• July 14 down the years

Crunch time for the Lions

Captains Martin Johnson and John Eales shake hands after the match © Getty Images

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2001
The third Test of the British & Irish Lions' tour of Australia was the decider. In the first Test on 30 June, Jason Robinson and Brian O'Driscoll scored superb tries as the Lions led 29-3 before winning 29-13; despite losing two players to the sin bin. But the second was a huge let-down. The Lions led 11-3, but the match turned on two incidents. Flanker Richard Hill was caught by what captain Martin Johnson called "a disgraceful tackle...a flying elbow" by Nathan Grey, who wasn't even sin-binned when he should have been sent off. With their best player out of the series, the Lions imploded early in the second half. Jonny Wilkinson's pass was intercepted by Joe Roff, who scored two quick tries. Suddenly the Lions were 21-11 down, they began making mistakes, Matt Burke kicked six penalties, and Australia won 35-14. In the third Test today, Wilkinson redeemed himself with a try and 18 points, equalling a Lions record that wasn't broken until 2009 (27 June). But when they were leading 20-16, Colin Charvis took a quick lineout to himself with no support. From the resulting mess, Australia's Dan Herbert scored his second try of the match. With two minutes to go, the Lions trailed 29-23 when they called a throw to the front of a line-out. Before the match, a newspaper article by Lions utility back Austin Healey described Australian lock forward Justin Harrison as a plod, plank, and ape. Here at the death he made a monkey of Johnson to win the ball and the series. Cheers, Austin.

2001
Roberto Duran's 119th pro fight was his last. At the age of 50, he lost a unanimous decision to 39-year-old Héctor Camacho for the NBA middleweight title. Duran would probably have gone on until he was 100 if he hadn't been injured in a car crash later that year. He made his pro debut 33 years earlier and won his first world title against Scotland's best in 1972 (26 June).

1998
Michael Jordan's last game for the Chicago Bulls was one of his greatest, which is saying something. In the NBA finals, the Bulls were leading the Utah Jazz by three games to two when they travelled to Salt Lake City for game six. With 40 seconds left, they trailed 86-83. Then Jordan scored with a lay-up to bring the Bulls to within a point, stole the ball from an opponent, and scored the winning basket with less than ten seconds left. It gave Chicago their second block of three consecutive NBA titles in eight years. Jordan was the finals MVP for a record sixth time, three more than anyone else. He retired, then came back to play for the Washington Wizards in 2001.

Jacques Anqueti won the Tour de France five times © Getty Images

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1964
Jacques Anquetil won the Tour de France for the fourth time in a row and the fifth in all, a record equalled by three other riders but not broken until Lance Armstrong won for the sixth time in 2004. Today Anquetil finished the race only 55 seconds ahead of his great rival Raymond Poulidor, the darling of the fans, who never won the Tour or even wore the yellow jersey. Just before the end, they staged one of the legendary duels. Climbing the fearsome Puy de Dôme, Poulidor broke away to win by 42 seconds. But Anquetil, brilliant against the clock, made it all back in the last time trial. Poulidor was left to regret the two minutes he lost on an earlier stage when his mechanic gave him a push and he fell off and injured himself.

1961
A plaque at Birkdale, commemorating a famous shot, reads simply: "Arnold Palmer, The Open Championship, 14th July 1961." Except that it rained most of that day and Palmer spent it playing bridge. His famous shot took place on the 15th! He won the Open by a single shot from Dai Rees of Wales.

1980
Balian Buschbaum was born Yvonne Buschbaum in West Germany. A pole vaulter who was European junior champion in 1999, she'd already won bronze at the 1998 European seniors. She finished third again at the 2002 Championships, and sixth at the 2000 Olympics. He changed his name to Balian after taking his first sex-change testosterone shots in 2007.

1973
The last golfer to win the Open after leading after every round. Tom Weiskopf was one of the best in the world at the time. Tall and strong, with a good touch, he was up there with Nicklaus, Trevino, Player, Jacklin, and Johnny Miller. But he was the Greg Norman of his day, lacking the knack of winning Majors. He finished second at the Masters four times, at the US Open once, and third in the US PGA. This Open was the only Major he won, but he showed what might have been with opening rounds of 68 and 67 that allowed him to coast home and finish three shots clear of Miller and 38-year-old Neil Coles of Britain.

1998
One middle-distance legend broke another one's world record. Hicham El-Guerrouj of Morocco ran the 1500 metres in exactly 3 minutes 26 seconds to undercut the 3:27.37 set by Algeria's Nourredine Morceli three years earlier - and set the world record that still stands.

1883
BB Bennetts was born in Penzance. A rugby union wing, he won two England caps in 1909, finishing on the losing side each time. He might have scored a try against Wales if Frank Tarr had passed to him when he was unmarked. Mind you, Tarr may have known about "his old liability to drop his passes." The previous year, Bennetts had scored a try in the final when Cornwall won the County Championship for the first time. None of which makes him a major sporting figure, of course. But anyone with his christian names deserves a mention: Barzillai Beckerleg. He was known as Barrie.

1908
At the Olympic Games in London, George Larner came out of retirement to win the 3,500 metres walk. He finished 12 seconds ahead of fellow Brit Ernest Webb, then beat him in the 10-mile walk on 17 July. Webb won yet another silver in the 10,000 metre walk four years later, but never a gold.

In these 1908 Games, mighty Mel Sheppard won the 1500 metres ahead of little Harold Wilson of Britain, who ran almost four seconds slower than his own world record. Sheppard passed him with only 15 yards to go and set an Olympic best of 4 minutes 03.6. Sheppard also won gold in the 800 metres and medley relay.

Big John Flanagan won the hammer the first three times it was held at the Games (16 July 1900). He completed the hat-trick today by throwing 75 centimetres further than another Irish-born American Matt McGrath...

...who won the gold on the same day four years later. In 1912, all six of McGrath's throws were longer than the best by the silver medallist. His Olympic record of 54.74 metres lasted until 1936. He won silver again in 1924 at the age of 45.

Those 1912 Games also saw the first death during any Olympic event. Young Portuguese runner Francisco Lazaro collapsed during the Marathon and died of 'possibly meningitis caused by heat exhaustion.' The race was won by Ken McArthur, who told fellow South African Chris Gitsham that he'd wait while Gitsham took a drink - then McArthur opened up a winning lead. A furious Gitsham finished second, almost a minute behind. No-one else died in an Olympic Games until 1960 (26 August).

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