Sports Fun Facts/Trivia

[TankAbbott]

http://listverse.com/2015/06/26/10-sporting-events-plagued-by-human-rights-abuses/

Of course, the Cup of Nations does have something of a track record when it comes to letting monstrous dictatorships host. Take the 1982 tournament, which was held in Muammar Gadhafi’s Libya, already a something of a regional pariah for its military intervention in Chad. Ironically, Gadhafi hated football and had even closed the Libyan league down from 1979–1982. (In one version of the story, the dictator became insanely jealous after seeing the names of popular footballers written on a wall in Tripoli.) He agreed to host the 1982 Cup to further his diplomatic goals but still insisted on opening the tournament with the stirring words: “All you stupid spectators, have your stupid game.”

Sadly, not everyone in Gadhafi’s family felt the same way. His son Al-Saadi actually loved football so much he decided to become a professional player. He wasn’t talented enough, but you don’t need talent when you’re a rich maniac with your dad’s army to back you up. Soon Al-Saadi was the star striker in a Libyan league so heavily rigged in his favor that announcers were forbidden from saying the names of any other players. If a team tried to protest the obvious cheating, they would be forced to keep playing at gunpoint. Al-Saadi’s glittering career only took a nose-dive when he leveraged Libya’s oil money to engineer a hilariously corrupt move to the Italian top division, where he played for less than half an hour over three years, failed a drug test, and was voted the league’s worst player ever. He is currently on trial in Libya for murdering a rival footballer.

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According to a 1978 players poll, almost 86% of NFL players claimed they played w/o a cup

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QB Jim Hardy of the 1950 Chicago Cardinals - threw 8 ints and fumbled twice in one game. He tossed 6 TDs the next week and went on to the Pro Bowl.

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Dick "Night Train" Lane snagged an NFL record 14 ints as a rookie CB - but wasn't named to the Pro Bowl (race is believed to be a factor)
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The 1929 Packers Played EIGHT straight road games and allowed only 22 points to be scored against them over 13 games....and managed to NOT go undefeated

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Former Packer QB TJ Rubley (most famous for calling an audible on a run play and tossing a INT to cost the Packers a victory over the Vikings in 1995, then being cut in favor of Jim McMahon right after) is brothers in law with Sly Stallone

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Packer Kicker Chester Marcol had one of the most memorable plays ever, when he caught his own blocked FG in overtime and ran it in for a TD vs The Bears in 1980, later that year the Packers cut Marcol and he stayed living in GB...The Oilers came to town, and their Kicker was hurt late in the week, so they signed Marcol because he was close, let him play one game (vs The Pack) and then cut him. Marcol never left town.

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The first team to ever have 4 players achieve 1,000 yard seasons in one year was the 1995 Atlanta Falcons. Bert Emanuel, Terrance Mathis and Eric Metcalf went over 1,000 receiving and Ironhead Heyward surpassed the 1,000 mark rushing. Despite this, Jeff George still wanted out.

 

[FLYOVER BOSSMAN]

Nice list

I never wore a cup in football. I don't think it's commonplace at all--even at a high school level. Probably stopped wearing one when I was like 12 or 13.

 

[jmadtx]

cant remember if I wore a cup or not in high school

 

[theskza]

Not wearing a cup in football seems insane.

 

[TankAbbott]

Mario Lemieux is the only player in the NHL to score 5 goals in a single game in 5 different ways. On December 31, 1988, he scored an even-strength goal, a short handed goal, a power play goal, a penalty shot, and finally an empty net goal. Mario scored 5 goals in a single game four different times in his career.

 

[TankAbbott]

Bruce (now Caitlyn

) Jenner was world famous for his accomplishments as a track and field athlete. After winning the gold in the decathlon in the '76 Olympics, and despite not having played basketball since high school, the Kansas City Kings drafted him in the seventh round (139th overall pick) of the NBA draft. He never played.

Two picks earlier Lusia Harris (Delta State University) was chosen by the New Orleans Jazz, making her the second female to be drafted by an NBA team. In 1969 the San Francisco Warriors had drafted Denise Long, a highschool senior from Whitten, Iowa who had averaged 62.8 PPG her senior year. That selection was voided by the league however, so Harris is officially the only female to ever be drafted- unless you count Caitlyn. Like Jenner, Harris never played in the league. She did, however, become the first woman inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

 

[MarkyMcFly]

Randal Cunningham has the 3rd longest punt in the history of the NFL, at 91 yards.

 

[Kowboy Karl]

Never wore a cup in football

Can't remember anyone that did or does