History of Sport - an Australian perspective

21st century:

2012:
- Australian cricket captain, Michael Clark hits record highest test runs scored in a calendar year for an Australian batsmen, including a triple century and 4 double centuries
- Australia defeats Sri Lanka in cricket tests
- Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey retire from international test cricket
- Australia loses to leading country, Sth Africa in cricket tests in Australia
- Sydney defeats Hawthorn to win the AFL Premiership
- Olympic Games hosted by London
- Australia defeats West Indies in cricket tests in West Indies
- Australia defeats India in cricket tests and draws series with NZ and South Africa
2011:
- Geelong defeats Collingwood to win the AFL premiership
- Australia defeats Sri Lanka in cricket tests
- Australia loses Ashes series at hom against England in cricket tests
- Australia loses against India in cricket tests in India
2010:
- Collingwood defeats St Kilda in Grand Final Replay after a drawn Grand Final to win the AFL premiership
- Australia defeats NZ in cricket tests
- Australia defeats Pakistan in cricket tests
- Australia defeats West Indies in cricket tests
2009:
- Geelong defeats St Kilda to win the AFL premiership
- Australia loses its number 1 cricket test ranking for the first time since ICC introduced it in 2003, and loses it's clear domination of international cricket which it held since 1995 apart from a few months when South Africa would have been ranked number 1 in the period 1999-2001
2008:
- Hawthorn in a surprise upset, defeats Geelong to win the AFL premiership
2007:
- Dec 2007, Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan beats Shane Warne's test cricket bowling record of 708 wickets
- Geelong defeats Port Adelaide to win the AFL premiership
- Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Damien Martyn and Justin Langer retire from test cricket in Jan 2007 at the end of the successful Ashes series
2006:
- West Coast defeats Sydney to win the AFL premiership
- Perth hosts the Red Bull Air Race.
- Australia wins Champions Trophy in one day cricket.
- Australia reaches World Cup Soccer finals before being unfortunate to be knocked out in dubious circumstances by Italy.
- Melbourne also hosts the usual Grand Prix, Australian Open tennis and the AFL grand final contributing to the decision to make Melbourne, the No. 1 sporting city in the world as well as being in the top 2 most livable cities in the world.
- Melbourne hosts Commonwealth Games:
  - Australia win 221 medals including 84 gold, easily beating 2nd place England which won 110 medals and 3rd place Canada with 86 medals.
2005:
- England somehow manages to win the Ashes back from Australia.
- Sydney defeats West Coast to win the AFL premiership
2004:
- Steve Waugh retires from international test cricket with the record number of test matches played (until Sachin Tendulkar of India beat this record in 2010), and 1 of only 11 to have hit more than 10,000 test runs.
- Port Adelaide defeats Brisbane Lions to win the AFL premiership
- Athens Olympic Games:
  - Australia, with a total of 49 medals including 17 gold, was 4th overall and 2nd in medals per capita with 0.86 medals per 100,000 people.
2003:
- Brisbane Lions defeats Collingwood to win the AFL premiership
- Layne Beachley wins 6th consecutive world surfing crown.
- Matthew Hayden becomes Aust's highest cricket test innings scorer with 380 against Zimbabwe.
2002:
- Brisbane Lions defeats Collingwood to win the AFL premiership
- St Kilda & Sydney footballer, Tony Lockett retires after kicking a record breaking 1360 career goals
2001:
- Brisbane Lions defeats Essendon to win the AFL premiership
- Karrie Webb wins career grand slam in golf. Lleyton Hewitt wins US Open tennis;
2000:
- Essendon defeats Melbourne to win the AFL premiership
- Sydney Olympic Games - 28 sports, 199 nations, 300 events & 10,651 athletes competed
  - Aust. wins 58 medals incl. 16 gold.
  - Susan O'Neill equals Dawn Fraser's record career tally of 8 Aust. Olympic medals
  - Ian Thorpe equals Shane Gould's Aust. record for most medals at an Olympic Games - 5 incl. 3 gold
  - Cathy Freeman wins 400m track.
- Shane Warne overtakes Dennis Lillee's Aust. record for wickets taken.

Late 20th century:

1999: Wallabies 1st team to win 2nd Rugby World Cup.
1998: Pat Rafter wins consecutive US Open titles.Mick Doohan wins 5th consecutive world 500cc title.
1996: Atlanta Olympic Games: Aust. wins 41 medals incl. 9 gold. Perkins wins 1500m swim.
1995: Steve Elkington wins US PGA; Karrie Webb wins women's British Open;
1993:
- Shane Warne takes 71 Test wickets, then a record for a spin bowler in a calendar year
- Greg Norman wins 2nd British Open golf.
1992:
- Geelong breaks the record highest score with 37.17 (239) vs Brisbane
- Barcelona Olympic Games: Aust wins 7 gold medals.
1991:
- Hawthorn footballer, Michael Tuck retires after playing a record-breaking 426 games
- Ian Baker Finch wins British Open golf event; Wallabies win Rugby World Cup.
1989: Hawthorn beat Geelong in one of the best AFL grand finals.
1988: Seoul Olympic Games: Aust. wins 3 gold.
1987: Pat Cash wins Wimbledon; Wayne Gardner is 1st Aust. to win world 500cc motorcycle title.
1985: Jeff Fenech wins world bantamweight boxing title
1984:
- LA Olympic Games: Aust wins 4 gold;
1983: Australia II wins America's Cup yacht event - 1st non-US team to win it.
1982: Sth Melb. becomes Sydney Swans.
1981: Dennis Lillee becomes world record wicket taker
1980:
- Evonne Cawley (Goolagong) wins 2nd Wimbledon title;
- Moscow Olympic Games:
  - Aust. team depleted by boycott wins 2 gold.
- Alan Jones wins world Formula 1 championship
1979: Fitzroy records the greatest winning margin ever in VFL with 190 points against Melb.
1977:
- Aust. wins Centenary Test over England at MCG; Kerry Packer forms World Series Cricket;
- Margaret Court retires from tennis having won 24 major singles titles (more than any other woman) including 11 Aust. Opens, 5 US & French Opens, & 3 Wimbledons. She has one the singles, doubles & mixed doubles of every Grand Slam tournament.
1976: Montreal Olympics Games: Aust fails to win a gold.
1973: Margaret Court wins record 5th US Open title, defeating Goolagong
1972:
- Munich Olympic Games:
  - 15yr old Shane Gould breaks the Aust. record for most medals at an Olympic Games - 5 including 3 gold.
- Bob Massie sets Aust. record for most cricket test wickets in a match with 8/84 & 8/53 vs England at Lord's.
1971:
- Hawthorn footballer, Peter Hudson equals Bob Pratt's record of 150 goals in a season
- Evonne Goolagong beats Margeret Court to win Wimbledon
1970:
- Carlton vs Collingwood game records greatest crowd in VFL game ever - 121,696 - grand final at MCG.
- John Newcombe beats Ken Rosewall to win Wimbledon title.
- Margaret Court wins tennis Grand Slam.
- 1st one-day international cricket game played - at MCG
1969:
- Johnny Famechon wins world featherweight boxing title.
- Rod Laver wins his 2nd Grand Slam becoming Australia's best ever male tennis player having won 4 Wimbledons, 2 US Opens, 2 French Opens and 3 Aust. Opens.
1968:
- Lionel Rose wins world bantamweight boxing title
- Mexico Olympic Games: Aust. wins 5 gold medals
1967: John Newcombe wins Wimbledon
1966: Jack Brabham wins world Formula 1 crown in a car he built himself
1964:
- Roy Emerson beats Fred Stolle to win Wimbledon.
- Tokyo Olympic Games:
  - Dawn Fraser adds to her tally of Olympic medals making an Aust. record career tally of 8 medals including an equal record career tally of 4 gold medals (along with Betty Cuthbert & Murray Rose)
1963: Margeret Smith is 1st Aust. woman to win Wimbledon. Aust. wins 1st world netball championships.
1962: Rod Laver wins Grand Slam
1961: Rod Laver wins Wimbledon
1960:
- Neale Fraser wins Wimbledon
- Rome Olympic Games - Herb Elliott wins 1500m run, Murray Rose & Dawn Fraser win gold.
- Melbourne wins 5th VFL premiership in 6 yrs.
1958: Herb Elliott breaks Landy's world mile record run.
1957: Lew Hoad wins 2nd Wimbledon tennis title.
1956:
- Lew Hoad beats Ken Rosewall at Wimbledon
- golfer Peter Thomson wins 3rd British Open in a row & wins again in 1958 & 1965
- Melbourne Olympic Games:
  - Betty Cuthbert wins 3 gold medals & Shirley Strickland two
  - Aust wins 8 swimming events led by Murray Rose (3), Lorraine Crapp (2) & Dawn Fraser (2)
1955: Aust. scores its highest ever cricket test score: 8cc/758 v. W. Indies in Kingston.
1954: John Landy breaks Roger Bannister's world record becoming the 2nd man to break the 4 minute mile run.
1952: Helsinki Olympic Games - Marjorie Jackson wins gold & breaks world records in 100m & 200m - 1st Aust. woman to win a track event; Shirley Strickland wins 80m hurdles.
1951: Frank Sedgman wins US Open tennis.
1950: Aust beats England in rugby league series for 1st time in 28yrs.

