Athletes Born on December 31

  • 1857 Michael "King" Kelly, American Baseball HOF utility (NL batting champion 1884, 86; NL runs scored 1884–86, Chicago White Sox) and manager (Boston Beaneaters, Reds; Cincinnati KKs), born in Troy, NY (d. 1894)
  • 1870 Tom Connolly, American Baseball HOF umpire (AL-record 8 x World Series), born in Manchester, England (d. 1961)
  • 1882 Ben A. Jones, American horse trainer (US Champion trainer by earnings 1941, 43, 44, 52; Kentucky Derby x 6 including Citation, Whirlaway), born in Parnell, Missouri (d. 1961)
  • 1893 Jimmy Blanckenberg, South African cricket medium pace bowler (18 Tests, 60 wickets; Western Province), born in Cape Town, South Africa (d. 1955)
  • 1904 Chuck Gardiner, Canadian NHL goalie (Vezina winner), born in Edinburgh, United Kingdom (d. 1934)
  • 1906 Erna Bogen-Bogáti, Hungarian foils (Olympic bronze 1932), born in Jaroslaw, Poland (d. 2002)
  • 1919 Tommy Byrne, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1950; World Series 1949, 56; NY Yankees), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 2007)
  • 1924 Vicki Draves, American diver (Olympic gold platform & springboard 1948), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2010)
  • 1928 Hugh McElhenny, American Pro/College Football HOF halfback (University of Washington; 5 × First-team All-Pro; 6 × Pro Bowl; Minnesota Vikings, SF 49ers), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2022)
  • 1929 Peter May, English cricket batsman (66 Tests, 4,537 @ 46.77, 13 x 100, 22 x 50; HS 285no; Surrey CCC), born in Reading, England (d. 1994)
  • 1935 Peter Allan, Australian cricket fast bowler (1 Test, 2 wickets; Queensland), born in Brisbane, Australia (d. 2023)
  • 1936 Jerry Sturm, American football tackle (AFL All-Star 1964, 66; Denver Broncos, NO Saints), born in English, Indiana (d. 2020)
  • 1937 Milutin Šoškić, Serbian soccer goalkeeper (50 caps Yugoslavia; FK Partizan, 1. FC Köln), born in Peja, Kosovo (d. 2022)
  • 1938 Atje Keulen-Deelstra, Dutch speed skater (Women's World Champion, 1970, 1972-74; European Champion, 1972-74), born in Grou, Netherlands (d. 2013)
  • 1939 Afaq Hussain, Pakistani cricket spin bowler (2 Tests, 1 wicket; Karachi University, Pakistan International Airlines), born in Lucknow, India (d. 2002)
  • 1939 Willye White, American athlete (Olympic silver long jump 1956, 4x100m relay 1964; Sports Illustrated 100 greatest women athletes of 20th century), born in Money, Mississippi (d. 2007)
  • 1941 A. G. Milkha Singh, Indian cricket batsman (4 Tests, HS 35; Madras), born in Madras, India (d. 2017)

Alex Ferguson (82 years old)

1941 Scottish football manager (Manchester United 1986-2013; Aberdeen 1978-86), regarded as one of the greatest of all time, born in Glasgow, Scotland

  • 1946 Cliff Richey, American tennis player (World #6 1970; Davis Cup 1969-70), born in San Angelo, Texas
  • 1946 Lyudmila Pakhomova, Russian ice dancer (World C'ship gold x 6; Olympic gold USSR 1976; with Alexandr Gorshkov), born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1986)
  • 1948 René Robert, Canadian ice hockey winger (NHL All Star 1972-73, 74-75; Buffalo Sabres 1st 100 point player 1974-75), born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec (d. 2021)
  • 1950 Bob Gilder, American golfer (6 PGA tour titles), born in Corvallis, Oregon
  • 1950 Inge Helten, German athlete (Olympic silver FRG 4x100m relay, bronze 100m 1976; WR 100m 11.04s 1976), born in Sinzig, Germany
  • 1958 Geoff Marsh, Australian cricket batsman (50 Tests, 4 x 100s; 117 ODIs, 9 x 100s; West Australia), born in Northam, Australia
  • 1961 Rick Aguilera, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1991, 92, 93; World Series 1986 NY Mets, 1991 Minnesota Twins), born in San Gabriel, California
  • 1962 Tyrone Corbin, American basketball forward (Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks) and coach (Utah Jazz 2011-14), born in Columbia, South Carolina
  • 1964 Winston Benjamin, West Indian cricket fast bowler (21 Tests, 61 wickets, 2 x 50; Leeward Islands, Leicestershire CCC, Hampshire CCC), born in All Saints, Antigua and Barbuda
  • 1971 Brent Barry, American basketball guard (NBA C'ship 2005, 07 San Antonio Spurs), executive (SA Spurs) and broadcaster (NBA on TNT), born in Hempstead, New York
  • 1971 Ricardo López Felipe, Spanish soccer goalkeeper (2 caps; CA Osasuna 190 games), born in Madrid, Spain
  • 1973 Curtis Myden, Canadian swimmer (Olympic bronze 400m medley 1996, 2000; 200m medley 1996), born in Calgary, Alberta
  • 1974 Mario Aerts, Belgian road cyclist (La Flèche Wallonne 2002, Grand Prix d'Isbergues 1996, Circuit Franco Belge 2001, Giro della Provincia di Lucca 2001), born in Herentals, Belgium
  • 1974 Tony Kanaan, Brazilian auto racer (Indianapolis 500 2013; IndyCar Series 2004; Indy Lights Series 1997), born in Salvador, Brazil
  • 1975 Toni Kuivasto, Finnish soccer defender (75 caps; Djurgårdens IF 165 games), born in Tampere, Finland
  • 1977 Wardy Alfaro, Costa Rican soccer goalkeeper (5 caps; LDA Alajuelense 154 games), born in Alajuela, Costa Rica

Richie McCaw (43 years old)

1980 New Zealand rugby union flanker (148 Tests, 110 as captain All Blacks; 3 x IRB Player of the Year; Rugby World Cup 2011, 15; IRB HOF), born in Oamaru, New Zealand

  • 1981 Jason Campbell, American football quarterback (Auburn University: Music City Bowl MVP 2003, Sugar Bowl MVP 2005; Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders), born in Laurel, Mississippi
  • 1981 Matthew Pavlich, Australian Football HOF utility (6 × All-Australian; 6 × Doig Medallist, 353 games, 700 goals Fremantle FC) and broadcaster (Fox Sports), born in Adelaide, Australia
  • 1982 Craig Gordon, Scottish soccer goalkeeper (70 caps; Hearts, Sunderland, Celtic; SFWA Footballer of the Year 2006, 15, 22), born in Edinburgh, Scotland
  • 1987 Émilie Le Pennec, French gymnast (Olympic gold uneven bars 2004), born in La Garenne-Colombes, France
  • 1993 Ryan Blaney, American auto racer (Daytona 500 2020 runner-up), born in Hartford Township, Trumbull County, Ohio

Gabby Douglas (28 years old)

1995 American gymnast (Olympic gold all around, team 2012; team 2016), born in Newport News, Virginia

  • 1996 Alexander Bolshunov, Russian cross-country skier (Olympic gold 30k, 50k, 4 x 10k relay 2022; Tour de Ski 2021, 22), born in Podyvotye, Russia