Seabiscuit, the horse whom many believe was the finest racing thoroughbred to ever gallop down a race track, ran 89 races. He won 33 races, finished second in 15 races, and placed third in 13. His grandfather was the legendary Man O’ War and his uncle was War Admiral. Grandfather and grandson both died the same year, 1947. Seabiscuit was 14, Man O’ War was 30. Seabiscuit’s owner, Charles Howard, was the nation’s most successful Buick dealer in the 1930s.
The world’s first official automobile race was run from June 11 to June 13, 1895 on a course that was laid from Paris to Bordeaux, France and back again for a total distance of 732 miles. Driver Emile Levassor and his co-driver Rene Panhard covered the course in a little over 49 hours, averaging the breathtaking speed of 15 miles a hour. Levassor drove a Panhard et Levassor chassis of his own design powered by 2 cylinder, 750 rpm, four horsepower Daimler Phoenix engine. Levassor put the engine in front of the driver, rather than underneath the carriage, which at the time was a radical change from the automobiles that had been previously built.
The 2013 NFL season saw two quarterbacks tie the pro record for most touchdown passes in a game with seven TDs. Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos accomplished the feat against the Baltimore Ravens on the opening weekend of the season. Later on, in week nine, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles threw for seven TDs against the Oakland Raiders. Before that, the last time any quarterback had thrown seven TD passes in a game was when Joe Kapp of the Minnesota Vikings threw for seven against the Baltimore Colts in a 1969 game.
Jack Taylor, a 5 ft. 10 in., 170 lb. guard playing for the Division III Grinnell College basketball team set the single game record for the most points by an individual player in any basketball game by scoring 138 points against Faith Baptist Bible College on November 20, 2012. Taylor scored 80 points in the second half, also a record.
The biggest fish ever caught and approved as IFGA world record was a white shark weighing in at 2,664 lbs. Alfred Dean caught the monster off the coast of Ceduna, Australia on April 21, 1959 using a porpoise as bait.
The fastest speed ever recorded for a bicycle is 166.994 miles per hour attained by Fred Rompelberg of the Netherlands on October 3, 1995 at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Rompelberg rode behind a specially constructed wind shield attached to a slingshot dragster.
Golfer Art Wall Jr. shot a record 54 holes-in-one during his golfing career — 9 as an amateur and a member of the Duke University golf team, 45 during his pro career. Jack Nicklaus is a distant second with 22. Wall had 14 PGA tour wins including the 1959 Masters.
Charles “Old Hoss” Radbourn holds the record for most wins by a major league pitcher in a single season with 59 wins in 1894. Playing for the Providence Grays of the National League, Old Hoss pitched in 678 innings during the 1894 season and won the National League’s pitching triple crown with a 1.38 ERA, 441 strikeouts, and the 59 victories. Providence’s win/loss record for 1894 was 84 and 28. By the end of the season, Radbourn’s arm was so sore and swollen that he could not raise it to shave or comb his hair.
Light heavyweight boxer Archie Moore has the most knockouts in major competitions with 145. He is also the oldest man to fight in a title bout at age 47. Floyd Patterson was knocked down more than any other heavyweight champion, 20 times. Welterweight champ from October 1940 to July 1941 Fritzie Zivic holds the record for most defeats by a champion with 65 losses. The first boxing club was established in London in 1814. It was called th Pugilistic Club and Benevolent Society. Founded by the first well-known fighter and Champion of England “Gentleman” John Jackson, Lord Byron and Beau Brummel were among the founding members.
Liu Chuhong is a female weightlifter who lifts in the 69 Kg or 150 lb. weight class. She is a member of the Chinese Olympic Team. She won a gold medal in the 2004 Olympics in Athens and then four years later became the first woman weightlifter to successfully defend her Olympic title by winning the Gold Medal again in the 2008 Beijing games.
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