeiras wins the Campeonato Brasileiro
• England - FA Cup: Leeds United won 1-0 over Arsenal
• Europe - Cup Winners' Cup: Rangers FC won 3-2 over Dinamo Moscow
• West Germany beat the Soviet Union 3-0 to win the European Championship.

[edit] Golf

Men's Golf

• The European Tour begins its first season of competition.

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. April 6-9 - The Masters - Jack Nicklaus
  2. June 15-18 - US Open - Jack Nicklaus
  3. July 12-15 - The Open Championship - Lee Trevino
  4. August 3-6 - PGA Championship - Gary Player

• PGA Tour leading money winner for the year: Jack Nicklaus - $320,542

Women's Golf

• US Women's Open - Susie Berning
• LPGA Championship - Kathy Ahern
• Kathy Whitworth: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $65,063

[edit] Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Piping Lane
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Victoria Song
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - San San
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Steel Pulse

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes - High Top
  2. Epsom Derby - Roberto
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Boucher

• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. May 6 - Kentucky Derby - Riva Ridge
  2. Preakness Stakes - Bee Bee Bee
  3. Belmont Stakes - Riva Ridge

[edit] Harness Racing

• September 21 - Strike Out became the first Canadian owned harness racing horse to ever win the Little Brown Jug.

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace - Hilarious Way
  2. Little Brown Jug - Strike Out
  3. Messenger Stakes - Silent Majority

• Super Bowl wins the United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian - Super Bowl
  2. Yonkers Trot - Super Bowl
  3. Kentucky Futurity - Super Bowl

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Welcome Advice

[edit] Ice Hockey

• World Hockey Association (WHA) formed to compete with the NHL. This new league signed several of the top NHL stars including Bobby Hull and Derek Sanderson.

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins

• Hart Memorial Trophy: for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins

• Stanley Cup - Boston Bruins win 4 games to 2 over the New York Rangers

• September 28 - Paul Henderson scored the "goal of the century" to give Canada the win in the Summit Series, the first ever Canada versus the Soviet Union hockey showdown.

• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Czechoslovakia defeated the Soviet Union
• NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship: Boston University Terriers defeat Cornell University Big Red 4-0 in Boston, MA

[edit] Lacrosse

• The Long Branch P.C.O.'s win the first Founders Cup.
• The New Westminster­ Salmonbellies win the Mann Cup.
• The Peterborough PCO's win the Minto Cup.

[edit] Skiing

• Alpine Skiing
  • The men's overall season champion: Gustav Thöni, Italy
  • The women's overall season champion: Annemarie Pröll, Austria

[edit] Snooker

• World Snooker Championship: Alex Higgins beats John Spencer 37-32

[edit] Swimming

[edit] Events

• XX Olympic Games, held in Munich, West Germany (August 28 – September 4)

[edit] Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - Ken Rosewall
  2. French Open - Andres Gimeno
  3. Wimbledon championships - Stan Smith
  4. US Open - Ilie Năstase

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Virginia Wade
  2. French Open - Billie Jean King
  3. Wimbledon championships - Billie Jean King
  4. US Open - Billie Jean King (first player in Open Era to repeat as singles champion)

• Davis Cup: United States wins 3-2 over Romania in world tennis.

[edit] General sporting events

• 1972 Summer Olympics takes place in Munich, Germany
  • USSR wins the most medals (99), and the most gold medals (50)

• 1972 Winter Olympics takes place in Sapporo, Japan
  • USSR wins the most medals (16), and the most gold medals (8)

• Seventh Winter Universiade held in Lake Placid, New York, United States

[edit] Awards

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Mark Spitz, Swimming
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Olga Korbut, Gymnastics

