Columbia Encyclopedia

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volleyball

(Encyclopedia)volleyball, outdoor or indoor ball and net game played on a level court. An upright net, 3 ft (or 1 m) high, the top of which stands 8 ft (2.43 m) from the ground for men, 7 ft 4 1/8 in (2.24 m) for w...

Stenmark, Ingemar

(Encyclopedia)Stenmark, Ingemar, 1956–, Swedish skier. The “Silent Swede” learned to ski at an early age and in 16 years of competition won a record 86 World Cup races and two gold medals at the 1980 Olympics...

Marble, Alice

(Encyclopedia)Marble, Alice, 1913–90, American tennis player, b. Plumas co., Calif. She began playing tennis at the age of 15, and after 1931 she rose rapidly in national tennis rankings. She four times took the ...

Alexander, Grover Cleveland

(Encyclopedia)Alexander, Grover Cleveland, 1887–1950, American baseball player, b. St. Paul, Nebr. One of the great right-handed pitchers in National League history, Alexander pitched 696 games and won 373 of the...

Fischer, Bobby

(Encyclopedia)Fischer, Bobby (Robert James Fischer) fĭshˈər [key], 1943–2008, American chess player, b. Chicago. In 1958, he became a grandmaster, the youngest to that time. In the Interzonal and Candidates' m...

Campbell, John Francis

(Encyclopedia)Campbell, John Francis, 1822–85, Scottish Gaelic scholar. He is known for Popular Tales of the West Highlands (4 vol., 1860–62) and Leabhar na Feinne (1872), a collection of Gaelic folk ballads. A...

Abruzzi, Luigi Amedeo, duca degli

(Encyclopedia)Abruzzi, Luigi Amedeo, duca degli lwēˈjē ämādĕˈō do͞oˈkä dāˈlyē abro͞otˈtsē [key], 1873–1933, Italian explorer and mountain climber; cousin of Victor Emmanuel III. He led (1897) the...

Nyad, Diana

(Encyclopedia)Nyad, Diana nīˈăd [key], 1949–, American distance swimmer, b. New York City as Diana Sneed, grad. Lake Forest College, 1973. She began swimming seriously as a teenager, becoming interested in dis...

Kite, Tom

(Encyclopedia)Kite, Tom (Thomas O. Kite, Jr.), 1949–, American golfer, b. Austin, Tex. The 1973 Professional Golfers Association Rookie of the Year, he was also the 1989 Player of the Year. He won the 1992 U.S. O...

Hubbell, Carl Owen

(Encyclopedia)Hubbell, Carl Owen, 1903–88, American baseball player, b. Carthage, Mo. A left-handed pitcher, Hubbell played his entire major league career (1928–43) with the New York Giants. Hubbell, famous for...