What is the GREATEST upset in the history of sports?

Estil

First, pick nominees from all the major sports you can, just like the Oscars/Grammys. Then choose one that's tops among all sports upsets and why.

MLB: 1906 White Sox defeat 116 win Cubs in World Series
NFL: 1968 New York Jets upsetting 18 point favorite Colts in Super Bowl III
NBA: 2007 Warriors become the only 8 seed to defeat 1 seed (Mavericks) in a best-of-seven series
NHL: 2006 Edmington Oilers (as 8 seed) defeat not only 1 seed Detroit Red Wings, but also make Stanley Cup Finals
NASCAR: Derrike Cope wins 1990 Daytona 500 after Dale Earnhardt lead for 3/4 of the race (but blew out tire with only a few laps left)
NCAA Football: 2007 Division I-AA Appalachian State defeats fifth ranked Michigan (at Michigan)
NCAA Basketball: 1985 Villanova (8th seed) beats defending champ Georgetown for NCAA Championship
Olympics: 1980 USA hockey team defeats USSR in semifinals, then goes on to win Gold
Boxing: 1990 Buster Douglas KO's Mike Tyson for heavyweight title
Horse racing: 1938 Seabiscuit defeats defending Triple Crown champ War Admiral

My pick for greatest upset in all of sports would have to go to the 1980 USA hockey team. Remember, at this time the United States' morale in general was pretty low and the USSR was THE powerhouse of the world as far as ice hockey was concerned. Add to that the fact that the US team was college kids and the USSR had the equivalent of the "Dream Team". Though what most don't remember is that as historical and well known as the upset over the Soviets was, the US still had to defeat Finland in the finals to secure the gold medal.

PSACollector

what would the odds have been on us v. russia in hockey

russia -4, -5 or -6 goals
us +1000

stanford beat usc; usc favored by 41 points

alpemomo

my picks - no research and 5 am, no coffee - here goes:

MLB 1990 Reds over A's world series
NFL 2007 Giants over Pats Superbowl
NCAAF 1983 Miami over Nebraska Orange Bowl
Boxing 1990 Douglas KOs Tyson

Blacklabelsociety

2007 Giants over pats in super bowl(pats were 18-0)

1990 douglas over tyson

2004 Red sox over yankees in acls(red sox trailed 3 games to 0)

1985 unseeded 17 year old Boris Becker shocks the world by winning Wimbledon

K

Instead of 07 Giants Over Pats how about 02 Pats over Rams?

I definitely like 04 Sox over Yanks. Although that is more of a comeback than an upset.

Estil

I was tempted to pick the 2007 Giants upset of the undefeated Patriots (and add to THAT having to beat Green Bay on the frozen tundra just to get there) but I wanted to be very careful about overloading the list with 2000s events.

Boopotts

NBA is wrong, the Nuggets as an 8 beat the Sonics some time in the mid '90's. For college football. the same year App St. beat Michigan Syracuse beat Louisville as I think a 35.5 pt. dog. App St. was 'only' a 28 pt. dog in the Michigan game. For NCAAB, I think Chaminade beating Virgina was (I think, not sure) a bigger upset than 'Nova over Georgetown.

stevek

I have to go with the 1980 Olympics hockey. The others were good examples, but in my opinion not even close to the Olympic example. On any given Sunday one pro team could beat another pro team, but the Olympic example was basically a Russian pro team, arguably one of the best teams in the world, and an amateur team beat them. And as mentioned, there was also the political and social climate to the game as well - pretty amazing stuff there for this event to occur...and it wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for Herb Brooks.

Connecticoin

<< <i> Though what most don't remember is that as historical and well known as the upset over the Soviets was, the US still had to defeat Finland in the finals to secure the gold medal. >>



I do remember the Finland game well -- they had to come from behind to win, and, and the time they were behind I thought "what a shame" if it ended like this. Had they not won that game, they would have been remembered as fondly as the 2007 Patriots.

Connecticoin

Although I was too young to remember (I was 4), I would think Jets-Colts trumps Giant-Pats for Super Bowl upsets.

Blacklabelsociety

<< <i>Although I was too young to remember (I was 4), I would think Jets-Colts trumps Giant-Pats for Super Bowl upsets. >>



I would vote for the 2007 super bowl the bigger upset because the colts were not undefeated and Brady was 3-0 in the big game.

TomGshotput

Nuggets over Sonics was best-of-five

1980 US Hockey team shouldn't come close to 1972 basketball. Even if the the Russians were allowed to win the medal in 1972 for reasons other than being the better team, the hockey team in 1980 did have a good number of future NHL players, a few with 10-year careers. The idea of pro-vs-amateur is somewhat of a myth

A lot of choices, like Chaminade or Stanford didn't happen on the biggest stages, so that limits them somewhat in my mind

Tyson was something like 40-to-one favorite against Douglas

Some might say Red Sox over Yankees was merely a comeback, not an upset. But on the morning of game four, Yankees must have been nearly equal to that Tyson line

Other choice for baseball would have to be the 69 Mets. Not only beating Baltimore in the World Series, but beating the entire NL after having never finished better than second-to-last in the league in their entire team history. Personal favorite are the 1991 Braves: three straight last place finishes, seven straight losing seasons, go on to win the NL and lose the best World Series in history

jdip9

<<<I would vote for the 2007 super bowl the bigger upset because the colts were not undefeated and Brady was 3-0 in the big game. >>>

From Wikipedia: "Although the upstart AFL had successfully forced the long-established NFL into a merger agreement three years earlier, the AFL was not generally respected as having the same caliber of talent as the NFL. Plus, the AFL representatives were easily defeated in the first two Super Bowls."

The Colts were 18 point favorites against the Jets, the Pats were only 12 point favorites against the Giants. The Jets winning that game brought respect to the AFL teams, and changed the league dynamic completely. My vote is for the Jets.

To answer the OP's question, though, this discussion begins and ends with 1980 USA Hockey. No other game is even in the conversation.

Brick

Some good choices. You can get a different perspective after the fact. Although the Jets win in SB III seemed like a huge upset at the time perhaps the American Conference was underrated as they were heavy underdogs the next year yet won again. I would vote for 1980 U.S. Hockey by a wide margin.

Blackborder

First thing I thought of when I read the title was the 1906 Cubs.

I'd go with the 1980 Hockey team as the greatest though.


In boxing, how about Braddock vs. Griffin?

edmundfitzgerald

<< <i>
1980 US Hockey team shouldn't come close to 1972 basketball. Even if the the Russians were allowed to win the medal in 1972 for reasons other than being the better team, the hockey team in 1980 did have a good number of future NHL players, a few with 10-year careers. The idea of pro-vs-amateur is somewhat of a myth
>>



This is totally untrue. That same Russian hockey team destroyed the best the NHL had to offer in a three game series that year before the Olympics. I remember them beating the NHL All-Stars 6-0 in the final game of the series. I was in total shock.

Many of the USA Olympic team got drafted only because of their success in the Olympics. The hero of the US team, Jim Craig,
was only drafted to sell tickets. His career with the Flames and Bruins was short. Mike Eurizione, another hero of that team,
had no NHL career. Some of the "big time" players of team USA, Ken Morrow, Mark Johnson, Mark Pavelich, did go on to
have nice NHL careers, but these guys NEVER made an NHL all-star team.

Therefore you had a team of hockey players from the USA who had like half the team have average NHL careers, and the
rest of the team didn't have a chance, play against a Russian team that dismantled the All-Stars from the NHL and
everyone else they played.

edmundfitzgerald

<< <i>

I'd go with the 1980 Hockey team as the greatest though.

>>



ESPN has a list of their biggest upsets.

