Athletes and Sports Stars Born on January 31

Henri Desgrange (1865-1940)

French cyclist, journalist and founder of the Tour de France, born in Paris, France

1866 Henry Forster, British politician (Governor-General of Australia 1920-25) and cricketer (Oxford blue 1887-89), born in Catford, England (d. 1936)
1889 Frank Foster, English cricket all-rounder (11 Tests, 3 x 50, 45 wickets, BB 6/91; Warwickshire CCC), born in Birmingham, England (d. 1958)
1908 Simonne Mathieu, French tennis player (French C'ships 1938-39; 11 Grand Slam doubles titles), born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France (d. 1980)

Don Hutson (1913-1997)

American College-Pro Football HOF end (Uni of Alabama; NFL MVP 1941, 42; 8 × First-team All-Pro, 4 × NFL All-Star; Green Bay Packers), born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas

1913 Wayne Millner, American NFL Hall of Fame football end, 1936-45 (Boston/Washington Redskins), and US Navy WWII veteran, born in Roxbury Massachusetts (d. 1976)

Jersey Joe Walcott (1914-1994)

American boxer (NYSAC, NBA, The Ring heavyweight titles 1951-52), county sheriff, and state athletic commissioner, born in Merchantville, New Jersey

1916 Frank Parker, American tennis player (4-time Grand Slam winner), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 1997)

Jackie Robinson (1919-1972)

American Baseball HOF second baseman (1st African-American MLB player Brooklyn Dodgers; 6 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1955; NL MVP 1949), born in Cairo, Georgia

1920 Bert Williams MBE, English soccer goalkeeper (24 caps; Wolverhampton Wanderers 381 games), born in Bradley, Staffordshire (d. 2014)
1925 Micheline Lannoy, Belgian figure skating pairs (Olympic gold 1948), born in Brussels, Belgium
1930 Art Michalik, American football linebacker / guard (All-Pro 1953; Pro Bowl 1953; San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2021)
1930 Joakim Bonnier, Swedish racecar driver (d. 1972)
1931 Bill Watson, Australian cricketer (NSW & Australian opening batsman mid-1950s), born in Randwick, New South Wales, Australia (d. 2018)
1931 Christopher Chataway, British MP/athlete (world record 5k), born in Chelsea, London (d. 2014)

Ernie Banks (1931-2015)

American Baseball HOF shortstop, 1st baseman (14 x MLB All Star; NL MVP 1958, 59; Chicago Cubs), born in Dallas, Texas

1934 Bob Turner, Canadian Hockey HOF defenseman (Stanley Cup 1956, 57, 58, 59, 60 Montreal Canadiens; 6 x NHL All Star), born in Regina, Saskatchewan (d. 2005)
1934 Brian Bolus, English cricket batsman (7 Tests @ 41.33; Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire), born in Leeds, England (d. 2020)
1939 Johnny Egan, American basketball point guard (Detroit Pistons, NY Knicks, Baltimore Bullets, LA Lakers, SD/Houston Rockets) and coach (Houston Rockets 1973-76), born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 2022)
1941 Len Chappell, American basketball forward (NBA All-Star 1964 NY Knicks; All-American 1962 Wake Forest Uni), born in Portage, Pennsylvania (d. 2018)
1944 John Inverarity, cricketer (Australian batsman 1968-72)
1946 Subroto Guha, Indian cricketer (right arm swing bowler for India 1967-69), born in India

1947 American Baseball HOF pitcher (MLB no-hit leader [7], strikeout leader [5,714]; World Series 1969 NY Mets; 8 x MLB All Star; California Angels, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers), born in Refugio, Texas

1949 Johan Derksen, Dutch footballer and sports journalist, born in Heteren, Netherlands
1951 Juan de Dios Castillo, Mexican soccer coach (Copa Centroamericana 2011 Honduras; El Salvador), born in Mexico City (d. 2014)
1954 Faoud Bacchus, West Indies cricketer (West Indian bat late 70's), born in Georgetown, Guyana

Virginia Ruzici (69 years old)

