Sports: Olympics and Athletes

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A general view of the Olympic Rings in front of the Bolshoy Ice Dome prior to the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

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The Olympic Games

The Olympic Games, which originated in ancient Greece, were revived in the late 19th century. Now the world’s preeminent sporting competition, they are held every two years, alternating between Summer and Winter Games.

The Modern Summer Olympic Games: A Timeline

Modern Olympic history is full of heart‑thumping victories and painful defeats. But a look back at the 28 Summer Games that have taken place since 1896 also offer a snapshot of geopolitics, a shift in women’s rights and the state of global affairs. From Athens to Rio, in the last 125 years, the Games have […]

Negro League Baseball

Formation of Baseball’s Color Line As the expanding popularity of baseball in the United States led to the formation of amateur clubs in the second half of the 19th century, African Americans were among those joining the action. Records exist of an abbreviated game between two Black teams as far back as 1855, and by […]

Super Bowl History

History of the Super Bowl Though the NFL officially formed in 1920, the Super Bowl wasn’t played until more than 40 years later. In 1960, a group of businessmen who wanted to own football franchises—but were denied by the NFL—launched an alternative league, known as the American Football League (AFL). For several years, the NFL […]

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History Shorts: Getting Back to Sports After a 1918 Pandemic (Forged in Crisis)

Faced with the Spanish Flu pandemic, sports across America were forced to adapt, setting themselves up to come back stronger than ever.

The Stadium

Although arenas have been around since ancient Greece and Rome, soccer stadiums were were not yet a thing when the sport became popular in the 1880s. Learn about how the sport eventually evolved its multi‑billion dollar arenas, in this brief history of soccer stadiums.

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Flashback: Soap Box Derby Mania

Hundreds of thousands tuned in on the radio to the 1936 All‑American Soap Box Derby, held in Akron, Ohio. This was only the Derby’s third year in existence, but its popularity soared as America was looking for something to root for, still struggling from the Great Depression. The All‑American Soap Box Derby has been held […]

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