TENNIS AND COLLEGE TENNIS
(See Part II of our “Greatest Games” Series next month.)
TRACK & FIELD
1. SIR ROGER: His house was bombed in the war, his school was on the top of a distant hill and his parents struggled. British med student Roger Bannister had drive — enough drive to break the four-minute mile at Oxford in ‘54. Later he reports “I discovered a new unity with nature. I had found a new source of power and beauty, a source I never dreamt existed.”
2. RUN, JESSIE, RUN!: American Jesse Owens nullifies Hitler’s myth of Aryan superiority by snaring four golds at the ‘36 Berlin Olympics.
3. AIR BEAMON: Long jumper Bob Beamon takes advantage of Mexico City’s thin air to unleash a leap of 29 feet two and a half inches in ‘68, a record that stood for 23 years.
4. CARL’S SWANSONG: Ailing, flailing and on the downside of his career, Carl Lewis (arguably the best trackman in history) steps in as a last-minute sub and runs the fastest 100 of his career to anchor the U.S. team to a record win in Barcelona in ‘92.
5. FROM ROME TO HOME: Rural Tennessean Wilma Rudolph — the 20th of 22 kids, who once couldn’t walk without braces — wins three golds at the ‘60 Rome Games.
6. BLACK POWER: In a moment of solidarity during their awards ceremony at Mexico City in ‘68, medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos raise their black-gloved fists to the sky.
7. STAGGERING FINISH: On the last lap of the ‘08 Olympic marathon in London, exhausted leader Dorando Pietri collapses four times on the final lap before staggering across the finish line with aid from officials. The Italian is later disqualified.
8. WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM, BUDD?: Gold medal favorite Mary Decker and rival Zola Budd collide in the 3,000-meter final at the ‘84 L.A. Olympics, and Oregonian Decker is knocked to the ground. Her hip bruised, a sobbing Decker is carried off the track.
9. BODY ‘N SEOUL: At the ‘88 Seoul Olympics, Jackie Joyner-Kersee sets the still-standing heptathlon world record of 7,291 points and also wins the long jump.
10. LIGHTNING BOLT: Hot-dogging Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt effortlessly shatters the 100- and 200-meter marks in Beijing and ensures a win in the relay.
BEST BROADCAST CALLS
1. “The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!” — Russ Hodges/‘51 N.L. Championship
2. “The most amazing, sensational, traumatic, heartrending, exciting, thrilling finish in the history of college football.” — An ecstatic Joe Starkey after Cal’s “Play” beats Stanford/‘82
3. “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” — Al Michaels after the U.S. hockey team beats the Soviets/‘80
4. “I don’t believe what I just saw.” — Jack Buck after Kirk Gibson’s limp-off home run/‘88
5. “Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!” — Howard Cosell after Ali knocks down Frazier/‘75 World Series
6.”And Schmeling is down…and here’s the count…” — Ben Grauer after Joe Louis knocks out Max Schmeling
7. “Havlicek stole the ball. It’s all over. Havlicek stole the ball.” — Johnny Most/‘65
8. “Here comes Willis. The crowd is going wild.” — Marv Albert on Willis Reed’s fabled appearance/‘70 NBA Finals
9. The Cinderella team has done it! The glass slipper fits.” — Gary Dornurg after N.C. State beats Houston/‘83 NCAA Final
10. “Back goes Gionfriddo, back, back, back, back, back, back and…HE MAKES A ONE-HANDED CATCH AGAINST THE BULLPEN! Oh, doctor!” — Red Barber after Dodger Al Gionfriddo robbed Yankee Joe DiMaggio of a home run in the ‘47 World Series
IT thanks Art Spander, Ted Robinson, Bruce Jenkins and the halls of fame of horse racing, soccer, hockey, baseball and college football for their assistance.
