From 1946 to 1955 the sport of baby racing was an actual thing. At the fairgrounds in New Jersey’s Palisades park the annual baby racing competition, better known as the Diaper Derby, would take place. The event was sponsored by the National Institute of Diaper Services and was a true crowd pleaser as evidenced byContinue reading “Baby Racing Used To Be A Real-Life Actual Sport During The 1950s, And It Was Amazing!”
Category Archives: sport
Boxing and How to Train, 1904
The origins of the Speed Bag as we know it today are shrouded in mystery. Certain historical artifacts depict ancient boxers of Greece and Rome hitting a bag like object probably filled with some material or water. These were almost certainly animal skins or some other material, for the modern rubber air bladders of todayContinue reading “Boxing and How to Train, 1904”
Hawaii, 1890: This Is the First Known Photograph Ever Taken of a Surfer!
Dating back to 1890 this is perhaps the first photo ever taken of a surfer. The muscled Hawaiian beach man is photographed wearing a traditional loin cloth and shown standing in the shallows holding his rudimentary board. The original owner and the photographer are not known. Surfing rituals and the sport itself continued in theContinue reading “Hawaii, 1890: This Is the First Known Photograph Ever Taken of a Surfer!”
This 1940s ‘Slenderizing’ Equipment Promised to Reduce Hips, Buttocks and Thighs
In November 1940, LIFE photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt went to New York City and captured model Pat Ogden testing out the trendiest fitness fad of the decade – the Slenderizing Salon. Using metal rollers to massage women’s “problem areas,” the Slenderizing Salon claimed to help women lose weight without exercise by stimulating muscle contractions. (Photos byContinue reading “This 1940s ‘Slenderizing’ Equipment Promised to Reduce Hips, Buttocks and Thighs”
Marilyn Monroe Working Out at the Bel Air Hotel in 1953
In 1945 Hungarian-Romanian photographer Andre de Dienes met the nineteen-year-old Marilyn Monroe, then called Norma Jeane Baker, who was a model on the books of Emmeline Snively’s Blue Book Model Agency Norma Jeane had recently separated from her husband, James Dougherty, and told Dienes of her wish to become an actress. Dienes suggested that theyContinue reading “Marilyn Monroe Working Out at the Bel Air Hotel in 1953”
25 Incredible Photos of the ‘Game of the Century’: Notre Dame vs. Michigan State, 1966
The 1966 Michigan State vs. Notre Dame football game (“the game of the century”) remains one of the greatest, and most controversial, games in college football history. The game was played in Michigan State’s Spartan Stadium on November 19, 1966. Michigan State entered the contest 9–0 and ranked #2, while Notre Dame entered the contestContinue reading “25 Incredible Photos of the ‘Game of the Century’: Notre Dame vs. Michigan State, 1966”
22 Interesting Vintage Photographs of Women Playing Golf From Between the Late 19th and Early 20th Century
The involvement of women in golf may go back further than people think, given that the early historians traced the precursor of the golf ball to legendary classical female characters. Though there are references to women playing golf in 15th century, and other related stick and ball games, care needs to be taken as theseContinue reading “22 Interesting Vintage Photographs of Women Playing Golf From Between the Late 19th and Early 20th Century”