1902 - The first day of the inaugural cricket Test between South Africa and Australia, in Johannesburg
1937 - Birth of English footballer Sir Bobby Charlton, who had 106 caps for the country and won the World Cup in 1966. He was also a legend at Manchester United and managed Preston North End Football Club
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Birth occurs in 1937 of English football legend Sir Bobby Charlton[/caption]
1943 - US’ professional baseball team New York Yankees beat Cards 4-1 in the 40th World Series, to become the first team to win 10 World Series’ titles
1946 - Birth of Japanese gymnast Sawao Kato. He won eight Olympic gold medals through 1968, 1972, and 1976
In Karachi, Pakistan meet Australia in a Test for the first time to have the slowest day in Test cricket history as Fazal Mahmood (on left) takes 13 scalps to guide hosts to nine-wicket win[/caption]
1982 - Birth of New Zealand women’s off-spinning all-rounder Aimee Watkins, who led them to the Twenty20 (T20) World Cup final in 2009
1993 - Birth of Indian seam-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya, the popular Mumbai Indians player in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He is much remembered for defending two runs off three balls against Bangladesh at the 2016 T20 World Cup
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Hardik Pandya (on left) saves two runs off three balls to bring victory for India, against Bangladesh, in the 2016 T20 World Cup[/caption]
2000 - The South African Cricket Board issues their former cricket Captain Hansie Cronje a life ban as a result of shocking match-fixing allegations
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Former South Africa cricket Captain Hansie Cronje suffers a life ban on cricket for match-fixing[/caption]
2018 - When Australia lost ten wickets for 60 runs in the first innings in Dubai against Pakistan, no one expected them to bat 140 overs for a draw in the second, but they did so thanks to a valiant effort by Usman Khawaja, who stayed close to nine hours at the crease for his 141 - the second-longest ever knock in a fourth innings of a cricket Test
2020 - Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic in the French Open tennis men’s final 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 to claim his 20th Grand Slam singles title and record 13th French Open singles title
2020 - Los Angeles Lakers beat Miami Heat 106-93 in Game-6 to win a record-equalling 17th title. Lebron James was named the Most Valuable Player and also became the first to win the award with three different teams
2020 - British Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton wins Eifel Grand Prix at Germany’s Nürburgring to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 Formula-1 victories
12 October
1968 - 19th Summer Olympic Games is opened in Mexico City, Mexico. It was the first Olympics in Latin America. Enriqueta Basilio, the Mexican track and field athlete, becomes the first woman to light the Olympic flame
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Mexican athlete Enriqueta Basilio becomes the first woman to light the Olympic flame in 19th Summer Games[/caption]
1975 - Birth of American Athlete Marion Jones. She forfeited five Olympic medals after admitting to use of performance-enhancing drugs
1977 - Birth of Australian left-arm seamer Nathan Bracken who became a regular in Australia’s One-Day International (ODI) team in the mid 2000s
1979 - Boston Celtics’ guard Chris Ford scored the first three-point basket in the National Basketball Association (NBA) history, in the first quarter of their 114-106 win against Houston at Boston Garden, U.S.A.
2003 - German Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher finishes eighth at the season-ending Japanese F1 Grand Prix at Suzuka and also clinches fourth consecutive World Drivers’ Championship by two points from Kimi Raikkonen
2003 - Nia Künzer scores the winner in ‘sudden death’ extra time as Germany beats Sweden 2-1 at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Final in California
2005 - The end of a 16-year famine for English cricket, and the culmination of one of the greatest series of all time. Needing a draw to regain the Ashes after eight desperately one-sided rubbers, England were handily placed on the final morning of a weather-interrupted match. But Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath -- making their final appearances in England --- were not about to go quietly. England slipped to 127/5 before lunch, a lead of 134. Kevin Pietersen opted for an all-out assault, clubbing seven sixes in a thrilling 158 to carry England beyond the point of no return and trigger the mother and father of all celebrations!
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Kevin Pietersen scores a fiery ton at the Oval to confirm England clinch the Ashes[/caption]
2016 - Auston Matthews becomes the first player to score four goals in his National Hockey League (NHL) debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa, Canada
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Sergio Ramos[/caption]
2019 - Spain football centre-back Sergio Ramos becomes Europe’s most capped male outfield soccer player (168 caps) as Spain draws 1-1 with Norway in Euro 2020 qualification in Oslo