November 21, 1905: The 1st Australian Open

Rodney Heath

November 21, 1905: The 1st Australian Open is held, at the Warehouseman's Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Victoria. Rodney Heath was the 1st winner. (The venue is now named the Albert Cricket Ground.)

Rodney Wilfred Heath was born on June 15, 1884 in Melbourne. He won this tournament again in 1911. In 1915, he left his home country to support its overseer, the British Empire, in the Royal Flying Corps in World War I. In 1916, Major Rodney Heath crashed in a snowstorm en route from England to France. He survived, and survived the war, but died of stomach cancer in Melbourne in 1936, only 52 years old.

In 1908, American Fred Alexander became the 1st non-Australian winner. In 1922, women competed for the 1st time, and Australian Margaret Molesworth won. In 1935, Dorothy Round of England was the 1st non-Australian to win women's singles. In 1938, Dorothy Cheney became the 1st American woman to win.

Margaret Molesworth

Because of the great distance from Australia to the other major tennis-playing nations of the world, it became difficult to travel there, and so, from 1905 to 1976, only 12 men from outside Australia and New Zealand won men's singles; and from 1922 to 1978, only 10 women from outside Australia won. But it also worked the other way around: The distance made it harder for Australians to win the other majors: Wimbledon and the French and U.S. Opens.

This made winning the "Grand Slam" -- all 4 majors in the same calendar year -- difficult. Only 2 men have done it: Don Budge did it in 1938, and Rod Laver in 1962 and 1969. And only 3 women have done it, the 1st 2 being Australians: Maureen Connolly in 1953, Margaret Court in 1970, and Steffi Graf in 1988.

However, Australians winning on their home court have been rare since. No Australian man has won it since Mark Edmonson in 1976. After Chris O'Neil won women's singles in 1978, no Aussie woman won again until 2022, when Ashleigh Barty did it.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia has won the most men's singles titles, 9 from 2008 to 2021. (UPDATE: He won a 10th in 2023.) He surpassed Australian Roy Emerson, who won 6 from 1961 to 1967. Serena Williams won it 7 times starting in 2003. The most recent time, in 2017, she was 1 month pregnant, and didn't know it. But Margaret Smith Court, of Australia, still leads all winners, regardless of gender or country, with 11, from 1960 to 1973.

The tournament was not held in 1916, 1917 and 1918, due to World War I. It was not held from 1941 to 1945, due to World War II. Other than that, it has been held every year since.

Unlike the other major or "Grand Slam" events, the Australian Open has rotated playing sites, until 1972, when Koolong Park in Melbourne became the regular venue. In 1988, new venues were built at Melbourne Park, named for Australia's greatest players of each gender: The Rod Laver Arena and the Margaret Court Arena. Of course, given what the playing surface is called, the building could have been called the Margaret Smith Court.

Margaret Court Arena (foreground)

and Rod Laver Arena (background)

*

November 21, 1905 was a Tuesday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. Basketball barely existed. And hockey was all-amateur at this point. So there were no scores on this historic day.

October 1, 1988: Steffi Graf Wins the Golden Slam

October 1, 1988: Steffi Graf, as I mentioned earlier, had already won the Grand Slam. She goes one better: In the first Olympics in which tennis was a medal sport, she wins the Gold Medal -- making what remains, for either men or women, the only "Golden Slam."

Going into 1988, the native of Mannheim, Germany was 18, and had one major to her name, the 1987 French Open. She won the Australian Open on January 23, beating veteran Chris Evert, 6-1, 7-6. On June 4, she repeated as French Open champion, not losing a game in the Final, against Soviet player Natalia Zvereva.

Wimbledon would be a harder nut to crack. She got to the Final, and was up against the best woman Wimbledon had yet seen, Martina Navratilova. Martina took the 1st set, 7-5. But Steffi came back strong, winning the next 2 sets, 6-2 and 6-1.

