Athletes Born in 1978

Birthdays 1 - 200 of 353

  • Jan 1 Philip Mulryne, Northern Irish soccer midfielder (27 caps; Norwich City) and Dominican friar and priest, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
  • Jan 4 Dominik Hrbatý, Slovakian tennis player, born in Bratislava, Slovakia
  • Jan 5 Franck Montagny, French Formula One driver, born in Feurs, France
  • Jan 6 Casey Fossum, American baseball player, born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey
  • Jan 6 Cédric Roussel, Belgian soccer forward (3 caps; KAC Gent, Coventry City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, RAEC Mons, KRC Genk), born in Mons, Belgium (d. 2023)
  • Jan 6 Steve Hartsell, American pairs skater (with partner Danielle Hartsell), born in Ann Arbor, Michigan
  • Jan 7 Kevin Mench, American baseball player, born in Wilmington, Delaware
  • Jan 8 Boris Avrukh, Israeli chess grandmaster, born in Karaganda, Kazakhstan
  • Jan 9 Chad Johnson, American football player, born in Miami, Florida
  • Jan 9 Gennaro Gattuso, Italian footballer, born in Corigliano Calabro, Italy
  • Jan 9 Mathieu Garon, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Chandler, Canada
  • Jan 11 Emile Heskey, English footballer, born in Leicester, United Kingdom
  • Jan 11 Michael Duff, Northern Irish footballer, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
  • Jan 12 Bonaventure Kalou, Ivorian footballer, born in Oumé, Côte d’Ivoire
  • Jan 14 Shawn Crawford, American sprinter, born in Van Wyck, South Carolina
  • Jan 15 Franco Pellizotti, Italian cyclist, born in Latisana, Italy
  • Jan 16 Alfredo Amézaga, Mexican baseball player, born in Ciudad Obregón, Mexico
  • Jan 18 Brian Falkenborg, American baseball player, born in Newport Beach, California
  • Jan 18 Thor Hushovd, Norwegian former professional road bicycle racer widely considered the greatest Norwegian cyclist of all time, born in Grimstad, Norway
  • Jan 20 Allan Søgaard, Danish football player, born in Brædstrup, Denmark
  • Jan 20 Sonja Kesselschläger, German heptathlete, born in Finsterwalde, Germany
  • Jan 21 Andrei Zyuzin, Russian ice hockey player
  • Jan 21 Faris al-Sultan, German-Iraqi triathlete
  • Jan 22 Chone Figgins, American baseball player, born in Leary, Georgia
  • Jan 25 Charlene Princess of Monaco [Charlene Wittstock], Zimbabwean South African born wife of Prince Albert II, and Olympic swimmer, born in Bulawayo, Rhodesia
  • Jan 25 Denis Menchov, Russian road cyclist (Vuelta a España 2007; Giro d'Italia 2009; Tour de France Young rider classification 2003), born in Oryol, Russia
  • Jan 25 Jason Roberts, Grenadian soccer striker (15 caps; Bristol Rovers, WBA, Blackburn Rovers) and coach (Director of Development CONCACAF), born in London, England
  • Jan 26 Corina Morariu, American tennis player (Wimbledon doubles 1999; Australian Open mixed doubles 2001), born in Detroit, Michigan
  • Jan 28 Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
  • Jan 28 Jamie Carragher, English footballer
  • Jan 28 Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese soccer midfielder (63 caps; Lens, Fulham, Portsmouth, West Ham Utd), born in Dakar, Senegal (d. 2020)
  • Jan 29 Martin Schmitt, German ski jumper (Olympic gold team 2002, silver 1998, 2010; World C'ship gold x 4), born in Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany
  • Jan 29 Rob Bironas, American football placekicker (First-team All-Pro, Pro Bowl, PFW Golden Toe Award 2007; Tennessee Titans), born in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 2014)
  • Jan 30 John Patterson, American baseball player, born in Orange, Texas
  • Jan 31 Fabián Caballero, Argentine footballer, born in Misiones Province, Argentina
  • Feb 2 Barry Ferguson, Scottish soccer midfielder (45 caps; Rangers, Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Birmingham City) and manager (Clyde, Alloa A), born in Hamilton, Scotland
  • Feb 5 Brian Russell, American football player, born in Scotland, United Kingdom
  • Feb 7 Daniel Van Buyten, Belgian footballer
  • Feb 8 Christa Williams, American softball pitcher (Olympic gold 1996), born in Houston, Texas
  • Feb 9 Airton Daré, Brazilian racing driver
  • Feb 12 Brett Hodgson, Australian rugby league footballer, born in Liverpool, Australia
  • Feb 14 Darius Songaila, Lithuanian basketball player, born in Marijampolė, Lithuania
  • Feb 14 Laurie Schwoy, American soccer forward (4 caps; North Carolina Tar Heels women, Philadelphia Charge FC), born in Baltimore, Maryland
  • Feb 14 Richard Hamilton, American basketball player, born in Coatesville, Pennsylvania
  • Feb 16 Tia Hellebaut, Belgian athlete
  • Feb 16 Wasim Jaffer, Indian Cricketer
  • Feb 18 Josip Šimunić, Croatian footballer, born in Canberra, Australia
  • Feb 19 Michalis Konstantinou, Greek-Cypriot footballer
  • Feb 23 Karolina Rantamaki, Finnish ice hockey left wing (Finland, Olympics 1998), born in Espoo, Finland
  • Feb 26 Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye, Senegalese footballer, born in Dakar, Senegal
  • Feb 26 Marc Hynes, British racing driver, born in Guildford, United Kingdom
  • Feb 27 James Beattie, English footballer, born in Lancaster, England
  • Feb 28 Benjamin Raich, Austrian alpine ski racer, born in Innsbruck, Austria
  • Feb 28 Jamaal Tinsley, American basketball player, born in Brooklyn, New York
  • Feb 28 Mariano Zabaleta, Argentine tennis player, born in Tandil, Argentina
  • Mar 1 Ken Harvey, American baseball first baseman (MLB All Star 2004; KC Royals), born in Los Angeles, California
  • Mar 2 Tomáš Kaberle, Czech ice hockey defenceman (4 x NHL All Star; Toronto Maple Leafs; Stanley Cup 2011, Boston Bruins; World C'ship gold 2005), born in Rakovník, Czech Republic
  • Mar 3 Matt Diaz, American baseball player
  • Mar 4 Denis Dallan, Italian rugby union footballer
  • Mar 4 Nate Ackerman, British-American logician and wrestler
  • Mar 4 Pierre Dagenais, Canadian ice hockey player
  • Mar 5 Mike Hessman, American baseball player
  • Mar 6 Sage Rosenfels, American Football Player
  • Mar 9 Lucas Neill, Australian footballer, born in Sydney
  • Mar 11 Albert Luque, Spanish soccer forward (17 caps Spain, 3 Catalonia; RC Deportivo La Coruña 101 games), born in Terrassa, Spain

