Athletes Born on October 8

  • 1872 Albert Knight, English cricket batsman (3 Tests, 1 x 50; Leicestershire CCC), born in Leicester, England (d. 1946)

Laurence Doherty (1875-1919)

British tennis player (Wimbledon 1902-06, US Nationals 1903), born in Wimbledon, England

  • 1876 Willie Smith, Scottish golfer (US Open 1899), born in Dundee, Scotland (d. 1916)
  • 1885 Johnny Lush, American MLB baseball pitcher, 1904-10 (Philadelphia Phillies, St . Louis Cardinals 2 no-hitters - 1 official, 1 rain-shortened), born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania (d. 1946)
  • 1890 Philippe Thys, Belgian cyclist (three times winner of Tour de France), born in Anderlecht, Belgium (d. 1971)
  • 1890 Snuffy Browne, West Indian cricket all-rounder (4 Tests, 1 x 50, 6 wickets; British Guiana, Barbados), born in St. Michael, Barbados (d. 1973)
  • 1903 Lina Radke, German 800m runner (Olympic gold 1928), born in Karlsruhe, Germany (d. 1983)
  • 1909 Bill Hewitt, American Pro Football HOF end (4 × First-team All-Pro; Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles; one last players to not wear a helmet), born in Bay City, Michigan (d. 1947)

Billy Conn (1917-1993)

American boxer, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • 1917 Danny Murtaugh, American baseball infielder (NL stolen base leader 1941 Philadelphia Phillies) and manager (World Series 1960, 71; Pittsburgh Pirates), born in Chester, Pennsylvania (d. 1976)
  • 1919 Mac Anderson, New Zealand cricketer (played in 1st NZ-Aust Test 1946), born in Westport, West Coast, New Zealand (d. 1979)
  • 1920 Maxi Herber, German figure skater pairs (Olympic gold 1936), born in Munich, Germany (d. 2006)
  • 1924 Arkady Vorobyev, Russian middle heavyweight (Olympic gold 1956, 60), born in Tetyushi, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia (d. 2012)
  • 1927 Torbjorn Falkanger, Norwegian ski jumper who took the Olympic oath in 1952, born in Trondheim, Norway (d. 2013)
  • 1928 Neil Harvey, Australian cricket batsman (79 Tests @ 48.41, 21 x 100, HS 205; Victoria CA, NSW CA), born in Melbourne, Australia
  • 1929 Didi (Waldyr Pereira), Brazilian soccer midfielder (68 caps; Fluminense), born in Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil (d. 2001)
  • 1931 Anderl Molterer, Austrian alpine skier (Olympic silver Giant slalom, bronze Downhill 1956; Hahnenkamm Race 1959), born in Kitzbühel, Austria (d. 2023)
  • 1931 Bill Brown, Scottish soccer goalkeeper (28 caps; Dundee, Tottenham Hotspur), born in Arbroath, Angus, Scotland (d. 2004)
  • 1931 Pepper Rodgers, American football coach (University of Kansas, UCLA, Georgia Tech; USFL: Memphis Showboats), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 2020)
  • 1932 Ray Reardon, Welsh snooker player, born in Tredegar, Monmouthshire, Wales
  • 1934 Gerry Hitchens, English footballer, born in Staffordshire, United Kingdom (d. 1983)
  • 1936 Peter Swan, English soccer defender (19 caps; Sheffield Wednesday, Bury), born in South Elmsall, England (d. 2021)
  • 1937 Frank Cignetti Sr., American College Football HOF coach (West Virginia Uni, Indiana University of Pennsylvania; career college record 199–77–1), born in Apollo, Pennsylvania (d. 2022)

Fred Stolle (85 years old)

1938 Australian tennis player, broadcaster (French C'ship 1965, US Nat C'ship 1966), born in Sydney, Australia

  • 1938 Penny Pitou, American alpine skier (Olympic silver giant slalom, downhill 1960), born in Bayside, New York
  • 1939 Boris Dubrovsky, Russian rower (Olympic gold double sculls [Oleg Tyurin] 1964), born in Moscow, Russia (d. 2023)
  • 1939 Elvīra Ozoliņa, Soviet javelin thrower (Olympic gold 1960), born in Leningrad
  • 1945 Vanburn Holder, West Indian cricket fast bowler (40 Tests, 109 wickets; 12 ODIs), born in Deans Village, Saint Michael, Barbados
  • 1946 Aleksandr Gorshkov, Russian ice dancer (World C'ship gold x 6; Olympic gold USSR 1976; with Lyudmila Pakhomova), born in Moscow, Russia (d. 2022)
  • 1946 Brian Lockwood, English rugby league utility forward (16 Tests GB, 3 England; Castleford, Canterbury-Bankstown, Balmain, Wakefield Trinity, Hull KR), born in Oldham, England
  • 1946 Paul Splittorff, American MLB pitcher and broadcaster (KC Royals), born in Evansville, Indiana (d. 2011)
  • 1947 Emiel Puttemans, Flemish athlete, born in Vossem, Belgium
  • 1954 Ben Amonette, American free pistol shooting athlete (Olympics 1992, 96), born in Radford, Virginia

