Flashback Friday: Floyd Patterson

When he was only 17 years old, Floyd Patterson won the gold medal at the 1952 Olympics in Finland for boxing (middleweight). Then at 21, he became the youngest man ever to win the world heavyweight title….twice! Mike Tyson claimed that title later, but Floyd Patterson remains the youngest Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. He had originally earned this title by defeating Archie Moore in a fight where he won by a knockout.

Even though he was undersized and had a short reach, he won a total of 55 fights, lost only 8, and 1 draw. 40 of those wins were by knockout. Phew! His style was a very unique one – he carried his hands in front of his face which is a lot higher than how most boxers typically fought. Sportswriters dubbed this the “peek-a-boo” stance. He was also lightning fast!

He defended his undisputed championship 4 times until a match in 1959 with Ingemar Johansson where Patterson lost. He was knocked down to the mat seven times. His wife begged the referee to stop the match so Johansson was declared the winner. One year later, both men ended up in the boxing ring again. Patterson won this second match, allowing him to regain his title as heavyweight champion. After he was declared the winner, Patterson noticed that Johansson’s left leg was twitching in spasms so he rushed to Johansson’s side and held him in his arms until doctor’s arrived. Swedish fans nicknamed him “the gentleman of boxing”.

Flashback Friday: Johnny Weissmuller

Per his doctor’s advice, Johnny Weissmuller took up swimming to help battle his childhood ailments. He grew up to be one of the best known swimmers of all time! He won a total of five Olympic gold medals in the 1924 and 1928 games, as well as 52 national championships and set 67 world records!

In his teens, his 100y freestyle record of 51.0 was considered to be the greatest of all his achievements. This remained a world record for 17 years! He was also the first man to complete the 440y freestyle in under 5 minutes.

In 1927, tragedy struck in Chicago when an excursion boat had overturned during a horrible storm. Johnny and his brother were credited for saving a number of lives that day. The next day after this horrible tragedy, Johnny participated in a marathon swim of just under three mile and he won.

After his swimming career , he became an actor and became well known for playing Tarzan in 12 Tarzan movies. He also created the role of the comic-book character Jungle Jim for film and TV. How cool is that!!

Flashback Friday: Babe Didrickson

“My goal was to be the greatest athlete who ever lived,” said Babe Didrickson, and she sure accomplished that! Babe was a master of many sports including golf, basketball, track, baseball, tennis, swimming, diving, boxing, volleyball, bowling, billiards, skating and cycling. Wow, I’m tired just writing all that out!

She said she got the nickname “Babe” after hitting 5 home runs in one baseball game during her childhood. She won medals in the 1932 Olympics in the hurdles, javelin throw and high jump.

Babe was offered $75 a month to work for Employers Casualty Company of Dallas just so she could play for its team. That’s a decent amount of money in 1930! In the 1940s, she was said to be the greatest woman golfer of all time. She was the first American to win the British Women’s Amateur  Golf Championship, the first woman to win BOTH the British and US Women’s Amateur Golf Championship, and the first woman to win the Western Women’s Open THREE times!

What an inspiration!

Join us in SoSo for Cinco de Mayo!

Don’t you just love the Spring time? Have you been outside to play soccer yet?? Join us in FunGoPlay as we celebrate Cinco de Mayo in SoSo Stadium this Saturday with a “Goin’ for the Goal” competition! Come say “hola”, make some new friends and get some GoDough!

When: Saturday May 5th. Cinco de Mayo, of course! 1 – 2 pm EST
Where: SoSo Stadium. Just look for “The Kid”
Why: You’ll get 50 GoDough just for showing up! Get the top score in “Goin’ for the Goal” and get another 500 GoDough!

Don’t miss out on the fiesta fun! See ya there!

 

 

 

Help us win a Webby!

We are SO SIKED to be nominated for a Webby in the games category. We face some tough competition, so please vote for us and then get everyone you know to vote for us, too!

Flashback Friday: Buffalo Germans

Can you imagine starting a basketball team at a local YMCA and then end up seeing your team elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame? That’s exactly what happened to the Buffalo Germans back in 1895!

Six guys who frequently played basketball at the YMCA on Buffalo’s East Side decided to start a team and called themselves the Buffalo Germans.

They were such an awesome team! They crushed the competition and won a lot of championships including the Pan American Championship in 1901 and the Olympic Exhibition title in St Louis in 1904.

Between 1908 and 1910, the Germans had won 111 straight games! Wowza!!! And talk about team loyalty, by 1916, four of the original members had played together for over twenty years!!

In 1925, after achieving a record of 792-86, the team disbanded.

The Buffalo Germans were inducted into the Naismeth Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1961, one of only eight teams that have been given that honor.

April Fools’ Prank Party

It’s almost April Fools’ Day, FunGoPlayers!! What pranks and tricks do you have up your sleeve? Come tell us about it at our April Fools’ Prank Party! Put on your silliest outfits and tell us about your craziest pranks ever!

When: Saturday March 31st 2012, 3 – 4pm EST
Where: Hurleybutt Field
Why: 50 GoDough just for showing up! Plus, you’ll get to hear about all sorts of great prank ideas for April Fools! Tee Hee!!

This is not a prank! For realz!
Hope to see you there!

Blarney Blastoff!

It’s time to put on your favorite green FunGoPlay outfit and head to Skillville to celebrate St Patrick’s Day with us! We’ll be having a great time just kickin’ and chillin’ so come say hello and make some new friends! We would love to hear about your favorite St Patty’s Day traditions!

When: Saturday March 17th 2012 at 3 – 4pm EST

Where: Skillville (near the FGP Leaderboard)

Why: You’ll get a pot of gold just for showing up! Ok, not really a pot of gold….but you will get 50 GoDough!

Are you ready to “Shamrock”-n-roll?? See you in then! Can’t wait till Saturday? Click here to play now!

 

Flashback Friday – A Baseball Legend

As MLB season draws near, we highlight a Baseball legend in today’s Flashback Friday. George Herman Ruth, Jr., more commonly known as Babe Ruth, played for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and the Boston Braves. “The Bambino” was another nickname of his.

He played for 22 seasons in MLB starting in 1914 till 1935. Upon his retirement, he held a total of 56 major league records at the time including 714 homeruns!  Not to mention 7-time World Series champion! Wow!!

The Baseball Hall of Fame was inaugurated in 1936 and Babe Ruth was elected as one of its first 5 inductees. The Sporting News named him the Greatest baseball player of all time! Sports Illustrated also named him the Greatest baseball player of the 20th Century! What an honor, indeed!

Need your baseball fix? How about a game of Dinger Derby or Thundercage in FunGoPlay? Click here to play now!

Slamma Jamma Basketball Bash

In celebration of the 2012 NBA All-Star game this weekend, we’ll be partying FunGoPlay style in Hoopgood Hall! Come join in the dance party! Here’s the info:

When: Saturday Feb 25th, 1 – 2pm EST

Where: Hoopgood Hall. We’ll be hanging out in front of the B-Ball Beat Bounce booth (near Tornado Tang)

Why: You will receive 50 GoDough just for attending! Move to the groove in B-Ball Beat Bounce. Whoever gets the highest score will get an additional 500 GoDough!

Spread the word! Hope to see you there!