Sports
Odd distances, strange scores, dimpled balls: history left its marks on the rules and the gear.
32 articles
Where do the colors of judo belts come from?
You start with a white belt and dream of one day tying on a black one. But when, where and how did this famous badge of skill come about?
Was a swimsuit really banned for being too fast?
There was a time when swimming world records fell one after another, as if a dam had burst. The real star, many said, was not the swimmers but their swimsuits.
Where does the term “hat-trick” come from?
When a soccer player scores three goals in a game, it is a hat-trick. But what does a hat have to do with it? The answer lies in a different sport altogether.
Why is tennis scored 15, 30, 40?
Not 1, 2, 3, but 15, 30 and then 40. Behind tennis’s puzzling way of keeping score lies a mystery nearly 600 years old.
Why is the sumo ring round?
Boxing rings and judo mats are square, yet sumo alone is fought on a round stage. Getting to that shape involved a long detour.
Where does the baseball term “strike” come from?
A batter lets a pitch go by without moving the bat, and it’s still a “strike.” That odd little word preserves the easygoing ways of 19th-century baseball.
How many stitches are on a baseball?
A curve of red thread racing across white leather. You have seen it countless times, but chances are you have never stopped to count the stitches.
Where do curling stones come from?
A round stone with a handle, gliding across the ice. You see them at every Winter Olympics, but where does the rock actually come from, and what kind of rock is it?
Did athletes at the ancient Olympics compete naked?
The athletes painted on Greek vases and carved in marble are almost always naked. Was that just artistic license, or is that really how they competed?
Why are soccer balls made of pentagons and hexagons?
The black-and-white patchwork is still the very symbol of a soccer ball. Behind that combination lies an answer settled by mathematics.
Why do golf balls have dimples?
A smooth ball seems like it should slice through the air better, yet golf balls are covered in little hollows. The reason goes back to battered old balls.
What do the colors of the Olympic rings mean?
Blue, yellow, black, green and red: everyone knows the Olympic symbol. But trace what its designer actually wrote about the colors, and a surprising answer emerges.
Are Olympic gold medals made of solid gold?
Gleaming on the podium, it is the crystallized dream of every athlete. Learn what makes it shine, and you may never see a medal the same way again.
Why is table tennis called “ping-pong”?
Played in hotel game rooms and at the Olympics alike, table tennis has a friendlier second name. Behind it lies a surprising story about who owned a word.
Why is a marathon 42.195 kilometers?
Not 40 kilometers, not 42, but an odd number with a tail of meters. The marathon’s awkward distance carries the story of one particular race.
Why does a round of golf have 18 holes?
Not 10, not 20, but 18. The number written into every golf course plan grew out of a small decision by the golfers of one Scottish seaside town.
How many feathers are on a badminton shuttlecock?
A badminton shuttle looks simple, a neat ring of white feathers on a cork. But that little projectile is governed by surprisingly exact rules, and a lot of fuss over birds’ wings.
Was basketball really born from peach baskets?
Why does a basketball hoop hang at exactly 3.05 meters, such an oddly specific height? The answer lies in a gym more than 130 years ago.
Was rugby born from a schoolboy breaking the rules?
A boy grabs the ball mid-game and runs with it, and a new sport is born. It is the origin story every rugby fan knows, but it has some serious holes.
Why does baseball have nine innings?
Most ball games are timed, but baseball has no clock. So when, and how, did the game come to be measured in nine innings?
Why was volleyball invented?
Volleyball is a school gym staple the world over. Yet it was not dreamed up for energetic young athletes at all, but for a very different crowd. The story begins in the US about 130 years ago.
Why does bowling use ten pins?
Knock down all ten pins in their triangle with one ball and it’s a strike. But that familiar number “ten” comes with a rather dubious legend attached.
Why is home plate a pentagon?
First, second and third base are all squares, yet home plate has five sides. In fact, this base has changed shape twice: from a circle, to a square, to a pentagon.
Did the Olympic torch relay exist in ancient times?
Fire kindled from sunlight in Greece, then carried to the host city by thousands of hands. It looks ancient, but its origins are surprisingly recent—and complicated.
Why is a square boxing ring called a ring?
A boxing ring is plainly a square, yet a “ring” is a circle. The mismatch between shape and name goes back more than 200 years.
Why do sumo wrestlers throw salt?
Before the bout, a white spray arcs from a wrestler’s hand. It’s a familiar sight, but that handful hides a long history—and a surprising amount of salt.
Why does a soccer match last 90 minutes?
Forty-five minutes each way, everywhere on Earth. Who decided that, and when? The story begins in a London park, in rain and hail.
Where do figure skating jump names come from?
Axel, Lutz, Salchow. The jump names you hear in every figure skating broadcast have a slightly odd ring to them. As it turns out, most of them share something in common.
Why do runners go counterclockwise around the track?
From school sports days to the Olympic 400 meters, runners always bend to the left. But at the very first modern Olympics, they went the other way.
Can you swim any stroke in a freestyle race?
Say “freestyle” and everyone pictures the front crawl. So what would happen if you entered a freestyle race and swam breaststroke or backstroke? Would you be disqualified?
Who invented the red card?
A single red card held high by the referee. Even people who know nothing about soccer understand it. The idea was born on a street corner, after one chaotic sending-off.
When did the rank of yokozuna begin?
Yokozuna is the summit of professional sumo. Today it is the highest rank on the ladder, yet it started out as something that was not a rank at all: a single rope.