Athletes Born on March 31

  • 1870 Tommy Ryan, American boxer (World Welterweight, Middleweight champion), born in Redwood, NY (d. 1948)

Jack Johnson (1878-1946)

American boxer (1st African-American world heavyweight champion 1908-15), born in Galveston, Texas [1]

  • 1901 Mule Suttles, American Baseball HOF infielder (5 x NgL All Star; NL batting champion 1926, 28; NgL Triple Crown 1926; St. Louis Stars), born in Edgewater, Alabama (d. 1966)
  • 1905 George Treweeke, Australian Rugby League second rower (7 Tests, South Sydney), born in Grahamstown, NSW (d. 1991)
  • 1913 Dai Rees, Scottish golfer (British Open runner-up 1953-54, 61), born in Fontegary, Glamorgan (d. 1983)
  • 1913 Walter Winterbottom, England soccer manager (first manager England national football team 1946–62; FA Director of Coaching), born in Oldham, England (d. 2002)
  • 1916 Tommy Bolt, American golfer (US Open 1958), born in Haworth, Oklahoma (d. 2008)
  • 1918 Marv Grissom, American baseball pitcher, coach (MLB All Star 1954, NY, SF Giants), born in Los Molinos, CA (d. 2005)
  • 1923 Don Barksdale, American basketball forward (Olympic gold 1948, NBA All-Star 1953), born in Oakland, CA (d. 1993)
  • 1923 Lawrie Miller, New Zealand cricket batsman (13 Tests), born in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand (d. 1996)

Gordie Howe (1928-2016)

Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame right wing (23-time NHL All Star; NHL: Detroit Red Wings; WHA: Houston Aeros), born in Floral, Saskatchewan

  • 1931 Miller Barber, American golfer (11 PGA Tour; 3 US Senior Open titles), born in Shreveport, Louisiana (d. 2013)
  • 1932 Godfrey Lawrence, South African cricket fast bowler (5 Tests, 8-53 v NZ 1961), born in Salisbury, Rhodesia
  • 1936 Bob Pulford, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame left wing, coach (coach: LA Kings, Chicago Blackhawks), born in Newton Robinson, Ontario
  • 1938 Jimmy Johnson, American Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback (4-time Pro Bowl), born in Dallas, Texas
  • 1946 Aftab Gul, Pakistani cricket batsman (6 Tests @ 22.75), born in Gujar Khan, Punjab
  • 1948 Gustaaf Van Cauter, Belgian cyclist (world champion 100k team road race), born in Mechelen, Flanders
  • 1950 Ed Marinaro, American actor (Hill Street Blues - "Ofc Joe Coffey"; Laverne & Shirley, 1980-81 - "Sonny"), and NFL running back, 1972-77 (Minnesota Vikings and 2 other teams), born in New York City
  • 1952 Mike Rafter, England Rugby Union flanker (England 17 caps), born in Bristol, England
  • 1953 Rene Portland, American college basketball coach (Penn State 1980-2007), born in Broomall, Pennsylvania (d. 2018)
  • 1955 Robert Vance, New Zealand cricket wicket-keeper (4 Tests @ 29.57), born in Wellington, NZ
  • 1960 Mark Tuinei, American NFL offensive tackle (3-time Super Bowl winner, Dallas Cowboys), born in Oceanside, California
  • 1961 Ron Brown, American athlete (Olympic gold 4 x 100m 1984), born in Los Angeles, California
  • 1962 John Taylor, American NFL wide receiver (3-time Super Bowl winner, SF 49ers), born in Philadelphia, PA
  • 1963 Stephen Tataw, Cameroonian soccer right-back (63 caps; captain Cameroon national team FIFA World Cup 1990, 94), born in Yaoundé, Cameroon (d. 2020)
  • 1964 Dave Wyman, American NFL linebacker, broadcaster (Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos), born in San Diego, CA
  • 1964 David Diaz-Infante, American football guard (Super Bowl XXXII, XXXIII Denver Broncos) and broadcaster (ESPN), born in San Jose, CA
  • 1965 Patty Fendick, American tennis player (Australian Open doubles 1991), born in Sacramento, California
  • 1965 Tom Barrasso, American NHL goaltender (Calder Memorial Trophy, Vezina Trophy 1984), born in Boston, Massachusetts
  • 1966 Roger Black, English athlete (World C'ships gold 4 x 400m relay 1991, 97), born in Gosport, Hampshire,
  • 1967 Nanci Bowen, American golfer (Nabisco Dinah Shore 1995), born in Tifton, Georgia
  • 1969 Steve Smith, American NBA guard (14 NBA seasons, Olympic gold 2000), born in Highfield Park, MI

Pavel Bure (52 years old)

1971 Russian Hockey Hall of Fame right wing (Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers), born in Moscow, Russia

  • 1977 Garth Tander, Australian auto racer (Bathurst 1000: 2000, 09, 11), born in Perth, WA
  • 1978 Jérôme Rothen, French soccer winger (France 13 caps, Paris SG, Caen, Monaco), born in Châtenay-Malabry, France
  • 1980 Chien-Ming Wang, Taiwanese MLB pitcher (NY Yankees, AL wins leader 2006), born in Tainan City, Taiwan
  • 1981 Maarten van der Weijden, Dutch distance swimmer (Olympic gold 10k open water 2008), born in Alkmaar, Netherlands
  • 1982 Jessica Joseph, American ice dancer (World Junior champion 1998), born in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
  • 1982 Philippe Mexès, French soccer defender (France 29 caps), born in Toulouse, France
  • 1982 Tal Ben Haim, Israeli soccer defender (Israel 96 caps), born in Rishon LeZion, Israel
  • 1983 Hashim Amla, South African cricket batsman (first RSA Test triple century, 311), born in Durban, Natal
  • 1983 Vlasios Maras, Greek gymnast (World C'ships gold, horizontal bar 2001-02), born in Athens, Greece
  • 1984 Eddie Johnson, American soccer striker (63 caps; FC Dallas, Seattle Sounders), born in Bunnell, Florida
  • 1984 James Jones, American NFL receiver (NFL receiving TD leader 2012), born in San Jose, CA
  • 1987 Humpy Koneru, Indian chess player (youngest woman to achieve title of grandmaster), born in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh