CENTURY TIMELINE: 1925-1949
1926: Gertrude Ederle, the daughter of German-immigrant New Yorkers, becomes the first woman to swim the English channel.
1927: 102,000 wedge into Soldier Field in Chicago to see Jack Dempsey brawl with new champion Gene Tunney. The champion, though, is given 14 seconds to rise after being decked in round seven. He wins again.
1928: Australian cricketer Don Bradman (right) makes his international debut. He will go on to set standards and batting averages which have yet to be equalled. 1930: Eight weeks before the inaugural World Cup in Uruguay, FIFA had not received a single European entry. Eventually France, Belgium, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia agree to go, boosting the number of entrants to 13. Over 90,000 people watch the hosts defeat Argentina 42 in the final.
1932: "Bodyline", the term applied to the aggressive fast-bowling tactics of England during the Ashes series against Australia, provokes an angry public outcry. England win the Ashes but controversial captain Douglas Jardine turns his back on the MCC, and Harold Larwood, the famed fast bowler, never plays for England again. Babe Didrickson wins gold in the 80 metres hurdles and javelin at the Olympics. She will go on to win 82 golf tournaments, feature as a threetime All-America athlete in basketball and win championships in billiards, shooting, cycling, swimming and tennis.
1934: Golden Miller makes history by winning both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National. 1936: American Jesse Owens douses Adolf Hitler's theories of Ayrian supremacy by winning four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics. The black athlete and the dictator never directly meet at the games.
1947: Jackie Robinson opens the door to professionalism for black athletes by signing a contract with the fabled Brooklyn Dodgers. In October, he wins a World Series with the Dodgers against local rivals the Yankees.
1948: At the age of 30, mother of two Fanny Blankers-Koen storms the Olympics at Wembley and wins gold in the 100, 200, 80 hurdles and 4x100 metres relay. The Dutch woman became a spokesperson for women in sport and her medal tally remains unparalleled.
