Sports Wax

It looked like Kansas City's would-be dynasty was toast by the mid-1980s. After a string of playoff failures, the team was getting old. But, with a little perseverance and a lot of help from one of the biggest blown calls in World Series history, the Royals proved everyone wrong.

In October 1989, the Dallas Cowboys were 0–5 when they decided to trade their best player. What followed was one of the greatest accumulations of draft picks in NFL history — and one of the most unbelievable turnarounds in the annals of sports. This episode examines the Herschel Walker trade — and all that followed.

Bo Jackson is a sports legend of mythical proportions. But how did he end up becoming the first player in history to make both the MLB All-Star Game and NFL Pro Bowl? It's a tale worth telling, one of subterfuge, stubbornness, determination — and otherworldly athleticism.

At 44 years old, Nolan Ryan took the mound on a quiet night in Texas — and delivered one of the most unforgettable performances in baseball history. No local TV. No warning. Just pure greatness. This is the story of Ryan’s seventh career no-hitter , and how, more than two decades after his World Series debut, the Ryan Express still had one last masterpiece left in the tank. Sports Wax is a weekly...

Some sports moments are so transcendent, so unbelievable, they feel almost like fairy tales in hindsight. That's certainly the case with the 1986 Masters, where 46-year-old Jack Nicklaus made a back-nine charge for the ages, chasing down his younger competitors to win his sixth green jacket. Sports Wax is a weekly documentary that explores sports stories from yesteryear — memories of players, coac...

Thirty-five years ago today, on March 28, 1990, Michael Jordan torched the Cleveland Cavaliers for a career-high 69 points — plus 18 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals — in one of the most dominant performances in NBA history. Just a year after "The Shot," MJ returned to Cleveland and delivered another all-time moment. This is Sports Wax 100 — the short-form companion to the Sports Wax podcast. One...

So many incredible stories emerge from March Madness each year. In 1989, one of the most unbelievable stories took shape as the Michigan Wolverines — a team that lost its coach right before the tournament — kept winning round after round. In the end, the NCAA title was a testament to the team’s talent — and resilience. Sports Wax is a weekly documentary that explores sports stories from yesteryear...

The Soviet Union and United States were constantly at odds — but they never actually met on the battlefield, not face to face, at least. So, when the United States and Soviet Union did meet in sports — on the field or court or ice — it was a really big deal. In 1980, the U.S. sent a bunch of college kids to Lake Placid for the Winter Olympics, while the Soviets sent what was widely believed to be...

Muhammad Ali is the greatest of all-time, but that wasn't always the case. Sixty-one years ago this week, he was an enormous underdog against the heavyweight champion of the world, just a mouth with no chance of winning the belt. But history is full of surprises. Sports Wax is a weekly documentary that explores sports stories from yesteryear — memories of players, coaches, and teams that takes us...

U.S. presidents have embraced sports as a way to connect with the American people, as a way to celebrate everyday life in America, and as a way to get things back to normal after crises. Sports have also played a unique role as comforter in times of nationwide pain. This episode, just after Lincoln's birthday and just before Washington's, is all about the relationship between presidents and our sp...

The city of Houston went through a really tough sports run in the 1970s and 1980s. But, on Valentine's Day 30 years ago this week, the Houston Rockets make a trade to bring home a favorite son for one last shot at redemption. Sports Wax is a weekly documentary that explores sports stories from yesteryear — memories of players, coaches, and teams that takes us back in time. Subscribe to get the Spo...

In this debut episode of Sports Wax , we rewind to one of the most legendary moments in Super Bowl history—the first-ever mic’d up head coach, Hank Stram , leading the Kansas City Chiefs to victory in Super Bowl IV. Before the modern Chiefs dynasty, before Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes, there was Stram , a 5’7” innovator who built a powerhouse from scratch. From the Dallas Texans’ origins to the e...