Miss Magnetic Fly Reel of 1959

Source: The Times Dispatch (Richmond, Virginia) 09 Nov 1958, Sun Page 49

Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 12, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Sports, Fish, 1950s

Circular Boxing Rings

In 1975, Marvin Jenson received a patent (No. 3,876,197) for a circular boxing ring. As he noted in his patent, a circular ring is safer than a square one due to the lack of corners:


In a newspaper interview, Jenson further explained that the idea for the round boxing ring had occurred to him after watching the 1961 fight between Benny Paret and Emile Griffith, during which Paret got trapped in a corner and took such a beating that he fell into a coma and died.

Jenson's patent drawing

Jenson's circular ring in use
Jordan Valley Sentinel - June 10, 1976

Jenson was hardly the first person to come up with the idea of a circular boxing ring. The idea has been around for a long time. In fact, way back when fighters used to compete in circles drawn on the ground, which is why boxing rings came to be referred to as 'rings' in the first place, rather than 'squares'.

So how did boxing rings end up being square and continue to be so?

As far as I can tell, it's mostly a matter of convenience. It's easier to string rope in a straight line rather than a circle.

An earlier attempt at a circular ring
Newsweek - May 8, 1944

Posted By: Alex - Thu Oct 27, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Sports, Martial Arts, Patents

Gravy Wrestling

The BBC reports that, after a two-year absence due to Covid, the World Gravy Wrestling Championship has returned.


More info: World Gravy Wrestling

Posted By: Alex - Thu Sep 15, 2022 - Comments ()
Category: Food, Sports

The Atomic Balm prank

I'm not sure when exactly Atomic Balm was first sold. I believe it was sometime in the 1950s. But it very quickly became widely used by football teams as a pain-relieving ointment.

It also became a favorite of pranksters. The prank involved surreptitiously placing Atomic Balm in a player's jockstrap. Since the ointment contains Capsaicin, the results were painful.

The Atomic Balm prank was a perennial favorite on high school football teams, but the most famous instance of the prank occurred on the Miami Dolphins, recounted below.

Source: Teena Dickerson, The Girlfriend's Guide to Football

Posted By: Alex - Fri Aug 19, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Sports, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, Pranks, Pain, Self-inflicted and Otherwise

The Fuse Ball

In 1926, Philip S. Kane of Pennsylvania received a patent for his "fuse ball" (Patent No. 1,583,721). It was a golf ball with a fuse. Before teeing off, you'd light the fuse, which would then start emitting smoke. That way, you could find the ball wherever you hit it, even if it landed in tall grass.

According to various media reports, while testing his ball Kane accidentally set a wheat field on fire, but I haven't seen any proof to back up that story.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Aug 15, 2022 - Comments ()
Category: Sports, Golf, Patents, 1920s

Summer Skiing in Chicago

Source.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 20, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Sports, Urban Life, 1950s

Cat Boxing

I wasn't aware that there was such a thing as cat boxing. Cats fight all the time, of course. But to box each other at a set time in front of a crowd — I didn't think they would cooperate with such an indignity.

Detroit Free Press - June 16, 1939

Update: Paul revealed to me the existence of this old video produced by Thomas Edison, circa 1894, showing cats boxing. So I guess cat boxing is a long-established thing.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Apr 14, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Sports, Martial Arts, Cats, 1930s

Blow Football

Or as we call it today, "Spread the Covid."

This game went through several editions since its 1910 origin. See pictures at Board Game Geek.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 13, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Games, Sports, Viruses, Germs and Other Sources of Infection

Curtis Schoon, the boxer who forgot to wear his trunks

The boxing career of featherweight Curtis Schoon would be entirely forgotten by now if he hadn't, one time, forgotten to wear his boxing trunks into the ring. He opened his robe and... he had nothing on beneath it.

Argus Leader - Jan 26, 1956

Argus Leader - Jan 19, 1957

Posted By: Alex - Mon Apr 11, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Sports, Martial Arts, Nudism and Nudists

Blind Soccer

The game, referenced in the news clipping below, was evidently an early example of blind soccer.

The Evening Sun - Dec 17, 1973

The game has now developed into an established Paralympic sport. From wikipedia:

• All players, except for the goalkeeper, are blindfolded.
• The ball has been modified to make a jingling or rattling sound.
• Players are required to say "voy", "go", or something similar when going for the ball; this alerts the other players about their position.
• A guide, positioned outside the field of play, provides instructions to the players.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Apr 07, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Sports, Eyes and Vision