Interesting Sports Facts/trivia

[Brody]

I'll get us started...

The first team to ever have 4 players achieve 1,000 yard seasons in one year was the 1995 Atlanta Falcons.  Bert Emanuel, Terrance Mathis and Eric Metcalf went over 1,000 receiving and Ironhead Heyward surpassed the 1,000 mark rushing. Despite this, Jeff George still wanted out.

Go....

[AvDaBr]

Oscar Robertson is the only player to average a triple-double for an entire season, which is probably common knowledge among basketball enthusiasts.  What probably isn't as known is that he averaged a triple-double over the entirety of his first five combined seasons, all while averaging over 30 PPG.

[cweb]

Before Colin Kaepernick in Super Bowl 47, who was the last 49ers QB to take a snap in the Super Bowl?

If you said Steve Young in Super Bowl 29, you'd be wrong.

If you said Elvis Grbac in Super Bowl 29, you'd still be wrong.

The right answer is Bill Musgrave.

[Brody]

http://listverse.com/2015/06/26/10-sporting-events-plagued-by-human-rights-abuses/

Of course, the Cup of Nations does have something of a track record when it comes to letting monstrous dictatorships host. Take the 1982 tournament, which was held in Muammar Gadhafi’s Libya, already a something of a regional pariah for its military intervention in Chad. Ironically, Gadhafi hated football and had even closed the Libyan league down from 1979â€"1982. (In one version of the story, the dictator became insanely jealous after seeing the names of popular footballers written on a wall in Tripoli.) He agreed to host the 1982 Cup to further his diplomatic goals but still insisted on opening the tournament with the stirring words: “All you stupid spectators, have your stupid game.”

Sadly, not everyone in Gadhafi’s family felt the same way. His son Al-Saadi actually loved football so much he decided to become a professional player. He wasn’t talented enough, but you don’t need talent when you’re a rich maniac with your dad’s army to back you up. Soon Al-Saadi was the star striker in a Libyan league so heavily rigged in his favor that announcers were forbidden from saying the names of any other players. If a team tried to protest the obvious cheating, they would be forced to keep playing at gunpoint. Al-Saadi’s glittering career only took a nose-dive when he leveraged Libya’s oil money to engineer a hilariously corrupt move to the Italian top division, where he played for less than half an hour over three years, failed a drug test, and was voted the league’s worst player ever. He is currently on trial in Libya for murdering a rival footballer.

---

According to a 1978 players poll, almost 86% of NFL players claimed they played w/o a cup

---
QB Jim Hardy of the 1950 Chicago Cardinals - threw 8 ints and fumbled twice in one game.  He tossed 6 TDs the next week and went on to the Pro Bowl.

---
Dick "Night Train" Lane snagged an NFL record 14 ints as a rookie CB - but wasn't named to the Pro Bowl (race is believed to be a factor)
---

The 1929 Packers Played EIGHT straight road games and allowed only 22 points to be scored against them over 13 games....and managed to NOT go undefeated

---
Former Packer QB TJ Rubley (most famous for calling an audible on a run play and tossing a INT to cost the Packers a victory over the Vikings in 1995, then being cut in favor of Jim McMahon right after) is brothers in law with Sly Stallone

---

Packer Kicker Chester Marcol had one of the most memorable plays ever, when he caught his own blocked FG in overtime and ran it in for a TD vs The Bears in 1980, later that year the Packers cut Marcol and he stayed living in GB...The Oilers came to town, and their Kicker was hurt late in the week, so they signed Marcol because he was close, let him play one game (vs The Pack) and then cut him. Marcol never left town.

[3OctaveFart]

The 1985 Chargers were the only team in post-merger NFL history to lead the league in most yards gained and most yards allowed.

[PB the Deplorable]

Frank 'Home Run' Baker led the AL in home runs four straight years 1911-14, never hitting more than 12 in a single season.

He got the nickname after hitting 2 in the 1911 World Series.

[PB the Deplorable]

In 1941 Joe DiMaggio hit .357, with 30 HRs, 125 RBIs, and scored 122 runs.  He struck out 13 times. 

The most he ever struck out in a single season was 39 in 1936, his rookie year.

[PB the Deplorable]

From 1972 to 1975 knuckleballer Wilber Wood's annual Won/Loss records for the Chicago White Sox were 24-17, 24-20, 20-19, and 16-20 in 49, 48, 42, and 43 starts.

[PB the Deplorable]

In 1972 the Philadelphia Phillies were 59-97.  Steve Carlton's record for them that year was 27-10.

[GravitySucks]

When the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, they swept it against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Due to the curse of the Bambino, they had not won a World Series since 1918.

During the ALCS, the NY Yankees were up 3 games to 0, and were ahead 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth of the 4th game. The Red Sox won that game and swept the next 3, becoming the first team to win a seven game series after being down 3-0.

Game 4 of the World Series was the 1,111th postseason game in MLB history. They had to win 8 games in a row to hit the magic number of 1,111.


The Cubs have not been that lucky. The curse of the goat is still upon them.

[akwilly]

Not counting Kickers Tom Brady will be the oldest player in the NFL. Oddly he is the favorite to win MVP.

[akwilly]

Amazingly enough Michael Phelps won a gold medal while taking a bath.