#1. USA hockey 1980
#2. Jets-Colts 1969
#3. Villanova-Georgetown

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/topupsets/010525.html

markj111

Kentucky Derby-Upset beats Man o' War
Hitless Wonder White Sox beat Cubs is WS

TomGshotput

<< <i>This is totally untrue >>



Nothing you wrote disagrees with my first assessment. To me, a team of average NHL players mixed with college players beating a team of all-stars is still less of an upset than the US losing in basketball in 1972

Boopotts

<< <i>Nuggets over Sonics was best-of-five

1980 US Hockey team shouldn't come close to 1972 basketball. Even if the the Russians were allowed to win the medal in 1972 for reasons other than being the better team, the hockey team in 1980 did have a good number of future NHL players, a few with 10-year careers. The idea of pro-vs-amateur is somewhat of a myth

A lot of choices, like Chaminade or Stanford didn't happen on the biggest stages, so that limits them somewhat in my mind

Tyson was something like 40-to-one favorite against Douglas

Some might say Red Sox over Yankees was merely a comeback, not an upset. But on the morning of game four, Yankees must have been nearly equal to that Tyson line

Other choice for baseball would have to be the 69 Mets. Not only beating Baltimore in the World Series, but beating the entire NL after having never finished better than second-to-last in the league in their entire team history. Personal favorite are the 1991 Braves: three straight last place finishes, seven straight losing seasons, go on to win the NL and lose the best World Series in history >>



Right, my bad on that-- Nugs/Sonics was a best of five, which doesn't put it in the same category as Mavs/GS. George Mason making it to the final 4 has to rank right up there from a probabilistic standpoint, although that was more of a 'run' than a single upset.

Boopotts

<< <i>

<< <i>
1980 US Hockey team shouldn't come close to 1972 basketball. Even if the the Russians were allowed to win the medal in 1972 for reasons other than being the better team, the hockey team in 1980 did have a good number of future NHL players, a few with 10-year careers. The idea of pro-vs-amateur is somewhat of a myth
>>



This is totally untrue. That same Russian hockey team destroyed the best the NHL had to offer in a three game series that year before the Olympics. I remember them beating the NHL All-Stars 6-0 in the final game of the series. I was in total shock.

Many of the USA Olympic team got drafted only because of their success in the Olympics. The hero of the US team, Jim Craig,
was only drafted to sell tickets. His career with the Flames and Bruins was short. Mike Eurizione, another hero of that team,
had no NHL career. Some of the "big time" players of team USA, Ken Morrow, Mark Johnson, Mark Pavelich, did go on to
have nice NHL careers, but these guys NEVER made an NHL all-star team.

Therefore you had a team of hockey players from the USA who had like half the team have average NHL careers, and the
rest of the team didn't have a chance, play against a Russian team that dismantled the All-Stars from the NHL and
everyone else they played. >>



Maybe, but was this any bigger than Netherlands beating the Dominican in baseball? My guess is that both events were likely about equally probable. The greatest upset is likely to come from either football or baskeball, since it's much more common to find prohibitive underdogs in these two sports.

stevek

David beating Goliath has to be up there.

larryallen73

'88 Dodgers over the Bash Brother A's was a pretty major upset.

Chaminade Classic (college hoops) produced several major upsets the 80's:
DII Chaminade beat Virginia
DII Chamindae beat Louisville
DII UC Riverside beat Iowa

All were top 20 at the top of the losses.

Actually Chaminade might not have even been DII. May have been NAIA. Not sure. HUGE upsets.

Blackborder

<< <i>David beating Goliath has to be up there. >>

Estil

<< <i>NBA is wrong, the Nuggets as an 8 beat the Sonics some time in the mid '90's. >>



No, I was right, the Warriors were the only 8 to beat a 1 in a best-of-seven series. When the Nuggets did it, the Conference Quarterfinals (or First Round if you prefer) were only a best-of-five.

gecko109

Matt Serra beating GSP.....it was a Vegas 10-1 (real money) when it happened. Doesnt get much bigger than that as far as upsets.

Boopotts

<< <i>

<< <i>NBA is wrong, the Nuggets as an 8 beat the Sonics some time in the mid '90's. >>



No, I was right, the Warriors were the only 8 to beat a 1 in a best-of-seven series. When the Nuggets did it, the Conference Quarterfinals (or First Round if you prefer) were only a best-of-five. >>



I noted my mistake on the previous page.

edmundfitzgerald

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>
1980 US Hockey team shouldn't come close to 1972 basketball. Even if the the Russians were allowed to win the medal in 1972 for reasons other than being the better team, the hockey team in 1980 did have a good number of future NHL players, a few with 10-year careers. The idea of pro-vs-amateur is somewhat of a myth
>>



This is totally untrue. That same Russian hockey team destroyed the best the NHL had to offer in a three game series that year before the Olympics. I remember them beating the NHL All-Stars 6-0 in the final game of the series. I was in total shock.

