When Jimmy Carter Recruited Muhammad Ali to Boycott the Olympics
Forty years ago, the intersection of sports and geopolitics came to a bizarre head. Faced with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, President Jimmy Carter was weighing his retaliatory options. The choices were limited given the climate of the cold war, so the White House reluctantly went with boycotting the Summer Olympics that were scheduled to take place in Moscow.
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Interview with Tracy Edwards, Skipper of 1st All-Female Yacht Racing Crew
In 1989, when Tracy Edwards made it known that she was entering the 32,000-mile Whitbread Round the World Race with an all-female yacht crew, she was ridiculed and …
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The NY Yankees: from $10 Mil to $4.6 Bil
It’s a jaw-dropping investment normally associated with the long-term vision and financial wizardry of a Warren Buffet. In 1973, George Steinbrenner led a group of investors to purchase the New York Yankees for $10 …
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Conversation with Shaul Ladany, Olympian who Survived the Holocaust & Munich Massacre
Shaul Ladany is a walking miracle, literally and figuratively. The 84-year old Israeli is a 2-time Olympian who survived both the Holocaust and the 1972 Munich …
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From the Baseball Bookshelf
This summer, while we might not be able to go to the ball park or watch our favorite teams on the field, we can certainly sit back and spend time …
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Interview with Cycling Champ, Alberto Contador
One of the greatest professional riders of all time, Alberto Contador overcame a serious vascular disorder at a young …
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The 1970 Boys from Brazil
In the land where soccer holds a special place between heaven and earth and the Gods are worshipped for their ball-handling …
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A Golf Tournament for the Ages
Sixty years ago, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus did battle at the foot of the Rocky Mountains outside Denver, …
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The Most Bigoted Man in Baseball
He flung Nazi salutes at Jewish fans when fascism was on the rise and hurled racist epithets when MLB’s first black player took to the …
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FOOTBALL August 7, 2010 Wide receiver Jerry Rice is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Mississippi native spent most of his career with the San Francisco 49ers from 1985-2000, building a reputation as one of the greatest wide receivers in NFL history. Rice racked up a career record of 1,549 receptions, which included 197 touchdowns. Coming out of Mississippi Valley State, he won 3 Super Bowls with the 49ers (XXIII, XXIV, XXIX) and became a 13x Pro-bowler.
BOXING August 12, 2000 Evander Holyfield defeats John Ruiz in a unanimous decision to win the vacant WBA heavyweight title. It was their first faceoff in a trilogy that would see a win for each, plus a draw. Holyfield fought the greatest names of his era such as George Foreman, Buster Douglas, Riddick Bowe, and Lennox Lewis. In the infamous “Bite Fight” against Mike Tyson, Holyfield had a piece of his ear bitten off by Tyson. He retired in 2011 with a record of 57:44-10-3.
BASEBALL August 6, 1990 Jim Palmer is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. The life-long Orioles pitcher played 19 years with Baltimore from 1965-1984, compiling a win/loss record of 268/152, ERA of 2.86, and strikeouts of 2,212. Palmer was a 6x All-Star and 3-time World Series winner (1966, 1970, 1983). Thrice a recipient of the Cy Young Award, he was the winningest pitcher in major league baseball during the 1970s decade.
GOLF August 10, 1980 Jack Nicklaus wins his 5th and final PGA Championship by firing 274 (-6), or 7 strokes ahead of runner-up Andy Bean. The 40-year old had won the U.S. Open just 2 months earlier following the worst year in his illustrious career (1979) when he failed to clinch any tour matches. The PGA victory at the Oakhill Country Club in Rochester, New York was the 17th major in his professional life. He ended his career with 18 titles, the highest on record.
