Infamous Plays in Sports History
In the wild realm of professional athletics, there is perhaps just as much entertaining failure as there is a well-known success. Sir Isaac Newton's third law states that for every action in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. This can be the case in our everyday lives, but also in the sports world as well. For every reward, there is a consequence, or for every great play there is another play that leaves us scratching our head or asking that famous question, " What just happened?". In the sports world we have witnessed some of the greatest plays ever imagined, however, we try and forget some of the most infamous plays ever, but that may be difficult to accomplish. Remember, what goes up, must come down! Below are some of the most infamous or head-scratching plays in sports history.
DeSean Jackson right before he drops the ball.
During his rookie season of a promising yet eventually conceited career, former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver and the University of California stand-out DeSean Jackson was craving immediate appreciation. Jackson received a perfect pass from quarterback Donovan Mcnabb and the speedy receiver was ready to walk into the end zone for his first career NFL touchdown and to put the Eagles ahead halfway through the second quarter, but Jackson celebrated too early by tossing the ball out of the end zone and lost all credibility, and cost the Eagles the game, losing to the division rival Dallas Cowboys, 41-37. (2008)
In sports, there may be gifts rewarded like a strike that was called a ball or vice versa, or a penalty called at the end of the game that allows a team one more opportunity, but I am for certain the one thing in sports that is not gifted to a team is extra time outs. Sixty-four teams had come into the NCAA tournament with one goal in mind, and it was down to the final two, the Michigan Wolverines and the North Carolina Tar Heels. On April 5, 1993, a champion would be crowned. It was the second consecutive championship appearance for the Michigan Wolverines, who were defeated by the Duke Blue Devils one year earlier. The Wolverines were the first team in NCAA history to start 5 freshmen in a championship game. The championship game was a back and forth battle throughout, and the University of Michigan had a golden opportunity to put an exclamation point on their successful season. With 11 seconds remaining, Chris Webber for the Wolverines brought the ball up the court and ended up in a half-court trap. Michigan was down 73-71 at the time. Webber attempted to call a timeout with zero remaining, which resulted in a technical foul and eventually clinched the game and championship for the University of North Carolina. Webber continues to be ridiculed for his timeout blunder. (1993)
Basic football skills that you are taught as a kid are: pass, run, kick, tackle, and hopefully when you recover a fumble you are aware of which end zone you need to run towards to put points on the board for the correct team. Defensive End, Jim Marshall had a very successful NFL career. At the time of his retirement, he owned the career record for most consecutive starts (270) and games played. (282). He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection in 1968 and 1969 and was a major part of the Minnesota Vikings "Purple People Eaters" defensive unit in the '60s and '70s. Marshall also recovered 30 career fumbles in his career, but none more famous than the one on Oct. 25, 1964, against the San Francisco 49ers. After recovering a fumble, Marshall scooped up the ball and ran 66 yards into the wrong end zone. Marshall thought he had scored a touchdown threw the ball into the crowd in celebration, but in fact, resulted in a safety for the 49ers. Despite the boneheaded play by Marshall, the Vikings won the game 27-22. Years later, Marshall received a letter from Roy Riegels, who played for the University of California, who also was known for the infamous play known as the wrong-way run in the 1929 Rose Bowl resulting in a defeat against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
As kids and even adults, the phrase " that's using your head" usually means something positive, but this might not be the case for this well-known outfielder. Jose Canseco had a solid MLB career. He played for multi teams, but mainly spent most of his career with the Oakland Athletics in the mid-'80s to early '90s. Canseco was a 6-time All-Star, a two-time World Series Champion (1989, 2000), he won Rookie of the Year in 1986 and was the AL MVP in 1989. As successful as Canseco was, he might be best known for this infamous play. On May 26, 1993, Canseco and his Texas Rangers were playing against the Cleveland Indians. Indians infielder Carlos Martinez hit a fly ball to the warning track in right field, and it looked like Canseco was going to make a play on it, but then things took a crazy turn. As Canseco continued to track down the ball, the ball took an awkward bounce on top of Canseco's head and went over the fence for a home run. Years later, Canseco reflected back on the play. The only thing he could do was laugh about the bizarre homerun.
Here is, in my opinion the most infamous play in sports history, and a lot of sports fan may not know about this. Merkle's Boner (I can't make this stuff up!) refers to an infamous base running mistake committed by rookie Fred Merkle of the New York Giants in a game against the Chicago Cubs on September 23, 1908. Merkle's failure to advance to second base on what should have been a game-winning hit led instead to a force out at second and a tied game. The Cubs eventually won the make-up game, which provided decisive as they beat the Giants by one game to win the National League Pennant in 1908. It has been described as the most controversial game in baseball history. This is the type of play that will get you benched quickly!
As fans, we do love sports because there is always that chance to see something spectacular. Typically, feats of greatness are the most memorable, but oftentimes, infamous plays make headlines and leave a permanent mark on us as fans of both the winning and losing teams. The most infamous plays frequently end up changing the course of sports history and possibly leave us scratching our heads, but at the end of the day, all we can do is laugh about it, right?
