Babe Ruth

George Herman Ruth was possibly the greatest baseball player of all time; certainly he was the most famous.   He was the “Sultan of Swat,” the “Bambino,” or simply the “Babe.”

Babe Ruth made the home run a new force in baseball, and so changed the way the game was played.   Fans in enormous numbers came to see him hit.  In the 1920s, at the peak of his game, Babe Ruth was as well known as anyone in America.

Ruth began his major-league career with the Boston Red Sox in 1915 – as a pitcher.  He became one of the best in the league, pitching a remarkable 29 straight scoreless innings in World Series play.  But he was also so powerful a hitter that he played in the outfield between pitching starts.   In 1919, pitcher-outfielder Ruth hit 29 home runs, breaking the season record set in 1884.

In 1920, Ruth, now a full-time outfielder, became a New York Yankee and his career climbed to new heights.  

Home runs crashed off his bat at an astonishing pace – 54 in his first Yankee season.

In 1921, he hit 59 home runs.  Ruth used a heavy 52-ounce bat and took a long stride, his quick powerful swing with its slight uppercut sent home runs soaring over high fences.  In 1927, he hit 60 homers, still the record for a 154-game season.

Over his twenty year major league career, 1915 to 1935, Babe Ruth had a home run for every 11.78 times that he came to bat.

The America's Cup

Masts straining and sails stretched full with wind, two sleek racing yachts knife through the ocean at top speed.   They are vying for the America’s Cup, the most sought-after prize in yacht racing.

America’s Cup races date back to 1851, when the schooner America sailed from New York to England.  There, America beat a group of British yachts in a 60-mile race to win a trophy called the Hundred-Guinea Cup.  In 1857, America’s owners gave the prize to the New York Yacht Club, and it became an international challenge trophy – the America’s Cup.

America’s Cup competitions usually take place every three or four years.   Each participating country holds races to select the yacht and crew that will represent it.   Then the winners from around the world travel to the defending nation to compete for the cup in a series of elimination races.   For 132 years, U.S. yachts defeated all challengers winning the cup 25 times.  Then, in 1983, an Australian yacht, Australia II, won the trophy.  The American yacht Stars and Stripes, skippered by Dennis Conner, won it in 1987.  But New Zealand triumphed in 1995 when Black Magic beat Conner’s Young America in five straight races.

One of the yachts that sought to represent the U.S. in the 1995 America’s Cup contest had a crew of 15 women and only one man.   Its name was the Mighty Mary.

Indianapolis 500

The roar of 33 high-powered engines fills the air. Around the track, the cheers of 300,000 fans mix with the thunderous sounds of straining motors. Finally, after 500 miles of grueling, heart-pounding racing, one driver crosses the finish line as the winner of the world’s greatest autorace: the Indianapolis 500.

The first Indy 500 was run in 1911, just two years after former racer Carl Fisher built the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. At that time, many states were outlawing road races because bigger, faster cars made auto racing dangerous. Fisher built a 2.5-mile oval track where carmakers could more safely test new cars and racers could compete for prizes. The first Indy was won by Ray Harroun, whose average speed was 74.5 miles an hour.

Today, high-tech Indy cars, which cost up to $300,000, race around the oval at speeds averaging 160 miles per hour. Driving such fast cars requires quick reflexes, a steady hand, strong nerves, endurance, and more than just a little luck. But winning the Indy 500 guarantees a driver’s place in the history books, as well as racing’s largest prize. The record for most Indianapolis 500 victories – four – is shared by three drivers: Al Unser, A.J. Foyt, and Rick Mears.

In its early days, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was paved with 3.2 million bricks. Today, Indy 500 driver’s race on an asphalt surface.

Early Days of Golf

Golf began in Scotland hundreds of years ago, but it did not begin to interest Americans until the 1880s. Golf clubs sprang up in Foxburg, Pennsylvania; Yonkers, New York; and elsewhere. And in 1894, these early clubs banded together to form the United States Golf Association (USGA), which established rules for the game and organized official tournaments. The first men’s tournament was played at the Newport (Rhode Island) Country Club in 1895.