Early 20th century:

1948:
- London Olympic Games: Aust. 0 gold;
- cricketer Don Bradman retires, scoring a duck in last innings but averaged 99.94 runs per innings.
1947:
- Fred Fanning kicks a record 18 goals in a VFL game - Melb vs St Kilda
- Don Bradman becomes 1st player to score 100 1st class centuries in cricket
1944: Olympic Games cancelled due to WWII
1940: Olympic Games cancelled due to WWII
1936: Berlin Olympic Games: Aust. 0 gold
1934: Sth Melb footballer, Bob Pratt kicks a record 150 goals in a season
1933:
- bodyline era in cricket led by English fast bowler Harold Larwood.
- Walter Lindrum wins world professional billiards title
1932:
- LA Olympic Games: Aust. 1 gold;
- Phar Lap dies in the US. Hubert Opperman breaks world outdoor motor-paced record.
1930:
- for the 1st time, VFL permits 1 injured player to be replaced
- Don Bradman hits world record 334 runs v England at Headingly
- Phar Lap wins Melbourne Cup
- Aust. wins 1st ever cricket test against West Indies.
1928:
1924:
- Paris Olympic Games: Aust. 1 gold
- Edward “Carjie” Greeves wins inaugural Brownlow Medal
1923: Bill Ponsford, in his 3rd 1st class match, hits 429 for Vic against Tas, a world record 1st class score
1921: Arthur Mailey sets Aust. test record wickets in an innings taking 9/121 vs England at the MCG
1920: Antwerp Olympic Games: Aust. 0 gold;
1916: Olympic Games cancelled due to WWI
1915: Les Darcy wins world middleweight boxing title
1912: Stockholm Olympic Games: Fanny Durack becomes Aust's 1st female Olympic gold medallist winning the 100m freestyle - 1st women's swimming event at Olympics
1911: batting legend Victor Trumper scores 661 runs at average 94.92 against Sth Africa
1910: swimmer Frank Beaurepaire sets four world records
1908: London Olympic Games: Aust. 0 gold;
1907: Aust. wins Davis Cup of tennis for 1st time; Norman Brooks becomes 1st overseas tennis player to win at the All England Club.
1904: St Louis Olympic Games: Aust. 0 gold;
1901: Collingwood wins its 1st VFL premiership in the 1st grand final played at the MCG
1900: Paris Olympic Games: Aust. 2 gold;

19th century:

1899: Aust. wins its 1st rugby test against Great Britain, 13-3
1897: Essendon wins its 1st VFL premiership
1896:
- Athens Olympic Games - 1st modern day Olympic Games:
  - Edwin Flack wins 800m & 1500m - Aust's 1st gold medals at Olympics
  - 14 countries, 9 sports, 43 events and total of 241 sportsmen competed - no women;
- VFL forms with Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda & Sth Melb.
1892: SA, NSW & Vic play for the Sheffield Shield for 1st time
1891: football is bounced in the centre of the ground for 1st time in VFA matches.
1890: Carbine wins Melbourne Cup setting the weight-carrying record (66kg) against a field of 39 (still a record)
1887: numbers used on VFA players for 1st time
1880: 1st cricket Test on English soil - England wins; umpires introduced into VFA, previously captains awarded free kicks.
1879:
- legendary fast bowler, Fred Spofforth bowls the 1st hat-trick in test cricket - against England at the MCG
- 1st grass court tennis court laid in Australia.
1878: W.J.Millard, a farmer who trained chasing kangaroos, wins the 1st Stawell Gift
1877:
- 1st cricket Test match between Aust. combined colonies team & England at the MCG - Aust. wins by 45 runs
- VFA is formed by 8 football clubs - Nth Melb, Sth Melb, E. Melb, Melb, Geelong, Carlton, St Kilda & Essendon - premiership won by Carlton.
1874: 1st women's cricket match, in Bendigo
1872: 1st lawn tennis club in the world founded in England.
1867-8: Aboriginal cricket team tours England
1862: 1st English cricket tour
1861: Archer wins 1st Melbourne Cup
1858: 1st Aussie Rules football game - Scotch College vs Melbourne Grammar
1851: 1st inter-colonial cricket match - Tas vs Vic
1832: 1st fully recorded cricket match in Australia - Sydney
1825: Sydney Turf Club established
1806: 1st racecourse opens - Hawkesbury River, Sydney

18th century:

1795: billiards 1st played
1775: 3rd stump added to cricket wicket.
1771: limits set on size of cricket bat.

Table of Contents

History of Sport - an Australian perspective

21st century:

Late 20th century:

Early 20th century:

19th century:

18th century: