billsportsmaps.com

March 12, 2023

2023 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament (aka March Madness) – Location-map, with 2021-22 average attendances by school (68 teams).

Filed under: NCAA Men's Basketball — admin @ 8:01 pm

2023 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament (aka March Madness) – Location-map, with 2021-22 average attendances by school (68 teams)

…

…

By Bill Turianski on the 12th of March 2023; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.

Links…
-Teams, etc…2023 NCAA Men’s Division I men’s Basketball Tournament (en.wikipedia.org).
-Scores…Div I college bk scores (espn.go.com).
…

The 68 Teams which qualified for the 2023 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament [aka March Madness]
Listed by: Name. Conference. Location of arena(s)…
-Alabama Crimson Tide. SEC. Tuscaloosa, AL.
-Arizona Wildcats. Pac-12. Tucson, AZ.
-Arizona State Sun Devils. Pac-12. Tempe, AZ.
-Arkansas Razorbacks. SEC. Fayetteville, AR.
-Auburn Tigers. SEC. Auburn, AL.
-Baylor Bears. Big 12. Waco, TX.
-Boise State Broncos. Mountain West. Boise, ID.
-Colgate Raiders. Patriot. Hamilton, NY.
-College of Charleston Cougars. Colonial (CAA). Charleston, SC.
-Creighton Bluejays. Big East. Omaha, NE.
-Drake Bulldogs. Missouri Valley. Des Moines, IA.
-Duke Blue Devils. ACC. Durham, NC.
-Fairleigh Dickinson Knights. Northeast. Hackensack, NJ.
-Florida Atlantic Owls. Conference USA. Boca Raton, FL.
-Furman Paladins. Southern (SoCon). Greeneville, SC.
-Gonzaga Bulldogs. West Coast Conference. Spokane, WA.
-Grand Canyon Antelopes. WCC. Phoenix, AZ.
-Houston Cougars. American (AAC). Houston, TX.
-Howard Bison. MEAC. Washington, DC.
-Illinois Fighting Illini. Big Ten. Champaign, IL.
-Indiana Hoosiers. Big Ten. Bloomington, IN.
-Iona Gaels. MAAC. New Rochelle, NY.
-Iowa Hawkeyes. Big Ten. Iowa City, IA.
-Iowa State Cyclones. Big 12. Ames, IA.
-Kansas Jayhawks. Big 12. Lawrence, KS.
-Kansas State Wildcats. Big 12. Manhattan, KS.
-Kennesaw State Owls. A-Sun. Kennesaw [Greater Atlanta], GA.
-Kent State Golden Flashes. Mid-American (MAC). Kent, OH.
-Kentucky Wildcats. SEC. Lexington, KY.
-Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. Sun Belt. Lafayette, LA.
-Marquette Golden Eagles. Big East. Milwaukee, WI.
-Maryland Terrapins. ACC. College Park, MD.
-Memphis Tigers. American (AAC). Memphis, TN.
-Miami Hurricanes. ACC. Coral Gables, FL.
-Michigan State Spartans. Big Ten. East Lansing, MI.
-Mississippi State Bulldogs. SEC. Starkville, MS.
-Missouri Tigers. SEC. Columbia, MO.
-Montana State Bobcats. Big Sky. Bozeman, MT.
-Nevada Wolfpack. Mountain West. Reno, NV.
-North Carolina State Wolfpack. ACC.
-Northern Kentucky Norse. Horizon. Highland Heights, KY.
-Northwestern Wildcats. Big Ten. Evanston, IL.
-Oral Roberts Golden Eagles. Summit. Tulsa, OK.
-Penn State Nittany Lions. Big Ten. University Park, PA.
-Prineton Tigers. Ivy League. Princeton, NJ.
-Providence Friars. Big East. Providence, RI.
-Purdue Boilermakers. Big Ten. West Lafayette, IN.
-Saint Mary’s Gaels. West Coast (WCC). Moraga, CA.
-San Diego State Aztecs. Mountain West. San Diego, CA.
-Southeast Missouri State Redhawks. Ohio Valley. Cape Girardeau, MO.
-TCU [Texas Christian Univ.] Horned Frogs. Big 12. Fort Worth, TX.
-Tennessee Volunteers. SEC. Knoxville, TN.
-Texas Longhorns. Big 12. Austin, TX.
-Texas A&M Aggies. SEC. College Station, TX.
-Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Islanders. Southland. Corpus Christi, TX.
-Texas Southern Tigers. SWAC. Houston, TX.
-UCLA [Univ. California Los Angeles] Bruins. Pac-12. Los Angeles, CA.
-UConn [Univ. Connecticut] Huskies. Big East. Storrs, CT / Hartford, CT.
-UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. Big West. Santa Barbara, CA.
-UNC-Asheville Bulldogs. Big South. Asheville, NC.
-USC [Univ. Southern California] Trojans. Pac-12. Los Angeles, CA.
-Utah State Aggies. Mountain West. Logan, UT.
-VCU [Virginia Commonwealth Univ.] Rams. Atlantic. Richmond, VA.
-Vermont Catamounts. America East. Burlington, VT.
-Virginia Cavaliers. ACC. Charlottesville, VA.
-Virginia Tech Hokies. ACC. Blacksburg, VA.
-West Virginia Mountaineers. Big 12. Morgantown, WV.
-Xavier Musketeers. Big East. Cincinnati, OH.
…

___
-Thanks to AMK1211 for blank map of USA, ‘File:Blank US Map with borders.svg”>File:Blank US Map with borders.svg‘ (commons.wikimedia.org).
-Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘2023 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament’.
-Thanks to NCAA for attendance figures, from 2022 NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL ATTENDANCE (For All NCAA Men’s Varsity Teams) [pdf].
-Thanks to the Bracket Matrix site for bracket forecasting, bracketmatrix.com; twitter.com/@bracketproject.

Comments (0)

February 25, 2023

Billsportsmaps’ 15th anniversary throwback: Negro League Baseball, 1920-1950 (hand-drawn map) [first posted 26 November 2007].

Filed under: 15th anniversary maps,Baseball,Baseball: Negro Leagues,Hand Drawn Maps — admin @ 3:21 pm

By Bill Turianski on the 25th of February 2023; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.

Billsportsmaps.com had its 15th year anniversary, on the 17th of August 2022. So I am posting a series of maps from the early days of this blog. This hand-drawn map was originally posted in November 2007. I have re-posted now, for Black History Month [February].

Negro Leagues map
…

…

Denied entrance into Major League Baseball by the color barrier, black ballplayers organized leagues of their own. These were the Negro Leagues, which existed between 1920 and 1957. The primary leagues were the Negro National League (1920-31; and 1933-48); the Negro Southern League, a minor-league (1920-40); the Eastern Colored League (1923-28); and the Negro American League (1937-57). [For purposes of this map, records will only go to 1950, after which the Negro American League, the last negro league, essentially played exhibition games.]

There were many standouts in the Negro Leagues, and 37 Negro League players (as of 2022) have been elected to the Baseball Hall Of Fame. The first five elected were Satchel Paige (the legendary right-handed pitcher); Josh Gibson (catcher, and home run king); James ”Cool Papa” Bell (center fielder, and base-stealer extroardinaire); Buck Leonard (first baseman, slugger); William “Judy” Johnson (third baseman, with a .349 lifetime batting average); and Oscar Charleston (outfielder, and slugger, with a blend of power and speed; and a .376 lifetime batting average). More information about the Negro Leagues can be found at www.blackbaseball.com, and at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum at nlbm.com, among other good sites.

Negro League baseball was characterized by fleet-footed action, and hi-jinks, ranging from tomfoolery to deadly serious one-upsmanship. There was more base-stealing than in Major League Baseball, and there was a sense of “playing to the crowd.” The teams knew the fans (particularly the significant portion of white customers) were there to see a show, and the players didn’t disappoint. An example of this was the barnstorming (traveling) club called the Indianapolis Clowns, an outfit similar to the Harlem Globetrotters. But that did not mean that Negro League baseball was an inferior product. During this era, negro baseball squads often defeated white MLB squads in exhibition games. Seasons were generally around 60 to 70 games long. There were no real standardized schedules, and teams operated on a shoe-string budget.

The Golden Age of the Negro Leagues can be seen as the period from 1933 to 1947. The Washington-Homestead Grays regularly outdrew the Major League Baseball team the Washington Senators in Griffith Park in Washington DC, as they racked up 9 straight Negro National League titles. The Chicago American Giants played in old Comiskey Park, home of the MLB team the Chicago White Sox. The Pittsburgh Crawfords played in the first entirely black-owned ball park, Greenlee Field, and traveled the country in style, in their custom-made bus. The Newark Eagles won the 1946 NNL title, under Effa Manley (the first woman owner-operator to win a championship; she became the first woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, in 2006). And the Kansas City Monarchs toured the continent with their state-of-the-art portable lighting system. The Kansas City Monarchs would set up shop most anywhere, playing to thousands on a nightly basis. The Monarchs began using lighting for night games in 1930, five years before MLB teams first did. The KC Monarchs ranged throughout the midwest, the upper midwest and Canada. The Monarchs ended up sending more players to Major League Baseball than any other Negro League team. Their star pitcher, Satchel Paige, made more money than most major leaguers. It was an amazing phenomenon, that only ended when blacks were finally able to play in the Major Leagues. In 1947, Jackie Robinson, of the Brooklyn Dodgers, broke the color barrier, and the Negro Leagues days were numbered. Owners saw their star talent go to the white ball clubs, with no financial compensation. By the mid 1950s, the few surviving Negro League clubs were basically playing exhibition games, and the whole era faded away under the public radar. But the legacy of the Negro Leagues cannot be overstated.

I drew the main map in 2001, using Swiss-made Caran d’Ache watercolor pencils and Rapidograph pens. In 2007, after scanning it, I added the flanking segments. I have included the 17 most prominent Negro Leagues ball clubs.

