Basketball. Invented in 1891 by James Naismith (Physician, clergyman, and educator). Began in Springfield College.
Promoted as a "less-injury
sport" compared to football. Developed as a way to keep students active during winter season
Bill Russell 6'9". Won 11 NBA championships out of the 13 he played in total. Played from 1959-1966. Was also a prominent civil rights activist.
Holds the NBA finals record for most rebounds in a game with 40
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 7'2" Trademark skyhook. Best friends with Muhammad Ali. Scored the second-most points by a player in NBA history.
Best-selling author, political activist, and recipient of a Presidential Medal of Freedom
Magic Johnson 6'10" Actual name is Earvin Johnson Jr. Was given the nickname by a sports writer who watched him achieve 36 points, 16
rebounds and 16 assists at 15 years old. An integral part of the USA's “Dream Team” that won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. The
youngest and the first rookie to receive the Finals MVP award at 20 years old. Holds the record for most average assists in each game played
Michael Jordan 6'6". Led the Chicago Bulls to two 3-peats (1991-1993 and 1996-1998). Won 6 NBA Finals MVP awards. Scored the fifth-most
points by a player in NBA history. Also played baseball when he retired from the NBA in 1994-1995
Kobe Bryant 6'6" The first guard to be drafted by the NBA out of high school Scored the third-most points in an NBA game (81 PTS)
Scored the fourth-most points by an NBA player in history Oldest player to score 60 points in an NBA game (38 years old) The Lakers retire
Bryant’s jersey numbers, No. 8 and No. 24, during a ceremony at halftime Author of The Mamba Mentality book
LeBron James 6'8" Youngest player drafted by the NBA as the number-one pick in 2003 at the age of 18 Scored the most points by an NBA player
in history Only player to win Finals MVP with three different teams Most All-NBA first team appearances Most playoff wins in history Greatest of
All Time
FOOTBALL was first recorded in China in 3rd century BC. The Han Dynasty played a game called Tsu’ Chu- a military training The first professional
association of football is The Fédération Internationale de Football Association or also known as FIFA (1904) Britain was the place where football
was honed and modernized
Christiano Ronaldo 34 Trophies (Second- all time) Scored the most goals in FIFA history (827) 5 Ballon d'Or Awardee (Second all-time record)
4 Golden Shoes Awardee (Second all-time record) 20 Year Longevity
Diego Maradona "The Hand of God" 21 Appearances in the World Cup (Argentina Second-all time)
Lionel Messi 42 Trophies (Most-all time) Scored the most goals in FIFA history (827) 7 Ballon d'Or Awardee (Most all-time record) 6 Golden
Shoes Awardee (Most all-time record) 26 FIFA World Cup Appearance (Most-all time record) FIFA Player of the Year (7x)
Pele 3x World Cup Champion (Most-all time record) Voted Player of the Century (2020) 1,279 Career Goals (Guinness World Record) 10 FIFA
World Cup assists (Most-all time) 92 FIFA Hat Tricks (Most-all time record) Greatest of All Time
VOLLEYBALL Invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan, Holyoke, Massachusetts Originally known as “Mintonette" Friends with James Naismith
Introduced in Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964 Elwood S. Brown introduced the game of Volleyball in the Philippines dated back to 1910.
Hélia Rogério de Souza (FOFAO) Gold medalist in the Summer Olympics (2008) Silver medalist (1994, 2006, 2010) Bronze medalist (1996,2000)
5x FIVB Best Setter Awardee
Yekaterina Gamova "Queen of Volleyball" 2x Silver Medalist in Olympics (2000,2004) 5x FIVB Best Scorer awardee 3x FIVB MVP awardee
Yeon-Koung Kim 207 score in an 8 game span (Olympic record-all time) First player in Asian volleyball to get an MVP grant in the CEV Women's
Champions League. Silver medalist FIVB (2019) Bronze medalist (2010,2018) Received 25 MVP Awards in different clubs
Regla Torres 3x Gold Medalist in the Olympics (1992,1996,2000) (MVP) 2x World Champion (1994,1998)(MVP) Volleyball Player of the Century
14 International Medals in which 11 are Gold Greatest of All Time
BASEBALL Invented in 1839 by Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, New York Published rules in 1845 by Alexander Joy Cartwright (Father of
Baseball) First Baseball game was between the New York Nine and Knickerbockers in 1846 In 1871, the National Association of Professional
BaseBall Players was established In 1876, Major Baseball League was created as the "Mother League"
Ted Williams 2x American League MVP 19x All Star AL 6x Batting Champion AL 2,654 Career Hits War Veteran
Hank Aaron 1x World Series Champion 775 Home Runs (Second-all time record 2,297 Runs (Most-all time record) Presidential Medal of Freedom
Babe Ruth 7x World Series Champion 60 Home Runs in a season (Most-all time record 714 Home Runs (Third-all time record) 1x AL MVP (???)
Greatest of All Time
Honorable mention: Honus Wagner
