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Oscar Robertson
Oscar Robertson 1938-, U.S. basketball player, b. Charlotte, Tenn. Passionately devoted to basketball as a youth, Robertson led his high school team to 45 consecutive victories. After an athletically brilliant college career at the Univ. of Cincinnati, Robertson, known as the "Big O," joined th...
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Larry Joe Bird
Larry Joe Bird 1956-, American basketball player, b. West Baden, Ind. Considered one of the greatest all-around players in basketball history, the 6-ft 9-in. Bird played for Indiana State Univ. (1975-79). Joining the Boston Celtics, he was named the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Rookie of...
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Dean Edwards Smith
Dean Edwards Smith 1931-, American college basketball coach, b. Emporia, Kans. After playing basketball at the Univ. of Kansas (grad. 1953), Smith joined (1954) the Air Force and became an assistant coach at the Air Force Academy. He began coaching at the Univ. of North Carolina in 1958, was appoin...
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basketball
basketball game played generally indoors by two opposing teams of five players each. Basketball was conceived in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith , a physical education instructor at the YMCA college in Springfield, Mass., as a way to condition outdoor athletes during the winter months. His original lis...
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Orlando
Orlando , city (1990 pop. 164,693), seat of Orange co., central Fla., in a lake region; inc. 1875. In a citrus fruit and farm area, it is one of the world's most visited vacation spots. Orlando's economy focuses on aerospace and electronics, but tourism brings in the largest revenues. Located 15 mi ...
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Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson (Earvin Johnson, Jr.), 1959-, African-American basketball player, b. Lansing, Mich. After winning the national championship with Michigan State Univ. (1979), he joined the Los Angeles Lakers and with them won five National Basketball Association championships (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987-8...
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James Naismith
James Naismith , 1861-1939, American athletic director, inventor (1891) of basketball, b. Almonte, Ontario. While an instructor of physical education at the International YMCA Training School (now Springfield College) at Springfield, Mass., he originated basketball as a gymnasium sport. The game was...
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gambling
gambling or gaming, betting of money or valuables on, and often participation in, games of chance (some involving degrees of skill). In England and in the United States, gambling was not a common-law crime if conducted privately. Even in colonial America, however, gambling was liable to rankle ...
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water polo
water polo swimming game encompassing features of soccer, football, basketball, and hockey. The object of the game is to maneuver, by head, feet, or hand, a leather-covered ball 27 to 28 in. (about 70 cm) in circumference into net-enclosed goals at opposite ends of a pool 19 to 30 yd (17.37 to 27.4...
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Sacramento
Sacramento , city (1990 pop. 369,365), state capital and seat of Sacramento co., central Calif., on the Sacramento River at its confluence with the American River; settled 1839, inc. 1850. A deepwater port via a 43-mi (69-km) channel to Suisun Bay (opened 1963), it is the shipping, rail, processing,...
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