The Western Gate to the Sunshine State boasts an epic history of hardball, dating back nearly to the beginning of the sport. Sunshine, loyal fans and pristine beaches have attracted baseball's best athletes to Pensacola--from stars like Babe Ruth and Ted Williams to the Blue Wahoos, modern-day affiliate for the Cincinnati Reds. The city is home to major-league teams during spring training, minor-league teams during the season and baseball fanatics year-round. Whether it's following big-league icons or cheering high school future stars, Pensacola's love affair with baseball runs deep. Team up...

For twenty-six straight seasons--from 1978 to 2003--Mount Saint Charles Academy captured the hearts of its fans and the state's high school hockey championship. Attributing the streak to a near-mystical force called Mount Pride," beloved coach Bill Belisle and his team have built the most successful hockey program in Rhode Island. In the thrilling 2013 season, they recaptured the Mount glory as state champions. Yet the high school hockey team is much more than its wins and losses--it's a culture and a family. Beginning with the earliest days when Rhode Island's four-team league took to the...

In 1895, emissaries from the New York Yacht Club traveled to Deer Isle, Maine, to recruit the nation's best sailors, an "All American" crew. This remote island in Penobscot Bay sent nearly thirty of its fishing men to sail "Defender," and under skipper Hank Haff, they beat their opponents in a difficult and controversial series. To the delight of the American public, the charismatic Sir Thomas Lipton sent a surprise challenge in 1899. The New York Yacht Club knew where to turn and again recruited Deer Isle's fisherman sailors. Undefeated in two defense campaigns, they are still considered one...

Engines roared at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the first time in 1960, and the track has been home to some of NASCAR's greatest races and most honored drivers ever since. Despite early challenges, Bruton Smith and Humpy Wheeler took charge in 1975, and together sculpted one of the most famous race tracks in America as host of the Coca-Cola 600 and the Sprint All-Star Race. In 1992, the track became the first modern speedway to host night racing and thousands of race fans watched their favorite drivers swap paint under the North Carolina night sky. Get in the groove with racing journalist Deb...

Since the arrival of Ponce de Leon in the 1500s, the Florida Keys have evolved from a dense, nearly impenetrable jungle full of bears, pumas, snakes, alligators and crocodiles into America's Caribbean islands. And the fish in the region have made the Keys one of the nation's favorite playgrounds for anglers. The Keys are home to more saltwater fishing records than any other angling destination in the world and offer sportsmen an array of amazing fish, from tarpon and Spanish mackerel to mahi-mahi and bonefish. U.S. presidents, celebrities and the world's greatest fishermen and women have...

Since forming in 1888, the Texas League has produced some of the most beloved American baseball players and seen more than its fair share of colorful events. In 1931, Houston pitcher Dizzy Dean pitched and won both ends of a double-header in Fort Worth, throwing a three-hit shutout in the second game. In 1906, center fielder Tris Speaker pitched for Cleburne to beat Temple 10-3. In 1998, Arkansas' Tyrone Horne hit for the homer cycle" in San Antonio, finishing to a standing ovation. "The Texas League Baseball Almanac" delivers day by day the record-breaking events, personal triumphs and...

East Tennessee isn't typically mentioned among stock car racing's formative hotbeds. But the region from Bristol to Oneida and Chattanooga encapsulates a significant portion of the sport's history. From pioneers like Brownie King and Paul Lewis of Johnson City to former national champions Joe Lee Johnson of Chattanooga and L.D. Ottinger of Newport, East Tennessee has produced many of NASCAR's great drivers. The region is home to one of the world's largest sports stadiums in the Bristol Motor Speedway, but NASCAR also made regular visits to other area tracks. Whether the surface is red clay,...

For more than half a century, Minnesotans have been treated to the memorable players and teams of the Minnesota Twins. From the Ruthian blasts of Harmon Killebrew and Kirby Puckett to a successful brand of "small ball," the Twins have fielded competitive teams at Metropolitan Stadium, the Metrodome and Target Field. But prior to its arrival in 1961, the team also had a storied past in Washington that included Walter Johnson, the greatest pitcher of the Deadball Era, if not all time. Sports historian Stew Thornley highlights the lesser-known events in the club's history, from the area's...