# Rarest plays in sports? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 8, 2006, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963 "2006-09-08T19:39:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [September 9, 2006, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/21 "2006-09-09T18:34:36Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] Around 1987 the Braves pulled off a triple steal. I am pretty sure it was against Houston. Insult to injury, the Houston catcher was injured on the play. Final irony, Braves lost anyway. [/QUOTE] Your memory is good–Atlanta did indeed pull off a triple steal in the fourth inning of a 6-5 loss to Houston on October 1, 1987. The Houston pitcher was Danny Darwin, whom I don’t remember as being particularly inept at holding runners on base. But he must have been dozing on this particular night, as the fourth inning had a Charlie-Brown-ish sequence in which Gerald Perry walked, stole second, and continued to third on the catcher’s error, Ken Oberkfell walked and stole second, Jeff Blauser walked, and with two outs and the pitcher at bat, all three runners pulled off a triple steal. After catcher Ronn Reynolds was injured and replaced, his successor allowed another run on a passed ball. However, this was far the first triple steal. There have been documented cases as long ago as 1900, and googling turns up references to Ty Cobb and Jackie Robinson being on the front end of triple steals. Since steals of home in general have become much more rare, I have to think the play is rarer now than it has ever been, and you may well have seen the last one. I can’t find a complete list, however. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/22 "2006-09-09T18:41:21Z")
[QUOTE=Freddy the Pig] Your memory is good–Atlanta did indeed pull off a triple steal in the fourth inning of a 6-5 loss to Houston on October 1, 1987. The Houston pitcher was Danny Darwin, whom I don’t remember as being particularly inept at holding runners on base. But he must have been dozing on this particular night, as the fourth inning had a Charlie-Brown-ish sequence in which Gerald Perry walked, stole second, and continued to third on the catcher’s error, Ken Oberkfell walked and stole second, Jeff Blauser walked, and with two outs and the pitcher at bat, all three runners pulled off a triple steal. After catcher Ronn Reynolds was injured and replaced, his successor allowed another run on a passed ball. However, this was far the first triple steal. There have been documented cases as long ago as 1900, and googling turns up references to Ty Cobb and Jackie Robinson being on the front end of triple steals. Since steals of home in general have become much more rare, I have to think the play is rarer now than it has ever been, and you may well have seen the last one. I can’t find a complete list, however. [/QUOTE] Cool, as recent as Jackie. I am a little surprised. Ty Cobb being involved in one I would have guess. Did you look up the game in question somehow, or did you see and keep score? I did not bother googling last night, it was too late. I guess I should have. I did not expect the game to be on-line except maybe buried in retro-sheet. That is too much work for that time of night. I only saw the game by dumb luck, I was in San Diego on the USS Ranger and we got TBS but no other baseball, I was jonesing for a game and watched a special one. I had no rooting interest and yet I got a great memory out of it. If you have a scorecard or found, is there any chance you could email me a scan of it or a link? Jim ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/23 "2006-09-09T18:44:20Z")
Sorry for the double post, I did have a rooting interest. I just remembered I was rooting for Houston as Yogi Berra was coaching for them. :smack: Almost 20 years ago, its a miracle I remember it at all. Jim ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/24 "2006-09-09T19:43:14Z")
I remember being quite young (early 70s) and seeing a center fielder catch a foul ball for an out. I think I remember hearing that that was a first of its kind at the time. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/25 "2006-09-09T20:33:13Z")
Last year I was watching one of those awesome NFL Films “history of football” things, and they interviewed a guy who played for (I think) the Steelers in the 70s. He was a cornerback or a safety, IIRC. Something on defense. Early in one game he caught an interception. As the apparently brutal game progressed, the Steelers lost all of their quarterbacks to injury, and the coach asked around the team to see if anyone had ever played quarterback. Our Man piped up and said Yes, he’d played QB in high school, but not since. OK, says the coach, you’re our new QB. So the guy goes into the game at quarterback, and… Becomes the first (and probably last) guy in history to both _catch_ an interception and _throw_ and interception in the same game. I thought that was a pretty cool claim to fame (even if I’ve forgotten his name). And as football gets more and more specialized and playbooks get more complex, I think it’s increasingly unlikely that this will ever happen again. ---
