SPORT
*** A
Adams - Neil …. in 1981 he became Britain's FIRST judo world champion and was also five times European champion
Aldred - David ..... from Cheshire. In 2003 he was the winner of Britain's FIRST Karate World Championship gold medal in his own particular style of Kusano-Ha Shito-ryu
Allom - Maurice ….. died 1995 ..... the FIRST ever Test player to take a hat trick of three wickets during his debut game which was against New Zealand
Anderson - Viv ….. in 1978 he became the FIRST black footballer to win an England cap
Anquetil - Jacques ..... born 1934 died 1988 ..... French cyclist who was the FIRST person to win the Tour de France five times between 1957 and 1964
Armstrong - Lance ….. American who was the FIRST man to win three successive Tours de France when he won in 1999, 2000 and 2001
Ascari - Alberto …. born 13th July 1918 ….. FIRST man to win the world drivers title in successive years – 1952/53
Ashe - Arthur Robert Jr ..... born 1943 ..... American tennis player, born in Richmond, Virginia, he was the FIRST male black tennis player to achieve world ranking. In 1968 he was the FIRST black man to win the Tennis US championships and later the same year the FIRST US Open championship
Asmussen - Cash ….. born 15th March 1962- …. FIRST American jockey to ride a winner for Queen Elizabeth 11 of Britain
Austin - Bunny …. FIRST man to ever wear a pair of shorts on court at Wimbledon - 1933
*** B
Backley - Steve ..... born February 12th 1969 ..... British athlete who FIRST broke the world javelin record in 1990 and 1992 and became the FIRST man to throw 300’ ( 91m) with the modified javelin
Ball - Alan ..... FIRST footballer transferred for £100,000 between British clubs when he was transferred from Blackpool to Everton in 1966
Bannister – Sir Roger..... born 23rd March 1929 ..... FIRST man to run the mile in less than 4 minutes – 1954
Beckenbauer - Franz ….. the FIRST man to have captained and managed a World Cup-winning team - 1990
Becker - Boris …. in 1985 he became the FIRST German and the FIRST unseeded player ever to win at Wimbledon. He was also the youngest
Belle Vue ..... Manchester, UK - where the Belle Vue Aces speedway team dominated the sport and had Britain's FIRST purpose-built track
Benaud - Richie ..... Australian cricket player who was the FIRST player to take 200 wickets and score over 2000 runs in Test Cricket
Bentley/Gardner ..... FIRST diesel-engined car to take part in the Monte Carlo Rally when it was driven by Lord Howard de Clifford in 1933. It was the leading British car and finished fifth overall
Berg - Stephen Van Den ..... Netherlands ..... in 1973 he won the FIRST sail boarding world championships and went on to become the FIRST person to win five world titles
Bikila - Abebe ….. Ethiopian who was the FIRST marathon runner to win two Olympic titles - 1960 and 1964
Bond - Alan ..... born 1938 ..... Australian who, in 1983, became the FIRST non-American to win the America’s Cup Yachting Race since 1870
Boston - Billy ..... FIRST rugby player to score four tries in a match against New Zealand and became the most celebrated player in the history of British rugby league. with Shaun Edwards they were the FIRST to be voted into the Wigan Hall Of Fame
Boston - Ralph ….. American long-jumper who became the FIRST 27ft jumper in 1961 and the FIRST man to beat the long-jump record twice
Botham - Ian ..... born 24th November 1955 ..... FIRST cricket player to make 3000 runs and take 300 wickets in Test cricket
Boycott - Geoff..... born 21st October 1940- ..... FIRST man to notch up 100 centuries in a test match
Brabants - Tim ….. won Britain's FIRST ever Olympic Gold medal in canoeing - Beijing 2008
Brabham ..... Grand Prix racing team begun in 1962 by the top Australian driver Jack Brabham. In 1966 he won the world title in his own Repco-powered car, the FIRST time anyone had won the world title in a car bearing their own name and built by themselves
Bradman- Donald ..... born 27th August 1908 ..... FIRST Australian cricketer to be knighted and the only Australian to have scored 100 1st class centuries
Bramhall Cricket Club ..... the FIRST Cheshire side to win the ECB National Club Knockout Championship at Lords
Bromley - Kristan ..... Lancashire engineer who took up bobsleigh racing as part of a research project and became Britain's FIRST world champion in the winter sport - 2004