…

___

Comments (0)

February 6, 2023

2023 Copa Libertadores: location-map for the 47-team tournament, with Club Histories (total Libertadores appearances & titles listed) + Population-chart of Cities with teams in 2023 Libertadores.

Filed under: Copa Libertadores — admin @ 1:06 pm

Copa Libertadores 2023: 47-team map
…

…

By Bill Turianski on 6 February 2023; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-2023 Copa Libertadores (en.wikipedia.org).
-Summary: results, fixtures, standings (flashscore.co.uk).
-espn.com/[libertadores].
…

This is the 64th iteration of the Copa Libertadores, the most prestigious football tournament in South America. The 2023 tournament is the 7th since it was expanded in 2017, from 38 to 47 teams. Since then, no team from a country other than Brazil or Argentina has won the title (Brazilian teams have won it 5 times since the tournament-expansion, and an Argentinian team has won it once since then). And Brazilian sides have won the last four titles. (Copa Libertadores winner of the 2022 tournament was Flamengo, of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Copa Sudamericana winner of the 2022 tournament was Independiente del Valle, of Sangolquí, Greater Quito, Ecuador.)

This map includes the Preliminary-Stage teams: there are 19 preliminary-stage teams…and only four of those 19 teams will advance to the Group Stage. (Note: on the map-page, the 19 preliminary clubs are shown in italics, on the teams-by-country lists that flank the map.)

Schedule
-The first of three Preliminary stages starts on 7-to-9 February {2023 Copa Libertadores Qualifying stages}.
-The Group Stage starts on 4-to-6 April. The draw for the Group Stage is on the 22nd of March. {2023 Copa Libertadores, Group Stage (en.wikipedia.org)}.

Qualified teams by country:
•Brazil has 8 teams (7 + Copa Libertadores holder).
•Argentina has 6 teams.
•Ecuador has 5 teams (4 + Copa Sudamericana holder)
•The seven other countries all have 4 teams each, in the tournament (Uruguay, Colombia, Paraguay, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela).

Cities with teams in the 2023 Copa Libertadores
This is the second time on one of my Copa Libertadores maps that I have included a chart which shows all the cities with teams in the tournament, and their populations. The chart is at the top-centre of the map-page. It includes the ten largest metropolitan areas in South America (nine of which have teams in the 2023 Copa Libertadores). The list then shows all the other top-50-largest metro-areas in South America with Libertadores teams this year. And then the list shows the other metro-areas with Libertadores teams this year. {Populations…Cities with teams in 2022 Copa Libertadores: Metropolitan-area figures for 50 largest South American cities from, 2015 at: List of South American metropolitan areas by population (en.wikipedia.org); & Population figures for other cities with teams in tournament at: each city’s en.wikipedia page.}

…

___
Thanks to all at the links below…
-Globe-map of South America by Luan at File:South America (orthographic projection).svg (en.wikipedia.org/[South America]).
-Blank map of South America by Anbans 585 at File:CONMEBOL laea location map without rivers.svg (en.wikipedia.org/[2018 Copa Libertadores]).
-2023 Copa Libertadores (en.wikipedia.org).
-Copa Libertadores 1960-2019 Club Histories (rsssf.com).
-Libertadores titles list {en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_Libertadores#Performances_by_club}.

Comments (0)

January 24, 2023

NFL 1964 season, map with helmets/jerseys & final standings + offensive stats leaders; champions: Cleveland Browns.

Filed under: NFL> 1964 map/season,NFL/ Gridiron Football,Retro maps — admin @ 6:53 pm

NFL 1964 season, map with helmets/jerseys & final standings + offensive stats leaders; champions: Cleveland Browns
…

…

By Bill Turianski on 24 January 2023; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-1964 NFL season
-1964 NFL Championship Game (en.wikipedia.org).
-1964 NFL season (pro-football-reference.com).

1964 NFL title game: Cleveland Browns 27, Baltimore Colts 0.
In 1963, Blanton Collier replaced the Cleveland Browns’ 17-year head coach Paul Brown. Owner Art Modell had fired Paul Brown, after the team went 7-6-1 in 1962. This came about because by the early 1960s, Paul Brown had hardened into an autocratic leader unwilling to work with the owner, or to let others share the limelight. The power struggle between Modell (the owner), Paul Brown (the head coach and team founder), and the star player (Jim Brown) could only end one way, and that was for Paul Brown to go.

Collier had been an assistant coach under Paul Brown from 1946 to 1953, back in the glory days of the Browns in the AAFC (winning all four AAFC titles) and then in the NFL (winning the 1950 title in the Browns’ first NFL season). Circa the early 1950s, Blanton Collier had been the first coach in the NFL to utilize film analysis. Collier went on to coach the University of Kentucky Wildcats from 1954-61. Collier then went back to Cleveland in 1962, as offensive assistant. One year later, Collier was the Browns’ new head coach.

As head coach, Blanton Collier was a patient perfectionist who brought calm to the Browns’ locker room.
•In 1963, the Browns under Collier went 10-4, finishing 1 game behind the Giants in the NFL East.
•In 1964, the Browns under Collier went 10-3-1, finishing 1/2 game above the Cardinals, and winning the NFL East.

