Basketball got its name from the half-bushel peach baskets used as targets by the originator, James A. Naismith, in 1891.
Basketball is the most popular sport among college women, followed by volleyball and tennis.
In February 1912, new U.S. football rules were put into motion. The playing field was shortened from 110 yards to 100 yards, a touchdown would count for six points instead of five, four downs were allowed instead of three, and the kick-off was moved from midfield to the 40-yard line.
In golf, a "Dolly Parton" is a putt on an especially hilly green. It's also known as a roller coaster.
In golf, a "snowman" is a score of 8 for a hole or 88 for a round.
In hockey, a "butterfly" is a goaltending style in which the goalie keeps his knees together and feet slightly apart.
In hockey, a "deke" is a quick fake by a puck carrier intended to trick an opponent out of position.
In hockey, the penalty box is often referred to as the "sin bin."
In July 1934, Babe Ruth paid a fan $20 dollars for the return of the baseball he hit for his 700th career home run.
In June 1946, NBC-TV and Gillette staged what they billed as the first "television sports extravaganza": the Joe Louis-Billy Conn heavyweight fight at Yankee Stadium. The fight was a huge viewing success with an estimated audience of 150,000 watching on just 5,000 sets. For every TV set tuned into the fight, there were an average of 30 people watching. Many were seeing an event on television for the first time.
In June 1963 in Britain, the British tennis player Michael Sangster served a ball that was clocked at 154 miles per hour. This is the fastest tennis serve ever recorded.
In mountain-biking slang a "snakebite" is a flat tire caused by hitting a hard object, resulting in the wheel rim piercing the inner tube, creating a two-hole puncture that resembles a snakebite.
Basketball's three-point field goal distance, established by the NBA, is 22 feet. Internationally, it's set at 20 feet, 6.1 inches.
Because of fears that the Japanese, who had attacked Pearl Harbor less than a month earlier, might attach California, the Rose Bowl game of 1942 between Oregon State and Duke University was moved east to Duke's hometown in Durham, North Carolina. It didn't, however, help the home team. Oregon won, 20-16.
Because wool has outstanding elastic recovery, 150 yards of wool yarn are used in an official baseball.
Before 1850, golf balls were made of leather and were stuffed with feathers.
Before 1859, baseball umpires were comfortably seated in padded rocking chairs behind home plate.
Before turning to a career on the pulpit as the Reverend Billy Sunday, the soon-to-be evangelist was a superb outfielder with the Chicago White Stockings. Many observers credited Sunday with helping Chicago win the pennant back in 1886.
Billie Jean King holds the distinction of being the oldest woman to receive a singles seed at Wimbledon. She was 39 years, 209 days old when she got the No. 10 seed in 1983.
Boog Powell, former first baseman for the Baltimore Orioles, was the first baseball player to appear in both the Little League World Series and the Major League World Series.
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