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Preface
Famous First Facts About Sports is a basic
reference work for all those interested in sports firsts, sports facts,
sports history, notable sports events, famous players and teams, awards
and special occasions, major sports arenas, sports records, and remarkable
bits of sports trivia. Fans will find this book a browser’s delight, and
libraries will find it an indispensable addition to their reference
shelves. Beyond that, the book should be useful to broadcasters and
journalists across the country and around the world. It is the kind of
book that sportscasters turn to reflexively between innings or during
time-outs, and that newspaper reporters and editors rely on for
sports-page items such as "Did you know that the first three-point shot
was made . . . ?"; "The first touchdown in the Houston Astrodome was . .
."; "The first figure skater to successfully complete a quadruple jump was
. . ."; "The first no-hit game in the American League was pitched by . .
."; "The first modern Olympic Games were held in . . ."; "The first
automobile race sponsored by the National Association for Stock Car Auto
Racing (NASCAR) was . . ."; or "The first fighter to hold the world
heavyweight championship three times was . . . ."
Famous First Facts About Sports contains more than 5,400
entries, covering more than 110 sports. All of the major and most of the
minor sports played in the United States are included, as noted in the
list on pages xi–xii. The most popular sports—baseball, football,
basketball, tennis, golf, and hockey— receive the greatest attention, but
the book covers the whole range of sports, from airplane racing to
wrestling. Special emphasis is placed on American activities and
interests, from the colonial period up until today. Sports primarily of
interest outside the United States, such as cricket, are treated in less
detail. However, some sports—such as tennis, golf, figure skating, track
and field, and Olympic sports in general—are truly international in their
appeal, and are covered accordingly.
Similarly, although the book includes interesting
"firsts" from early and medieval times, most of the information concerns
the modern world, during the two centuries when interest in sports has
mushroomed. The book covers all sports through 1999, with highlights added
for the year 2000, including notable events from the 2000 Olympic Games.
Since the entries are organized chronologically under each sport, readers
can easily get a sense of the sweep of a sport’s development over the
years. Readers can also see how developments in sports reflect, and
sometimes even anticipate, changes in society at large.
To learn more about how the book is organized and how to find information
most easily, see "How to Use This Book," on page ix.
Our thanks, as always, to the librarians of the northeastern library
network, who provided us with many wide-ranging books through the
Interlibrary Loan service, and especially to the staff of the Chappaqua
Library, in particular director Mark Hasskarl; the expert reference staff,
including Martha Alcott, Maryann Eaton, Carolyn Jones, Jane Peyraud, Paula
Peyraud, Carolyn Reznick, and Michele Snyder; and the circulation staff,
headed by Marilyn Coleman.
Our thanks also to vice president and director of general publications
Michael Schulze and former senior editor Hilary Claggett of H. W. Wilson
for their enthusiastic support for the book; to copy editor Michael Burke
and indexer Mary F. Tomaselli for their expert attention to detail; and to
Norris Smith, Gray Young, and the rest of the H. W. Wilson editorial and
production staff for so capably seeing the work through from manuscript to
published book.
Irene M. Franck
David M. Brownstone
March 2001
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