• November 29 down the years

Racing legend dies

Graham Hill: A racing legend © Sutton Images

Enlarge

1975
A real loss to motor racing as Graham Hill died in a plane crash. Witty and debonair, a gift to interviewers, he could drive a bit too. A five-time winner of the Monaco Grand Prix, he was the only man to achieve the triple crown of Formula One world championship (1962 and 1968), Indianapolis 500 (1966, at his first attempt) and Le Mans 24-hour race (1972). His son Damon won the Formula 1 world title on October 13, 1996.

2008
Having beaten the other three British countries, New Zealand completed a rugby union grand slam - and put an end to England's honeymoon under coach Martin Johnson. After winning his debut match against the Pacific Islanders, they lost at home to Australia, South Africa, and now 32-6 to the All Blacks, who scored three tries to nil. England had four players sin-binned and Dan Carter kicked five penalties. Thank god the next game was against Italy.

1956
Chris Brasher won Britain's first Olympic track and field gold medal in 20 years, setting a Games record in the 3,000 metres steeplechase. He had to endure a gut-twisting wait for his medal after initially being disqualified for an unintentional bump. Always the 'third man' behind the glamorous Roger Bannister and Chris Chataway (he helped Chataway pace Bannister to the first sub four minute mile on May 6 1954), he was the only one of the three to win an Olympic medal. He went on to be a co-founder of the London Marathon. His wife Shirley Bloomer was a tennis player who won the French singles title in 1957.

1993
The end of one of the greatest careers in squash. By beating Brett Martin in his home town Karachi, Jahangir Khan gave Pakistan a 1-0 lead on their way to regaining the world team title from Australia. Jahangir retired after the final. He was still only 29, but it had been a long journey: world amateur champion at 15, he won his first World Open at 17 and his sixth and last in 1988, to go with ten British Open titles, which is still the record. His defeat by Ross Norman on November 11, 1986 put an end to one of the longest unbeaten runs in any sport.

1952
William Henry Hare was born. Quite good full-back, quite exceptional goalkicker. 'Dusty' Hare was the first player to score 200 points for England, and his nerveless late penalty against Wales on February 16, 1980 set up the chance of a Grand Slam on March 15. His 7,337 points in all matches are a world record in first-class rugby union.

1992
Dennis Byrd of New York Jets was paralysed by a neck injury during an NFL game against Kansas City Chiefs. His recovery was miraculously complete: although he never played again, he could walk unaided less than a year later.

1997
New Zealand won at Wembley. Christian Cullen scored three tries as the All Blacks cruised home 42-7 against Wales, who were using the stadium while a new one was being built back home. Their only try was scored by their winger Nigel Walker, who went to the 1984 Olympics but didn't start his heat of the 110 metres hurdles.

1982
Percy Williams committed suicide at the age of 74. At first glance, he looked an unlikely Olympic champion: small and pale, weighing only nine stone. But that first glance was often all you got: for three years, he was the fastest man in the world. A surprise winner of the 100 and 200 metres double at the 1928 Games, he won the 100 yards at the first Commonwealth Games two years later. Maybe it was the memories of being able to run so fast that added to his depression in an arthritic old age.

1872
LF Giblin was born in Tasmania, a son of the former state premier. Lyndhurst Falkiner Giblin studied at Cambridge and played three times for England at rugby: in 1896 he was one of seven new caps who helped beat Wales 25-0 (39-0 at today's rate of exchange). He won medals in the First World War, but his chief claim to fame was as 'probably Australia's most original economist. Giblin achieved a place in the history of economic thought for his formulation of the idea of an export multiplier which provided a method for relating fluctuations in our export income to changes in national income. This idea was further developed by Keynes into a more general multiplier.' No arguments here.

1984
In Hyderabad, Javed Miandad completed his second century in the match to help Pakistan beat New Zealand by seven wickets. The real significance? It was the 1,000th Test match ever played.

1970
In his 105th Test, against Australia in Brisbane, Colin Cowdrey passed Wally Hammond's world record total of 7,249 runs in Test cricket. In 1968 he'd broken Hammond's record of 110 Test catches.

1994
Not the homecoming you'd want. At Perth, in only his third Test, seam bowler Martin McCague struggled to withstand the 'traitor' taunts (he learned his cricket in Australia), conceded 80 runs in his first 14 overs, couldn't bowl in the second innings because of an upset stomach, and was out first ball in the second innings before being invalided home with a stress fracture in his leg. Phew. He never played for England again. Australia won this first Test on the way to taking the series 3-1 and retaining the Ashes.

1975
West Indies star off-spinner Lance Gibbs took 5-102, a Test record 17 years, 256 days after he did it for the first time, against Pakistan in 1958. But Australia won by eight wickets in Brisbane and went on to take the series 5-1.

1990
On the fourth day of the second Test in Melbourne, England collapsed from 103-1 to 150 all out, Australia's 6' 8 left-armer Bruce Reid taking 7-51, David Gower making a duck for the first time in his last 120 Test innings (after scoring 100 in the first innings). Australia won by eight wickets.

© ESPN EMEA LTD