Page 3 - Sports Facts

The winner of the Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers football game gets a Platypus trophy!

There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of rivalry between to state colleges, right? If there is, don’t tell the University of Oregon and Oregon State University, because they’d have to cancel their annual Civil War game! Guess what the winner of that game gets?

You guessed it, a platypus trophy, but why? The mascot of the University of Oregon is a duck, and the mascot of Oregon State University is a beaver. When you put those two together, you get a platypus.

This rivalry started in 1959, and only lasted 3 years before the trophy was stolen, and seen in a local swimming pool’s trophy case. They refused to give it back, and the swimming pool was demolished a few years later.

After being lost for close to 40 years, the trophy was found once more after a columnist wrote an article urging people to begin the search for the long lost platypus trophy!

Since 2007, it has been awarded every year, once again, to the winner of the Civil War game.

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A baseball player’s dad forced him to hit lefty, and that helped him set a baseball record! Learn more

Prince Fielder was born in Ontario, California in 1983 and it was during that time that his father, Cecil, was in the minor leagues playing for the Toronto Blue Jays. Prince grew up at the baseball diamonds. Prince, his mother, and sibling were on the road following Cecil everywhere his career took him. Prince began playing baseball as soon as he could walk and he was a natural right handed hitter. When Prince was five, his dad forced him to start hitting left handed.

Cecil told Prince he’d thank him for it later. He was right. As Prince got older he became a strong hitter and batting lefty gave him an edge. Currently Prince Fielder plays for the Detroit Tigers number 28. He is a four time All-Star and he still throws right. His first seven years in the Major League Baseball team was with the Milwaukee Brewers. He is the league’s youngest player to hit 50 home runs in a season.

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The man who coined ‘Let’s get ready to rumble!’ has earned more than $400 MILLION from it!

Michael Buffer is perhaps the most famous boxing announcer in history. While he has a commanding voice and dashing good lucks, it’s his catchphrase that solidifies his icon status in the world of boxing. Buffer coined the phrase “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!” And then, in a savvy business move, he trademarked it. He has made over $400 million by selling the rights to the famous phrase to movies, music, video games, merchandise and by making public appearances.

In addition to his millions, Buffer and his famous catchphrase have been cast in more than 20 movies and television shows, including “Rocky,” “South Park,” and “2012.” In fact, Buffer’s announcing even reunited him with his family. Having been raised by foster parents, Buffer’s biological father recognized him on television. They were reunited along with Buffer’s biological half brother.

This brother is now Buffer’s business partner. And it’s a good business when just five words can you make you hundreds of millions of dollars.

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A man who’d never finished 18-holes of golf quit to turn pro and is in the top 10% in less than 2 years!

A man named Dan decided to quit his job at 30 years old. He was working as a commercial photographer at the time. This wasn’t a typical midlife crisis though. Dan quit his job specifically to test out the theory of “deliberate practice.” This theory maintains that if a person puts in 10,000 hours of deliberate practice that can master any skill.

In this case, Dan wanted to become a professional golfer. He called his endeavor “The Dan Plan.” When he quit his job on April 5, 2010, Dan was in average physical condition and is described as being slightly below average in height and weight. While he had played golf before, he had never completed an 18-hole course.

Dan planned to log 30 plus hours a week practicing golf, his goal is to obtain his PGA Tour card by the time his 10,000 of practice are complete. The plan seems to be working too. His current handicap is 5.8, which puts him in the top 9% of the 26 million golfers in America!

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MIT has a pistol range on campus. A female from their team beat a Military Academy in 2005.

MIT is one of the most prestigious and hardest universities in the United States; they have a strong emphasis on science, engineering and technology and have kind of a nerd rep. That’s why it might be surprising to learn that they have a shooting range and a team and that they’ve had good success with it.

Alexandra Jiang had never held a gun before entering MIT as an electrical engineering major. She quickly changed that when she joined the women’s sport pistol team and began practicing on a regular basis. In 2005, at the age of 21, Jiang entered an NRA sponsored competition with the rest of her MIT teammates.

Other participants in this competition were the US Coast Guard Academy, and a Military Academy! Despite never seeing a real gun in person before entering MIT, Jiang went on to beat the Military Academies! She was outshooting who might be shipped overseas to fight in war!

You should read more about Jiang’s story by clicking the source