1964 NFL Championship Game, Sunday December 27 1964.
Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, OH. Attendance: 79,544 [overflow-capacity of 101.7%]. Game-time temperature was 32°F (0°C), with a strong 20-MPH wind off of Lake Erie, and occasional light snow flurries. The Baltimore Colts were heavily-favored. Oddsmakers had the Colts favored by 7 points, and virtually everyone in the national media - and the local Cleveland media - predicted a huge Colts victory. The Colts were led by second-year head coach Don Shula and QB Johnny Unitas, and featured the league-leader in TDs, HB Lenny Moore. The Colts had coasted to the Western Division title, going 12-2 and clinching their post-season berth with 3 games to spare, and had the highest-scoring offense and the least-scored-upon defense. Meanwhile, the Browns had struggled to win the Eastern Division, and squeaked into the post-season with only a half-a-game lead over the surprise St. Louis Cardinals. The Browns were led by second-year head coach Blanton Collier, QB Frank Ryan (the league-leader in TD passes), FB Jim Brown (the league-leader in rushing and in yards from scrimmage), and WRs Gary Collins and rookie Paul Warfield. This was the Browns’ eighth NFL championship game appearance since joining the NFL in 1950, but it was their first in seven years.

The first half went scoreless, with both teams unable to move the ball. Late in the 3rd Quarter, with the Browns up 3-0, Jim Brown broke open for a 46-yard run {see photo below}. (Jim Brown ran for 114 yards in the game.) That run set up the Browns’ first TD, on the next play: an 18-yard pass from Browns QB Frank Ryan to WR Gary Collins {see photo below}. Then late in the 3rd quarter, Ryan found Collins again, on a 42-yard pass. That gave the Browns a 17-0 lead {see photo below}. In the 4th quarter, Ryan found Collins yet again, on a 51-yard pass play that carried Gary Collins into the end zone standing-room-only crowd {see photos below}. Gary Collins’ 3 TD pass receptions in an NFL title game is a record that still stands (as of 2022). The Cleveland Browns’ 1964 title was the only NFL title that Jim Brown won. It was the Browns’ 4th NFL title. And 58 years later, it is still the last NFL title that the Cleveland Browns have won.

Photo and Image credits above -
Screenshot of exterior of Municipal Stadium’s “Home of the Cleveland Browns” banner, from video uploaded by jstube36 at youtube.com. Interior shot of Municipal Stadium for 1964 NFL title game (Sunday December 27, 1964 in Cleveland, Ohio), shot from upper deck before game, photo unattributed at goldenrankings.com/nflchampionshipgame1964. Blanton Collier and Jim Brown [photo circa 1963], unattributed at fold3.com/[Blanton Collier]. Photo of Blanton Collier and QB Frank Ryan, unattributed from Cleveland Browns (II) at artsci.case.edu. Jim Brown running for 46-yard gain, photo unattributed at brownswire.usatoday.com. Screenshot of WR Gary Collins catching his 1st TD pass in end zone, from video uploaded by Cleveland Browns at youtube.com. Screenshot of WR Gary Collins catching his 2nd TD pass in end zone, from video uploaded by Cleveland Browns at youtube.com. Gary Collins after his record-setting 3rd TD pass reception, emerging from standing-room-only section behind endzone, photo unattributed via dawgsbynature.com/2019/12/26/21038201/where-are-your-former-browns-now-wr-gary-collins. Jim Brown immediately after the game, swarm by congratulatory fans, screenshot from video uploaded by NFL Films at youtube.com.

…

…

Browns players on map page,
Frank Ryan [photo circa 1965], unattributed at thedelite.com. Dick Schafrath [1965 Fleer card], from vintagecardprices.com. Jim Brown [photo from 1964], photo by Neil Leifer via pinterest.com. Paul Warfield [1965 Fleer card], from psacard.com. Gary Collins [photo from 1964 NFL Championship Game (Dec. 27 1964)], unattributed via dawgsbynature.com/2019/12/26/21038201/where-are-your-former-browns-now-wr-gary-collins. Brownie the Elf with crown (1964 NFL title-winners), photo from worthpoint.com.
Game-worn mid-1960s Cleveland Browns helmet (Paul Warfield), photo from helmethut.com/Browns/Warfield. Lou Groza [photo circa 1963], unattributed at gamedaysportsmemorabilia.com. Jim Houston [1962 Post Cereal card], from footballcardgallery.com. Dick Modzelewski [photo circa 1964], unattributed at clevelandbrowns.com. Bill Glass [photo from 1962], photo by Neil Leifer via gettyimages.com. Bernie Parrish [1965 Fleer card], from maaravamall.com. Segment of NFL-logo-themed playing cards [from 1964], from grayflannelsuit.net/blog.

