Athletes Born on December 17

  • 1881 Aubrey Faulkner, South African cricket all-rounder (25 Tests, 4 x 100s, TS 204; Transvaal), born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa (d. 1930)
  • 1892 Sam Barry, American collegiate basketball, football and baseball coach (University of Southern California, 1929-50), born in Aberdeen, South Dakota (d. 1950)

Gerald Patterson (1895-1967)

Australian tennis player (Wimbledon 1919, 21; Australian C'ships 1927), born in Melbourne, Victoria

  • 1910 Keki Tarapore, Indian cricketer (0-72 in his only Test for India), born in Bombay, India (d. 1986)
  • 1914 Syed Mushtaq Ali, Indian cricketer (prolific batsman of 30's & 40's), born in Indore, British India (d. 2005)
  • 1926 Ray Jablonski, American baseball player (d. 1985)
  • 1933 Bruce Morrison, cricketer (one Test NZ v England 1963)
  • 1933 Stefan Florenski, Polish soccer defender (11 caps; Górnik Zabrze), born in Gleiwitz, Poland (d. 2020)
  • 1934 Ray Wilson, English footballer (1966 World Cup team), born in Shirebrook, England (d. 2018)
  • 1935 Cal Ripken Sr, American baseball manager (Baltimore Orioles 1987-88; World Series 1983 [coach]), born in Aberdeen, Maryland (d. 1999)
  • 1938 Gilles Tremblay, Canadian NHL hockey left winger, 1961-69, 4X Stanley Cup champ (Montreal Canadiens), and French-language broadcaster, 1971-97, born in Montmorency, Quebec (d. 2014)
  • 1938 Peter Snell, New Zealand athlete (Olympic gold 800m 1960, 64; 1,500m 1964), born in Opunake, New Zealand (d. 2019)
  • 1941 David A. Gall, Canadian thoroughbred Hall of Fame jockey (US Champion Jockey by wins 1979, 81; first to ride 8 winners on single US race card), born in Rose Valley, Saskatchewan (d. 2021)
  • 1944 Ference Bene, Hungarian record 12 soccer goals (Olympic gold 1964)
  • 1946 Albert Padmore, West Indies cricketer (WI off-spinner mid-70s), born in St James, Barbados
  • 1949 Sotiris Kaiafas, Cypriot footballer
  • 1951 Ken Hitchcock, Canadian NHL hockey coach, 1995-2019 (Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, St. Louis Blues), born in Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1951 Tatyana Kazankina, USSR, middle distance runner (Olympic gold 1976)
  • 1957 Bob Ojeda, pitcher (NY Mets)
  • 1959 Tammie Green, American golfer (du Maurier Classic 1989), born in Somerset Ohio
  • 1960 Moreno Argentin, Italian cyclist
  • 1962 Paul Dobson, English footballer
  • 1962 Rocco Mediate, American golfer (Senior PGA C'ship 2016; 6 PGA Tour titles), born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania
  • 1964 Frank Musil, Pardubice Cze, NHL defenseman (Ottawa Senators)
  • 1964 Michele Tafoya, American sportscaster
  • 1964 Tyrone Braxton, NFL safety (Denver Broncos-Super Bowl 32)
  • 1965 Craig Berube, Calahoo, NHL left wing (Washington Capitals)
  • 1965 Jeff Grayer, NBA guard (Charlotte Hornets, Olympic bronze 1988)
  • 1966 Valeri Liukin, Soviet gymnast
  • 1967 Vincent Damphousse, NHL center (Montreal Canadiens), born in Montreal, Quebec
  • 1968 Curtis Pride, outfielder (Detroit Tigers), born in Washington, D.C.
  • 1968 Jeff[rey] Klepacki, Kearny NJ, rower (Olympics 1992, 96)
  • 1969 Marc Davis, Oceanside California, 3K steeplechase runner (Goodwill-gold-94)
  • 1969 Rob Maas, Dutch soccer player (Feyenoord)
  • 1970 Michael Mols, soccer player (FC Twente)
  • 1971 Alyson Habetz, Crowley LA, female pitcher (Colo Silver Bullets)
  • 1971 Antoine Rigaudeau, French basketball player
  • 1971 Carl Reeves, NFL defensive end (Chicago Bears)
  • 1971 Nikki McCray, American Women's Basketball HOF guard (WNBA All-Star 1999, 2000, 01 Washington Mystics; ABL MVP 1997 Columbus Quest; Olympic gold 1996, 2000) and coach (Old Dominion, Mississippi State), born in Collierville, Tennessee (d. 2023)
  • 1971 Sari Kristiina Fisk, ice hockey defenseman (Finland, Olympics 1998)
  • 1971 Tony Richardson, American football fullback (Pro Bowl 2003, 04, 07; KC Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings; Walter Payton Award 2010 NY Jets), born in Frankfurt, Germany
  • 1972 Brian Williams, NFL linebacker (Green Bay Packers-Super Bowl 31)
  • 1972 Dewayne Washington, cornerback (Minnesota Vikings)
  • 1972 Don Davis, linebacker (New Orleans Saints)
  • 1972 Ivan Pedroso, Cuba, long jumper (Olympic 4th 1992)
  • 1973 Paula Radcliffe, English long-distance runner (marathon world record holder), born in Davenham, England
  • 1975 Tim Clark, South African golfer (US Masters 2006 runner-up; Players C'ship 2010), born in Durban, RSA
  • 1976 Andrew Simpson, British sailor (Olympic gold Star class 2008; World C'ship gold 2010), Chertsey, England (d. 2013)
  • 1976 Nir Davidovich, Israeli footballer
  • 1976 Patrick Müller, Swiss footballer
  • 1976 Takeo Spikes, American football player
  • 1977 Arnaud Clement, French tennis player
  • 1978 Alex Cintrón, Puerto Rican MLB baseball infielder, 2001-09 (Arizona Diamondbacks, and 3 other teams), and hitting coach, born in Humacao, Puerto Rico
  • 1978 Chase Utley, American MLB second baseman, 2003-18, 6X All-Star (Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers), and baseball ambassador, born in Pasadena, California

Manny Pacquiao (45 years old)

1978 Filipino boxer, only fighter in history to win 12 major world titles in 8 different weight divisions and the lineal championship in 5 different weight divisions, born in Kibawe, Bukidnon, Philippines

  • 1979 Matt Murley, American NHL ice hockey player (Pittsburgh Penguins, Phoenix Coyotes), born in Troy, New York
  • 1980 Ryan Hunter-Reay, American race car driver
  • 1981 Emma Laaksonen, ice hockey defenseman (Finland, Olympics 1998)
  • 1982 Josh Barfield, American baseball player
  • 1982 Stephane Lasme, Gabonese basketball player
  • 1992 Quinton de Kock, South African cricket wicketkeeper (54 Tests, 232 dismissals, 6 x 100, HS 141no; Gauteng + 5 x IPL teams), born in Johannesburg, South Africa
  • 1998 Martin Odegaard, Norwegian footballer, youngest to play for Real Madrid, born in Drammen, Norway