# What's is the most bizarre sports result? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 1, 2006, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928 "2006-05-01T09:33:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/21 "2006-05-02T07:27:00Z")
> [@blinkingblinking](#): > > My vote goes for an Australian Football game played yesterday. The result will be determined on Wednesday. > > Problem was- in yesterday’s game the time ran out. But the umpires just let them keep playing. About 10 seconds after the siren the Saints kicked a tying score. You might also note that a **free kick** was awarded to the St Kilda player \*AFTER \* kicking the behind, so he went on to another shot at goal and kicked another point, thus sealing the game as a win for the Saints. Ultimately though, it is the umpire who calls the end of the game. Now in 99.9% of situations that is upon hearing the final siren, and the ump puts his hands up to indicate cessation of play. Until THAT happens, the game continues. So ‘legally’, St. Kilda won the game fair and square. And being the only Saints supporter at work, don’t you think I have copped shit over the past cuppla dayz. Hehehehe. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/22 "2006-05-02T07:38:07Z")
There was also the NFL game in the late 80’s where the Patriots had one of the groundsmen come out with a snowblower to clear a patch for their kicker to make a field goal attempt (which succeeded, putting them ahead to win the game). It was allowed at the time, but I believe resulted in a rule change very soon afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/23 "2006-05-02T08:08:08Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > You might also note that a **free kick** was awarded to the St Kilda player \*AFTER \* kicking the behind, so he went on to another shot at goal and kicked another point, thus sealing the game as a win for the Saints. > > Ultimately though, it is the umpire who calls the end of the game. Now in 99.9% of situations that is upon hearing the final siren, and the ump puts his hands up to indicate cessation of play. Until THAT happens, the game continues. So ‘legally’, St. Kilda won the game fair and square. > > And being the only Saints supporter at work, don’t you think I have copped shit over the past cuppla dayz. Hehehehe. 😃 As far as I know the second kick was a replacement not an extra kick. Thus in no way can you say St Kilda won the game. The AFL was just lucky he did not kick a winning goal, as the AFL would have been the laughing stock of the world. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/24 "2006-05-02T08:17:49Z")
> [@blinkingblinking](#): > > As far as I know the second kick was a replacement not an extra kick. Thus in no way can you say St Kilda won the game. The AFL was just lucky he did not kick a winning goal, as the AFL would have been the laughing stock of the world. Oops, sorry for my mistake. My hearing of the news reports was that St. Kilda had actually **won** the game, not drawn as I have now realised upon more discerning reading of the sports pages (not my usual haunts, I’ve gotta admit) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Angry\_mob\_mulls\_options](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Angry\_mob\_mulls\_options](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angry_mob_mulls_options)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/25 "2006-05-02T10:49:40Z")
Another odd one from the AFL, where a game in 1996 (also involving St. Kilda) was cut short with just over a quarter to go because the floodlights failed, and were unable to be restored. So they came back 3 days later, and carried on where they’d left off, same scores, same time on the clock. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/26 "2006-05-02T11:05:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Another odd one from the AFL, where a game in 1996 (also involving St. Kilda) was cut short with just over a quarter to go because the floodlights failed, and were unable to be restored. Had to be at Waverly, right? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/27 "2006-05-02T11:16:00Z")
> [@PoorYorick](#): > > Just for the sheer scope of lopsidedness (well, it _should_ be a word), I’d have to go with the [222-0 Georgia Tech drubbing of Cumberland Collge](http://www.cumberland.edu/about/gotc/gamestory.html) in 1916, when Georgia Tech was coached by John Heisman (yeah, _that_ Heisman). Georgia Tech scored on every possession while Cumberland College never achieved a first down. An Australian schoolboy Rugby League team (Patrician Brothers IIRC) achieved a perfect game in a knockout carnival. They kicked off, the other team fumbled the ball and on their set of tackles Patrician Brothers scored. The other team kicked off and every time they did Patrician Brothers scored in their set of tackles. This continued after the other team kicked off to start the second half. The Patrician Brothers team made a total of 0 tackles in the game and 0 errors. ---