Brooks - Tony ..... the FIRST British driver in a British car to win a continental Grand Prix for 32 years when he won his first Grand Prix at Syracuse in 1955 in a 2.5 litre Connaught. In June 1958 he won the Grand Prix of Europe at Spa in Belgium making him the FIRST British driver in a British car to win the Grand Prix of Europe and in August of the same year he won the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, driving a Vanwall - the FIRST British Formula One car to win on that gruelling circuit. In September he was a member of the Vanwall team that won the World Motor Manufacturers' Championship for Britain for the FIRST time
Broughton - Jack ..... born 1704 died 1789 ..... drew up the FIRST set of boxing rules in 1743
Bryant David ..... won the FIRST World Bowls title in 1956 and was the FIRST to win three championships
Budge – John Donald ..... born 13th June 1915 ..... American tennis player who was the FIRST to hold all four of the major championships simultaneously in 1938 - Wimbledon, French, US and Australia Open titles
Burns - Richard ..... FIRST English world rally champion when he won the title in his Subaru in November 2001
Busby - Sir Matt ..... died 1994 ..... in 1967 he became the FIRST sportsman to receive the Freedom of Manchester
*** C
Canada ..... country which won the FIRST four Olympic ice hockey gold medals
Cartwright - Alexander Jr ..... American who founded the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York in 1845 as the FIRST club purely for baseball and published the FIRST set of standard rules for the game
Cavendish - Mark ..... July 2008 - FIRST Briton to win four stages in one race in the Tour de France
Cecil - Henry Richard Amherst ..... born 1943 ..... Scottish born racehorse trainer who was the FIRST trainer to win over £1 million in a season - 1985
Chappell Greg ..... FIRST man to score a century in cricket's John Player League
Clarke- Ronald William ..... born 1937 ..... Australian middle and long-distance runner who was the FIRST man to break 13 minutes for the 3 miles in 1966 and also the FIRST to run the 10,000 metres in under 28 minutes
Clay - Cassius Marcellus ..... born 17th January 1942 ..... the American world heavyweight boxing champion who was the FIRST to regain the title three times. Born in Louisville, Kentucky he changed his name to Muhammad Ali after he joined the Black Muslim sect in 1964. He only lost 5 fights out of 61 and was world heavyweight champion between 1968 and 1979
Coles - Neil ..... in June 2000 he became the FIRST golfer to win a professional event in six different decades when he won the Jersey Seniors Open at La Moye
Commonwealth Games ..... for the FIRST time ever in the Games' history elite athletes with a disability could challenge for medals in events that were fully integrated into the sports programme when the XV11 Games were held in Manchester, England in 2002
Compton - Denis ..... born 23rd May 1918 ..... FIRST cricketer to have a memorial service in Westminster Abbey
Connolly - James B ..... FIRST athlete to win a gold medal in the triple jump ( then known as hop, skip and jump) at the Olympic Games of 1896
Constantine - Learie ..... born 21st September 1902 ..... FIRST cricketer to be honoured with a life peerage when made Lord Constantine of Maraval and Nelson and the FIRST West Indian cricketer in England to achieve the cricket ‘double’ of 1000 runs and 100 wickets in a single season
Cook - Aaron ..... won the FIRST Tae-Kwando Olympics contest
Cooper - Henry..... born 3rd May 1934 ..... FIRST boxer to win 3 Lonsdale Belts outright
Corbett –‘Gentlemen’ Jim ..... a San Francisco bank clerk who became the FIRST world heavyweight champion boxer under Queensberry Rules when he knocked out John L Sullivan in 21 rounds in 1892
Cotterill - George ..... footballer who was the FIRST player to be jailed for an incidence an the pitch
Crystal Palace IBC ..... in 1905 it was the FIRST indoor bowling club to be established in Britain. The FIRST 36 members included Dr. W G Grace, the cricketer
*** D
Dalglish Kenny ..... FIRST footballer to score 100 goals for both a Scottish and an English football club
Davis - Joe ..... born 15th April 1901 died 10th July 1978 ..... FIRST champion in snooker in 1927. He was born at Whitwell in Derbyshire and after winning the title kept it until he retired from world championship play in 1946. During that time he played 34 matches and won them all
De Vere Whites Hotel ..... Bolton Wanderers’, Reebok Stadium, England ....FIRST fully integrated football stadium hotel in the U.K
Detroit Silverdrome ..... when England played Germany in 1993 it was the FIRST time that they had played a football game indoors
Donald - Allan ..... FIRST South African to take 300 Test wickets
Dumas - Charles ..... FIRST man to high jump 7 feet
*** E
Edwards Jonathan ..... FIRST Olympic Medallist from the North East of England
