ON THIS DAY
1848: WG Grace was born. The cricket great scored 54,896 runs, took 2,876 wickets and 871 catches in the first-class game. In 1876, he became the first man to score 300 runs in an innings and duly repeated the feat within a week. He also represented his country at bowls and founded the English Bowling Association in 1903. He retired from first-class cricket aged 60 in 1908 and died in 1915.
1951: 'Jersey' Joe Walcott knocked out Ezzard Charles to become world heavyweight boxing champion at the age of 37 years and 168 days.
1992: Crystal Palace became the first foreign club to play in South Africa following the country's readmittance to Fifa. Palace beat Kaizer Chiefs 3-2 in Johannesburg.
1993: Derry defeated Donegal at a waterlogged St Tiernach's Park to win the Ulster SFC title on a scoreline of 0-8 to 0-6.
1997: Liverpool signed England midfielder Paul Ince from Inter Milan for £4.2million.
2004: Unheralded American Todd Hamilton beat Ernie Els in a play-off to win the Open championship at Royal Troon.
2008: Sprinter Dwain Chambers lost his bid to be allowed to compete at the Beijing Olympics after a High Court judge refused to grant an injunction to temporarily suspend a lifetime ban imposed by the British Olympic Association for using drugs.
2009: Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor passed a medical and signed a five-year contract with Manchester City.
2010: South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen won the Open Championship at St Andrews.
2014: Germany's World Cup-winning captain Philipp Lahm announced his retirement from international football.
2015: Formula One driver Jules Bianchi died, nine months after suffering severe head injuries in a crash during the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.
2016: A Wada investigation found that the Russian Ministry of Sport "directed, controlled and oversaw" the manipulation of urine samples provided by Russian athletes at Sochi's anti-doping laboratory during the 2014 Winter Olympics.
BIRTHDAYS
David Hemery (athletics) - 1968 Olympic 400-metres hurdles champion, born 1944.
Jim Watt (boxing) - WBC world lightweight champion turned TV commentator, born 1948.
Dennis Lillee (cricket) - former Australia fast bowler, born 1949.
Nick Faldo (golf) - three-time winner of both the Open and US Masters, born 1957.
Alan Pardew (soccer) - former Crystal Palace, Newcastle and West Ham manager, born 1961.
Shane Horgan (rugby union) - retired Leinster and Ireland winger, born 1978.
Canelo Alvarez (boxing) - two-weight world champion from Mexico, born 1990.
QUICK QUIZ
1. Which club had the most players at the 2018 World Cup in Russia?
2. What are the first names of the Bryan twins who have won 16 major doubles titles together in tennis?
3. Who was the top scorer in the 2002 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship?
4. Who was the top scorer in the 1999 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship?
5. Where will the 2018 Open Championship be played?
(See quiz answers at bottom)
SPORT ON TV
Today (Wednesday, July 18)
GOLF: Live at The Open, practice round - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports The Open 1400.
CRICKET: Vitality T20 Blast, Leicestershire Foxes v Lancashire Lightning - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Cricket 1800.
CYCLING: Tour de France - ITV4 1245, Eurosport 1 1245, S4C 1400.
TENNIS: WTA Tennis, Bucharest Open - BT Sport 1 1200 & 1830.
Tomorrow (Thursday, July 19)
GOLF: The Open Championship - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports The Open 0630.
CRICKET: Vitality T20 Blast, Northamptonshire Steelbacks v Derbyshire Falcons
CYCLING: Tour de France - ITV4 1100, Eurosport 1 1045, S4C 1400.
FORMULA ONE: German Grand Prix, F1 drivers press conference - Sky Sports F1 1400.
TENNIS: WTA Tennis, Bucharest Open - BT Sport 1 1300.
BASEBALL: MLB, Chicago Cubs v St Louis Cardinals - BT Sport 1 0000 (Fri).
QUICK QUIZ ANSWERS
1. Manchester City with 16; 2. Bob and Mike; 3. Oisín McConville (Armagh); 4. Joe Deane (Cork); 5. Carnoustie, Scotland.
