Browsing: Sports

A Brief History On June 9, 1973, Secretariat, often called “Big Red,” won the final round of horse racing’s Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, by an unprecedented and unequaled 31 lengths!  In fact, Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont all in record times that still stand 50 years later! Digging Deeper Secretariat was a big, strong horse, 16 ¾ hands high and weighing in at 1155 pounds.  With a stride of 24 feet 11 inches, he could cover ground at a top speed of 49 miles per hour carrying a jockey, even faster if unburdened.  His…

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A Brief History On May 28, 2017, Japanese race car driver, Takuma Sato, won the Indianapolis 500 motor race, making history as the first Asian, and the first Japanese driver to take the big prize.  Proving his Indy prowess was not a fluke, Sato won the Indy 500 again in 2020, becoming the 20th driver to claim two victories at Indianapolis. Digging Deeper Sato, born in Tokyo in 1977, has also won titles in other racing formats, including the Macau Grand Prix, the Masters of Formula 3, and the British Formula Three.  In 2004, he placed 8th for the season…

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A Brief History On May 5, 1904, Denton “Cy” Young of the Boston Americans pitched an historic American League game against the Philadelphia Athletics, not allowing any base runners in the first major league “Perfect Game” of the modern baseball era. Digging Deeper The name “Cy” was a shortened form of “Cyclone,” a nod to his ability to demolish fencing like a cyclone with his fastball.  Born in Ohio in 1867, Young first played professionally in Canton, Ohio, moving up to the Big Show with the Cleveland Spiders of the National League. Young embarked on a major league career that…

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A Brief History On May 4, 2019, the W Series conducted their first and inaugural motor race at Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg, Germany, an all-Female auto racing event. Digging Deeper That initial race was won by Jamie Chadwick, a British race car driver, who went on to win that first season W Series Championship.  Chadwick still drives competitively in the Indy NXT series for the Andretti Autosport team and is a major female example of top-notch drivers such as Danica Patrick, Shirley Muldowney, Janet Guthrie, Simona de Silvestro, Michèle Mouton, and Maria Teresa de Filippis.  Apologies to the many great female drivers…

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A Brief History On March 9, 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte, said to have more books written about him than any mortal man, married the love of his life, Joséphine de Beauharnais.  Later, after Napoleon became Emperor of the French and Josephine was crowned Empress, her failure to bear Napoleon a male heir caused the great man to ditch her in favor of Marie-Louise, whom he did not love, but bore him the son he so craved. Digging Deeper Other marriages of major celebrities that did not last include that of Prince Charles, now King Charles III of the UK, and Lady…

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