From the original Ancient Grecian Olympics to last year’s Super Bowl, sports have been around for millennia. Today’s public, however, often doesn’t know the history of some of the nation’s favorite sports. Here you can find some relevant, monumental and inspiring games that have changed the future of sports forever.
January 22
National Association of Baseball Players was founded (1857)
The National Association of Baseball Players was founded in New York. Before the convention, which established official rules of the game, the rules had largely been decided by the prestigious Knickerbockers Club. By the end of the Civil War, it had grown to over 100 clubs from all over the Union, reaching over 300 teams by 1867.
World’s first live radio commentary of a soccer match (1927)
The first radio broadcast of a football match (soccer) was a First Division League match that was played on Jan. 22, 1927, between Arsenal and Sheffield United in England. A local paper, The Radio Times, published a sketch of the field divided into sections and labeled with numbers. This was an improvement over the previous methods which of Rugby coverage which had been confusing to listeners. The commentator would call out the number of the location of the players on the field and then describe what actions were taking place.
January 27
First US college basketball game (1894)
The first U.S. college basketball game was played between the University of Chicago and the Chicago YMCA. The University of Chicago beat Chicago YMCA 19-11. Today the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision consists of 129 teams with over 50 million viewers according to statista.com.
January 28
First college sports letter (1904)
Jan. 28 marks the first day college sports letters were awarded to a college team in the US. Senior football players at the University of Chicago’s football team received blankets with letter “C” on them. Since then most colleges and high schools have adopted the practice of sports letters, most of the time accompanied with a “letterman jacket,” which is either bought or given as an award for performance in sports.
American Pro Football Association renamed “National Football League” (1922)
The beloved National Football League (NFL) as we know it didn’t exist. Various other leagues of football players had been formed including the American Pro Football Association. The Association was renamed to what we all know now as the NFL.
The Soviet Union wins 62-37 Against United States (1959)
In the midst of the Cold War, which lasted from 1947 to 1991, tensions between the Soviet Union and the U.S. met on many fronts including sports. On Jan. 28, 1959, the Soviet victory against the United States marked the first international loss for the U.S. Basketball team.
