In cricket, a bowler who is credited with dismissals of batsmen on three consecutive deliveries has achieved a "hat-trick". In Gaelic games (Gaelic football for men and women, hurling, and camogie), three points are awarded for a goal, scored when the ball passes underneath the crossbar and between the goal posts. In ice hockey:
Scoring three goals is called a "hat trick" (usually not hyphenated in North America). A team will typically have three forwards on the ice at any given time. In professional wrestling, a pin is when one holds the opponents shoulders against the mat for a count of three. In rugby union:
A successful penalty kick for goal or drop goal is worth three points. In the French variation of the bonus points system, a team receives a bonus point in the league standings if it wins a match while scoring at least three more tries than its opponent. The starting tighthead prop wears the jersey number 3. In rugby league:
One of the two starting centres wears the jersey number 3. (An exception to this rule is the Super League, which uses static squad numbering.) A "threepeat" is a term for winning three consecutive championships. A triathlon consists of three events: swimming, bicycling, and running. In many sports a competitor or team is said to win a Triple Crown if they win three particularly prestigious competitions.
This superstition is sometimes asserted to have originated among soldiers in the trenches of the First World War when a sniper might see the first light, take aim on the second and fire on the third.The phrase "Third times the charm" refers to the superstition that after two failures in any endeavor, a third attempt is more likely to succeed. This is also sometimes seen in reverse, as in "third man [to do something, presumably forbidden] gets caught".Luck, especially bad luck, is often said to "come in threes". Sports
In American and Canadian football, a field goal is worth three points. In association football:
For purposes of league standings, since the mid-1990s almost all leagues have awarded three points for a win. A team that wins three trophies in a season is said to have won a treble. A player who scores three goals in a match is said to have scored a hat-trick. In baseball:
A batter strikes out upon the third strike in any single batting appearance. Each teams half of an inning ends once the defense has recorded three outs (unless the home team has a walk-off hit in the ninth inning or any extra inning). In scorekeeping, "3" denotes the first baseman. In basketball:
Three points are awarded for a basket made from behind a designated arc on the floor. The "3 position" is the small forward. In bowling, three strikes bowled consecutively is known as a "turkey".