On This Day

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Athletes Born on May 1

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  • 1884 Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, British politician, naval officer and auto racer (1931 Le Mans), born in Mayfair, London (d. 1964)
  • 1889 John Evans, English cricket batsman (1 Test) and author ('The Escaping Club'), born in Newtown, Hampshire (d. 1960)
  • 1894 Florimond Cornellie, Belgian sailor (Olympic gold 6-metre class 1920), born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1978)
  • 1898 David Tobey, American Basketball Hall of Fame referee (1918-45; first game with a 3-man officiating crew), born in New York, New York (d. 1988)
  • 1901 Slats Gill, Basketball Hall of Fame coach (36 seasons Oregon State 1928-64), born in Salem, Oregon (d. 1966)
  • 1905 Chris 'Red' Cagle, College Football Hall of Fame halfback (All American 1927, 28, 29; Army; NFL: New York Giants, Brooklyn Dodgers), born in DeRidder, Louisiana (d. 1942)
  • 1907 Kate Smith, American singer ("God Bless America"; "When The Moon Comes Over The Mountain"), radio star, and NHL Philadelphia Flyers good luck charm, born in Greenville, Virginia (d. 1986)
  • 1910 Cliff Battles, American College/Pro Football HOF halfback (West Virginia Wesleyan College; 3 x First-Team All-Pro; NFL rushing yards leader 1932, 37; Boston Braves/Redskins, Washington Redskins), born in Akron, Ohio (d. 1981)
  • 1913 Marvin 'Bud' Ward, American golfer (1939, 1941 US Amateur), born in Elma, Washington (d. 1968)
  • 1914 John Henry Lewis, American boxer (World Light-Heavyweight champion 1935-38), born in Phoenix, Arizona (d. 1974)
  • 1915 Archie Williams, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m 1936), born in Oakland, California (d. 1993)
  • 1917 Giovanni "John" Beradino, American MLB infielder (St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians) and actor (General Hospital), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1996)
  • 1919 Al Zarilla, American baseball outfielder (MLB All Star 1948; St. Louis Browns), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1996)
  • 1923 Frank Brian, American basketball guard (NBA All-Star 1951, 52; Fort Wayne Pistons), born in Zachary, Louisiana (d. 2017)
  • 1925 Chuck Bednarik, Pro/College Football HOF center/linebacker (Uni of Pennsylvania; NFL C'ship 1949, 60; 10 × First-team All-Pro; 8 × Pro Bowl; Philadelphia Eagles), born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (d. 2015)
  • 1927 Bernard Vukas, Croatian soccer forward (59 caps, Yugoslavia; Hajduk Split; Olympic silver 1948, 52), born in Zagreb, Croatia (d. 1983)
  • 1927 Greta Andersen, Danish swimmer (Olympic gold 100m freestyle, silver 4×100m freestyle 1948), born in Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 2023)
  • 1927 Israr Ali, Pakistan cricket all-rounder (4 Tests; member of Pakistan's first Test team that played against India 1952–53), born in Jalandhar, Punjab, India (d. 2016)

Sonny Ramadhin (1929-2022)

West Indian cricket spin bowler (43 Tests, 158 wickets, BB 7/49), born in St. Charles Village, Trinidad

Sonny Ramadhin

Ollie Matson (1930-2011)

Pro/College Football Hall of Fame halfback (First-team All-Pro 1952, 54–59; Pro Bowl 1952, 54–58; NFL 1950s All Decade Team), born in Trinity, Texas