**Author:** ![Angry\_mob\_mulls\_options](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Angry\_mob\_mulls\_options](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angry_mob_mulls_options)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/28 "2006-05-02T11:19:06Z")
Yeah. Also much debate back then about what to do, Stan Alves (the St. Kilda coach) suggested that both sides get the premiership points, an idea which didn’t catch on. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/29 "2006-05-02T11:27:30Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > Alamo Bowl. Nebraska-Michigan. The real shame of this was that the refs could have made it right but didn’t. The game cannot end on a defensive penalty, and a defensive penalty (too many men on the field) was certainly appropriate. Had they called such a penalty, the offense would have been given _one last, final last_ play… from the eleven yard line, where their runner was finally tackled by the only defensive player who was paying any attention. From the eleventh yard line, they could conceivably have executed a play which would have changed the outcome of the game. I remember, however, that the officials were having a hard enough time calling the regular plays, never mind the kind of clear-headed, toe-the-line rulesmanship that this call would have required. Was it me, or did that game’s officiating stink from front to back? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/30 "2006-05-02T11:41:04Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > It’s a minor distinction. The refs control when the time should start and stop, but the scoreboard controls the actual keeping of the time. > > Occasionally the refs will have to actually keep the time due to technical difficulties, but in every case they will announce this to the crowd. It’s highly unusual. > > There was a (Cowboys I think) game within the past few seasons where the home team was trailing late in the fourth. A receiver had caught the ball and run out of bounds with 1 second left on the clock. The timekeeper stopped the clock the moment the guy first set foot out of bounds, allowing one final play. > > This was a major gaffe by a homer timekeeper. When a player steps out of bounds, the official blows the whistle. The timekeeper isn’t supposed to stop the clock until he hears the whistle. In this game, the clock stopped well before the whistle blew. > > Bush league, all the way. Yes, that’s kind of my point. Sure, the stadium clock is the official time, but the human refs and timekeepers have control over the start and stop and can sometimes be a difference-maker. I think the clock should be controlled from the field to cut out the lag (or anticipation) between whistle and timekeeper. Have a wireless setup in the refs’ whistles. The instant a whistle blows, the clock stops/starts. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/31 "2006-05-02T13:17:31Z")
> [@Angry mob mulls options](#): > > Another odd one from the AFL, where a game in 1996 (also involving St. Kilda) was cut short with just over a quarter to go because the floodlights failed, and were unable to be restored. > > So they came back 3 days later, and carried on where they’d left off, same scores, same time on the clock. A bit like the 1975 NHL playoffs - Philadelphia at Buffalo, Game 3, in warm weather. The fog on the ice was so thick that the puck could not be easily seen, and the game was stopped while players skated around flapping towels to dissipate it. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/32 "2006-05-02T15:39:47Z")
> [@Angry mob mulls options](#): > > Another odd one from the AFL, where a game in 1996 (also involving St. Kilda) was cut short with just over a quarter to go because the floodlights failed, and were unable to be restored. > > So they came back 3 days later, and carried on where they’d left off, same scores, same time on the clock. Fantastic Dopername, BTW. That actually occurs every once in a while in baseball games here too. I believe that if the game gets rained out before five innings have been played, it restarts at the same point in the game with the same score. Actually, I may be wrong about that, but I do remember that once in the 70s or 80s there was a game between Kansas City and the New York Yankees (I think) that set the record for length of game both in innings and in time played; the game went into so many extra innings that it was pushing way past midnight and they sent everyone home, then the teams showed up the next day to continue where they left off. It ended up spanning 20-something hours and a whole lot of innings. > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > A bit like the 1975 NHL playoffs - Philadelphia at Buffalo, Game 3, in warm weather. The fog on the ice was so thick that the puck could not be easily seen, and the game was stopped while players skated around flapping towels to dissipate it. Reminds me of a game between the New York Rangers and Montreal around 2001 or so. One team’s home uniform was red helmets, blue tops and red bottoms. The other’s was blue helmets, red tops and blue bottoms. It was such a dizzying haze of colors that the refs stopped the game and made one of the teams change into their alternate uniforms because they couldn’t tell one team from the other. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/33 "2006-05-02T16:10:28Z")
> [@fetus](#): > > Fantastic Dopername, BTW. Oh my, yes. 😃 > [@](#): > > That actually occurs every once in a while in baseball games here too. I believe that if the game gets rained out before five innings have been played, it restarts at the same point in the game with the same score. If the game has not reached 5 full innings with the visiting team ahead, or 4.5 with the home team ahead (i.e. half of the game), the rescheduled game starts from the beginning. All individual accomplishments during the cancelled game count, but no team accomplishments. If the game is tied after that point, then it restarts from that point. The resumption date can be so far in the future that player rosters change, too - I believe there’s been at least 1 case of a player appearing for both teams in the same game. If weather or other considerations don’t enter into it, yes, the game goes on until there’s a winner. The major league record is 26 innings, and the minor league record is 32. In Japan, IIRC, if the game is tied after 12 it ends as a tie. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/34 "2006-05-02T16:45:03Z")
