Worst blown call in sports history

[Kitaman]

As we gear up for the chat room and the numerous ref frustrations, what would you submit as the worst call ever made in Sports?

How about submit this gem:

 

[storrsroars]

Hard to argue with that, even in real time.

But there's a reason Jerry Meals is reviled in Pittsburgh.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

As we gear up for the chat room and the numerous ref frustrations, what would you submit as the worst call ever made in Sports?

How about submit this gem:

I watched that game with my grandsons both huge third generation Tiger fans
He literally stole one of games great achievements a perfect game away with a call that a little league umpire would have gotten correctly

 

[storrsroars]

Anyway, I wanted to include Denkinger's call above as that one basically decided a World Series, but only one vid per post.

Highlighting Don Denkinger's blown call | 01/23/2020

Birds of a Different Game: The '80s Cardinals highlights how Don Denkinger's infamous blown call changed the course of the 1985 World Series

www.mlb.com

 

[tcf15]

 

[WhereistheDove?]

As we gear up for the chat room and the numerous ref frustrations, what would you submit as the worst call ever made in Sports?

How about submit this gem:

Feels pretty hard to top this one. If we expanded it to worst officiating performance, I’d have to submit the infamous Livan game in the 1997 NLCS.

 

[Mister P]

1972 Mens Basketball Olympic Finals. A series of blown calls by the refs and dirty play by the Russians. I, along with the rest of the country, was in disbelief the way the game ended. The USA team members refused their Silver Medal because of the way they were screwed.

Google Search

www.google.com

 

[superjohn]

Seton Hall Michigan '89 national championship game.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Could pick about 5 from the last UConn football game

 

[Scoe]

UConn and the Giants.

 

[Dove]

As we gear up for the chat room and the numerous ref frustrations, what would you submit as the worst call ever made in Sports?

How about submit this gem:

I think you nailed it with the OP, as I knew you expected to.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

This is the one I immediately thought of but it seems like, with a few years distance, we see calls just as confounding as this on a weekly basis in both college and NFL games.

 

[SubbaBub]

1972 Mens Basketball Olympic Finals. A series of blown calls by the refs and dirty play by the Russians. I, along with the rest of the country, was in disbelief the way the game ended. The USA team members refused their Silver Medal because of the way they were screwed.

Google Search

www.google.com

That was fixed. The worst blown call was the PI in 2018 NFC Championship Game, Saints v Rams.

A case can also be made for the Immaculate Reception and Maradona's Hand of God in the 1986 World Cup. Both were epically bad per the rules but easily missed in the days before replay, but neither was made at a point in the game where the victimizes team (Saints) were seconds from winning a very important game, not a final, but as close as it gets in US sports.

 

[Viet Vet]

Larry Barnett refusing to call Ed Armbrister's interference with Carlton Fisk......game three, 1975 Reds-Red Sox World Series.

 

[Viet Vet]

Also, Bob Diaco's Civil conFLiCT.

 

[Jaydumo20]

Tuck Rule is hard to beat in terms of lasting impact.

 

[QuickDraw]

the snowplow game, Patriots & Dolphins 1982

 

[AreBee1969]

The perfect game blown call is horrible. I recall the interview with Jim Joyce after. He was fighting back tears and accepted blame for his bad call.

As a young Yankee hater I remember Reggie Jackson sticking his butt in the way of a throw to first base in the 1977 WS.

That may be second in my book only to the Jeff Maier interference.

Honorable mention goes to every game Angel Hernandez is behind the plate.

 

[nomar]

Anyway, I wanted to include Denkinger's call above as that one basically decided a World Series, but only one vid per post.

Highlighting Don Denkinger's blown call | 01/23/2020

Birds of a Different Game: The '80s Cardinals highlights how Don Denkinger's infamous blown call changed the course of the 1985 World Series

www.mlb.com

This is what immediately came to mind.

The Galarraga one is slightly worse, but World Series > perfect game.

 

[Tenspro2002]

As we gear up for the chat room and the numerous ref frustrations, what would you submit as the worst call ever made in Sports?

How about submit this gem:

The tragedy of this one was that replay was widely introduced like a year or two later -- this call would have been trivially overturned and nobody would know or care about the umpire and Galarraga would have his place in history.

 

[superjohn]

This one also came to mind...

 

[Get a Job]

This is what immediately came to mind.

The Galarraga one is slightly worse, but World Series > perfect game.

I dunno. The Cardinals still could have lost that game a thousand different ways even if the call wasn't blown. In the other case, the umpire's blown call singularly and decisively nullified a perfect game.

 

[Tenspro2002]

That was fixed. The worst blown call was the PI in 2018 NFC Championship Game, Saints v Rams.

A case can also be made for the Immaculate Reception and Maradona's Hand of God in the 1986 World Cup. Both were epically bad per the rules but easily missed in the days before replay, but neither was made at a point in the game where the victimizes team (Saints) were seconds from winning a very important game, not a final, but as close as it gets in US sports.

Is there evidence that the Immaculate Reception was a bad call?

Hand of God was, well, very obviously a handball that was impossible to see in real time.

 

[nomar]

I dunno. The Cardinals still could have lost that game a thousand different ways even if the call wasn't blown. In the other case, the umpire's blown call singularly and decisively nullified a perfect game.

True, of course. I guess I should have written World Series >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Perfect game.

As a fan, how much angrier would you be if that happened to your team in the 9th inning a closeout WS game vs in a regular season game even if, as you point out, there was more direct causal connection between the blown call and the outcome in the latter? Personally, exponentially.

 

[Vancat]

blown call ....sports related....

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

The tragedy of this one was that replay was widely introduced like a year or two later -- this call would have been trivially overturned and nobody would know or care about the umpire and Galarraga would have his place in history.

It was inevitable but this play was integral in bring replay into live sporting events

 

[ucp990411]

How about the lack of interference call against the Mets in the 1969 World Series. Guy was like 3 feet inside the baseline and no call. Turned the series around. No bigger Oriole fan than me. I remember screaming at the TV. Earl got tossed

 

[nomar]

blown call ....sports related....

The glove didn't fit bro

 

[seeya27]

This is what immediately came to mind.

The Galarraga one is slightly worse, but World Series > perfect game.

This changed the course of a World Series championship. An obviously bad call on top of it.

Given the implications of the call, this Top 1-2 worst ever.

 

[Rico444]

If we expanded it to worst officiating performance, I’d have to submit the infamous Livan game in the 1997 NLCS.

That was just karma for all of the calls the Braves got for Glavine and Maddux throughout the nineties.