Yesterday's Sports

Yesterday's Sports is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.

EPISODE SUMMARY

The 1976 Olympics were in Montreal, and the weightlifting started on July 18 and ended on July 27. The weight classes remained the same as they had at the 1972 Olympics. The clean & press was eliminated as a competition lift following the 1972 Olympics. These would be the first Olympics where athletes would get tested for anabolic steroids....

You can read the full blog post here.

YESTERDAY'S SPORTS BACKGROUND

Host Mark Morthier grew up in New Jersey just across the river from New York City during the 1970s, a great time for sports in the area. He relives great moments from this time and beyond, focusing on football, baseball, basketball, and boxing. You may even see a little Olympic Weightlifting in the mix, as Mark competed for eight years. See Mark's book below.

No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training: A Guide For People With Limited Time

Running Wild: (Growing Up In The 1970s)

Yesterday's Sports is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.

EPISODE SUMMARY

Whenever football fans talk about great teams of the past that failed in their quest to win the Super Bowl, the 1977 Denver Broncos get overlooked. Perhaps it’s because this was the team's first successful season in its 18-year existence. Before 1977, the Broncos had only three winning seasons in seventeen years. Whatever the reason, they tend to get overlooked, in my opinion....

You can read the full blog post here.

YESTERDAY'S SPORTS BACKGROUND

Host Mark Morthier grew up in New Jersey just across the river from New York City during the 1970s, a great time for sports in the area. He relives great moments from this time and beyond, focusing on football, baseball, basketball, and boxing. You may even see a little Olympic Weightlifting in the mix, as Mark competed for eight years. See Mark's book below.

No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training: A Guide For People With Limited Time

Running Wild: (Growing Up In The 1970s)

Yesterday's Sports is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.

EPISODE SUMMARY

Weightlifting at the 1972 Olympics occurred in Munich, Germany, from August 27 to Sept.6. In 1969, the International Weightlifting Federation added two new weight classes: flyweight (52 kg), bantamweight (56 kg), featherweight (60 kg), lightweight (67.5 kg), middleweight (75 kg), light heavyweight (82.5 kg), middle heavyweight (90 kg), heavyweight (110 kg), and Superheavyweight (over 110 kg).

Mark sits down with Conor Heffernan to talk about the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany (in the weightlifting competitions).

You can read the full blog post here.

YESTERDAY'S SPORTS BACKGROUND

Host Mark Morthier grew up in New Jersey just across the river from New York City during the 1970s, a great time for sports in the area. He relives great moments from this time and beyond, focusing on football, baseball, basketball, and boxing. You may even see a little Olympic Weightlifting in the mix, as Mark competed for eight years. See Mark's book below.

No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training: A Guide For People With Limited Time

Running Wild: (Growing Up In The 1970s)

Yesterday's Sports is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.

EPISODE SUMMARY

The 1968 Olympics were held in Mexico City in October. The Weightlifting was held from October 17th to October 21st. Some call these Olympic Games the Autumn Olympics due to its later than usual start. The reason for the late start was to avoid Mexico’s rainy season. The late start turned out to be a blessing because from July 26th until October 2nd, there were student protests and political unrest, which would have caused quite a distraction from the games.

In 1968 there were seven weight classes. 56 kilos/bantamweight, 60/featherweight, 67.5/lightweight, 75/middleweight, 82.5/light heavyweight, 90/middle heavyweight, and anyone over 90 kilos lifted as a heavyweight.....

You can read the full blog post here.

YESTERDAY'S SPORTS BACKGROUND

Host Mark Morthier grew up in New Jersey just across the river from New York City during the 1970s, a great time for sports in the area. He relives great moments from this time and beyond, focusing on football, baseball, basketball, and boxing. You may even see a little Olympic Weightlifting in the mix, as Mark competed for eight years. See Mark's book below.

No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training: A Guide For People With Limited Time

Running Wild: (Growing Up In The 1970s)

Yesterday's Sports is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.

EPISODE SUMMARY

The 1968 Detroit Tigers don’t seem to get talked about as often as some other great teams in MLB history. Perhaps it’s because they didn’t win two or three World Series in a row like many other teams have. It could also be because the team's success was somewhat overshadowed by the attention directed at their pitcher, Denny McLain, who became the first MLB pitcher to win 30 games in a season since 1934. McLain also had a 1.96 ERA......

You can read the full blog post here.

YESTERDAY'S SPORTS BACKGROUND

Host Mark Morthier grew up in New Jersey just across the river from New York City during the 1970s, a great time for sports in the area. He relives great moments from this time and beyond, focusing on football, baseball, basketball, and boxing. You may even see a little Olympic Weightlifting in the mix, as Mark competed for eight years. See Mark's book below.

No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training: A Guide For People With Limited Time

Running Wild: (Growing Up In The 1970s)

Yesterday's Sports is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.

EPISODE SUMMARY

Last week, we explored the illustrious careers of Paul Anderson and Tommy Kono. This week, we turn our attention to the legendary Ken Patera and the phenomenal Naim Süleymanoğlu, also known as "Pocket Hercules."

Ken Patera, the first American to clean and jerk 500 pounds, was a multi-sport strength athlete who transitioned from Olympic weightlifting to professional wrestling and even competed in the inaugural World's Strongest Man competition. Despite his potential to rival Vasily Alekseyev, Patera's weightlifting career was cut short due to financial constraints and the removal of the press from Olympic competition.

Naim Süleymanoğlu, often regarded as the greatest pound-for-pound weightlifter in history, won three Olympic gold medals and set numerous world records. His defection from Bulgaria to Turkey marked a significant political and cultural moment, and his achievements in the sport remain unparalleled.

