# Has a game ever been successfully appealed? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 3, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-game-ever-been-successfully-appealed/587731 "2011-07-03T16:58:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-game-ever-been-successfully-appealed/587731/1 "2011-07-03T16:58:43Z")
[This incident](http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Three-ball-walk-gives-Padres-a-1-0-win-over-Mari?urn=mlb-wp11484) has me wondering about appeals of games and games played under protest. I have never heard of an appeal being accepted and the game either replayed or the result changed. Has there ever been a big time sports league that has accepted an appeal of a game? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-game-ever-been-successfully-appealed/587731/2 "2011-07-03T17:02:07Z")
Yes. [Pine Tar Incident - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Tar_Incident) > [@](#): > > The Pine Tar Incident (also known as the Pine Tar Game) was a controversial incident during an American League game played between the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees on July 24, 1983 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. With his team trailing 4–3 in the top half of the ninth inning, George Brett of the Royals hit a 2-run home run to give his team the lead. However, Yankees manager Billy Martin, who had noticed a large amount of pine tar on Brett’s bat, requested that the umpires inspect his bat. The umpires ruled that the amount of pine tar on the bat exceeded the amount allowed by rule, nullified Brett’s home run, and called him out. As Brett was the third out in the ninth inning with the home team in the lead, the game ended with a Yankees win. > > The Royals protested the game, and American League president Lee MacPhail upheld their protest and ordered that the game be replayed from the point of Brett’s home run. The game was replayed on August 18 and officially ended with the Royals winning 5–4. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-game-ever-been-successfully-appealed/587731/3 "2011-07-03T17:27:07Z")
The last successful protest was in 1986 for a game between St. Louis and Pittsburgh. St Louis was winning 4-1 in the top of the sixth inning when the game was called for rain after two delays. But the delays had been only 17 and 21 minutes, with a couple of pitches thrown in between. Pittsburgh protested because the rules require a wait of at least 75 minutes before calling a game after a first delay and 45 minutes for any subsequent delay. St. Louis won the continuation 4-2. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-game-ever-been-successfully-appealed/587731/4 "2011-07-03T18:16:18Z")
A few years ago there was an NBA game that was successfully appealed. I forget the details, but it had something to do with a player fouling out when he really only had 5 fouls. The player may even have been Shaq. The game was replayed from the point that the foul was called. ---
**Author:** ![blue\_infinity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_infinity/32/2817_2.png) [@blue\_infinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue_infinity)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-game-ever-been-successfully-appealed/587731/5 "2011-07-03T18:27:48Z")
In the AFL a few years ago we had [Sirengate](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFL_siren_controversy). ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-game-ever-been-successfully-appealed/587731/6 "2011-07-03T18:35:02Z")
There are 14 known, documented cases of Major League Baseball protests being upheld; here is [the list](http://www.retrosheet.org/protests.htm). ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-game-ever-been-successfully-appealed/587731/7 "2011-07-03T21:40:44Z")
[This game](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Down_Game_(1990)) should have been a successful appeal. > [@](#): > > Asked whether he would consider forfeiting the game, McCartney declared that he had considered it but decided against it because “the field was lousy.” This has to be considered as one of the stupidest answers ever. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-game-ever-been-successfully-appealed/587731/8 "2011-07-03T23:37:52Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > There are 14 known, documented cases of Major League Baseball protests being upheld; here is [the list](http://www.retrosheet.org/protests.htm). It’s not listed here but the New York Mets won an appeal of a game May 8, 1977 when the umpires called a game because of rain after seven innings. The Mets argued successfully that the umpires didn’t wait the proper amount of time (50 minutes or whatever it was). After MLB agreed, the Mets dropped the appeal because they were losing 10-0 at the time. Which makes you wonder why they bothered to appeal. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-game-ever-been-successfully-appealed/587731/9 "2011-07-03T23:48:08Z")
In Formula 1, the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix was stopped early because of rain.Kimi Raikkonen was declared the winner but Jordan appealed and several days later Giancarlo Fisichella was declared the winner. > **[2003 Brazilian Grand Prix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Brazilian_Grand_Prix)** > > The 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 6 April 2003 at Autódromo José Carlos Pace (Interlagos). It was attended by 120,000 spectators. It was the third round of the 2003 Formula One World Championship, the 32nd Brazilian Grand Prix and the 700th Formula One World Championship race. > The race was scheduled to run for 71 laps, but was stopped on lap 56 after two major crashes blocked the circuit. Due to confusion about the timing of the red flag, the win was initially ... There are several NASCAR races that were appealed because of scoring problems or close finishes. The first Daytona 500 took three days before it was awarded to Lee Petty (no one was expecting a photo finish). The only win by a Black driver in NASCAR, Wendell Scott, was appealed, supposedly because they didn’t count his laps properly but they probably didn’t want him in Victory Lane to get his trophy and kiss the race queen. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-game-ever-been-successfully-appealed/587731/10 "2011-07-03T23:55:06Z")
Also a memorable and successful NBA protest, involving the Chicago Bulls in 1969-70; story [here](http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-05-12/sports/9405120326_1_clock-bulls-hawks-coach). Does the NFL even have a mechanism for protesting a game? Given the nature of the schedule, resuming a game would be all but impossible. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-game-ever-been-successfully-appealed/587731/11 "2011-07-04T01:01:22Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > In Formula 1… And lets not forget the magical erasure of an entire seasons worth of results of an “M. Schumacher”. ---
**Author:** ![Ambihelical\_Hexnut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4491bb/32.png) [@Ambihelical\_Hexnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambihelical_Hexnut)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-game-ever-been-successfully-appealed/587731/12 "2011-07-04T17:58:02Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > And lets not forget the magical erasure of an entire seasons worth of results of an “M. Schumacher”. Schumacher’s results in each individual race in the 1997 season still counted (thus he has 91 career wins rather than 86); when he was disqualified, the only thing he lost was his 2nd place finish in the world drivers championship.