Phil Mickelson has won all the major golf tournaments, except for the U.S. Open. For some reason he can’t seem to break through its barrier, although he has been consistently listed in the Top 50 for over 25 years. His highest career ranking is at number two in the world, and he’s achieved that several times.
This photo shows Lefty before winning his first Masters Tournament. Dated April 11, 2004, he leaps victoriously after he made an 18-foot putt on the 18th hole, successfully seizing a grand one-shot victory.
JOHN KENNEDY AND LYNDON JOHNSON
Before the Washington Senators moved to Minnesota where they would later on transition to become the Minnesota Twins, the MLB decided to create an expansion team in 1960. They would retain the team’s original name, and even it’s old records and history. They would soon change locations, too, from Washington to the new District of Columbia Stadium.
In 1961, the team played at the Griffith Stadium, Washington D.C., and in this photo then President John F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon Johnson are seen on opening day, April 10, 1961, looking up high to what must be a home run.
JACQUES PLANTE
Jacques Plante’s career in ice hockey spanned more than thirty years. But he was also more than just a goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens, he was also a great innovator of the sport. He was the first goaltender for the NHL to have pushed for the use of a mask. He used one himself regularly, and he tested many variations of it, too.
This photo shows Jacques Plante in 1954 making a save as Bud McPherson m his teammate, watches.
PETE ROSE
This August 1975 photo shows American retired pro-baseball player, Pete Rose, in a Superman position diving into third base. In many ways he is a super athlete, and he still holds the all-time league record in hits, at-bats, and outs. Rose was the perennial player with 3,562 games to his name.
This picture takes us back to his days with the Cincinnati Reds, at Wrigley Field. Unfortunately, Pete Rose’s career has been marred by betting scandals, which have sadly prevented him from being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
ROGER BANNISTER
Two years before Roger Bannister, a British middle-distance athlete, even thought of breaking the mile run record, he broke the British record in the 1500m as a participant in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. This would inspire Bannister to go for “The Miracle Mile.”
He couldn’t train as hard as he wanted to because, at the time, he had been working as a junior doctor. The goal was to make the mile run in under four minutes and, while he didn’t quite make his high benchmark, he still accomplished it in four minutes and 59.4 seconds. This photo shows Bannister during the British Empire Commonwealth Games on Aug. 7, 1954 against John Lundy. He snagged Sports Illustrated magazine’s first “Sportsman of the Year” award.