98 Fun Facts About Famous Rivalries

Which two heavyweight boxers' rivalry included three iconic fights in the 1970s?

Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier's Manila fight ended when Frazier's trainer Eddie Futch stopped it after the 14th round; Ali took the series 2-1 but said it was the closest he had come to dying.

What name covers the three wars Rome fought against Carthage between 264 and 146 BC?

Punic Wars take their name from Punicus, the Latin word for the Phoenician-descended Carthaginians; the three wars added up to 43 years of fighting.

Which two inventors were the central figures in the 'War of Currents'?

Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla: Edison's DC faced Westinghouse's AC from 1886, Westinghouse licensed Tesla's motor patents in 1888, and Edison's camp electrocuted animals to argue AC was deadlier.

Who is often depicted as the intellectual arch-nemesis of detective Sherlock Holmes?

Professor Moriarty appears in only two of Doyle's stories; the 'Napoleon of crime' tag was borrowed from a Scotland Yard inspector describing the real thief Adam Worth.

In Greek mythology, which Titan was overthrown by his son Zeus?

Cronus, the leader of the first generation of Titans, was famously overthrown by his son, Zeus, in a conflict known as the Titanomachy.

Which two beverage giants have spent decades in a marketing war over their flagship soft drinks?

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo's feud has run since the blind-taste 'Pepsi Challenge' of 1975, and it pushed Coke into the 1985 New Coke reformulation, reversed within months.

Which two rivals' five-set 2008 Wimbledon final, finished in near darkness, is widely called the greatest tennis match ever played?

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's 2008 Wimbledon final ran five sets and ended in near darkness; Nadal owns their head-to-head, largely on clay, while Federer led on grass.

Whom did sitting Vice President Aaron Burr fatally wound in an 1804 duel at Weehawken, New Jersey?

Alexander Hamilton, the first Treasury Secretary, died the day after the July 11, 1804 duel.

Which two NHL teams, the league's two oldest clubs, went from 1980 to 2020 without meeting in the playoffs?

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens, founded in 1917 and 1909, won 19 of the 25 Original Six-era Stanley Cups between them, yet did not meet in the playoffs between 1979 and 2021.

Which late-1990s NHL rivalry was sparked by a hit on Kris Draper in the 1996 playoffs?

Claude Lemieux's hit from behind left Draper with a broken jaw and shattered cheek and orbital bones. The feud boiled over the next March in a Detroit game remembered simply as 'the brawl'.

Which two McLaren teammates of 1988 and 1989 together won seven of the nine Formula 1 drivers' titles from 1985 to 1993?

As McLaren teammates Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost won 25 of 32 races, including the first 11 of 1988 in a row, and finished 1-2 in the championship both years.

Which reigning world chess champion was famously defeated by IBM's Deep Blue computer in a 1997 rematch?

Garry Kasparov had beaten Deep Blue in 1996, then lost the 1997 rematch and accused IBM of cheating; IBM retired the machine rather than play again.

Which two 17th-century mathematicians fought a bitter priority dispute over who had first invented calculus?

Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz both got there, but Leibniz published first and his notation is the one still used; the 1712 Royal Society report siding with Newton was largely written by Newton himself.

Which two 16th-century queens were cousins who never met face to face?

Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots were first cousins once removed; Mary spent eighteen and a half years as Elizabeth's prisoner before her beheading at Fotheringhay in 1587.

Which two tennis players contested three consecutive Wimbledon men's singles finals from 1988 to 1990?

Roger Federer said watching the Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg finals was what made him choose tennis over soccer; Edberg won in 1988 and 1990, Becker in 1989.

Which long-time rival invested $150 million in a struggling Apple in August 1997, to boos from the Macworld crowd?

Microsoft's $150 million, announced by Bill Gates on a giant screen at Macworld Boston, came with a five-year pledge to keep making Office for the Mac and to make Internet Explorer the Mac's default browser.

Which two comic-book publishers have been rivals since at least the 1950s?

In the 1950s Marvel's predecessor Atlas had to beg distribution from its rival's own arm, Independent News, which capped it at eight titles a month. Marvel only followed DC into revived superheroes in the early 1960s.

