Top 10 Groundbreaking Moments in Sporting History

Sport provides us all with numerous moments that stand out in our minds as special memories. Every fan has at least one one such moment—where they can recall exactly where they were and what they were doing when the magic took place.

This list, however, is designed to go beyond those special moments that each of us hold dear.

This list represents the most ground breaking moments in sports history.

These are those moments that, if they had never occurred, would have made the way we look at sport today impossible.

The following ten moments are ones we should look back at, and tip our hats in amazement and/or gratitude for what was accomplished.

10: MLB Goes to Capital Hill, Again…

March 17, 2005: Bud Selig, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, and Raphael Palmaro made the trip to Capital Hill, to testify before Congress on the issue of steroids in baseball.

What took place that day was simple—two futures Hall of Famers lost their bids to Cooperstown, a sport was tarnished forever, and since that day any impressive athletic performance in any arena has been immediately questioned under the suspicion of drug abuse.

9: Texas Western Wins 1966 Men’s Basketball Championship

Texas Western stepped into the NCAA Championship with five black players starting the game—the first all black team to start a national championship game. On the other side of the ball stood the University of Kentucky and Adolph Rupp, the standard for collegiate basketball and old school southern values.

Over the course of the game Texas Western not only won a national championship, but changed the face of college basketball forever.

8: Hank Aaron passes Babe Ruth and Becomes the Homerun King

In April of 1974 Hank Aaron did the unthinkable, he hit his 715th career homerun— putting him ahead of the "Sultan of Swing" Babe Ruth.

The race to past Ruth was intense for several reasons. After hitting No.713 in September of 1973, Aaron had to go through the following off season with the burden of Babe Ruth on his shoulders.

Aaron received death threats and hate mail all winter. That a black man could pass Babe Ruth was such a heated topic, the commissioner was not even present. Aaron would retire with 755 career homeruns—a mark that is still the most revered record in sports today.

7: Curt Flood Takes MLB to Court

Despite being an outstanding player, Curt Flood is best known for his run-ins with the court room.

Following the 1969 baseball season, Curt Flood refused to accept a trade to the Philadelphia Phillies. What followed was Flood vs. Kuhn, a case that would be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Although he lost the case, Curt Flood stood up to the owners. Thanks to him, players today are not property of the team, and have the ability to control themselves and what they want to do with their career.

Because of Curt Flood, free agency was created in baseball, and similar concepts would follow in due time with the other major sports.

6: 1972 USA Men Refuse Their Silver Medals

The 1972 Olympic Games are remembered for a variety of reasons. However, on the field of play nothing was as crazy as the Gold medal basketball game between Super Powers U.S.A and the Soviet Union.

The United States had never lost a basketball game in Olympic play—but in the Soviets they found an opponent who wanted nothing more than to see them dethroned.

It was a tight game throughout, and with 40 seconds left, Doug Collins of the U.S.A. hit two free throws to put the Americans up by one. This was followed with a stop by the American team.

What followed was a medley.

The Soviets argued they had called a timeout before time expired, the refs granted them the timeout and placed some time back on the clock. With a second chance, the Soviet Union were again unsuccessful at converting a bucket.

However, a ref again claimed a clock malfunction, and again had time put back on the clock. While the Americans were still in disbelief, the ball was in bounded and the Soviets scored with no time remaining.

Even a protest could not help the American squad. After taking a vote the team decided to refuse their medals as a protest. To this day the silver medals are still locked away in Munich, Germany.

5: Joe Louis Defeats the Jewel of Germany’s Athletic Program

The year was 1938, World War I was in the past, but the buildup to World War II was well on the well. In New York City, the rematch of the century was about to take place.

 German heavyweight Max Scheming was being touted as the pride of Germany, and a poster boy for Hitler’s Nazi party and their ideal athlete. Two years earlier he had defeated black American boxer Joe Lewis in 12 rounds.

Now he was back to do it once again and prove the power of the German nation. But amazingly, Scheming was knocked out in 2 minutes and 40 seconds by Lewis—once again Hitler’s plans to showcase his perfect race were foiled by a black man.

Lewis and Scheming would go on to become great friends after the professional careers ended.

4: Muhammad Ali Refused Draft for the Vietnam War

In 1966, Muhammad Ali was entering the peak of his career—and the Vietnam War was also entering its most intense years.

Like many celebrities, including former boxing champion Joe Louis, the United States Army wanted Ali to serve and travel to Vietnam, fighting in showcase bouts to raise troop morale.

Ali refused to go, citing his position as a conscientious objector because of religious views. In return, Ali was stripped of his passport and his heavyweight title.

For the next four years he would be tied up in legal litigation and unable to fight and earn a living. He caught loads of criticism for his actions, and became public enemy number one to many.

However, he also gave a public name, face and identity to a generation who objected to the war.

3: Jessie Owens Wins Gold in Berlin Olympics

In 1936, Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party had taken full control of Germany, and were spreading their propaganda throughout Europe. The 1936 Olympics were a chance for him to showcase the superiority of German race to the entire world.

Hitler mocked the Americans for allowing Jessie Owens to even be on their team, but Owens went on to win four gold medals as Hitler sat watching in the stands.

Owens won over the German fans with his heroic performances. He also proved that athletic ability and talent see no color.

2: Magic Johnson Announces He is HIV Positive

In 1991, Magic Johnson was one of the most recognizable men in the world—and this was the year he told everyone he had tested HIV positive.

The AIDS epidemic had already begun in America, but it was Magic Johnson who brought it to the forefront of the American conscience. Before his announcement, HIV was a disease that was limited in America to back alleys and drug users.

Magic Johnson made the average citizen realize that normal, healthy, and straight people were in danger of catching HIV if they did not take the proper protective steps.

Magic Johnson’s announcement did more for the improvement of AIDS awareness than any concert or any television special could ever have hoped to.

While the AIDS epidemic may not be over in the United States, there is no question that due to Magic’s involvement and his ability to be the ultimate ambassador, has helped to generate funding for research, and raised awareness.

1) Jackie Robinson Breaks MLB’s Color Barrier

It is fitting, and maybe even my subconscious at work, that I would compose this list just hours after MLB celebrated Jackie Robinson weekend, and the 60th anniversary of his breaking of the color line.

In 1947, when Jackie Robinson stepped on the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers he struck the most public non-political/political blow to American culture and the United States Government in sporting memory.

Many fail to realize that Robinson's donning of a MLB uniform came seven years before Brown vs. The Board of Education—in the United States separate was still equal.

But when Jackie Robinson stepped on the field for the Dodgers, he proved he could run as fast, hit as well, and work at the same level as any person out there—no matter what their color or creed.

However, Robinson’s greatest accomplishment never took place on the field. He should always be remembered and thanked for the way he handled his personal situation.

It takes a special man to cross the color line—a person who not only has extraordinary physical talent, but phenomenal personality and fortitude to withstand the firestorm of opposition and criticism that dominated his life.

Thank you Jackie.