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This popular All-American baseball team was actually known as the Highlanders during its humble beginnings, but apparently the nickname Highlanders couldn’t really catch on fast with the local sportswriters which is why they often used the monicker Yankees or Yanks (the nickname Yankees were actually coined from the fact that the New York Yankees were an All-American team while American locals are actually referred to as Yanks mostly by the British), since people obviously liked this nickname more, they decided to change their name in to the New York Yankees and they didn’t change it ever since. The New York Yankees official logo was actually written in script form using the color red with a complementing red bat serving as the background of the k while it hangs down. The two other letters in the logo are actually just a k and an s which helps form a complete circle and actually give the logo the look of a baseball with matching baseball stitching. As a finishing touch, the logo is topped with Uncle Sam’s hat that conveniently rests on the top of the bat.

The most famous insignia in sports is actually the interlocking NY which actually made its first appearance on the New York Yankees’ (known then as the Highlanders) sleeves and caps way back in the year 1909. As the interlocking NY insignia gained more and more popularity, the New York Yankees decided to incorporate it at the front part of their uniforms while having matching navy blue baseball caps. The immensely popular interlocking NY insignia was actually designed way back in 1877 by a fellow named Louis B. Tiffany who originally designed the popular insignia for a NYPD officer named John McDowell who was highly regarded at that time for his bravery and dedication to his work. Mr. McDowell was actually the first New York police officer who was shot during the time of duty. Bill Devery, who was a former police chief as well as one of the New York Yankees original owners chose the popular insignia for the New York Yankees’ uniforms, he made the insignia a permanent fixture on the baseball players’ uniforms.

The official team colors of the New York Yankees are Navy Blue, Red and White. While the New York Yankees team motto is courage, tradition and heart. While there are actually two New York Yankees songs, the official song being “Here Comes the Yankees” while the unofficial song is “New York, New York”. From 1903 up to the present, the New York Yankees had several managers, 41 all in all, starting with Clark Griffith to Joe Torre (the current New York Yankees manager from the year 1996 up to the present). The New York Yankees has a total of 26 world champions to date while a World Series appearance totalling to 39 all in all. The New York Yankees also boasts of 40 Hall of Fame awardees, including the ever popular Joe DiMaggio (1936-1942, 1946-1951) and Mickey Mantle (1951-1969) – he was even able to acquire three Most Valuable Awards during his career with the New York Yankees, while Joe DiMaggio had three as well and everyone’s favorite, Babe Ruth received just one.

Since the establishment of their baseball team, the Highlanders (better known as the New York Yankees) had their worst season way back in 1908 wherein the New York Yankees, for he very first time in franchise history, actually dropped to last place with a horrible record of 51-103.

Have you seen the Ajax Amsterdam playing their part in the football championships? Or, are you familiar with Ajax Amsterdam? Well, Ajax, as many people love to call it, is one of the famous football clubs in the world. It is a club with a very rich history. Accordingly, the Ajax Amsterdam started as a club with a group of friends who got together in their spare time. From this group of friends, the club grew until it became world famous, known for its beautiful and attractive football.

A century ago, Ajax Amsterdam played soccer on a barren little The small Pitch. However, since the club has always been closely connected with the places where it played its matches, the team had moved several times until it settled to a new bigger and more impressive stadium, the Olympic Stadium.

