Golf Central

Sam Snead, the most prolific tournament winner in PGA Tour history American golfer died on this day in 2002, aged 90. Slammin' Sammy won 82 PGA Tour events and seven majors: three Masters, three PGA Championships and one British Open. Oddly, he never won The US Open. He shares the record of four second-place finishes in that championship with Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Phil Mickelson.

Snead was famous for his image as a polished hick - wearing a straw hat and playing tournaments barefoot. His advice to: "Keep close count of your nickels and dimes, stay away from whiskey, and never concede a putt," is one we've tried and failed spectacularly to follow.

On this day in 1430 Joan Of Arc was captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne. The Maid Of Orleans was a national hero of France and after several victories in battle against all the odds she was captured, convicted her of heresy and burned at the stake by the English when she was nineteen years old. Which seems a bit harsh on reflection. Another brave warrior, Henry Cooper, lost to world champion heavyweight Cassius Clay on this day in 1966 in front of 40,000 fight fans in Highbury.

Meanwhile, it's taredartzet shnorhavor! as they say in Armenia to British acting ledge and son of Jack, Nigel Davenport (80), former doe-eyed acting femme fatale and Martini-ad stooge Joan Collins (75), the extremely marvellous boxer, Marvin Hagler (56) and preciously competitive LPGA starlet Morgan Pressel (20).

It would also have been the 74th birthday of Robert Arthur Moog, inventor of the Moog synthesiser, had he not joined the great experimental electro band in the sky in 2005.