I think it must have. I was rooting for the Flames in that series but felt so bad for him. It was his birthday too.
In the 1986 World Series, Red Sox manager John McNamara kept Bill Buckner on the field, even though he’d been putting in a defensive substitute for Buckner (who had bad ankles) during the regular season. It didn’t work out.
I can only remember the one instance that I mentioned. It’s not often a player goes down untouched or isn’t immediately touched while down.
The GREATEST World Series EVER!!! The worst-to-first Twins vs. the worst-to-first Braves. Game 7, no one out Lonnie f-ing Smith on first, Terry Pendleton doubles to left. Lonnie f-ing Smith, imitating a 3rd grader gets fooled into thinking the SS has the ball and pulls up, only makes it to third. Twins win in 10. Even Mighty Casey was shaking his head. 
STILL
New Zealand domestic cricket has had some terrible tournament formats over the years, leading to all sorts of weird games.
*Needing to score a result Otago deliberately bowled terriblyto Northern District to inflate the ND score and entice the batsmen to go for the target rather than batting out for a draw.
*Wellington used the same tacticagainst Canterbury, conceding 77 runs in one over to try and win a match.
One of the first things the kids get taught in Mite hockey is “don’t pass the puck across the front of your own net.” High level players continue to do it thinking “I’m experienced enough that it won’t blow up on me.” Still, every once in awhile it does.
From Wiki:
In game 4 of the 1941 World Series, the Dodgers were leading the Yankees 4-3 in the top of the ninth. With two outs and the bases empty, Tommy Henrich swung and missed for strike 3. The pitch got past catcher Mickey Owen; Henrich reached first base. That started a four run rally.
Could that have been San Francisco vs. Cincinnati in 1987?
“Leading 26–20, with 0:06 remaining, Bengals coach Sam Wyche inexplicably called a 4th-down running play instead of a punt. The 49ers stopped the runner with :02 seconds left, giving them possession and a stopped game clock (a de facto time out due to the Bengals’ losing the ball on downs). On the game’s final play, 49ers quarterback Joe Montana threw a touchdown pass to Jerry Rice as time expired, giving San Francisco a 27–26 win.”
1984 NBA Finals, Game 2. With the game tied and 13 seconds left, the Lakers inbound the ball the Magic Johnson. Johnson either loses track of time or is unable to make a decision, dribbling out the clock without a shot or a pass until time had expired. The Lakers lose in overtime, and go on to lose the series.
kenobi-The Van de Velde debacle was at the (British) Open.
Another game very similar to the OP’s scenario happened in an SEC game between Tennessee and Arkansas in 1998. Arkansas had a late lead and just had to take a knee, but they decided to run a real play, and the QB fumbled. Tennessee scored a touchdown a few plays later and would end up winning the national championship.
I thought Sean Smith was going to pull this stunt in the Chiefs/Bills game this weekend. He intercepted a pass on the goal line and ran it all the way back for a TD, but he was high-stepping and showboating the last ten yards and there was a Bills player coming up from behind awfully fast. Since it was in the third quarter it probably wouldn’t qualify as a game-loser, although that play certainly did swing the momentum in the game in the Chiefs favor.
Has anyone mentioned the 1993 National Championship game? Michigan is down by two and Chris Webber calls time out, except Michigan has no more time outs, so a technical foul is called. North Carolina gets two free throws and the ball, icing the win.
**Shoeless-**Post #2
I must have skipped right past that one and on to Leon Lett. :smack:
I remember that game! As I recall, they were in a winning position at the start of the over, but then lost a wicket, putting them behind the score. I remember Chanderpaul on the balcony explaining to the coach (was it Bob Woolmer?) in exasperation that they’d lost three wickets, not two.
McNamara had also used a defensive replacement for Buckner during the World Series, in games 1, 2 and 5.
Probably the most tragic blunder would be Andrés Escobar scoring on his own goal in the 1994 World Cup. That goal may very well have been the cause of Escobars’ murder shortly after the event.
The story came out that McNamara wanted Buckner to be on the field for the celebration of winning the Series, in recognition of his contributions. The odds that he’d actually muff the winning play were minuscule. I won’t call that a boner on McNamara’s part.
Not exactly the OP, since it didn’t clearly change the game from a win to a loss, but since it was recent: Game 4 of the 2013 World Series.
The game ended with the Cardinals down two runs and a runner on first, and the runner got picked off for the third out. The runner had no reason to take a lead when down two runs, since in any situation where the second run scored, the runner would also score easily without needing a lead off of first.
It was half bone-headedness (taking just a tiny bit too big a lead), and half bad luck/execution (his foot slipped when he tried to get back to first). But it did end the game, so almost fits the OP.
Is there a clip that hasn’t been butchered? (I hate it when people think they can improve a video by hamfistedly editing in a lame caption.)
In 1976, the Golden State Warriors lost to the Phoenix Suns when GSW’s best player, Rick Barry, stopped shooting for over a quarter in the second half because he was pouting that his teammates did not come to his defense in a 1st quarter fight he had with Rickey Sobers.
And, really… they didn’t. The video isn’t that great, but you can see a lot of yellow-shirted players (Barry’s teammates) just standing around.
In related news, Barry wore a wig throughout the 1976 season and was probably the single most disliked NBA player (by his peers) of his era.