Offensive stats leaders on map page,
Bart Starr QB (Packers) [photo circa 1963], 1964 Packers Yearbook from ebay.com
Charley Johnson QB (Cardinals) [photo from Jan. 1965], photo by Walter Iooss Jr via gettyimages.com.
Frank Ryan QB (Browns) [photo circa 1963], photo from Getty Images via pinterest.com.
Jim Brown FB (Browns) [photo circa 1964], photo unattributed at brownswire.usatoday.com.
Johnny Morris FL (Bears) [image from 1963], screenshot from video at chicagobears.com/video/chicago-bears-decade-series-1960-s.
Lenny Moore HB (Colts) [image circa 1965], screenshot from video uploaded by NFL Films at youtube.com/[#94: Lenny Moore | The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players]
___

Thanks to all at the following links…
-Blank map by anonymous US federal government employee, at File:StatesU.svg (commons.wikimedia.org).
-Thanks to the contributors at pro-football-reference.com
-Thanks to the contributors at NFL 1964 season (en.wikipedia.org).
Special thanks to Tim Brulia, Bill Schaefer and Rob Holecko of The Gridiron Uniform Database, for giving billsportsmaps.com the permission to use football uniforms illustrations from Gridiron Uniform Database {GUD}.

Comments (0)

January 12, 2023

Netherlands: 2022-23 Eredivisie – Location-map, with 3 charts: Attendance [current]; Seasons-in-1st-Division (current clubs) & Dutch professional titles list.

Filed under: Netherlands — admin @ 9:43 pm

Netherlands: 2022-23 Eredivisie – Location-map, with 3 charts: Attendance [current]; Seasons-in-1st-Division (current clubs) & Dutch professional titles list

By Bill Turianski on 12 January 2023; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-Summary – Eredivisie – Netherlands – results, fixtures, tables, stats, etc (soccerway.com).
-2022-23 Eredivisie (en.wikipedia.org).
-worldfootball.net/competition/[Eredivisie - Overview].

The map shows the 18 clubs in the 2022-23 Eredivisie, the top-flight of the Netherlands. The Eredivisie was founded in 1956, two years after the introduction of professionalism in the Netherlands. That makes this the 67th season of the competition. Currently [12 January 2023], after 15 of 36 rounds, Feyenoord leads, with Ajax and PSV 3 points back, and Twente and AZ 4 points back.

On the left-hand side of the map-page is an Attendance chart which features 3 things: current Average Attendance (to 9 January 2023, with 15 of 36 rounds played), Venue-capacity, and Percent-capacity.

Currently, the Dutch top flight is drawing very well. Eleven of the eighteen teams are drawing above 90%-capacity. Those 11 teams drawing above 90%-capacity are: Feyenoord Rotterdam, NEC [Nijmegen], Go Ahead Eagles [of Deventer], Ajax [Amsterdam], Twente [Enschede], Fortuna Sittard [of Limburg], just-promoted Excelsior [of Rotterdam], just-promoted Volendam [located just north of Amsterdam in Nord-Holland], Cambuur Leeuwarden [of Freisland], just-promoted Emmen [of Emmen in Drenthe], and Sparta Rotterdam. [Note: Feyenoord are currently playing to 100%-capacity at their stadium, De Kuip, but this is a limited capacity of 47,500, which is about 3,600 less than the total seated-capacity of the stadium.]

At the right-hand side of the map-page are two charts. The top chart shows the Seasons-in-1st-division for the current clubs. Also listed are the consecutive seasons each club has currently spent in the top-flight. Longest serving clubs are the big 3 of the Netherlands – Ajax (of Amsterdam), Feyenoord (of Rotterdam), and PSV (of Eindhoven). All 3 were founding members of the Eredivisie, and all 3 have never been relegated. The second chart is the all-time pro titles list for the Netherlands. As mentioned, the Eredivisie was established two years after Dutch clubs could turn pro. So I have included the winners of the final two 48-team Dutch National Championships, in 1954-55 (winner: Willem II [of Tilburg]) and 1955-56 (winner: Rapid JC [of Kerkrade]).

The map itself includes the 12 provinces, and the 14 largest cities of the Netherlands. At the foot of the map, the populations of those 14 largest Dutch cities are listed (with the provinces they are located in). Finally, I added all the major rivers and waterways of the Netherlands, including the main canals.
___
-Thanks to Lencer at en.wikipedia.org, for the blank map of Netherlands, File:Netherlands location map.svg.
-Thanks to Rob984 at File:EU-Netherlands_(orthographic projection).svg.
-Thanks to the contributors at Eredivisie (en.wikipedia.org).

Comments (0)

January 3, 2023

2022-23 FA Cup, 3rd Round Proper: location-map, with fixtures list & current league attendances.

Filed under: 2022-23 FA Cup — admin @ 9:20 pm

2022-23 FA Cup, 3rd Round Proper: location-map, with fixtures list & current league attendances
…

…
By Bill Turianski on 3 January 2023; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-The competition…FA Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
-2022-23 FA Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
-BBC’s page on the competition…bbc.com/fa-cup.
…

The FA Cup is the oldest football tournament in the world. The 2022-23 FA Cup is the 142nd edition of the tournament. The FA Cup Third Round is when the teams from the top 2 divisions in England – the Premier League, and the EFL Championship – join the competition. The 20 Premier League teams and the 24 Championship teams join 20 other lower-leagues teams. This season, that breaks down to: 11 teams from EFL League One [the 3rd level], 6 teams from EFL League Two [the 4th level], and 3 teams from the non-League National League [the 5th level]. Those 3 non-League teams are: Wrexham, Chesterfield, and Boreham Wood.

