Sports History On This Day: September 19

September 19, 2022 by Sports History Network

September 19, 1901 – The world of sports briefly stopped, at least here in the United States. 11 baseball were games canceled out of mourning and respect due to the funeral of President William McKinley. The 25th President of the U.S. had been assassinated on September 14.

McKinley was best well known for leading America to victory in the Spanish American War and raising protective tariffs to protect American industries. To his credit, McKinley was a veteran of the Civil War as well. The President had been standing in a receiving line at the Buffalo Pan-American Exposition when a deranged anarchist shot him twice, and he passed days later.

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William McKinley in 1897 — The photo is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons of William McKinley in 1897. This portrait photograph by Frances Benjamin Johnston shows President William McKinley seated at his desk in the Treaty Room. The Treaty Room, also historically called the Cabinet Room, is located in the Second Floor residence of the Executive Mansion. The desk McKinley is seated at was acquired during the Ulysses S. Grant administration and historically resides there in the room's contemporary use as the president's private study. Johnston was one of the earliest female photographers and photojournalists and had her own studio in Washington, D.C. Contributed by Frances Benjamin Johnston of the National Archives. Special thanks to the resources of Newspapers.com and OnThisDay.com for the information obtained.

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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. Over in Asia, both Uzbekistan and Jordan are also confirmed. While plenty more would follow. But while the upstarts are bracing themselves for a maiden foray onto the global stage, some of the bigger names have far loftier ambitions. To reach them, though, they will have to banish old ghosts that have struck them down before. Here are three heavyweight nations that all have jinxes to oust in the summer of 2026. England's 60 Years of Hurt Online betting sites already have their favorites to claim the famous gold trophy next summer, and near the top of most lists, you will find England. The latest Bovada sports betting odds currently list the Three Lions as a 13/2 second favorite to leave MetLife Stadium as champions next July, narrowly behind 4/1 outright frontrunners Spain, the team that beat England in last summer's European Championship final in Berlin. 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. Huge favorites to progress past Croatia and ultimately go on and win the tournament, the Brazilians were surprisingly silenced, forced to settle for a 1-1 draw before goalkeeper Dominik Livaković saved penalties from Rodrygo and Marquinhos to send the Brazilians packing. In 2018, Kevin De Bruyne's brilliance saw Belgium progress, while back in 2010, it was Wesley Sneijder and the Dutch. And that's without even mentioning Zinedine Zidane and his brilliance in 2006. Fast forward to now, and Brazil is under new management, specifically iconic former Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti. However, with Neymar now rotting with the relegation-threatened Santos, a new hero will have to step up if the Selecao are to reach the semifinals for just the second time in over two decades. Italy's Playoff Hoodoo While England and Brazil are already confirmed to be at the World Cup, spare a thought for the Italians. Four-time winners, the Azzurri were a mainstay on the grandest stage. 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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