History of Sport - an
Australian perspective
21st century:
- 2006:
- 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.
- 2004:
- 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:
- Layne Beachley wins 6th consecutive world surfing crown.
- Matthew Hayden becomes Aust's highest cricket test innings scorer with 380
against Zimbabwe.
- 2002: St Kilda & Sydney footballer, Tony Lockett retires after kicking a
record breaking 1360 career goals
- 2001: Karrie Webb wins career grand slam in golf. Lleyton Hewitt wins US Open
tennis;
- 2000:
- 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: 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.