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)

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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.

November 11, 1880: The Execution of Ned Kelly

November 11, 1880: Ned Kelly is executed in Melbourne, in the Colony of Victoria, eventually to become the State of Victoria, in the not-yet-independent nation of Australia.

Edward Kelly, like many Edwards nicknamed "Ned" (or "Ted"), was born in Beveridge, in Victoria. The exact date of his birth is not recorded, but anecdotal evidence suggests it was in early December 1854. At the time, despite a civilian civilization being built there, Australia was still a destination for transported convicts, and Kelly's father, John, from County Tipperary, Ireland, was one. He died when Kelly was 12.

Kelly became a "bushranger," essentially the Australian equivalent of a desperado in America's Wild West at the same time. Twice, he was sent to prison. In 1878, along with his younger brother Dan and gang members Joe Byrne and Steve Hart, he shot 3 Victoria policemen, and they were declared outlaws, forcing them into hiding.

Like his contemporary, the American outlaw Jesse James, he was seen as a Robin Hood type, who stood up to the authorities on behalf of the people. This led to assistance from many sympathizers, and he was able to evade the law, until June 26, 1880. He and his men had crafted crude body armor, but it didn't work: In a shootout with the police at Glenrowan, Victoria, he was wounded, and the rest of his gang was killed.

Despite thousands of supporters attending rallies and signing a petition for his reprieve, Kelly was tried, convicted and sentenced to death by hanging, which was carried out at the Old Melbourne Gaol on November 11, 1880. Kelly was a little short of turning 26.

Kelly became a cultural icon, inspiring art and films, and is the subject of more biographies than any other Australian. More so than such American outlaws as James, Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, or Depression-era outlaws such as Bonnie Park & Clyde Barrow, Kelly continues to cause division in his homeland: Some celebrate his Robin Hood-like status, while others regard him as a murderous villain undeserving of his folk hero status.

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November 11, 1880 was a Thursday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. Hockey was not yet organized. And basketball had not yet been invented. So there were no scores on this historic day.

October 2, 1896: The Australian Football League Is Founded

October 2, 1896: The Victorian Football League is founded in Melbourne, in the Australian colony of Victoria. Australia gained independence (more or less) in 1901, making Victoria a State. It would take until 1990 for the League to expand enough to rename itself the Australian Football League (AFL).

The 1st Final was held on September 3, 1897, at the Lake Oval, now known as Lakeside Stadium, in Albert Park, a southern suburb of Melbourne. Essendon, of northwest Melbourne, defeated Melbourne Football Club, now nicknamed the Demons, 14-8.

Australian rules football -- a.k.a. Aussie rules, or footy -- is, like American football, a derivative of rugby, although the players are dressed more like basketball players, including shorts, with no pads. The ball isn't as pointed as an American football, and the field is oval, since most teams started out playing on cricket grounds. Sort of like basketball, the ball must periodically be bounced. Like American football prior to 1906, forward passing is illegal.

The average attendance for a game is usually over 60,000. The season lasts 22 games, from March to September, and ends with an AFL Grand Final, nearly always at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the League's hometown, usually on the last Saturday in September or the 1st Saturday in October.

The battle for most Grand Final wins, or "premiers," is very tight: Essendon have won 16, but none since 2000; Carlton, of north Melbourne, havealso won 16, but none since 1995; and Collingwood, formerly playing in the north Melbourne suburb of that name but now playing home games at the MCG, have won 15, most recently in 2010.

(UPDATE: Collingwood won in 2023, tying Essendon and Carlton with 16.)

The Melbourne area has so dominated the event that the only club from the Sydney area ever to have won the premier is Sydney Swans, with 5 -- but only 2 of those have come in Sydney, because they had moved, and were previously known as South Melbourne. The West Coast Eagles, based in Perth, have won 4, to lead the West of the country.

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October 2, 1896 was a Friday. There were no scores on this day: The baseball season had ended, and while there were college football games the day before and the day after, none were played on this day.

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. (Australia 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.)

he 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.

Ingrid Kristiansen

Ulrike Maier

At the time, 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.

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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.