Evans - Frank ..... England's only matador at this time (2003) and the FIRST Englishman to fight bulls in Mexico
*** F
Farina - Giuseppe ..... Italian who drove the Alfa Romeo 158 to win the 1950 British Grand Prix, the FIRST world championship race
Fischer - Bobby ….. born March 9th 1943 ….. FIRST American world chess champion. He was born in Chicago and was world champion from 1972 to 1975 when he was stripped of his title by default after failure to agree terms and conditions in his game against Anatoly Karpov
Fitzsimmons - Bob …… born 4th June 1862 died October 1917 ….. FIRST ever boxer to capture three world titles at different weights - middle, light and heavyweight. He was also the only English-born boxer to win the world heavyweight title
*** G
Garin - Maurice ….. France ..... in 1903 he won the FIRST Tour de France cycling race
Geesink Anton ..... in 1961 he was the FIRST non-Japanese to win a world judo title
Gibbs Lance ..... FIRST man to bowl 20,000 balls in test cricket
Gore - Spencer W ..... won the FIRST lawn tennis championship in 1877. Two years previously the All England Croquet Club in Wimbledon added lawn tennis to its programme of activities. From 1899 it became known as the All English Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
*** H
Hadlee - Richard ….. born July 3rd 1951 ….. New Zealand cricketer and the FIRST cricketer to be knighted whilst still playing test cricket
Halewood Mike ..... in 1961 he was the FIRST to win 3 TT events in one year
Hamilton Lewis ..... FIRST black Formula 1 world champion title holder and the youngest ever - 2008
Hanley - Ellery ..... FIRST black man to coach or manage a major national Rugby League team in Great Britain when appointed in 1994. He was known as "The Black Pearl"
Harris - Reg ….. born 1920 died 1993 ….. born in Bury, Lancashire he became the FIRST Briton to win the Copenhagen Grand Prix in Cycling
Hartono - Rudi ….. Indonesian, who in 1973 became the FIRST man to win the All-England Singles in badminton in six successive years
Hatton's Grace ..... owned by Vincent O'Brien, legendary Irish trainer, was the FIRST horse to win the Champion Hurdle three times - 1949 to 1951 - and the FIRST 11-year-old to life the crown. He won six Flat races and twelve of his 32 hurdles
Hawthorn - Mike ….. born 10th April 1929 died January 1959 ….. Britain's FIRST Formula One drivers' champion
Haynes - Johnny ..... English soccer's FIRST £100 a week player when the old maximum wage system under which no player in the country could be paid a basic salary of more than £20 per week was abolished
Hearns - Thomas ….. born October 18th 1958 ….. FIRST boxer to win world titles in four different weight divisions
Helsinki ..... Finland ..... in 1983 the FIRST world athletic championships were held there
Hickman - James ….. FIRST Briton to swim the 200m butterfly in under 2 minutes
Hill - Phil ….. born April 20th 1927 ….. FIRST North American to win the world motor racing drivers title
Hunter - Mark & Zac Purchase ….. won Britain's FIRST ever lightweight rowing medal when they took the gold medal in Beijing 2008
Hunter - Norman ..... FIRST Professional Football Association Player of the Year
Hurst - Geoff ….. FIRST man to score three goals in a World Cup Final with his spectacular goal against Germany in 1966
Hutton - Sir Leonard ….. born 23rd June 1916 died 1990 ….. England cricketer who was the FIRST professional player to captain his country at cricket
*** I
Ilonen - Mikko ….. FIRST Finn to reach the final of the Amateur Championship in Golf - June 2000
Ince - Paul ..... in June 2008 he became the FIRST black football manager in a Premier League team
*** J
Jackson - Colin ….. August 1999 - the FIRST British athlete to regain a world championship title when he won the 110 metres hurdles in Seville
Jairzinho ….. ( of Brazil) in 1970 he became the FIRST player to score in every match of a World Cup tournament
John - Phineas ..... professional boxer who was the FIRST official flyweight champion of Wales
Johnson - H.T. 'Tiny'….. Britain's FIRST cycling world champion - 1922
Johnson - Jack (John Arthur) ….. born 31st March 1878 died 1946 ….. FIRST African-American world heavyweight boxing champion when he defeated the Canadian Tommy Burns at Sydney in 1908, a title he held until 1915 when he was defeated by Jess Willard in Havana. Unfortunately he was pursued by racist hostility in America during the seven years he held the title
Johnson - Martin ….. Rugby player who was the FIRST player to captain two tours
Johnson - Michael ….. FIRST man to successfully defend the gold medal in his event ( running ) when he won in 43.84 secs in the Sydney Olympics in September 2000