Didier Drogba (46 years old)

Mar 11 Ivorian football player (Chelsea, Phoenix Rising FC, Ivorian national team), born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast

  • Mar 12 Casey Mears, American auto racer (NASCAR Cup Series 1 win, 51 Top 10s, 3 Poles) and broadcaster (NASCAR analyst Fox Sports 1), born in Bakersfield, California
  • Mar 12 Cristina Teuscher, American swimmer (Olympic gold 4 x 200m freestyle relay 1996; World C'ship gold 2001), born in New Rochelle, New York
  • Mar 12 Tara Mounsey, American hockey HOF defenseman (Olympic gold 1998, silver 2002; All World team 1998, 2002), born in Concord, New Hampshire
  • Mar 13 Kenny Watson, American football player, born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
  • Mar 13 Tom Danielson, American road racing cyclist, born in East Lyme, Connecticut
  • Mar 14 Pieter van den Hoogenband, Dutch swimmer
  • Mar 14 Ron Dayne, American College Football Hall of Fame running back (Heisman Trophy 1999, University of Wisconsin; NY Giants), born in Lynchburg, Virginia
  • Mar 18 Jonas Wallerstedt, Swedish footballer
  • Mar 18 Yoshie Takeshita, Japanese volleyball player
  • Mar 21 Cristian Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
  • Mar 22 Tom Poti, American professional hockey player, born in Worcester, Massachusetts
  • Mar 23 Walter Samuel, Argentine footballer
  • Mar 30 Chris Paterson, Scottish rugby player and coach, born in Edinburgh, Scotland
  • Mar 31 Jérôme Rothen, French soccer winger (France 13 caps, Paris SG, Caen, Monaco), born in Châtenay-Malabry, France
  • Apr 1 Antonio de Nigris, Mexican soccer striker (16 caps; Monterrey, Villarreal), born in Monterrey, Mexico (d. 2009)
  • Apr 1 Jean-Pierre Dumont, Canadian ice hockey right wing (World C'ship gold 2004; Buffalo Sabres, Nashville Predators), born in Montreal, Quebec
  • Apr 1 Miroslava Vavrinec, Swiss tennis player (married to Roger Federer), born in Bojnice, Slovakia
  • Apr 3 John Smit, South African rugby player, born in Polokwane, South Africa
  • Apr 3 Tommy Haas, German tennis player, born in Hamburg, Germany
  • Apr 4 Alan Mahon, Irish footballer (Tranmere Rovers), born in Dublin, Ireland
  • Apr 4 Jason Ellison, American MLB baseball player, 2003-08 (San Francisco Giants and 3 other teams), born in Quincy, California
  • Apr 5 Franziska van Almsick, German swimmer
  • Apr 5 Stephen Jackson, American basketball player
  • Apr 6 Blaine Neal, American baseball player
  • Apr 6 Tim Hasselbeck, American football player
  • Apr 7 Siobhan Drake-Brockman, Australian tennis player (1994 Port Pirie), born in Bunbury, Australia
  • Apr 7 Vladimir Voltchkov, Belarusian tennis player
  • Apr 8 Bernt Haas, Swiss footballer, born in Vienna, Austria
  • Apr 9 Jorge Andrade, Portuguese soccer defender and manager (51 caps; Deportivo La Coruña), born in Lisbon, Portugal
  • Apr 11 Victor Sikora, Dutch soccer midfielder (6 caps; Go Ahead Eagles, Vitesse, Ajax), born in Deventer, Netherlands
  • Apr 13 Carles Puyol, Spanish footballer, born in La Pobla de Segur, Spain
  • Apr 15 Austin Aries [Daniel Solwold, Jr], American professional wrestler, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • Apr 15 Milton Bradley, American baseball player, born in Harbor City, California
  • Apr 15 Tim Corcoran, American baseball player
  • Apr 17 Jason White, Scottish rugby player, born in Edinburgh, Scotland
  • Apr 19 Gabriel Heinze, Argentinian soccer defender (72 caps; Valladolid, PSG, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Marseille) and manager (Vélez Sarsfield, Atlanta United, Newell's Old Boys), born in Crespo, Argentina
  • Apr 21 Jacob Burns, Australian footballer
  • Apr 22 Esteban Tuero, Argentinian race car driver
  • Apr 22 Paul Malakwen Kosgei, Kenyan long-distance and marathon runner, born in Marakwet, Kenya
