The Mighty Book of Sports Knowledge

315 Pages·2009·12.63 MB·English

by  Steve Wulf

Contents
INTRODUCTION BY STEVE WULF
SOCK IT AWAY: John Wooden on the Importance of Hosiery
UNTOUCHABLE: Jerry Rice on How to Run a Pass Pattern
THE PITS: 13 Seconds with a NASCAR Pit Crew
LARCENOUS LOU: Sitting Down? Lou Gehrig Stole Home 15 Times
WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK: How to Whistle Like a Major Leaguer
SPECIAL K: Why K Stands for Strikeout
IN THE BAG: Inside Phil Mickelson’s Golf Luggage
GENIUS IN A JIFFY: The Five Best Sports Leads
THE WRITE STUFF: David Wright on How to Get an Autograph
THROWDOWN: The Secrets to Rock, Paper, Scissors
REEL GOOD: Jeffrey Lyons Picks the Five Best Sports Movies
A MIGHTY LONG GAME: Cal Ripken and Wade Boggs Play 33 Innings
FAMOUS AMOS: The Amazing Mr. Stagg
THE PUCK STOPS HERE: Wayne Gretzky on How to Tape a Stick
GLASS CEILING: The First Female Dunk
BREAKFAST OF CHAMPION: A Breakdown of Michael Phelps’s
Morning Meal
CHAMPION OF BREAKFAST: How Wheaties Got That Slogan
GLOVE AFFAIR: Omar Vizquel on How to Break In a Mitt
NET RESULT: On the Origins of Cutting Down the Net
JIMMY V: An Excerpt from Jim Valvano’s Famous Speech
SUB TITLES: From Bambi to Thumper—A Nickname Quiz
SIGN LANGUAGE: Rich Donnelly on How to Give Signs
FOR PETE’S SAKE: The Day a Clubhouse Guy Scored a Touchdown
JUST FOR KICKS: Landon Donovan on How to Score on a PK
MIGHTIEST FIGHT (BOXING): The First Ali-Frazier Bout
BRAZIL NUTS: You, Too, Can Have a Brazilian Soccer Name
BY THE NUMBERS: Howie Schwab Counts Up the Uniforms
BILL OF RIGHTS: The Orioles on How to Wear Your BB Cap
JOCK IN CHIEF: Curly Lambeau Writes to Gerald Ford
READY FOR PRIME TIME: The Ins and Outs of Playground Hoops
GOLDEN PARACHUTES: Sports Kicked Out of the Olympics
THE MASTER: A Golf Lesson from Bobby Jones
“BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE”: A Sportscast for the Ages
THE HEATER: Chris Young on How to Throw It by Them
THE CHANGEUP: Todd Jones on How to Fool Them
PRIVATE QUARTERS: Inside Donovan McNabb’s Locker
TRUE CALLING: How Many Cy Youngs Would Cy Young Have Won?
SIGH YOUNG: The Wrong Delivery for a Pitcher
SEVEN WONDERS: You Have to Be There to Appreciate Them
THE ROPES: Get a Jump-Start with Sugar Shane Mosley
STARTLING FIVE: Steve Hirdt’s Favorite Stumpers
UNCOMMON SCENTS: Don’t Stop to Smell the Hockey Bags
REEL BAD: Jeffrey Lyons Picks the Five Worst Sports Movies
BEND IT LIKE KLJESTAN: A Team USA Player on How to Curve a
Free Kick
SPORTUGUESE: What’s a Blutarsky? A Quiz on Sports Lingo
MIGHTY CASEY: The Man Who Wrote America’s Best-Known Poem
FROM THE PEN: A Poem by the Late Dan Quisenberry
MIGHTIEST FEAT (OLYMPICS): The Day Bob Beamon Did the
Impossible
SUPER STARS: Super Bowl Score—Carol Channing 2, Lions 0
SECOND HELPING: Robert Lansdorp on How to Hit a Second Serve
MEASURE FOR MEASURE: What the Quarterback Rating Really
Means
PASS KEY: An NFL QB Guru on How to Throw a Spiral
VINE YARD: The Story Behind the Ivy at Wrigley Field
BAND LEADERS: The Five Greatest College Fight Songs
UNDERHANDED WAYS: How to Make Hitting a Softball Hard
MIGHTIEST GAME (HOCKEY): Why the Miracle on Ice Wasn’t
Really
REAL SORRY: Missing the Triple Crown by a Nose
ACE OF CLUBS: The Master of the Hole in One
MIGHTIEST GAME (BASKETBALL): The Night Wilt Chamberlain
Scored 100
AIR BALLS: The Family Secrets of the Wiffle Ball
COLOR FAST: Why the Tour de France Leader Wears Yellow
ALL THE RAGE: The Five Best (or Worst) Sports Tantrums
MAKING WAVES: Gertrude Ederle Never Stopped Swimming
TAKE A HIKE: A Long Snapper on Why It’s Not a Snap
ROLL THE DICE: Strat-O-Matic’s All-Time Baseball Team
BOOK MARKS: Five Reasons Sports Literature Isn’t an Oxymoron
HIDING IN THE HALLS: Behind the Scenes in Cooperstown and
Canton
FACE VALUE: A WSOP Winner on How to Hide Your Emotions
10 COMMANDMENTS: A Decalogue of Sports Sins
BIG FLAP: How Not to Trot Around the Bases
IN FOCUS: So You Want to Be a Sports Photographer?
MIGHTIEST GAME (FOOTBALL): Hail Mary, Full of Grace
MASKED MEN: Meet the Patron Saint of Goalies
LUCKY CHARMS: Athletes Are a Superstitious Lot
TABLETOPS: How to Rule at Table Tennis
