The Arena

Life magazine had some of the best photojournalism ever.

I’ve prepared some fantastic bits of sports through Life lenses.

All pictures taken from the Life archives on Google.

Joe Frazier runs with his dog in Florida, 1971. (John Shearer)

I love this fantastic black-and-white shot of Joe Frazier training for a fight against Muhammad Ali. It does, and should, remind you of “Rocky” and/or Punch-Out!!, but, really, it’s just a wonderfully framed and tranquil picture. I have no idea where in Florida leafless trees exist, though.

Vince Lombardi helps with training, 1962. (George Silk)

I have no idea how this picture was taken, but that is Vince Lombardi on the ground, and this is an awesome picture to stumble upon. There’s no reason to do this now, right?

A home near Texas A&M College which is ready, rent-free, for whoever takes the job of football coach at the college, 1958. (Thomas D. Mcavoy)

The caption says it all.

Steve Spurrier as a young man, 1966. (Bill Eppridge)

You can see the Ol’ Ball Coach’s frown lines starting to form.

Unnamed rider on Man o' War, 1937. (Unknown)

There are no good pictures of Secretariat or Seabiscuit. So I settled for perhaps the greatest horse of all.

Mickey Mantle at bat, 1956. (Ralph Morse)

Classic Mantle picture here. I was going to show you pictures from either side of the plate, but that just seemed too cute.

Muhammad Ali posing outside a New York theater, 1968. (Bob Gomel)

There’s remarkably little Ali in the archive, but this is a shot you don’t see enough. If he still had all of his faculties, I’m sure this would make the great one chuckle.

Jack Kramer swings, 1953. (J.R. Eyerman)

This is Jack Kramer, from what I can only assume is Life’s collage era.

Augusta National in all its glory. (Mark Kauffman, Robert W. Kelley)

Many things have changed at Augusta National over the years. The beauty of the place has not.

A gorgeous shot of an unknown game, 1951. (Yale Joel)

The hockey archives are also somewhat sparse, but this is a great shot.

A catch in the Subway Series of 1955. (Ralph Morse)

I believe Manufacturers Trust Company was bailed out for a quarter in 1956.

Pele, in profile, 1966. (Art Rickerby)

The action shots of Edson Arantes do Nascimento leave something to be desired. This close-up does not.

Rafer Johnson and C.K. Yang train for the 1960 Olympics in Rome. (Mark Kauffman)

One of the Olympics’ legendary rivalries, immortalized in one picture.

Football players with masks, 1951. (John Dominis)

And I have no idea what’s going on here.