Bunker Spreckels – Sports Bizarre

In 1932, with the world going through the Great Depression, Brazil had no money to send its Olympic team to Los Angeles. Then a government official had an idea—load a ship with 50,000 bags of coffee, and have the Olympic team sell the cargo to fund the entire trip. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy look at a strange trip which included pretending the ship was a warship, and civil war breaking out. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

9 Apr 202331min

Jese Rodriguez was a future star in the soccer world, but things like a music career and discovering he was a father via Instagram sent things sideways. Despite a career that included stints at Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, it was off the field Jese shone, like when he spent €5,000 on text messages to vote an ex-girlfriend off the show Big Brother. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy examine the life and loves of Jese Rodriguez, a man who could resist anything except temptation. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2 Apr 202336min

In the final of our series on Table Tennis, we look at the use of glue to cheat in table tennis. When Hungarian player Tibor Klampár discovered volatile glues gave the rubber on bats 30 per cent more spin and speed, it led to an arms race for the most toxic glues. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy look at the dangerous trick that led to players passing out and police raiding table tennis shops. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

26 Mars 202330min

In the early 1970s, with China and the United States locked in a Cold War struggle, it took Ping Pong to save the world. With diplomatic ties severed between Richard Nixon and Chairman Mao, the US Table Tennis team were sent to China to mend relations. Things got off to a rough start when one member of the US team converted to Communism and two others played an imaginary game of table tennis in the street, almost starting a riot. Titus O’Reily and Mick Molloy examine the rise of Table Tennis in China and how the US Table Tennis Championships were once kicked out of a venue by El Mongol, a not-so-famous wrestler. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today  Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

19 Mars 202349min

The sport of table tennis or ping pong, or as it was once known, Whiff Waff, has arguably had a more significant impact on world history than any other sport. In this episode, we look at the life of Ivor Montagu, the man who built table tennis into an international sport while also making films with Alfred Hitchcock, hanging out with Charlie Chaplin and spying for the Soviets during the War. Mick Molloy and Titus O'Reily examine a sport that connects Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, Chairman Mao, King Charles, HG Wells, George Bernard Shaw and General Douglas MacArthur. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on:  Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

13 Mars 202346min

By the time Jimmy White was 13, he was skipping school and travelling around England in a black cab to play snooker and hustle adults out of their money. Turning professional, Jimmy quickly became the most beloved snooker player in the world while living a lifestyle that involved month-long benders with Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy, UB40, Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy examine the career of one of the greatest snooker players of all time, a man who lost six World Championship Finals and once took his dead brother on a pub crawl. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on:  Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

5 Mars 20231h 7min

Completing our look at the early days of boxing, we pick up where the sport moves from having no rules whatsoever to having at least three of them. It's the nanny state gone mad. We meet the man who lends his name to these new rules, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry, whose main claim to fame, apart from his rules, is a high-profile dispute with Oscar Wilde which leads to Wilde's imprisonment. Titus and Mick examine the civilisation of boxing, the invention of boxing gloves and Hezekiah Moscow, a boxer/bear tamer who quit boxing to tour England as a comedy sketch artist in 1892. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

26 Feb 202335min

In the seventeenth century in England, the earliest form of modern boxing emerged, a wild free for all style of fighting that included eye gouging, hair pulling, spitting, head-butting, shin-kicking, stomping and kicking downed opponents. Out of this world emerged the first heavyweight champion, James Figg who fought a total of 270 fights and lost only once.  Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy look at the early days of boxing, the first ever rules, the invention of boxing gloves and the first championship "belt"—made of lionskin and sterling silver. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

19 Feb 202352min