BREAKING ANKLES: Chris Paul on How to Fake Out an Opponent
TAPING ANKLES: Kevin Carroll on How to Wrap an Ankle
MIGHTIEST GAME (BASEBALL): The Story of the Merkle Boner
MISSPELL CHECK: It Pays to Make a Mistake—on Baseball Cards
CARD GAMES: How to Play with Major Leaguers
TAKE 2: Error-Director: Five Sports-Movie Errors
LEADING LADIES: The Woman Behind Title IX
SIT FOR THE GOLD: The Importance of the Coxswain
PAPER PIGSKIN: How to Join the Fold of Paper Footballers
FALL CLASSICS: Yogi Berra’s Five Favorite World Series Games
THE REAL GIPPER: The Man Who Inspired the Famous Speech
HORSES CALLED MEN: Thoroughbreds Named After Famous People
GETTING NOTICED: How to Shine at a Tryout
SLIM AND NONE: Your Chances of Becoming a Pro
THROWS LIKE A GIRL: The Woman Who Struck Out Ruth and Gehrig
CREATURE FEATURE: The Original Phanatic’s Best and Worst
UP A TREE: What It’s Like to Be the Stanford Mascot
GREENER GRASS: Tips from George Toma, a Legend in His Field
THE CRADLE: The Essence of Lacrosse
THE BIGGER THEY COME …: A Sports Promotion Gone Wrong
MIGHTIEST FIGHT (NONBOXING): The Day Santa Claus Dropped
His Gloves
FORE SCORE: The Best Presidential Golfer Might Surprise You
HARDWARE STORIES: The Tales Behind Some Famous Trophies
A BUMP UP: You May Never Be a Mogul, But You Can Ski One
THE VOICE OF GOD: The NFL’s Greatest Storyteller, John Facenda
THE LUCKIEST SPEECH: Lou Gehrig Almost Didn’t Give a Farewell
Address
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Native American youths in Florida circa 1564 shoot arrows, throw balls at targets placed atop
poles, and run races. This engraving, inspired by the paintings of sixteenth-century explorer
Jacques le Moyne de Morgues, was originally published in 1591.
Introduction
BY STEVE WULF
A few of our favorite things: the wooden frame that once held Carl Hubbell’s Hall of Fame
plaque; a 1924 New York Baseball Writers Dinner program, signed by Babe Ruth; a Babe
Parilli model leather helmet; a pin signed by members of the PBA tour, circa 1985; an Andy
Seminick model catcher’s mitt.
A
Babe Parilli leather helmet. A program autographed by Babe Ruth.
A Mickey Mantle Louisville Slugger bat. A bowling pin signed by
members of the PBA tour. A Jerry West figurine. An empty bag of 4
Bagger chewing tobacco. A Bo Belinsky button. A Bo Jackson Raiders
jersey.
Those are just some of the things I’ve acquired over time. A lot of stuff,
most of it scattered about my office, much of it having to do with baseball:
a Carl Yastrzemski McDonald’s glass, an ancient catcher’s mask, two seats
from Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, a Russian baseball poster, a sanitary
sock once worn by Doc Gooden, a ball autographed by the members of the
1936 Washington Senators, an old portable typewriter, a lineup card from
the 1993 World Series, a T-shirt that reads I COVERED THE PINE TAR
GAME. And a lot of years, most of them spent as a sportswriter who’s often
on the lookout for something that evokes the past or celebrates the moment.
My secret vice is pulling over at antiques stores or flea markets. I once
tried to buy a Duke Snider bat at an antiques store in Westmoreland, New
York, only to be told it was not for sale. “That’s what I use to confront
shoplifters,” said the lady proprietor. No bat, but I did get a San Francisco
Giants calendar with all three Alou brothers (Felipe, Matty, and Jesus) on
the cover.
In its own way, this book is kind of a flea market. A lot of stuff. A lot of
years. There are anecdotes, arguments, quotes, quizzes, lists, lessons,
histories, mysteries, speeches, facts, curios. It’s haphazard enough that you
can drop in anywhere. But it also has a logic to it that will become apparent
as you leaf through the pages.
I should point out that I am not the sole proprietor of the book. Most of
these items were suggested or written by others: colleagues at ESPN The
Magazine, ESPN Books, and Ballantine; friends and family; fellow youth
coaches; professional acquaintances. What they all had in common was a
curiosity about sports: these are some of the things they wanted to know
more about. There are 101 entries here, as well as an almost equal number
of random oddities and quotes.