Not sure it counts as trivia, but a fact that would surprise most fans is that many of today's star players are nowhere near as big as they claim to be. Modern players frequently add more than 2 inches to their actual height. In addition, players from the 1960s and 1970s are much bigger than you've been led to believe. Players from those eras frequently have their heights and weights listed at less than what they actually were.
Players from the past were measured in their bare feet and rounded down. Players from the modern era are measured in their shoes and rounded up, if they're measured at all. Players from the past preferred to be thought of as shorter than they actually were so that they'd get credit for their basketball talent, not just for being tall. Players from the modern era, want to appear to be as tall as they can. It makes them seem more imposing, which translates into more money!
Here are a few examples.
***
And where's that photo of Yao next to Shaq, Kareem, Ralph Sampson?
Here it is. Well I guess it was Ralph Sampson, Dwight Howard, Hakeem, and Elvin Hayes (all Rockets).
Here's Yao vs. Shaq. The first photo has him look much taller than Shaq. The older photos less so.
Ah, I see I posted on this six years ago, but now all the links are dead.
Saturday, November 23, 2019
O.J. Simpson, Jim Brown, Walter Payton on NFL All-Time team
Jim Brown and Walter Payton are unanimous choices at running back for the NFL’s All-Time Team.
As part of its celebration of its centennial season, the league announced Friday night the first portion of the squad. A 26-member panel is selecting the team.
Also chosen were two coaches, Paul Brown and Bill Belichick. Eight more coaches will be selected over the next month. [umm... Vince Lombardi anyone?]
Joining Brown and Payton in the backfield are fellow Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith, the career rushing leader; Marion Motley; Barry Sanders; Steve Van Buren; Gale Sayers; Earl Campbell; Lenny Moore; O.J. Simpson; Eric Dickerson; and Dutch Clark.
“It is cool to be with the legend himself,” Smith said of joining Brown on the squad. “The man who inspired so many other players to come from behind him. He paved the way for many of us, his passing the torch to Walter and so many others. He set the standard pretty high.”
One hundred players will make the team.
As part of its celebration of its centennial season, the league announced Friday night the first portion of the squad. A 26-member panel is selecting the team.
Also chosen were two coaches, Paul Brown and Bill Belichick. Eight more coaches will be selected over the next month. [umm... Vince Lombardi anyone?]
Joining Brown and Payton in the backfield are fellow Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith, the career rushing leader; Marion Motley; Barry Sanders; Steve Van Buren; Gale Sayers; Earl Campbell; Lenny Moore; O.J. Simpson; Eric Dickerson; and Dutch Clark.
“It is cool to be with the legend himself,” Smith said of joining Brown on the squad. “The man who inspired so many other players to come from behind him. He paved the way for many of us, his passing the torch to Walter and so many others. He set the standard pretty high.”
One hundred players will make the team.
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