On This Day

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Athletes Who Died in 1940

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  • Feb 7 Francis Ford, English cricketer (5 Tests for England v Australia 1894-95), dies at 73
  • Feb 11 Gunnar Höckert, Finnish athlete (Olympic gold 5,000m 1936), dies of war wounds at 29
  • Mar 2 Matt Kilroy, American baseball pitcher (MLB single-season record 513 strikeouts 1886; MLB no-hitter 1886; Baltimore Orioles), dies at 73
  • Mar 15 Alfred Marr, Australian cricketer (Test for Australia 1885, scored 0 & 5), dies at 77
  • Mar 26 Spyridon Louis, Greek athlete who won the 1st modern Olympics marathon in 1896, dies at 67
  • Mar 29 Alexander Obolensky, Russian prince and English rugby union winger (4 caps; Leicester Tigers RUFC, Oxford Uni RFC), dies in an aircraft training accident for RAF at 24
  • May 20 Amar Singh, Indian cricket all-rounder (7 Tests, 28 wickets; India's first half-century in Test cricket), dies of pneumonia at 29
  • Jun 22 Monty Noble, Australian cricket all-rounder (42 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 133, 121 wickets, BB 7/17; NSW), dies at 67
  • Jul 3 George Shepstone, South African cricket batsman (2 Tests; Transvaal), dies at 64
  • Jul 14 Bill Howell, Australian cricket medium pace bowler (18 Tests, 49 wickets, BB 5/81; NSWCA), dies at 70
  • Aug 3 Willard Hershberger, American baseball catcher (Cincinnati Reds), commits suicide at 30

Henri Desgrange (1865-1940)

Aug 16 French cyclist, journalist and founder of the Tour de France, dies at 75

Henri Desgrange

Walter Chrysler (1875-1940)

Aug 18 American automotive pioneer (Chrysler Corporation) and thoroughbred breeder, dies at 65

Walter Chrysler
  • Aug 21 Ernest Thayer, American poet who wrote the famous baseball poem "Casey", dies at 77
  • Oct 17 George Davis, American Baseball HOF shortstop and manager (New York Giants; World Series 1906 Chicago WS), dies at 70
  • Nov 21 Geoffrey Legge, cricketer (WWII 196 Eng v NZ Auckland 1930), dies
  • Dec 6 Charlie Hime, cricketer (one Test for South Africa 1895), dies
  • Dec 13 Dusty Tapscott, cricket (bro of Doodles, 4&1 in only S Af Test), dies
  • Dec 13 George Macaulay, cricketer (took 24 wkts in 8 Tests, Eng 22-33), dies
  • Dec 16 Billy Hamilton, American Baseball HOF outfielder (NL batting champion 1891, 93; 5 × NL stolen base leader; KC Cowboys, Philadelphia Phillies), dies at 74


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