**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:** [September 9, 2006, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/26 "2006-09-09T22:16:40Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] If you have a scorecard or found, is there any chance you could email me a scan of it or a link? [/QUOTE] The play-by-play of every game since 1957 is at [http://www.retrosheet.org](http://www.retrosheet.org), but for some reason their coding makes it hard to link directly to individual games. Just go to the web site, then “box scores”, then 1987, and then navigate to the game by date or by team. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/27 "2006-09-10T00:59:39Z")
[QUOTE=Kyla] I once saw the hidden ball trick pulled off, in person, when I was a kid. And as far as I could tell, everyone in the park was fooled, too; I remember being completely baffled as to what had happened. My dad had to explain it to me. Looking at [this list](http://www.retrosheet.org/hidden.htm) of successful completions of the hidden ball trick, it must have been the 1990 one that I witnessed. [/QUOTE] Jeez-o-petes,Ozzie Guillen got caught 3 times with the hidden ball trick. Also noticed that trio of bear cubs Tinker,Evers and Chance all got caught once. Oink ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/28 "2006-09-10T03:28:51Z")
I saw the Cleveland Indians game on TV where Carlos Baerga hit 2 home runs in one inning, from each side of the plate. > [@wikipedia](#): > > The switch-hitting Baerga was the first of two players to have ever hit one home run from both sides of the plate in the same inning. He did so on April 8, 1993 against the New York Yankees pitchers Steve Howe and Steve Farr in the games 7th Inning. On August 29, 2002 he was joined by Chicago Cubs utility player Mark Bellhorn, who completed the feat against the Milwaukee Brewers. I also saw the home run that bounced off of Jose Canseco’s head in 1993. Not sure if that’s an amazing feat or just damn funny 🙂 It’s fun to be a Tribe fan. Even though the team generally sucks, there’s rarely a dull moment! ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/29 "2006-09-10T03:55:08Z")
[QUOTE=Freddy the Pig] The play-by-play of every game since 1957 is at [http://www.retrosheet.org](http://www.retrosheet.org), but for some reason their coding makes it hard to link directly to individual games. Just go to the web site, then “box scores”, then 1987, and then navigate to the game by date or by team. [/QUOTE] [Here](http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B10010HOU1987.htm)’s the game. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/30 "2006-09-10T04:04:58Z")
[QUOTE=cckerberos] [Here](http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B10010HOU1987.htm)’s the game. [/QUOTE] Thank you, sometimes it pays to procrastinate. 😉 I was going to get around to looking it up. I even mentioned Retrosheet in my post above. Even more amazing reading the log: > [@](#): > > BRAVES 4TH: Murphy lined to first; Perry walked; Virgil made an > out to left; \*\*Perry stole second \*\* [Perry to third (error by R. > Reynolds)]; Oberkfell walked; **Oberkfell stole second** ; Blauser > was walked intentionally; AFENIR REPLACED R. REYNOLDS (PLAYING C > ); **Perry stole home and Oberkfell stole third and Blauser stole > second**; Afenir allowed a passed ball [Oberkfell scored > (unearned), Blauser to third]; Palmer struck out; 2 R, 0 H, 1 E, > 1 LOB. Braves 4, Astros 0. 5 steals with an error and a passed ball in very short order, crazy inning. All three men got on base from walks, no hits and yet 2 runs scored. Wow! Jim ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/31 "2006-09-10T09:18:58Z")
For football, I nominated the missed field goal returned for a touchdown. The what? Well, I didn’t know it then either, but as long as the ball is still in bounds, it’s legal for a defender to recover it. Of course, this is normally a bad idea, because the defensive team would almost certainly get far better field position from the missed attempt. In other words, the only time anyone ever even attempts this is 1. the very last play of the half 2. when the opposing kicker is way out of his range and they go for the field goal anyway for some stupid reason. On one Monday Night Football (didn’t record the teams, sorry), someone caught the miss and returned it 107 yards, a record I’m pretty sure won’t be broken. Believe it or not, I think that was the _second_ time it happened that season. For my new favorite sport, mixed martial arts, few feats can compare to winning after throwing one blow. There’ve been a few wins decided with a hard shot, but throwing one strike for _the entire fight_ and getting a knockout…that’s pretty amazing. The recent episode of The Ultimate Fighter showed one of these. Gary Goodridge once lost to a single roundhouse kick, but I don’t remember if that was the only strike his opponent attempted. If you can stand another sumo reference, there’s the highly memorable 5-man playoff which concluded the November 1996 tournament. Never came close to happening again since. Musashimaru won it with three straight wins after winning his regular match, making him the only rikishi to win four matches on the same day. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_loblaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bob\_loblaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_loblaw)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/32 "2006-09-10T11:07:31Z")
