ON THIS DAY
1897: Cornishman Bob Fitzsimmons beat 'Gentleman' Jim Corbett to win the world heavyweight title at Carson City, Nevada, six years after lifting the world middleweight crown.
1902: Bobby Jones, arguably the finest amateur golfer of all time, was born. Jones won the Open three times and the US Open four times. In 1930 he achieved the grand slam of major tournaments. He died on December 18, 1971.
1947: World heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano won the first of his 49 professional fights when he beat Lee Epperson.
1983: Trainer Michael Dickinson saddled the first five past the finishing post in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
2006: War Of Attrition, trained by Mouse Morris and ridden by Conor O'Dwyer, won the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup, the feature race on the final day of the 2006 Festival.
2009: Olympic bronze medallist Jo Jackson set a new world record in the 400metres freestyle at the British Gas Swimming Championships in Sheffield.
2010: St Gall's footballers bring the All-Ireland Club Football title back to their west Belfast base after a 0-13 to 1-5 final victory over Kilmurray-Ibrickane at Croke Park in Dublin. St Gall's scorers: CJ McGourty 0-3, Kevin McGourty 0-2, K Niblock 0-2, A Healy 0-1, S Burke 0-1, A Gallagher 0-1, T O'Neill 0-1, Rory Gallagher 0-1, Kieran McGourty 0-1.
2010: Portsmouth were hit with a nine-point deduction for entering administration, all but sealing their relegation from the Barclays Premier League.
2011: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was fined £30,000 and given a five-match touchline ban for comments made about referee Martin Atkinson following a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea.
2012: Loughgiel's Liam Watson on fire in the All-Ireland Club Hurling final at Croke Park in Dublin. The Shamrocks star scored 3-7 in his side's thrilling 4-13 to 0-17 triumph over Coolderry.
2012: Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during the first half of Bolton's FA Cup quarter-final at Tottenham. He remained in hospital until April 16 and retired from professional football in August.
2014: The Football Association's membership committee made a ''unanimous recommendation'' to its council to reject Hull City's request to change their playing name to Hull Tigers.
BIRTHDAYS
Pat Rice (soccer) - former Northern Ireland and Arsenal defender, most recently Gunners assistant manager, born 1949.
Kevin Cadle (basketball) - former London Towers and England coach, now a basketball and American football broadcaster, born 1955.
Lee Dixon (soccer) - former Arsenal and England full-back, born 1964.
Mia Hamm (soccer) - former United States international and 1999 Women's World Cup winner, capped 276 times with 158 goals, born 1972.
Aaron Baddeley (golf) - Australian player with three wins on the PGA Tour, born 1981
Steven Pienaar (soccer) - Everton midfielder, born 1982.
Raul Meireles (soccer) - former Chelsea and Liverpool midfielder, now with Fenerbahce, born 1983.
Edin Dzeko (soccer) - Manchester City and Bosnia striker, born 1986.
Fraser Forster (soccer) - Southampton and England goalkeeper, born 1988.
Shinji Kagawa (soccer) - Borussia Dortmund and Japan midfielder, born 1989.
Katie Ledecky (swimming) - Olympic 800m freestyle gold medallist and holder of world records in the 400m, 800m and 1500m, born 1997.
QUICK QUIZ BLITZ
1. Fernando Verdasco, David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez are tennis players from which country?
2. In which events did swimmer Rebecca Adlington win the gold medal in 2008 Beijing Olympics?
3. Which side did Celtic sign Henrik Larsson from in 1997?
4. Who are the reigning World Twenty20 champions?
5. In what year was the last of Stephen Hendry's seven World Championship titles?
SPORT ON TV
Today
GAA: Na Piarsaigh v Ruairi Og and Ballyboden/St Enda's v Castlebar Mitchels (Throw-ins 2.00pm and 4.00pm). Micheal O Domhnaill presents coverage of the respective All-Ireland Club Hurling and Football finals, both which come from Croke Park TG4 1330.
GAA: Part two of two, documentary exploring the lives of GAA athletes and how they compare to their professional counterparts across the world. Mayo footballer Aidan O'Shea leaves his club Breaffy for the US and the NFL, while former NFL star Roberto Wallace tries his hand at Gaelic football RTE2 2030.
SOCCER: Europa League, Tottenham v Borussia Dortmund - BT Sport 1 1930; Manchester United v Liverpool - BT Sport Europe 1930; Sevilla v Basel - BT Sport 2 2000.
CRICKET: Women's World Twenty20, England v Bangladesh - Sky Sports 2 0930; World Twenty20, Sri Lanka v Afghanistan - Sky Sports 2 1330.
TENNIS: ATP Masters Tennis, Indian Wells - Sky Sports 3 2000; WTA Indian Wells - BT Sport 1 1800.
GOLF: European Tour, Indian Open - Sky Sports 4 0700; PGA Tour, Arnold Palmer Invitational - Sky Sports 4 1800.
RUGBY LEAGUE: Super League, Wigan v Widnes - Sky Sports 2 1930.
MOTORSPORT: Formula One, Australian Grand Prix practice - Sky Sports F1 0100 (Friday).
DARTS: Premier League, Glasgow - Sky Sports 1 1900.
HORSE RACING: Cheltenham Festival - Channel 4 1235.
BASKETBALL: NBA, Indiana Pacers v Toronto Raptors - BT Sport 2 2300.
Tomorrow
SOCCER: Championship, Middlesbrough v Hull - Sky Sports 2 1900; Scottish Championship, Falkirk v Rangers - BT Sport 1 1915; Ligue 1, Marseille v Rennes - Setanta Sports Ireland 1915; MLS, New York City v Orlando City - Sky Sports 2305; Hyundai A League, Melbourne City v Brisbane Roar - BT Sport 1 0830.
CRICKET: World Twenty20, Australia v New Zealand - Sky Sports 2 0900; World Twenty20, South Africa v England - Sky Sports 2 1300.
TENNIS: ATP Masters Tennis, Indian Wells - Sky Sports 5 1900; WTA Indian Wells - BT Sport 1 0200 (Saturday).
GOLF: European Tour, Indian Open - Sky Sports 4 0700; PGA Tour, Arnold Palmer Invitational - Sky Sports 4 1800.
RUGBY UNION: Aviva Premiership, Bath v Newcastle - BT Sport 2 1900; PRO12, Glasgow Warriors v Leinster - Sky Sports 3 1900; Super Rugby, Hurricanes v Force, Waratahs v Highlanders, Bulls v Sharks - Sky Sports 3 0630.
RUGBY LEAGUE: Super League, Leeds Rhinos v St Helens - Sky Sports 2 1930.
ATHLETICS: World Indoor Championships - BBC 2 0030 (Saturday) & Eurosport 2 1730.
MOTORSPORT: Formula One, Australian Grand Prix practice - Sky Sports F1 0245 (Saturday).
HORSE RACING: Cheltenham Festival - Channel 4 1235.
BASKETBALL: NBA, Dallas Mavericks v Golden State Warriors - BT Sport 2 0030 (Saturday).
QUICK QUIZ BLITZ answers: 1 Spain. 2. 400m and 800m freestyle. 3. Feyenoord. 4. Sri Lanka 5. 1999
