The Most Amazing Facts About Sports and Games!

  3. In the National Hockey League, home teams wear white jerseys and visiting teams wear dark jerseys. That's because back in the 1960s, the league figured it would be more difficult to keep white uniforms clean while players were on the road.
  4. About 42,000 tennis balls are used in the plus-minus 650 matches in the Wimbledon Championship.
  5. The first puck ever used in a hovkey game was a frozen piece of cow crap.
  8. Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia are building a 27-hole golf course on the border between the three countries, with nine holes in each country. Much of the area proposed for the golf course is currently a minefield.
  9. You might think a yo-yo is just a fun toy. But it started out as a weapon in the Philippine Islands in the 16th century. It weighed four pounds and had a 20 foot cord. It was introduced to the United States as a toy in 1929.
  10. The Olympic Flame is a symbol of the fire stolen from the Greek God Zeus. Months before the opening ceremony of the Olympic games the torch is lit at the ancient site of the Olympics in Olympia. A ceremony is performed by Eleven women called priestesses in which the torch is lit by a parabolic mirror which concentrates the rays of the sun.
  11. The big black tarps that cover the middlefield seats in baseball, are so the batter can see the ball better. When people sat in those seats it was too hard for the batters to see the ball coming out of the pitchers hand. The backround was too busy. The tarp fixed it.
  12. Fishing is the biggest participant sport in the world.
  14. Shaquille O'Neal wears size 22 shoes. He puts on a brand new pair before every game.
  15. Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. didn't miss a game in 16 years. He played in 2,632 consecutive games from April 30, 1982 to Sept. 19, 1998.
  16. Before 1859, umpires sat in a padded rocking chair behind the catcher
  17. More than 1,800 medals are awarded at the Olympics.
  18. Soccer is the most attended or watched sport in the world.
  19. American football has the highest injury rate of any sport, with a rate 12 times higher than basketball, the next most injurious sport. Most NFL players eventually suffer a career-ending or career-shortening injury sometime in their career.
  21. Pittsburgh is the only U.S. city with 3 sports teams that wear the same colors.
  22. Average lifespan of a major league baseball: 5 pitches.
  23. Boxing became a legal sport in 1901.
  24. A forfeited game in baseball is recorded as 9-0.
  26. College footballs and NFL footballs are the exact same size. The only difference is the white stripes on the college ball. The white stripes on college footballs is to help the recievers see the ball better.
  27. The record for the most major league baseball career innings is held by Cy Young, with 7,356 innings.
  28. Archery is the national sport in Bhutan,a Buddhist country in Asia.
  30. South Korea is the birthplace of taekwondo, an olympic sport since 2000.
  34. To wear a "visor" on your helmet in the NFL, you have to have a doctors note. Almost all the visors in the NFL are prescription.
  35. You've probably heard your coach or parents say, "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye." Well that phrase comes from Ancient Rome. The only rule during Roman wrestling matches was, "No eye gouging." Biting, kicking and scratching were allowed but the only way to be disqualified was to poke someone's eye out.
  36. If a horse wins a race "hands down" it means the jockey never raised his whip during the race.
  38. Golf balls can reach speeds of 170 miles an hour.
  40. Korfball is the only sport played with mixed teams, consisting of 4 men and 4 women.
  41. James Naismith, a teacher at a YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts, is credited with inventing basketball in 1891.The first hoops were actually just peach baskets and the first backboards were made of wire.
  44. The Chicago Bulls have won all six NBA Finals in which they've appeared.
  45. In 1981, baseball's Chicago White Sox moved their centre field wall in by 43 feet, hoping that Chicago's power hitters would hit a few more home runs. In the first two months of the season, four home runs were hit over the new wall, all by opposing teams.
  46. Approximately one out of four injuries by athletes involve the wrist and hand.
  48. The national sport of Japan is sumo wrestling.
