Joe Namath’s rise to stardom was propelled by his shocking forecast that his team, the New York Jets, would defeat the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. In an interview after their win, he was asked if the Colts’ defense was the toughest he has ever faced, he replied, “That would be the Buffalo Bills’ defense.”
This photo shows Joe Namath standing on the sidelines on December 8, 1974. On this day, the Jets faced the Bills in a messy game. They went on to win it 20-10, with Namath scoring 131 yards, and successfully passing two touchdowns.
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.
PITTSBURGH PIRATES FANS
Oct. 13, 1960 was the biggest day of Bill Mazeroski’s baseball career. He recorded the first and only walk-off home run in the ninth inning of the 7th game of the 1960 World Series, ending the New York Yankees’ bid for the title. Fans went crazy after he cracked that baseball, amplified by the fact that the Pirates would be winning their first World Series in 35 long years.
Oct. 13, 1960 was the biggest day of Bill Mazeroski’s baseball career. He recorded the first and only walk-off home run in the ninth inning of the 7th game of the 1960 World Series, ending the New York Yankees’ bid for the title. Fans went crazy after he cracked that baseball, amplified by the fact that the Pirates would be winning their first World Series in 35 long years. .
NADIA COMANECI
Nadia Comaneci is pictured completing a somersault during the 1976 Summer Olympics. This was taken on Aug. 1, 1976, and it perfectly captures her brilliance in a sport where she would become a five-time Olympic medalist.
She went on to become the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10.0, making the sport more popular around the globe. She received a perfect score from this performance, and added six more, winning three golds in total. She garnered two more perfect scores during the 1980 Summer Olympics, held in Moscow, and earned two additional gold medals.
BOB COUSY
Bob Cousy is known by many nicknames, such as “Mr. Basketball,” and “The Houdini of the Hardwood,” for how he changed the ball-handling style, and for his passing skills in the NBA. Basketball games were like magical performances to him that would make him exceedingly successful. He led the league in assists for eight years and won the MVP award in 1957.
Bob Cousy is pictured here, shooting over Ernie Becktrying and Wilt Chamberlain in 1959, at a game in Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. His dribbling prowess would throw his defenders right off, blinding them with no-look passes that they just couldn’t predict the trajectory of.