Sports History This Week

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Canada’s Oldest Rivals Battle on the Ice Dec 07, 2022

Show notes

December 9, 1953. In downtown Toronto, the only two Canadian squads in the NHL face off. The Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs have a long and bitter rivalry, and this game is no exception. It’s already testy as players on both sides rack up penalty after penalty in the first two periods. But by the third, all hell breaks loose.

Today, Canada’s oldest teams come together for the roughest match ever between the NHL’s most storied rivals. What led to the passionate, long-standing conflict between the cities and their sports teams? And more than 100 years later, is the oldest rivalry in hockey dead?

Special thanks to our guests Lance Hornby, author of “Toronto and The Maple Leafs: A City and its Team,” D’Arcy Jenish, author of "The Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years of Glory,” Frank Condron, a lifelong Maple Leafs Fan, Jeff Hoard, a lifelong Canadiens fan, and Dr. Glen Duerr, professor of International Studies at Cedarville University.

The Golden Age of Roller Derby Nov 30, 2022

Show notes

November 29, 1948. Thousands of screaming fans are packed inside New York City’s 69th Regiment Armory, eyes peeled on the wooden oval track, shining under the spotlights. Roller derby is just a few years old, but this new sport already has a huge fan base. And now, for the first time ever, roller derby will be broadcast to the masses – on television. Fans have never seen anything like it: the speed, the violence, and the fact that men and women compete alongside each other as teammates.

Today, how did the so-called “golden era” of roller derby come about, going from a Depression-era sideshow to a multi-million-dollar empire? And how did this sport challenge traditions of athletics and society?

Special thanks to our guests: Michella Marino, author of “Roller Derby, the History of an American Sport.” Shari Gammon Cantal, granddaughter of roller derby legend Gerry Murray. Steve Seltzer, grandson of roller derby entrepreneur Leo Seltzer. And Nick Scopas, member of the Roller Derby Hall of Fame.

Muhammad Ali Enters Boxing’s “Moral Crusade” Nov 23, 2022

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November 22, 1965. In downtown Las Vegas, thousands of fans come inside from a rare rainstorm to watch a boxing matchfeaturing young superstar Muhammad Ali. But the lopsided crowd isn’t cheering for Ali; it’s backingtwo-time heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson. The two men have come to symbolize more than boxing, but an entire societal struggle.

Today, why was Muhammad Ali—formerly Cassius Clay—such a polarizing figure across America? How did this boxing match embody an internal struggle within the Civil Rights movement? And how did it serve as a key stepping stone in Ali’s evolution into one of the era’s most iconic activist voices?

Special thanks to our guests:Dr. Gerald Early, professor of English and African American Studies at Washington University in St Louis; Dr. Todd Boyd, professor at the University of Southern California and chair for study of race and popular culture; Jonathan Eig, author of the biography “Ali: A Life”; W-K Stratton, author of the biography “Floyd Patterson”; and Dave Kindred, an American sportswriter known for his coverage of Muhammad Ali.

The Marshall University Plane Crash Nov 16, 2022

Show notes

November 14, 1970. Dozens of football players, coaches, and local boosters from Marshall University board an airplane to return home after a 17-14 loss to East Carolina. But at 7:36pm, while trying to land at Tri-State Airport in Huntingon, West Virginia, the plane crashes, killing all 75 people on board. It’s still the deadliest tragedy to affect any sports team—amateur or professional—in American history. How did the Marshall University community cope with this devastation? And how was the Thundering Herd football team able to succeed on the field in the years to come?

Special thanks to our guests: Patrick Garbin, college football journalist and co-author of A Coach In Progress, Lori Thompson, the head of special collections at Marshall University, Lindsey Harper, the university archivist at Marshall University, Steve Cotton, Marshall football radio broadcaster, and Kit Darby, an aviation expert and instructor.

Jackie Robinson Tries Out for the Majors (History This Week Replay) Nov 09, 2022

Show notes

April 16, 1945. Jackie Robinson is ready. He’s won a tryout with the Boston Red Sox, and if he makes the team, he will become the first player to break baseball’s long-standing racial divide. Robinson puts his supreme athletic skills on full display… but never hears back from the Red Sox. The tryout was just for show. It’s not the first deception or indignity that Robinson has endured because of his race. But ultimately, nothing could stop him from breaking baseball’s color line. What does his experience reveal about the history of race in America? And how did Robinson’s life prepare him for his historic achievement?

