Arnold Ringstad - Weird-but-True Facts about Sports

Published by The Childs World
1980 Lookout Drive Mankato, MN 56003-1705
800-599-READ www.childsworld.com

Acknowledgments
The Childs World: Mary Berendes, Publishing Director
Red Line Editorial: Editorial direction
The Design Lab: Design
Amnet: Production

Copyright 2013 by The Childs World
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means
without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 9781614734185
LCCN 2012946525

Printed in the United States of America
Mankato, MN
November, 2012
PA02143

About the Author

Arnold Ringstad lives in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. He wants to go golfing on
the moon.

About the Illustrator

Kathleen Petelinsek loves to draw and
paint. She lives next to a lake in southern
Minnesota with her husband, Dale; two
daughters, Leah and Anna; two dogs,
Gary and Rex; and her fluffy cat, Emma.

More Amazing Facts
about Sports... 24

From unicycles to lunar golf, the world of
sports is never dull. Many weird sports are
played in the United States and around the
world. If you can throw it, kick it, or race
against it, it has probably been part of a
sporting event. Get ready to learn about
the weird world of sportsand remember,
these facts are all true!

A minor league baseball
player caught a ball dropped
from a blimp in 1939.

The ball was dropped from 1,500 feet (450 m). The balls
speed caused the players glove to smack into his face,
giving him cuts and knocking out five teeth.

A baseball travels further
through the air when it is
hot and humid than when
it is cold and dry.

This is because high temperatures and humidity
make the air less dense.
This decreases air
resistance, making the
ball go further.

Pitcher Randy
Johnson
accidentally
killed a bird
with a pitch
in 2001.

Baseball player Dave
Winfield was drafted
for three sports in 1973.

Teams in Major League Baseball (MLB), the
National Basketball Association (NBA), and the
National Football League (NFL) all wanted him.

Before 1859,
baseball umpires
sat in chairs
behind home
plate instead
of crouching.

When Mark McGuire hit 70 home
runs in 1998, they traveled a total
of almost 30,000 feet (9,150 m).

Early baseball players
used their bare hands
to catch the ball.

They started using gloves in the 1870s.

In 1903,
players earned
approximately
$1,200 as
a bonus for
winning the
World Series.

By 2011, that amount had risen
to more than $300,000 apiece.

The first
basketballs were
brown in color.

They were changed to orange in
the 1950s to make it easier for
players and fans to see them.

Basketball on horseback
was popular for a brief
time in the 1920s.

The game featured no
dribbling and had
fewer points than
regular basketball.

James Naismith invented basketball
to keep students busy indoors
during the cold winter months.

The first basketball
players used peach
baskets instead of
hoops with nets.

Play had to stop after each basket
so a referee could climb a ladder
and get the ball back.

An NBA basketball
is designed to last
for 50,000 bounces.

Slamball is a version of
basketball played with
four large trampolines
in front of each net.

Players use the trampolines to spin and
somersault in the air as they dunk the ball.

In 1974, a 13-year-old
Swedish basketball
player scored 272
points in a single game.

His team won the game 2720.

Gheorghe Muresan was
the tallest player in NBA
history, standing 7 feet,
7 inches (2.3 m).

The Romanian played in the NBA from 1993 to 2000.

Tyrone Curtis
Muggsy Bogues was
the shortest player in
NBA history, standing
5 feet, 3 inches (1.6 m).

He played in the NBA from 1987 to 2001,
mostly for the Charlotte Hornets. He played for
a time with Manute Bol, who at 7 feet, 6 inches
(2.3 m) was one of the tallest players ever.

Slam dunks were banned
in college basketball
from 1967 to 1976.

The lowest ticket price
for Super Bowl I, played
in 1967, was $6.

The lowest ticket price for Super Bowl XLV,
played in 2011, was $600.

Each year, the NFL
uses 12,046 footballs.

It takes leather from approximately
1,200 cows to make them all.

In 1916,
Georgia Tech
won a college
football
game against
Cumberland
2220.

It is considered the worst loss
ever in college football.

A player was
paid $10
to play in a
football game
in 1895.

John Brallier is considered
the first professional
football player. In 2011, the
highest-paid player was
Peyton Manning, who made
$23 million.