Sports are a beloved pastime for many people around the world. Whether you’re a fan of basketball, soccer, baseball or any other sport, there’s always something new to learn about your favorite athletes and teams. Here are 50 crazy sports trivia facts that will blow your mind:
1. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team because he was considered too short at only 5 feet 9 inches tall.
2. The first Olympic Games were held in ancient Greece in 776 BC.
3. In cricket, it is possible to score more than one run when hitting the ball if the batsman runs quickly enough between wickets.
4. The fastest serve ever recorded in tennis was by Sam Groth, who hit a serve at 163.4 mph during an ATP Challenger Tour match in 2012.
5. Soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo has won five Ballon d’Or awards, which is the most by any male player in history.
6. Golf legend Jack Nicklaus holds the record for the most major championships won with 18 victories.
7. The highest-scoring game in NBA history took place on October 20, 1967, when the Philadelphia Warriors defeated the New York Knicks 144-124.
8. The longest tennis match in history lasted over 11 hours and ended with John Isner defeating Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the fifth set at Wimbledon in 2010.
9. The oldest person to complete a marathon was Fauja Singh, who finished the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2011 at age 100.
10. Basketball great Kobe Bryant played all 82 games in the 2005-06 season despite suffering from a broken finger, sprained knee, and severely bruised hip.
People Behind the Scenes of Sports
11. The first female referee in NFL history was Sarah Thomas, who officiated her first regular-season game in 2015.
12. Baseball umpire Bill Klem worked 18 seasons without missing a single game, totaling 19,755 consecutive games umpired.
13. The youngest coach in NBA history was Lawrence Frank, who became head coach of the New Jersey Nets at age 33 in 2004.
Unusual Places Where Sports Are Played
14. The highest altitude where a professional football game has been played was at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Texas, which sits at an elevation of 1,214 feet above sea level.
15. The lowest altitude where a professional football game has been played was at the Miami Orange Bowl, which sat at just 7 feet above sea level.
Crazy Records Set in Sports History
16. The longest winning streak in college basketball history belongs to the UCLA Bruins, who won 88 straight games from 1971-1974.
17. The largest margin of victory in NCAA men’s basketball tournament history came in 1990 when UNLV beat Duke by 30 points (103-73).
Funny and Weird Moments in Sports
18. During a 1989 MLB game between the Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers, a squirrel ran onto the field and delayed play for several minutes as players tried to catch it.
19. In 2018, a man running the Boston Marathon crossed the finish line wearing nothing but a thong and a smile.
20. At the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, a skier named Picabo Street accidentally gave her interview to a Spanish-language TV station after finishing second in the downhill event. When asked how she felt, she replied “I am feeling very good” – which happened to be the same phrase used by the interviewer to start the interview.
