• May 19 down the years

Olympic champion Harrison turns pro

Audley Harrison defeated Mike Middleton with ease © Getty Images

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2001
Audley Harrison's first pro fight. The Olympic super-heavyweight champion was already 29 when he met Florida's Mike Middleton at Wembley Arena. The BBC paid a million pounds for the right to show Harrison's first ten fights. Money well spent? The jury was always going to be out after one bout. Before Harrison turned pro, there were concerns about his lack of punching power. That opinion wasn't likely to be tested tonight, against an opponent who'd lost nine of his 18 pro fights. Middleton lasted less than a round. Harrison's reputation didn't last much longer. People were right about his lack of power, and everyone lost patience with the parade of stiffs he beat. He began losing fights in 2005 and was still fighting novice nobodies in 2009.

Harrison did however become European heavyweight champion after knocking out Michael Sprott in April 2010. He vacated the title two months later, announcing his intention to land a world title shot. He duly agreed a fight against WBA champion David Haye at the MEN Arena in November, with the fight stopped in the third round after Harrison was unable to respond to a barrage of punches from Haye, having landed just one punch himself throughout the whole fight.

Opting to ignore calls to retire, Harrison boxed on and was knocked out in 82 seconds by David Price in October 2012. Unbeaten American heavyweight Deontay Wilder went 12 seconds better than Price in April 2013.

Harrison would then announce his retirement from boxing on May 1, 2013, but reversed his decision just 20 days later.

2001
In the final of rugby union's Heineken Cup, Diego Domínguez scored all the points for the losing side. An Argentinian who played for Italy, he was fly-half for Stade Français today. His haul of 30 points comprised a drop goal and a record nine penalty goals, including two from halfway - but Leicester won 34-30 after trailing 15-9 at half-time. They did it in their opponents' backyard, too: the Parc des Princes. Tim Stimpson kicked 19 points, and above all the Tigers scored the only tries, all in the second half. Right wing Leon Lloyd was through early in the second half; flanker Neil Back took a tap penalty; and Lloyd went over in the corner with just two minutes to go.

1994
The suicide of Luis Ocaña, who shot himself in France, suffering from hepatitis and depression about money. One of Spain's top cyclists, he might have beaten Eddy Merckx in the 1971 Tour de France. Ocaña was wearing the Yellow Jersey, seven minutes clear of Merckx, when the Belgian crashed, bringing Ocaña down with him. Merckx got up, carried on, and won the race for the third year in a row. Ocaña went to hospital. In Merckx's absence, he won the Tour in 1973, well clear of future winner Bernard Thévenet. Ocaña won the Vuelta a España in 1970.

1982
In the first final replay since May 51954, Hull won the rugby league Challenge Cup for the first time since 1914. They scored eight late points to draw 14-14 with Widnes at Wembley, and now they took the lead for the first time at Elland Road. Their captain was the star. Great Britain fly-half David Topliss scored two tries, the first a masterpiece which began with his pass to James Leuluai. Running round him to take a return pass, Topliss sprinted through a gap to put Hull 8-2 up at half-time. Widnes closed to 8-7, but Topliss changed the point of an attack, swerved inside and scored close to the points. Lee Crooks added a late try to his three goals, and Hull won 18-9. Crooks was only 18. His team mate on the wing, Clive Sullivan, was 39. On November 11 1972, Sullivan scored the try that won Great Britain the World Cup for the last time.

1996
Only three drivers finished the Monaco Grand Prix. With car wrecks littering the wet streets of Monte Carlo, the race was stopped after 75 laps and awarded to Frenchman Olivier Panis. It was his only win in 157 Formula 1 starts and Ligier's first win in Formula 1 for 15 years. British drivers David Coulthard and Johnny Herbert finished second and third.

On the same day, two great drivers won in Monaco for the second time on their way to winning the drivers' title easily.

In 1957, Juan Manuel Fangio (born June 241911) set the fastest lap on the way to winning easily from pole position. He went on to take the Championship for the fourth time in a row and the fifth in all.

1978
Mike Tully was one of the top pole vaulters of his generation, Olympic silver medallist in 1984. He never set a world record - but came irritatingly close today. And it wasn't his fault that he didn't. At a meeting in Oregon, he vaulted 5.71 metres to better the height cleared by another American, Dave Roberts, two years earlier. When records are set in the vault, the bar has to be re-measured. In the process of doing that this time, officials knocked the bar off. When they measured it again after that, they could come up with only 5.69. The IAAF refused to accept the 5.71.

1974
Andrew Johns was born. One of the greatest half-backs in rugby league, he helped Australia win the World Cup in 1995, when he kicked four goals in the final against Great Britain (October 28), and again in 2000. In 2006, he overcame a plague of injuries to become the highest points scorer at Australian first-class grade level.

1984
Led by the supreme being Wayne Gretzky (born January 26 1961), the Edmonton Oilers stopped the New York Islanders winning the Stanley Cup five years in a row by beating them 4-1 in the finals. The Oilers retained the trophy the following year.

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