1955 Romanian tennis star (1978 French Open champion), born in Campia Turzii, Romania

1957 Shirley Babashoff, American swimmer (Olympics-6 silver/2 gold-72, 76), born in Whittier, California
1959 Kelly Moore, American stock car driver, born in Scarborough, Maine
1959 Michael Allen, American golfer (Senior PGA Championship 2009), born in San Mateo, California
1965 Bobby Dollas, Canadian ice hockey player (Anaheim Mighty Ducks), born in Montreal, Quebec
1965 Diána Igaly, Hungarian sport shooter (Olympic gold women's skeet 2004; bronze 2000), born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 2021)
1965 Kim Clarke, American team handball back court (Olympics 1988, 92, 96), born in Tulsa, Oklahoma
1966 Charles Dimry, American football cornerback (Tampa Bay Bucs, Philadelphia Eagles), born in San Diego, California
1966 Jamie Taras, Canadian football player (BC Lions), born in Acton, Ontario
1968 Doug Pederson, American NFL coach (Super Bowl 2017, Philadelphia Eagles), born in Bellingham, Washington
1968 Michael Sinclair, American football defensive end (Seattle Seahawks), born in Galveston, Texas
1968 Patrick Stevens, Belgian athlete, born in Belgium
1968 Steve Phoenix, American baseball pitcher (Oakland Athletics), born in Phoenix, Arizona
1970 (Amelia) "Minnie" Driver, British-American actress (Good Will Hunting; The Riches), and singer-songwriter (Everything I've Got in My Pocket), born in London, England
1970 Greg Skrepenak, American football offensive lineman (Oakland Raiders, Carolina Panthers), born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
1970 Travis Hannah, American football wide receiver (Houston Oilers, Frankfurt Galaxy), born in Los Angeles, California
1971 Corey Holliday, American football wide receiver (Pittsburgh Steelers), born in Richmond, Virginia
1971 Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer, born in Kilkis, Greece
1972 Marvin Coleman, American basketball player (Calgary Stampeders), born in Las Vegas, Nevada
1972 Pulu Poumele, American football guard (San Diego Chargers), born in Oceanside, California (d. 2016)
1972 Reinier Robbemond, Dutch soccer player (Dordrecht '90), born in Dordrecht, Netherlands
1973 Latario Rachal, American football player (Amsterdam Admirals, San Diego Chargers), born in California
1974 Ariel Pestano, Cuban baseball player, born in Cuba
1974 Bob Mulder, Dutch football player (Appingedam, FC Groningen), born in Delfzijl, Netherlands
1974 Lorenzo Styles, American football linebacker (Atlanta Falcons), born in Sharon, Pennsylvania
1974 Othella Harrington, American basketball forward (Houston Rockets), born in Jackson, Mississippi
1974 Pavi Sald, Finnish ice hockey defenseman (Finland, Olympics 1998)
1975 Kenard Lang, American football defensive end (Washington Redskins), born in Orlando, Florida
1976 Buddy Rice, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 2004, 24 Hours of Daytona 2009), born in Phoenix, Arizona
1976 Traianos Dellas, Greek football player, born in Thessaloniki, Greece
1978 Fabián Caballero, Argentine footballer, born in Misiones Province, Argentina
1981 Julio Arca, Argentinian football player, born in Quilmes, Argentina
1982 Andreas Görlitz, German football player, born in Weilheim in Oberbayern, Germany
1982 Brad Thompson, American baseball pitcher, born in Las Vegas, Nevada
1982 Yuniesky Betancourt, Cuban baseball shortstop, born in Santa Clara, Cuba
1983 Tom Vangeneugden, Belgian swimmer, born in Overpelt, Belgium
1984 Jeremy Wariner, American 400m runner, born in Irving, Texas
1984 Vernon Davis, American football tight end, born in Washington, D.C.
1985 Adam Federici, Australian football player, born in Nowra, Australia
1985 Mario Williams, American football defensive end, born in Richlands, North Carolina
1986 Yves Makabu-Makalambay, Congolese football goalkeeper, born in Brussels, Belgium
1996 Sophia Schubert, American golfer (Evian C'ship 2022 runner-up), born in Knoxville, Tennessee