As rugby is very much on my mind with the 6 Nations in full motion and, Ireland looking for their first Grand Slam since 1948, a magical moment of sportsmanship was revealed only two weeks ago from a a match that was played over 30 years ago. I was in Cork visiting Marian Ormond the widow of Dennis to whom [...]
American basketball captain throws easy points out the window
DeKalb, Ill., High School basketball team traveled by bus for two and a half hours and then waited another hour past game time to get their chance to take a big city scalp when they played Milwaukee Madison Senior on a Saturday night in February 2009. The essence of sportsmanship was about to emerge. Hours [...]
English Rose Embraces His 19 year old Irish Victor
Hats off to 19 year old Irishman, Rory McIlroy who won the Dubai Desert Classic golf on Sunday. Having seen his four shot lead shrink to a one shot lead going into the last hole, I’m sure his nerves were jangling. Having hit a perfect drive off the tee, he goofed his second shot into [...]
RTE Radio 1 Sportsmanship Chat with Ryan Tubridy, George Hamilton & Me
I was totally engaged by RTE’s Ryan Tubridy’s warmth and George Hamilton’s lovely sportsmanship stories, and I have to say, delighted by the response from listeners who sent in some new stories about sportsmanship. To listen to the Irish Radio interview click on the play button (arrow button) below: Or if you prefer click the link below to [...]
Applaud The Opposition – I thought only Liverpool & Munster did that
I heard recently of a US High School, Grapevine Faith, whose head football coach, Kris Hogan, asked ‘what if half our fans, for one night only, cheered for the other team, Gainsville Tornadoes?’. You see Gainsville is a maximum security correctional facility for kids with convictions for drugs, assault and robbery. They play all their [...]
Silence was broken by a dog barking outside the packed stadium
“This was one of those sporting occasions which transcends a game and makes bolder statements about humanity……………….during one of Donald’s earlier, and also crucial, kicks, the silence was broken only by the barking of a dog from outside the stadium.” This is an excerpt from an extraordinarily well written piece by a Kiwi, Martin Moodie, [...]
Not that You Won or lost but How You Played The Game
I found these beautiful words in my parents house in Dublin, Ireland. Who wrote these words? Does anyone know? Does anyone know who wrote this? Grantland Rice, Alumunus Football, Only the Brave and Other Poems (1941) seems to be credited a lot however, my old Celtic letters version says Newbolt (would this be Cardinal Newbolt)? [...]
Portuguese Players Shake Englishman’s Hand After He Scores
A BBC Radio interviewer asked the late Cissy Charlton (mother of Bobby and Jack) about the 1966 England v Portugal World Cup semi final (which England won 2-1), she said: “22 good sports men. They played football as you like to see it played. And the crowd was good. They were a really good crowd. The English [...]
Welcome to The Great Moments of Sportsmanship Club!
Dedicated to sportsmanship. Immerse yourself in sportsmanship. Read about it. Watch it. Talk about it. Share it. Tell your story. Get other stories. Be part of the next edition. Join the club that appreciates and encourages sportsmanship. Definition of Sportsmanship sports•man•ship Pronunciation: -ˌship Function: noun Date: 1745 : conduct (as fairness, respect for one’s opponent, and [...]
