Sport

On This Day - April 17 2016: Six-time world snooker champion Steve Davis announced his retirement from the sport at the age of 58

Steve Davis dominated the sport of snooker during the 1980s, and as well as winning six World Championship snooker titles, he was ranked world number one for seven consecutive seasons
Steve Davis dominated the sport of snooker during the 1980s, and as well as winning six World Championship snooker titles, he was ranked world number one for seven consecutive seasons Steve Davis dominated the sport of snooker during the 1980s, and as well as winning six World Championship snooker titles, he was ranked world number one for seven consecutive seasons

ON THIS DAY

1860: The first international boxing match took place at Farnborough, Hampshire. Tom Sayers of England met John C Heenan of the United States in a bare-knuckle contest that ended in a draw after 37 rounds.

1888: The first formal meeting of the Football League took place at the Royal Hotel in Manchester. It was attended by representatives of 12 clubs who agreed to form a league.

1937: A British record crowd of 149,547 passed through the turnstiles at Hampden Park, Glasgow, to watch Scotland play England.

1993: Neil Thomas became the first Briton to win a medal in the World Gymnastics Championships when he took silver in the floor exercises at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.

2001: Despite going down 2-0 in Spain, Leeds qualified for the semi-finals of the Champions League with a 3-2 aggregate win over Deportivo La Coruna.

2003: Fulham sacked manager Jean Tigana after an inconsistent run of form in the Premiership, replacing him with Chris Coleman, who went on to save the club from relegation.

2007: England's cricketers went out of the World Cup after losing by nine wickets to South Africa at Bridgetown. England made 154, a total their opponents passed with more than 30 overs to spare.

2015: James Anderson equalled Sir Ian Botham as England's top Test wicket-taker and then surpassed him, taking his 383rd and 384th scalps, but England were held to a draw in the first Test against West Indies in Antigua.

2016: Six-time world snooker champion Steve Davis announced his retirement from the sport at the age of 58.

BIRTHDAYS

Michael 'Babs' Keating (GAA): former dual player with Tipperary, and former manager of the Tipperary senior hurling team, born 1944.

Riccardo Patrese (motor racing) - Italian who drove in 256 grand prix races, born 1954.

Roger Twose (cricket) - former Warwickshire and New Zealand batsman, born 1968.

Richie Woodhall (boxing) - former super middleweight world champion, born 1968.

Muttiah Muralitharan (cricket) - former Sri Lanka bowler who claimed a record 800 wickets in Test matches, born 1972.

Jason White (rugby union) - former Scotland captain, born 1978.

Curtis Woodhouse (soccer) - former professional boxer and Sheffield United midfielder, born 1980.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (tennis) - French former Australian Open finalist, born 1985. 1

Romain Grosjean (motor racing) - Formula One driver with the Haas team, born 1986.

QUICK QUIZ BLITZ

1. Who was the last non-English player to win the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible?

2. Who managed Nemo Rangers to the 2008 All-Ireland club final?

3. Name the only Scotland player to make a Test appearance on the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia.

4. Who captained St Brigid's to the 2006 Connacht club title?

5. When was the last time a Davis Cup final was won by the host nation?

(See answers at bottom)

SPORT ON TV

Monday, April 17

GAA: Action from the latest GAA matches, including the National Hurling League semi-finals and the All-Ireland U21 Football Championship semi-finals - TG4 2000.

SOCCER: Premier League, Middlesbrough v Arsenal - Sky Sports 1900; Championship, Fulham v Aston Villa and Derby v Huddersfield - Sky Sports 1 1430 and 1645; League One, Sheffield United v Bradford - Sky Sports 1 1200; National League, Gateshead v Lincoln - BT Sport 1 1430; LaLiga, Alaves v Villarreal - Sky Sports 2 1940; 2. Bundesliga, Arminia Bielefeld v Stuttgart - BT Sport 1 1915.

RUGBY LEAGUE: Super League, Wakefield v Wigan and Catalans Dragons v Salford - Sky Sports 2 1430 and 1700.

SNOOKER: World Championship - BBC Two 1000 and 1300, Eurosport 1 1000, 1430 and 1830, Eurosport 2 1900.

TENNIS: ATP Tour, Monte-Carlo Masters - Sky Sports 3 1000.

CRICKET: IPL, Delhi Daredevils v Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kings XI Punjab - Sky Sports 4 1100 and 1500.

MOTOR CYCLING: British Superbikes, Brands Hatch - Eurosport 2 1230.

BASKETBALL: NBA Play-offs, Boston Celtics v Chicago Bulls - BT Sport 1 0100 (Tue).

BASEBALL: MLB, Boston Red Sox v Tampa Bay Rays - BT Sport//ESPN 1600; St Louis Cardinals v Pittsburgh Pirates - BT Sport//ESPN 0000 (Tue).

AUSTRALIAN RULES: AFL, Hawthorn v Geelong Cats - BT Sport 1 0600.

Tuesday, April 18

GAA: Off the Ball, an offbeat look at recent football developments - eir Sport 1 1900.

SOCCER: Champions League, Leicester v Atletico Madrid - BT Sport 2 1900; FA Youth Cup final, first leg, Manchester City v Chelsea - ITV4 1930; BT Sport 1, Metz v Paris St Germain - BT Sport 1 1730.

SNOOKER: World Championship - BBC Two 1000 and 1300, Eurosport 1 1000, 1430 and 1830, Eurosport 2 1000, 1630 and 1900.

TENNIS: ATP Tour, Monte-Carlo Masters - Sky Sports 3 1000.

CRICKET: IPL, Gujarat Lions v Royal Challengers Bangalore - Sky Sports 2 1500.

CYCLING: Tour of the Alps - Eurosport 2 1330; Tour of Croatia - Eurosport 2 1445.

BASEBALL: MLB, Toronto Blue Jays v Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics v Texas Rangers - BT Sport//ESPN 0000 and 0300 (Wed).

QUICK QUIZ BLITZ answers: 1 John Higgins (2011); 2 Ephie Fitzgerald; 3 Richie Gray; 4 Mark O'Carroll; 5 2012 (Czech Republic).

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