Athletes Born on February 12

  • 1794 Alexander Petrov, Russian chess player, writer (first great Russian chess master), born in Biserovo, Russia (d. 1867)
  • 1831 John Morrissey, Irish born American boxer, US Congressman developer of Saratoga Springs horse race track, born in Templemore, Ireland (d. 1878)
  • 1843 John Graham Chambers, English athlete who wrote the Queensberry rules for boxing (d. 1883)
  • 1857 Bobby Peel, English cricket all-rounder (20 Tests, 3 x 50, 101 wickets, BB 7/31; Yorkshire CCC), born in Churwell, England (d. 1941)
  • 1861 Jim McLaughlin, American Hall of Fame thoroughbred jockey (Kentucky Derby 1881, Preakness Stakes 1885, 6 x Belmont Stakes), born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 1927)
  • 1878 Clarence "Pants" Rowland, American baseball manager (World Series 1917; Chicago White Sox 1915-18) and MLB umpire (American League 1923-27), born in Platteville, Wisconsin (d. 1969)
  • 1891 Cec Dixon, South African cricket fast-medium bowler (1 Test; 3 wickets; Transvaal), born in Potchefstroom, South Africa (d. 1969)
  • 1903 Chick Hafey, American Baseball HOF outfielder (World Series 1926, 31 St. Louis Cardinals; NL batting champion 1931; MLB All Star 1933), born in Berkeley, California (d. 1973)
  • 1908 August Neo, Estonian wrestler (d. 1982)
  • 1910 Gunnar Höckert, Finnish athlete (Olympic gold 5,000m 1936), born in Helsinki, Finland (d. 1940)
  • 1911 Charles Mathiesen, Norwegian speed skater (Olympic gold 1936), born in Drammen, Norway (d. 1994)
  • 1918 Dom DiMaggio 'The Little Professor', American baseball player (Boston Red Sox), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2009)
  • 1919 Ferruccio Valcareggi, Italian soccer midfielder and manager (Bologna; Atalanta, Italy 1974 World Cup), born in Trieste, Austria-Hungary (d. 2005)
  • 1926 Irene Camber, Italian fencer (Olympic gold foil individual 1952, bronze team foil 1960; World C'ship gold 1953 individual foil; team foil 1957), born in Trieste, Italy (d. 2024)
  • 1926 Joe Garagiola, American MLB catcher (4 teams, 1946-54), sportscaster, and TV host (Today Show), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 2016)
  • 1931 Cliff Gustafson, American College Baseball HOF coach (College World Series 1975, 83; Collegiate Coach of the Year 1983; University of Texas, Austin), born in Kenedy, Texas (d. 2023)

Bill Russell (1934-2022)

American Basketball HOF center (11 × NBA C'ship; 5 x NBA MVP; 12 x NBA All-Star; Boston Celtics; Olympic gold 1956) and coach (NBA C'ship 1968, 69 Boston Celtics), born in West Monroe, Louisiana [1]