The map shows the locations of the 64 teams in the 3rd Round, with the 32 home-venues listed. There are 3 inset maps: of Greater London-plus-surrounding-area (showing 11 clubs); of Greater Manchester (showing 4 clubs); and of the West Midlands-including-Birmingham (showing 6 clubs). Plus there is something new I’m trying out on the map…in small 10-point type I have shown the 32 home-venues for the 3rd Round. Finally, on the left-hand side of the map-page are home league average attendance figures of the 64 qualified clubs. And on the right-hand side is the 3rd Round fixtures list.

{Televised matches.}

…

…
Sources…
Thanks to all, at the links below…
-Blank map of English Metropolitan and Non-Metropolitan Counties, by Nilfanion, at File:English metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties 2010.svg (commons.wikimedia.org).
-Blank relief map of Greater London, by Nilfanion (using UK Ordnance Survey data), at File:Greater London UK relief location map.jpg.
-Blank relief map of Greater Manchester, by Nilfanion (using Ordnance Survey data), at File:Greater Manchester UK relief location map.jpg.
-Fixtures list: screenshot from bbc.com/fa-cup.
-FA Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
Attendance figures…
-Worldfootball.net.

Comments (0)

December 23, 2022

Spain: 2022-23 La Liga – Location-map, with 3 charts: Attendance [current], Seasons-in-1st-Division & Spanish titles list.

Filed under: Spain — admin @ 10:01 pm

Spain: 2022-23 La Liga – Location-map, with 3 charts: Attendance [current], Seasons-in-1st-Division & Spanish titles list
…

…
By Bill Turianski on 23 December 2022; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-2022-23 La Liga (en.wikipedia.org).
-La Liga – Summary: matches, table, players, etc (soccerway.com).
-Sid Lowe at theguardian.com/football [Spanish football coverage] (theguardian.com/profile/sidlowe).
…

The map page shows a location-map for the 20 clubs in the 2022-23 La Liga, with recently-promoted and -relegated teams noted. (Promoted in 2022: Almería, Real Valladolid, Girona; relegated in 2022: Granada, Levante, Alavés.) The map also shows the 17 Autonomous Communities of Spain, and the 20 largest Spanish metropolitan areas. Those 20 largest Spanish metro-areas, with their 2018 population estimates, are listed at the top-centre of the map-page.

The 3 charts…
A) A chart showing Current Attendance (up to World Cup break of November/December) plus 2021-22 finish, with teams playing in Europe noted. There are also columns listing Venue-capacities and Percent-capacities. The team with the highest percent-capacity currently is newly-promoted Girona, at 91%-capacity. Worst at filling their stadium currently is Espanyol, at 48%-capacity (the stadium is simply too large for the club’s fanbase). Overall, post-Covid restrictions, Spanish football has rebounded pretty well. There are a whole lot of teams playing to ~80%-capacity (Rayo Vallecano, Betis, Cadiz, Valencia, Sevilla, Barcelona, Real Sociedad, Osasuna, Almería, Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid). (Attendance in Spain is not as good as in Germany, but really, no top flight league (besides the Premier League) ever draws as well as the Bundesliga.)
B) A chart showing Seasons-in-La Liga by club, with consecutive seasons listed. This is the 92nd La Liga season. Three La Liga founding members – Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Athletic Club [Bilbao] have never been relegated.
C) A chart showing the All-time Spanish professional titles list (1929 to 2021-22). There are only 9 clubs which have won a La Liga title, which is a dismally small number, and is an example of how the Spanish game is unbalanced by the near duopoly of Real Madrid/Barcelona.

La Liga will re-start on 29-to-31 December, with the 15th match-week. {worldfootball.net/competition/esp-primera-division.}
…

___
Thanks to all at the following links…
-Blank map of Spain, by NordNordWest at File:Spain location map.svg;
-Globe-map of Spain, by Rob984 at File:EU-Spain (orthographic projection).svg;
-Map of the Community of Madrid, by Miguillen at File:Spain Madrid location map.svg (en.wikipedia.org).
-Map of Canary Islands, by Miguillen at File:Canarias-loc.svg (commons.wikimedia.org).
-Largest metropolitan areas in Spain (2018 European Spatial Planning Observation Network figures) (en.wikipedia.org).
-en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Liga#Clubs.
-Autonomous communities of Spain;
-List of metropolitan areas in Spain (en.wikipedia.org).

Comments (0)

December 12, 2022

Germany: 2022-23 Bundesliga – Location-map, with 3 Charts: Current Attendance, Seasons-in-1st-Division & All-time German Titles list.