  • Apr 23 Gezahegne Abera, Ethiopian distance runner (Olympic gold marathon 2000, World C'ship gold 2001), born in Etya, Ethiopia
  • Apr 25 Matt Walker, British Paralympic swimmer, born in Stockport, England
  • Apr 26 Joe Crede, American baseball player, born in Jefferson City, Missouri
  • Apr 26 Peter Madsen, Danish retired footballer, born in Roskilde, Madsen
  • Apr 29 Bob Bryan, American professional tennis player (23 x Grand Slam Doubles titles; Olympic gold 2012; 4 x ATP Tour Finals; Davis Cup 2007), born in Oxnard, California
  • Apr 29 Mike Bryan, American professional tennis player (22 x Grand Slam Doubles titles; 5 x ATP Tour Finals; Olympic gold 2012; Davis Cup 2007), born in Oxnard, California
  • Apr 29 Tony Armas, Jr., Venezuelan baseball player
  • May 3 Lawrence Tynes, Scottish-American football player, born in Greenock, Scotland
  • May 5 Bruno Cheyrou, French footballer, born in Suresnes, France
  • May 6 John Abraham, American football player, born in Timmonsville, South Carolina
  • May 7 Shawn Marion, American basketball player
  • May 8 Cindy Parlow, American soccer midfielder (158 caps; Olympic gold 1996, 2004; silver 2000; FIFA Women's World Cup gold 1999) and executive (President US Soccer 2020-), born in Memphis, Tennessee
  • May 8 Lúcio [Lucimar Ferreira da Silva], Brazilian footballer (Inter Milan), born in Planaltina, Brazil
  • May 8 Sandra Kleinova, Czech tennis star (1995 Futures-Turku-FIN), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia
  • May 9 Aaron Harang, American baseball player
  • May 9 Leandro Damián Cufré, Argentine footballer
  • May 12 Hossein Reza Zadeh, Iranian weightlifter and politician, born in Ardabil, Iran
  • May 12 Josh Phelps, American baseball player, born in Anchorage, Alaska
  • May 13 Barry Zito, American baseball player (Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants), born in Las Vegas, Nevada
  • May 13 Mike Bibby, American basketball player and coach, born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey
  • May 14 André Macanga, Angolan footballer
  • May 14 Brent Harvey, Australian footballer
  • May 14 Eddie House, American basketball player
  • May 14 Gustavo Varela, Uruguayan footballer
  • May 15 Amy Chow, American gymnast (Olympics-gold/silver, 1996), born in San Jose, California
  • May 15 Dwayne DeRosario, Canadian footballer
  • May 15 Edu, Brazilian footballer
  • May 16 Lionel Scaloni, Argentine soccer wing-back (7 caps; Deportivo La Coruña, Lazio) and manager (Argentina; Copa América 2021), born in Rosario, Argentina
  • May 16 Vincent Larusso, American actor (Mighty Ducks; D2; D3), born in Livingston, New Jersey
  • May 17 Carlos Peña, Dominican MLB baseball infielder, 2001-14 (Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and 6 other teams), and broadcaster, born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
  • May 17 Paddy Kenny, Irish goalkeeper
  • May 18 Ricardo Carvalho, Portuguese footballer (Chelsea, Real Madrid), born in Amarante, Portugal
  • May 19 Marcus Bent, English footballer
  • May 21 Jamaal Magloire, Canadian professional basketballer
  • May 23 Carolyn Moos, American model and professional basketball player
  • May 23 Mike González, American baseball player, born in Corpus Christi, Texas
  • May 24 Brad Penny, American baseball pitcher (World Series 2003 Florida Marlins; MLB All Star 2006, 07; NL wins leader 2006 LA Dodgers), born in Blackwell, Oklahoma
  • May 24 Johan Holmqvist, Swedish hockey player, born in Tolfta, Sweden
  • May 25 Brian Urlacher, American football player (Chicago Bears), born in Pasco, Washington
  • May 27 Adin Brown, American soccer player
  • May 29 Sébastien Grosjean, French tennis player (Davis Cup 2001; world #4 2002), born in Marseille, France
  • Jun 5 Fernando Meira, Portuguese football player (VfB Stuttgart), born in Guimarães, Portugal

