Streakers! A Rogues Gallery of Naked Sports Fans

From: The Backlot

Leaving aside Lady Godiva (she was on a horse), the first recorded incident of streaking au naturel in public was way back in 1799 when a man got arrested for running naked from Cornhill to Cheapside on a bet. He won the bet but was imprisoned for public indecency.

The Brits might have created it, but it was Americans who named it. Streaking once just meant “to go quickly, to rush, to run at full speed”, but its modern connotation with nudity can be traced to a July, 1973 TV news report on a “mass nude run” at the University of Maryland. While covering a nude run protest, the Washington, DC reporter exclaimed on camera: “They are streaking past me right now. It’s an incredible sight!” (source: Wikipedia)

We’re coming up on the 41-year anniversary of that first named “streak” and in honor of the occasion we thought we’d put together a gallery of memorable streakers, from the silly to the sexy to the sad.

One thing became apparent when we searched for images for this gallery: the typical streaker is a white male sports fan from the U.S. or the U.K.– other nationalities, women and ethnicity seem to have better things to do. If you have any theories as to why this is, please share in the comments!

(All photos: Getty)

And just for fun, remember this #1 hit from 1974: