Athletes Born on December 21

  • 1885 Frank Patrick, Canadian Hockey HOF pioneer (Stanley Cup 1915 Vancouver Millionaires; introduced uniform numbers, blue line, penalty shots) and coach (Boston Bruins 1934-36), born in Ottawa, Ontario (d. 1960)
  • 1887 Cy Williams, American baseball outfielder (4 x NL HR leader; Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies), born in Wadena, Indiana (d. 1974)

Walter Hagen (1892-1969)

American golfer (11 major titles, US Open 1914, 19), born in Rochester, New York

Josh Gibson (1911-1947)

American Baseball HOF catcher (Negro World Series 1943, 44; 12 × NL All-Star; Triple Crown 1936, 37; batting average .466 1943), born in Buena Vista, Georgia

  • 1913 Raich Carter, English soccer forward (13 caps; Sunderland, Derby County, Hull C) and manager (Hull C, Leeds, Mansfield Town, Middlesborough), born in Sunderland, England (d. 1994)

Gert Fredriksson (1919-2006)

Swedish canoeist (6 Olympic gold 1948, 52, 56, 60), born in Nyköping, Sweden

  • 1920 Kel Nagle, Australian golfer (British Open 1960), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 2015)
  • 1923 Wataru Misaka, American basketball point guard (first non-white player, first player of Asian descent in BAA [later known NBA]; NY Knicks), born in Ogden, Utah (d. 2019)
  • 1926 Joe Paterno, American College Football HOF coach (Penn State 1966-2011; NCAA C'ship 1982, 86; Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of 1986), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2012)
  • 1933 Jackie Hendriks, West Indian cricket wicket-keeper (20 Tests, 47 dismissals, 2 x 50; Jamaica), born in Kingston, Jamaica

Hanif Mohammad (1934-2016)

Pakistani cricket batsman (55 Tests; longest Test innings in history at 16 hours, 337 v WI 1958; 12 x 100), born in Junagadh, British India

  • 1935 Don Neely, New Zealand cricket historian, administrator (President NZ Cricket 2006-09), born in Wellington, New Zealand (d. 2022)
  • 1935 Lorenzo Bandini, Italian auto racer (24 Hours of Le Mans 1963; 24 Hours of Daytona 1967), born in Marj, Libya (d. 1967)
  • 1940 Kálmán Sóvári, Hungarian soccer defender (17 caps; Újpesti Dózsa, VM Egyetértés), born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 2020)
  • 1943 Walter Spanghero, French rugby union #8, lock, flanker (51 caps; RC Narbonne RFC, Stade Toulouse RFC), born in Payra-sur-l'Hers, France
  • 1945 Doug Walters, Australian cricket all-rounder (74 Tests, 15 x 100, HS 250, 49 wickets, BB 5/66; NSWCA), born in Dungog, Australia

Dave Kingman (75 years old)

1948 American baseball utility, DH (3 × MLB All-Star; NL HR leader 1979, 82; NY Mets, Chicago Cubs), born in Pendleton, Oregon

  • 1952 Joaquín Andújar, Dominican baseball pitcher (4 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1982; Gold Glove Award 1984; Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals), born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic (d. 2015)
  • 1952 Steve Furniss, American swimmer (WR men's 200m IM 2:06.32 1974; Olympic bronze 1972), born in Madison, Wisconsin
  • 1953 Arie Luyendyk, Dutch auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1990, 97; Formula Super Vee 1984), born in Sommelsdijk, Netherlands

Chris Evert (69 years old)

1954 American tennis player (18 Gram Slam singles titles), born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

  • 1956 Kevin Burnham, American sailor (Olympic gold 470 class 2004; silver 1992), born in New York City (d. 2020)
  • 1957 John Geddert, American gymnastics coach (US head coach London Olympic Team 2012), born in Mt. Clemens, Michigan (d. 2021)
  • 1957 Tom Henke, American baseball relief pitcher (World Series 1992; MLB All-Star 1987, 95; NL Rolaids Relief Man Award 1995; Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers), born in Kansas City, Missouri

Florence Griffith Joyner (1959-1998)

American athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay 1988; WR 100m: 10.49; 200m: 21.34 1988), born in Los Angeles, California

  • 1960 Andy Van Slyke, American baseball player, born in Utica, New York
  • 1960 Michael Swain, American judoka (Olympic bronze 88), born in Elizabeth, New Jersey
  • 1960 Roger McDowell, American baseball pitcher (NY Mets, Baltimore Orioles), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
  • 1961 Trevor Bayliss, Australian cricketer (NSW batsman) and coach (England), born in Goulburn, Australia
  • 1964 Joey Kocur, NHL right wing (Vancouver Canucks), born in Calgary, Alberta
  • 1964 Keith Taylor, NFL safety (Washington Redskins), born in Pennsauken Township, New Jersey
  • 1964 Rob Kelly, English football manager, born in Birmingham, England
  • 1967 Ervin Johnson, NBA center (Seattle Supersonics, Milwaukee Bucks), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
  • 1967 Terry Mills, NBA forward (Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons), born in Romulus, Michigan
  • 1968 Anthony Lynn, NFL running back (Denver Broncos-Super Bowl 32), born in McKinney, Texas
  • 1969 Chuck Smith, NFL defensive end (Atlanta Falcons), born in Athens, Georgia
  • 1969 Leon Searcy, NFL offensive tackle (Pittsburgh Steelers, Jackson Jaguars), born in Washington, D.C.
  • 1969 Mihails Zemļinskis, Latvian footballer, born in Riga, Latvia
  • 1970 Monique Ambers, WNBA forward (Phoenix Mercury)
  • 1972 Dustin Hermanson, American baseball player, born in Springfield, Ohio
  • 1972 Latroy Hawkins, American baseball player, born in Gary, Indiana
  • 1973 Mike Alstott, American football fullback (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), born in Joliet, Illinois

Karrie Webb (49 years old)

1974 Australian golfer (US Open 2000, 01; British Open 2002; Chevron C'ship 2000, 06; PGA C'ship 2001; du Maurier Classic 1999; 41 x LPGA Tour titles), born in Ayr, Australia

  • 1974 Raymond Austin, American defensive back (NY Jets), born in Greensboro, North Carolina
  • 1976 Mirela Manjani, Greek javelin thrower, born in Durrës, Albania
  • 1978 Amber Corwin, American figure skater (1997 National Sr - 5th), born in Harbor City, California
  • 1980 Royce Ring, American baseball player, born in La Mesa, California
  • 1981 Cristian Zaccardo, Italian football player, born in Formigine, Italy
  • 1981 Sajid Mahmood, English cricket fast bowler (8 Tests, 20 wickets; Lancashire, WA, Essex), born in Bolton, England
  • 1982 Iljo Keisse, Belgian cyclist, born in Ghent, Belgium
  • 1982 Mike Gansey, American basketball player, born in Olmsted Falls, Ohio
  • 1982 Philip Humber, American baseball player, born in Nacogdoches, Texas
  • 1984 Darren Potter, Irish soccer midfielder (5 caps Northern Ireland; Wolverhampton Wanderers, Sheffield Wednesday, Milton Keynes Dons 229 games), born in Liverpool, England
  • 1985 Bubba Stewart, American motocross racer (FIM World Supercross Champion 2009; FIM World Supercross GP Champion 2006, 07), born in Bartow, Florida
  • 1989 Mark Ingram Jr., American football running back (Heisman Trophy 2009, U of Alabama; NFL Pro Bowl 2014, 17, 19; New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens), born in Hackensack, New Jersey