Except for one fairytale season in 1969, when they won the World Series, the New York Mets were largely synonymous with futility for the first quarter-century of their existence. The Mets languished in the shadows of their pinstriped neighbors in the Bronx—the New York ...read more

Boston's Fenway Park and Chicago’s Wrigley Field—Major League Baseball's oldest ballparks—are charming testaments from the sport's early 20th century. Some of the peers of those ballparks had odd features, from weird dimensions to insanely high outfield walls. Here are 10 of the ...read more

In 1969, a group of New York City youth known as the Young Lords demanded change in the way the largest city in the United States handled sanitation. The initiative, known as the Garbage Offensive, wasn’t the group’s original plan of action, but it proved highly effective in ...read more

First in a series on iconic NFL games. Foul weather, from ice, snow and below-freezing temperatures to downpours and excessive heat, has adversely affected NFL games since the dawn of the league more than 100 years ago. But no game in NFL history matches the weird weather at the ...read more

In October 1862, a shocking and unique photo exhibition opened at Mathew B. Brady’s Broadway gallery in New York City. A small placard at the door advertised “The Dead of Antietam,” and, as The New York Times reported on October 20, “crowds of people are constantly going up the ...read more

In the center of downtown Atlanta, a handful of streets intersect, forming what locals know as Five Points. Today, a park, a university, high-rise buildings and throngs of motorists and pedestrians make this a bustling area, belying its history of bloodshed. In 1906, Five Points ...read more

Perched on the southwestern part of the Iberian peninsula, Portugal turned to the boundless Atlantic Ocean as its only outlet to the wider world. As early as 1341, Portuguese sailors had made their first forays into the tempting waters that lay beyond their shores, exploring the ...read more

College football has been a staple of American culture for more than a half-century longer than the NFL. The professional game owes much of its success to the foundation built by the college sport. A range of college coaches transformed the game on and off the field. From Yale's ...read more

The Iron Age was the period in which the use of iron became widespread in Europe, Asia and parts of Africa. Because the adoption of iron didn’t happen at the same time in every part of the world, there isn’t really one Iron Age, but rather multiple ones across different regions. ...read more

Few periods in history have had a greater impact on humankind than that of ancient Rome. While its influence on western civilization, in particular, has been ubiquitous, its remnants can be found virtually everywhere, from our calendar and political systems to our alphabet. The ...read more

For two years after the American Revolution erupted in the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord, the war unfolded primarily on northern battlefields. Following a pivotal defeat at the 1777 Battle of Saratoga and the French entry to the American side the following year, ...read more

The United States and Cuba share a long, complex history—first as allies and trade partners, and later as bitter ideological enemies. For four centuries after the arrival of Christopher Columbus, Spain ruled Cuba as its main colony in the Caribbean, but the U.S. long coveted the ...read more