last year i was involved in a play, that while not unheard of, is one of the rarer plays in hockey; i scored a point while i was not on the ice. i took a pass from below the circle at my blue line, then relayed it to the opposite wing before changing… the winger who recieved my pass ended up scoring after deking both opposing d and their goalie… i was credited with the assist, but not the plus for my +/- rating. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/33 "2006-09-10T13:15:37Z")
[QUOTE=DKW] On one Monday Night Football (didn’t record the teams, sorry), someone caught the miss and returned it 107 yards, a record I’m pretty sure won’t be broken. [/QUOTE] Chicago Bears vs. San Francisco 49ers. The kick was returned by Nate Vasher. I’m not 100% sure that it was a Monday night game, but that’s neither here nor there. Vasher himself said that, even though it was a 107-yard TD run, he probably covered about 200 yards with all the zigging and zagging he did. Note how he collapses in the [end zone](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6cdaqY3heI) a the end of the play! ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/34 "2006-09-10T13:21:48Z")
[QUOTE=HeyHomie] I’m not 100% sure that it was a Monday night game [/QUOTE] November 13, 2005. A Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/35 "2006-09-10T14:31:32Z")
[QUOTE=DKW] For football, I nominated the missed field goal returned for a touchdown. The what? Well, I didn’t know it then either, but as long as the ball is still in bounds, it’s legal for a defender to recover it. Of course, this is normally a bad idea, because the defensive team would almost certainly get far better field position from the missed attempt. In other words, the only time anyone ever even attempts this is 1. the very last play of the half 2. when the opposing kicker is way out of his range and they go for the field goal anyway for some stupid reason. On one Monday Night Football (didn’t record the teams, sorry), someone caught the miss and returned it 107 yards, a record I’m pretty sure won’t be broken. Believe it or not, I think that was the _second_ time it happened that season. [/QUOTE] The return in the Bears-Niners game last year was a good one (especially all that downfield blocking.) However, there was a game on Monday night, September 30, 2002, that I remember because it involved the Broncos losing to the Ravens. Besides being an awful game for the Broncos (and me getting some crap the next morning from the Steelers fans at school) Chris McAllister returned a missed 57-yard Jason Elam field goal either 107 or 108 (the NFL records 107, ESPN reported it as 108) yards for the TD. One of the reasons the game sticks out in my mind is because that was one of the few Broncos games I knew I would be able to see that season and had been really looking forward to it. I can’t find video of it anywhere. Anyway, here’s the play from the NFL. (:01) J.Elam 57 yard field goal is No Good Center-M.Lepsis Holder-T.Rouen. C.McAlister at BLT -7 for 107 yards TOUCHDOWN. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/36 "2006-09-10T15:01:06Z")
Not a “play”, but to carry on the point \*\*Reality Chuck \*\* made, yesterday the Phillies Marlins game was the first in history where two players whose last names start with “U” hit a home run. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/37 "2006-09-10T20:32:23Z")
Again, not a single play, but the Kansas City Royals, who always find new ways to lose, played a game against Cleveland a couple weeks back where they scored 10 runs in the first inning and still managed to lose the game. I remember reading that it was only the second time a team has lost after scoring that many runs in the first. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/38 "2006-09-10T20:46:57Z")
I saw Michigan play Indiana(perhaps Indiana State) a few years ago. On third down, Indiana decides to punt so they can catch Michigan off guard. Unfortunately, they fumbled it and lost about 20-25 yards. So on 4th and 35, they punt again. However, they fumble again and this time Michigan grabbed the ball and ran it down for a touch down. Anyone remember this? ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/39 "2006-09-10T20:58:29Z")
Football field goal tending is very rare. As near as I can tell the only person successful at this particular tactic was a guy named R.C. Owens back in the 1960s. Nobody will ever again have any success at it, either, because it is now illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/40 "2006-09-10T21:30:41Z")
One of the most oft-cited baseball oddities: Fernando Tatis, who in 1999 hit two grand slams in the same inning for the St. Louis Cardinals. He’s the only player ever to do hit two in one inning. I guess Chan Ho Park deserves a mention here, too, since he’s the only pitcher ever to give up two grand slams to the same batter in the same inning. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963.md?page=3)