[edit] Births

[edit] January

• January 1 — Yermakhan Ibraimov, Kazakhstani boxer
• January 2 — Paweł Januszewski, Polish hurdler
• January 2 — Davide Scala, Italian tennis player
• January 3 — Steph Cook, modern pentathlon athlete
• January 3 — Song Seung-Tae, South Korean field hockey striker
• January 5 — Hilma Caldeira, Brazilian volleyball player
• January 6 — Krisztina Szremkó, Hungarian water polo player
• January 7 — Karen MacNeill, Canadian field hockey defender
• January 11 — Julia Price, Australian cricketer
• January 11 — Wenyi Yang, Chinese freestyle and backstroke swimmer
• January 12 — Sebastian Wiese, German freestyle swimmer
• January 19 — Morrade Hakkar, French middleweight boxer
• January 23 — Marcel Wouda, Dutch swimmer and swimming coach
• January 24 — Ulla Werbrouck, Belgian judoka
• January 25 — Tanya Hughes, American high jumper
• January 25 — Katrina Von Sass, Canadian volleyball player
• January 26 — Denise Klecker, German field hockey player
• January 27 — Keith Wood, Irish rugby player

[edit] February

• February 1 — Carlton Bruner, American freestyle swimmer
• February 2 — Roberto Calcaterra, Italian water polo player
• February 3 — Mart Poom, Estonian football (soccer) goalkeeper
• February 7 — Mariano Chao, Argentine field hockey goalkeeper
• February 9 — Norbert Rózsa, Hungarian breaststroker
• February 15 — Jaromir Jagr, Czech ice hockey star
• February 16 — Dirk Dier, German tennis player
• February 17 — Philippe Candeloro, figure skater
• February 17 — Lloyd Ball, American volleyball player
• February 19 — Lucy Pearson, English cricketer
• February 20 — Jan Boven, Dutch road cyclist
• February 20 — Carlo Sonego, Italian javelin thrower
• February 22 — Michael Chang, US tennis player
• February 22 — Florian Kunz, German field hockey defender
• February 22 — Claudia Pechstein, German speed skater
• February 24 — Larry Amar, American field hockey midfielder
• February 24 — Richard Chelimo, Kenyan athlete (d. 2001)
• February 27 — Jeannette Lewin, Dutch field hockey player
• February 28 — Tarick Salmaci, American boxer from Lebanese origin

[edit] March

• March 1 — Andraž Vehovar, Slovenian slalom canoer
• March 3 — Petr Luxa, Czech tennis player
• March 4 — Pae Gil-Su, North Korean gymnast
• March 5 — Mikael Tillström, Swedish tennis player
• March 5 — Hernan Gumy, Argentinian tennis player
• March 6 — Yoav Bruck, Israeli freestyle swimmer
• March 6 — Shaquille O'Neal, American basketball player
• March 8 — Tanya Koleva, Bulgarian pole vaulter
• March 9 — Anna Lawrence, New Zealand field hockey midfielder
• March 9 — Meagan Warthold, Australian weight lifter
• March 9 — Zsolt Varga, Hungarian water polo player
• March 11 — Debra McLeod, Scottish field hockey goalkeeper
• March 13 — Sherri Field, Canadian field hockey player
• March 14 — Clover Maitland, Australian field hockey goalkeeper
• March 15 — Steve Danielson, American field hockey player
• March 15 — Filip Dewulf, Belgian tennis player
• March 16 — Andrew Foster, British tennis player
• March 16 — Sandor Noszaly, Hungarian tennis player
• March 17 — Mia Hamm, American soccer player
• March 18 — Carolyn Reid, British field hockey goalkeeper
• March 20 — Daniela Hunger, German medley and freestyle swimmer
• March 22 — Elvis Stojko, figure skating champion
• March 23 — Victor Manuel Baute, Spanish boxer
• March 23 — Jonas Björkman, Swedish tennis player
• March 23 — Joe Calzaghe, Welsh boxer
• March 25 — Nina Bonner, Australian field hockey goalkeeper
• March 25 — Erna Brinkman, Dutch volleyball player
• March 29 — Trevor Kidd, Canadian hockey player
• March 29 — Piet-Hein Geeris, Dutch field hockey player
• March 29 — Paul Kent, New Zealand breaststroke swimmer
• March 30 — Sander van Heeswijk, Dutch field hockey player