Special thanks to Howard Bryant, senior writer for ESPN and author of Full Dissidence: Notes from an Uneven Playing Field; Ralph Carhart, baseball historian and editor of the upcoming book Not an Easy Tale to Tell: Jackie Robinson on the Page, Stage, and Screen; and Amira Rose Davis, assistant professor of history and African American studies at Penn State and co-host of the sports podcast Burn it All Down and host of season three of American Prodigies: Black Girls in Gymnastics.

The Birth of Cheer Nov 02, 2022

Show notes

November 6, 1869. 25 Princeton students hop on the 10 o’clock train to Rutgers. They’re heading to compete in the first-ever intercollegiate football game. This isn’t just a milestone in the history of American sports—it also marks the birth of football culture on the sidelines. Because a group of Princeton students, watching the game, breaks into a cheer known as the “Princeton locomotive.” They’re considered the first cheerleaders. How did jumping for joy turn into a big business? And how did cheerleaders go from the epitome of masculinity to femininity—to now, challenging the entire role of gender in sports?

Special thanks to our guests, Dr. Natalie Adams, professor at the University of Alabama and co-author of Cheerleader! An American Icon, and Kimberly Jackson-Jones, former Raiderette and current teacher at Troy High School.

The Blue Jays Take On America Oct 26, 2022

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October 24, 1992. It's Game 6 of the World Series: Atlanta Braves versus the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadian Squad is just a few outs from winning their first-ever major sports championship outside of hockey. Can they pull it off?

The Toronto Blue Jays have gained a reputation in the past decade as chokers. After its rocky early years, the lovable underdogs from up north have become perpetual division winners that can't quite get over the hump.

Today, the Toronto Blue Jays have a chance to create a new reputation. Will they get it done? And to a nation defined by hockey, what would a baseball championship really mean?

Special thanks to our guests Frank Condron, lifelong Blue Jays fan, Adrian Fung, author of the book “We Are, We Can, We Will: the 1992 World Champion Toronto Blue Jays, Pat Gillick, former General Manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, Pat McDonald, comedian, and lifelong Blue Jays fan, and Bob Elliott, longtime Blue Jays writer for the Toronto Sun.

The NBA Forces a Fit Check Oct 19, 2022

Show notes

October 17, 2005. The NBA is going through massive changes. Michael Jordan is retired (again), and the league is getting younger. Stars like Allen Iverson represent the rise of hip-hop culture, which David Stern blames for the league’s dwindling viewership. His solution? Today, Stern enacts a dress code, including collared shirts and sports coats – an unprecedented rule in American sports history.

What provokes Stern to make this move? How does the league react? And despite the initial outrage and backlash, how do the players eventually win this fight?

Special thanks to our guests: Dave Zarum, author of NBA 75: The Definitive History; Jordan Ligons, NBA and WNBA writer and co-host of the Spinsters basketball podcast; Kesha McLeod, personal stylist to the stars, including Serena Williams, PJ Tucker, Chris Bosh, and Giannis Antekounmpo; and Dr. Todd Boyd, Professor of Cinema and Media Studies at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Jim Thorpe's Lost Gold (w/ History This Week) Oct 12, 2022

Show notes

October 13, 1982. The announcement came from Switzerland, across the world from where Jim Thorpe was raised on Indian territory in Oklahoma. In his time, Thorpe was the most popular athlete in the world, winning two gold medals at the 1912 Olympics. But for a variety of reasons—including his Native American heritage—those medals were stripped away. But today, though Thorpe passed away years earlier, his children will receive the medals that their father rightly won.

In a special collaboration with our sibling podcast, History This Week, we seek to answer: how does Jim Thorpe rise from an Indian boarding school to become “The Greatest Athlete of All Time"? And why was his legacy almost destroyed?

Special thanks to Sunnie Clahchischiligi, freelance journalist and PhD candidate in Cultural, Indigenous, and Navajo Rhetoric at the University of New Mexico; and David Maraniss, associate editor at the Washington Post and author of Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe.

Sandy Koufax’s Yom Kippur Stand Oct 05, 2022

Show notes

October 6, 1965. For baseball fans, it’s the most sacred time of the year: the World Series. The Dodgers are in Minneapolis to face off against the Minnesota Twins in Game 1. But their star pitcher, Sandy Koufax, isn’t on the mound. Because October 6 is sacred for another reason—it’s Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. Who is Sandy Koufax? And how did he fundamentally shape baseball and American Jewish life?

Special thanks to our guests: Shawn Green, former MLB right fielder and founder of the tech company Greenfly; Mark Langill, Dodgers team historian; Jane Leavy, author of Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy; and Jacob Steinmetz, pitcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.

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