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Willie O’Ree is a retired professional ice hockey player, known best for being the first black player in the National Hockey League. He played as a winger for the Boston Bruins. Additionally, he is referred to as the “Jackie Robinson of ice hockey” due to breaking the color barrier in the sport.

O’Ree was called up by the Boston Bruins to replace an injured layer. He was 95% blind in his right eye due to being hit there by an errant puck two years earlier, which normally would have precluded him from playing in the NHL. He managed to keep it secret and made his debut on January 18, 1958 against the Montreal Canadiens, becoming the first black player in league history. He found that racist remarks were much worse in the United States cities than in Toronto and Montreal – the lone Canadian cities with NHL teams.

After O’Ree, there were no other black players in the NHL until fellow Canadian Mike Marson was drafted by the Washington Capitals in 1974. There are 17 black players in the NHL as of the mid-2000s. NHL players are now required to enroll in a diversity training seminar before each season and racially based verbal abuse is punished through suspensions and fines. On January 27, 2008, the NHL honored O’Ree during the 56^th All-Star Game in Atlanta, Georgia.

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The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1, at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California. Nicknamed “The Granddaddy of Them All,” the Rose Bowl is the oldest bowl game. It was first played in 1902 and continuously since 1916. Since 1945, it has been the highest attended college football bowl game.

Originally titled the “Tournament East-West football game,” the first Rose Bowl was played on January 1, 1902, starting the tradition of New Year’s Day bowl games. The inaugural game featured Fielding Yost’s dominating 1901 Michigan team, representing the East, who crushed a previously 3-1-2 team from Stanford University, representing the West, by a score of 49-0 after Stanford quit in the third quarter. The game was so lopsided that for the next 15 years, officials ran chariot races, ostrich races and other various events instead of football.

On New Year’s Day in 1916, football returned to stay as Washington State University defeated Brown University in the first annual Rose Bowl. Before the Rose Bowl Stadium was built for the January 1, 1923 match, games were played in Pasadena’s Tournament Park. It was determined to be unsuitable for the larger and larger crowds gathering to watch the game and a new, permanent home for the game was commissioned.

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The first Grey Cup was played between the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and the Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club. The University of Toronto won the game 26-6. The Grey Cup’s legacy began in 1909, although it wasn’t the first time a Dominion senior rugby champion was declared. Teams from Eastern Canada had battled for the national championship since 1892, when Osgoode Hall defeated Universite de Montreal 45-5.

Albert Henry George Grey, Canada’s Governor General from 1904-1911, wanted to donate a trophy to Canada’s senior hockey champions, but Sir H. Montagu Allan beat him to it. Lord Grey was convinced to donate a trophy to the national rugby champions instead, and thus the Grey Cup was born. The first game for the new trophy featured the University of Toronto against the Parkdale Canoe Club. Many believed Parkdale wasn’t in the same league as the Varsity Blues.

Hugh Gail opened the scoring for the Varsity Blues with a 65-yard rouge, followed by the first try in Grey Cup history. Parkdale was given an ovation at halftime for its surprising play, but any hopes for an upset were dashed in the third quarter. Varsity Blues outscored Parkdale 9-1, highlighted by Murray Thompson’s major. The Varsity Blues players had to wait until the following March to officially celebrate as Grey’s staff forgot to have the trophy made before the game.

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Southern Airways Flight 932 was a chartered DC-9 commercial jet flight from Stallings Field in Kinston, North Carolina to Ceredo, West Virginia. On November 14, 1970, the aircraft crashed into a hill just short of the airport, killing all 75 people on board. The plane was carrying 37 members of the Marshall University football squad, eight members of the coaching staff, 25 boosters, and four flight crew members.

The team was returning home after a 17-14 loss against the East Carolina University Pirates. At the time, Marshall University’s athletic teams rarely traveled by plane. The team had originally planned to cancel the flight, but changed plans and chartered the DC-9. The aircraft collided with the tops of trees on a hillside west of the runway.

As a result of the impact, the plane burst into flames and the accident was deemed “unsurvivable.” On November 15, a memorial service was held at the Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse where there were moments of silence, remembrances, and prayers. Classes at Marshall were canceled. The crash almost led to the university football program being discontinued.

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Bobby Knight was born in Massillon, Ohio and is an American former college basketball head coach. He was most recently the head men’s basketball coach at Texas Tech before announcing his retirement on February 4, 2008. he was previously the head coach at Indiana University and at the United States Military Academy.

Knight has won more NCAA Division I men’s basketball games than any other head coach. On January 1, 2007, he achieved his 880^th victory, which broke the record previously held by Dean Smith. His 900^th victory came just over a year later, on January 16, 2008. From 1971-2000, Knight coached at Indiana, where he led his teams to three NCAA championships, one National Invitation Tournament (NIT), and 11 Big Ten Conference championships. He received the National Coach of the Year honor four times, and the Big Ten Coach of the Year honor six times.

In 1984, he coached the Michael Jordan-led U.S. Olympic basketball team to win a gold medal, becoming only one of three coaches to win the “triple crown” with an NCAA title, NIT title, and an Olympic gold medal. Due to his in-game behavior, Knight is one of the NCAA Division I college basketball’s most controversial coaches. He has thrown a chair across the court during a game and been arrested for physical assault.

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The Black Sox Scandal refers to a number of events that took place around and during the play of the 1919 World Series. Eight members of the Chicago franchise were banned from baseball for intentionally losing games, giving the victory to the Cincinnati Reds.

