Browsing: Sports

A Brief History On July 9, 1922, Johnny Weissmuller became the first man to break 60 seconds in the 100 meter freestyle swim, posting a world record time of 58.6 seconds.  Weissmuller rode his fame as a swimmer to become the Tarzan of the movies that we think of as the definitive Tarzan.  He was the greatest swimmer of his day, but girls routinely beat his best times today.  Here we list 10 of the greatest swimmers in the world and in history, some of which may not be what you are thinking of.  (Maybe next time we can list the worst swimmers!)…

A Brief History On July 7, 1985, Boris Becker of Germany became the youngest Wimbledon tennis champion by winning the tournament at the age of only 17.  Becker went on to win at Wimbledon 2 more times, and he won a total of 9 of the “Grand Slam” tennis events, as well as earning an Olympic gold medal in 1992 (doubles). Digging Deeper Michael Chang bested Becker’s record as the youngest winner of a Grand Slam tennis event by taking the French Open title in 1989, also at age 17 but almost 4 months younger. Mats Wilander was also 17…

A Brief History On July 4, 1910, heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson, an African-American, knocked out former champion Jim Jeffries, a white man, to become the premier boxer in the world.  An indication of the state of racial relations in the US at that time were the riots that broke out across the country in response! Digging Deeper Johnson was the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion, a title he earned in 1908.  He had grown up in Texas, a former slave state in the deepest South, and faced racial prejudice at every turn, including being denied a championship fight for years.…

A Brief History This article provides a chronological timeline of some of the more intriguing moments in baseball history!  Please click on the date to learn more about that particular incident. Digging Deeper On February 2, 1876, the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs was founded, replacing the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, which had been founded in 1871 as a replacement itself for the National Association of Base Ball Players (note no mention of “professional”) which operated from 1869 to 1871. On May 1, 1884, catcher Moses Fleetwood Walker signed up to play for the Toledo Blue Stockings of…

A Brief History On June 23, 1917, Boston Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth pitched to only one batter, walking him, before he was ejected from the game for punching the umpire.  Pitcher Ernie Shore was brought in to complete the game against the Senators.  The base runner was thrown out trying to steal second base, and Shore retired the next 26 batters, completing a no-hitter between himself and Ruth, probably the most bizarre no-hitter in baseball history.  Here we list 10 bizarre baseball incidents.   Digging Deeper 10.  Bill Buckner Error, 1986. Buckner was a good baseball player, slugging 2700 hits…