Biggest trades in professional sports

[Mark2010]

Today (Aug. 9) is the 25th anniversary of the trade of Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings. I remember hearing about it at work from someone and thought it had to be a joke.

I cannot think of a bigger trade of a bigger name of any player in a team sport. Ever. (By the time OJ Simpson and Joe Montana got traded, they were near the end of their careers while Gretzky was still very much in his prime.)

What other major trades would you put in the same category?

 

[da man]

I believe that A-Rod fella was still a pretty big deal when he got traded a few years back.

 

[ColdCat]

The Dodgers trading minor league catcher Cliff Dapper to the Atlanta Crackers for Ernie Harwell

 

[Michael_ Gee]

The trades of Wilt Chamberlain and the trade of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were pretty big in their day. Also, although everyone knew it was a swindle at the time, the trade of Frank Robinson to the Orioles by the Reds.

 

[Flip Wilson]

The trade of Hershel Walker from the Cowboys to the Minnesota Vikings might be in the running for biggest trade (or, as our friend Wikipedia says, "The Great Train Robbery").

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Walker and Gretzky might be the two biggest in my lifetime.

 

[Songbird]

From a homer's standpoint the trade I loathed most was the Dodgers shipping Piazza to the Marlins.

Obviously love the Gretzky trade. Kings basically turned into Edmonton South with Gretzky, Coffey and Kurri.

Lakers trade for Kobe is top 5 of the last 20 years.

Lakers heist trade for Gasol was massive.

Another massive bummer was when the L.A. Rams traded Dickerson to the Colts.

For all of that, the trade of trades in my lifetime was Herschel Walker for all of the pieces that led to 3 Super Bowl titles in 4 years.

 

[Armchair_QB]

Today is also the 25th anniversary of the first complete night game at Wrigley Field, which occurred one night after the first rained out night game at Wrigley Field.

 

[Armchair_QB]

Walker and Gretzky might be the two biggest in my lifetime.

Gretzky's got to be the biggest in the last 30 years or so because of what it meant to the NHL as a whole.

As a kid, I remember Tom Seaver being dealt to Cincinnati as getting a lot of attention for some reason.

 

[JC]

Babe Ruth

 

[Mark2010]

I did think of the Dickerson trade, and the Walker trade. Walker was nowhere near the face of the league, in the manner that Gretzky was.

The only ones I can think of that was close was Kareem from Milwaukee to the LA Lakers and A-Rod from Texas to the Yankees.

The Gretzky trade would be the equivalent of Michael Jordan getting traded in his prime.

 

[Armchair_QB]

I did think of the Dickerson trade, and the Walker trade. Walker was nowhere near the face of the league, in the manner that Gretzky was.

The only ones I can think of that was close was Kareem from Milwaukee to the LA Lakers and A-Rod from Texas to the Yankees.

The Gretzky trade would be the equivalent of Michael Jordan getting traded in his prime.

Forgot about Dickerson.

And, yeah, Ruth would have to be at the top of the list.

 

[Armchair_QB]

There should also be some delineation between "at the time" and "over time"

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Dickerson is a big one...

The Bryant trade was huge, but not at the time... Same with Brett Favre... Same with Marshall Faulk...

 

[Mark2010]

See, that's where I'm coming from.....

It's one thing to trade a younger player with potential and watch him become a star wearing someone else's colors. It's quite different to trade someone who has ALREADY won MVP awards, scoring titles, championships. To send them packing in their prime, knowing you'll probably never have anyone like them again.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Babe Ruth was technically a sale, not a trade, because the Red Sox didn't get anybody back.

Rangers getting Mark Messier was a big deal, at least in New York and Edmonton.

 

[Batman]

The trade of Hershel Walker from the Cowboys to the Minnesota Vikings might be in the running for biggest trade (or, as our friend Wikipedia says, "The Great Train Robbery").

It wasn't just the trade, though. The Redskins got a similar haul from the Ricky Williams deal and didn't do anything with it. The Cowboys had a plan, drafted well, and restocked their entire franchise from that one deal.
I remember reading somewhere that, by the time all of the draft picks, subsequent trades for draft picks, and assorted trades stemming from the Walker deal were sorted out, there were about 150 players who had ties to it scattered throughout the league.

 

[heyabbott]

Kareem Abdul-Jabaar

 

[Mark2010]

What, exactly, did Walker accomplish either before or after the trade? Sure, he'd have a few plays here and there that would make you go "oooooh". But in the big picture, he wasn't the megastar that so many of us expected him to be coming out of college. I called him the Ralph Sampson of the NFL.

Walker wasn't, IMO, even on Eric Dickerson's level as a running back. He had one huge year in the USFL and rushed for 1,514 yards with a bad Dallas team in 1988. Made the playoffs twice with Philadelphia years later. Minnesota was desperate for a running game to become what it hoped would be a Super Bowl team and waaaaaaay overpaid for him.

 

[Football_Bat]

Gretzky, Kurri and Messier were essentially playing for the hockey equivalent of the St. Louis Browns or Kansas City A's.