Best/Worst sports fights

I know one of the goalies in that brawl....

 

I read somewhere, maybe in that book about baseball's unwritten rules, that Ventura had no interest in rushing the mound, that it was basically the culmination of a lot of back and forth plunking between the teams, and that he basically got goaded into it by his teammates and the situation. The lesson of course is that you don't ever go into a fight half heartedly -- even against a guy 20 years your senior -- or else you end up getting face punched on repeat

 

Pedro Martinez agrees.

 

1984. It was on my birthday. Three separate bench-clearing incidents.

Best parts were:

(1) Bob Horner, who was on the DL with a broken wrist, leaving the broadcast booth, running into the clubhouse to change into his uniform and then running out of the dugout to join the fray.
(2) Numerous Braves fans, including one guy in bright yellow pants, jumping out the stands to fight the Padres' Champ Summers.
(3) A shirtless Ed Whitson (who had been ejected earlier in the game and was already in the clubhouse) having to be restrained by teammates in the dugout after trying to run onto the field with a bat.
(4) The Padres' Kurt Bevacqua running onto the field throwing indiscriminate punches, including one that hits his own third base coach, Ozzie Virgil.

The 1984 bean-brawl game

 

It's a shame there's no video on YouTube of Andre Dawson vs. Eric Show.

 

Any fight involving hockey goalies is the best fight. The fight has to be big for them to be involved and watching goalies fight is awesome.

Ventura-Ryan is overrated. The popularity of the fight is just based on the ages of the players involved.

 

That was a great one, too. Dawson lay on the field at home plate while everyone fought around him, then suddenly jumped up and went after Show.

Would love to see video of George Bell's flying karate kick on Bruce Kison as well.

Claudell Washington vs. Mario Soto in 1984 was pretty good though. Washington (sort of) threw his bat at Soto. Soto threw the ball at Washington from close range.

 

The most comical one I ever saw was a couple of years ago in the NHL playoffs, Bruins vs. Flyers. Things had been chippy, and both teams finally dropped the gloves. One of the Flyers players (can't remember who) went after Zdeno Chara, who got him by the throat and just held him there while laughing as the Flyers guy just flailed his arms trying to reach Chara. Even my non-sports-fan wife got a kick out of that one.

 

Nothing like a Quebec - Montreal playoff brawl....