Triple Threat (football)
A "triple threat" man in football is a player who can run, pass and kick. Triple threat men were highly prized in the early days of football in the early 1900s, but the rise of…
Triple-double (basketball statistic)
A "triple-double" in basketball is when a player has double digit totals in three of five statistical categories -- points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots. The usual…
Trolley Series (1889 World Series, Brooklyn Bridegrooms vs. New York Giants)
A baseball "Subway Series" is when a New York National League team (such as the New York Mets, but also formerly the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants) plays the New York American…
Two-Sewer Man (stickball term)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Newspapers.com26 April 1967, Daily News (New York, NY), "When You and I Were Young, Kiddo!" by Bill Gallo, pg. 38, col. 2:A TWO-SEWER MAN -- When you hit the…
TWTW (The Will To Win)
Ken "The Hawk" Harrelson, the television broadcast announcer for the Chicago White Sox, was interviewed by MLB network host Brian Kenny on April 25, 2013. Harrelson said that he…
U. S. Open (tennis)
The U. S. Open (tennis) did not begin in New York, and it can probably be played anywhere in the United States. However, the first modern U. S. Open was held at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest…
Underwear Olympics (NFL scouting combine for draft prospects)
The National Football League conducts a combine to test college athletes in February, in advance of the April NFL draft of players. Athletes go through various speed and agility tests, but they…
Upstuck (poker winning/losing)
Irish-American professional poker player Phil Laak coined the word "upstuck" in August 2015. "Upstuck. A poker term invented by @PhilLaak 2 describe being stuck from ur…
Victory Lap
A "victory lap" is an extra lap around the track taken by the winner of a race, performed in front of the fans. "The officials finally declared Flemke the winner and he took the…
Volleyball (Volley Ball)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: VolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other…
War Room (a team’s player draft headquarters)
A "war room" is a room where war plans are made, but, by extension, "war room" has also meant a room where business plans are made. Sports teams have their "war rooms"…
Wefense (we + defense/offense)
"Wefense" (we + defense/offense) was popularized by Rich Bisaccia, the special teams coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2002 to 2010. Special teams is neither offense nor defense and…
Who played for Yankees, Knicks and Rangers in the same year?
Eddie Layton, an organist. This trick question became famous when it was crafted into a Trivial Pursuit question. 3 October 1990, New York Times, pg. B1:His name answers a Trivial Pursuit question:…
Windmill Dunk (basketball shot)
A "windmill" slam dunk in basketball is when a player's arm acts like a windmill in sending the ball through the basket. "Windmill" dunk has been cited in print since at…
Workout Warrior
"Workout warrior" was used in 1986 to describe an extremely dedicated health club member. The National Football League examines college prospects at its February scouting combine, in…
Yachtzee (yacht + Yahtzee)
The dice game of Yahtzee has nothing to do with yachts, but there are jokes. "Yachtzee: What a child, or another person, may say when they see this type of boat" was posted on the…
YAI Central Park Challenge
The annual YAI Central Park Challenge raises funds for people with disabilities. http://www.yai.org/about.cfmWelcome Since its inception in 1957, YAI/National Institute for People with Disabilities…
Yankee Stadium was the first “stadium” (myth)
Yankee Stadium was not the first "stadium." This myth has been repeated in the 2000s. John Tomlinson Brush was an owner of the baseball New York Giants who died in 1913. In 1911, the Polo…
Yankees (American League baseball team)
The New York "Yankees" American League baseball team did not originally have that name. "Yankee" has meant an American, or, more specifically, someone from New England. The 1902…
Yankees (Staten Island baseball team); Baby Bombers
The Staten Island Yankees are the Class A farm team of the New York Yankees. (See the "Yankees" entry above.) The team began playing in 1999 and has a website (http://siyanks.com). The…