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in Egypt 3000 BC it is believed as the first game played was a board game called senet. But the first actual mark sports had in history was in 776 BC. An athletic contest was held in Olympia and consisted of wresting, boxing, polo and religious ceremonies.
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In c. 550 chess is first played at about this time, in India, before spreading west to Persia.
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In c. 1590 tennis is so popular in France that there are now said to be 250 courts in Paris alone.
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In 1740 Jack Broughton a champion of England, opens an academy to teach 'the mystery of boxing'. Also in 1789 England's champion pugilist, the Jewish prize-fighter Daniel Mendoza, publishes The Art of Boxing.
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In 1892 Pudge Heffelfinger becomes the first football pro when the Allegheny Athletic Association pay him $500 to play a game in their team.
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In 1898 US basketball becomes a professional game with the establishment in Philadelphia of the National Basketball League.
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In 1899 Belgian racing driver Camille Jenatzy is the first to drive faster than a mile a minute, reaching 65 mph in an electric car at Achères in France. Along with that, Ranjitsinhji becomes the first cricketer to score 3000 runs in a single season.
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In 1914 George Ruth acquires the nickname Babe when he joins the baseball team the Baltimore Orioles.
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The figures are staggering, with NBA's average player salary clocking in at $5.15 million, $1.85 million more than players in Major League Baseball who average close to $3.2 million a year. Major League Soccer rounds out the bottom of the list, with players making a relatively meager average salary of $0.16 million.
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In 1919 Boston Red Sox sell their star player, Babe Ruth, to the New York Yankees for $125,000