Did you know?

On July 26, 1952, former Stanford star Bob Mathias captured gold in the decathon event at the Summer Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland. Despite a painful leg injury, he ran the 1,500-mater race in a time of 4:50.8 to raise his two-day point total to 7,887, well beyond the second-place total of 6,975 by fellow American Milton Campbell. It allowed Mathias to successfully defend the championship he had won first as a 17-year-old schoolboy at the London Olympics four years earlier. Mathias died in September of 2006 at the age of 75.

This Week in

Illini and Spartan History

ILLINI HISTORY - Celebrating his 85th birthday on July 26th is former Fighting Illini quarterback Mike Taliaferro (pronounced TOL-i-ver). As a senior in 1963 at Illinois, he split playing time with Fred Custardo, taking the snap from All-America offensive center Dick Butkus and handing the ball off to All-America running back Jim Grabowski. Taliaferro went on play eight years in the American and National Football Leagues, with the New York Jets (1964-67), the Boston Patriots (1968-70) and the Buffalo Bills (1972). He is the father of former Illini soccer coach Tricia Taliaferro.

SPARTAN HISTORY - Turning 72 on Sunday (July 26) is former Michigan State ice hockey star Steve Colp. When his college career concluded in 1976, he had an astounding 300 points in 138 games. He is one of only five players to score 300 points at the top level of college hockey (as of 2026) but he is second for Michigan State behind his long-time teammate Tom Ross. Photo restored by MomentsMadeClear.com.

Shep's Sports Crosswords

An exclusive new feature of SportsLLL.com, Shep's Sports Crosswords is a fun way to challenge your sports trivia knowledge. It takes only about five minutes to play. We'll post a new puzzle each week. This week's sports crossword puzzle is about MICHIGAN STATE FOOTBALL & BASKETBALL HISTORY. Click below to play! Can't solve 'em all? Click here!