Fun Facts

Home
Fun Facts

With such a wide variety of sports played around the world, there are a lot of fun and fascinating facts about the sports, sports history, amazing athletes, and equipment.  You will be amazed by some of the fun facts that sports have to offer.

Not Featured

Anatomy of a Football

A football has a total of 32 pieces that are held together by 642 stitches.  Who thought something that looks so simple could be so complex!
Not Featured

Take Me Out to the Ball Game – How Much Actual Playing Time is there in an MLB Game?

Believe it or not, the actual playing time in a major league baseball game is less than 18 minutes.
Not Featured

Bats, Balls and Stitches

An average cricket ball has stitches somewhere in between 65 to 70 and a baseball has 108 stitches.
Not Featured

Why Your Golf Ball Isn’t Smooth

Fore!!!  An average golf ball has a total of 336 dimples. Dimples on a golf ball help reduce drag, allowing the ball to fly further than a ball without dimples.
Not Featured

Astronaut Alan Shepard Plays Golf on the Moon – NASA Apollo 14 Mission in 1971

In 1971, Astronaut Alan Shepard played golf on the Moon after he smuggled a golf ball and club on to the NASA Apollo 14 mission to the Moon.
Not Featured

Tennis Racquet Strings – A Little History

Due to its softness and resilience, animal intestine, mainly from sheep or goats used to be the most commonly used material to make tennis strings.
Not Featured

How many Footballs Does it Take to Play an NFL Game?

In NFL games, the home club must provide 36 balls for an outdoor match and 24 for an indoor one. Before each game, the ball manufacturer also sends a sealed box of 12 other balls that are specially marked with...
Not Featured

Olympic Gold Medals – Are they Really Gold?

Olympic gold medals are actually made of silver. All that glitters is not always gold!
Not Featured

There’s a Lot of Amazing Technology in Your Sports Equipment!

Sport equipment designers and engineers use a variety of technological advancements for designs and testing including, computer modeling, nanotechnology, wind tunnels and specialized robotic machinery. Get a look behind the scenes at some of sports’ amazing technologies.
Not Featured

Learn what the 5 rings of the Olympic Flag Represent

The 5 rings of the Olympic flag represent Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas, they are linked together in friendship. Every national flag of the world has at least one of the rings colors – blue, black, green, yellow,...
Not Featured

Basketballs and Hoops – Knowledge from the Court

Did you know that the diameter of a full sized basketball is half the diameter of a basketball hoop?
Not Featured

What was the Prize for Event Winners in the Ancient Olympics?

Before there were gold medals, the prize for event winners in the ancient Olympics was an olive branch wreath. How times have changed!
Not Featured

The Tallest Basketball Players to Ever Play in the NBA – Guess How Tall They Were

Manute Bol (from Sudan) and Gheorghe Muresan (from Romania) were the tallest players ever in the NBA. They were both 7 ft 7 in tall (231 cm). Not that is TALL!
Not Featured

Composite Fibers Revolutionize Sports Equipment

Today, composite fibers are combined with other materials to make sports equipment. Carbon fiber construction enables strong and light bicycles and tennis racquets. Graphite fibers help with resistance and shock absorption for skis, bikes, tennis racquets and golf clubs. Kevlar...
Not Featured

Guess What! Tug of War was an Olympic Sport at Every Summer Olympics from 1900 to 1920!

From 1900 to 1920, tug of war was contested as a team event at every Summer Olympics. We hope you enjoy this classic video of Great Britain defeating the Swedish team during an Olympic tug of war taking place at...
Not Featured

More Fun Sports Facts

How fast does a badminton shuffle travel? How many tennis balls are used during Wimbledon? What sports equipment is made by using pig bladders? Watch this video to find out!