  49. A baseball ball has exactly 108 stitches, a cricket ball has between 65 and 70 stiches. A soccer ball is made up of 32 leather panels, held together by 642 stitches. Basketball and rugby balls are made from synthetic material. Earlier, pigs' bladders were used as rugby balls.
  51. The Aztec and Maya Indians of Mexico and Central America played a complicated kind of ball game not unlike lacrosse. The game, played in a large stadium and witnessed by thousands of spectators, went on for several hours. When the game was finished, the captain of the losing team was slaughtered before the onlookers, his body torn limb from limb, and pieces of his heart passed among the crowd for members of the audience to nibble.
  52. On average, it is estimated that females injure themselves ten times more than males do while playing sports
  54. Wild Bill Hickok was killed playing poker, holding two pairs - aces and eights, which has become known as 'Dead Man's Hand.
  55. Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido, once pinned an opponent using only a single finger.
  56. Billiards used to be so popular at one time that cigarette cards were issued featuring players.
  57. Gold medals haven't been pure gold in 96 years. The 1912 Olympics was the last time that gold medals were solid gold. Ever since, they've been silver with gold plating.
  58. The Pittsburgh Pirates got their name as a result of bad publicity. In 1880 the Pittsburgh team allegedly "Pirated" an important player away from Philadelphia and did nothing to smooth over ruffled feelings. Local newspapers angrily called Pittsburg "a bunch of Pirates." The epithet stuck, and eventually became the team's official name.
  61. Kite flying is a professional sport in Thailand.
  62. The sport Lacrosse was initially played by Native American Indians. They played the sport to prepare for war.
  63. The longest major league baseball game on record was played on May 1st, 1921, between the Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Braves. It was called at the end of 26 innings on account of darkness, with the score tied 1-1. Brooklyn's Leon Cadore and Boston's Joe Oeschger both pitched the entire 26 innings. The entire game lasted only 3 hours 50 minutes.
  64. The Ouija board is named for the French and German words for yes - oui and ja.
  65. The San Diego Chargers of the NFL are named after a credit card.
  66. Golfers use an estimated $800 million worth of golf balls annually.
  68. The velocity of a pitched baseball is about 8 mph faster as it leaves the pitcher's hand than when it reaches home plate.
  71. The 'huddle' in football was formed due to a deaf football player who used sign language to communicate and his team didn't want the opposition to see the signals he used and in turn huddled around him.
  74. The distance between the pitcher's rubber and home plate in baseball is 60 feet, 6 inches
  76. The great Yankee slugger Babe Ruth, who began his career as a pitcher, had a favorite pitching trick that has rarely been duplicated. He was able to throw two Baseballs in such a way that the balls remained parallel to each other all the way from his hand to the catcher's glove. Ruth was famous for this stunt and would demonstrate it on request.
  77. There are bullfights in Detroit. Twelve times a year, at the Cobo Arena, some of the best Spanish and Mexican matadors are featured, as well as several American Bullfighters who have been trained in Spain. Bullfights themselves are not illegal in the United States; the matador is simply not allowed to kill the bull. In Detroit, therefore, all fights are "exhibitions," bloodless events that demonstrate the matador's skill, not his ability to make a kill.


    • Basketball:

    • Wipe the soles of your sneakers for good luck.
    • Bowling:

    • To continue a winning streak, wear the same clothes.
    • Fishing:

    • Throw back your first catch for good luck.
    • It is bad luck to change rods while fishing.
    • Football:

    • Double numbers on a player's uniform brings good luck.
    • A mascot is an important good luck symbol.
    • Golf:

    • Start only with odd-numbered clubs.
    • Balls with a number higher than 4 are bad luck.
    • Carry coins in your pockets for good luck.
    • Ice Hockey:

    • It is bad luck for hockey sticks to lie crossed.
    • It is bad luck to say shutout in the locker room before a game.
    • Rodeo:

    • Always put the right foot in the stirrup first.
    • Avoid wearing the color yellow.
    • Always shave before a competition.
    • Tennis:

    • Avoid wearing the color yellow.