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By Gary Oswald. The European Cup at Le Parc des Princes stadium in 1956: the start of the UEFA tournaments. Creative Commons, courtesy the blog L'Equipe and Wikimedia Commons. In a previous article, I discussed how National Leagues for Association Football emerged in England, Scotland, Ireland and other European countries in the late 19th century. And as soon as that happened, there was debate over which of the winners of those leagues were better. From 1876 to 1905, there wa

By Gary Oswald. Paul Dickov nine years after the inciting event. Photo copyright Wikipedia editor 'hst43077' but allowed for any purpose. On the 30th of May 1999 in Wembley Stadium, one of the most important moments in British sport happened. It was the 94th minute of a 90-minute Association Football game, with the score at 2-1. Five minutes had been awarded for stoppage time and so in desperation, with only a minute of the game left, the trailing team played a long ball forw

By Charles EP Murphy. On the Sea Lion Press Forums , we run a monthly Vignette Challenge. Contributors are invited to write short stories on a specific theme (changed monthly). The theme for the 86th contest was Workers . Right. This was going to be the tricky bit. Gene Narvy was going to have to: A) Land his jumping dropkick on Paul Plunder perfectly B) Not look to make sure his partner Tommy Frank had landed his one perfectly, by which he meant Tommy had "botched" the kick

By Gary Oswald. Argentina and France's national teams battle for the ball on the cover of a 1954 sports mag. Picture in public domain and courtesy wikimedia commons. Rugby Union, like a lot of sports, was first codified in the UK and as such the four home nations (England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland) have traditionally been the heartland of the game. From there it spread to France where it became popular, helped by Vichy France banning the rival Rugby League code in 1941 and

By Gary Oswald. WOS Wrestling logo, though cropped from an STV ad rather than an ITV one! Few fandoms have embraced the ‘what if’...

By Gary Oswald. The Civil Service F.C. team in 1893. A founding member of the Football Association, formed (as it said) out of...

By Colin Salt Ouch! The Dallas Cowboys tackle poor Arian Foster in a 2010 match against the Houston Texans, picture courtesy Wikimedia...

By David Flin Basil D'Oliveira, who, according to Wisden, was: "The most important sportsman who ever lived." Some hyperbole, but he had a global impact beyond that of sport. Picture courtesy The Telegraph. As Pete Usher explained in his article series on the Olympics ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ), sport and politics have long been inextricably linked. Linking politics and sport is probably as old as sport itself. Or possibly politics. I guess it depends which came first.

By Pete Usher Old Etonians versus Blackburn Rovers. The game's not what it used to be. Picture courtesy Wikimedia Commons. In previous articles, I’ve spoken about relocations and mergers, which suggested the different places existing sports teams could have ended up. But in those scenarios, the team still exists (or at least a team still exists). It is much harder to kill a whole team, especially in the professional leagues. Or is it? But killing a football club is much ha

By Pete Usher. The Royal Barge Gloriana moored at the London Olympic Park in 2012. Picture courtesy Wikimedia Commons. And so we come to finalé of this series. It’s been an enthralling ride, and previous articles in the series can be found here: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , and 7 . 2012: London 204+2* nations; 10,518 athletes; 26 sports; 302 events. Failed bids: Havana, Istanbul, Leipzig, Madrid, Moscow, New York City, Paris, Rio de Janeiro. *Independent Olympic Athletes (IO

By Pete Usher Promoting peace and harmony and with a complete absence of politics, right? Picture courtesy Wikimedia Commons. People could see in me who I am now, an Olympic champ, the best in the world. Kathy Freeman 2000: Sydney 199 nations; 10,647 athletes; 28 sports; 300 events. Failed bids: Beijing, Berlin, Brasilia, Istanbul, Manchester, Milan, Tashkent. The bidding for the 2000 Summer Olympic Games was completed in 1993, just three years after the unexpected awardi

By Pete Usher Sport is always full of “nearly” stories, normally at the business end of a competition. Just recently, Scotland nearly beat France at rugby in the Six Nations tournament, after a try with the last move of the game was controversially ruled out, depriving the Scots of a victory. Every football fan will have multiple tales of their side hitting the frame rather than scoring, losing the game as a consequence. It is part and parcel of the sporting landscape. Marc

By Pete Usher. Ben Johnson. From national hero to national disgrace with one drug test. Picture courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Why, Ben? Why? Canadian newspaper headline, 1988. 1988: Seoul. 159 nations; 8453 athletes; 23 sports; 237 events. Failed bids: Nagoya. After a series of events which included terrorism, financial failure, and two massive boycotts, the Olympic movement was in desperate need of a non-controversial and inclusive Games. In a potentially surprising choi

By Pete Usher A lengthy gestation period was involved at Montréal. Picture courtesy Wikimedia Commons. “The Olympics can no more have a deficit than a man can have a baby.” Montréal mayor Jean Drapeau (translated). 1976: Montréal. 92 nations; 6073 athletes; 21 sports; 198 events. Failed bids: Los Angeles, Moscow. After the tragic events of Munich, Montréal represented a chance to return to the Olympic ideal. However, the events of September 1972 still hung over the Games – th

By Pete Usher. Boston National League baseball team, 1900. The oldest league in the world. Picture courtesy Wikimedia Commons. League competitions are found in many sports across the world, and many have long and storied histories. But, especially in the professional game, there is also a long history of rival organisations being set up, with varying degrees of success, right from the start of professional leagues. So, we will start with the oldest league in the world, the Ba

By Pete Usher 1968. Two gloved fists, three careers wrecked. Picture courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Continuing the series of how politics and sport have, in fact, mixed at the modern Olympic Games. Parts 1 to 3 can be found Here , Here , and Here . If I win, I am American, not a black American. But if I did something bad, then they would say I am a Negro. We are black and we are proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight. Tommie Smith. 1968: Mexico C

By Pete Usher. Continuing the series of how politics and sport have, in fact, mixed at the modern Olympic Games. Parts 1 and 2 can be found Here and Here . Cassius Clay (who later changed his name to Muhammad Ali) winning boxing gold at the 1960 Olympics. Picture courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic flame at the 1996 Olympics. Picture courtesy IOC. And, in the later stages of Parkinson's disease, carrying the Olympic flag at the 2012 Olympics. Pictur

By Pete Usher The previous article in this series can be found Here “I wanted no part of politics. And I wasn’t in Berlin to compete against any one athlete. The purpose of the Olympics, anyway, was to do your best. As I’d learned long ago from Charles Riley, the only victory that counts is the one over yourself.” Jesse Owens. 1924 – Paris 44 nations, 3089 athletes, 17 sports, 126 events. Failed bids: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Prague, Rome. The final Games organised

By Pete Usher Roda JC vs Feyenoord; Jan 1975. Roda won 1-0. Picture courtesy Wikimedia Commons. The previous article in this series can be found Here ***** The identity and history of a team is of vital importance to fans, as are local rivalries. This means that proposed changes to established teams are usually loudly resisted, withm previously dormant voices coming out against the proposal. However, in the formative years of many sports, mergers were more common. Newcastle

By Colin Salt What is Sports Alternate History? Its not as easy to pinpoint as we might expect. Let's take a look at one specific movie: Robert Redford's The Natural . It's a very interesting case in that: A - It's far and away the most successful work of Sports Alternate History in terms of footprint and mainstream success; B - Its status as alternate history is very clear cut when you go through a series of box-checking factors; and C - Said status as alternate history