In this short article, I’m going to tell you some unique facts that you can use in the next sports trivia game you play and stump everyone who is with you in the process.
- Alberto Arizmendi holds the record for becoming a professional boxer at the youngest age. He is known to have turned pro in his first double-digit year, 10!
- Baseball was the first sport to ever be aired on television in the United States. This occurred on May 17, 1939 and showed a game between Princeton and Columbia that was played at Baker field. Princeton beat Columbia 2-1.
- Harold Grange, who was an All-American running back at University of Illinois in the 1920’s, was known as “The Galloping Ghost” by his teammates at the Chicago Bears. In a 1924 game, he amazingly ran for 262 yards, scoring 4 touchdowns, in less then 12 minutes.
- Martin Luther (yes, the religious leader) is credited for inventing the game of 9-pin bowling.
- The name of the NBA’s MVP award is the Podoloff Cup. It is named after Maurice Podoloff, the league’s very first commissioner. Until 1981, the award was chosen by the league’s players.
- Drew Bledsoe threw 70 passes (completing 45 of them) in an overtime game against the Vikings in 1994. He carried his New England Patriots from 20-0 down to a 26-0 win.
- In 1990, more than 1.5 billion people tuned in to watch the FIFA World Cup final.
- In 1957, a team from Mexico was the first non-USA team to win the Little League World Series.
- Arnold Palmer, a famous golfer, was named “Athlete of the Decade” in the 1960s for his great impact on the game of golf.
- Baseball is the sport that is responsible for the most eye injuries in the United States. Basketball comes next, followed by water and racquet sports.
- The Boston Celtics won a record 8 NBA championships in a row from 1959 to 1966. This is the most consecutive championships won in any of the four major sports of the United States (basketball, football, hockey, and baseball).