[edit] April

• April 2 — Fabrice Bry, French volleyball player
• April 2 — Graham Hood, Canadian middle-distance runner
• April 3 — Đula Mešter, Serbian volleyball player
• April 3 — Sandrine Testud, French tennis player
• April 4 — Daniel Mameri, Brazilian water polo player
• April 8 — Katrina Powell, Australian field hockey player
• April 10 — Srđan Muškatirović, Serbian tennis player
• April 11 — Brandon Coupe, US tennis player
• April 11 — Annemette Jensen, Danish athlete
• April 13 — Lee Jin-Taek, South Korean high jumper
• April 14 — Yamilé Aldama, Cuba-born Sudanese triple jumper
• April 14 — Benjamin Insfran, Brazilian beach volleyball player
• April 15 — Arturo Gatti, Italian-born boxer from Canada
• April 15 — Chun Wei Cheung, Dutch rowing cox (d. 2006)
• April 16 — Eldar Kurtanidze, Georgian wrestler
• April 17 — Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lankan cricketer
• April 17 — Macha van der Vaart, Dutch field hockey midfielder
• April 22 — Tanya White, Australian taekwondoka
• April 24 — Nicolas Gill, Canadian judoka
• April 24 — Jorge Pérez, Spanish swimmer
• April 27 — Silvia Farina Elia, Italian tennis player
• April 29 — Francesco Postiglione, Italian swimmer and water polo player
• April 29 — Mariusz Siudek, Polish figure-skater
• April 29 — Jacques Yoko, French volleyball player

[edit] May

• May 1 — Angela Alupei, Romanian rower
• May 4 — Ethan Watts, American volleyball player
• May 5 — Laurent Capet, French volleyball player
• May 5 — James Cracknell, British rower
• May 5 — Michael Green, German field hockey player
• May 7 — Peter Dubovský, Slovak football (soccer) player (d. 2000)
• May 9 — Daniela Silivaş, Romanian gymnast
• May 11 — Brian MacPhie, US tennis player
• May 11 — Lori Melien, Canadian backstroke swimmer
• May 12 — Susanne Müller, German field hockey player
• May 13 — Stefaan Maene, Belgian swimmer
• May 14 — Mandy Smith, New Zealand field hockey striker
• May 16 — Mayra García, Mexican beach volleyball player
• May 22 — Márcio May, Brazilian cyclist
• May 21 — Jalo de Vries, Dutch water polo player
• May 23 — Kevin Ullyett, South African tennis player
• May 24 — Kerron Speid, Jamaican boxer
• May 26 — Kevin McMahon, American hammer thrower
• May 27 — Eskild Ebbesen, Danish rower
• May 28 — Jacob-Jan Esmeijer, Dutch cricketer
• May 30 — Renita Farrell, Australian field hockey player
• May 31 — Frode Estil, Norwegian cross-country skier

[edit] June

• June 7 — Curtis Robb, British middle-distance runner
• June 8 — Frédéric Esther, French boxer
• June 11 — Julien Prosser, Australian beach volleyball player
• June 13 — Keith Cullen, English long-distance runner
• June 15 — Krista Thompson, Canadian field hockey goalkeeper
• June 17 — Iztok Čop, Slovenian rower
• June 20 — Sofía MacKenzie, Argentine field hockey defender
• June 21 — Canyon Ceman, American beach volleyball player
• June 21 — William Kiplagat, Kenyan long-distance runner
• June 23 — Zinedine Zidane, French football player
• June 24 — Robbie McEwen, Australian professional road bicycle racer
• June 24 — Ian Rutledge, Australian field hockey coach
• June 24 — Denis Zvegelj, Slovenian rower
• June 26 — Jai Taurima, Australian long jumper
• June 26 — Roel and Mansueto Velasco, Filipino boxing twins
• June 27 — Armin Kerer,Italian javelin thrower
• June 28 — Mark Merklein, American tennis player
• June 30 — Stuart Rendell, Australian hammer thrower

