Awesome American Sports
A Celebration of the Awesome people, events and stories of sports in the United States from the Past to the Present
Welcome to this biweekly newsletter, written by me, Corye Perez Beene, Ph.D. I am a United States History Professor with a focus on sports history. I am a certified “sports nut.” I find the sports stories from the past to the present that celebrate the Awesomeness of American Sports.
Thank you for your support! I am so appreciative of YOU being here 😃
Follow me on Twitter: @HistoryBeene or LinkedIn: coryebeene
Congratulations to the newest inductees into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame 🏀:
Kobe Bryant, Player
Tim Duncan, Player
Kevin Garnett, Player
Eddie Sutton, Coach
Rudy Tomjanovich, Coach
Tamika Catchings, Player
Kim Mulkey, Coach
Barbara Stevens, Coach
Patrick Baumann, Contributor
Gold Medal
Amy Bockerstette is the first athlete with Down Syndrome to compete at a National College Championship! She is a member of the Paradise Valley Community College 🏌️♀️ women’s golf team. Known as “Amazing Amy,” she was also the first person with Down Syndrome to receive an athletic scholarship. ⛳
Amy Bockerstette
Tyler Bosetti of the University of Nevada hit a home run in NINE consecutive games! He broke a NCAA Division I ⚾record that was 30 years old!
Russell Westbrook has had quite a season. The Washington Wizards star broke Oscar Robertson’s record of most career triple doubles: 182. A triple double consists of double digits of any of the following 3 statistical categories: points scored, rebounds, assists, steals or blocked shots. Robertson had held the record of 181 since 1974.
Westbrook also passed Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird on the all-time scoring list. He is 35th on the list with 21,804 points.
Russell Westbrook
The WNBA is celebrating its 25th anniversary this season. ESPN came out with a list of “The WNBA’s most defining moments.” They include:
*Sheryl Swoopes, the first woman to have a signature shoe made by NIKE 👟
Sheryl Swoopes *Dawn Staley, the first WNBA player to bear the American flag in the Olympics
*Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, the first WNBA player to be inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame 🏆
Cynthia Cooper-Dyke Sometimes you come across a record that is a head scratcher - this one is it: New York Mets rookie catcher Patrick Mazeika is the first player in 100 years with multiple walk-off RBI (Runs Batted In) before recording a hit. Mazeika is also the first player with two walk-off RBI in his first four career games since 1920 (when RBI became an official statistic). Getting RBIs WITHOUT getting a hit? My Mind is blown! 🤯Watch this:
Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers broke 2 records that had been held since 1893: The most strikeouts in a season before a pitcher issued his first walk and the most strikeouts without a walk during any stretch of any season.
Corbin Burnes
Silver Medal
Sports in the Military
I met April Clark on a virtual sports event that my friend Mark Moyer organized. She played on a softball team 🥎while she was in the Air Force. I wanted to learn more about sports in the military. She writes:
Each branch (Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard) has a sports program where active duty service members can apply to try out for any of the dozens of different sports to represent their branch in interservice play (governed by Armed Forces Sports). These are NOT the varsity teams from the respective academies (Military Academy in West Point, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy).
They even have their own website: Armed Forces Sports The sports run the gamut from archery, volleyball, and cycling, to marathon and basketball. Two uncommon sports on the list of 23 are parachuting and orienteering. Orienteering is “a competitive sport in which participants find their way to various checkpoints across rough country with the aid of a map and compass, the winner being the one with the lowest elapsed time.”
Taken from their “About” page:
Founded on the 18th of February 1948, the International Military Sports Council (CISM) is one of the largest multidisciplinary organisations in the world. CISM organizes various sporting events for the armed forces of our 136 member countries. Soldiers, who may previously have met on the battle field, now meet in friendship on the sports playing field. This is in accordance with the philosophy and the ideals which were set in CISM’s mission statement in 1998, signed by all the member countries.
The ultimate goal is to contribute to world peace by uniting armed forces through sports. The motto under which we operate is "Friendship through Sport".
I wanted to learn more about her experience playing softball while serving in the Air Force. Here is my Q&A with April:
How did you start playing softball?
>>> I was first introduced to softball in middle school but the sports program ended before I could participate. In high school, I started at shortstop. During a JV game, the varsity coach yelled at me (I remember being extremely intimidated) for having too good of an arm to be playing in the infield. When I moved to varsity, she started me in left field (and eventually left-center in slow pitch) and I played there for the next 25 years with occasional stints as 3B, 2B, and catcher. After high school, I joined the military. From there, I've played on a travel women's fastpitchfast pitch team in Louisiana; women's and coed slowpitch teams in LA, TX, OK, MS, FL, NV, IL, MD, VA, and DC; military women's and coed military the same plus South Korea and Iraq.
What was your job or title in the military?
