The Sports Archives Blog

The Sports Archives Greatest Moments – Boxing’s “The Fighter” Micky Ward

Posted on January 15, 2011 by thesportsarchives

The movie, “The Fighter”, starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale is about the life and times of former junior welterweight boxer, “Irish” Micky Ward.

Ward started his career out strong, winning his first 14 fights, but then took time off after losing 4 consecutive bouts. After surgery on Ward’s right hand, his half-brother and former boxer, Dicky Eklund (played by Christian Bale) convinced Ward to go back into the ring, during a time when Eklund was experiencing his own personal trauma.

Ward’s return to boxing was a success and it set the stage for what would become three of the most tenacious fights against evenly matched Arturo Gatti. The fights were so intense that both men required trips to the hospital. Ward managed to win the first of the trilogy, however, Gatti was victorious in the last two. All were won by decision despite knockdowns by both boxers!

Sugar Ray Leonard, who beat Dicky Eklund in a unanimous decision in 1978, makes a cameo appearance.

"The Fighter" Theatrical Poster

Posted in Boxing | Tagged Arturo Gatti, Christian Bale, Dicky Eklund, Greatest Moments, Mark Wahlberg, Micky Ward, Sports Archives, Sugar Ray Leonard, The Fighter | 5 Comments

The Sports Archives History Lesson – Rocket Richard Riot

Posted on January 12, 2011 by thesportsarchives

The anglophone and the francophone have shared a history in Canadien hockey. Perhaps in the 1950s, there was more of a rivalry then one cared to notice. The francophone Maurice “The Rocket” Richard did more than score goals, he also amassed many penalty minutes for his rough style of play. Consequently, he was handed down many fines and suspensions from the NHL President and anglophone, Clarence Campbell, as disciplinary action.

On March 13, 1955, in a game between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens, Richard injures a Bruin in deliberate fashion and punches a linesman. Campbell responds harshly, suspending Richard for the rest of the season. This causes quite a stir because Richard was seeking to win the scoring title and the Canadiens were in first place seeking another Stanley Cup.

Well, Campbell must have had a death wish, because he goes and attends the next Montreal home game at the Montreal Forum and that was just too much for the Habs. They throw food at him and a riot ensues inside and outside the Forum, complete with looting and tear gas. So goes the “Rocket Richard Riot” of St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1955.

More about “The Rocket” and the riot here.

Posted in Hockey | Tagged 1955 St. Patricks Day, Boston Bruins, Clarence Campbell, Maurice Richard, Montreal Canadiens, NHL, Richard Riot, Rocket Richard, Sports Archives, Sports History Lesson | 1 Comment

The Sports Archives Greatest Moments – Hockey Goals 2 Seconds Apart!

Posted on January 11, 2011 by thesportsarchives

In a game between the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues on December 19, 1987, the Blues’ Doug Gilmour scored just 2 seconds after Ken Linseman scored for the Bruins.

The Blues were up 6-4 when Linseman closed the gap to 6-5 with 10 seconds left in the game. On the following face-off at center ice, the Bruins had pulled the goaltender for an extra skater and when the puck was dropped, Gilmour smacked it directly at the empty net which took 2 seconds to get there! Official time of the goal was 19:52 and the Blues won the game 7-5.

Posted in Hockey | Tagged Boston Bruins, Doug Gilmour, Fastest Time Between Goals, Hockey Goals 2 Seconds Apart, Ken Linseman, St. Louis Blues | 1 Comment

The Sports Archives Greatest Moments – Maradona’s Hand of God Goal

Posted on January 9, 2011 by thesportsarchives

Diego Maradona is still considered one of the greatest soccer players in the world, despite a history of misfortune. With his deceptive style of dribbling and quick bursts of speed, he was able to lead Argentina to World Cup victory in 1986. His ball-handling with his feet wasn’t the only thing deceptive about his play in the 1986 World Cup. He scored the first goal in Argentina’s 2-1 quarter-final victory against England in a very deceptive style. In what looked to be a Maradona header into England’s goal turned out to be ball deflected in by Maradona’s hand. Replays clearly showed Maradona raising his hand and punching at the ball. However, the goal stood.