> [@Jurph](#): > > The real shame of this was that the refs could have made it right but didn’t. The game cannot end on a defensive penalty, and a defensive penalty (too many men on the field) was certainly appropriate. Had they called such a penalty, the offense would have been given _one last, final last_ play… from the eleven yard line, where their runner was finally tackled by the only defensive player who was paying any attention. From the eleventh yard line, they could conceivably have executed a play which would have changed the outcome of the game. > > I remember, however, that the officials were having a hard enough time calling the regular plays, never mind the kind of clear-headed, toe-the-line rulesmanship that this call would have required. Was it me, or did that game’s officiating stink from front to back? Except that both teams rushed the field, so if you call one penalty you have to call the other, and they offset. Game over. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/35 "2006-05-02T16:55:00Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > If the game is tied after that point, then it restarts from that point. The resumption date can be so far in the future that player rosters change, too - I believe there’s been at least 1 case of a player appearing for both teams in the same game. I had thought that a game that had gone past 4.5/5 was considered a full game if it was cut off and that it wouldn’t be continued, but that the result would stand. Your version makes a lot more sense. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_the_turtle/32/2926_2.png) [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_the_Turtle)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/36 "2006-05-02T19:49:23Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Oh my, yes. 😃 > > If weather or other considerations don’t enter into it, yes, the game goes on until there’s a winner. The major league record is 26 innings, and the minor league record is 32. In Japan, IIRC, if the game is tied after 12 it ends as a tie. Some cities have curfews and an inning cannot start after a certain time of day. In that case the game will resume from that point at a later date (usually the next day, if the same two teams are playing). ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/37 "2006-05-02T20:53:26Z")
A couple of years ago NC State hosted New Mexico (I think) in a pre-season game, that was just full of horrible officiating. State had the ball, and the play started as the whistle blew. 20,000 NC State fans waited to find out what this bogus call was going to be. The call was delay of game - on the defense. To quote the Gary Hahn, the Wolfpack Radio Network announcer, “Huh.” ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/38 "2006-05-02T22:05:16Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Soccer: > > USA 1 England 0. > > Oh, the shame. Likewise (Well, Scottish soccer): Forfar 5 Fife 4 ---
**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:** [May 2, 2006, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/39 "2006-05-02T22:26:47Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [The 1982 California-Stanford football game](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Play), ending on The Play. Cal executed 5 laterals, all both successful and legal, on a kickoff return as time ran out and the Stanford marching band took the field in celebration of their apparent win. Cal ran it in for the winning touchdown, knocking over a trombone player to do it. Although the play was allowed the last lateral is clearly forward. Thhe Buffalo Sabrea and Philadelphia Flyers palyed a Stanley Cup game in the fog in 1975. i recall a baseball game many years ago that there was a massive downpour and I canot recall the situation, something about trying to make it a legal game. But the crux was the one team batting was trying to get themselves out and the team on defense was trying desperately to keep the game going. They wanted the umpire to call the game before the inning ended thus negating the inning they were playing. Or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928/40 "2006-05-03T02:02:02Z")
On May 4[sup]th[/sup], 1984, Dave Kingman and the A’s visited the Metrodome. Kingman hit a towering fly ball that never came down! It went through a drainage hole in the roof and lodged itself inbetween the roof’s layers. > [@The Sporting News](#): > > The Twins’ infielders gathered near the mound and peered skyward. Shortstop Houston Jimenez covered his head, fearing he might be bopped by a falling object. > “it was like a rocket going off,” said Twins second baseman Tim Teufel. “I was waiting for it to come down through the atmosphere. I knew it had to land near the pitcher’s mound somewhere.” > Umpire crew chief Jim Evans declared the drive a roof-rule double. A’s manager Steve Boros said a ground rule–make that a sky rule–about a ball being lost in the roof never had been discussed. > “That’s like a hole-in-one in my book,” said Twins first baseman Mickey Hatcher. > > The next day, a stadium official tried to retrieve the ball that was lodged in the roof, but couldn’t reach the real one. So he dropped a substitute through the hole and Hatcher dropped it. > “Hit my leg,” Hatcher said. “I didn’t even get my glove on it. I felt so dumb.” Then there was that Astros home game that was called on account of rain–nobody could get to the Astrodome because the streets were flooded. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-is-the-most-bizarre-sports-result/354928.md?page=3)