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The Lawn Mower
Before the invention of the lawn mower, all of the sport fields were grazed by sheep which made terrible mess. Some sports fields were cut by men with scythes while the dew was still on the grass. In 1830, an engineer from West Country Edwin Beard Budding adapted wool trimming technology to crop or to sheatr the vegetable surface of the lawns. This invention opened ways for games such as tennis, cricket, football, soccer etc. -
Vulcanized Rubber Tennis Ball
Charles Goodyear spent decades to create a rubber which did not crack, melt, or have bad smell. He was imprisoned due to debt. He wore a rubber suit which was made from nitric acid, which almost killed him. He chase his dream to make vulcanised rubber which did not stink. Vulcanized rubber bounced hard enough on the grass, thus opening ways for sports such as tennis and modern football. -
Invention of Softball
In 1887, George Hancock who wa a reporter for Chicago Board of Trade, invented softball in 1887. Hancock invented this game as a form of indoor baseball on a cold winter day inside the Farragut Boat club. This is credited as the first softball game which was played on Thanksgiving Day November 24, 1887. Hancock's original game of indoor baseball quickly caught on in popularity and it became international with the formation of a league in toronto. -
Mouthguard
Mouthguards were originally developed in 1890 by Woolf Krause who was a London dentist, as a means of protecting boxers from lip lacerations. These gum shields were originally made from material similar to rubberband. Philip Krause, his son, who was both a dentist and amateur boxer, refined the design of the gum shield and made them from better rubber. In the United States, the first mouthguard was manufactured by Thomas Carlos in 1916. -
Invention of Basketball
James Naismith invented basketball in 1891. He was also the physical educator teacher at McGill Univeristy and at Springfield College. At Springfield College James Naismith, with American phys-ed specialist Luther Halsey Gulick, invented the sport of basketball. The first formal rules were devised in 1892. Initially, players dribbled a soccer ball up and down a court of unspecified dimensions. Points were earned by landing the ball in a peach basket. -
The Dartboard
For many years the boards were barrel tops or were slices of three with bulls eyes marked. In 1896, Brian Gamlin not only adapted 1-20 board but also included the higher scoring segments separeted bylower one to make the game harder. Gamlin's layout was devised to penalise inaccuracy. His layout was considered one of the best possible combinations. -
Soccer Cleats (Adidas and Puma)
Adolf (Adi) Dassler, invented a soccer shoe that had molded rubber studs in 1949. The idea was formulated 29 years ago as Adi invented spiked shoes for track and field. Later in 1925, Adi and his Borther Rudolph made shoes with nailed studs and tack shoes with hand-forged spikes. Him and his brother Rudoph founded Greman shoe company, later known as Adidas. Brotherrs were split up in 1948 when Rudi found Puma. -
Baseball Helmets
Charlie Muse who was an executive with Pittsburgh Pirates invented the baseball helmet with inventor Ralph Davia and designer Ed Crick in 1951. He worked as an executive for pirates for 52 years. Muse, Davia, and Crick tried many deisgnes on a plastic one that gave the better the most protection around ears and eyes. Pirates was the first team to wear the helmet in 1952. Joe Adcock who played for Braves in 1954 commented that the helmet protected him form serious injury. -
Instant Replay (Slow Motion)
Tony verna who was CBS Sports director of ABC invented a sysytem to enable a standard videotape to instant replay for the network coverage of Army-Navy Game. The machine itselft weighed 1300 pounds. It broadcasted Rollie Stichweh's winning touchdown. The commentator Lindsey Nelson advised viewers "Army did not score again". In sports evetns, instant replay is used mostly to live broadcast, and to show a passage of play which was important or was unclear on first sight. -
Powerade
Matthew Ehrlich invented sports drink which today called POWERADE in 1988. It was produced and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company. Powerade in 1988 became the official sports drink of the olympics. It is rival of Gatorade, by Pepsico. POWERADE is number two in the sports drink market worldwide. As of 2011, Gatorade held a 70 percent market share to Powerade's 28.5 percent becoming market share leader