YESTERDAY'S SPORTS BACKGROUND

Host Mark Morthier grew up in New Jersey just across the river from New York City during the 1970s, a great time for sports in the area. He relives great moments from this time and beyond, focusing on football, baseball, basketball, and boxing. You may even see a little Olympic Weightlifting in the mix, as Mark competed for eight years. See Mark's book below.

No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training: A Guide For People With Limited Time

Running Wild: (Growing Up In The 1970s)

This Day In Sports History is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.

HIGHLIGHTED SHOW: THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

Relive the greatest moments in sports every day of the year. From the triumphs to the tragedies, the first to do it to the last time it happened, the unbelievable to the strange, This Day in Sports History is a 365-day journey remembering those significant events that made a lasting impact. 

HOST: STEVE WHITE

Steve White has spent most of his life behind a microphone. As a kid, he realized the power of the spoken word, hanging out with his dad while the pair talked to people around the world via ham radio.

Later, Steve put that penchant for communication into practice and ventured into radio and TV. He worked for a few television stations in North Carolina doing sports reporting and anchoring before transitioning to voiceover in 2015. He’s voiced more than 80 audiobooks in a variety of genres.

He’s never been much for awards, probably due to the fact he’s never won any but he loves the challenge of diving into new projects. His ‘This Day in Sports History’ evolved from a lifetime of watching, listening to, and going to ballgames, reading books, magazines, and newspaper articles about his favorite teams and sports heroes. It’s not only a labor of love but a voyage of discovery, finding those forgotten tidbits or fascinating things he never knew.

Learn more about the show on the Sports History Network.

Mentioned in this episode:

Sports History Network Theme Song

This theme song was produced by Ron "Tyke" Oliver of Music Meets Sportz

Yesterday's Sports is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode, host Mark Mortier welcomes a special guest, Dr. Conor Heffernan, lecturer in the Sociology of Sport at Ulster University in Northern Ireland. Dr. Heffernan has written extensively on weightlifting, bodybuilding, powerlifting, and strongman competitions. He contributes to Barbend.com and runs the website physicalculturestudy.com.

The duo delves into the lives and careers of four legendary weightlifters: Paul Anderson, Tommy Kono, Ken Patera, and Naim Süleymanoğlu.

Starting with Anderson, known as the "Superman from the South," they explore his achievements, including his gold medals at the 1955 World Championships and the 1956 Olympics, his brief stint in pro wrestling, and his dedication to the Paul Anderson Youth Home.

Next, they discuss Tommy Kono, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a seven-time World Weightlifting Champion. Kono's incredible career, including his internment during World War II and his transition between bodybuilding and weightlifting, is highlighted. His mental strength and Buddhist faith played a crucial role in his success.

Come back for next week's episode to hear about the careers of Ken Patera and Naim Süleymanoğlu.

YESTERDAY'S SPORTS BACKGROUND

Host Mark Morthier grew up in New Jersey just across the river from New York City during the 1970s, a great time for sports in the area. He relives great moments from this time and beyond, focusing on football, baseball, basketball, and boxing. You may even see a little Olympic Weightlifting in the mix, as Mark competed for eight years. See Mark's book below.

No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training: A Guide For People With Limited Time

Running Wild: (Growing Up In The 1970s)

Yesterday's Sports is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.

EPISODE SUMMARY

The date was May 8, 1970: It was game 7 of the NBA Finals, between the LA Lakers and the New York Knicks. I was eight years old, and my brother was eleven. Both of us being Knicks and Willis Reed fans, this would soon become a game we could never forget.

Back in game 5 of the 1970 NBA Finals, Willis Reed went down with a horrible leg injury, forcing him to miss game 6. With the series on the line, this episode of Yesterday’s Sports explains how Willis Reed and his teammates responded in Game 7......

You can read the full blog post here.

YESTERDAY'S SPORTS BACKGROUND

Host Mark Morthier grew up in New Jersey just across the river from New York City during the 1970s, a great time for sports in the area. He relives great moments from this time and beyond, focusing on football, baseball, basketball, and boxing. You may even see a little Olympic Weightlifting in the mix, as Mark competed for eight years. See Mark's book below.

No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training: A Guide For People With Limited Time

Running Wild: (Growing Up In The 1970s)

Yesterday's Sports is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.

EPISODE SUMMARY

When I first started competing in Olympic Weightlifting in 1981, I wanted to learn about the sport's history and the men who made it great. I read all the lifting magazines I could find, and one of the first lifters I read about was John Davis. 

Davis’ weightlifting career spanned from 1937 to 1956, and his accomplishments are beyond impressive. Davis was born on Jan 12, 1921, in Smithtown, New York, but grew up in Brooklyn. Davis began competing in 1937 in some local meets. One year later, he shocked the weightlifting world by winning the gold medal at the 1938 World Weightlifting Championships in Vienna, Austria, at just 17 years old in the 82.5 kilo/181.8 lbs weight class. At the time, he was the youngest weightlifter ever to win a world title.....

You can read the full blog post here.

YESTERDAY'S SPORTS BACKGROUND

Host Mark Morthier grew up in New Jersey just across the river from New York City during the 1970s, a great time for sports in the area. He relives great moments from this time and beyond, focusing on football, baseball, basketball, and boxing. You may even see a little Olympic Weightlifting in the mix, as Mark competed for eight years. See Mark's book below.

No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training: A Guide For People With Limited Time

Running Wild: (Growing Up In The 1970s)