National Sportsmanship Day Historical Landmarks

April 29, 1991
Edited by Steve Wulf

National Sportsmanship Day was observed on April 24 in more than 2,000 U.S. schools. With that in mind, here are 10 examples of sportsmanship.

1. Cleveland Stroud, basketball coach at Rockdale County (Ga.) High, relinquished the state title in 1987 after he discovered he had used an ineligible player for 45 seconds.

2. Jack Nicklaus conceded a two-foot putt to Tony Jacklin on the 18th hole of the 1969 Ryder Cup, resulting in the competition being halved.

3. Mats Wilander, holding match point during the 1982 French Open, announced that Jose-Luis Clerc's shot was good after it had been called out. Wilander won the replayed point.

4. Pee Wee Reese, Dodger shortstop, put his hand on teammate Jackie Robinson's shoulder during a game in Cincinnati in 1947, silencing the jeers of bigoted fans.

5. Edmund Ezra Day, Cornell's president, acknowledging that the TD in a 7-3 victory over Darmouth in '40 had come on a fifth down, gave up the win.

6. Greg Norman, leading the 1990 Palm Meadows Cup in Brisbane, disqualified himself after an inadvertent illegal drop.

7. Barney Ewell danced in the infield after he thought he had won the 100 meters at the 1948 Olympics. When a photo showed that Harrison Dillard had won, Ewell heartily congratulated him.

8. Anton Josipovic, a light heavyweight from Yugoslavia, won the gold at the 1984 Olympics but brought bronze medalist Evander Holyfield-disqualified in a controversial decision-onto the platform with him.

9. Joe Sparma Tiger pitcher, interrupted Mickey Mantle Day in 1965 to shake Mantle's hand as he came up to bat. Sparma then forced him to pop out.

10. Luz Long, German broad jumper, gave Jesse Owens advice that kept him from fouling out at the 1936 Olympics. When Owens won the gold, Long was the first to congratulate him.