Questions tagged [history]
Questions relating to the past history of a sport, such as regarding past players, team records, older generations of equipment, etc. Questions using this tag must also be tagged with the specific sport in question.
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Why didn't they change the poster for 1950 FIFA World Cup?
In the poster of 1950 FIFA World Cup, there's a leg with multiple national flags on it. But the total number of flags is at least 30, while only 13 countries were participating in the tournament.
I ...
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Why did China and some other communist countries boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics?
The 1980 Summer Olympics was held in Moscow, Soviet Union.
Many countries boycotted the games initiated by the United States for Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan.
But there were some communist ...
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Which two football clubs are competing in this YouTube video billed as the first ever filmed football match in 1897?
Footage from the first filmed football match in 1897 can be found on YouTube here.
I was just wondering, who are the two football clubs in action?
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Why are tennis cometitions called 'open'?
There are plenty of tennis competitions named 'open' such as the French Open, Australia Open, or Mexico Open.
Is there any particular reason for this naming?
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What is the latest time a non-baseball sporting event has ever ended?
On July 3, 1993, there was a baseball game between the Padres and Phillies that started at 1:28am and ended at 4:40am local time - the latest finish in MLB history. The game started so late at night ...
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Has a tennis player ever hit a shot behind the umpire's chair that landed inbounds in a singles match?
There have been many tennis shots that went around the net post.
But has any tennis player ever hit a shot that went behind the umpire's chair and still landed inbounds in a singles match? There are ...
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At the 1912 Olympics pole vault, why were bronze medals awarded when a gold and two silver were also awarded?
At the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, something rather unusual happened with the medals awarded in the men's pole vault competition. Ordinarily when there is a tie for second place, multiple ...
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Are there any cases when a significantly smaller person won against a heavier opponent in combat sports? [closed]
In combat sports being heavier is, in and of itself, considered a significant advantage.
Therefore, a smaller fighter can usually only win against a heavier opponent if the fight is otherwise biased ...
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Has there ever been a game-winning/tying drive that started with less than 13 seconds?
In the January 23, 2022 NFL Divisional playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills, the Chiefs trailed 36-33 in the 4th quarter when they started a drive at their own 25-yard line ...
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Origin of the formula for weighted stolen base runs (wSB)
I am considering the formula for weighted stolen base runs (wSB), which is given as
wSB = a * SB + b * CS - lgwSB * (1B + uBB + HBP)
and a = 0.2 and b = (-2 * RunsPerOut + 0.075).
I have two questions:...
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Reason for only national teams in some Olympic sports
I am wondering on why the structures for some sports are completely different to others. Especially, why it is that in most winter sports, like downhill skiing, cross-country skiing or bobsleigh ...
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When did American football teams start honoring players who have passed away by starting 10 men on the field?
For American football games (college and professional), when did they begin honoring players who passed away by starting ten players on the field?
I haven't watched football for that long, but my ...
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Why did sumo wrestlers ended up having high levels of fat to practice the sport?
Here are some photos from old sumo wrestlers, definitely they are not comparable to current sumo wrestlers in general, having low level of fats.
Compared to a sumo wrestler like the following the ...
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Why is a podium 3 people?
Is there an origin to this? As to why a podium is universally 3 people?
Like for tournament style competitions, a 2 person podium would be logical, the finalist and runner up. But for some reason, its ...
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When did basketball change the rule so that games end when the clock hits 0.0 instead of when the buzzer sounds?
I remember there was a time when the NBA and/or college basketball's rule on buzzer beaters was that the shot would count as long as the ball left the shooter's hand before the buzzer sounded. It didn'...
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Did ice-hockey players actually not wear helmets until the 1970s-1980s?
I don't really care if it's the 1970s or 1980s. The point is that I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw footage of old hockey matches where the players had... no helmets. As if it were faked or ...
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Who were the best pre-WW2 footballers in the world? [closed]
Alfredo Di Stefano
There are plenty of footballers that have been considered the greatest player in the world during their career, but they all appear to be post-WW2, such as Alfredo Di Stefano.
...
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When was beach rugby invented?
Beach rugby is a variation of rugby league that is officially maintained and governed by the IRL.
However, I don't seem to find any information regarding the invention of the sport, the Wikipedia page ...
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Which NFL quarterbacks traded to a new team and took them to the Super Bowl in their first season with their new team?
Much like this year’s Tom Brady situation if he were to go to the Super Bowl. It’s his first season with the Bucs, who had a losing record last year. What, if any, past quarterbacks have taken their ...
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Have NFL games been played at neutral venues before?
On week 13 of the 2020 NFL season, because of strict COVID-19 restrictions in their home county of Santa Clara, the San Fransisco 49ers played the Buffalo Bills at the State Farm Stadium in Arizona, ...
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Why does the infield arc have a radius of 95 feet?
The dirt on a baseball infield extends out to an arc centered on the lip of the pitching rubber (60' 6" from home) and has a radius of 95'. This makes the distance from home to the very edge of ...
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Has there ever been a game-winning tip play off an inbounds pass in an NBA playoff game or NCAA Tournament game?
The NBA has the Trent Tucker Rule, which states that if there is less than 0.3 seconds on the shot clock or game clock with a team inbounding the ball, then any player on that team cannot attempt to ...
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What have been the NFL scoring rules changes?
I'm looking for a list of all scoring and scoring-related rules changes in the NFL. While the NFL goes back to 1920s, I'll be satisfied with just a list of rules changes going back to 1970, when the ...
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Former British colonies and cricket
Some former British colonies, from India to Australia to the nations of the West Indies, have notable cricket teams and a significant number of cricket fans.
However, this is not the same everywhere. ...
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NFL game in which a team scores a late TD to pull within one point and then attempts a two-point conversion?
Has there ever been a regular season or playoff game in the NFL in which a team trailed by 7 points in the final 2 minutes, scored a touchdown to pull within one point, and instead of kicking the ...
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Has there ever been a complete game in which the pitcher never threw 3 balls in one at-bat?
During his perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series, Don Larsen went to 3 balls in a count against only one batter. (source)
Has there ever been a complete game in MLB history in which the ...
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Has there ever been a championship conceded for friendship reasons?
To illustrate what I'm thinking of: suppose Alice and Bob are the two best players in the world at [sport]. They regularly meet in tournament finals where their matches are like a coin flip - each ...
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What was this NHL match, possibly in 1999, where the National Anthem was sung by Christina Aguilera?
I'm trying to identify a game on which Christina Aguilera sang the National Anthem, as appears on this video.
I've got 3 leads:
The video title says it was on 1999.
In another version of this ...
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What are the most serve attempts for a single tennis point?
In Tennis, you usually have 2 attempts for a service.
however under certain circumstances there are more serves made fot one single point, for example when the ball touches the net and then enters ...
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Have the three goalkeepers of a squad ever been used during a World Cup?
Usually, the same goalkeeper plays all the games during the competition, and I rarely saw the second goalkeeper playing, even less the third one.
Have there been occurrences of teams having their ...
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What happened to Polish football in 2014? [closed]
I'm Polish and for my whole life I could just dream of spectacular successes of our national team, like in the 80s. However, about the year 2015 something changed, a lot. Our team started to mean ...
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What is the fewest number of series lost by a baseball team in a season?
In baseball, a series is 2 or more consecutive games against the same team. For a 3-game series, a team loses that series if they lose 2 or all 3 of the games. For a 4-game series, a team loses that ...
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Has any NFL team ever gone an entire season without trailing by 7 or more points?
According to this article, the 2010 Green Bay Packers and 1962 Detroit Lions went the entire season without ever trailing in a game by more than 7 points. (Did any other teams accomplish that?)
Has ...
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Can this July 1958 NYC baseball game be identified?
I've got two photos of a night game in NYC area after July 4, 1958 and before the end of August 1958 (when film was developed), likely around July 5 or 6.
Can anyone identify:
The Stadium
The Home ...
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Has an MLB player ever won an MVP award without going to that year's All-Star game?
Has it ever happened that a player in the MLB ever won the AL or NL MVP award but didn't get elected as an All-Star that year? If so then how often does it happen?
If they didn't go to the game ...
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When did the NFL move the stanchion out of the end zone?
I was just watching a clip of Bart Starr's game-winning quarterback sneak in the Ice Bowl. One thing I noticed is that the goal post stanchion is inside the end zone, not behind the end zone as it is ...
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What's the highest number of points without winning the Premier League?
In the 2018-19 Premier League season, Liverpool finished 2nd with 97 points. Has any team ever got more points than this without winning the league?
user17282
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Which quarterback has had the lowest "highest amount of interceptions thrown" during a given regular season?
Ben Roethlisberger led the league during the 2018 NFL season with 16 interceptions. At a glance, that number seems low.
Since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger, which quarterback has had the lowest "highest ...
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Is it still acceptable for fans to run onto the field after winning the NBA Championship?
I have seen old videos of fans running onto the parquet in the Garden after the Celtics won the championship. Is this still done? If not, when did this stop being allowed?
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What was a "try" in ancient football?
This article (archive link) about the Scottish team Berwick Rangers centenary refers to the first competitive game:
The fishermen of the Greens also formed a football club around the same time, ...
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Which NBA team had the shortest "longest winning streak" in a championship-winning season?
Inspired by this question: Which MLB team had the shortest "longest winning streak" in a pennant-winning season?
Which NBA team had the shortest "longest winning streak" during a ...
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What team has shortest "longest losing streak" within a season in NBA history?
Inspired by this question: What team has shortest longest losing streak within a season in MLB history?
What team has shortest "longest losing streak" within a season in NBA history? Off the top of ...
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Besided speed skating, were there more world championships that did not gave a world champion?
The World Allround Speed Skating Championships have been held since 1893. In the tournament, four distances are skated. Up to 1907, the World Champion was the skater who won at least three distances. ...
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Has any player ever won Super Bowl MVP, Pro Bowl MVP, and MVP in the same season?
Please tell me the name, position, and team of any players that have done this, as well as the year it happened. Also, have any players done it in different seasons?
user16493
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Lowest championship finishing position for a defending champion
Which F1 World Drivers Champion has the lowest finishing position in the season following a championship winning year?
Examples:
1981, 1983 and 1987 WDC Nelson Piquet finished 11th in 1982, 5th in ...
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Why has soccer become so famous worldwide?
This article shows an image where most popular sport by country can be checked. It's a bit old (from 2006), but I guess not old enough for having changed a lot since then.
Clearly, soccer is the most ...
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From high school to college to professional sports, why do the same teams seem to consistently win and lose year after year, decade after decade?
I'm not a big sports fan, but I know Auburn, the SEC, the Yankees are winners, but then the Mets, the Cubs, the Browns tend to lose.
I would think over years that there would a more cyclical win/lose ...
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What is the first billiards game ever rules?
The picture below is a drawing from 1674 of one of the very first billiard table that I could find in wiki said it had no information on this game called Ground billiards. Does anyone know or where to ...
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All-winners semifinals in tennis
At the 2018 US Open, the semifinals had three previous winners on the men's side.
Has it ever happened in a major tournament that all four places were held by previous winners?
If not, has it ...
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Why was the 1-1-8 formation popular in 19th Century football?
Today I learned that 1-1-8 is one of the oldest football formations. It was widespread in 19th century. Why this unusual formation was so popular?
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