America’s Four Major SportsThe History, The Greats, The Moments

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America’s Four Major Sports

Major League Baseball

The National Football League

The National Basketball Association

The National Hockey League

Other Notable Sports

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Major League BaseballBrief Points of History

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• Founded in 1869 when the first professional team, The Cincinnati Red Stockings was started.

• In 1902, three major leagues signed agreement that would be the basis for the current major league system.

• Pitchers dominated the game from 1900-1919 during the “dead ball” era.

• Major League Baseball was integrated in 1947 when Jackie Robinson became the first black player to play in a Major League game with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

• Free agency was started in 1975, changing the financial landscape of Major League Baseball for good.

Major League BaseballThree of the Greats

Nolan RyanPitcher, 1969-1993

Babe RuthPitcher, OF , 1914-1935

Josh HamiltonOF, 1999-?

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Major League BaseballOne Great Moment

In 2001, a few short weeks after the trauma of September 11 had jolted America, the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees played one of the most exciting World Series’ in history. After six exciting games that saw ninth inning comebacks and extra inning heroics, the series was tied 3-3. The Diamondbacks won the seventh game in fitting fashion as they came back against baseball’s best closer, Mariano Rivera, in the bottom of the ninth inning. While New York did not win the series, they did have some great moments and comebacks in game 4 and 5 in New York, which seemed to further galvanize the city after the September 11 terror attacks.

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The National Football LeagueBrief Points of History

• Founded in 1920• First championship game was in 1933• In 1965, the NFL supplanted Major League

Baseball as the most televised sport in America.• Merged with the American Football League in

1970, expanding the sport and as a result creating the most watched sporting event in the America, the Superbowl.

• The NFL has shown incredible stability, not losing a franchise since 1952.

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The National Football LeagueThree of the Greats

Lawrence TaylorLinebacker, 1981-1993

Jerry RiceWide Receiver, 1985-2004

Emmitt SmithRB, 1990-2005

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The National Football LeagueOne Great Moment

In Superbowl 42 between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants, no one gave the Giants a chance to win the game. New England was considered one of the most dominant teams in league history. They had won their division by nine games and were undefeated up until the Superbowl. With 2:39 left in the game, the Giants were down by 4, and then “The Drive” began. Eli Manning led his team 83 yards on 12 plays climaxing with a spectacular move away from a sack and a breath-taking pass caught with fingertips by David Tyree and somehow secured against his helmet. Plaxico Burress caught a touchdown on a fade route moments later and sealed one of the greatest Super Bowls of all time.

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The National Basketball AssociationBrief Points of History

• Founded in 1949• When the league first formed, it had seventeen

franchises located in a mix of large and small cities, as well as large arenas and smaller gymnasiums and armories.

• Starting in 1957, the Boston Celtics won eleven championships in a span of thirteen seasons.

• In 1979, the three-point field goal was added to the game.

• In 2010, the NBA all-star game was played before a crowd of over 108,000 people.

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The National Basketball AssociationThree of the Greats

Wilt ChamberlainCenter, 1959-1973

Larry BirdPower Forward, 1979-1992

Michael JordanShooting Guard, 1984-2003

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The National Basketball AssociationOne Great Moment

With the Chicago Bulls trailing by three points in the final minute, Michael Jordan first scored on a drive. Then he stripped the ball from Karl Malone at the defensive end. Finally, he buried the game-winning shot, a 20-footer with 5.2 seconds left, that gave the Bulls an 87-86 victory and their sixth championship in eight years. Jordan had overcome fatigue and finished with 45 points as he won his sixth Finals Most Valuable Player award, while reaffirming his status as the NBA's best player.

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The National Hockey LeagueBrief Points of History

• Founded in 1917 in Canada• The league started with four teams and has

expanded to thirty.• The league has been bi-national since 1924 when

it expanded to the United States.• In the past decade, labor disputes have become

a normal part of the league, seriously hindering it’s public perception.

• The NHL is considered the premier ice hockey league throughout the world.

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The National Hockey LeagueThree of the Greats

Bobby OrrDefenseman, 1966-1979

Wayne GretskyCenter, 1979-1999

Mario LemieuxCenter, 1984-2006

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The National Hockey LeagueOne Great Moment

Wayne Gretzky obliterated the record of fastest to fifty goals in 1981-82, when he scored 50 goals in just 39 games. When "The Great One" reached 50 goals, nobody else in the league had scored 30 yet. By the end of the 1981-82 season, Gretzky had scored an NHL-record 92 goals and 212 points. The 92-goal record still stands today, while the NHL's all-time scoring leader broke his own record by scoring 215 points in 1985-86. Nobody has come close to Gretzky's record since, and it remains the standard by which all goal scorers are measured.

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Other Notable Sports

Major League SoccerUltimate Fighting Championship

Women’s National Basketball LeaguePGA and LPGA

Association of Tennis Professionals

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