Sports: Olympics and Athletes

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.

Watch now

Winter Olympics History

The Winter Olympics are an international sports competition held every four years. The Games feature cold‑weather events on snow (skiing, snowboarding, biathlon) and ice (figure skating, hockey, speed skating, curling, bobsled, luge, skeleton).

March Madness History

March Madness is the name commonly used for the NCAA Tournament, held annually in March and April to determine the national champion in Division I men’s and women’s college basketball. The tournament is also called “The Big Dance.” In 1939, the first March Madness featured eight teams—Oregon, Texas, Oklahoma, Utah State, Villanova, Brown, Wake Forest […]

World Series History

1903: First World Series Played The first modern World Series was a best‑of‑nine series played in 1903 between the American League champion Boston Americans (later Red Sox) and National League champion Pittsburgh Pirates. The Americans won the final four games to win the championship, 5‑3. Boston pitcher Cy Young, MLB’s all‑time leader in wins (511), […]

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 […]

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 […]

Watch now

The Dictators

The 1978 World Cup was hosted by Argentina, which was under a brutal military dictatorship at the time. Discover what really motivated the Argentine players to win the tournament, and some of the controversies they dealt with on their journey to victory.

Watch now

The Nearly Men

English Hooliganism had placed a black cloud over the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Find out how the team’s inspiring journey, and heartbreaking loss to West Germany in the semi‑finals, helped turn perceptions around.

Watch now

The Meltdown

The 1998 World Cup in France featured several high‑profile players making memorable mistakes. Discover how David Beckham, Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane “melted down” in France.

Watch now

The Icon

Learn about Argentina’s Diego Armando Maradona—one of the greatest, and most controversial, icons in the history of the sport.

Watch now

The Rout

As the hosts of the 2014 World Cup, Brazil was one of the favorites to win the whole tournament. Discover how that dream turned into a nightmare for the South American nation, when it was handed its biggest defeat in World Cup history at the hands of Germany.

Watch now

The Ball

Find out more about how we make soccer balls, from the early days using inflated pig bladders to today’s vulcanized rubber balls.

Watch now