[PB the Deplorable]

Before the NHL expanded for the 1967-1968 season there were only 6 teams in the league (the Original Six were the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, NY Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Montreal Canadiens).

Until winning the Cup following the 1993-94 season, the Rangers had not won it since 1940 despite there being only 6 teams in the league over half of those years.

[PB the Deplorable]

When the NHL was comprised of 6 teams, 4 made it to the playoffs.

A playoff team had to win two best of seven series to win the Stanley Cup, or a total of 8 games.  The octopus thrown on the ice in Detroit symbolizes those 8 games.

[PB the Deplorable]

In 1959 Harvery Haddix of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitched a perfect game through 12 innings against the Milwaukee Braves and lost.

Going into the 13th, Haddix had faced 36 batters and retired 36 batters.  Unfortunately for him, Lew Burdette of the Braves was also pitching a shutout.

In the bottom of the 13th the Brave's Felix Mantilla reached base on an error to end the perfect game.  He was bunted over to second.  Hank Aaron drew a walk.  Joe Adcock then hit an apparent home run to end the no hitter and the game, but in the excitement Aaron left the base path and was passed by Adcock who was then credited with a game ending double with the final official score 1-0, Braves.


There have been 5 other games when the pitchers threw no hitters but lost, although 3 of those were by the road team so the winning home team didn't come to bat in the 9th.

[Autistic Star Children]

Stephan Curry has already set the single season record for 3 point shots made, and we have 20 games to go.

GS Warriors have the longest home winning streak in basketball history, 47. Streak is ongoing.

GS Warriors on pace to break the all time single season record for wins.

When the Warriors lost for the first time this season (After setting the record for most consecutive wins to start a season in NBA History) it was the last game of the longest road trip for any team this season, The latter half of back to back games, No Klay Thompson and took two overtimes.

Nobody in the NBA will travel more miles this season than Golden State, unless the Atlanta Hawks make the playoffs as a non-host and play the maximum amount of away games and don't face Golden State in the finals.

You may be witnessing the single greatest season in the history of the NBA, yet the Spurs are still only 3 games behind.

Amazing stuff

[akwilly]

What is the fewest pitches a pitcher can throw in a 9 inning game? 25 and he would be the losing pitcher also.

[Mind Flayer Monk]

If you said Elvis Grbac in Super Bowl 29, you'd still be wrong.

You nailed me. I thought I was going to be a smart guy and guess Grbac.

[3OctaveFart]

Wish Ed Coyle were here for this topic. Eddie, your fans miss you. Come out and blow us a kiss on this thread.

[PChirp]

Wish Ed Coyle were here for this topic. Eddie, your fans miss you. Come out and blow us a kiss on this thread.

Miss you too, Eddie.  Wish I could contact you way out in the 'proverbial' cornfield.  Miss your commentary.   

[3OctaveFart]

He had a rough edge but 98.6% of this site does, and nobody on the board could match him for skill.

In keeping with the thread, the shortest kickoff return for a touchdown in the history of the NFL? Oakland's Derrick Jensen, 33 yards against the Giants, in 1980. On an on-sider.

[GravitySucks]

In 1991, Ferguson Jenkins became the first Canadian born player to be inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame.

In 1971, on Opening Day, Fergie pitched a 10 inning complete game and won the first of his 24 wins that year. Amazingly, he pitched 30 complete games in his 39 starts that year.

That same year he hit 6 home runs and had 20 RBIs in spite of only having 115 at bats. He was the Cy Young award winner in 1971, the first time the award was given to a Canadian born player.

[AvDaBr]

Bruce (now Caitlyn ) Jenner was world famous for his accomplishments as a track and field athlete.  After winning the gold in the decathlon in the  '76 Olympics, and despite not having played basketball since high school, the Kansas City Kings drafted him in the seventh round (139th overall pick) of the NBA draft.  He never played. 

Two picks earlier Lusia Harris (Delta State University) was chosen by the New Orleans Jazz, making her the second female to be drafted by an NBA team.  In 1969 the San Francisco Warriors had drafted Denise Long, a highschool senior from Whitten, Iowa who had averaged 62.8 PPG her senior year.  That selection was voided by the league however, so Harris is officially the only female to ever be drafted- unless you count Caitlyn.  Like Jenner, Harris never played in the league.  She did, however, become the first woman inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

[GravitySucks]

Mario Lemieux is the only player in the NHL to score 5 goals in a single game in 5 different ways.  On December 31, 1988, he scored an even-strength goal, a short handed goal, a power play goal, a penalty shot, and finally an empty net goal. Mario scored 5 goals in a single game four different times in his career.

[cweb]

You nailed me. I thought I was going to be a smart guy and guess Grbac.

Yep. The rookie Grbac came in, but only attempted one pass. Bill Musgrave came in for the final drive and had the last completion for the 49ers.

Last NHL goaltender to play without a mask?

Andy Brown. Played for the Pens until '74, then was in the WHA until '77.

[trostol]

Steve Carlton's amazing year of 1972

Carlton led the majors with 27 wins for a team that won a total of 59 games. That means he was responsible for 46 percent of the Phils’ victories. Aside from the wins, he led the league with a 1.97 ERA, 310 strikeouts and a WAR of 12.2.