>>> My Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) was 1W0X1, part of the Weather Specialty. My initial training was 6 months long followed by 4 years as an observer then another 6 months of training and a total of 10 years as a forecaster. During that time I deployed to Iraq and did Army support in South Korea (1999-2000 and 2014-2015). The Army does not have weather forecasters and if there's an aviation mission, there have to be weather people.
How did you get to play for the Army when you were in the Air Force?
>>> I was assigned to an Army base and you play where you are assigned (not every installation has a base team--everyone I've been assigned to has). There are many levels of sports...I'll try to explain:
Unit level - like an intramural league in your community
Base level - more competitive, sometimes travel to play other bases, typically involves a tryout
Air Force level - must apply to be SELECTED to tryout, highly competitive, interservice play
Armed Forces level - like an "All-Star" team made up of top players from the interservice tournament (this is how softball works, assuming other sports are similar), completes at USA Softball Women's Open Championship
What are some of your favorite memories or stories of your time playing on this team?
The best military tournament I've ever played in is PacWide held at US Army Garrison (USAG) Yongsan (Seoul, South Korea) over Memorial Day weekend. I think the tournament has been around for about 30 years and recently moved to Osan AB. I played with USAG Humphreys in 1999, 2000 & 2014 where we placed 2nd, 3rd, and 3rd respectively (or maybe it was 3rd, 2nd, 3rd). One unique thing about my experience is that I'm in the Air Force yet I played for an Army team. As a weather person, we are sometimes stationed at Army installations; therefore, I was able to play for Humphreys as opposed to being forced to travel and play for the closest Air Base--Osan's team was "not great" in 99-00.
Another great experience I had was getting selected to attend the All-Air Force softball camp in 2011. Each branch has an "all-service" team that is made up of active-duty members through a selection and try-out process. The year I tried out, there were 54 applicants. Only 24 are invited to attend camp and 15 make the team. Although I did not make the team, I played with some of the best players in the game! For some reason, many of the "all-service" players find themselves overseas or playing with teams that get into PacWide. It is rare that you find a player, female or male, that has not been a part of both PacWide and the "all-service" program.
I always joke that the Air Force paid me to play softball. I was on active duty while I played so technically, it's true. In the case of camp, I was paid per diem for travel, lodging, and meals. But I'd have to say the greatest thing I gained through my military softball experience was the camaraderie. In the military, they say the best friends you'll ever have are the people you meet when you are deployed. I beg to differ--it's been the people that stood on that diamond with me who became my lifelong friends.
Thank you for your service April!
April Clark, originally from Bolingbrook, IL, is the founder of Swing Away Advising where the mission is to provide relevant advising and resources that empower clients to navigate the inevitable pivots in their personal and professional life.
April has been an athlete for over 30 years, a softball coach for a total of 8 years, and an entrepreneur for the last 7 years. She spent over 20 years in the US Air Force as a weather forecaster and Airman Leadership School Instructor. At her final duty station, she worked with the weather team that directly supported Air Force One.
April loves to watch Jeopardy! She and her husband, Steve, enjoy traveling, attending live sporting events, and trying new restaurants. They have three children; Stephen (22), Kari (19), and Asya (18).
Bronze Medal
Someone needs to start a petition to immediately enact this new rule: a DANCE-OFF 🕺🏽every time there is a lightning delay in ANY sport! Who is with me?
The Las Vegas Raiders will have a nightclub in their stadium with DJs like The Chainsmokers, Diplo and David Guetta (💖 each of them!) 🎵
The 11,000 sqft Wynn Field Club spans the entire length of the north end zone of Allegiant Stadium. Will feature appearances from Wynn’s DJ lineup, premium bottle service, 42 TVs, a 9' x 35' LED screen, a 45,000-watt sound system, and two DJ booths. #vegas #raiders #stadium
Forbes came out with its list of Top Ten highest paid athletes from the last year. 💰Four Americans are on the list:
Conor McGregor, UFC: $180 million
Barcelona's Lionel Messi, Barcelona: $130 million
Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus: $120 million
Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys: $107.5 million
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers: $96.5 million
Neymar, Paris Saint-Germain: $95 million
Roger Federer, tennis: $90 million
Lewis Hamilton, F1: $82 million
Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $76 million
Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets: $75 million
DANNIJO has come out with a women’s clothing line, the “Mambacita Line,” in which all of the proceeds will go to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation. The Foundation is “dedicated to creating positive impact for underserved athletes and young women in sports.” PEOPLE magazine did a story about Vanessa Bryant and her strength to keep on going despite tragedy, and to relaunch Kobe’s Foundation.
Mambacita Clothing Line One of my favorite TV sports personalities is Rich Eisen. I love watching him on Sunday mornings on the NFL Network during the football season. He raised $1.7 million for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. He had former NFL stars like Ray Lewis and Jerry Rice running the 40 yard dash. Watch it here:
Thank you for reading! Are you looking for a speaker for your next event or conference? Email me at historybeene@gmail.com
Check out my blog where I write about the Awesome, positive and cool stories of US History: AwesomeAmericanHistory.com