In the Trojan War, which Greek warrior killed the Trojan prince Hector and dragged his body behind a chariot?

After Hector killed Patroclus, Achilles chased him three times around the walls of Troy before killing him, then dragged the body for days until King Priam came to ransom it.

Larry Bird led which school to the 1979 NCAA final against Magic Johnson?

Larry Bird's Indiana State went into the 1979 final unbeaten at 33-0 but lost 75-64 to Magic Johnson's Michigan State; the two men later met in three NBA Finals.

In which city did Ali and George Foreman fight the 1974 'Rumble in the Jungle'?

Kinshasa's 20th of May Stadium hosted the October 30, 1974 fight in what was then Zaire; Ali knocked out Foreman in the eighth round after soaking up punches on the ropes.

Celtic and Rangers, the 'Old Firm' of Scottish football, are both based in which city?

Celtic and Rangers are both Glasgow clubs, Celtic at Parkhead in the east end and Rangers at Ibrox south of the Clyde; they first met in May 1888, Celtic's first ever match.

The Superclásico between Boca Juniors and River Plate is played in which city?

Both clubs were founded in La Boca, Buenos Aires's dockland barrio; River Plate later moved north to Núñez, while Boca Juniors stayed put at La Bombonera.

The Derby della Madonnina between Inter and AC is named for a statue on top of what?

The Madonnina is the gilded statue of the Virgin on the Duomo's highest spire; in April 2024 Inter clinched a league title by beating Milan in the derby for the first time.

In which year did Army and Navy first meet in their annual college football game?

Army and Navy first met on November 29, 1890 at West Point, a 24-0 Navy win; the first four games alternated between the academies before the series moved to neutral sites in 1899.

The Oxford–Cambridge Boat Race runs from Putney to which finish on the Thames?

The Championship Course runs 4.2 miles from Putney to Mortlake, passing under Hammersmith and Barnes bridges; the men's race was first rowed in 1829.

In 2000, ESPN ranked which college football rivalry the greatest North American sports rivalry ever?

Michigan–Ohio State, known simply as 'The Game', topped ESPN's 2000 ranking; it has often decided the Big Ten title and Rose Bowl berth, and in 2006 pitted No. 1 against No. 2.

What nickname is given to the annual Alabama–Auburn college football game?

The Iron Bowl is named for Birmingham's iron and steel industry; the game was played at the city's Legion Field for decades, and Auburn first hosted it on campus in 1989.

Roughly how far apart by road are the campuses of basketball rivals Duke and North Carolina?

Duke in Durham and North Carolina in Chapel Hill sit about 10 miles apart by road along U.S. 15-501, roughly eight miles as the crow flies; the teams first met in 1920.

How many times did Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova play each other on tour?

Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova met 80 times between 1973 and 1988, 60 of them in finals, with Navratilova finishing ahead 43-37.

What was the score of the epic fourth-set tiebreak McEnroe won over Borg at Wimbledon 1980?

McEnroe took the tiebreak 18-16 after about 22 minutes, saving five championship points in it, but Borg won the fifth set 8-6 for his fifth straight Wimbledon title.

Nicklaus beat Palmer in an 18-hole playoff to launch their rivalry at which 1962 major?

The 1962 U.S. Open at Oakmont, in Palmer's home state of Pennsylvania, was Nicklaus's first professional win; he shot 71 to Palmer's 74 in the Monday playoff.

James Hunt won the 1976 German Grand Prix, where rival Niki Lauda crashed, at which circuit?

The Nürburgring Nordschleife, nearly 23 km of forest road, hosted its last Formula 1 race that day; Lauda's Ferrari burst into flames at Bergwerk and he returned six weeks later at Monza.

How soon after beating Lewis Hamilton to the 2016 F1 title did Nico Rosberg announce his retirement?

Rosberg clinched the title in Abu Dhabi on November 27, 2016 and announced his retirement five days later, on December 2, at the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony in Vienna.

In which city was Nancy Kerrigan attacked in January 1994, sparking the Tonya Harding saga?

