17 ON THIS DAY

1860: The first international boxing match took place at Farnborough, Hampshire. Tom Sayers of England met John C Heenan of the United States in a bare-knuckle contest that ended in a draw after 37 rounds. 1888: The first formal meeting of the Football League took place at the Royal Hotel in Manchester. It was attended by representatives of 12 clubs who agreed to form a league. 1937: A British record crowd of 149,547 passed through the turnstiles at Hampden Park, Glasgow, to watch Scotland play England.

1993: Neil Thomas became the first Briton to win a medal in the World Gymnastics Championships when he took silver in the floor exercises at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.