The first World Series in recent history took place over a century ago, in 1903. The Boston Americans defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in an exhausting nine-game series. Captured here, we see fans storming Boston’s Huntington Avenue Grounds following Boston’s victory in the series.
Today, the field is home to Boston University’s sports teams. And while Hunting Avenue Grounds was a famous venue, the Red Sox moved to Fenway Park, an equally outstanding and impressive home field that has seen its fair share of World Series.
Tony Esposito vs. the Soviets
Sports have always been one of the great equalizers - especially against rival countries. Here we see Canadian goalie Tony Esposito during the intense eight-game hockey series that pitted the Soviet Union against Canada in 1972. This heated series symbolically marked the seriousness of the Cold War and was one of the War's signature head-to-head games, except it was fought on ice.
Called the Summit Series, the USSR dominated international hockey because the NHL was banned from playing, putting Canada at a severe disadvantage. Team Canada, led by Tony Esposito, the Hall of Fame goalie who won four games with one tied, while the Soviets won three games.
Super Bowl 1970
The final Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Minnesota Vikings was held on January 11, 1970. Many people thought the NFL to be the far-superior league, the Chiefs of the AFL dominated the game from the outset. And as of late, the Vikings still haven't won a Super Bowl.
Held in New Orleans' Tulane Stadium, the muddy game saw kicker No.3, Jan Stenerud hit three field goals and gained on two extra points. Stenerud was later elected into the Hall of Fame in 1991.
Lew Alcindor Makes His Mark on UCLA
Before we knew Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as Kareem, he was Lew Alcindor of the UCLA Bruins; he altered his name before his senior season. During his time playing on the varsity squad for UCLA, Lew Alcindor went on the win three National Championships, was also a three-time All-American and was named the NCAA Most Outstanding Player three times.
In a short period of three years, Alcindor and the dominant Bruins lost only two games, bringing their remarkable record over that time period to 88-2. Lew Alcindor was drafted first overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1969. He resigned from basketball, a six-time champion, and the NBA's all-time leading scorer.
Larry Feels the Magic
Larry Bird and Magic Johnson played for two of the NBA's biggest rivals, the Celtics and Lakers, even though they were legendary rivals on the court, they were great friends off it. They level-off each other three times in the NBA finals, with the Lakers winning twice.
Their rivalry really began in 1979 at the NCAA Championship game, with Magic's Michigan State Spartans beating Bird's Indiana State Sycamores 75-64, with this game being a hint of things to come. Michigan State would become of the NCAA's most dominant teams and Indiana State fading into relative oblivion.