1955: Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina clinches his third Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by finishing second to fellow Mercedes driver Sterling Moss in the British Grand Prix at Aintree.
1976: When he was captain, nobody in world cricket had as much on his plate as Shaun Pollock, who was born today. Captain, premier strike bowler, lower middle-order counter-attacker, and possessor of one of cricket’s more ginger tops, Pollock, son of Peter Pollock and nephew of Graeme, was the real deal from the moment he came in against England in 1995-96 and cracked 66 and took 4 for 34 on his one-day international debut, in Cape Town. A masterful wicket-to-wicket bowler, his average, when he passed the milestone, was the lowest of the 41 men to have taken 200 Test wickets. It was fitting, then, that he was the first South African to take 400 wickets. But his captaincy stint was far from memorable. South Africa suffered a first-round exit in their home World Cup after he miscalculated the D/L score required for them to beat West Indies – that was his final game as captain. He played his fourth World Cup in 2007 but was noticeably slower, and he retired from the game the following year.
1983: Against New Zealand at The Oval, Graeme Fowler and Chris Tavaré became the first England openers to score a century in the same Test innings for 23 years. And – shock, horror – Tavaré’s was the quicker: his 109 came off 259 balls, Fowler’s 105 off 299. Mind you, it was Fowler’s maiden Test hundred, so you can understand his watchfulness. Allan Lamb cracked 102 not out as well, as England eased home by 189 runs.
1988: Carl Lewis runs a wind-assisted 100m in 9.78 sec.
2003: 11th ESPY Awards: Lance Armstrong, Serena Williams win.
2017: Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: Roger Federer beats Marin Čilić 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 for a record 8th Wimbledon men’s title.