Miroslav Klose (45 years old)

Jun 9 German footballer (Bayern Munich, Lazio), born in Opole, Poland

  • Jun 11 Joshua Jackson, American actor (Dawson's Creek, Fringe), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Jun 14 Annia Hatch, Cuban-American gymnast
  • Jun 14 Steve Bégin, French Canadian hockey player
  • Jun 15 Wilfred Bouma, Dutch footballer
  • Jun 15 Zach Day, American baseball player
  • Jun 16 Dainius Zubrus, Lithuanian ice hockey player
  • Jun 17 Isabelle Delobel, French ice dancer (World Champion 2008), born in Clermont-Ferrand, France
  • Jun 19 Claudio Vargas, Dominican baseball player
  • Jun 19 Dirk Nowitzki, German basketball power forward (NBA Finals MVP 2011; NBA MVP 2007; 14 × NBA All-Star; Dallas Mavericks), born in Würzburg, Germany
  • Jun 19 Tyson Dux, Canadian wrestler, born in Miramichi, New Brunswick
  • Jun 20 Frank Lampard, English footballer
  • Jun 20 Jan-Paul Saeijs, Dutch footballer
  • Jun 20 LaVar Arrington, American football player
  • Jun 21 Cristiano Lupatelli, Italian footballer and coach, born in Perugia, Italy
  • Jun 21 Dejan Ognjanović, Montenegrin football player
  • Jun 21 Matt Kuchar, American golfer (British Open 2017 runner-up), born in Winter Park, Florida
  • Jun 22 Champ Bailey, American College/Pro Football HOF cornerback (Uni of Georgia; First-team All-Pro 2004–06; 12 x Pro Bowl; NFL record most passes defended: 203; Washington Redskins, Denver Broncos), born in Fort Campbell, Kentucky

Dan Wheldon (1978-2011)

Jun 22 British race car driver (Indianapolis 500, 2005 & 2011), born in Emberton, Buckinghamshire, England

  • Jun 23 Matt Light, American football player
  • Jun 24 Juan Román Riquelme, Argentine footballer
  • Jun 24 Luis García, Spanish footballer
  • Jun 24 Pantelis Kafes, Greek footballer
  • Jun 24 Shunsuke Nakamura, Japanese footballer
  • Jul 4 Emile Mpenza, Belgian footballer, born in Zellik, Belgium
  • Jul 4 Tatyana Jecmenica, Serbian tennis star (1995 Futures-Novi Sad), born in Novi Sad, Serbia
  • Jul 6 Kevin Senio, New Zealand rugby player, born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  • Jul 7 Leonardo Morales, Venezuelan soccer goalkeeper (26 caps; Carabobo, Zulia), born in El Tigre, Venezuela
  • Jul 13 Ryan Ludwick, American baseball player
  • Jul 15 Miguel Olivo, Dominican baseball player
  • Jul 18 Ben Sheets, American baseball player
  • Jul 18 Shane Horgan, Irish rugby player
  • Jul 20 Jennifer Grubb, American soccer defender (12 caps; Washington Freedom), born in Elkhart Indiana
  • Jul 20 Pavel Datsyuk, Russian ice hockey player
  • Jul 20 Tamsyn Lewis, Australian athlete
  • Jul 20 Will Solomon, American basketball player
  • Jul 21 Gary Teale, Scottish football player and coach, born in Glasgow, Scotland
  • Jul 21 Kyoko Iwasaki, Japanese swimmer (Olympic gold 200m breaststroke 1992), born in Numazu, Japan
  • Jul 22 Dennis Rommedahl, Danish footballer
  • Jul 22 Runako Morton, West Indian cricket batsman (15 Tests, 4 x 50, HS 70no; Leeward Islands, Trinidad & Tobago), born in Gingerland, Saint Kitts and Nevis (d. 2012)
  • Jul 23 Stuart Elliott, Northern Irish footballer, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
  • Jul 24 Andy Irons, American surfer (ASP World Champion 2002-04), born in Kauai, Hawaii (d. 2010)
  • Jul 25 Gerard Warren, American football player, born in Lake City, Florida
  • Jul 31 Justin Wilson, English auto racer (International Formula 3000 C'ship; Champ Car Series 4 wins), born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire (d. 2015)
  • Aug 1 Andy Blignaut, Zimbabwean cricketer, born in Salisbury, Rhodesia
  • Aug 1 Edgerrin James, American football player (Indianapolis Colts), born in Immokalee, Florida
  • Aug 2 Goran Gavrančić, Serbian footballer, born in Belgrade, Serbia
  • Aug 2 Matt Guerrier, American baseball player, born in Shaker Heights, Ohio
  • Aug 3 Mariusz Jop, Polish footballer, born in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Poland
  • Aug 4 Kurt Busch, American race car driver
  • Aug 5 Kim Gevaert, Belgian sprinter, born in Leuven, Belgium
  • Aug 5 Lorrie Fair, American soccer midfielder (120 caps; FIFA Women's World Cup gold 1999; Olympics silver 2000; Philadelphia Charge, Olympique Lyonnais, Chelsea), born in Los Altos, California
  • Aug 8 Alan Maybury, Irish footballer

About 1978

How Old? 45 or 46 years old
Generation: Generation X

Chinese Zodiac: Snake (Feb 18, 1977 - Feb 6, 1978),
Horse (Feb 7, 1978 - Jan 27, 1979)