Filed under: Germany — admin @ 10:01 pm

Germany: 2022-23 Bundesliga – Location-map, with 3 Charts: Current Attendance, Seasons-in-1st-Division & All-time German Titles list
…

…
By Bill Turianski on the 12th of December 2022; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-2022-23 Bundesliga (en.wikipedia.org).
-World Football.net site…worldfootball.net/bundesliga.
-Official site of Bundesliga (English)…bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga.
-Deutsche Welle [in English]…DW/en/sports.

The map page shows a location-map for the 18 clubs in the 2022-23 Bundesliga, with recently-promoted and -relegated teams noted. (Promoted in 2022: Schalke, Werder Bremen; relegated in 2022: Arminia Bielefeld, Greuther Fürth.) The map also shows the 16 Federal States of Germany, and the 14 largest cities in Germany, with 2015 population figures listed at the the top of the map.

The 3 charts are…
A) Current attendance (up to World Cup break of November/December) & 2021-22 finish, with teams playing in Europe noted. There are also columns listing Venue-capacities and Percent-capacities. And, as you can see, the Bundesliga is currently playing to a whole lot of full stadiums, with 12 of the 18 clubs drawing above 90%-capacity, including four clubs drawing above 99%-capacity (Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Union Berlin, FC Köln).
B) Seasons-in-Bundesliga by club, with consecutive seasons listed.
C) All-time German titles list (including the pre-1963-64/pre-Bundesliga amateur era), with current level [2022-23] of each title-winning club listed.

The Bundesliga will re-start on the 20th of January 2023, with the 16th match-week. {worldfootball.net/competition/bundesliga.}

…

___
Thanks to all at the following links…
-Blank map of Germany, by NordNordWest at File:Germany location map.svg (Wikimedia Commons).
-Globe-map of Germany by Rob984 at File:EU-Germany (orthographic projection).svg.
-Populations of 14 largest German cities from List of cities in Germany by population (en.wikipedia.org).
-Bundesliga;
-List of German football champions (en.wikipedia.org).
-(West) Germany – List of Champions (rsssf.com).
-Attendance figures from worldfootball.net/[Bundesliga Attendance, 2022-23)].

Comments (0)

December 2, 2022

Billsportsmaps’ 15th anniversary throwback: The North American Soccer League – 1979 attendance map with logos [first posted 24 October 2007].

Filed under: 15th anniversary maps,Soccer (USA & Canada) - - NASL/MLS/NASL(II)/USL/NWSL — admin @ 1:54 pm

By Bill Turianski on the 2nd of December 2022; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.

NASL 1979 Map with Attendance Figures
…
1979 NASL (en.wikipedia.org).

…
[Originally posted on 24 October 2007.]
This map shows the 1979 North American Soccer League, whose heyday was in the late 1970s. The NASL averaged 13,084 per game in 1979, and hit its high of 14,201 per game in the following year of 1980. The NASL is most famous for the New York Cosmos and their star-studded roster, but the Vancouver Whitecaps were champions in 1979. The Cosmos had won it in 1977 and 1978, and won it again in 1980. The Cosmos rise (and subsequent fall) was meteoric, to say the least. Before they signed Pele, in 1977, they were playing in a rundown stadium on Randalls Island, drawing 5,000 at best. In the short span of four years, 1974 to 1978, the Cosmos’ average gate went from 3,578 to 47,856.

In 1979 the Cosmos averaged 46,690. That same season, Tampa Bay, Minnesota, and Vancouver all drew very well, between 22,000 and 27,000. Seattle, and somewhat surprisingly, Tulsa, were drawing respectable crowds in the 16,000-18,000 range. San Jose drew 15,000; Los Angeles, though fielding Johann Cruyff, only drew 14,000. Also, Chicago averaged only 8,000, a poor showing considering the size of the city and the fact that the team was competitive. In retrospect, that last attendance figure could be seen as the writing on the wall. For if a decent team, in a huge city, in middle America, couldn’t pull 10,000 through the turnstiles, then the viability of the whole project was in doubt. Especially with the high salaries of the overseas players.

Growing up in Rochester, New York, I was a devout follower of the Rochester Lancers. Opposing players dreaded the barracks-like atmosphere of their crumbling concrete stadium and its potato patch field. This gave the scrappy, Slavic-heavy Lancers squad a solid home advantage. Before game time, me and my brothers would go up to the top of the stadium and watch the traffic pulling in, trying to will more fans through the turnstiles. In 1979, Rochester had its best gate, 8,600. But it wasn’t enough to keep them alive, and after the 1980 season, the Rochester Lancers of the NASL dissolved. The NASL was dead to me at that point. It died for real, 4 years later. It had existed from 1968 to 1984. Its most vibrant period was from around 1976 to 1981. Pele, Eusebio, Rodney Marsh, George Best, Franz Beckenbauer, Bobby Moore, Giorgio Chinaglia, Trevor Francis, Carlos Alberto, and many more world football legends graced the rosters of NASL teams. The stodgy rules of the game were relaxed, with a striker-friendly 35-yard offside line, and shootouts instead of penalty kicks. The shootouts were awesome. It was a 5-second-Chinese-fire-drill, with the goal keeper usually rushing towards the shooter. The shooter then had to decide whether to elude the keeper, rifle the ball low, or chip it. Offense was further encouraged by awarding points in the standings for goals scored. So even if you lost, you could gets points in the standings.