Shane Stant clubbed Kerrigan on the right leg with a baton in a corridor of Detroit's Cobo Arena on January 6, 1994, during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Roberto Durán's 'No más' surrender to Sugar Ray Leonard in 1980 happened in which city?

The rematch was staged at New Orleans's Louisiana Superdome on November 25, 1980, five months after Durán had outpointed Leonard in Montreal; Durán quit in the eighth round.

How long did the 1985 Hagler–Hearns fight, called boxing's greatest by some, last?

The Ring called it 'the most electrifying eight minutes ever' and still named it fight of the year.

Crosby's great rival Alexander Ovechkin went first overall in the 2004 NHL draft to which team?

The Washington Capitals took Alexander Ovechkin first overall in 2004; Pittsburgh won the post-lockout lottery and picked Sidney Crosby first in 2005, and the two met in four playoff series between 2009 and 2018.

How many times did Tom Brady and Peyton Manning face each other as NFL quarterbacks?

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning met 17 times from 2001 to 2015; Brady won 11, but Manning took three of their four AFC Championship Game meetings, including the last two.

With his 2023 win, Lionel Messi had taken how many Ballon d'Or awards?

Messi's 2023 award was his eighth Ballon d'Or; he and Cristiano Ronaldo had shared every award from 2008 to 2017 before Luka Modrić broke the run in 2018.

Schumacher and Damon Hill collided to decide the 1994 F1 title at which Grand Prix?

At the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide both cars retired after the clash, handing Schumacher his first world title by a single point, 92 to 91.

Richard Petty and David Pearson famously crashed on the last lap of which 1976 race?

On the last lap of the 1976 Daytona 500 the two touched coming off turn four; Petty stalled short of the line while Pearson crawled across at about 20 mph to win.

Seabiscuit beat Triple Crown winner War Admiral in a 1938 match race at which track?

The match race was the Pimlico Special on November 1, 1938 in Baltimore; Seabiscuit won by four lengths and was voted Horse of the Year, an honor War Admiral had taken in 1937.

Which horse finished second to Affirmed in all three 1978 Triple Crown races?

The two met ten times in all, and Alydar is the only horse to run second in every leg of a Triple Crown sweep.

Fischer and Spassky's 1972 'Match of the Century' was played in which city?

Reykjavík's Laugardalshöll sports hall hosted the match from July to September 1972; Fischer only flew in after Henry Kissinger phoned him and British financier Jim Slater doubled the prize fund.

After how many games was the 1984 Karpov–Kasparov world title match controversially called off?

FIDE president Florencio Campomanes halted the match after 48 games, five months in, with Karpov leading 5-3 alongside 40 draws; Kasparov won the 1985 rematch to take the title.

The 'Bone Wars' was a fossil-hunting feud between Othniel Marsh and which paleontologist?

Edward Drinker Cope of Philadelphia and Yale's Marsh spent the 1870s and 1880s bribing, spying and racing each other across the American West; between them they named more than 130 dinosaur species.

Whose polio vaccine, the rival to Jonas Salk's injected shot, was given by mouth?

Albert Sabin's live-virus oral vaccine, usually just two drops on a sugar cube or the tongue, was given to some 10 million Soviet children in 1959 and licensed in the United States in 1961.

Roald Amundsen beat Robert Falcon Scott to the South Pole by roughly how long?

Amundsen reached the pole on 14 December 1911 and Scott on 17 January 1912, about five weeks later; Scott's five-man party all died on the return journey.

The seven Lincoln–Douglas debates of 1858 were part of a contest for which office?

The prize was Douglas's U.S. Senate seat; senators were then chosen by state legislatures, and Illinois's Democratic majority re-elected Douglas, but the published debates made Lincoln a national figure before 1860.

Which rival-turned-friend of Thomas Jefferson died on the very same day as him, July 4, 1826?

It was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence; Adams's last words reportedly noted that Jefferson still survived, unaware he had died hours earlier.

Where was Stalin's exiled rival Leon Trotsky assassinated in 1940?

Trotsky had lived in Coyoacán, Mexico City since 1937; NKVD agent Ramón Mercader attacked him in his study with an ice axe on August 20, 1940, and he died the next day.

At which 48 BC battle in Greece did Julius Caesar decisively defeat Pompey?

At Pharsalus in Thessaly, Caesar's outnumbered veterans routed Pompey's army on August 9, 48 BC; Pompey fled to Egypt, where he was murdered as he came ashore.

The rivalry between Octavian and Mark Antony climaxed at which naval battle in 31 BC?

At Actium, off western Greece, on September 2, 31 BC, Agrippa's fleet routed Antony and Cleopatra's ships; Octavian had already turned Rome against Antony by publishing his will, which favored Cleopatra's children.

Which foreign power's gold financed Sparta's fleet late in the Peloponnesian War?

Persia, first through the satrap Tissaphernes and then the prince Cyrus the Younger, paid for the Spartan fleet that under Lysander destroyed Athens's navy at Aegospotami in 405 BC.

Which 1485 battle ended the Wars of the Roses between Lancaster and York?

At Bosworth Field in Leicestershire on 22 August 1485, Henry Tudor's army killed Richard III, the last English king to die in battle; Henry fought under a red dragon banner, Richard under a white boar.

The Hatfields lived mainly in which state, across the Tug Fork river from the Kentucky McCoys?

Devil Anse Hatfield's clan lived on the West Virginia side of the Tug Fork, in what became Mingo County; the feud ran roughly from 1863 to 1891, with an 1878 lawsuit over a hog among its early flashpoints.

In medieval Italy, the Ghibellines backed which power against the pro-papal Guelphs?

The Ghibellines, named for the Hohenstaufen castle of Waiblingen, backed the Holy Roman Emperor; the split grew out of the Investiture Controversy over whether pope or emperor could appoint bishops.

Who won the Best Actor Oscar for playing Mozart's jealous rival Salieri in Amadeus (1984)?

F. Murray Abraham won for Salieri while co-star Tom Hulce was nominated for Mozart; Peter Shaffer's play was a 'fantasia' inspired by Pushkin's 1830 drama Mozart and Salieri.

In the 1995 'Battle of Britpop', which Blur single beat Oasis's 'Roll with It' to number one?

'Country House' sold 274,000 copies to 'Roll with It's 216,000 in the chart week of 20 August 1995; Oasis's (What's the Story) Morning Glory? then far outsold Blur's The Great Escape.

During the East Coast–West Coast hip-hop feud, Tupac Shakur was signed to which label?

Death Row Records, co-founded by Suge Knight and Dr. Dre in Los Angeles in 1991, released Tupac's All Eyez on Me in 1996; the Notorious B.I.G. recorded for Puff Daddy's New York-based Bad Boy.

Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift's 2009 VMA acceptance speech for which award?

Swift was accepting Best Female Video for 'You Belong with Me' when West took the mic to argue Beyoncé's 'Single Ladies' was one of the best videos of all time; Beyoncé later invited Swift back onstage.

Leonardo and rival Michelangelo were assigned facing walls of a hall in which Florentine building?

In the Palazzo Vecchio's Hall of the Five Hundred, Leonardo began the Battle of Anghiari in 1505 and Michelangelo drew the Battle of Cascina cartoon; neither was finished and Leonardo's painting is lost.

Which Baroque architect, Bernini's great rival in Rome, was born Francesco Castelli?

Borromini, born Francesco Castelli on Lake Lugano in 1599, adopted his new name around 1628; melancholic and quick-tempered, he lost commissions to the courtly Bernini and died by suicide in 1667.

Which 1962 film paired feuding screen legends Bette Davis and Joan Crawford?

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? was shot by Robert Aldrich in about a month for under $1 million; Davis earned an Oscar nomination, and Crawford accepted Anne Bancroft's award on her behalf that night.

Feuding brothers Adi and Rudolf Dassler founded Adidas and Puma in which German town?

In Herzogenaurach, near Nuremberg, the brothers registered the Dassler Brothers Sports Shoe Factory in 1924, starting in their mother's washroom; after the 1948 split Adidas and Puma sat on opposite banks of the Aurach.