On September 10, she went into Flushing Meadow, and took the court for the Final of the U.S. Open, against Argentine star Gabriela Sabatini. Graf won the 1st set, 6-3. Sabatini won the 2nd set, 6-3. Suddenly, the Steffi Slam was in doubt. But she removed all down, beating Gabby, 6-1, and finishing the Slam. She matched Maureen Connolly in 1953 and Margaret Court in 1970.

But neither Connolly nor Court had a chance to achieve a "Golden Slam." Off to the Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea, where tennis was a competitive sport for the 1st time since 1924. As with the U.S. and Australian Opens, it was on a hard court, as opposed to the grass of Wimbledon and the clay of the French Open. Miloslav Mečíř of Czechoslovakia won the Gold Medal in men's singles, defeating American Tim Mayotte. Graf played Sabatini in the Final again, and won, 6-3, 6-3. The 1st Golden Slam was done.

Graf won 3 out of 4 majors 4 more times, missing in the French in 1989 and 1993, and the Australian in 1995 and 1996. When her career was over, she had won 22 majors: Wimbledon 7 times, the French Open 6 times, the U.S. Open 5 times, and the Australian Open 4 times.

She topped the Golden Slam in 1999, by joining with President Jed Bartlet to win a mixed doubles match against White House Communications Director Toby Ziegler and Press Secretary C.J. Cregg. Sadly, this match took place prior to the pilot episode of The West Wing, and was only alluded to early in the first season, so we never got to see it.

In 2001, she married Andre Agassi, winner of 4 Australian Opens, 2 U.S. Opens, Wimbledon in 1992, the French Open in 1999, and a 1996 Olympic Gold Medal, for a career Golden Slam. They have a son and a daughter, and live in the suburbs of Agassi's hometown of Las Vegas.

*

October 1, 1988 was a Saturday. I'm originally from Bloomfield, New Jersey, but the family moved before I could go to Bloomfield High School. That day, BHS broke a 40-game football winless streak, 39 losses and a tie going back 1983, beating Paramus Catholic, 7-0. I was there, my 1st game at Bloomfield's Foley Field. The night before, I saw my actual Alma Mater, East Brunswick High School, beat Edison, 29-18.

Among the major college football games played that day were these:

* Number 1 Miami beat Missouri, 55-0 at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

* Number 2 University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) beat Number 16 University of Washington, 24-17 at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

* Number 3 University of Southern California beat Arizona, 38-15 at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona. USC won the Pacific-Ten Conference title.

* Number 4 Auburn beat North Carolina, 47-21 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. Auburn won the Southeastern Conference title.

* Number 5 Notre Dame beat Stanford, 42-14 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame went on to beat Miami in this season's "Game of the Century."

* Number 6 Florida State beat Tulane, 48-28 at the Superdome in New Orleans. Florida State were invited to the Sugar Bowl, and beat Auburn.

* Number 7 West Virginia beat Virginia Tech, 22-10 at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia. There was no Big East Conference for football at this point, but West Virginia would have won it. They were invited to the Fiesta Bowl, to play what amounted to a National Championship decider against Notre Dame, but lost.

* Number 8 South Carolina beat Appalachian State, 35-9 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.

* Number 9 Nebraska beat the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV), 48-6 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska won the Big Eight Conference title, but lost the Orange Bowl to Miami, for whom the Orange Bowl stadium was their home field. This was not the first time this happened to Nebraska.

* Number 10 Oklahoma beat Iowa State, 35-7 at Owen Field in Norman, Oklahoma.

* Number 17 Florida upset Number 14 Louisiana State University (LSU), 19-6 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.

* Number 19 Michigan beat Wisconsin, 62-14 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. Michigan won the Big Ten Conference title, but lost the Rose Bowl to USC.

* Arkansas, not ranked at the time, beat Texas Christian University (TCU), 53-10 at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Arkansas won the Southwest Conference title, but lost to UCLA in the Cotton Bowl.

* Among the service academies, Army beat Bucknell, 58-10 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York; Navy beat Yale, 41-7 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland; and Air Force beat New Mexico, 63-14 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

* And Rutgers beat the University of Cincinnati, 38-9 at the original Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.

