Sonny Liston: The Shadow Boxer
Sonny Liston was a beast in the ring. Ninety-seven kilos of pure muscle. He had such a big fist that they had to make him custom gloves. Some opponents likened his left hand to a baseball bat. “It’s like a telephone pole fell on you”, said others. He was probably…
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: The Hidden Cost of NFL Glory
Mike Webster was proud of himself. He was called Iron Mike because of his tenacity and perseverance, which saw him play 220 games for the Steelers in 15 seasons. To his wife, he was a dependable husband and father of their four children; to his teammates, he was a hard…
Unforgettable Stories from the Olympics
American James B. Connolly, one of the 311 athletes from 13 countries who took part in the Athens Olympics 120 years ago, almost missed out. It would have been a real shame for him if he had not even been able to try. He gave up his studies for the…
Football Crime: The Tragic Downfall of Legendary Players
"I gave up women and alcohol in 1969 - I think it was the worst 20 minutes of my life", George Best (1946-2005) once wittily summed up his life philosophy in a single sentence. He was one of the best footballers England has ever produced and the player who turned…
Lou Gehrig: The Steel Horse Who Conquered Baseball and ALS
They called him the Steel Horse. From 2 June 1925, when he became a permanent member of the New York Yankees baseball team, until 2 May 1939, when he had to say goodbye, he never spent a game in the dugout. Tall, fast, accurate and a power hitter, he played…
The Tragic End of Grande Torino: The Superga Tragedy That Shook Italy
"The Turin team is no more. Gone, burnt, exploded ... The squad died in action, like an assault unit that left its trenches during the war and never returned," reported the evening edition of the Turin daily La Stampa on 4 May 1949. The words were written by its journalist…
Jack Johnson: The First Black Heavyweight Boxing Champion
"People will forgive you anything but success," we say, while Jack Johnson might have said in his day, "People will forgive you anything but the wrong colour." It was in 1908 when he became the first black boxing champion of the world in the prestigious heavyweight division, and so enraged…
