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16 Unusual And Weird Sports Facts You Might Not Know

By: Brittni Michaelis

With the slowest week of sports upon us and no professional games being played, it's been an agonizing few days. No football, no baseball, no hockey, no basketball ... is this real life? Besides wiffle ball and Netflix, the only thing that has kept me sane is looking into unusual sports facts, so I've decided to reciprocate and share some to help you get through this trying time. Here is a list of 16 unusual and weird sports facts you might not know.

16. Former 49er great Steve Young is the great-great-great-grandson of Brigham Young.

15. Former Bull Scottie Pippen blew through $120 million.

He spent every single penny of it ... #bossmove

(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

14. Two days out of 365 days of the year feature no professional sports games (MLB, NBA, NHL, or NFL). The day before and the day after the MLB All-Star Break.

Feels like an eternity. #realife #comeback

13. Pittsburgh is the only city where all the major sports teams (MLB,NHL,NFL) have the same colors: Black and gold.

Wiz Khalifa's inspiration for his song. #obvi

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

12. Major League Baseball umpires are required to wear black underwear while on the job in case they split their pants.

Finally something Bud got right.

11. In 1986 Danny Heep became the first player in a World Series to be a designated hitter (DH) with the initials "D.H."

#seewhathedidthere

(Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

10. The silhouette on the NBA Logo is Hall of Fame Laker Jerry West.

#livinglegend

9. The average life span of an MLB baseball is five to seven pitches.

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

8. Because they both lost so many players to WWII military service, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles combined to become the Steagles during the 1943 season.

Who knew?! #ripsteagles

RELATED LINK: 8 Sports You Didn't Know Were Sports

7. Kite flying is a professional sport in Thailand.

(Photo by Putu Sayoga/Getty Images)

6. The Olympic rings cover every flag in the world. Yellow, green, red, black, and blue were selected because at least one of those five colors appears in every flag in the world.

Now you know ... of course there is a reason.

5. The longest tennis match took place in 2010 at Wimbledon. John Isner of the United States beat Nicolas Mahut of France in a match that lasted 11 hours and five minutes. It took 3 days to complete!

(Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

4. Basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain never fouled out of a game.

Ladies and gentlemen, "The Big Dipper."

 

3. The Dallas Cowboys hired the NFL's first professional cheerleading squad in 1972.

And people everywhere are still thanking them to this day.

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

2. Golf is the only sport to be played on the moon. 

1971 was the year. Alan Shepard was the man. #legenddoinglegendthings

1. The home team must provide the referee with 36 footballs for each National Football League game.

That's a lot of pigskin ...

(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
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