The regular season of Major League Baseball was winding up. These games were played on the next-to-last day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 6-5 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Old warhorses Tommy John and Doyle Alexander started, neither of them making it through 6 innings. The Yankees got home runs from Claudell Washington, Randy Velarde and, yes, Ken Phelps. Don Mattingly went 1-for-5. Rickey Henderson went 3-for-5. Dave Winfield was injured. Chet Lemon's home run off Neil Allen in the bottom of the 8th made the difference.

* The New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-3 at Shea Stadium. Lenny Dykstra hit a home run, in support of Sid Fernandez. The Mets had won the National League Eastern Division title, and were probably the most talented team in baseball. But they blew it in the NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Montreal Expos, 5-4 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Mike Schmidt, in what turned out to be his last full season, did not play.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 1-0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. John Farrell pitched 8 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and Doug Jones pitched a perfect 9th. Sox starter Jeff Sellers allowed only 1 hit in 7 1/3rd innings, but it was a home run by Luis Medina in the bottom of the 8th.

The 1988 American League Eastern Division race was a wild ride. The Red Sox won the Division with a record of 89-73, the Detroit Tigers were 1 game back, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Toronto Blue Jays 2 each, and the Yankees 3 1/2. Five teams within three and a half games. Injuries and needing 1 more quality starting pitcher did the Yankees in. The Indians were 11 back, and the Baltimore Orioles, who got off to the worst start in MLB history, 21 straight losses to open the season, were 34 1/2 back, 54-107.

And yet, the Red Sox lost the AL Championship Series to the Oakland Athletics, getting swept in 4 straight.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-3 at Exhibition Stadium. Cal Ripken went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-2 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-7 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Barry Bonds did not play.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the California Angels, 10-5 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-0 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Mélido Turpen Gross Pérez pitched a 2-hit shutout, no walks, 10 strikeouts, outpitching Mark Gubicza, who had won 20 games. Steve Lyons and Mike Diaz each got 3 hits. George Brett went 0-for-4.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Houston Astros, 6-3 at the Astrodome in Houston. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-3.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants, 2-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Dodgers went on to upset the Mets in the NLCS, and upset the Oakland Athletics in the World Series.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Oakland Athletics, 8-3 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers, 4-3 at the Kingdome in Seattle. The M's blew a 3-0 lead after 7 innings, but won the game in the 11th, on a home run by Scott Bradley.

And in English soccer, Arsenal crossed from North London to East London, and beat West Ham United, 4-1 at Upton Park. Arsenal went on to win the Football League title the following May.

September 6, 1953: Maureen Connolly Wins the Grand Slam

September 6, 1953: The Finals of tennis' U.S. Open are played at the Forest Hills Stadium in Queens. Tony Trabert wins men's singles. Women's singles is won by Maureen Connolly. She becomes the 1st woman ever to win tennis' "Grand Slam."

Maureen Catherine Connolly was born on September 17, 1934 in San Diego. Her parents divorced when she was 3 years old, and she took up tennis because it was easier for her single mother to afford than her original passion, horseback riding. In 1951, she won the U.S. Open, making her the youngest player to win it up to that time.

In 1952, she won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Plane travel was making it easier to travel long distances relatively quickly. Prior to this era, due to the distance involved, many Australian tennis stars didn't travel to the other major tennis-playing countries, and many players from those countries found the trip to Australia not worth it. But on January 17, 1953, Connolly beat fellow American Julia Sampson, 6-3, 6-2, to win the Australian Open.

On May 31, she beat fellow American Doris Hart, 6-2, 6-4, to win the French Open. She had now won all 4 majors, and all in a row. But no one considered this to be "the Grand Slam": It had to be all 4 in the same calendar year. On July 3, she beat Hart again, 8-6, 7-5, to win Wimbledon.

She reached the Final at Forest Hills on September 6, and Hart stood in her way again. It was no contest: Connolly won, 6-2, 6-4. She had won the Grand Slam.

