Academic fencing is the traditional kind of fencing practiced by some student corporations in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Attila Ambrus was a gentleman thief, a sort of Cary Grant — if only Grant came from Transylvania, was a terrible professional hockey goalkeeper, and preferred women in leopard-skin hot pants. During the 1990s, while playing for the biggest hockey team in Budapest, Ambrus took up bank robbery to make ends meet. His opponents: a police chief who learned how to be a detective via dubbed episodes of Columbo; a deputy so dense he was known only by his Hungarian nickname, Mound of Asshead; and a forensics expert-cum-ballet teacher who wore a top hat and tails on the job.

Don Aronow was an American designer, builder and racer of the famous Cigarette, Donzi, and Formula speed boats. He built speedboats for the His Imperial Majesty Shah of Iran, Charles Keating, Robert Vesco, Malcolm Forbes, and George H. W. Bush. President Lyndon Johnson – in retirement – owned several 16 ft. Donzi speedboats on his Texas ranch with which he would race his Secret Service agents. The great speed of Cigarette boats also made them a popular choice among cocaine runners. On February 3, 1987 Aronow was murdered in his car at the end of 188th Street in Miami (the famous Thunderboat Row) where his boat companies operated. Read about the murder.

Abebe Bikila won the 1960 Summer Olympics marathon, in record time, running barefoot.

The Black Sox Scandal refers to an incident that took place around and during the play of the 1919 World Series. The name “Black Sox” also refers to the Chicago White Sox team from that era. Eight members of the major league franchise were banned for life from baseball for throwing (intentionally losing) games, and essentially giving the series to the Cincinnati Reds. The conspiracy was the brainchild of White Sox first baseman Arnold “Chick” Gandil, who had longstanding ties to petty underworld figures.

One of the most famous parquet floors is the one used by the Boston Celtics of the NBA. The original floor, which was installed at the Celtics’ original home of Boston Arena in 1946, was moved intact to Boston Garden in 1952 and used there until the team moved to what was then known as FleetCenter in 1995, now known as TD Garden. The floor remained intact and in use until it was cut up and sold as souvenirs in 1999, after the 1998 demolition of Boston Garden. The Celtics today play on a parquet floor inside TD Garden that combines old and new sections

The one and only

The legendary Fausto Coppi.

The Cordoba Fighting Dog is an extinct breed of dog. The Cordoba was a crossbreed of Mastiff, Bull Terrier, Boxer, and Old English Bulldog. The Cordoba Fighting Dog originated in Córdoba, Argentina. The breed had such strong aggression toward other dogs that the males and females would rather fight than mate. In addition, many members of this breed died in the dog fighting pits, contributing to the breed’s extinction.

Arthur Cravan was known as a pugilist, a poet, a larger-than-life character, and an idol of the Dada and Surrealism movements. After his schooling, during World War I, he travelled throughout Europe and America using a variety of passports and documents, some of them forged. He declared no single nationality and claimed instead to be “a citizen of 20 countries”. Cravan set out to promote himself as an eccentric and an art critic, though his interest was showing off a powerful, striking personal style rather than discussing art. He staged public spectacles and stunts with himself at the centre, once acting on the front of a line of carts where he paraded his skills as a boxer and singer, although he never pursued either of these activities on stage with anyone else.

Elephant polo is a variant of polo played whilst riding elephants. It is played in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Rajasthan, and Thailand.

Ferret legging is a sport that seems to have been popular among coal miners in Yorkshire, England.The male-only contestants put live ferrets inside their trousers; the winner is the one who is the last to release the animals. The world record is five hours and thirty minutes.

One of the greatest British soccer players.

Mike Hailwood has been described as the greatest rider in the history of motorcycle racing. At the age of 18, he was already a British champion in four classes. At age 21, he won his first World Championship. He would go on to claim eight more world titles in the 250cc, 350cc and 500cc classes.

Monkey! (not that way stupid)

Bernard Hinault is a former French cyclist known for five victories in the Tour de France. He is one of only five cyclists to have won all three Grand Tours, and the only cyclist to have won each more than once.

