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INVENTIONS AND TECHNOLOGY IN SPORTS
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THE INVENTION OF THE MODERN BASEBALL FIELD
Alexander Cartwright of New York invented the modern baseball field in 1845.Alexander Cartwright and the members of his New York Knickerbockers Baseball Club devised the first rules and regulations that were accepted for the modern game of baseball.Alexander Cartwright formalized the modern rules of baseball.Yes, others were making their own versions of the game at the time however, the Knickerbockers style of the game was the one that became the most popular. -
THE FIRST BASEBALL GLOVES INVENTED
In baseball's early days, players did no even have the option to wear protective equipment.In 1869, Cincinnati Red Stockings catcher Doug Allison was the first person recorded to wear a baseball glove.Because his hands were cracking and splitting from playing multiple back-to-back games, Allison hired a local saddle maker to create a simple leather glove for him.The glove was made to only cover the palm of his hand.Thus, there were holes for each of his fingers, which remained exposed. -
THE INVENTION OF TENNIS
According to many sports historians, Walter Clopton Wingfield invented land tennis which later became the “tennis” we know today.In December 1873, he created the design and patented the sport referred to as sphairistike, which shares many similarities with the modern-day form of the game.By 1877, the first Wimbledon championships were held in London, England.Tennis is played basically with tennis balls and tennis racquets. -
THE INVENTION OF GOLF TEES
In the early days of golf, golf tees as we know them today were not part of the game.To elevate the ball for a drive, one had to build a tiny mound of dirt or sand and balance the ball on top.Among the experimenters were two Scots, William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas, inventors of the first patented tee in the world.Their patent document is dated 1889 and describes a small rubber plate with a raised ball support in the form of upright prongs or a hollow cylinder. -
THE INVENTION OF BASKETBALL
Sports History:BasketballIn December 1891, Canadian-born James Naismith, a physical education teacher at the YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) training school, took a soccer ball and a peach basket into the gym and invented basketball.The concept of basketball was born from Naismith's school days in the area where he played a simple child's game known as duck-on-a-rock outside his one-room schoolhouse.The game involved attempting to knock a "duck" off the top of a large rock by tossing another rock at it. -
THE INVENTION OF VOLLEYBALL
The Inventor of Volleyball, William Morgan In 1895, William G. Morgan, an instructor at the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in Holyoke, Mass. created the game of Volleyball (at that time called mintonette).Morgan borrowed the net from tennis, and raised it 6 feet 6 inches above the floor, just above the average man's head.During a demonstration game, someone remarked to Morgan that the players seemed to be volleying the ball back and forth over the net, and perhaps "volleyball" would be a more descriptive name for the sport. -
THE INVENTION OF PLASTIC FOOTBALL HELMET
The plastic football helmet came in 1939.It was invented and patented by John T. Riddell and his son John T. Riddell Jr., of the John T. Riddell Company in Chicago, a sporting goods provider.The single molded shell was stronger, lighter, longer lasting, and did not rot the way leather does when damp.The plastic helmets were brittle when hit head on and the bar hole that was drilled for the face mask tended to pop loose.The plastic helmet was made legal in 1949. -
FIRST INVENTION OF THE PENALTY FLAG
On October 15, 1941, the night before Youngstown College Penguins were to play Oklahoma City, Dike Beede asked his wife Irma to fetch her sewing kit.Jack McPhee the coach of Youngstown College Penguins did make history a few years later when he tossed Irma Beede’s flag in a game between Ohio State and Iowa in Columbus, Ohio.The Big Ten commissioner was in the stands.The next week the flag was adopted throughout the conference.In 1948 the NFL approved the penalty flag. -
FIRST INVENTION OF THE GOAL TENDER MASK
Jacques Plante: A Game Changer A goaltender mask commonly referred to as a goalie mask or a hockey mask, is a mask worn by ice hockey, and field hockey goaltenders to protect the head from injury.Jacques Plante was the first goaltender to create and use a practical mask in 1959.Plante's mask was a piece of fiberglass that was contoured to his face.This mask later evolved into a helmet/cage combination, and single piece full fiberglass mask.Today, the full fiberglass mask is the most popular option because it is safer. -
THE INVENTION OF POWERADE: SPORTS DRINK
POWERADE was invented in 1988 by Matthew Ehrlich and it is a sports drink by The Coca-Cola Company. Currently, POWERADE is number two in the sports drink market worldwide. It was first introduced in 1988, starting in soda fountains. By 1992 the beverage was launched nationally in the United States, and became the official sports drink of the 1992 Olympic Games. POWERADE’s primary competitor is Gatorade, which is the original sports drink, and market share leader.
