Today in sports history – 15 April

As sport grinds to a halt all over the world due to the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve decided to have a daily look back at those “simpler” times, when there was triumph, drama and disappointment on various fields and arenas.

This is today in sport history…

1896

View of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens, 1896. (Photo by Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

The first modern Olympics concludes in Athens.

The Greeks do their nation proud by topping the medal chart, but it’s the Americans that claim the most gold medals (which were only retrospectively given by the IOC because there weren’t any of them handed out that year).

Monarch King George the Great bullishly states in the closing ceremony that the showpiece should be held in Greece permanently, but that “vision” never comes to fruition.

In fact, it took a whole 108 years for the Olympics to return to Athens.

1947 (and 1997)

Jackie Robinson breaks down various barriers in becoming the first black man to ever play Major League Baseball, striding out for his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

After 50 years of segregation, there’s finally some sort of representation in America’s favourite pastime.

Born in Georgia into a family of sharecroppers, Robinson was an immensely gifted athlete and became the first athlete from the University of California Los Angeles to receive “letters” in  baseball, basketball, football and athletics. “Letters” are essentially like school badges on blazers.

But financial and other problems led to him leaving varsity despite being fairly close to graduating, he joined the US Army.

That tenure was hardly without controversy as Robinson stuck to his principles of non-racialism and regularly protested against discrimination, which unsurprisingly didn’t go down well with superiors.

He was eventually honorably discharged after being court-marshalled.

Robinson’s relish for baseball remained though and was afforded his big opportunity by Branch Rickey, the Dodgers’ general manager, who sacrificed much to get him into the top levels of the sport.

Robinson and his team faced a lot of challenges due to his elevation, from opponents purposely injuring him to his own teammates threatening a mutiny initially. There was also talk of a nationwide boycott by opposing teams.

However, a now famous team talk by Dodgers manager Leo Dorucher countered any thoughts of internal revolt: “I do not care if the guy is yellow or black, or if he has stripes like a fuckin’ zebra. I’m the manager of this team, and I say he plays. What’s more, I say he can make us all rich. And if any of you cannot use the money, I will see that you are all traded.”

Attitudes didn’t fundamentally change, but Robinson’s presence in the MLB was at least tolerated and he gave the best retort possible – winning 1947’s Rookie-of-the Year.

He would go on to have a fine career, winning the National League’s prestigious Most Valuable Player award in 1949 and being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962.

Exactly 50 years later, his #42 was retired for all teams.

1996

Vuyani Bungu throws a punch. Credit: Al Bello /Allsport

Vuyani Bungu, one of South Africa’s most accomplished boxers, continues to impress with a sixth defence of his IBF junior-featherweight title, beating Colombia’s Pablo Osuna.

Despite being memorably nicknamed “The Beast”, the man from Mdantsane was actually not a particularly powerful exponent and only knocked out his opponents 19 times in his 39 wins.

This bout though was one of them, with Bungu stopping Osuna in the second round with a TKO.

He would go on to defend his title a record 13 times.

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