Athletes Born on May 29

  • 1839 Nat Thomson, Australian cricket all-rounder (2 Tests, 1 wicket, HS 41; NSW CA), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 1896)
  • 1839 Ned Gregory, Australian cricket batsman (1 Test; first recognised Test in 1877), born in Sydney, New South Wales (d. 1899)
  • 1881 Frederik Septimus Kelly, Australian-British composer and rower (Summer Olympic gold, 1908), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 1916)
  • 1904 Hubert Opperman, Australian road cyclist, politician (multi-distance world records), born in Rochester, Victoria (d. 1996)
  • 1907 Hartland Molson, Canadian businessman (Molson family), senator and sports executive (Montreal Canadiens), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2002)
  • 1908 Dick Metz, American golfer (US Open 1938 runner-up; 10 PGA Tour titles), born in Arkansas City, Kansas (d. 1993)
  • 1910 Ralph Metcalfe, American athlete, politician (Rep-D-Ill; joint world record 100m, Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1936), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 1978)
  • 1913 Tony Zale, American boxer (World Middleweight Champion 1940-47, 48), born in Gary, Indiana (d. 1997)

Tenzing Norgay (1914-1986)

Tibetan climber who was the 1st to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953 with Edmund Hillary (exact date of birth unknown, but he celebrated on the 29th), born in either northeastern Nepal or Tibet

  • 1922 Joe Weatherly, American auto racer (NASCAR Sprint Cup champion 1962-63), born in Norfolk, Virginia (d. 1964)
  • 1924 Miloslav Kříž, Czech basketball coach (Czech Women's team, German Men's team), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (d. 2013)
  • 1924 Pepper Paire, American National Women's Baseball Hall of Fame catcher (1948 AAGPBL All-Star Team), born in Los Angeles, CA (d. 2013)
  • 1930 Eddy Choong, Malaysian badminton player (Thomas Cup 1955), born in Penang, British Malaya (d. 2013)
  • 1931 Osvaldo Héctor Cruz, Argentine soccer forward (22 caps; Independiente 235 games), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 2023)
  • 1932 Richie Guerin, American basketball Hall of Fame guard (6-time NBA All Star), born in New York City
  • 1933 Tarquinio Provini, Italian motorcycle road racer (2-time world champion 1957-58), born in Roveleto di Cadeo, Emilia-Romagna (d. 2005)
  • 1933 William Yorzyk Jr., American swimmer (Olympic gold 200m butterfly, WR 2:19.3, 1956), born in Northampton, Massachusetts (d. 2020)
  • 1934 Mick Meagan, Irish soccer defender (17 caps; Everton, Huddersfield Town) and manager (Republic of Ireland 1969-71), born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 2022)
  • 1937 Alwin Schockemöhle, German equestrian rider (Olympic gold team jumping 1960, individual jumping 1976), born in Meppen, Province of Hanover, Germany
  • 1937 Harry Statham, American basketball coach (McKendree Uni; 1,122 wins in 52 seasons), born in Brookport, Illinois
  • 1938 Fay Vincent, American lawyer and sports executive (MLB Commissioner 1989-92), born in Waterbury, Connecticut

Al Unser (1939-2021)

American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1970-71, 78, 87), born in Albuquerque, New Mexico

  • 1941 Pepi Bader, German bobsledder (World C'ship gold 2-man 1970; Olympic silver 1968, 72), born in Grainau, Germany (d. 2021)
  • 1945 Martin Pipe, English racehorse trainer (15-time Champion Hunt Trainer), born in Taunton, Somerset
  • 1949 Brian Kidd, English soccer forward (England 2 caps, Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City) and manager (Preston NE, Blackburn Rovers), born in Manchester, England
  • 1950 Talat Ali, Pakistani cricket batsman (Pakistan 10 Tests), born in Lahore, Punjab
  • 1953 Ranjy Nanan, West Indian cricket spin bowler (WI 1 Test; Trinidad & Tobago), born in Preysal, Trinidad
  • 1954 Randy Walker, American football fullback (Miami University) and coach (Miami University 1990-98, Northwestern University 1999-2005), born in Troy, Ohio (d. 2006)
  • 1955 Ken Schrader, American auto racer, promoter (Daytona 500 1988, 89, 90), born in Fenton, Missouri
  • 1958 Ivar Sisniega, Mexican pentathlete, politician (Sports Minister 1994-2000), born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA
  • 1958 Uwe Rapolder, German soccer midfielder, coach (1. FC Köln), born in Hausen an der Zaber, Germany
  • 1962 Eric Davis, American baseball outfielder (World Series 1990 Cincinnati Reds; MLB All-Star 1987, 89; Gold Glove 1987, 88, 89), born in Los Angeles, California
  • 1962 Fandi Ahmad, Singaporean soccer striker, manager (Singapore 101 caps), born in Singapore
  • 1963 Claude Loiselle, Canadian hockey center, executive (NHL 1994-2002), born in Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1963 Ukyo Katayama, Japanese auto racer, team manager (F1 95 starts), born in Tokyo, Japan
  • 1965 Emilio Sánchez, Spanish tennis player (1988 Olympic bronze, Hopman Cup 1990), born in Madrid, Spain
  • 1965 Jammo Myllys, Finnish hockey goaltender (Finland World C'ship gold 1995), born in Savonlinna, Finland
  • 1967 Mike Keane, Canadian NHL right wing (3-time Stanley Cup winner), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1970 Roberto Di Matteo, Italian soccer midfielder, manager (Italy 34 caps, Lazio, Chelsea), born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland
  • 1971 Éric Lucas, Canadian boxer (WBC Super Middleweight title 2001-02), born in Montreal, Quebec
  • 1973 Alpay Özalan, Turkish soccer centre back, manager, politician (Turkey 90 caps), born in Izmir, Turkey
  • 1973 Malcolm Allen, Australian swimmer (1995 World C'ships gold 4x200m freestyle relay), born in Wauchope, NSW
  • 1974 Stephen Larkham, Australian Rugby Union fly-half, coach (Australia 102 caps), born in Canberra, ACT
  • 1975 Alexander Zhurik, Belarusian hockey defenseman (Belarus, Olympics 1998), born in Minsk, Belarus
  • 1975 Bianca Langham, Australian field hockey player (Olympic-96)
  • 1976 Caçapa, Brazilian soccer defender (Brazil 3 caps, Lyon), born in Lavras, Brazil
  • 1976 Jerry Hairston Jr., American baseball infielder/outfielder, broadcaster (Baltimore Orioles), born in Des Moines, Iowa
  • 1976 Yegor Titov, Russian soccer midfielder, coach (Russia 41 caps), born in Moscow, Russia
  • 1977 António Lebo-Lebo, Angolan soccer defender (Angola 15 caps), born in Malanje, Angola
  • 1977 Marco Cassetti, Italian soccer defender (Italy 5 caps, Roma, Watford), born in Brescia, Italy
  • 1977 Massimo Ambrosini, Italian soccer midfielder (Italy 35 caps, AC Milan), born in Pesaro, Italy
  • 1978 Sébastien Grosjean, French tennis player (Davis Cup 2001; world #4 2002), born in Marseille, France
  • 1979 Arne Friedrich, German soccer defender, coach (Germany 82 caps, Hertha BSC), born in Bad Oeynhausen, Germany
  • 1981 Andrei Arshavin, Russian soccer midfielder (Russia 75 caps, Zenit SP, Arsenal), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia
  • 1982 Kim Tae-kyun, South Korean baseball 1st baseman (KBO Triple Crown 2005, 08), born in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province
  • 1982 Nataliya Dobrynska, Ukrainian heptathlete (Olympic gold 2008), born in Yakushyntsi, Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine
  • 1984 Carmelo Anthony, American basketball forward (10-time NBA All Star), born in Brooklyn, New York
  • 1987 Issac Luke, New Zealand Rugby League hooker (NZ 37 caps), born in Hawera, NZ
  • 1988 Cheng Fei, Chinese gymnast (Olympic gold female team 2008), born in Huangshi, Hubei
  • 1988 Steve Mason, Canadian NHL goaltender (Calder Memorial Trophy rookie of the year 2008-09), born in Oakville, Ontario
  • 1989 Ezekiel Ansah, Ghanaian NFL defensive end (Pro Bowl 2015, Seattle Seahawks), born in Accra, Ghana
  • 1993 Richard Carapaz, Ecuadorian road cyclist (Olympic gold men's road race 2020; Giro d'Italia 2019), born in Tulcán Canton, Ecuador
  • 1998 Markelle Fultz, American basketball guard (2017 NBA Draft: #1 pick Philadelphia 76ers), born in Upper Marlboro, Maryland