Which Ford model scored its first Le Mans win in 1966, finishing 1-2-3 ahead of Ferrari?

The Ford GT40 Mk II of Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon led a 1-2-3 sweep at the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours, the first win for an American constructor there; Ford won again in 1967, 1968 and 1969.

The first 'browser war' of 1995–2001 pitted Internet Explorer against which browser?

Netscape Navigator held around 80 per cent of the market in 1995; Microsoft licensed Spyglass Mosaic to build Internet Explorer 1.0, shipped in the Windows 95 Plus! pack that August, and bundled later versions free with Windows.

Which company's console-war slogan was 'Genesis does what Nintendon't'?

Sega of America boss Michael Katz also paid celebrities such as Joe Montana and Arnold Palmer to put their names on games.

Which company's Betamax format lost the videotape war to JVC's VHS?

Sony had shown a 'Beta' prototype to other manufacturers in 1974, expecting them to rally behind a single format.

Which paper did Joseph Pulitzer own during his 1890s circulation war with Hearst's Journal?

Pulitzer bought the New York World from Jay Gould in 1883 and filled it with pictures, games and contests; the 'Yellow Kid' comic the two papers fought over gave 'yellow journalism' its name.

Before building cars to rival Ferrari, Ferruccio Lamborghini made his fortune manufacturing what?

He founded Lamborghini Trattori in 1948, building his first 'Carioca' tractors from surplus military engines.

Wile E. Coyote mail-orders most of his Road Runner traps from which company?

Chuck Jones's rules for the series said only his own ineptitude or the failure of Acme products could ever harm the Coyote; 'Acme' was a common business name because it sorted to the top of directories.

Captain Ahab hunts his nemesis, the white whale Moby Dick, aboard which ship?

The Pequod, which Ishmael joins at Nantucket, is owned by Quakers Bildad and Peleg; a stranger named Elijah prophesies doom for the voyage, and Ahab only appears once the ship is at sea.

Inspector Javert relentlessly pursues Jean Valjean in which 1862 novel?

Victor Hugo never gives Javert a first name in Les Misérables, and wrote that the inspector would have arrested his own father.

Who played Apollo Creed, Rocky Balboa's rival and later friend, in the Rocky films?

Carl Weathers, a former Oakland Raiders linebacker, won the part after heavyweight Ken Norton pulled out; Stallone had written the original script in about three days.

'I am Lord Voldemort' is revealed to be an anagram of which birth name?

Tom Marvolo Riddle rearranges into 'I am Lord Voldemort'; translators alter the name so the anagram survives, which is why he is Tom Elvis Jedusor in French.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a sequel to which original-series TV episode?

Khan had been marooned on Ceti Alpha V at the end of the 1967 episode 'Space Seed'; Ricardo Montalbán returned, arguing that good villains believe they act for the right reasons.

Who played Newman, Jerry's mail-carrier nemesis on Seinfeld?

Wayne Knight played Newman from 1992 to the 1998 finale, and re-dubbed the character's unseen lines in the 1991 episode 'The Revenge', originally voiced by Larry David, for syndication.

Hulk Hogan's 1987 title defence against André the Giant at WrestleMania III was held where?

The Pontiac Silverdome outside Detroit drew an announced 93,173 on March 29, 1987; the feud began when André turned on his friend on Piper's Pit after Hogan was honoured for three years as champion.

WrestleMania X-Seven, headlined by Austin vs The Rock, was the first WrestleMania in which state?

A record 67,925 fans packed the Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas on April 1, 2001 for a $3.5 million gate; Austin turned heel by siding with Vince McMahon to beat The Rock.

The Ashes urn, prize of the England–Australia cricket rivalry, reputedly holds the ashes of what?

It was presented to England captain Ivo Bligh in Melbourne after a mock obituary had declared English cricket dead in 1882.

The first official Ryder Cup, between Great Britain and the United States, was played in 1927 where?

Worcester Country Club in Massachusetts hosted the June 1927 match, which the United States won 9½-2½; seed merchant Samuel Ryder had donated the gold trophy.

