29
votes
Accepted
Did classical Romans wear any sort of swimwear?
The Romans, and indeed the classical world in general, would've usually swam in the nude. See for instance the following depictions of naked divers, though they are not precisely Roman.
Frescoes ...
20
votes
Accepted
What kind of football was played in 645 Japan?
It's referring to kemari, a variation of an ancient Chinese game of kicking a ball-like object around. Originally a military training exercise, it evolved into a sport played by teams of 12 - ...
14
votes
Did any black athletes other than Jesse Owens win any medals in the 1936 Berlin Olympics?
My uncle, "California" Jackie Wilson won the silver medal in the 1936 Berlin Olympics at bantamweight.
11
votes
Accepted
What was the impact of Fischer vs. Spassky 1972 on the relationship between the USA and the Soviet Union?
Minimal, it would seem. Hype and temporary 'bragging rights' aside, the championship was politically (not to mention economically) insignificant compared to events which happened just before, during ...
10
votes
Why are baseball pitches that miss the strike zone called "balls"?
In cricket scoring, a distinction is made between:
No-ball: "[A ball] unfairly bowled." - OED (1928)
A “No Ball” can be declared for many reasons: If the bowler bowls the ball from the ...
10
votes
Accepted
Why didn't Asian teams participate in the 1950 World Cup?
Only four Asian teams – Burma, India, Indonesia and the Philippines - entered the 1950 World Cup qualification rounds and these were placed in Group 10 with the top team qualifying for the finals in ...
10
votes
When was the first recorded example of a race competition in human history?
The earliest evidence of footraces may well be from Sumer around 2000 BC. You may also want to consider the Sed festival in Egypt which dates back to before 3000 BC and which involved the pharaoh ...
9
votes
Accepted
Aside from Henry VIII, did a king ever take part in a joust as an unknown knight (incognito)?
Yes. King Edward III took part in more than 50 tournaments, sometimes incognito. His son and heir, the Black Prince, also jousted incognito, as did many knights during Edward III's reign.
The Annales ...
7
votes
Accepted
When did podium girls first appear?
The following is just a first approximation, and focusses on the Tour de France.
Most books I consulted either never mention any female in connection to the race and instead celebrate pure male ...
7
votes
Accepted
Why did Americans stop calling the Olympic basketball team the "Dream Team"?
If you go to the Wikipedia page for "Dream Team", it redirects you to a page titled 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team, and for my money, that's your answer.
"Dream Team" is really only ...
5
votes
Why didn't Asian teams participate in the 1950 World Cup?
The excuse given was apparently that FIFA had instituted a rule prohibiting players from playing barefoot But the real reasons, according to Saileen Manna, seem to be that financing both the World Cup ...
5
votes
Accepted
Did Pele spark a 48-hour ceasefire during the Nigerian Civil War?
The story appears to be exaggerated and conflated with other events close in time. It is an unusual topic for historians, and the press has the habit of considering previous news stories from itself ...
5
votes
Accepted
What is the connection between the rise of modern football in the UK and the shortening of the work week?
Short Answer
While the shortening of the work week from the late 1840s onwards was certainly a factor in the rise of modern football (or soccer), it was only one of several changing circumstances ...
4
votes
What came before the Zamboni?
In the British Ice Hockey League ca. 1948 at the end of the period a staggered line of white-dust jacketed men with wide brooms swept the ice - in step - marching really, until they had the surface ...
4
votes
Why do people in Melbourne Victoria Australia get a public holiday for a horse race
According to the Public Record Office of Victoria website, the secretary of the Victorian Racing Club, R.C. Bagot asked for it from the Chief Secretary’s Department:
At that time provisions existed ...
4
votes
Why was the US table tennis team sent to communist China even after a difference in ideology?
In 1971 or thereabouts, President Richard Nixon decided on a policy of "normalization" of relations with China. The arrival of the U.S. pingpong team was the first "feeler" in this process.
This was ...
3
votes
Accepted
How were knee injuries treated in Ancient Greece?
The most common injuries to the knee are occurring in the bones, muscles, cartilage, meniscus, ligaments and tendons. These have to be considered for antiquity between being known, identified and ...
3
votes
Accepted
Did a sumo referee ever actually commit ritual suicide over a reversed decision?
No. It never happened in the history of sumo. Gyoji, sumo referee and Beginning of Sumo [Answered by Ikeda]
3
votes
When was the last bull & bear fight in California?
The last of these, that we have record of, seems to have occurred in 1880, in San Diego County. This is hinted at by a couple of modern publications. The 1985 book A Spaceship Called Earth: Our ...
3
votes
Why did the Australian IOC deny that Peter Norman was excluded from the 1972 Olympics for supporting racial equality?
Here's a counter from an informed source (I'm not making any value judgement as to accuracy):
http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/display-article?arId=131686
The comment by T.E.D. about the ...
2
votes
What are the ancient origins of the Medicine Ball?
I am not able to give a full answer, but I wanted to offer a partial one, I stumbled upon: My guess would be, that some of this can be traced back to Galen's "The Exercise With The Small Ball"[^1] ("...
1
vote
Were families allowed to watch boys swim naked at the YMCA before the 70s?
Yes, according to one blog that I found.
And then there were the parents day events and swim meets. Parents and family members were allowed to attend including Moms and sisters and whoever they might ...
1
vote
Was there ever a type of powered model car/vehicle racing, where the cars were in no way controlled, and were all on the one single shared track?
I think you may be talking about Mini 4WD world.
It is born in 1982 in Japan by producer Tamiya, and has since evolved and has spread around the globe.
There are championship, and lot of enthusiast in ...
1
vote
When was the first recorded example of a race competition in human history?
Mortuary complex of Sahure
Perhaps debatably, the first record of racing could come from the mortuary temple of Sahure where it is claimed on wikipedia that racing boats for the military are depicted.
...
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