Sports History On This Day: May 25

May 25, 2022 by Sports History Network

May 25, 1919 – There are hidden talents to many of the athletes we celebrate that go beyond what they do while playing their particular sport. Former right-fielder of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Casey Stengel caught the attention of not only those in attendance at the game at Ebbett’s Field in Brooklyn where the Pirates were the battling Stengel’s former club the Dodgers but the national media was dazzled too.

When this mighty Casey came up to bat in the seventh inning, the Brooklyn crowd cheered their former star. Stengel then stepped up near the plate and tipped his hat to the fans and as he did he released a sparrow from under his baseball cap that flew agitated into the New York sky. Apparently, the right fielder had caught the bird while out in the field during the bottom of the sixth.

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An England football flag - Source: Unsplash Three Nations Looking To Break Long-Standing Curses at the 2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup is just around the corner, and the final rounds of qualifiers are now underway to determine which nations will battle it out for the biggest prize the beautiful game has to offer next summer. With 48 teams set to compete, up from the usual 32, a slew of debutants have already purchased their tickets to North America. While reigning champions Argentina and back-to-back beaten European Championship finalists England are already confirmed, at the opposite end of the spectrum, the underdogs are barking. So far, three teams that have never competed at a FIFA World Cup before have already confirmed their participation Stateside next summer. Africa's Cape Verde managed to progress, becoming the smallest nation in history to feature, as they finished ahead of continental heavyweights Cameroon to secure their spot. 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Embed tweet here - https://x.com/bovadaofficial/status/1812591866447020454?s=46&t=Jxc74bqcdlQ9Bjed4TR1Jw There are plenty of reasons why the English are considered formidable. Back-to-back European Championship finals under Gareth Southgate certainly showed that the country that handed the beautiful game to the rest of the world is back to its best. Now, under serial winner Thomas Tuchel and led by the likes of captain Harry Kane and Real Madrid talisman Jude Bellingham, there are bags of quality all over the pitch. Still, if England is to reign supreme next summer, it will have to banish a ghost that has been weighing them down for 60 years. 1966. That was the first and last time the Three Lions lifted the FIFA World Cup, or any silverware for that matter, and in the years since, it has been nothing but pain, especially on the global stage. Penalty shootouts, ghost goals, and controversial red cards. Seemingly, anything that can go wrong for England does go wrong. In fact, it feels like the whole world is against them whenever they mount a deep tournament run, and ultimately, that pressure becomes too much to handle. Next summer, the world and the weight of 60 long years of pain will be on their backs once again. The only way to dispel it once and for all is to silence the doubters and deliver the World Cup back to Old Blighty. Brazil's Quarterfinal Curse Brazil is the record five-time FIFA World Cup champions. They were the last team to successfully win back-to-back titles thanks to the brilliance of Pelé in 1958 and 1962. Between 1994 and 2002, they reached three straight finals, winning two of them. But since that most recent success in Japan and South Korea 23 years ago, the Selecao have been eliminated in the quarterfinals at four of the following five World Cups. The one time they progressed further? That 7-1 drubbing to Germany on home turf. Most recently in Qatar, their quarterfinal curse reared its head once again. 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However, in qualifying for Russia in 2018, their lengthy tenure at the grandest dining table the beautiful game has to offer came to a bitter end. Sweden shockingly eliminated the Azzurri across two legs in a qualifying playoff, punching their tickets to Russia at Italy's expense. Four years later, North Macedonia stunned the Italians in Palermo, netting a last-gasp winner to once again hang the Azzurri out to dry. An England football flag - Source: Unsplash

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