25
votes
Accepted
Worst defeat of a host nation in world cup history
Yes, this was the worst defeat of a host nation in the history of the world cup!
Other notable defeats are:
2010: South Africa 0 - 3 Uruguay
1958: Sweden 2 - 5 Brazil
Link: World Cup 2014: Most ...
- 10.3k
22
votes
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How can a journalist know so much information on athletes?
This is going to depend a lot on the sport. In general, a reporter does have access to several resources, many of which are accessible to a dedicated fan, but when putting together commentary on the ...
- 2,778
20
votes
Accepted
Did Adolf Hitler really snub Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin?
Jesse Owens was snubbed by who?
Everyone knows that at the 1936 Olympics Hitler snubbed Jesse Owens. As the story goes, after Owens won one gold medal, Hitler, incensed, stormed out of Olympic ...
- 400
16
votes
Accepted
NFL division with all teams having a losing or winning record
Yes, the NFC West had all teams finish with a losing record in 2010. Wikipedia mentions this:
In 2010, the NFC West became the first division in NFL history to have a champion with a losing record, ...
- 4,751
15
votes
Accepted
FIFA World Cups History: Defending Champion Knocked Out in First Round?
6 times the defending champions were knocked out of the group stage (first group stage during the 1950 World Cup) in the FIFA World Cup history:
Italy - 1950
Brazil - 1966
France - 2002
Italy - 2010
...
- 8,661
15
votes
Is table tennis based on tennis?
Most sources, including the history presented on the website of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), agree that the game was developed in the 1880's as a variant to the already-popular ...
15
votes
Statistically, who is the worst NFL team in history?
Wikipedia has a list of NFL win-loss records for each of the current 32 NFL teams. The tables on the page include all games that each team has played in, including regular season and playoffs. ...
15
votes
Accepted
What is the closest any team has come to playing a home Super Bowl?
For the first 54 Super Bowls, it was true that teams had never played the game in their home stadiums. Then it happened two years in a row:
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers became the first team to play in a ...
15
votes
Accepted
What's the etymology of the term Red Zone?
Joe Gibbs, the former Washington Redskins coach (1981–1992, 2004-2007), is widely credited with making the phrase popular in a Washington Post article in 1982. Supposedly, he tried to use it to ...
- 1,300
15
votes
Are there any sports that started as a women's sport?
Synchronised swimming was exclusively a women's sport from its first appearance at the World Aquatics Championships in 1973 until 2015 when mixed duet categories were introducted. The earlier (pre-...
- 22.1k
15
votes
Did ice-hockey players actually not wear helmets until the 1970s-1980s?
NHL players started wearing helmets for the most part after a player, Bill Masterson, died from a check that caused him to hit his head on the ice at speed. That occurred in 1968. The mandate was ...
Joe♦
- 11.4k
13
votes
Worst defeat of a host nation in world cup history
Looking at statistics of all world cup matches, this is the worst defeat of a host nation in world cup history in terms of "goal difference". This is also the worst defeat by a host nation in terms of ...
- 6,522
12
votes
Why does Ice Hockey have 3 periods?
Before 1910, they used to play 2 halves of 30 minutes each. But at the end of each half, the ice was so rutted and covered with snow that it slowed the game way down. So they changed it to 3 periods ...
- 441
12
votes
Whose record did the Chicago Bulls team of 1995-96 break?
Chicago Bulls held the record for most wins in a single NBA season with 72 wins in the 1995-96 season, which has since been surpassed by the 2015-2016 Golden State Warriors (with 73 wins).
Prior to ...
- 2,467
12
votes
Accepted
Have two generations of one family ever won a medal at the same Olympics?
Yes, here's an example: Alfred and his father Oscar Swahn (Sweden) - 1912, shooting, team gold.
Oscar is particularly interesting, "At 64 years of age, he became the oldest gold medalist ever, which ...
- 502
12
votes
Accepted
What is the record for the most family members competing in the same Olympic Games?
The record for the most siblings in the same Olympic Games is 4. This happened when the four brothers Luis Adrián, Jorge, José and Roberto Tamés from Mexico competed as two 2-man bobsleigh teams at ...
12
votes
Accepted
Why are the same national football teams always the strongest?
There are many reasons why a select group of countries have dominated international football for so long, and there have been countless articles written about this subject but what it all comes down ...
- 136
12
votes
Accepted
Why are American teams always named in a certain format?
The answer to why all the U.S. professional teams are named this way (Location Nickname) today is because it is tradition. Baseball teams were named this way, and football, basketball, hockey, and ...
12
votes
Accepted
Lowest championship finishing position for a defending champion
After winning the 1952 and 1953 World Championships, Alberto Ascari only finished 25th in the 1954 Championship. He failed to finish any of the four races he entered that season, and his only points ...
- 2,179
11
votes
Accepted
First ever transfer in football
The first ever transfer was Willie Groves to Aston Villa in 1893 for £100. This was after player registration was introduced in 1885 by the FA making it possible for a player to play for a club only ...
- 1,834
11
votes
Statistically, who is the worst NFL team in history?
It depends exactly how you measure "worst", so I have two submissions for you.
The Muncie Flyers were one of the NFL's inaugural teams in 1920. After losing their first game 45-0 their other ...
11
votes
Accepted
NFL division with 3 teams in the playoffs
The NFL started allowing two wildcard teams per conference to enter the playoffs in the 1978-79 season, and went to three wildcard teams in 1990-91. With only three divisions per conference, it was ...
10
votes
Accepted
Who was the first manager to get expelled from a match in the history of football?
According to the book Football Oddities by Tony Matthews, under the section "Discipline", subsection "Football League" where Mr. Matthews lists various random-ish facts:
"The first manager to be sent ...
- 1,659
10
votes
Accepted
Helicopter shot in Cricket
This Page says , Abdul Razzaq was the first player to try a helicopter shot.
But there is a similar quora question, it says Mohammad Azharuddin
and Ajay Jadeja have tried helicopter shots back in ...
- 1,259
10
votes
What is the record for the most family members competing in the same Olympic Games?
Another example of four siblings in the same Olympics is the Belgian Borlée family during the 2016 Rio olympics.
The brothers Jonathan, Kevin and Dylan participated in the 4x400m relay, taking fourth ...
10
votes
Accepted
Athletes who have competed in the Olympics for more than one country
I recall Merlene Ottey, who represented Jamaica (1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000) and Slovenia (2004). She obtained 9 medals representing Jamaica: 3 silver and 6 bronze.
I also recall the cross-...
- 1,333
10
votes
Lowest championship finishing position for a defending champion
After Alberto Ascari, the following champions also faced their worst campaign on next season.
Alberto Ascari - 25 - 1954
Juan Manuel Fangio - 14 - 1958
Mario Andretti - 12 - 1979
Jody Scheckter - 19 -...
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Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible