On this week: Feb 10-16

Eurosport - Wed, 04 Mar 17:28:00 2009

Delve into the history books to see what happened "On This Week" in sport.

TENNIS David Nalbandian with the Paris Masters trophy in 2007 - 0

1990: James Buster Douglas stuns Mike Tyson - February 11

Remember when heavyweight boxing used to be good? This fight in Tokyo wasn't expected to be anything special; it was just seen as a vehicle to show off the seemingly indestructible Tyson to a new audience. However, the leggy looking champion looked woefully under prepared for the fight. The journeyman Douglas dominated from the start and when Tyson sat down after the seventh round he said to his corner "I'm going to knock him out this round" because he knew he was losing on points. He almost achieved this by knocking Douglas down with a fierce uppercut at the end of the round but the underdog survived. Douglas then went on to produce one of the great boxing upsets by knocking out Tyson in the 10th round. This week certainly hasn't been kind to Tyson in the past. Two year later, on the same day that he lost to Douglas, he was found guilty of raping 18-year old beauty queen Desiree Washington, while on February 14 1989 (Valentine's day no less) he divorced actress Robin Givens.

1988: Clough refused the chance to manage Wales - February 11

Much has been made in the past about how Brian Clough was never given the chance to become England manager but he very nearly did enter the international management arena on this week back in 1988 when he was offered the chance to manage Wales on a part-time basis. Old Big 'Ead was interested in taking the position but the Nottingham Forest bored of directors refused to allow him take up the position. At one point it was speculated that Clough might resign in protest before he decided to stay at the City Ground.

1984 - Bill Johnson wins downhill skiing gold - February 16

A lot of congratulating through gritted teeth was handed out to Bill Johnson on this week back in 1984, when the least popular man on the alpine skiing tour became the first American to win a skiing Olympic gold in the downhill in Sarajevo. Johnson was immensely talented but also loathed by his competitors and alcoholism would quickly ruin his career; with numerous comeback attempts also ending in failure. He currently lives on disability with his speech and memory permanently impaired after a heavy crash on the slopes in 2001. Canadian skier Steve Podborski said of him: "I'm hard pressed to find a nice thing that Bill did for other people, but he never did anything nice for himself either."

1984: Torvill and Dean win Olympic gold - February 14

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean brought a packed crowd (and 24 millions Britons watching on TV) to their feet in Sarajevo on this week in 1984 when their free dance performance of Ravel's Bolero saw them claim Olympic gold. For their performance they scored 12 out of 18 possible sixes for their free dance and the maximum possible of nine sixes for artistic impression. The pair then went on to win the world championship before turning professional. They made a much publicised return to Olympic competition in 1994 but could only manage a bronze.

1978: Spinks beats Ali to become quickest world heavyweight champ - February 15

Leon Spinks became the quickest world heavyweight boxing champion in history on this week back in 1978 when he beat the fading star that was Muhammad Ali in just his eight professional fight. Spinks would be the last undisputed champion until Mike Tyson because he was then stripped of the WBC crown for refusing to fight number one contender Ken Norton. Spinks was heralded as Boxing's next big thing after the fight but his career went steadily downhill. He lost a rematch with Ali and would finish his career with 17 defeats. He also quickly went broke and famously went from being heavyweight champion to being homeless in just over 10 years. He now keeps a low profile in Columbus, Nebraska and is said to be living a "comfortable" life.

1976: John Curry skates to Olympic gold - February 11

John Curry produced a superb performance in Innsbruck on this week back in 1976 to pick up Britain's first ever gold medal in Figure Skating. It was also the nation's first medal of any description at the Winter Olympics for 12 years. Soon after the Olympics, German newspaper Bild revealed that Curry was gay which caused a stir at the time, but Curry remained focused throughout the "scandal" and in March of 76 he went on to become the first Briton to win the World Championship for 37 years. After that success Curry then turned professional and went on to create a company of ice dancers who sold out venues like the Royal Albert Hall. Curry was diagnosed with HIV in 1987 and developed AIDS and died in 1994.

1896: England bowl South Africa out for 30 - February 14

For nearly sixty years (until England bowled out New Zealand for 25 in 1955) this was the lowest ever total in a Test match (it is still second). England bowled out South African in Port Elizabeth for 30 in the second innings of this first Test. Robert Poore was the only South African batsman to score in double figures (10) but the real star of the performance was England bowler George Lohmann. His figures? 9.4 overs, five maidens, with seven runs given up for eight wickets; he also had 7-38 in the first innings - not bad!

Seán Fay / Eurosport

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