Top 10 history of sport facts

Women were allowed to participate in athletic competitions. The decision to include women in athletic competitions was widely criticised not only by the majority of the sport community, but also by Vatican.

0. In response to the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, 14 Eastern Bloc countries including the Soviet Union boycotted the Games. The IOC awarded Los Angeles the Games by default, as no other city was interested.

Hungary vs USSR. By the start of the Olympics, the 1956 Hungarian Revolution had been suppressed by the Soviets, and many players saw the Olympics as a way to salvage pride for their country. After the extraordinarily violent game, many of Hungary team members sought asylum in the West. Hungary won 4:0.

0. Rocky Marciano is the only professional boxer to have retired undefeated holding the world heavyweight title. His record was 49 wins (43 KOs), 0 draws, 0 losses.

Sheffield F.C. FIFA officially recognizes Sheffield F.C. as the oldest football club of the world. The club was established in 1857. The photo shows its contemporaneous team. The club is often referred to as "the ancients".

A Canadian. The basketball game was created in 1891 by James Naismith, a physical education professor at the Springfield College. His aim was to keep his gym class active on a rainy day. He wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot (3.05 m) elevated track (see original photo). Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball.

Zeus. Olimpia was a famous center of Zeus worship. This place was famous for the huge statue of Zeus (by Phidias), made of gold and ivory, considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Two different balls were used in the final: Argentina supplied the first-half ball (the 'Tiento') and led 2–1 at the break; hosts Uruguay supplied the second-half ball (the 'T-Model', which was larger and heavier; see photo) and won 4–2.

Austria. Of the total number of 397 medals awarded so far, Austria got 105, nearly twice as much as Switzerland, which comes second with 56 medals. Austrian dominance is not limited to the Olympic Games - Austrians won also nearly 30% of all Alpine Skiing World Cup races.

4th century AD. The Olympic games were disbanded as "pagan rituals" shortly after Christianity was made the official religion of the Roman Empire. Theodosius the Great dissolved the order of the Vestal Virgins in Rome and banned the Olympics in Ancient Greece.