  • 1935 Ken Still, American golfer (3 PGA Tour titles), born in Tacoma, Washington (d. 2017)
  • 1937 Charles Dumas, American high jumper (Olympic gold 1956; first to clear 7 foot mark), born in Tulsa, Oklahoma (d. 2004)
  • 1937 Larry Lacewell, American college football coach (Arkansas State Uni 1979-89) and administrator (AD Arkansas State; Dallas Cowboys Dir college & pro scouting 1992-2004), born in Fordyce, Arkansas (d. 2022)
  • 1941 Ross Morgan, New Zealand cricketer (batsman in 20 Tests 1965-72)
  • 1942 Pat Dobson, American baseball player (d. 2006)
  • 1943 Manfred Schaefer, Australian soccer defender (49 caps; St. George-Budapest FC) and manager (St. George-B FC, Sydney Olympic FC, APIA Leichhardt, Sydney Utd, Marconi), born in Baltiysk, Russia (d. 2023)
  • 1944 Charles Pasarell, Puerto Rican-American tennis player and administrator, born in San Juan, Puerto Rica
  • 1944 Mike Martin, American College Baseball HOF coach (all-time winningest coach in NCAA Division I: Florida State Uni 1980-2019; Baseball America Coach of the Year 2012, 19), born in Charlotte, North Carolina (d. 2024)
  • 1945 Don Wilson, American baseball pitcher (2 x no-hitters 1967, 69; MLB All Star 1971; Houston Astros), born in Monroe, Louisiana (d. 1975)
  • 1949 Gundappa Viswanath, cricketer (prolific Indian batsman of 70s)
  • 1949 Len Randle, American MLB player (NY Mets), born in Long Beach, California
  • 1955 Chet Lemon [Chester Earl Lemon], American baseball player, born in Jackson, Mississippi
  • 1955 Daniele Masala, Italian pentathlete (Olympics 1976), born in Rome, Italy
  • 1962 Jimmy Kirkwood, Irish-born field hockey player, born in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
  • 1963 Brent Jones, American College Football Hall of Fame tight end (Santa Clara Uni; Super Bowl 1988, 89, 95; SF 49ers; Pro Bowl 1992–95; All Pro 1992-94), born in Santa Clara, California
  • 1964 Maurice Douglass, American NFL safety (NY Giants), born in Muncie, Indiana
  • 1964 Michel Petit, Canadian NHL defenseman (Tampa Bay Lightning), born in Quebec, Canada
  • 1964 Milton Small, West Indian cricket fast bowler (2 Tests, 4 wickets; Barbados), born in Saint Philip Parish, Barbados
  • 1965 Rubén Amaro Jr., American baseball outfielder (Cleveland Indians), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • 1969 Hong Myung-Bo, Korean footballer, born in Seoul, South Korea
  • 1970 Bryan Roy, Dutch football manager and player (Ajax), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • 1970 Dell Demps, Canadian NBA guard (San Antonio Spurs), born in Long Beach, Canada
  • 1971 Lincoln Kennedy, American NFL tackle (Oakland Raiders), born in York, Pennsylvania
  • 1972 Dulip Samaraweera, Sri Lankan cricketer (Sri Lankan Test opening batsman 1993-), born in Colombo, Sri Lanka
  • 1974 Ian Mcintyre, Canadian NHL left wing (Vancouver Canucks), born in Montreal, Quebec
  • 1974 Toranosuke Takagi, Japanese auto racer (Japanese Formula Nippon 2000), born in Shizuoka, Japan
  • 1975 Chris Szarka, Canadian CFL fullback (Saskatchewan Roughriders), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
  • 1975 Matt Finkes, American NFL linebacker (NY Jets), born in Piqua, Ohio
  • 1975 Seth Payne, American NFL defensive tackle (Jacksonville Jaguars), born in Clifton Springs, New York
  • 1976 Christian Cullen, New Zealand rugby union footballer, born in Paraparaumu, New Zealand
  • 1977 Jimmy Conrad, US soccer player, born in Arcadia, California
  • 1978 Brett Hodgson, Australian rugby league footballer, born in Liverpool, Australia
  • 1979 Antonio Chatman, American NFL wide receiver and punt returner, born in Jackson, Alabama
  • 1979 Matt Mauck, American NFL player, born in Jasper, Indiana

Juan Carlos Ferrero (44 years old)

1980 Spanish tennis player, born in Ontinyent, Spain

  • 1982 Onil Joseph, Dominican baseball player, born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic
  • 1983 Carlton Brewster, American NFL player, born in Grand Rapids, Michigan
  • 1984 Brad Keselowski, American auto racer (NASCAR Xfinity Series 2010; NASCAR Cup Series 2012), born in Rochester Hills, Michigan
  • 1984 Peter Vanderkaay, US mid-distance swimmer, born in Royal Oak, Michigan
  • 1988 Nicolás Otamendi, Argentine football player (Benefica, Argentina), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • 1990 Robert Griffin III, American football quarterback (Heisman Trophy 2011, Baylor; NFL Pro Bowl 2012, Washington Redskins; Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens), born in Okinawa, Japan