Maradona later described the goal as coming from a little with his head and little with the hand of God. It wasn’t until 2005 that Maradona confessed that he purposely hit the ball with his hand and immediately knew that it should not have counted. His second goal that day against England stands out as of the greatest goals in the history of the World Cup, running half-field with the ball at his feet and blowing by five English defenders before putting it home.

After the 1986 World Cup, things turned worse for Maradona as he failed a drug test for the 1994 World Cup and was banished from the tournament. His drug addiction, alcohol abuse and personal problems would continue until 2005 at which time his deteriorating health forced him to clean up his act.

In 2010, Maradona coached the Argentina National team in the 2010 World Cup losing to Germany in the quarter-finals.

Maradona Hand of God Goal

Posted in Soccer | Tagged 1986 World Cup, 2010 World Cup, Argentina, Diego Maradona, England, Germany, Greatest Moments, Hand of God, Sports Archives | 1 Comment

The Sports Archives Greatest Moments – Brandi Chastain clinching 1999 Women’s World Cup

Posted on January 7, 2011 by thesportsarchives

You could not have designed a better finish to the Women’s 1999 World Cup! The United States and China had just battled to a scoreless draw after overtime and US goalkeeper Brianna Scurry just made a critical save which set the stage for Brandi Chastain to convert what would be the winning goal.

Chastain, a defender, was not known for her goal scoring abilities, but she did not hesitate in putting the winner into the back of net. Afterwards, she ran and fell to her knees, stripping off her shirt and revealing a black sports bra to the 90,000 plus crowd at the Rose Bowl, the largest audience to any women’s sporting event.

Many people thought the bra-baring incident to be tasteless and inappropriate. I assume these people don’t watch enough men’s professional soccer. These same people must have fainted at Janet Jackson’s breast-baring episode during the Super Bowl intermission!

Brandi Chastain after scoring penalty kick shootout goal in 1999 Women's World Cup.

Posted in Soccer | Tagged 1999 Women's World Cup, Brandi Chastain, Briana Scurry, China, Greatest Moments, Janet Jackson, Rose Bowl, Sports Archives, United States | 1 Comment

The Sports Archives Greatest Moments – Pele and Brazil 1958 World Cup Victory

Posted on January 5, 2011 by thesportsarchives

Pele was Brazil and Brazil was Pele. During the 1958 World Cup Tournament which Brazil won, Pele lead all Brazil scorers with 6 goals and all of which came in the knockout round. He scored 1 against Wales in the quarter-finals, a hat trick against France in the semis, 2 against Sweden in the finals, and he was only 17 years old! He was the youngest player to ever score an international goal when he netted his first goal for Brazil at age 16 against rival Argentina.

After the victory, European clubs looked to recruit the superstar, however, Brazil intervened and declared Pele to be an official national treasure and any trade would be forbidden.

Pele was so recognized and internationally respected that a cease-fire to the Biafran War was declared in 1967 so that Pele could visit both sides of the front!

Pele was instrumental in starting the North American Soccer League playing for the New York Cosmos in 1975 and leading them to the 1977 NASL championship in his final season. During his final professional game in 1977, in front of a 75,000 plus crowd at the Meadowlands, Pele led a chant of “Love! Love! Love!” and then proceeded to play the first half with the New York Cosmos and the second half with his old Brazilian team, Santos, the Cosmos’ opponent. Pele wore his #10 for both teams.

Many people agree that nobody has meant more to a sport than Pele has meant to soccer. Soccer is Pele and Pele is soccer!

Pele Bicycle Kick against Belgium in 1968

Posted in Soccer | Tagged 1958 World Cup, Brazil, France, Greatest Moments, NASL, New York Cosmos, Pele, Santos, Sports Archives, Sweden, Wales | Leave a comment

The Sports Archives Greatest Moments – UCONN Womens Basketball Steak Ends at 90 Wins

Posted on January 3, 2011 by thesportsarchives

The University of Connecticut women’s basketball team is truly an amazing organization with a consistent record of success. Coached by Geno Auriemma, the Huskies have won 7 NCAA Division I national championships. They have advanced to the Final Four eleven times and have won over 30 Big East Conference Championships.

