7. Formula One Racing: Phil Hill

Formula One, the elite international driving circuit characterized by curvy courses, is a sport dominated by Europeans. It’s also a sport that rewards aggressive driving. Both are reasons why Phil Hill, an American who’s petrified of racing, should not be one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time.
After a boyhood spent obsessing over cars, Hill began racing Jaguars in 1950 in Southern California’s burgeoning road-racing scene. Successful as he was, Hill remained terrified of racing’s dangers. Worried that he was going to kill himself on the track, Hill developed serious stomach ulcers that prevented him from keeping down solid foods before a race. To keep his energy up, he began a pre-race regimen that included feasting on jars of baby food.

In 1956, Hill made the jump to European racing as a member of the famed Ferrari team. With a few key wins, including France’s grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans race, he established himself as a star. Then in 1961, Hill got behind the wheel of the legendary “shark-nose” Ferrari 156 and became the first American to win the coveted Formula One World Drivers’ Championship. The victory not only secured his place in racing history, it also assured that Phil Hill could afford the finest baby food for the rest of his career.

8. Tug of War: Milwaukee Athletic Club Team

At the beginning of the last century, tug of war was more than just a groan-inducing part of company picnics. From 1900 to 1920, it was an Olympic event. Traditionally, the best teams came from Scandinavia and Great Britain, where the sport still enjoys a strong niche following. But one American squad managed to grab gold in the 1904 St. Louis games—the pullers of the Milwaukee Athletic Club.The triumph of the club’s iron grips and sturdy ankles led to much rejoicing across Milwaukee. There was a slight snag, though. No one on the team was actually from Milwaukee, and they certainly weren’t members of the Milwaukee Athletic Club. Instead, the athletes were ringers that the club’s head, Walter Liginger, supposedly recruited from Chicago. Although the defeated teams filed a grievance, Olympic officials rejected the protests, and the so-called men from Milwaukee got to walk away with both their medals and their honor intact.