Her streak of 6 straight majors ended in the 1954 Australian Open, because she stayed home rather than defend her title, but she won the French and Wimbledon that year, giving her 9 majors. There would be no more. She had intended to turn professional after the 1954 U.S. Open, thus making her, under the rules of the time, ineligible for the majors.

But on July 20, 1954, the choice was taken from her: She was riding her horse when a truck spooked horse, throwing her against the truck, breaking her leg. She would never play tennis again, and was only 19. She sued for loss of professional income, and won $95,000.

In 1955, she married a fellow horse-lover, Norman Brinker, a member of the 1952 U.S. Olympic equestrian team. They had 2 daughters, Cindy and Brenda. Living in Norman's hometown of Dallas, Maureen earned a degree from Southern Methodist University. Norman became a restaurant magnate, running Jack in the Box, and founding Steak and Ale, Bennigan's, and Chili's. But Maureen developed ovarian cancer, and died on June 21, 1969. She was only 34 years old. Shortly after her death, Connolly was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

In 1957, she published an autobiography titled Forehand Drive. She wrote, "I have always believed greatness on a tennis court was my destiny, a dark destiny, at times, where the court became my secret jungle and I a lonely, fear-stricken hunter. I was a strange little girl armed with hate, fear, and a Golden Racket."

*

September 6, 1953 was a Sunday. These baseball games were played:

* The Brooklyn Dodgers beat their arch-rivals, the New York Giants, 6-3 at the Polo Grounds. Preacher Roe went the distance for the win. Roy Campanella and Jackie Robinson hit home runs for Dem Bums. Alvin Dark and Bobby Thomson hit home runs for the Jints. Not available, due to serving in the Korean War, were Willie Mays of the Giants and Don Newcombe of the Dodgers.

* The Boston Red Sox swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Athletics, 8-4 and 4-0 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Ted Williams, having returned from the Korean War, went 2-for-2 with a home run, 2 walks and an RBI in the 1st game, then got the 2nd game off. Mickey McDermott pitched a 6-hit shutout in that 2nd game.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-2 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-2 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Chicago Cubs swept a doubleheader from the Cincinnati Reds, 7-6 and 7-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Just 11 days later, Ernie Banks would make his major league debut, as the 1st black player, and maybe the greatest player, in Cub history.

* A doubleheader was played at Milwaukee County Stadium. The Milwaukee Braves won the opener, 3-1. Eddie Mathews hit a home run. Bob Buhl was the winning pitcher, with Warren Spahn notching a save. The nightcap was tied, 3-3 after 8 innings. According to Retrosheet, the game was called due to darkness, but that doesn't make any sense: Already, every ballpark in the major leagues, except for Wrigley Field, had lights. A Sunday curfew, with play having to stop at a specific time, is more likely. Over the 2 games, Stan Musial went 3-for-8 with a solo home run.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Browns, 5-2 at Busch Stadium (formerly Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis.

* And the New York Yankees and the Washington Senators were rained out at Griffith Stadium in Washington. The Yankees were running away with the American League Pennant, and the game was never rescheduled.

January 28, 2017: Serena Beats Venus for the Australian Open -- While Pregnant

January 28, 2017: Serena Williams wins the women's singles title at the Australian Open, at the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne.

Ordinarily, this would not be considered a big deal: It was the 7th time she had won the tournament, and the 23rd time she had won one of tennis' "major" or "Grand Slam" titles. (She had won the Australian Open and Wimbledon 7 times each, the U.S. Open 6 times, and the French Open 3 times.) That's more than anyone in the 1968-onward "Open Era," when professionals were allowed in the majors; and 2nd-most all-time, behind Margaret Court's 24. In 2015, having won 3 of the 4 majors, Serena was named Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated -- the 1st time the title was "Sportsperson," rather than gender-specific.