Some of Huskies most notable achievements are their recent 70 and 90 game winning streaks executed in the decade of 2000 to 2010. They would win 70 straight games after losing to Notre Dame in March 2001. It wasn’t until March 2003 when the Huskies would see their next loss, this time at the hands of an underdog Villanova team.

Stanford doused UCONN hopes in the 2007-08 season beating them 82-73 in the NCAA semifinals. This was after UCONN lost only 1 game all season. The Huskies would not see another loss until December 30, 2010, winning 90 straight games, a new NCAA record, until Stanford would once again burst their bubble.

The streaks exemplify how well the fundamentals are executed by the UCONN women’s basketball program. Joe DiMaggio can probably relate to the amount of concentration and ability required to come out to play every day and to keep putting that ‘off-day’ off until later!

Posted in College Basketball | Tagged Big East, Geno Auriemma, Greatest Moments, Huskies, Joe DiMaggio, ncaa, Sports Archives, Stanford University, UCONN Women's Basketball, Villanova, Winning Streak | 1 Comment

UFC Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell Retires

Posted on December 30, 2010 by thesportsarchives

Chuck Liddell known as “The Iceman” has announced his retirement from the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 29, 2010. Liddell, along with Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture, was instrumental in introducing MMA (mixed martial arts) into American sports and entertainment culture.

Liddell earned the UFC light heavyweight title when he knocked-out Randy Couture in the first round of a bout on April 16, 2005. This victory avenged an earlier defeat to Couture in 2002 and Liddell would go on to defeat Couture again in 2006.

Liddell’s final match was against Rich Franklin on June 12, 2010 in which Franklin fractured his arm blocking a Liddell kick, but managed to knock out Liddell with his other arm in the first round.

Liddell also worked in front of the camera performing on “Dancing with the Stars” and in many movies, including “Drillbit Taylor” and “The Death and Life of Bobby Z”. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on July 10, 2009.

Posted in Other | Tagged Chuck Liddell, MMA, Randy Couture, Rich Franklin, The Iceman, Tito Ortiz, UFC | 1 Comment

The Sports Archives Greatest Moments – Football and Baseball’s Ernie Nevers

Posted on December 28, 2010 by thesportsarchives

Ernie Nevers played professional football as a fullback for the Duluth Eskimos and Chicago Cardinals of the NFL. He started his sports career as a professional baseball player for the St. Louis Browns. In 1927, he overlapped sports by playing for baseball’s Browns and football’s Eskimos in the same year.

Nevers had better success playing football. He would play both offense and defense and in every minute of all games. This is unheard of in today’s game. He once set a record for most points in a game by a single player when he scored 6 Cardinal touchdowns and kicked 4 extra points; a total of 40 points against the crosstown-rival Chicago Bears.

At Stanford University, in a 1925 battle against the University of California, Nevers ran the ball on every Stanford offensive play except for three.

In baseball, Nevers gave up 2 home runs to Babe Ruth during Ruth’s record-setting 60 home run season. Nevers soon made people forget those home runs when he turned his sight to the NFL!

Posted in Baseball, College Football, Football | Tagged Babe Ruth, Chicago Bears, Chicago Cardinals, Duluth Eskimos, Ernie Nevers, Greatest Moments, NFL, Sports Archives, St. Louis Browns, Stanford University, University of California | Leave a comment

The Sports Archives History Lesson – Boxing Legend Henry Armstrong

Posted on December 27, 2010 by thesportsarchives

Henry Jackson Jr., better known as Henry Armstrong, was one of the greatest fighters of all times. He won titles in three divisions (Featherweight, Lightweight, and Welterweight) during the years 1937-1940 when there weren’t many weight divisions.

He won over 75% of his bouts by knockout and he only stood 5 feet and 5 and one-half inches. His reach was 67 inches.

He was known in the ring as ‘Hurricane Hank’, ‘Homicide Hank’ and ‘Hammering Hank’. During a stretch between October 9 and October 30, 1939, he accepted five welterweight title defenses and won them all!