Ollie Matson
  • 1934 Nev MacEwan, New Zealand rugby union #8 (20 caps; Wellington 133 games), born in Auckland, New Zealand
  • 1937 Roger Brown, College Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle (Maryland Eastern Shore; 6 x Pro-Bowl; Detroit Lions, LA Rams), born in Surry County, Virginia (d. 2021)
  • 1939 Frank Beard, American golfer (11 PGA Tour titles; US Open 1965, 75 3rd), born in Dallas, Texas
  • 1941 Brian Glencross, Australian field hockey defender (93 caps; Olympic bronze 1964, silver 1968) and coach (Australia women Olympic gold 1988; Champions Trophy 1989, 91), born in Narrogin, Australia (d. 2022)
  • 1942 Jean Saubert, American alpine ski racer (Olympic giant slalom silver, slalom bronze 1964), born in Roseburg, Oregon (d. 2007)
  • 1943 Odilon Polleunis, Belgian soccer striker (22 caps; Sint-Truiden, RWD Molenbeek, KSK Tongerenborn), born in Sint-Truiden, Belgium (d. 2023)
  • 1947 Danilo Popivoda, Serbian soccer forward (20 caps Yugoslavia; Olimpija, Eintracht Braunschweig), born in Lovćenac, Serbia (d. 2021)
  • 1947 Jerry Heard, American golfer (5 PGA Tour titles), born in Visalia, California
  • 1950 Danny McGrain, Scottish soccer right-back (62 caps; Celtic), born in Glasgow, Scotland
  • 1950 Marina Stepanova, Russian athlete (3-time 400m hurdles WR; first woman to run sub 53s; 52.94s 1986), born in St. Petersburg, Russia
  • 1951 Gordon Greenidge, West Indies cricket batsman (108 Tests, 7,558 runs @ 44.72; 19 x 100s), born in St. Peter, Barbados
  • 1953 Elquemedo Willett, West Indian cricket spin bowler (5 Tests, 11 wickets), born in Charlestown, Nevis
  • 1954 Randy Dorton, American race car engine builder (Director of Engine Operations Hendrick Motorsports; 9 x NASCAR C'ships), born in Concord, North Carolina (d. 2004)
  • 1954 Taslim Arif, Pakistan cricket wicket-keeper (6 Tests; top score 210no v Aust 1980), born in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan (d. 2008)
  • 1955 András Törőcsik, Hungarian soccer forward (45 caps; Újpest Dozsa FC, Montpellier), born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 2022)
  • 1955 Julien Wiener, Australian cricket batsman (6 Tests, top score 93; 7 ODIs), born in Melbourne, Australia
  • 1956 Wan Chi Keung, Hong Kong soccer striker (32 caps; South China AA, Seiko SA) and actor, born in British Hong Kong (d. 2010)
  • 1957 Rick Darling, Australian cricket batsman (14 Tests, top score 91; 18 ODIs), born in Walkerie, Australia
  • 1959 Eddie Johnson, American basketball guard/forward (NBA Sixth Man of the Year 1989; Phoenix Suns, Seattle SuperSonics), born in Chicago, Illinois
  • 1959 Roger Chapman, English golfer (Senior PGA 2012, US Seniors Open 2012), born in Nakuru, Kenya
  • 1961 Charlie O'Brien, American MLB catcher (pioneered hockey style catcher's mask; World Series 1995 Atlanta Braves), born in Tulsa, Oklahoma
  • 1961 Steven Cauthen, American Hall of Fame jockey (Triple Crown 1978-Affirmed, Epsom Derby 1985, 87; Ascot Gold Cup 1984, 87), born in Covington, Kentucky
  • 1962 Gary Clark, American NFL wide receiver, 1984-95 (Super Bowl 1987, 91; Washington Redskins; Pro Bowl 1986, 87, 90, 91; All-Pro 1986, 87, 91), born in Radford, Virginia
  • 1962 Paula Weishoff, American volleyballer (Olympic silver 1984, bronze 1992), born in Hollywood, California
  • 1963 Robert Seguso, American tennis player (4 x men's doubles major titles; Olympic gold men's doubles 1988), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Yvonne van Gennip (59 years old)

