Even though soccer is so popular, and you may consider yourself a soccer enthusiast, I bet there are many facts and histories about soccer that you are not aware of. If you’d like to learn some interesting facts about soccer, or football, you’re going to love what I’m about to tell you.

• The very first FIFA World Cup was held in 1930 and was hosted by Uruguay. The hosts defeated Argentina 4-2 to win the tournament.
• During that 1930 World Cup the first goal scored was by Lucien Laurent of France and surprisingly, the USA won the bronze medal.
• In the early days of soccer, there was no such thing as a referee. Each team would have a captain who would have the responsibility of calling fouls, etc. during the games.
• When referees were introduced in the mid 1800’s, they used handkerchiefs to get the players’ attention. Whistles weren’t used until 1878.
• AC Milan set an Italian record for win streaks when they played 58 games without a loss.
• The United States’ Major League Soccer held its first season in 1996 after hosting a very successful World Cup in 1994.
• Majed Abdullan is a Saudi Arabian player who holds the record for most international appearances ever.
• Red and yellow cards weren’t used until the 1970 World Cup, which was hosted by Mexico.
• African soccer teams consecutively won the 1996 and 2000 Olympic soccer championships. The 1996 Olympics were won by Nigeria who defeated Argentina by a 3-2 margin. The 2000 Olympic champions were Cameroon who stomped Spain 5-3 for one of the greatest upsets of that period.
• In the early 1990’s, soccer was named the fastest growing sport among the youth of the United States of America.
• West Germany, now known as Germany, was the first European team to ever win the FIFA World Cup. They accomplished this feat in 1954, when Switzerland was the host.

Soccer has been around for so many years (150+) that there is literally thousands of pages of history related to it. It would take a lifetime to really become acquainted with all of the intricacies and events that occurred in order to produce the game that we know today.

I hope that these facts that I have shared with you have given you deeper insight into the history of soccer and that you can now share it with your friends and family.

If you’re looking for great NHL trivia and interesting facts regarding this great ice hockey league, you’re going to love this article. And after you’ve read it, I bet you can stump all of your friends and family with the details that you learn here.

• The last player to have a 33+ point playoff season (beside’s Malkin) was Joe Sakic who made it to 34 in the 1995-1996 playoff season.
• The hockey puck is made of vulcanized rubber, is three inches in diameter and weighs about six ounces. They are also frozen before there are used in a game so that they bounce less.
• The ice of a hockey rink is about ¾” thick and is generally cooled at 16 degrees Fahrenheit. You may ask, “why isn’t it thicker?” Well, actually the thicker the ice is, the slower and softer it becomes, which most definitely does not add to the game of ice hockey which is thrilling because of its speed.
• Maurice Richard was the first player to ever score fifty goals in one NHL season. He did this in 50 games during the 1944-1945 season.
• Billy Smith was the first NHL goalkeeper to ever be accredited with a goal on November 28, 1979.
• The term “Hat Trick” that refers to when a player scores 3 goals in a game, originates from way back, when fans would throw their hats on the ice rink when a player from their team scored three goals.
• The Stanley Cup itself weighs about 35 pounds and stands nearly 36 inches (3 feet) tall.
• Although many people think that the Pittsburgh’s Penguin is holding his stick with his left hand, he actually holds it with his right.
• Bernie Federko ended his career with the Detroit Red Wings in 1989.
• Dominik Hasek Made his first NHL playoff appearance with the Chicago Blackhawks in this season of 1991.
• The Minnesota North Stars played out of Bloomington before their move to Dallas.
• The Calder Cup is awarded to the champions of the AHL. The Calder Trophy, on the other hand, is given to the NHL’s rookie of the year.

You see what I mean? I bet that you weren’t expecting to learn so many interesting things about the history of the NHL (National Hockey League). I’m sure that you’re happy you decided to read this article. This trivia is sure to come in handy sometime soon, and everybody is going to ask themselves, “where did they learn all of that NHL trivia?”

As basketball continued to grow in the USA, two national associations were formed, the NBL (National Basketball League) and the Basketball Association of America (BAA). In 1950, these two associations merged to produced the NBA (National Basketball Association) that we know and love today.

Want to know some other interesting facts about the NBA? If so, you’re going to love this article.

