The first Super Bowl was covered by CBS and NBC both. They fought over who should cover it – CBS had rights to the NFL, NBC to the AFL – and finally decided that they would both do it.
In rhythmic gymnastics, exposure of bra straps is an automatic deduction.
African-Americans played in the NFL from 1920-33, then not at all from 1934-45.
A false start in the 1904 Olympics resulted in a two-yard penalty.
Until 1938, records were not counted in hurdle events if any hurdles were knocked over.
In early auto races, including the Indianapolis 500, two people rode in the car: a driver and a mechanic. Also, relief drivers were routine at Indy.
The winner of the second Boston Marathon, in 1898, was named Ronald McDonald.
The first televised sporting event was of a college baseball game, in Japan in 1931.
Winners at the first modern Olympics in 1896 were presented with olive branches and silver medals, while runners-up received laurel boughs and bronze medals. Gold medals for winners were first awarded in 1900.
In the 1908 Olympic marathon in London, the route was the 26 miles from Windsor Castle to the Olympic Stadium, concluding with 385 yards around the stadium track so that the finish would be directly in front of the royal box of Queen Alexandra. The distance of 26 miles and 385 yards became standard for the marathon.
The first modern Olympic swimming competition was held outdoors in open water, in 1896, in the Bay of Zea, Greece.
There were no written rules forbidding African-Americans from playing professional baseball. In the last two decades of the 19th century, approximately 30 African-Americans played organized ball. In the 20th century, the first one is Jimmy Claxton, who pitched briefly in 1916 for the Oakland Oaks in the Pacific Coast League.
Foul balls were not counted as strikes until 1901 in the National League and 1903 in the American League, except for foul bunts and foul tips.
Figure skating was part of the Summer Olympics until 1924, when the first Winter Olympics were staged.
During the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932, when the U.S. was in the midst of Prohibition, French team members were given special permission to drink wine because they argued that it was an essential part of their diet.
In the Calgary Flames’ 13-1 trouncing of the San Jose Sharks on February 10, 1993, Flames goaltender Jeff Reese had 3 assists (not suprisingly, it’s the NHL record for a goaltender).
The Houston Astrodome had natural grass during its first season in 1965. In 1966, an Astroturf infield was put in, and later that year the outfield surface was changed.
Roger Maris received no intentional walks in 1961, the year that he hit a then-record 61 home runs. Batting behind him was Mickey Mantle, who hit 54 home runs that season.
In tennis doubles, if the server hits either opponent with a serve on the fly, the serving team gets the point.
There is a World Elephant Polo Association (in Chitwan, Nepal).
In 1890, two legs of horse-racing's Triple Crown – the Belmont and the Preakness – were run on the same track, New York's Morris Park, on the same day, June 10.
The distance from home plate to second base is 127 feet 3-3/8 inches.
The Tour de France bicycle race used to include several legs of night riding.
The official baseball rulebook requires that a major league stadium built after June 1, 1958, must be a minimum distance of 325 feet from home to the nearest fence and a minimum of 400 feet from home to the center-field fence.
There was an Olympics in 1906, in between the 1904 and 1908 Games, called the Intercalated or Interim Games.
In 1952, all three medalists in the Olympic individual foil competition were left-handed.
If a greyhound catches the mechanical rabbit (because of mechanical failure), it's considered a "no race."
Jack Nicklaus played for Upper Arlington High School, whose nickname is the Golden Bears.
Boston Red Sox slugger Jim Rice once broke his bat in two on a checked swing.
On September 4, 1916, Mordecai Brown and Christy Mathewson, both future Hall of Famers, pitched against each other in what was the final major league game for each.
In 1975, Houston Astros first baseman Bob Watson scored the one millionth run in major league history.
The wind reading for Bob Beamon's world-record long jump at the 1968 Olympics was 2.0 miles per hour, the exact legal maximum.
The original suggested name for basketball was Naismith Ball.
In Auckland, New Zealand, on April 16, 1983, Kenya's Mike Boit ran the fastest mile ever – 3:28.36, about 15 seconds faster than the current world record. His time was not official because the course was downhill all the way.
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