It was on this date in 1897 that boxer Bob Fitzsimmons won the heavyweight title by beating Jim Corbett. The knockout happened in round 14, and it seems that this may have been the first film of a boxing match.  I am not a boxing fan, but I do find this intriguing. For more info: http://www.ringsideboxingshow.com/BIOBobFitzsimmonsIBHOF http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Corbett-Fitzsimmons_Fight http://www.thesweetscience.com/columnists/joe-rein/1808-corbett-vs-fitzsimmonsst-paddy-s-day-1897

History, sports, football

I remember this date very clearly because I was the only one in my family rooting for Katarina Witt to win gold.  It was on this date in 1988, that Katarina Witt won her second consecutive gold medal at the Winter Olympics.  She beat out our skater Debbie Thomas (who I honestly never really liked). For more info: http://www.examiner.com/article/this-day-black-sports-history-february-27-1988 http://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/28/sports/88-winter-olympics-witt-is-gold-medalist-for-a-second-time.html

With the Olympics still on our minds, I was glad to find an interesting tidbit this morning.  On this date in 1960, something known as the “Forgotten Miracle” occurred.  The U.S. hockey team beat Germany in the finals round 9-1 to win the gold. For more info: http://b985.fm/some-historical-moments-in-sports-on-this-day-in-history/ http://www.todayinsport.com/events/date/1960 http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hockey_at_the_1960_Winter_Olympics

Now for a bit of Olympics trivia.  On this date in 1998, the U.S. Hockey team (who had been defeated) participated in some hotel vandalism.  It was not known how many took out their anger in this manner, but it took place in Nagano, Japan in the Olympics village.  They had been eliminated from the hockey tournament about ten hours […]

On this date in 1895, the sport that would become known as volleyball was created by YMCA athletic director William G. Morgan.  Back then, it was called Mintonette, and he combined elements of badminton and basketball.  As he saw it, basketball was too strenuous a sport for him and his middle-aged gym class members.  This was the perfect alternative.  Initially, […]

This may be a first on my blog to feature someone from wrestling.  On this date in 1972, wrestler The Big Show was born.  Paul Randall Wright, Jr. is his real name, and he is a 7-time world champion in his  sport.   Interestingly enough, he has been in some movies and TV, and he is the only person in history […]

In light of the upcoming Super Bowl {which has gone crazy in Washington State due to the Seahawks record}, I found today’s feature somewhat intriguing.  On this date in 1973, the Miami Dolphins became the first undefeated NFL team in history.  They beat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VIII.  For more info: http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/undefeated-dolphins-beat-redskins-in-super-bowl-vii

Sports again?  Can you believe it?  On this date in 1891, James Naismith invented the game of basketball.  He was a Canadian physical education teacher, and he was familiar with the medieval children’s game called “Duck on a rock.”  That was an outdoor game where someone would throw a rock at a larger rock on a pedestal (normally a tree […]

Another sports history feature from the  non-sports blogger!  On this date in 1941, the very first NFL playoff game in history was played.  The Bears and Packers tied in the regular season, and in order to find out who the champions were, this game had to played.  The Bears beat the Packers 33-14.  They went on to win the NFL […]