How many Grand Slam singles finals did Serena Williams win against sister Venus?

Serena leads their overall head-to-head 19–12; their 2001 US Open final out-drew a Notre Dame–Nebraska football game on TV.

Wilt Chamberlain finally beat Bill Russell's Celtics to win the 1967 NBA title with which team?

The 1967 Philadelphia 76ers went 68-13 and beat Boston 4-1 in the Eastern Division finals, ending the Celtics' run of eight straight titles, then beat the San Francisco Warriors for the championship.

How many NBA championships did Bill Russell win with the Boston Celtics?

Bill Russell won 11 championships in 13 seasons from 1957 to 1969, the last two as player-coach, and went 10-0 in Game 7s.

The 1965 Ali–Liston rematch with its 'phantom punch' was moved to a mill town in which state?

Lewiston, Maine, a mill town of about 41,000, took the fight at St. Dominic's Arena after Boston dropped out; the crowd of 2,434 was the smallest for a heavyweight title fight up to then.

At the 1980 Moscow Olympics, which event did Steve Ovett win against rival Sebastian Coe?

Ovett won the 800 m on 26 July 1980, supposedly Coe's speciality, and Coe answered by winning Ovett's event, the 1500 m, six days later.

The 'Battle of the Brians' between Orser and Boitano peaked at which Winter Olympics?

At Calgary 1988 Boitano, the 1986 world champion, beat 1987 world champion Orser on a 5-4 split of the judges; Orser settled for a second Olympic silver after Sarajevo 1984.

Who scored Canada's winner with 34 seconds left to beat the USSR in the 1972 Summit Series?

Paul Henderson's line with Bobby Clarke and Ron Ellis was not expected to start, yet he scored the winner in each of the final three games.

In 2012, a US jury awarded Apple roughly how much in its patent fight with Samsung?

The San Jose jury awarded Apple $1.05 billion on August 24, 2012 after answering more than 700 questions in under three days; the award was trimmed on appeal and the companies settled in 2018.

Who played the Mac opposite John Hodgman's PC in Apple's 'Get a Mac' ads?

Justin Long played the Mac from 2006 to 2009; Microsoft answered with 'I'm a PC', and in 2021 Intel hired Long to promote PCs over Macs.

The Wright brothers fought a years-long patent war against which fellow aviation pioneer?

Glenn Curtiss refused to pay royalties on the Wrights' 1906 wing-warping patent; in 1914 he rebuilt and flew Langley's 1903 Aerodrome for the Smithsonian to argue it had been capable of flight first.

The deadly 1849 Astor Place Riot in Manhattan grew from a feud between two men in which profession?

American star Edwin Forrest and English star William Macready disputed who played Shakespeare better; between 22 and 31 rioters died.

Volta's dispute with Galvani over 'animal electricity' drove him to invent what in 1800?

Galvani had seen frogs' legs twitch between two metals; Volta showed the metals, not the animal, made the current, and stacked zinc and silver discs separated by brine-soaked cloth into the voltaic pile, the first battery.

Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in the 1973 'Battle of the Sexes' at which venue?

The Houston Astrodome drew 30,472, then a record crowd for a tennis match, on September 20, 1973; King, 29, beat the 55-year-old Riggs in straight sets four months after he had routed Margaret Court.

In the 'War of the Romantics', Brahms's conservative camp was centred on which city's conservatoire?

The conservative circle around Brahms, Clara Schumann and Joseph Joachim looked to the Leipzig Conservatory founded by Mendelssohn in 1843; their opponents were Liszt's 'New German School' in Weimar, along with Richard Wagner.

Which rival did Coco Chanel dismiss as 'that Italian artist who makes clothes'?

Elsa Schiaparelli, famed for 'shocking pink' and her surrealist collaborations with Dalí, closed her indebted house in 1954, the same year Chanel returned to fashion.

Tartaglia's bitter feud with Cardano was over the solution to which type of equation?

Tartaglia revealed his method for the cubic in verse in 1539 on a promise of secrecy; Cardano printed it in Ars Magna in 1545 after finding del Ferro's earlier solution in Bologna.