At first, golf was a game only for the wealthy. But in 1913, a young sporting-goods salesman and former caddy named Francis Ouiment beat the best British golfers in the U.S. Open tournament. Ouiment’s surprise victory brought new attention to the sport. Soon there were golfing “duffers” across America, playing on private and public courses. Prizes were offered at major tournaments, and professional golfers could earn a living by competing. Gradually, Americans cam to dominate th game.

Why did golf become so popular in the United States? Because, said one humorist, it combined “two favorite American pastimes: taking long walks and hitting things with sticks,”

Golf was an official event at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri. But it was dropped from later competitions because it was not considered an “ideal” Olympic sport.

Mark Spitz Wins Seven Gold Medals

The starter’s gun fired, and a 22-year-old American dived into the swimming pool. He plunged in and out of the water as he took a commanding lead in the 200-meter butterfly. Mark Spitz was on his way to his first gold medal at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. Incredibly, he would win six more golds---more than anyone had ever won in a single Olympics.

This wasn’t Spitz’s first success. In 1967, at age 17, he had already set world records in butterfly and freestyle events. His coach predicted that he would win six gold medals at the 1968 Olympics, but he won only two. He continued to compete as a member of Indiana University’s national champion swim team, and was named outstanding amateur athelete in 1971.

At Munich in 1972, Spitz was at his peak. There he won four gold medals in individual races: the 100- and 200-meter freestyle and the 100- and 200-meter butterfly. He also won three other golds in team rely races. All seven events set new world records. Spitz retired from amateur athletics after the Olympics, having set world records 35 times during his sensational career.

During the 1972 Olympics, Palestinian terrorists killed two Isrraeli athletes and took nine others hostage. The tragic incident ended in a gun battle in which 15 people died.

Muhammad Ali

During the 1960s and 1970s, no person in American sports was more famous than world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali. Ali’s fame resulted from more than just his boxing title. He was an outspoken supporter of civil rights, and a role model for young African-Americans. He also had a noteworthy personality and a gift for creating amusing poems.

One poem was a description of his speed and precise punching in the ring. One line was “Floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee.”

Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. in 1942, he first came to world attention in 1960 when he won the light-heavyweight Olympic boxing championship. Following this amateur victory he turned professional and in 1964 took the heavyweight title away from Sonny Liston. In a rematch, Liston went down in the first round for another Ali victory.

The boxing authorities took Ali’s title away in 1967 when he refused military service in the Vietnam War for religious reasons; the U.S. Supreme Court reversed this decision in 1971.

Ali went on to defeat George Foreman in 1974 and regain the championship. In 1978, he lost to Leon Spinks, but then defeated him the same year, thus becoming the only boxer to win the title three times. Ali retired in 1981 with a remarkable record of 55 wins and just 5 losses.

Early Days of Baseball

"Play ball!" the umpire shouts. The batter steps up to home plate. The pitcher winds up and fires the ball. The batter begins his swing, the bat cracks, and the crowd roars. Another baseball game has begun.

Baseball, America's "national pastime," grew out of a children's game called "rounders" or "town ball." As in baseball, batters tried to hit a ball with a bat and run to a base. But in "town ball," fielders threw the ball at the runners, who were out if they were hit. This was called "plugging" the runner.

Alexander Cartwright, a New York bank teller, formed the first adult baseball team in 1845 and made rules for the game. He set four bases 90 feet apart in a diamond pattern, gave each team three outs per inning, and eliminated "plugging."

Soon many eastern cities had baseball teams. During the Civil War, soldiers taught the game to troops from other states, and baseball spread around the country. The first professional league, the National League, was formed in 1876.

Today, millions of fans still heed the words of the 1908 song, Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Parents still teach their children to catch and throw. And youngsters still dream of smashing game-winning home runs.

The first World Series was played in 1903. The Boston Red Sox beat Pittsburgh's National League team five games to three.