America.gov-Sports: Hall of Fame

Women’s Professional Soccer Starts in 2009 in United States

Paul Levitan — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:52:17 GMT

With the start of the Women’s Professional Soccer league in early 2009, women across the world again will have an opportunity to realize their professional football dreams. Seven teams will compete in the inaugural 2009 season. The WPS plans to add three more teams in 2010.

Trailblazing African Americans Enriched the Sport of Tennis

Paul Levitan — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:14:46 GMT

Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson were trailblazing African-American athletes. Their skill and determination opened up new areas for athletic achievement by African Americans. Their breakthrough achievements in tennis and their lives beyond the court are an example to future generations.

Baseball Honors Jackie Robinson, Who Integrated Game in 1947

Ralph Dannheisser — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:19:43 GMT

Americans pay tribute to Jackie Robinson, a baseball star who on April 15, 1947, broke the color line that had kept African Americans out of the majors. But Robinson was more than a baseball player; he also was a civil rights activist who began his work in the Army and who later used his celebrity to push a vision of racial justice.

U.S. Olympic Basketball Continues Quest for Gold

Paul Levitan — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:18:21 GMT

The U.S. Olympic basketball team goes to Beijing with a special mission: to recapture the gold medal for the first time since 2000. The team is planning to field basketball standouts, and it will be directed by renowned Duke University coach Mike Krzyzewski. But experts say the Americans face steep competition.

Baseball Icon Cal Ripken Using Sports to Bridge Cultures

Eric Green — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 12:01:10 GMT

Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. is a new U.S. State Department public diplomacy sports envoy. His first assignment is visiting China October 28-November 6, 2007, to train Chinese youngsters in baseball.

Tribute to Baseball Great Jackie Robinson Benefits Charities

Carolee Walker — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 11:01:13 GMT

When U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB) teams take the field April 15, some 25 teams will have one player wearing the number 42 and five teams will have each of its players wearing number 42 -- all in tribute to Jackie Robinson, who six decades ago broke baseball’s “color barrier” while wearing that number.

U.S. Skater Calls Lessons of Being a Champion Athlete Universal

Carolee Walker — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 18:58:32 GMT

U.S. Public Diplomacy Envoy Michelle Kwan came to Beijing to share her experiences as a champion figure skater with Chinese students in the hope of making a difference in their lives. She told them what she learned on the ice is universal: hard work, discipline and dedication.

U.S. Olympic Skater Kwan Urges Students to Follow Their Dreams

Carolee Walker — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 18:54:42 GMT

The first thing Olympic athlete Michelle Kwan learned about ice skating was how to fall, she says. “In skating you fall a lot,” she told a group of students in Beijing January 18. Yet, like any difficult pursuit, Kwan said smiling, you need to pick yourself up and keep practicing to be better.

Baseball Great Jackie Robinson Broke Color Barrier in 1947

David Pitts — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 11:53:10 GMT

Few people can claim to have played a pivotal role in changing their country for the better. One American who earned that distinction during his rather brief lifetime was Jackie Robinson, the first black player to break the color barrier in U.S. major league baseball.

U.S. Olympic Skater Named American Public Diplomacy Envoy

Carolee Walker — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 19:00:44 GMT

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice names champion figure skater Michelle Kwan the first American public diplomacy envoy. Kwan, 26, is the most competitively successful figure skater in U.S. history, winning five world championships, nine national championships and two Olympic medals.