Today in SA sport history: February 12

1953 — Roy McLean hits an unbeaten 76 and Russell Endean, resuming on 57, 70 as South Africa chase down the 295-run target to beat Australia by six wickets in the fifth and final Test in Melbourne and draw the series 2-2.

1955 — Johnny “Smiler” van Rensburg becomes the second South African boxer to win the British Empire featherweight title when he outpoints Joe Lucy over 15 rounds for the vacant belt at Johannesburg’s Wembley Stadium. Laurie Stevens first won the crown in 1936. Van Rensburg lost the belt the next year to another South African, Willie Toweel.

1958 — South Africa are bowled out for 198 in their follow-on innings of the fourth Test against Australia at the Wanderers, with Jackie McGlew making 70 and Ken Funston an unbeaten 64. That left the visitors needing one run to win, which they achieved off the fourth ball of their second innings without losing a wicket to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

1964 — South Africa dismiss Australia for 270, leaving themselves a target 171 to win the fifth and final Test in Sydney, but they don’t have enough time, reaching 76/0 off 24 overs before the end of play. The series ended drawn on 1-1.

1976 — Representatives from Formula One team Lotus begin talks with South African-based Lexington to obtain the services of Ian Scheckter, the older brother of Jody who was already racing abroad for Elf Tyrrell. Ian didn’t have a written contract with the Lexington outfit, but still felt loyal. “They have been good to me for four years in South Africa and I owe them a lot. I have given them my word.” They agreed he would race for both, first finishing the South African season before going overseas.

1977 — High-jumper Reinhard Schiel floats to a 2.23m South African record in Pretoria, a height that would have earned him silver at the Montreal Olympic Games the previous year. Schiel, a 21-year-old engineering student at Tuks, failed at 2.25m, the height at which the gold medal was won.

1977 — William Mogoregi, 34, wins the 800m at the Free State open championships in what was regarded as a 1min 49.8sec age-group world record.

1983 — Rupert “Spook” Hanley takes a hat-trick on his international debut to help the South African cricket team beat the rebel West Indians by 57 runs in the fifth and final ODI at the Wanderers. Hanley, brought in as a replacement for Garth le Roux, first got rid of the danger man, skipper Lawrence Rowe (71), taking a good catch off his own bowling. Then he trapped Derek Parry leg before and took another caught and bowled to get rid of Sylvester Clarke. Hanley, 31, finished with 2/25 from 10 overs. South Africa won the series 4-1.

1993 — Dingaan Thobela suffers the first defeat of his career, losing on points challenging WBA lightweight champion Tony Lopez in Sacramento, US. Thobela would avenge the loss in a rematch at Sun City a few months later and still add a third world title several years later, but from that point of his career onwards he registered more losses than victories, 13 to 12, with one draw.

2000 — Bafana Bafana claim third place at the Africa Cup of Nations cohosted by Nigeria and Ghana after beating Tunisia 4-3 in a penalty shootout. Skipper Shaun Bartlett put South Africa 1-0 up in the 11th minute, but Ali Zitouni equalised shortly before the half-hour mark. Siyabonga Nomvethe put Bafana back into the lead in the 62nd minute, but Zitouni again equalised, this time with a last-gasp effort with regulation time almost done. Bartlett, the tournament’s leading scorer with five goals, and Nomvethe both failed to score in the shootout, as did Zitouni. Fortunately for South Africa, two other Tunisians failed to score.

2000 — Jan Bergman is knocked out in the fourth round by IBF junior-welterweight champion Zab Judah in Uncasville, US. Bergman, also dropped in the first round, had the satisfaction of becoming the first man to deck Judah, putting him on the canvas in the second round.

2003 — Lance Klusener takes 4/16 as the Proteas bowl out Kenya for 140 before winning their World Cup match in Potchefstroom by 10 wickets. Herschelle Gibbs was unbeaten on 87 and Gary Kirsten on 52.

2016 — Chris Morris hammers 62 runs off 38 balls as the Proteas beat England by one wicket in the fourth ODI at the Wanderers to level the five-match series at 2-2. Kagiso Rabada took 4/45 while bowling out the visitors for 262.

2016 — Lizelle Lee scores 69 off 56 balls, Trisha Chetty 66 and Laura Wolvaardt 55 as the South African women, needing 263 to win, beat England by five wickets in the second ODI at Centurion.

2020 — Lungi Ngidi takes 3/30, including two wickets in the final over, as the Proteas, defending 177/8, beat England by one run in the first T20 in East London.

2023 — Englishman Adam Rossington scores 57 off 30 balls as the Sunrisers Eastern Cape beat the log-leaders, the Pretoria Capitals, in the final of the inaugural SA20 competition at the Wanderers by four wickets. Roelof van der Merwe took 4/31 to help bowl out the Capitals for 135.

2025 — Heinrich Klaasen scores 87 off 56 balls with Matthew Breetzke adding 83 and captain Temba Bavuma 82 to lift the Proteas to 352/5, but it’s not enough as they lose their ODI contest against hosts Pakistan in Karachi by six wickets.