• The Small Pitch (1893-1900) – Before the official foundation of the Ajax Amsterdam in 1900, the club had played soccer on a small pitch at the end of Overtoom in the municipality of Nieuwer Amstel, which had been designated in 1881 as an extension for the Vondelpark. For fifteen guilders, the club was allowed to play on a field for a period of six months. And, it was only during 1896 that the City of Amsterdam pushed through its building plans. The field was then incorporated into the city borders, and so the players had to look for another pitch. Fortunately, they found the Amsterdam North.
• Amsterdam North (1900-1907) – In 1900 until 1907, there was a great shortage of football fields in Amsterdam. This is the situation that tempted Ajax Amsterdam to play alongside farmer’s fields in the Builsloterham, Amsterdam Noord. The place was quite a trip for the spectators as it took them to travel with a chain ferry and a quarter-hour walk to reach to field. Dissatisfied with this far away location, the club moved to a playing field only a five-minute walk away from the ferry.
• The Wooden Stadium (1907-1934) – In 1907, the building plans for a new housing at the location in Amsterdam Noord forced Ajax Amsterdam once again to move and find a new playing field. There were actually two football fields found at Middenweg, which was again located in the middle of nowhere in a typical Dutch polder. However, it was here actually that for the first time in the club’s history real stands were established around The Small Pitch. This stadium underwent expansion until it grew to a much bigger field. It is also here where Ajax Amsterdam won four league championships in succession and the number of their spectators increased rapidly.
• De Meer (1934-1996) – The Ajax team moved once again as they realized that the value of a football stadium is not determined by the building costs, but by the team playing in it. The De Meer stadium was to became Ajax home base for 62 years, and it was here where the legendary players built up the worldwide reputation the club now has. But again, the club successes and outside pressure were reasons to move. As the stadium could no longer accommodate the large numbers of supporters, they looked for another bigger place and that they found the Olympic Stadium.
• Olympic Stadium (1930-1996) – The Amsterdam Olympic Stadium has played an important role in the history of AFC Ajax. The area was used for matches for which more than 20,000 spectators were expected or which had to be played in the evening. And, although this stadium had not been intended for football games, Ajax Amsterdam had played many important matches in the stadium.

Ajax Amsterdam has won the national championship 27 times. The club also won 25 important international prices, making the club one of the best in Europe.

The Amsterdam Marathon is by far the most testing running event in the history of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is an extremely well-organized event and is classified in the Golden League category by the International Association of Athletics Federations, the highest level for road racing competitions.

The History

The first ING Amsterdam Marathon as we know it today happened on May 3, 1975. Since that time, the start and finish lines were at the Olympic Stadium. According to certain records, the first person who won the first Amsterdam Marathon was Joergen Jensen from Denmark who ran the distance in 2.16.51. A year later, a European champion and second at the Munich Olympic Games named Karel Lismont came to Amsterdam. She is still regarded in Belgium as the best marathon runner even born on its soil, won in a tremendously hot weather condition. Another legendary winner of the Amsterdam Marathon came to the city a year later. He actually won the Boston marathon in 1975, being able to finish first in an unbeatable 2.09.55.

The Amsterdam Marathon was relocated the year when the Olympic Stadium feel into disrepair. In 1978, there was no marathon in the area, but many of those who organized the event considered the Dam Square as the new starting and finishing area for the event. The Dam Square in fact was the finish venue for one of the city’s most memorable marathons ever – the 1980 Amsterdam Marathon. It is interesting to know that the event actually remained at the Dam Square until 1989, and later Amsterdam’s new start and finish venue became Museumplein.

With the reconstructed arena, the Amsterdam Marathon finally was brought back to its former venue – the Olympic Stadium. In that venue, another memorable event took place and it was the 1996 Amsterdam Marathon when the city saw a rise in the number of its runners, both in men and women categories. The success of the marathon continues even until now and many Amsterdammers have immortalized their names through this event.

The Route

The route of the Amsterdam Marathon is usually fast, free of traffic, and as flat. During the event, digital clocks and refreshments stand line the route, which typically passed through the Vondelpark, below the Rijksmuseum and finishes back inside the Olympic Stadium.

Time Limit

Just like any other sports events, the Amsterdam Marathon has its own time limit. It has been maintained that the full marathon is subject to a six-hour time limit. The participants who fail to run the scheduled distances within the time limits set for the 25 km, 30 km, 35 km, or 40 km markers, as well as those who will exceed the overall time limit will be asked by a member of the event jury to terminate their race and to board the sag wagon for safety and health purposes. However, if despite being approached by a jury and the participants continue to run, they will be asked to do so at their own risk, as the route will be released for road traffic once the sag wagon has passed. And, it is a rule in the Amsterdam Marathon that if the participants terminate their race prior to finishing, they will not qualify for a medal.