The History, The Greats, The Moments
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America’s Four Major Sports
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Major League Baseball
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The National Football League
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The National Basketball Association
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The National Hockey League
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Other Notable Sports
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Major League Baseball
Brief Points of History
• 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.
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Major League Baseball
Three of the Greats
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Nolan Ryan
Babe Ruth
Josh Hamilton
Pitcher, 1969-1993
Pitcher, OF , 1914-1935
OF, 1999-?
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Major League Baseball
One 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 League
Brief 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 League
Three of the Greats
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Lawrence Taylor
Jerry Rice
Emmitt Smith
Linebacker, 1981-1993
Wide Receiver, 1985-2004
RB, 1990-2005
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The National Football League
One 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 Association
Brief 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 Association
Three of the Greats
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Wilt Chamberlain
Larry Bird
Michael Jordan
Center, 1959-1973
Power Forward, 1979-1992
Shooting Guard, 1984-2003
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The National Basketball Association
One 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 League
Brief 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 League
Three of the Greats
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Bobby Orr
Wayne Gretsky
Mario Lemieux
Defenseman, 1966-1979
Center, 1979-1999
Center, 1984-2006
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The National Hockey League
One 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 Soccer
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Women’s National Basketball League
PGA and LPGA
Association of Tennis Professionals
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