The conspiracy was the brainchild of White Sox first baseman Arnold “Chick” Gandil. He persuaded Joseph Sullivan, a friend and professional gambler, that the fix could be pulled off. New York gangster Arnold Rothstein supplied the money. Gandil enlisted several of his teammates, motivated by a dislike of club owner Charles Comisky, to implement the fix. Starting pitchers Eddie Cicotte and Claude “Lefty” Williams, outfielder Oscar “Happy” Felsch, and shortstop Charles “Swede” Risberg were all principally involved with Gandil.

Third baseman Buck Weaver was also asked to participate, but refused, and outfielder “Shoeless” Joe Jackson was also mentioned as a participant, though his involvement is disputed. Reportedly the eight players were told to lose Game 8 “or else,” and they were trounced by the Reds to end the Series. In September 1920, a grand jury was convened to investigate. During the investigation, two players confessed and Comisky suspended the seven players still in the majors. Prior to the trial, key evidence went missing and the players were acquitted but the Commissioner of Baseball banned all eight White Sox players from Major League Baseball for life.

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In baseball, the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” is the term given to the walk-off home run hit by New York Giants outfielder Bobby Thompson off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Bianca at the Polo Grounds to win the National League pennant on October 3, 1951. As a result of the “shot,” or home run, the Giants won the game 5-4, defeating the Dodgers in the series two games to one.

The phrase shot heard ‘round the world is from a classic poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson and in the cast of Thompson’s home run, it was particularly apt as U.S. servicemen fighting in the Korean War listened to the radio broadcast of the game. With one swing of Thompson’s bat, the Giants had turned near-certain defeat into sudden victory and a pennant. Seeing the ball disappear over the fence, Thompson hopped crazily around the bases, then disappeared into the mob of jubilant teammates that had gathered at home plate. The stunned Dodger players trudged off the field.

The official attendance of the fame was 34,320, a shockingly low number considering the importance of the game, the location of the opposing team, and the bitter rivalry between the two teams. However, this figure represents only the number of tickets sold before the game and does not account for people who had left work early and gone to the game. This game has been referenced in The Godfather, Don DeLillo’s novel Underworld, and an episode of M*A*S*H.

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The Thrilla in Manila is a famous boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, fought at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines on October 1, 1975. The bout is often ranked as one of the greatest fights of 20^th century boxing and is the climax of a bitter rivalry between Ali and Frazier.

The general consensus in Ali’s camp was that the boxer was doing Frazier a favor, giving him one last big payday before sending him off into retirement, and as a result Ali did little training. Frazier trained with grim and determined intensity having never forgiven Ali for the torrent of invective Ali had directed at him prior to their first fight. When they got into the ring, Frazier was an angry warrior whereas Ali was overconfident and underprepared. Ali came out with a flurry of combinations at Frazier who was hurt a number of times by Ali’s onslaught.

Much to Ali’s amazement, Frazier continued to come forward, intent on punishing Ali’s body at close range despite having to take more and more punishment. Ali wanted to make it a short fight and grew very frustrated with Frazier’s refusal to go down or stop coming forward. Ali began to tire and Frazier turned up his own offense. By the sixth round Frazier seemed to be gaining control of the bout. In the tenth round, Frazier began to slow down and tire and Ali slowly turned the tide. Frazier was effectively fighting blind in the last rounds of the fight. By the end of round 14, Frazier’s people stopped the fight and Ali was declared the victor.

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The Australia II is a 12-meter class yacht and the first successful challenger for the America’s Cup after 132 years. The boat was designed by Ben Lexcen and built by Stephen Ward. Alan Bond owned it and the boat was helmed by John Bertrand. Australia II featured an innovative winged keel design developed by Lexcen which helped make it very fast and manoeuvrable in many conditions.

This design feature was also the most controversial but legal part of the boat. As selection trials took place for the cup defence during the summer of 1983, it was unclear whether the keel design was legal within the strict rules governing the 12-meter class. Australia II was not the first boat to have a winged keel, though its success did much to make the concept popular. Also helping the Australians was new sail technology, finally equaling or exceeding that of the Americans.

Australia II represented the Royal Perth Yacht Club of Australia in its September 1983 challenge for the America’s Cup. The New York Yacht Club had held the cup since 1851, dominating challengers and sustaining the longest winning streak in the sport. Australia II came from behind to prevail four races to three. The victory on September 26, 1983 was a landmark event for the nation of Australia, not to mention the Royal Perth Yacht Club, and it eventually earned Australia II the ABC’s Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year for 1983.

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Guy Lafleur is a former professional ice hockey player that is widely regarded as one of the most naturally gifted and popular players ever to play the game. Between 1971 and 1991, he played for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Quebec Nordiques in an NHL career spanning 17 seasons and five Stanley Cup championships.

In his teens, Lafleur gained significant recognition for his play where he led his team to the Memorial Cup in 1971, scoring an amazing 130 regular-season goals. At first, he struggled to live up to expectations in the NHL but by 1974, he had developed his trademark smooth skating style and scoring touch. Lafleur was a cornerstone of five Stanley Cup championship teams and was one of the most popular players on a very popular team. At the conclusion of the 1979 season, several key players retired and the Canadiens’ dynasty came to an end. Injuries shortened Lafleur’s 1980-81 season and his production dropped significantly.

In the following seasons, he was overshadowed by Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky. During the 1984-85 season, he decided to retire after scoring only two goals in 19 games. After being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Lafleur returned briefly to the NHL from 1988-89 through 1990-91 with the New York Rangers and the Quebec Nordiques. He turned down a one million dollar offer from the Los Angeles Kings to end his career where it had started.

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