This Day in History: 21st August
English cricket legend Ian Botham
Cricket
1986: Ian Botham takes his 356th Test cricket wicket against New Zealand at the Oval, which was a world record at the time.
1914: Birthday of England leg-spinner Doug Wright, who holds the record for taking seven hat-tricks in first class cricket. He was considered controversial, however, due to his habit of bowling too many bad deliveries in his spells.
1878: Surrey wicket keeper Ted Pooley creates a record by effecting eights stumpings in a game against Kent. Against Sussex in 1868, he created another record by having 12 dismissals to his name. Considered as one of the best keepers in England, he never got to represent his country. He would have played the inaugural Test match, but missed as he was jailed on betting charges in New Zealand.
1975: Birthday of Simon Katich. The gritty Australian batsmen made his debut in the 2001 Ashes series, and was known for his unusual technique. He move from way outside leg stump and into the line of the ball, just as the bowler delivered the ball.
2003: Yasir Hameed of Pakistan had the perfect Test debut, scoring a hundred in each innings against Bangladesh in Karachi.
1978: Vinoo Mankad, one of India’s greatest opening batsmen passes away. He played 44 Tests, and scored 2,109 runs.
Golf
2000: Tiger Woods becomes the first golfer to win three Majors in a single year since Ben Hogan had achieved the feat in 1953. He won the PGA Championship and tied the to-par record for the PGA (-18) with Bob May.
1914: Walter Hagen shoots a 290 at the 20th US Golf Open. He had eleven professional wins, behind Jack Nicklaus, who has 18 wins and Tiger Woods who has 14 titles.
Baseball
1931: The legendary Babe Ruth hits his 600th career home run, off a pitch from George Blaeholder of the St.Louis Browns.
Basketball
1936: Birthday of NBA great Wilt Chamberlain. He played with distinction for the LA Lakers and was also awarded Most Valuble Player (MVP) five times.
Football
1979: Italian footballing great Giuseppe Meazza passes away. He took Italy to two World Cup victories in 1934 and 1938, and is considered as one of the best players of his era.