Karlovic holds the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 251 km/h (156 mph) and he is considered one of the best servers on tour. His height enables him to serve with high speed and unique trajectory

Olga Korbut is a Belarusian, Soviet-born gymnast who won four gold medals and two silver medals at the Summer Olympics. At the 1972 Olympics, her acrobatics and open display of emotion—notably, she wiped tears from her face after a disastrous uneven bars routine—in contrast to the stereotypically cold eastern bloc athlete, captivated the Munich audiences. There she became one of the first persons ever to do a backward somersault on the balance beam in competition. She was also the first to do a standing backward somersault on bars, and a back somersault to swingdown (Korbut Flip) on beam. Her bars move is no longer seen in high level gymnastics, but the tuck back and Korbut Flip are still very popular (2003 world beam champion Fan Ye performed both in her routine). This excellence in technical skills overthrew the sport’s traditional emphasis on artistry.

Ring Lardner was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical takes on the sports world, marriage, and the theatre.

Manolete is considered by some to be the greatest bullfighter of all time. His style was sober and serious, with few concessions to the gallery, and he excelled at the ‘suerte de matar’—the kill.In response to Manolete’s death, General Francisco Franco, then dictator of Spain, ordered three days of “national mourning”, during which only funeral dirges were heard on the radio.

The legendary wonder from Philadelphia. Unstoppable. Highly influential style. The master of the spin move.

Female racing legend.

Offshore powerboat racing is racing by large, specially designed ocean-going powerboats, typically point-to-point racing. Probably one of the largest, most dangerous, and most powerful racing machines of all, the extreme expense of the boats and the fuel required to participate make it an expensive and elite sport.

The son of a Spanish nobleman and a strong willed, English woman who had inherited the fortune of HFC founder Frank Mackey, Portago was not only born to wealth and entitlement, but was fiercely competitive and a superb athlete. Up to the age of 24, his passion was horses, flat track and jumping. He quickly became one of the most successful amateur jockeys in Europe. Auto racing bit him in 1953-54, and he bought himself the proper sportscars (Maserati, OSCA and Ferraris) gaining entry into international events where he attracted the attention of the factory teams. By 1956 Portago was on the Ferrari Formula One team, entrusted with one of the Lancia Ferrari D50s. He fared well and for 1957 there was to be more opportunity, a chance cut short by his death, and that of 15 others in the Mille Miglia.

Dean Potter is an American free climber, alpinist, BASE jumper, BASEliner, and highliner. He is noted for hard first ascents, free solo ascents, speed ascents, and enchainments in Yosemite and Patagonia.

Punkin Chunkin

Porfirio Rubirosa was a Dominican diplomat, polo player and race car driver who competed in the 1950 and 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans, but was best known as an international playboy for his jet setting lifestyle and legendary prowess with women.

Squash

The T206 Honus Wagner baseball card depicts Pittsburgh Pirates’ Honus Wagner, a dead-ball era baseball player who is widely considered to be one of the best players of all time.

Maurice Tillet was a French professional wrestler known as The French Angel who was a leading box office draw in the early 1940s and was recognized as world heavyweight champion by the American Wrestling Association run by Paul Bowser in Boston. His usual finishing move was the bearhug.

Gene Tunney was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1926-1928 who defeated Jack Dempsey twice, first in 1926 and then in 1927. Tunney’s successful title defense against Dempsey is one of the most famous bouts in boxing history and is known as The Long Count Fight.

And don’t forget to read the amazing story about the Moldovan team who scammed for refuge status.

Stu Ungar was a professional poker and gin rummy player, widely regarded to have been the greatest Texas hold ‘em and gin rummy player of all time. Ungar was infamous for his arrogance and for routinely criticizing aloud the play of opponents he felt were beneath him—which included just about anyone. One of Ungar’s most famous quotes sums up his competitiveness: “I never want to be called a ‘good loser.’ Show me a good loser and I’ll just show you a loser.” Ungar’s genius-level IQ and eidetic memory. contributed to his blackjack abilities, which were so sharp that he was frequently banned from playing in casinos; he was eventually unable to play blackjack in Las Vegas or anywhere else.

The greatest table tennis player!