Top 5 Biggest Upsets In Sports History
Of course, who doesn’t root for the underdog unless he’s playing for your favorite team. America loves to grieve, and that’s why so many grief books and movies are written and made into legend, documenting the amazing bravery of being sad. Take some time and relive some of these magical moments if you haven’t tuned in to your favorite.
1. Jack Fleck defeated Ben Hogan in the 1955 US Open
From humble beginnings came the man who would pull off the biggest upset in golf history. Jack Fleck was born in Iowa, the son of destitute farmers who were about to lose their land. Before joining the Navy and serving in World War II, he was a caddy, dentist and assistant golf professional. Shortly after the war, Fleck decided to join the PGA Tour full time. His first victory would come in 1955, when he beat the legendary Ben Hogan in a three-hole playoff to win the US Open. It would be just one of three PGA Tour events Fleck would win during his golf career.
2. Nuggets stunned Sonics (1994 NBA Playoffs)
When the Denver Nuggets lost the first two games of their NBA Playoff series in the first round of 1994 to the Seattle Supersonics, it looked like they would be easily swept aside like so many #8 seeds before them. After all, they had lost their first two games by an average of 17 points. Again, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Dikembe Mutombo and company refused to surrender. They won Game 3 110-93, Game 4 94-85 and Game 5 98-94 to become the first No. 8 seed in NBA history to defeat a No. 1 seed in a playoff series. Some would argue that the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game upset against the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in 2007 was a bigger upset, but since the Warriors made an immediate impact and didn’t need to come back, we think you should. go with the pioneers.
3. Rulon Gardner defeated Alexander Kareli (2000 Olympics)
Entering the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Alexander Karelin of Russia helped win the gold medal in men’s super heavyweight wrestling. After all, he won gold medals in 1988, 1992 and 1996. He had never lost an international match and in fact had not conceded a single point in the last half decade. Then came All-American Rulon Gardner of Wyoming, whose biggest claim to fame was a junior college national title and a 4th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. The two met in the finals and the impossible happened. Gardner stunned the world with a 1-0 victory over the man most pundits declared the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of all time. As surprising as Larry Owings’ upset of Dan Gable was during the 1970 NCAA tournament, Garner’s victory over Carell was arguably even greater given not only the scale of the feat, but the stage on which it was accomplished.
4. Super Bowl III
The third AFL-NFL Championship Game (and the first to officially use the moniker Super Bowl) is arguably the one that guaranteed victory for Joe Namath’s New York Jets. Some may argue that the game and the guarantee could be overhyped, but it’s important to remember that the first two interleague championship races were blowouts in favor of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers. The fledgling AFL was in trouble, as was the game itself. The Jets came into the game down by 18 points to the Baltimore Colts, so when they followed through on Namath’s promise and won the game 16-7, it was not only a huge upset, but a very important win for the AFL. ensure the final merger of the two leagues. Oh, and it should be noted that for all the hoopla surrounding the Giants’ win over the then-undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, they were actually only 12 points into the game.
5. N.C. State won the 1983 NCAA Championship
College basketball is a tough sport to pick just one historic upset. Are you going with Villanova beating Georgetown in the 1985 NCAA finals? Or Duke beating UNLV in 1991? Or even Division II Chaminade’s 1982 regular season upset over Ralph Sampson and the Virginia Cavaliers? While all of these games are worthy candidates, in the end we have to go with North Carolina State’s surprising victory in the 1983 NCAA Championship. The Wolfpack’s win over the Houston Cougars (and future NBA stars Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler) may not have been the greatest mathematical upset of all time, but it left fans with plenty of indelible images, including one of coach Jim Valvano frantically running down the court. last call, desperately looking for someone to hug and share an emotional moment with.
