Popular Nostalgia

People from the world of sport who we remember either for their sporting prowess, their personality, or the wonderful combined effect of both.

The only other outstanding memory outside of the Olympic athletics was in the boxing stadium with the victory of a young heavyweight – a boxer from the United States called Cassius Clay. We all later knew him as Mohammed Ali. He later lobbed this gold medal into a river in protest against the treatment of [...]

I remember Abebe Bikila winning the 1960 Rome Olympics men’s marathon – barefoot! My image of him is just how slight he was and wondered where the energy came from to do what he was doing. He was the first person to win two Olympic marathons, winning the Tokyo in 1964. In between these two [...]

Al Oerter was an gold medal winning discus thrower from 1956 to 1968. He was among a group of gigantic shot put throwers and discus throwers who were nearly seven feet tall and very impressive to a young boy of seven! Al sadly passed away in 2007.
About the Author
Steve Haywood is a personal trainer from [...]

Herb Elliot never lost a race over 1500m or a mile. He broke the four minute mile on 17 occasions. He took middle distance running to a whole new level. As a young boy watching him compete, I’m sure he fired me up for my future spent running. It wasn’t just his physicality, it was [...]

Came second in the 100m dash (as it was called then!) at the 1960 Rome Olympics. She was a Barnsley lass, which generated a lot of local interest. She became something of a heroine and still has the track and stadium named after her at Cudsworth near Barnsley.
About the Author
Steve Haywood is a personal trainer [...]

On a 14″ black and white screen, the Press sisters’ performance in the 1960 Rome Olympics is my first recollection of the games. I remember being a bit baffled because I couldn’t tell the difference between the Press sisters and the men. It later became obvious that they had disappeared about the same time as [...]

Beltran de Osorio y Diez de Rivera, the “Iron” Duke of Albuquerque (1919-1994), was a Spanish aristocrat obsessed with horse-racing. After receiving a film of the Grand National as a gift for his eighth birthday, the Corinthian Duke set his sight on England’s greatest equestrian prize: “I said then that I would win that race [...]

It was 35 years ago that Red Rum gained the first of his three Grand National victories, earning him pride of place in racing’s record books. Bred to be a sprinter, Red Rum won the world’s best-known chase in 1973, 1974 and 1977 as well as finishing second on his other two starts to become [...]

1956 was the year that the Queen Mother’s favourite, Devon Loch, tried to jump a phantom fence and landed on his belly. This left the way clear for ESB. Afterwards, The Queen Mother famously said “That’s racing”. Watch this video from 06:15 for the bizarre footage of the event from British Pathe.
Dick Francis said afterwards: [...]

Once upon a time, British athletes ruled the globe in middle-distance running.
Througout the 70’s and 80’s, Steve Ovett and Seb Coe vied for world records and Olympic medals with magnificent displays of athleticism and talent. Though they rarely met, the two competed for records and column inches. The competition was made all the more remarkable [...]

Remember being scared of the big bad wolf? Did you want to date /look like Jet? Remember when Shadow got done for using steroids? and the wonder of people fighting with giant cotton buds on elevated platforms?
Gladiators was a phenomenon of family viewing. Everyone knew someone who’s teacher’s friend’s brother’s babysitter had been a contestant [...]

Linford Christie, the (only?) Olympic Gold Medal winning British 100 metre sprinter wore some tremendous Puma contact lenses during the 1990s. This was soon stomped on by the authorities as “advertising”, but I admire his moxy to this very day.
Whether or not the powers that be banned the use of the lenses, they were pretty [...]