On March 18, 1892, Canada’s Lord Stanley of Preston announced he would donate a silver challenge cup to be awarded to the territory’s best hockey team. Today, the Stanley Cup is the oldest trophy in professional sports and the most revered symbol in hockey.
Famed golfer Bobby Jones was born on March 17, 1902, in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1930, he became the first golfer to win all four major tournaments, achieving the sport’s first Grand Slam.
On January 15, 1892, Dr. James Naismith published the rules for a sport he’d invented – basketball. It quickly caught on, with the first professional league forming in 1898.
On December 26, 1919, Babe Ruth was sold by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees, ushering in the long-standing superstitious Curse of the Bambino.
Andrew “Rube” Foster died on December 9, 1930. Known as the “Father of Black Baseball,” he created the Negro National League, the first major professional baseball league for African American athletes.
Born on September 12, 1913, Jesse Owens broke several track and field records and won four Olympic gold medals. He was ranked as the greatest athlete in the history of his sport.
On July 19, 1980, the Summer Olympic Games opened in Moscow, Soviet Union. They were the first Olympics to be held in Eastern Europe. The US was among 65 countries that boycotted the games, and the numerous stamps issued to commemorate the games were removed from sale until after the Olympics were finished.
Baseball player Ty Cobb got his 4,000th hit, a first in the sport’s history, on July 18, 1927. In all, he set about 90 records during his career, some of which still stand today.
On July 8, 1993, the first Summer World University Games to be hosted in the US opened in Buffalo, NY. The World University Games is the largest multi-sport event in the world after the Olympics.