# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/61 "2006-09-11T21:59:12Z")
[QUOTE=Trunk] Oh. . . > **[Hall of Famers | Pro Football Hall of Fame](https://www.profootballhof.com/players)** > > Visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio & create long-lasting memories. Learn about the Legends of the Game & experience interactive exhibits. It was Chris McAlister. 107 yards. Longest return of missed Fg. Definitely a Monday Night Game. Same page indicates that Ed Reed has the longest interception return (106) yards for a touchdown. [/QUOTE] That page is out of date. Last year the Bears’ Nathan Vasher returned a FG 108 yards against the 49ers. The 49ers were attempting to kick a long field goal at the end of the first half against a strong wind. One of the biggest highlights of the whole '05 season. It is presently the longest play (of any type) in NFL history. Reed still holds the interception record. ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6fFPHH6tzcM/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/6fFPHH6tzcM?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque Man, those Pumpkin orange uniforms are ugly. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/62 "2006-09-11T22:35:10Z")
[QUOTE=jackelope] 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. [/QUOTE] As beargeek said, the player was Tony Dungy. I just want to correct the record a bit in that Dungy played QB in college for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and was pretty darn good at it. He was the starter for 4 years and graduated holding most of the school’s passing records. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/63 "2006-09-11T22:48:37Z")
[QUOTE=beergeek279] I suppose it could also work for trivia…“How could an American football team have only 1 point on the board?” [/QUOTE] There’s another possibility. If one team forfeits a game, the official score is recorded as 0-1. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/64 "2006-09-11T23:12:54Z")
I believe in golf a double eagle is rarer than a hole-in-one. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/65 "2006-09-12T00:09:09Z")
In hockey, there’s Bill Moisienko’s three goals in 21 seconds. Not likely to be beaten. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/66 "2006-09-12T00:34:44Z")
In 1906 White Sox first baseman [Jiggs Donohue](http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:9uI8j2g77ZgJ:www.daveyball.com/00s.asp+baseball+%22first+baseman%22+%22no+putouts%22&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=8&lr=lang_en) played the entire game and recorded NO putouts. AFAIK it’s never happened since. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/67 "2006-09-12T01:04:53Z")
I once saw a team’s punter and kicker hook up for a 30 yard passing play. It was a trick play pulled by the Ottawa Renegades in a game in Edmonton. The Renegades set up for the field goal on, but instead made a direct snap to the kicker. The kicker took off to the left, and the Eskimos started chasing him. Just before he got crunched, the kicker pulled off a perfect shovel pass to the holder(who was also Renegades’ punter) who went off for at least 30 yards before the Eskimos caught him inside the 10. The result of the play? A penalty. Ineligible receiver. The punter wasn’t wearing an eligible receiver’s number. :smack: Such is the life of a Renegade fan. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/68 "2006-09-12T01:06:49Z")
[QUOTE=Rysto] I once saw a team’s punter and kicker hook up for a 30 yard passing play. It was a trick play pulled by the Ottawa Renegades in a game in Edmonton. The Renegades set up for the field goal on, but instead made a direct snap to the kicker. The kicker took off to the left, and the Eskimos started chasing him. Just before he got crunched, the kicker pulled off a perfect shovel pass to the holder(who was also Renegades’ punter) who went off for at least 30 yards before the Eskimos caught him inside the 10. The result of the play? A penalty. Ineligible receiver. The punter wasn’t wearing an eligible receiver’s number. :smack: [/QUOTE] In case it wasn’t clear, yes, the play was designed that way. But no one in the coaching staff noticed that the punter wasn’t wearing an eligible number. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/69 "2006-09-12T02:19:04Z")
[QUOTE=jackelope] 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.[…] 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. [/QUOTE] Huh. Is it possible for the guy who caught the interception to run down the field, then attempt some (boneheaded) kind of forward or lateral pass as he was getting pinned that then gets picked off? There was also the oddity a few years back where a Colorado Rockies catcher became the winning pitcher. Ah yes – Google tells me it was Brent Mayne, and [here’s a recap](http://espn.go.com/mlb/2000/20000822/recap/atlcol.html). Amusingly, he threw to Tom Glavine, a pitcher making a pinch-hitting appearance, for the first out. But not before shaking off the sign from “his” catcher – “I wanted to see what it felt like,” he said later. ---
**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 12, 2006, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/70 "2006-09-12T02:24:52Z")
[QUOTE=Gangster Octopus] I believe in golf a double eagle is rarer than a hole-in-one. [/QUOTE] While we’re talking about golf, here’s one for you: [ > [@](#): > > CONDOR - 4 under par This mighty bird gives its name to the rarest of all occurences in golf: a hole in one on a par five. Only two are recorded. Shaun Lynch on the 496 yard 17th at Teign Valley in July 1995 and L. Brice on the 480 yard 5th at Hope CC, Arkansas in 1962. Both holes are dog-legs. ]([Why Australia's Pet Services Are Perfect for Tech Professionals | Anyone for Tee](http://www.anyonefortee.com/Scoring/Birds.html)) Who even knew that there was such a thing as a Condor in golf? I mean, I knew about the Albatross, but those are already all but impossible. What kind of ridiculous luck must it take to go 4 under on a single hole? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/71 "2006-09-12T02:39:32Z")
[QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF] What kind of ridiculous luck must it take to go 4 under on a single hole? [/QUOTE] If only we could ask Kim Jong-Il, who shoots three or four holes-in-one in a typical round. According to the North Korean press, I mean. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/72 "2006-09-12T04:39:31Z")
[QUOTE=asterion] 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. [/QUOTE] They called it a 108 yard return during the broadcast and on ESPN later that night but the official scorer upon reviewing the video declared it a 107 yard return in the official books the following day. At the time it was the longest play every. Nathan Vasher’s play with the Bears last season was a 108 yard play and currently stands as the longest ever. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/73 "2006-09-12T10:36:26Z")
In the Fourth Test between England and Pakistan this season, Pakistan refused to take the field after the tea interval in an unprecedented fit of sulking over a decision the umpire awarded against them during the afternoon session. Umpire [Darrell Hair](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darrell_Hair#2006_The_Oval) waited the requisite length of time before awarding the match to England by default. (Teams have left the field or refused to return to it before, but generally for reasons of safety after, for instance, being subjected to crowd abuse.) > [@Wikipedia](#): > > This, incidentally, was the first such end to a Test match in over 1000 tests. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/74 "2006-09-12T11:45:29Z")
[QUOTE=Lochdale] I remember seeing video of Pat Jennings scoring a goal from a kick out from his hands. Those sorts of goals no longer count though. [/QUOTE] I just talked to Mr. Ujest, who knows about these things, and he says this isn’t as uncommon as you think and, AFAHK as far as he knows they are allowed. Naturally, being a yank and not submerged into football like the rest of the world as he would like, I shall defer to another doper on this matter. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/75 "2006-09-12T12:20:36Z")
[QUOTE=beergeek279] Something I’ve only (somewhat) seen once is the 1 point safety on a conversion in college football. It happened in a Texas/Texas A&M game where the defending team (A&M) fumbled the ball across the goal line and were tackled by the converting team (UT), who promptly earned one point. Even more impossbly is the defensive team scoring that 1 pt. safety, mostly since the offense would have to drop back 97 yards for this to happen 😃 (I’ve done it on _NCAA Football '07_ for shits and giggles, and yes, the defending team does get one point). I suppose it could also work for trivia…“How could an American football team have only 1 point on the board?” [/QUOTE] I had no idea that this was one point. I know I’ve seen the defensive team score on an attempted extra point conversion but have no idea how many points they were awarded: 1, 2 or 6? (I think it was 2 points) ---
**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 12, 2006, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/76 "2006-09-12T13:36:14Z")
[QUOTE=robardin] Is it possible for the guy who caught the interception to run down the field, then attempt some (boneheaded) kind of forward or lateral pass as he was getting pinned that then gets picked off? [/QUOTE] An intercepted lateral is scored as a fumble. A _forward_ pass during an interception return would be illegal, and would be penalized, but of course if it were intercepted the penalty would be declined. So it’s theoretically possible to throw an interception while returning an interception. I’ve never heard of it happening, but given enough rolls of the dice . . . ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/77 "2006-09-12T15:41:37Z")
On July 21, 1986, the Mets had several players ejected in a brawl and were running out of players. Pitchers Jesse Orosco and Roger McDowell ended up in the lineup, switching between the outfield and pitching. 10th Inning: Orosco was pitching when the brawl took place. McDowell came in to pitch, with Orosco moving to right field. Mcdowell faced on batter to end the inning. 11th inning: Mcdowell faced the first three batters, then moved to right field to have Orosco get the final out. 12th inning: Orosco pitched the entire inning; McDowell started in right field, but moved to left. 13th inning: Orosco moved to right field (and caught a fly ball for a putout), McDowell pitched and remained on the mound in the 14th. The Mets scored in the top of the 14th to win the game. ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/78 "2006-09-12T15:52:17Z")
[QUOTE=ShibbOleth] I had no idea that this was one point. I know I’ve seen the defensive team score on an attempted extra point conversion but have no idea how many points they were awarded: 1, 2 or 6? (I think it was 2 points) [/QUOTE] 1. Touchdowns are worth 2, safeties and field goals worth 1. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/79 "2006-09-12T15:58:14Z")
In a Redwing hockey game years ago. Two players hit the puck simultaneously and it went way up in the air,past the light so it was invisible. It landed on a goalies back and bounced into the net. The newspapers showed diagrams with dotted lined showing the path. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963/80 "2006-09-12T16:16:41Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] In a Redwing hockey game years ago. Two players hit the puck simultaneously and it went way up in the air,past the light so it was invisible. It landed on a goalies back and bounced into the net. The newspapers showed diagrams with dotted lined showing the path. [/QUOTE] I saw a similar thing happen in a college hockey game in the early 70s: The goalie (Steve Baker, who later played briefly in the NHL) lost the puck and it rolled down his back and into the net. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-sports/371963.md?page=5)