Biggest Choke in Sports History

Alley, it's on, baby!

Sure the Pokes have had their success, but they've also stumbled to Baltimore and Pittsburgh twice, and yes, I'd say Jackie Smith choked in that game. Mavericks have had several chokes, two in a year's time. The Stars were owned by Edmonton for a while, and had the controversial win over Buffalo to get the only cup they had. Houston was known as Choke City for a while; the Rangers choked in the only serious run they had in the ALCS playoffs (wasn't the reliever named Henneman that blew two save ops in vs. the Yankees?) Oh and yes, the Astros were swept in their only WS appearance. I guess I'll give you San Antone and the Spurs too. They've choked less times than Dallas.

 

Agreed. One more out with and the Yanks would have swept the Sox.

 

But remember, the Red Sox only needed one more strike several times in 1986.

Or needed Buckner to field a 13-hopper, take two steps and touch first base.

They've been on both sides.

 

And don't forget, Buckner's error only let the Mets tie the sereis.
The Red Sox had a lead in Game 7 as well and blew it.

Far bigger choke than the Mavs.

 

Hank Iba, coach, 1972 U.S. Olympic basketball team.

It wasn't timekeepers or officials or horns blowing or timeouts that should have/shouldn't have been granted that lost that game.

It was arguably the single most inept display of coaching the sports world has ever seen.

What Iba did to that team would be like saddling Secretariat as a trotter.

Honorable mention:
Stupid Jacobellis chick that hotdogged her way out of a gold medal.
Chris Webber ("time out!")
Don Denkinger
Dan O'Brien

Special recognition for stupidity if not outright choking:

Ted Watts

Watts is the chair umpire who called the score wrong in a tiebreaker at Wimbledon, causing the players to serve and receive on the wrong side and untimately costing Venus Williams a victory against Karolina Sprem.

Watts is also the chair umpire who officiated a WTA match in which the court dimensions were screwed up (the service line was placed 3 feet too close to the net).

After both players double faulted several times, they complained to Watts about the lines. He did nothing.

 

Doh!

 

Actually, Webber's biggest choke was the uncalled travel seconds before the time out. If the officials had the nuts to call that, the TO never would have happened.

 

That's a hell of a good one.


Too bad he's dead. Cuban could hire him in Dallas.

 

1980 USSR hockey team.

 

Dave Bleepin' Henderson was Game 5. With the Angels one strike from the pennant. They lost the next two in Boston.

 

Sad as it is to view it that way, it's very true.

They were a much better team, and led for much of the game.

 

I'm not sure how most of those qualify as choking. Dallas stumbled twice against Pittsburgh in Super Bowls? The Steelers were the dominant team in the NFL from 1974-1979. The Hall of Famers from those teams could fill up their own wing.

And that still was a pretty bad throw to Jackie Smith and people forget there was a lot of time left in that ballgame when he dropped it. That wasn't even the biggest mistake by the Cowboys in the game. Randy White's fumbled kickoff return was.