• Elgin Baylor of the Los Angeles Lakes set the record for the most points ever scored in an NBA Finals game by scoring 61 points again the Boston Celtics on April 14, 1962.
• The Rookie of the Year award was first introduced in the 1952/1953 season and was awarded to Don Meineke of the Fort Wayne Pistons.
• The first black player to play in the NBA was Earl Lloyd who was picked up by the Washington Capitals in 1950.
• Jerry West won the NBA Finals MVP award in 1969, even though his team lost the championship.
• Magic Johnson got his breakthrough when he replaced his teammate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (who sprained his ankle) and scored 42 points along with grabbing 15 rebounds.
• That same Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored in double digits for 787 consecutive games from 1977 to 1987.
• Wilt Chamberlin averaged an astounding 48.5 minutes per game in the 1961-1962 season.
• Michael Jordan wasn’t the first player to retire three times from the NBA. Magic Johnson did the same thing and finally retired on May 14, 1966.
• Shaquille O’Neal’s first name translates to “little one”.
• The Chicago Bulls were the first team to ever win 70 games or more in a regular season.
• The New York Knicks won the first ever NBA basketball game in the early 1950’s.
• Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in one basketball game on March 2, 1962.
• Chris Ford scored the first ever three-point shot in NBA history.
• Although you may be tempted to say “Yao Ming”, Wang Zhizhi was actually the first Chinese player to play in the NBA.

I bet you didn’t know all that did you? There are tons of great facts and trivia about the NBA that reveal the history of the game as we know it today. Hopefully you have taken away some knowledge that you didn’t have before you read this article and can share it with other NBA enthusiasts like yourself.

If you would like to learn some interesting trivia regarding ice hockey, its origins, and some important facts, you’re in the right place. I’m going to let you in on some hockey trivia secrets. Many of these facts are relating to the NHL, the most well known hockey league in the world.

• The Vezina trophy is at award that is given every year to the NHL’s best goalie. It was first awarded in 1926-1927 NHL season.
• The Toronto Maple Leafs were the first team to ever win three consecutive NHL Stanley Cup’s. They did this from the 1946- 1947 season to the 1948-1949.
• Michigan was the first NCAA Division I hockey team to win back-to-back championships. They actually one three years in a row from 1951-1953.
• The first Calder Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL’s rookie of the year, was given to Syl Apps of the Toronto Maples Leafs in the 1936-1937 season.
• A hockey team is actually allowed to replace its goalie with an attacking player. This is generally only done in dire situations and is also a common practice in soccer.
• Ice hockey is known as one of the four major North American sports.
• Montreal’s Victoria Rink was the first person to ever hold an organized indoor hockey game in 1875.
• The hockey term “intentionally colliding” is used to refer to checking a player.
• Bobby Orr was the first hockey player to be named “Sportsman of the Year” by Sports Illustrated in 1970, when he was also named the NHL’s MVP and led the Boston Bruins to a Stanley Cup Championship victory.
• The highest amount of goals to be scored in a Stanley Cup playoff game is 5. This feat has been accomplished by 5 players to date and has not happened since 1989.
• The team that has won the most NCAA Division I ice hockey championships is Michigan. They have won the championship a total of 9 times.

Maybe now you understand more clearly some important and interesting facts regarding the game and sport of ice hockey. I hope that you have learned something that you find valuable and that you will share it with other hockey enthusiasts.

Football was invented by Walter Camp who combined soccer and rugby to come up with the basic rules. However, Rinus Michel, is the father of football as we know it today, with 11 men per side.

Although you may consider yourself an avid football fan, I bet you that you don’t know these interesting facts about football that are listed beneath. Take a look and see how much you actually know about American Football.

• Jay Berwanger was first player to ever be drafted in the 1936 NFL draft. He was originally drafted by the Philadelphia team but later his playing rights were sold to the Bears. Ironically, in a short amount of time he became a foam/rubber salesman.
• Today’s New York Jets were originally called the New York Titans. Actually, there were known as the Titans until 1963, when Sonny Werblin took over the franchise.
• In 1982 there was a huge player strike in the NFL. To accommodate that strike, the total amount of season games was reduced from 16 to 9.
• Think Jim Brown was the first person to run for 1000 yards? If so, you’re wrong. Beattie Feathers, of the Chicago Bears, was actually the first player to rush for 1000 yards in a single season. He accomplishes amazing feat in 1934 with only 119 carries. This made his average 8.4 yards per carry.
• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise came into existence in the year 1976 and lost the first 26 games. They then win the first game until the end of their second season.
• The New Orleans Saints were founded in 1967. They went more than a decade without playing a .500 season. In fact, they didn’t achieve their first winning season for two decades.
• Barry Sanders, the famous running back, only played in one waiting playoff game for the Detroit Lions. Also, the Lions mascot is a lion named Roary.
• The smallest margin of victory in Super Bowl history is one point. This happened in Super Bowl XXV, in 1991, when the New York Giants defeated the Buffalo Bills 20 to 19.

