One of the coolest topics that can ever be brought up amongst friends is interesting sports facts that few people know about. These facts have a tendency to lead to strong yet friendly reactions as well as good conversation. Most importantly, these rarely known sports facts open people’s eyes to what the sports world used to be like as well as how much change has taken place in such a short period of time. Let’s take a look at 10 Sports Facts You Never Knew.
Yankees Rules
The Yankees have a stronger tradition than any other sports team in America. They have 27 World Series titles. Nobody else even comes close. They’re also the team that greats like Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle called home. That being the case, it should come as no surprise that they were also the team that began a very important tradition, which was to associate baseball players with their numbers. This is ironic considering they’re one of the few teams without names on their backs today.
Babe Ruth And #3
Sticking with baseball and uniform numbers, do you know why Babe Ruth wore #3? Would you like to take a guess? You might think it has something to do with how many home runs he hit or his high strikeouts, but it’s neither. Babe Ruth wore #3 simply because he batted 3rd.
A Baseball’s Lifespan
Our final baseball fact relates to a baseball’s in-game lifespan. Have you ever paid attention to how long a baseball stays in a game? If so, you would know that the average in-game lifespan for a baseball is only 5.7 pitches.
A City’s Unity
Let’s switch over to football. Did you know that there is one city in which all three sports teams wear the same color? Do you know which city? Take a minute before reading the next sentence. If you still haven’t figured it out, here’s a hint: they all wear black and gold. Yes, it’s Pittsburgh.
That’s A Penalty!
When you watch football, do you see a lot of penalties? Of course you do. They’re all over the place. The referees need to chill out so we can all enjoy the game. Now can you imagine if an incomplete pass resulted in a 15-yard penalty? Well, that was the rule in 1910. That must have been rough. Then again, they didn’t have penalties like unnecessary roughness, hitting a defenseless receiver and excessive celebration.
The Width Of A Football Field
We all know that a football field is 100 yards long, but do you know the width of a football field? If you guessed 50 yards, that’s a good guess, but it’s incorrect. A football field is 53 1/3 yards wide.
This Is Not A Band
Here’s an even more interesting football fact. Because of World War II, the Steelers and Eagles lost too many players to form their teams. Their solution was to form the Steagles.
No Fouls
Wilt Chamberlin was one of the most famous basketball players of all time. After all, he did score 100 points in a game. More interesting, though, is the fact that he never fouled out of a game. Hard to believe, but true.
Puck-To-Face
In hockey, there is a face-off. However, it wasn’t always called a face-off. Back in the day it was called a puck-off.
The Longest Fights Ever
Boxing might not be as popular today as it was a few decades ago. Maybe that’s because the fights aren’t long enough. You might be thinking 12 rounds is way too long. Well … prior to 1900, boxing matches could last up to 100 rounds.
There you have it, 10 Sports Facts You Never Know. Share them with your friends and family. They’ll appreciate it.
About the author: John Fisher has been playing Trivia Pursuit for several years. You could say he is addicted to trivia questions. No one will compete against him in sports trivia, because he can’t be beaten.