CENTURY TIMELINE: 1950-1974
1950: For the first time, British teams decide to grace the World Cup with their presence. The impact they make is minimal - the US beat England 1-0. In the final 200,000 people watch Uruguay overcome hosts Brazil in the Maracana stadium in Rio. The final score is 3-1.
1951: On St Valentine's Day, Jake La Motta and Sugar Ray Robinson square up for the sixth and final time. La Motta holds his own for eight rounds, but takes a battering for the next five until the referee sends him back to his corner. One of the bloodiest moments in boxing history.
1953: After 20 years-a-trying, Stanley Matthews finally wins an FA Cup medal with Blackpool.
Maureen Connolly becomes the first woman to complete tennis's Grand Slam.
1954: Three minutes 59.4 seconds. Roger Bannister, a junior doctor from London, runs the world's first sub four-minute mile. The world is incredulous.
1957: Althea Gibson becomes the first black woman to win at Wimbledon when she defeats Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2.
1960: The original miracle on ice: The US hockey team, made up of part-timers, defeat the Soviet Union in one of the most memorable of winter Olympic moments. In England, the FA agree to the Professional Footballer Association's demand that players should no longer be bound to clubs for life. The maximum payment wage is also abolished, with far-reaching consequences. Jimmy Hill is the spokesperson for the players' group.
1964: Cassius Clay (right), aged 22, stuns the world's boxing fraternity by out-mouthing and out-boxing Sonny Liston.
On the evening of April 28th, Lev Yashin and Ferenc Puskas carry Sir Stanley Matthews shoulder high off the field at Stoke. The "wizard of the dribble" finally retires, aged 50.
1966: "Some of the crowd are on the pitch." England win the World Cup at Wembley in a time when pitch invasions are innocent.
1967: Celtic become the first British team to win the European Cup, beating Inter Milan.
In the summer, English cyclist Tommy Simpson collapses on Mount Ventoux during the Tour de France. It emerges that even during this period substance abuse was rife in the peleton.
1968: A small leap for mankind; Bob Beamon long jumps for 27 feet, four inches at the Mexico Olympics. For 23 years, the record remains unbroken.
1969: Bill Russell, the legendary centre with the Boston Celtics, retires after winning his 11th NBA title in 13 years with the famous old ball club.
1972: Two Olympic feats stand out; swimmer Mark Spitz wins seven medals to become the most decorated athlete of any single games while the basketball final remains infamous.
The USSR, trailing by a point, has the ball with three seconds left when Ivan Edeshko fires a courtlength pass to Alexander Belov. Does he push? Is Edeshko inbounds when he hurls the pass? Controversy still rages. The US refused to accept their silver medals and bitterness lingers. Belov is found dead six years later, allegedly due to his involvement in a smuggling racket.
1973: Secretariat wins the US triple crown, taking the Belmont Stakes by an astonishing 31 lengths.
1974: "Now, it's my turn." Muhammad Ali, not for the first time, confounds popular wisdom and overcomes the fearsome and hitherto unbeaten George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire. The heavyweight crown is his again.
