October 22, 2008

Build this Basketball Scoreboard for your Gym (Jan, 1933)

Filed under: DIY, Sports — @ 10:52 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jan, 1933
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Build this Basketball Scoreboard for your Gym

Spectators at your school or club basketball games will get a bigger kick out of the battle if they can keep an eye on this electric scoreboard, which tells at a glance how the game stands and how much time is left to play. Take the idea to your coach— he’ll welcome it.

by E. A. RERUCHA

THERE is a distinct advantage, from the spectators’ interest standpoint, In having a scoreboard controlled directly from the officials’ table, so that the official score and time left to play can instantly be flashed before the spectators as the game progresses.

The electric scoreboard described in this article is operated by means of a control box from the officials’ table and the score, and other information, is flashed on the board by means of sections of lamps, certain sections of lights in various combinations making up the required number to indicate the score, whatever it may be. Read the rest of this entry »

September 14, 2008

Huge Vacuum Cleaner Sweeps Golf Links to Find Balls (Apr, 1932)

Filed under: Automotive, Sports — @ 9:45 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Apr, 1932
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Huge Vacuum Cleaner Sweeps Golf Links to Find Balls

SEARCH for golf balls lost in dried cut grass may no longer be a bugbear to golfers, thanks to a giant vacuum sweeper, recently invented, that picks up leaves, grass, paper, etc., from fairways.

Utilizing the principles of the ordinary household cleaner the unique machine, shown above, is capable of clearing debris from nine golf fairways in one day.

A “planer blower,” mounted on a trailer, furnishes the suction, drawing the debris with such force that it is blown through a long pipe into a cage built on a motor truck. An old automobile motor mounted on the trailer furnishes power for the blower.

September 4, 2008

Robot Twirler – ‘Iron Man’ Pitcher (Aug, 1953)

Filed under: Sports — @ 10:34 pm
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Aug, 1953
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Robot Twirler – ‘Iron Man’ Pitcher
“OVERHAND JOE,” batting practice hurler for the Pittsburgh Pirates and other clubs, is shorter than Bobby Shantz, three times as heavy as Bobo New-som and can pitch a ball faster than the Yankees’ Allie Reynolds. He pitches every nine seconds—has a 90-day warranty.

August 31, 2008

ROLLER DERBY (Dec, 1948)

Filed under: Sports — @ 12:53 am
Source: Life ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Dec, 1948
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ROLLER DERBY

It is a teeth-jarring sport for skaters who race 30 miles every night

To 17 million Americans who occasionally clamp on a pair of roller skates the sport means nothing more than a casual evening at the local rink, gliding along to easy organ rhythms and perhaps taking a harmless pratfall when jounced by an exhibitionist. To the husky young men pictured here, however, it is a highly professional undertaking. Read the rest of this entry »

August 25, 2008

Foot Scales Weigh Golf Strokes (Aug, 1931)

Filed under: Sports — @ 6:51 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Aug, 1931
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Foot Scales Weigh Golf Strokes
WEIGHING each foot of a golfer while he is addressing and striking the ball is the unique scheme recently employed to compute the weight of the force put into a drive by such golf experts as Bobby Jones. The scales tell whether he puts more weight on the left foot than on the right. In the test, conducted as shown in the above photo, it was found that the right foot bore the greatest burden.

August 13, 2008

Air Sweeps Dust off Home Plate (Nov, 1939)

Filed under: Sports — @ 1:09 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Nov, 1939
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Air Sweeps Dust off Home Plate

Baseball umpires can throw away their whisk brooms if an automatic home-plate duster recently invented is generally adopted. When the device is placed in operation, a valve built into the plate rises and a blast of compressed air sweeps it clean of dust and dirt, as shown in the photograph below.

July 30, 2008

Speeding Auto Tows Aquaplane (Jul, 1934)

Filed under: Sports — @ 11:43 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jul, 1934
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Speeding Auto Tows Aquaplane
DOWN in Florida, where good roads often parallel the water for miles at a stretch, aquaplane enthusiasts have invented a new sports thrill. Selecting a stretch of water whose banks are not lined with trees, the thrill-seekers hitch an aquaplane to a speeding automobile with a long tow rope. In the absence of motor boat wash, great speed may be attained by the rider.

July 21, 2008

Cyclists Maneuver Galloping Bikes in Novel Polo Match (Jul, 1934)

Filed under: Bicycles, Sports — @ 10:49 am
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jul, 1934
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Cyclists Maneuver Galloping Bikes in Novel Polo Match

A POLO game is seldom dull, but when galloping bicycles are substituted for the traditional steeds, the fun begins.
A polo match on bicycles was a feature of a recent cycling meet at Heme Hill, London, England.

Spills were frequent as riders literally tossed their cycles about the course in pursuit of the elusive white ball.

The elongated “croquet” mallets proved rather dangerous weapons as they were swung wildly about in the faster scrimmages. Riders chose to wear “crash” helmets just in case things should get rough.

July 10, 2008

Golf Club Cart Abolishes Caddy (Dec, 1933)

Filed under: Origins, Sports — @ 1:09 am
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Dec, 1933
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Golf Club Cart Abolishes Caddy

A NEW golf club cart now on the market may relegate the caddy to oblivion, along with the telegrapher, the movie theatre musician and the horse.

The cart is built along the lines of the truck commonly employed in wheeling boxed goods. The golf bag straps to the handle, its bottom resting on a small platform.

When moving the clubs from one hole to another, the golfer simply takes the cart in tow and wheels along over the fairway to the next tee.

June 28, 2008

Atomic Golf Ball (Mar, 1951)

Filed under: Sports — @ 10:48 pm
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Mar, 1951
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Atomic Golf Ball

IT may not be world-shattering news, but golfers will welcome one of the newest atomic developments once it emerges from the experimental stage. It’s a golf ball that can’t get lost. Minute quantities of radioactive materials are embedded under the cover of the ball so that if you carry a portable Geiger counter, you can locate it even in dense woods. When you’re getting close to the correct location, you’ll know by the signals on your headphones.

Below, Dr. William L. Davidson the inventor lets Lawson Little, famous golf pro, left, hear the tell-tale clicks. At the right, he gives the fairer sex a chance to marvel at modern science.

June 23, 2008

Largest Golf Club Weighs 100 Lbs. (Jun, 1934)

Filed under: Sports — @ 11:53 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jun, 1934
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Largest Golf Club Weighs 100 Lbs.

THE world’s largest golf club, with a head 36 inches long, and other dimensions in proportion, is being used at opening ceremonies for various golf tournaments in California.

Three players perched on a step ladder are needed to drive off the 13 inch diameter golf ball atop its gigantic tee.

June 20, 2008

Office Putting Course Is a Rug in Its Spare Time (Jul, 1961)

Filed under: Sports — @ 1:32 am
Source: Popular Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jul, 1961
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Office Putting Course Is a Rug in Its Spare Time

Golfing executives who practice putting in the office can really go first class with the new “Cocktail Golf” rug.

The miniature three-hole golf course is a textured rug made of nylon with a putting course laid out in different colors and pile depths. The holes are three soft rubber practice cups. There’s a built-up rough around the edge, a smooth, flat fairway, depressed sand traps and even a water hazard in the center.

With the cups removed, it’s an attractive rug in an abstract pattern. At-home golfers could use it as well in a den or living room. It’s made by Carter Bros. Rug Co., Chattanooga 5, Tenn.

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