Are you surprised? There is so much incredible trivia and interesting facts about the game of American football. You would be hard-pressed to find a person who you couldn’t stump with these facts. I hope that you have learned something and are eager to share it with your football buddies.

• The National Hockey League was founded in 1917, and consisted of only four teams. Those teams were the Toronto Arenas, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, and the Montreal Wanderers.
• The NHL hall of fame is located in Toronto, Ontario in Canada, and was founded in 1943.
• Scotty Bowman is renowned as the coach to have won the most NHL games.
• The youngest goalie to ever go with his team to the Stanley Cup was Patrick Roy who was only 20 in 1985 finals.
• New York Islanders’ player Ken Morrow is the only player to have been part of both the Olympic hockey team and the team that won the Stanley Cup in the same year in 1980-1981.
• Wayne Gretzky is the player with the most goals in a career. Topping out at 894 goals, he also holds the records for the most assists at 1,963.
• The Sutter family holds the record for the most family members in the NHL with all six brothers active in the league by 1982.
• The goaltender is the only member of a NHL team who can’t serve as the co-captain or captain.
• Jacques Plante is the first goal keeper to make the goalie mask popular.
• The act of wearing helmets didn’t start in the NHL until 1959, and was not mandatory until 1979.
• Henri Richard a member of the Montreal Canadiens has been a member of the winning team of the Stanley Cup the most times with 11 wins under his belt.
• The NHL record for the most penalty minutes belongs to Tiger Williams, who was in the box a total of 3966 minutes.
• A National Hockey League ice ring is officially 85 feet by 200 feet in size.
• The dimensions of a NHL hockey net are four feet, by six feet, by two feet.
• There are 82 games in an NHL season.
• Phil Esposito was the first player in the NHL to score more than 70 points in a single season, which he accomplished with 76 goals in the 70/71 season.
• The first National Hockey League All-Star Game MVP was Eddie Shack in 1962.

A true man’s sport with a loyal following of fans, hockey is thrilling and entertaining to those who follow its progress year after year. The NHL trivia above is meant to test the knowledge of even the best hockey fans, and to provide information to all those who love the sport. Although it has not been around as long as some of the other sports, few things can match the call of the ice.

• The minimum annual salary of a professional baseball player in 1965 was a whopping $6,000.
• A fly ball which is easy to catch is referred to a “can of corn” in the sport of baseball.
• In New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has the world’s largest collection of 200,000 baseball cards.
• The Washington Senators were the first professional baseball team to have a “Women’s Day” in 1897.
• Since moving into their new ball fields, the Mets, Cubs, and Yankees have not won a World Series.
• Five baseball gloves can be made from the hide of one average cow.
• There are 108 stitches on the average regulation baseball.
• Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers was baseball’s first Rookie of the Year in 1947.
• After saying “They’ll put a man on the moon before I hit a home run” in 1963, Gaylord Perry hit his first and only home run in 1969 only hours after Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.
• Nolan Ryan set the record for the most strikeouts with 383.
• The maximum length for a baseball bat is 42 inches.
• Hoyt Wilhelm was the first relief pitcher elected into the Hall of Fame.
• The one millionth run in Major League Baseball was scored in 1976.
• Joel Youngblood is the only player to have hits for two different MLB teams in the same day.
• 1885 a new rule allowed a bat to have one flat side, the rule was discontinued the following year.
• The first year that the New York Yankees wore uniforms with pin stripes was 1915.
• The first documented fight between an umpire and a player was in 1846.
• The silhouette on the Major League Baseball logo is that of Harmon Killebrew.
• The National Baseball Hall of Fame was created in Cooperstown, NY in 1935 to honor the sports’ 100th anniversary.
• It takes 4,800 ash trees to make the baseball bats required for one Major League Baseball season.
• The record for the most career innings is owned by Cy Young with 7,356.
• The umpire with the record for the most seasons umpiring for MLB is Bill Klem with 37 years.
• There were no gloves used in baseball until the 1870’s.

Baseball is not only a captivating sport, but a true part of American history as well. No other sport has served to unite American as well as that of baseball, and millions of people await the Major League Baseball season’s start each year. The list above is only a sampling of the baseball trivia that exists for this amazing sport.