Sports History Network No one…absolutely no one thought he was a professional football player. In fact, the owner of his team took a first look at rookie Billy Cross and asked: “Who is that little fellow—the mascot?” Billy Cross had heard it all before—that he was too short, too light, and not tough enough for football. Yet he … Read more
March 27, 1939: The inaugural NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship was played. The single-elimination game tournament started off in this first year of existence with just an eight-team field. The concept was the brainchild of then Ohio State Coach Harold Olsen who with the help of the National Association of Basketball Coaches turned the idea into a … Read more
March 26, 1937 – Legendary New York Yankees slugger Joe DiMaggio, in just his second season as a pro, received some advice from former MLB superstar Ty Cobb, to help his batting average. The advice by Cobb was to switch from using a heavy 40-ounce bat to a lighter 36-ounce model. Though we had trouble confirming … Read more
March 25, 1958 – Boxing legend Sugar Ray Robinson, claimed victory in a 15 round split-decision over opponent Carmen Basilio and the Champ became the first boxing belt holder to win the title on 5 different occasions. Sugar Ray held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951 and won the world middleweight title later that year. … Read more
March 24, 1936 – A Stanley Cup playoff game takes a record 9 periods to declare a winner. In game one of hockey’s premier championship, the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Maroons completed a marathon contest that ended at 2:25 AM after remaining scoreless for 176.5 minutes of live-action. Rookie Red Wing winger Mud Bruneteau … Read more