It could be considered a big deal because she beat her sister, Venus Williams, 6-4, 6-4. It was the 9th time the sisters had faced each other in a major final, and Serena has won 7 of them. Seven of nine: For Venus, resistance is (mostly) futile. Counting all professional matches between them, Serena has won 19, and Venus has won 12.

It could also be considered a big deal because, at the age of 35 years and 4 months, it made her the oldest woman ever to win a major. It could also be considered a big deal because it currently stands as her last major.

But the bigger deal is that she was pregnant at the time. Eight weeks, or nearly 2 months. Which means she knew, and not only competed anyway, but won the tournament, and did so without losing a single set. She didn't reveal this information until April 19. (I considered using that date, since it was the date of the story. Instead, I chose the date of the achievement.)

The men's singles Final was another great chapter in the rivalry between Roger Federer of Switzerland and Rafael Nadal of Spain. Federer won the 1st set, 6-4. Nadal won the 2nd set, 6-3. Federer won the 3rd set, 6-1. Nadal won the 4th set, 6-3. Federer won the 5th set, 6-3.

In 1983, Norwegian runner Ingrid Kristiansen won the Houston Marathon, but did poorly in her next race, poorly enough that she was concerned enough to see her doctor. She was determined to be 5 months pregnant -- which she should have known, but didn't. It meant that she won in Houston while 2 months pregnant. In 1984, she had a son, and came back to win the Houston and London Marathons, although she only finished 4th at the Olympics in Los Angeles. She never won an Olympic medal, but won them at the European and World Championships, in the marathon and the 10,000 meters. Having had a 2nd son, she won the 1989 New York City Marathon, and then retired from competition.

In 1989, Austrian skier Ulrike Maier won the super giant slalom at the World Championship in Vail, Colorado, while pregnant. She said, "My child and I skied, two as one." In 1994, she was killed in a crash at the World Cup in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. She was 26, and left behind her fiancé and her daughter.

At the time Serena revealed the details of her 2017 Australia win, I wrote on Facebook: "Talk about burying the lead. The real accomplishment for Serena Williams is surviving plane trips to Australia and back while pregnant."

Serena's daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., known as Olympia, was born on September 1, 2017. On November 16, Serena married Olympia's father, Alexis Ohanian, founder of the website Reddit.

UPDATE: Serena announced she would  retire from tennis following the 2022 U.S. Open, in which she lost in the 3rd round. In 2023, she had another daughter, Adira River Ohanian.

Serena, her husband, and her sister are among the founding owners of the Los Angeles-based National Women's Soccer League franchise Angel City FC. Among the other owners are women's soccer legends Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach; basketball star Candace Parker; tennis icon Billie Jean King; and actresses Natalie Portman, Jennifer Garner and Eva Longoria. The Williams Sisters are also minority owners of the NFL's Miami Dolphins.

*

January 28, 2017 was a Saturday. Baseball was out of season. The NFL was in the off-week between the Conference Championship Games and the Super Bowl, which the New England Patriots went on to win over the Atlanta Falcons. The NHL was in its All-Star Break.

There were 7 games in the NBA:

* The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 129-109 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 37 for the T-Wolves.

* The Sacramento Kings beat the Charlotte Hornets, 109-106 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. DeMarcus Cousins scored 35 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for the Kings.

* The Miami Heat beat the Detroit Pistons, 116-103 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 112-108 in overtime at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Isaiah Thomas (not to be confused with Isiah Thomas) scored 37 for the C's.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns, 123-112 at the Talking Stick Resort Arena (as the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix was then known). Eric Bledose scored 41 for the Suns, but it wasn't enough, as Danilo Gallinari led the Nugs to victory with 32.

* The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Utah Jazz, 102-95 at the Vivint Smart Home Arena, as the Delta Center in Salt Lake City was then known.

* And the Golden State Warriors beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 144-98 at the Oracle Arena, as the Oakland Coliseum Arena was then known. Steph Curry led all scorers on the day with 44.

And in English soccer, North London team Arsenal went to Hampshire on the South Coast, and beat Southampton, 5-0 at St. Mary's Stadium in Southampton.