-
Olympic (amateur) boxing history
Saturday, April 10th, 2010
The Olympic flame at Beijing during the 2008 Summer Olympics. The Queensberry Amateur Championships continued from 1867 to 1885, and so, unlike their professional counterparts, Olympic boxers did not deviate from using gloves once the Queensberry Rules had been published. In the United Kingdom, the Amateur Boxing Association (A.B.A.) was formed in 1880 when twelve [...]
-
Rugby history
Thursday, August 27th, 2009
Rugby School The legendary story/myth about the origin of Rugby football—whereby a young man named William Webb Ellis “took the ball in his arms [i.e. caught it] and ran,” showing “a fine disregard,” while playing Rugby School’s already distinctive version of football (not to be confused with association football, which was codified much later) in [...]
-
History and development of soccer
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
Map showing the popularity of association football around the world. Countries where association football is the most popular sport are coloured green, while countries where it is not are coloured red. The various shades of green and red indicate the number of players per 1,000 inhabitants. Games revolving around the kicking of a ball have [...]
-
Snooker history
Thursday, March 26th, 2009
Illustration of a game of three ball pocket billiards in early 19th century Tübingen, Germany The game of billiards dates back to the 15th century but snooker is a more recent invention. In the late 19th century billiards games were popular among British army officers stationed in India, and players used to experiment with variations [...]
-
History of ice hockey
Wednesday, March 25th, 2009
Dutch burghers playing a game that looks much like ice hockey. Games between teams hitting an object with curved sticks have been played throughout the world since prehistoric times. The word “hockey” has been used since the 16th century, but its etymology is uncertain. It may derive from the Old French word hoquet, shepherd’s crook, [...]
-
History of greyhound racing
Monday, March 23rd, 2009
Photo finish of a greyhound race in Tampa, Florida, USA on February 9, 1939. Modern greyhound racing has its origins in coursing. The first recorded attempt at racing greyhounds on a straight track was made beside the Welsh Harp reservoir, Hendon in 1876, but this experiment did not develop. The sport emerged in its recognizable [...]
-
Dart boards
Saturday, March 21st, 2009
Dart boards are usually made of sisal fibers and each section is lined with thin metal wire. The numbers indicating the various scoring sections of the board are normally made of wire, especially on tournament-quality boards, but may be printed directly on the board instead. Height and distance In the standard game, the dart board [...]
-
History of cross-country skiing
Friday, March 20th, 2009
A skiing Lappish woman or a goddess. Olaus Magnus Cross-country skiing originated in Fennoscandian countries in prehistoric times. It was still widely practiced in 19th century as a way of moving from place to place in winter. Elks, deers and other animals were hunted by skiing. Nowadays almost everyone in Finland and Norway have and [...]
-
Biathlon history
Friday, March 13th, 2009
The sport has its origins in an exercise for Norwegian soldiers. The first known competition took place in 1767 when border patrol companies competed against each other. Gradually the sport became more common throughout Scandinavia as an alternative training for the military. Called military patrol, the combination of skiing and shooting was demonstrated at the [...]
-
Tennis
Saturday, March 7th, 2009
Tennis is a sport played between either two players (“Singles”) or two teams of two players (“doubles”). Players use a stringed racquet to strike a ball, a hollow rubber ball covered in felt, over a net into the opponent’s court. In some places tennis is still called lawn tennis to distinguish it from real tennis [...]
-
Motor sports
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
Fernand Gabriel driving a Mors in Paris-Madrid 1903 Auto racing (also known as automobile racing, autosport or motorsport) is a sport involving racing automobiles. Motor racing or motorsport may also mean motorcycle racing, and it can further include motorboat racing and air racing. It is one of the world’s most popular spectator sports and perhaps [...]
-
Darts
Friday, February 27th, 2009
Darts in a dartboard Darts is a game, or rather a variety of related games, in which darts are thrown at a circular target (dart board) hung on a wall. Though various different boards and games have been used in the past, the term ‘darts’ usually now refers to a standardized game involving a specific [...]
-
Spread betting
Saturday, February 21st, 2009
Spread betting is a form of gambling on the outcome of any event where the more accurate the gamble, the more is won and conversely the less accurate the more is lost. A bet is made against a ‘spread’ (or index), on whether the outcome will be above or below the spread. The amount won [...]
-
History of baseball
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
The New York Giants baseball team, circa 1910. Origins of baseball The distinct evolution of baseball from among the various bat-and-ball games is difficult to pin down. However, it is mainly agreed that modern baseball is an American development from earlier British games, such as rounders, with possible influences from cricket. 1886 baseball demonstration at [...]
-
Betting scandals
Sunday, January 25th, 2009
Historically, sports betting has been associated with a number of unsavory characters, which has a lot to do with its desultory legal treatment throughout the world. Organized crime notoriously has relied upon sports betting for money laundering or funding purposes. The corruption or threat of a boxer to take a dive at the x round [...]