Jones - Bobby …..(Robert Tyre) ..... born 17th March 1902 died 1971 ….. American golfer who was the FIRST to win the U.S and British Open Championships in the same year
*** K
Kapitonov - Viktor ….. born 10th October 1933 died 2nd March 2005 ..... at the Rome Games in 1960 he became the FIRST Russian to win an Olympic road race in cycling
Kenny - Jason ….. U.K ..... Bolton's (Manchester) FIRST ever Olympic Gold medal winner - Beijing 2008
Kite - Tom ….. born 9th December 1949 - ….. American golfer and the FIRST golfer to take his career earnings to $6m (1990) $7m (1992) and $8m ( 1993)
Krajicek - Richard ….. in 1996 he became the FIRST Dutchman to win the Wimbledon Men's Championship
*** L
Laud - Derek ..... in 1999 he became the FIRST black Master of Foxhounds
Leicester Football Club ..... England ..... in May 2002 they became the FIRST club ever to retain the Heineken Cup
Leeds United ..... in 1968 it became the FIRST British club to win the Fairs Cup
Lendl - Ivan ..... born 1960 ..... Czech tennis player who was crowned the FIRST official world tennis champion in 1987. He held onto the title longer than any of his contemporaries and finally retired in 1994
Liverpool Vélocipéde Club - The ..... England's FIRST cycling club - 1867
*** M
Manchester United ..... in 1968 it was the FIRST English football to win the European Cup
Mathias Bob ..... FIRST athlete to win two gold medals in the Olympic decathlon and FIRST man to pass the 7,000-point mark (1948)
Matson - Randy ..... FIRST to put the shot over 70 feet
Matthews- Sir Stanley ….. born 1st February 1915 - ….. the FIRST English professional footballer to be knighted and in 1956 was the FIRST European Footballer of the Year. Known as the ‘Wizard of Dribble’ he was FIRST picked for England at the age of 20 and over 22 years he won 54 international caps. He retired in 1955
McCrae - Colin ..... died 2007 ..... Britain's FIRST rally world champion in 1995 and was runner up in 1996, 1997 and 2001.
Meads - Colin Earl ..... born 1935 ..... New Zealand rugby player who was the FIRST New Zealand player to win more than 100 international caps
Meredith - Billy ….. Welsh international and football's FIRST superstar, who played for both Manchester City and Manchester United
Michaux - Ernest ..... won the world's FIRST international cycle race which was held at the Crystal Palace in London
Miles - Anthony John ..... born April 23rd 1955 died 1002 ..... Britain's FIRST international grandmaster and inspired a new generation of chess players
Millar - Robert ..... in 1984 he was the FIRST Briton to win the 'King of the Mountains' title in the Tour de France
Mobbs - Edgar..... FIRST Northampton rugby player to captain England. He was held in such high esteem that he had a memorial raised in his memory after his death in the First World War. To this day an annual Mobbs Memorial Match is played by Northampton Rugby Club. In 1908 he led the East Midlands & Midlands XV to inflict the only defeat on the touring Australians. During the First World War he rose quickly to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, leading the Sportsmen's Battalion, the 7th Northamptonshire Regiment but was killed on the first day of the Third Battle of Ypres on 31st July 1917
Moore - Bobby….. born 1941..... FIRST sports star to have a plaque to commemorate his achievements when a new scheme was launched by the Heritage Foundation in November 2000
Moscow Dynamo ..... in 1945 they were the FIRST Soviet Union soccer team to play in Britain
Myers - Henry ..... in 1933 he was the FIRST to use the butterfly stroke in swimming
*** N
Nicklaus - Jack ….. in 1988 he became the FIRST PGA Tour golfer to reach $5m in career earnings
*** O
Oda - Mikio ….. winner of Japan's FIRST Olympic gold medal which he was awarded for the triple jump at the Amsterdam Games in 1928
O'Donnell - Frank ..... Scottish international who scored the FIRST goal in a live television match in the 1937 FA Cup final when Preston played Sunderland
Oerter - Al ….. made history at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968 when he became the FIRST track and field athlete to take gold at four successive Olympics
Owens - James Cleveland - 'Jesse' ..... died 1980 ..... the FIRST American to win four gold medals at a single games when he won the 100m, the 200m, the long jump and the sprint relay in the 1936 Olympics
*** P
Palmer - Arnold ….. born 10th September 1929- ….. FIRST person to win the US Masters Tournament four times and the FIRST golfer to win $1m in tournament prize money
Panesar - Monty ….. the FIRST Sikh to play Test Cricket for any nation other than India when he joined the England team
Perry - Frederick John ….. born 18th May 1909 - ….. English- born tennis player and the FIRST to win all four of the world's major titles when he won the French title in 1935
Phelps - Michael ..... American who was the FIRST Olympian ever to win 11 gold medals in a single Olympics - Beijing 2008
Pirie - Gordon ..... won Britain's FIRST orienteering championship in 1967
Prost - Alain ..... born February 24th 1955 ..... in 1985 he was the FIRST Frenchman to win the world Formula One motor racing title
*** R
Real Madrid ..... team which won the FIRST five European Cup Finals
Redgrave - Stephen ….. FIRST athlete to win gold in an endurance event at five consecutive games – September 2000
Rees - Dai ..... rugby player who was the FIRST Welshman to get a Lancashire County cap. In 1907 he played for Salford Rugby League
Reimbold - Christian ….. FIRST German to reach the final of the Amateur Championship in Golf in June 2000
Richards - Gordon ….. the FIRST jockey to receive a knighthood - 1953
Rindt - Jochen ..... FIRST Austrian to win the World's Racing Drivers Championship
Ruth - George Herman 'Babe' ..... born February 6th 1895 ..... the FIRST baseball player to score 60 home runs in a season
*** S
Simmons - Jack ..... in 1980 he was the FIRST cricketer to receive a benefit of over £100,000
Simpson - Orenthal James ….. born 9th July 1947 ..... in 1972 he became the FIRST player to pass the 2000 yard "rushing" mark in American football
Smith Tommie ..... FIRST to run 200 metres in under 20 secs
Spencer - John….. the FIRST snooker player to win ‘Pot Black’ three times
Spitz - Mark ..... born February 10th 1950 ..... American swimmer and the FIRST person to win more than 5 gold medals in one Olympiad
Stewart - Jackie ..... in 1967 he was the FIRST Grand prix driver to use a safety belt
Strange - Curtis Northrup ..... born 1955 ..... US golfer who became the FIRST person to win $1 million in a season - 1988. In 1989 he became the fifth person to win $5 million in a golfing career
Sullivan - John L ….. FIRST professional world heavyweight boxing champion
*** T
The Greater Game ..... in 2004 it was the FIRST major exhibition to look at sport in wartime with stories of real sportsmen and women, interactive exhibits and a wealth of iconic objects from across the UK. It was held at the Imperial War Museum North, Salford Quays
Thorburn - Cliff ..... born 16th January 1948 ..... the FIRST man to compile a maximum 147 break in the world snooker championships on television ( 1983)
Tilden - Bill ..... the FIRST American to win the Wimbledon Singles title in 1920
Trueman - Sir Freddy ..... born February 6th 1931 ..... the FIRST England cricketer to take 300 wickets in Test cricket
Turpin Dick ..... FIRST coloured boxer to win a British title
*** V
Vardon - Harry ..... born 1870 died 1937 ..... British golfer who was the FIRST UK golfer to win the US Open in 1900
*** W
Walker - Dennis ..... Manchester United's FIRST black player from 1960 to 1963 although he never appeared in the club's first team
Walker John ..... FIRST to break 3 minutes 50 secs in the mile
Warne - Shane ..... FIRST man to take 600 Test wickets - Old Trafford, Manchester, England - August 2005
Watson - Andrew ..... FIRST black footballer in Scotland and the FIRST black international who captained Scotland in the 6-1 defeat of England in 1881
Westmead Hawk ….. known as "The Hawk" it was the champion dog of greyhound racing and the FIRST animal to be made into a waxwork at Madame Tussauds. He was owned by Bob Morton
Wharton - Arthur ….. born 1865 died 1930 ….. the world’s FIRST professional black footballer, he was born in Accra, Ghana and at the age of eleven was sent to London to be educated. As a sportsman he played cricket and rugby and set the cycling record in the Blackburn to Preston cycling race. He began playing as a goalkeeper professionally at Preston North End in 1886 and ended his career at Stockport County in 1902
Wiggins - Bradley ..... FIRST man to win two gold medals in the 400m individual pursuit - Beijing 2008
Wiklund - Adolf ..... Swedish athlete who was the FIRST biathlon world champion
Williams - Evan ….. rode the FIRST winner at the Ely Racecourse on Easter Monday, 1933. He rode the FIRST winner, Mr Ghandi , as an amateur and the last, Vive L’Amour, as a professional jockey
Winterbottom - Walter ….. FIRST ever full time English football manager
Wright - Billy ..... born February 6th 1924 ..... the FIRST England footballer to win 100 international caps when he led England against Scotland in April 1959
Woods - Tiger ….. FIRST person to hold the 4 major titles in golf all at once – April 2001