1964 Dutch speed skater (Olympic gold 1,500m, 3,000m, 5,000m 1988), born in Haarlem, Netherlands

Yvonne van Gennip
  • 1966 Armando Reynoso, Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies, New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks), born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico
  • 1966 Olaf Thon, German soccer midfielder (52 caps; Bayern Munich, Schalke 04), born in Gelsenkirchen, Germany
  • 1967 Yael Arad, Israeli middleweight judoka (first Israeli to win an Olympic medal - silver 1996), born in Tel Aviv, Israel
  • 1968 Oliver Bierhoff, German soccer striker (Germany 70 caps; Ascoli, Udinese, AC Milan), born in Karlsruhe, Germany
  • 1969 Bryan Marchment, Canadian NHL defenseman, 1989-2006 (Edmonton Oilers, San Jose Sharks, and 7 other teams), born in Scarborough, Ontario (d. 2022)
  • 1970 Alex Van Pelt, American NFL quarterback (Buffalo Bills) and QB coach ; GB Packers, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • 1970 Damon Diletti, Australian field hockey goal keeper (Olympic silver 1992; Champions Trophy gold 1999), born in Perth, West Australia
  • 1971 Ethan Albright, American NFL long-snapper (Pro Bowl 2007; Washington Redskins), born in Greensboro, North Carolina
  • 1971 Stuart Appleby, Australian golfer (British Open 2002 runner-up; 9 PGA Tour titles, Presidents Cup x 5; 11-under-59 Greenbrier Classic 2010), born in Cohuna, Australia
  • 1972 Bobby Chouinard, Filipino baseball pitcher (first Filipino to play MLB), born in Manilla, Philippines
  • 1973 Curtis Martin, Pro Football Hall of Fame running back (Pro Bowl 1995, 96, 98, 2001, 04; First-team All-Pro 2001, 04; NE Patriots, NY Jets), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • 1973 Oliver Neuville, German soccer striker (69 caps; Servette, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia M'gladbach), born in Locarno, Switzerland
  • 1975 Alexei Smertin, Russian soccer midfielder/executive (55 caps; Zarya Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Bordeaux), born in Barnaul, Russia
  • 1975 Austin Croshere, American basketball forward (Indiana Pacers) and broadcaster (Fox Sports Indiana Pacers analyst), born in Los Angeles, California
  • 1975 Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroon soccer midfielder (62 caps; collapsed during international match, died; Lens, West Ham, Lyon), born in Yaounde, Cameroon (d. 2003)
  • 1979 Jennifer Botterill, Canadian ice hockey forward (Olympic gold 2002, 06, 10; Toronto Aeros, Harvard), born in Ottawa, Canada
  • 1979 Mauro Bergamasco, Italian rugby union flanker (Italy 106 caps; Benetton Treviso, Stade Français), born in Padova, Italy
  • 1980 Inês Henriques, Portuguese race walker (World C'ships gold 50k walk 2017), born in Santarém, Portugal
  • 1981 Aliaksandr Hleb, Belarusian soccer winger (80 caps; VfB Stuttgart, Arsenal), born in Minsk, Belarus
  • 1981 Wes Welker, American football wide receiver (First-team All-Pro 2009, 11; 5 × Pro Bowl; NFL receptions leader 2007, 09, 11; NE Patriots), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  • 1982 Beto, Portuguese soccer goalkeeper (16 caps; Sevilla, Göztepe S.K.), born in Lisbon, Portugal
  • 1982 Darijo Srna, Croatian soccer defender (134 caps; Shakhtar Donetsk 339 games), born in Metković, Croatia
  • 1982 Tommy Robredo, Spanish tennis player (12 ATP titles), born in Hostalric, Spain
  • 1983 Alain Bernard, French swimmer (Olympic gold 100m freestyle 2008, 4x100 freestyle relay 2012), born in Aubagne, France
  • 1984 Alexander Farnerud, Swedish soccer midfielder (8 caps; Strasbourg, Young Boys), born in Landskrona, Sweden
  • 1984 David Backes, American ice hockey center (NHL All Star 2011; Olympic silver 2010; St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • 1984 Mišo Brečko, Slovenian soccer defender (77 caps; FC Köln, FC Nürnberg), born in Trbovlje, Slovenia
  • 1986 Christian Benítez, Ecuadorian soccer striker (58 caps; El Nacional, Santos Laguna, América), born in Quito, Ecuador (d. 2013)
  • 1987 Leonardo Bonucci, Italian soccer centre-back (95 caps; Juventus), born in Viterbo, Italy
  • 1987 Ryan Matthews, American NFL running back (Pro Bowl 2011; SD Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles), born in Riverside, California
  • 1987 Shahar Pe'er, Israeli tennis player (5 WTA singles titles), born in Jerusalem, Israel
  • 1988 Teodor Peterson, Swedish cross-country skier (Olympic silver individual sprint, bronze team sprint 2014), born in Umeå, Sweden
  • 1991 Marcus Stroman, American MLB baseball pitcher (All-Star, 2019; Gold Glove, 2017; Toronto Blue Jays, NY Mets), born in Medford, New York
  • 1992 Matĕj Vydra, Czech Republic soccer striker (26 caps; Watford, Derby County, Burnley), born in Chotĕboř, Czech Republic
  • 1993 Sepp Straka, Austrian golfer (British Open 2023 runner-up), born in Vienna, Austria


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