[edit] July

• July 1 — Svetlana Zhurova, Russian ice speed skater
• July 2 — Matthew Birir, Kenyan athlete
• July 8 — Saurav Ganguly, Indian cricketer
• July 8 — Viorel Moldovan, Romanian football (soccer) forward
• July 9 — Anabel Gambero, Argentine field hockey defender
• July 12 — Tibor Benedek, Hungarian water polo player
• July 14 — Hilda Gaxiola, Mexican beach volleyball player
• July 15 — Natalya Sadova, Russian discus thrower
• July 16 — Ramon Hernández, Puerto Rican beach volleyball player
• July 16 — Oleg Ogorodov, Uzbek tennis player
• July 20 — Alvydas Pazdrazdis, Lithuanian basketball player
• July 21 — Sascha Heyer, Swiss beach volleyball player
• July 21 — Nikolay Kozlov, Russian water polo player
• July 22 — Michael Johansen, Danish football (soccer) player
• July 25 — Héctor Vinent, Cuban boxer
• July 26 — Indrek Sei, Estonian freestyle swimmer
• July 28 — Tom Vanhoudt, Belgian tennis player
• July 31 — Armen Bagdasarov, Uzbek judoka

[edit] August

• August 1 — Martin Damm, Czech tennis player
• August 3 — Christian Keller, German medley and freestyle swimmer
• August 7 — Xeno Müller, Swiss rower
• August 7 — Dennis Rijnbeek, Dutch freestyle swimmer
• August 10 — Yong Zhuang, Chinese freestyle swimmer
• August 11 — Melanie Jones, Australian cricketer
• August 11 — Rob Short, Canadian field hockey player
• August 21 — Ronnie Ekelund, Danish football (soccer) player
• August 24 — Christian Ruud, Norwegian tennis player
• August 25 — Elmarie Gerryts, South African pole vaulter
• August 26 — Wilhelm Fischer, German boxer
• August 27 — Jaap-Derk Buma, Dutch field hockey player
• August 27 — Denise Lewis, British athlete
• August 27 — Wayne McIndoe, New Zealand field hockey player
• August 28 — Nathan Thomas, Australian waterpolo player
• August 30 — Pavel Nedvěd, Czech football player

[edit] September

• September 1 — Josh Davis, American freestyle swimmer
• September 1 — Louise Dobson, Australian field hockey player
• September 4 — Daniel Nestor, Canadian tennis player
• September 8 — Os du Randt, South African rugby player
• September 9 — Bryan Bronson, American hurdler
• September 9 — Peggy Büchse, German long-distance swimmer
• September 9 — Jakko Jan Leeuwangh, Dutch speed skater
• September 9 — Henrique Guimarães, Brazilian judoka
• September 9 — Alexis Rubalcaba, Cuban heavyweight boxer
• September 10 — Daniele Musa, Italian tennis player
• September 11 — Matthew Gilmore, Australian-born Belgian cyclist
• September 16 — Vebjørn Rodal, Norwegian middle distance athlete
• September 17 — Simon Towns, New Zealand field hockey player
• September 18 — Brigitte Becue, Belgian breaststroke swimmer
• September 19 — Amy Frazier, American tennis player
• September 20 — Jenny Morris, Australian field hockey player
• September 23 — Mário Sabino, Brazilian judoka
• September 23 — Radomir Vasek, Czech tennis player
• September 25 — Davide Sanguinetti, Italian tennis player
• September 27 — Sylvia Crawley, American basketball player

[edit] October

• October 4 — Joanna Stone, Australian javelin thrower
• October 5 — Tena Negere, Ethiopian long-distance runner
• October 7 — John Hyden, American volleyball player
• October 7 — Remco van Wijk, Dutch field hockey player and coach
• October 10 — Marianne Limpert, Canadian freestyle and medley swimmer
• October 10 — Emanuele Merisi, Italian swimmer
• October 10 — Marcelo Negrão, Brazilian volleyball player
• October 11 — Martin Lundgaard, Danish badminton player
• October 11 — Brigitte Soucy, Canadian volleyball player
• October 13 — Feliberto Ascuy, Cuban wrestler
• October 15 — Duncan Dokiwari, Nigerian boxer
• October 19 — Otto Steffers, American field hockey defender
• October 20 — Pie Geelen, Dutch freestyle swimmer
• October 24 — Ruxandra Dragomir, Romanian tennis player
• October 24 — Jonathan Reid, American boxer
• October 25 — Rodolfo Falcon, Cuban backstroke swimmer
• October 27 — Santiago Botero, Colombian cyclist
• October 27 — Brett Clarke, Australian table tennis player
• October 27 — Jason Duff, Australian field hockey defender
• October 27 — Calum Giles, English field hockey player
• October 27 — Rob Henderson, Irish rugby union footballer
• October 27 — Maria Mutola, Mozambican athlete
• October 27 — John Steel, New Zealand freestyle swimmer

[edit] November

• November 1 — Marie Rasmussen, Danish pole vaulter
• November 1 — Gillian Sewell, Northern Ireland-born field hockey player from Canada
• November 3 — Marko Koers, Dutch middle distance runner
• November 4 — Luís Figo, Portuguese football player
• November 4 — Olivia Magno, Australian cricketer
• November 5 — Alison Sheppard, Scottish freestyle swimmer
• November 7 — Hasim Rahman, American heavyweight boxer
• November 8 — Chris Fydler, Australian swimmer
• November 9 — Barbara Bedford, US backstroke swimmer
• November 9 — Sophie Blake, British television sports presenter
• November 10 — Dominique Daquin, French volleyball player
• November 14 — Laurence Tieleman, Italian tennis player
• November 15 — Emilio Alvarez, Spanish tennis player
• November 16 — Ageeth Boomgaardt, Dutch field hockey player
• November 21 — Eyal Ran, Israeli tennis player
• November 24 — Ibrahim Dossey, Ghanaian football (soccer) goalkeeper
• November 24 — Marek Lemsalu, Estonian football (soccer) player
• November 24 — Rhona Simpson, Scottish field hockey player
• November 27 — Chris Hunter, Canadian field hockey forward
• November 30 — Adriano Garrido, Brazilian beach volleyball player

[edit] December

• December 1 — Nicole Koolen, Dutch field hockey player
• December 2 — Gustavo Borges, Brazilian swimmer
• December 3 — Angel Luis Andreo, Spanish water polo player
• December 6 — Francisco Cabello, Argentinian tennis player
• December 7 — Jordi Burillo, Spanish tennis player
• December 9 — Fabrice Santoro, French tennis player
• December 9 — Maikro Romero, Cuban boxer
• December 11 — Paul Rosner, South African tennis player
• December 12 — Wilson Kipketer, Kenyan-born Danish middle distance runner
• December 16 — Nicole Haislett, American freestyle swimmer
• December 18 — Anzhela Balakhonova, Ukrainian pole vaulter
• December 18 — Marcos Ondruska, South African tennis player
• December 19 — Charles Lefrançois, Canadian high jumper
• December 20 — Jonathan Wyatt, New Zealand long-distance runner
• December 21 — Claudia Poll, Nicaragua-born swimmer from Costa Rica
• December 21 — Tue Bjørn Thomsen, Danish boxer (d. 2006)
• December 27 — Colin Charvis, Welsh rugby player
• December 27 — Hocine Soltani, Algerian boxer
• December 28 — Roberto Palacios, Peruvian football (soccer) midfielder
• December 28 — Patrick Rafter, Australian tennis player

[edit] Deaths

• February 28 — Victor Barna, Hungarian-born, five-time World table tennis champion
• February 28 — Dizzy Trout, Major League Baseball pitcher (1939-1957)
• March 11 — Zack Wheat, Major League Baseball player (1909-1927)
• March 16 — Pie Traynor, Major League Baseball player (1920-1937)
• March 20 — Gerard Bosch van Drakestein, Dutch track cyclist (b. 1887)
• March 28 — Donie Bush, Major League Baseball player (1908-1923)
• April 2 — Gil Hodges, Major League Baseball player/manager (1943-1963)
• April 22 — Isak Abrahamsen (80), Norwegian gymnast (b. 1891)
• July 16 — Marinus van den Berge (72), Dutch athlete (b. 1900)
• September 6 — Eliezer Halfin (28), Israeli wrestler (b. 1948)
• October 9 — Dave Bancroft, Major League Baseball player (1915-1930)
• October 17 — Turk Broda, ice hockey goaltender
• October 24 — Jackie Robinson, Baseball Hall of Famer (1947-1956)
• December 31 — Roberto Clemente, Baseball Hall of Famer (1955-1972)
• December 20 — Gabby Hartnett, Major League Baseball player (1922-1941)
• December 23 — Eric Green, British field hockey player (b. 1878)