Many of the USA Olympic team got drafted only because of their success in the Olympics. The hero of the US team, Jim Craig,
was only drafted to sell tickets. His career with the Flames and Bruins was short. Mike Eurizione, another hero of that team,
had no NHL career. Some of the "big time" players of team USA, Ken Morrow, Mark Johnson, Mark Pavelich, did go on to
have nice NHL careers, but these guys NEVER made an NHL all-star team.

Therefore you had a team of hockey players from the USA who had like half the team have average NHL careers, and the
rest of the team didn't have a chance, play against a Russian team that dismantled the All-Stars from the NHL and
everyone else they played. >>



Maybe, but was this any bigger than Netherlands beating the Dominican in baseball? My guess is that both events were likely about equally probable. The greatest upset is likely to come from either football or baskeball, since it's much more common to find prohibitive underdogs in these two sports. >>



My only thought is........

1. The Russians were blowing past everyone they played up to that point. Even NHL All-Stars
2. The Dominican team had only played a small sample of games, and I don't think they were blowing
the cover off the ball so to speak. The Dominican team (although good players) were an unproven commodity,
(and it's also well known that South American ballplayers don't play well in April), they play better in warmer months.

Boom

NFL: 1968 New York Jets upsetting 18 point favorite Colts in Super Bowl III

definitely followed by David taking Goliath OUT!

PowderedH2O

Mike Tyson had the reputation as the baddest man in boxing history. Nobody could even stay more than a round or two with him. He was just unstoppable!!! Buster Douglas was a journeyman, at best. These other upsets were teams of some stature. We look back at the 1980 US Olympic Team and we can find more than half played in the NHL and a number of them were quite good. The Giants were the NFC Champions and had played the Patriots tough a month earlier. But Buster freaking Douglas? Really? Over Mike Tyson? We discount it now, because Tyson's legacy has been tarnished a lot. But, back when it happened, that was the upset of all-time.

K

How about the 3 upsets in a row that George Mason dished out a few years ago in the tourney?

Saberman

The North Valley Bears over the Houston Toros in the dome.

Nathaniel1960

IMHO, its easy: Boxing: 1990 Buster Douglas KO's Mike Tyson for heavyweight title

I watched that fight with my dad, and when we saw him scrambling to find his mouthpiece, we knew we'd seen the greatest upset in sports, bar none. Of course, the gravity of the moment was lost on the Tokyo crowd. Most sat there like the androids in Disney's The Black Hole.

PSASAP

<The North Valley Bears over the Houston Toros in the dome.>

Let them play!
Let them play!
Let them play!

ROCKDJRW

I still can't believe Hulk Hogan beat Andre The Giant at Wrestlemania 3.

Estil

<< <i>I still can't believe Hulk Hogan beat Andre The Giant at Wrestlemania 3. >>



Wrestling's fake; that doesn't count.

Estil

<< <i>How about the 3 upsets in a row that George Mason dished out a few years ago in the tourney? >>



I was going for single upsets, not a deep run through the NCAA tournament. If I did that, the best pick would've been when LSU made the Final Four as an 11 seed. But I didn't want to overrun my list with 2000s upsets (I already was 3/10; though all three are very well qualified). I've seen WAY too many "all-time" lists load up too much with events of the 2000s, which IMO makes the "all-time" list lose credibility.

Blackborder

So we all agree then, it was the 1980 hockey team.

coinkat

One would have to do this by SPORT and ERA-

I write this because as a College Football example, one can not compare the Illinois upset of Minnesota in 1916 to Michigan loosing to Appalachian State

Barndog

U.S. soccer team defeats England in 1950 World Cup

The United States' improbable 1-0 victory over England -- thanks to Joe Gaetjens' 37th-minute header -- has become known as the "Miracle on Grass." That may be an understatement, considering the English were considered the "Kings of Football" and the Americans had lost their previous seven international matches by the combined score of 45-2.