But the league over-expanded, diluting on-field quality. The league expanded from 16 to 24 teams in 1977, and many franchises shifted to other cities. The clueless new ownership of many franchises aped the Cosmos, overspending on aging internationals and letting domestic talent languish on the bench. When the crowds fell off, the owners bolted. Some also believe that when FIFA awarded the 1986 World Cup to Mexico, instead of the US, it hastened the league’s demise. Still, the NASL ultimately contributed to the overall improvement of the quality of American (and Canadian) players, and their national teams. The US national team has been transformed from also-rans to a competitive force. And no American ever played in the English 1st Division before the NASL. John Harkes was the first, with Sheffield Wednesday, in 1990. Today, the USA is represented in England by the likes of Brian McBride, Clint Dempsey, Carlos Bocanegra, and Kasey Keller on Fulham; Marcus Hanhnemann and Bobby Convey on Reading; Brad Friedel on Blackburn; Tim Howard on Everton; Jonathon Spector on West Ham United, and Jay Demerit on Watford.
…

Comments (0)

November 22, 2022

2022-23 FA Cup, 2nd Round Proper: location-map, with fixtures list & current league attendances./+ Biggest upset in the 1st Round: Alvechurch (7th level) defeats Cheltenham Town (3rd level).

Filed under: 2022-23 FA Cup — admin @ 12:27 pm

2022-23 FA Cup, 2nd Round Proper: location-map, with fixtures list & current league attendances
…

…
By Bill Turianski on the 22nd of November 2022; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-The competition…FA Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
-2022-23 FA Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
-BBC’s page on the competition…bbc.com/fa-cup.
…

Biggest upset in the 2021-22 FA Cup 1st Round: Cheltenham Town 1-2 Alvechurch.

-Sat 5 Nov 2022 The FA Cup – 1st Round: Cheltenham Town 1-2 Alvechurch (bbc.com/sport).
7th-tier side Alvechurch (of Worcestershire) beat League One club Cheltenham Town – a club 4 levels and 96 league-places above them. Alvechurch were the lowest-placed club in the ’22-23 tournament, in 19th place in the Southern League Central. And for that reason, Alvechurch’s 1st round match should have been televised. Alvechurch, who are averaging 315 per game at home, had 1,400 Alvechurch supporters make the 44-mile trip down to Cheltenham’s Whaddon Road in Gloucestershire. Attendance there was 4,406. Alvechurch players say those 1,400 Alvechurch supporters, which made up a bit over 25% of the crowd there, really helped the squad in their upset victory. Alvechurch striker Danny Waldron had a brace, scoring in the 19th minute off a deft bit of footwork (see photos below). Then Waldron scored his 2nd goal in the 50th minute, off a goalmouth scramble from a rebound. Alvechurch gave up a goal a few minutes later, but then hung on for the last 40 minutes or so. Then there was the inevitable pitch invasion. For the 2nd Round, Alvechurch have been drawn to play away to 3rd-tier side Forest Green Rovers, a team that is in the relegation zone and ripe for an upset. So Alvechurch will be going right back to Gloucestershire, with probably even more than fourteen hundred fans in tow. And this time, Alvechurch’s match will be televised.

Photo and Image credits above – Lye Meadow, screenshot from video uploaded by Around The Ground at youtube.com. -Ian Long, photo from alvechurchfc.club/teams. -Lye Meadow, photo by Topliss at toplissattheturnstiles.com/[Alvechurch FC, May 2021]. -Danny Waldron (Alvechurch) about to score his first goal at Whaddon Road, photo by PA via gloucestershirelive.co.uk/sport/[live]. -Danny Waldron about to shoot (1st goal), screenshot from video uploaded by The Emirates FA Cup at youtube.com. -Danny Waldron celebrates with teammates after his 2nd goal at Whaddon Road, screenshot from video uploaded by The Emirates FA Cup at youtube.com. -Alvechurch supporters’ pitch invasion at Whaddon Road, photo unattributed at twitter.com/[@NonLeaguePhotos].
…

___
Sources…
Thanks to all, at the links below…
-Blank map of English Metropolitan and Non-Metropolitan Counties, by Nilfanion, at File:English metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties 2010.svg (commons.wikimedia.org).
-Blank relief map of Greater London, by Nilfanion (using UK Ordnance Survey data), at File:Greater London UK relief location map.jpg.
-Blank relief map of Greater Manchester, by Nilfanion (using Ordnance Survey data), at File:Greater Manchester UK relief location map.jpg.
-Fixtures list: screenshot from bbc.com/fa-cup.
-FA Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
Attendance figures…
-Worldfootball.net (current average attendances for the 3rd division, the 4th division & the 5th division).
-nonleaguematters.co.uk (current average attendances for the 6th and the 7th levels).

Comments (0)

« Newer Posts — Older Posts »