Bill Elliott (68 years old)

1955 American auto racer (Winston Cup 1988), born in Dawsonville, Georgia

  • 1957 Antonio Cabrini, Italian footballer (Juventus, Italian national team 1982 FIFA Champion), born in Cremona, Italy
  • 1959 Mike Morgan, American baseball pitcher (St Louis Cardinals), born in Tulare, California
  • 1959 Tony Eason, American football quarterback (New England Patriots), born in Blythe, California
  • 1962 Bruno Thiry, Belgian rally driver, born in St. Vith, Belgium
  • 1964 Alan Igglesden, English cricket fast bowler (3 Tests, 6 wickets; 4 ODIs; Kent CCC), born in Farnborough, England (d. 2021)
  • 1965 Martin Mayhew, American NFL cornerback (Tampa Bay Bucs), born in Daytona Beach, California

Matt Biondi (58 years old)

1965 American swimmer (8 Olympic gold-84, 88, 92), born in Moraga, California

  • 1968 Ali Benarbia, Algerian footballer, born in Oran, Algeria
  • 1968 Zvonimir Boban, Croatian football player and Deputy Secretary General of FIFA, born in Imotski, Croatia
  • 1970 David Doster, American baseball infielder (Philadelphia Phillies), born in Fort Wayne, Indiana
  • 1971 Monty Williams, American basketball coach (NBA Coach of the Year 2022, Phoenix Suns 2019-23; New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans 2010-15; Detroit Pistons), born in Fredericksburg, Virginia
  • 1971 Nate Miller, American NFL and WLAF guard (Frankfurt Galaxy, Atlanta Falcons), born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
  • 1971 Val St. Germain, Canadian football tackle (Grey Cup 2007 Saskatchewan Roughriders; CFL East All-Star 1998, 2003; CFL West All-Star 1999), born in Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1972 Stanislav Varga, Slovakian footballer (Slovan Bratislava), born in Lipany, Czechoslovakia
  • 1973 Donnie Abraham, American cornerback (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), born in Orangeburg, South Carolina
  • 1974 Fredrik Modin, Swedish hockey player, born in Sundsvall, Sweden
  • 1974 Koji Murofushi, Japanese hammer thrower (Olympic gold 2004), born in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
  • 1974 Rashaan Salaam, American College Football Hall of Fame running back (Heisman Trophy 1994, U of Colorado; NFL: Chicago Bears), born in San Diego, California (d. 2016)
  • 1974 Rod Manuel, American defensive end (Pittsburgh Steelers), born in Fort Worth, Texas
  • 1976 Galo Blanco, Spanish tennis player, born in Oviedo, Spain
  • 1976 Mohammad Hussain, Pakistani cricket all-rounder (2 Tests, 3 wickets; 14 ODIs, 13 wickets; Lahore), born in Lahore, Pakistan (d. 2022)
  • 1977 Anne-Caroline Chausson, French cyclist (Olympic gold BMX 2008; World C'ship gold x 16), born in Dijon, France
  • 1978 Antonino D'Agostino, Italian football player, born in Turin, Italy
  • 1978 Mick O'Driscoll, Irish rugby player, born in Cork, Ireland
  • 1981 Raffi Torres, Canadian NHL ice hockey player, 2001-16 (Edmonton Oilers, Phoenix Coyotes, and 5 other teams), born in Toronto, Ontario
  • 1982 Mo Martin, American golfer (Women's British Open 2014), born in Pasadena, California
  • 1983 Michael Fraser, Scottish football goalkeeper, born in Inverness, Scotland
  • 1983 Travis Pastrana, American motorsports competitor, born in Annapolis, Maryland
  • 1993 Bubba Wallace, American NASCAR racer, born in Mobile, Alabama
  • 1993 Garbiñe Muguruza, Spanish tennis player (French Open 2016, Wimbledon 2017; WTA Finals 2021), born in Caracas, Venezuela
  • 2002 Zheng Qinwen, Chinese tennis player (Australian Open women's singles 2024 runner-up), born in Shiyan, China