DeutscherGeist

1954 World Cup Soccer Germany3 Hungary2


Germany was a war torn country arising from the ashes. They had lost previously to Hungary in group competition by a wide margin. Hungary steam rolled through the tournament and was heavily favored.

The USA defeat of England in 1950 is very notable. The USA team was basically a patchwork team and England was a perennial favorite.

Since many have seen the 1980 Olympic hockey game, one leans towards that as the all-time greatest upset. Stuff that happened before we were born starts having less relevance. It really is tough to say what the greatest upset in Sports was because one has to have very good knowledge of history.

Estil

<< <i>One would have to do this by SPORT and ERA-

I write this because as a College Football example, one can not compare the Illinois upset of Minnesota in 1916 to Michigan loosing to Appalachian State >>



I researched it a bit on Wikipedia; I don't get how that would be much on an upset seeing as how Illinois did win a few conference titles prior to that upset, though it was indeed Minnesota's only loss. But seriously, when else did a Division I-AA school beat a top five ranked team at their stadium? Though I was very careful to not overload with 2000s upsets, in terms of college football, I dare anyone to find an upset that could come close to that 2007 Appalacian State over Michigan one.

coinkat

Illinois was a 49 point underdog

theczar

U.S. soccer team defeats England in 1950 World Cup

1954 World Cup Soccer Germany3 Hungary2

those are both great ones. the usa over england would be akin to an average high school football team beating florida in ncaa football.

the 1954 game was the final which made it much more special. of course in soccer the team that dominates a game can easily end up with the bad result.

in 1966 north korea beat italy 1-0 in a game in a world cup match in england.

usa/ussr hockey as mentioned and douglas/tyson as well were both big underdogs.

a few years back stanford won at usc and usc was -15000 on the moneyline (bet 150 to win 1). that was biggest in my recent knowledge. i think the trojans were laying 41 points that night.

tyson was -3500 on the moneyline. i recall a story in which some guy bet $70,000 to win $2,000. when he went to the betting window in las vegas he told the clerk there was no other place where he could get a 3% return on his money in a few minutes.

i think big upsets happen reguarly at the race track, ask any bridge jumper trying to win a show bet.

Estil

<< <i>Illinois was a 49 point underdog >>



That can't be right; I don't think point spreads even existed back in 1916. And again, if Illinois won all those conference titles the few years before, I don't think they were THAT much an underdog.

coinkat

Minnesota Golden Gopher Football History- the 1910's
Minnesota Golden Gopher Football- the 1910's ... But a huge 14-9 upset loss to Illinois, a 49-point underdog, ruined their parade. ... but it seemed to many that the Williams era had reached its high-water mark in 1916. ...

gopherfootball.tripod.com/1910s.html - Similar


I did not think there were point spreads either- I just don't want you to think I pulled the number or point spread out of the thin air...

DeutscherGeist

Some brought up UC Riverside (NCAA division II) beating up on Division I schools. I went to UCR, I recall their baseball team causing many upsets when they competed against the bigger schools. They are Division I now.

K

Seabiscuit over War Admiral by 4 lengths in the 1938 Pimlico Special.

Edit: I'm an idiot and didn't read the original list...

41GoudeyGuy

Rocky Balboa vs Apollo Creed
or
Rocky Balboa vs Clubber Lang
or
Rocky Balboa vs Ivan Drago

Three classic victories by the heavy underdog.

Seriously though,

Trumbull, CT beating Chinese Taipei in the 1989 Little League World Series was a big upset.

DeutscherGeist

2010 Winter Olympics Ice Hockey

USA beats Canada 5-3


If Canada loses against Germany, then we have to consider that one.

billwaltonsbeard

<< <i>Rocky Balboa vs Apollo Creed
or
Rocky Balboa vs Clubber Lang
or
Rocky Balboa vs Ivan Drago

Three classic victories by the heavy underdog. >>



Was Thunderlips, the Ultimate Male a favorite against Balboa?