Sports Facts

Athletes in the ancient Olympic Games competed completely nude.

Basketball was invented in 1891 using peach baskets nailed to a gymnasium balcony.

The Boston Red Sox went 86 years without a championship after selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees.

Golf courses have 18 holes because of a round played at St Andrews in Scotland in 1764.

The marathon's official distance of 26.2 miles was set so the race could finish in front of British royalty.

Michael Phelps has won more Olympic medals than any athlete in history, with 28 total.

Modern boxing gloves and timed rounds only became standard in 1867, under rules named for a British nobleman.

Cricket's Ashes trophy exists because of a sarcastic newspaper obituary written in 1882.

The Tour de France was created in 1903 as a publicity stunt to sell more newspapers.

Wimbledon has required players to wear almost entirely white since the tournament's Victorian origins.