The worst on-field cheap shot you've ever seen...
Doesn't have to be Michigan-related, or even football-related, as cheap shots happen in other sports as well. But what in your opinion was the most egregious in-play cheap shot you've ever seen, especially (but not exclusively) one that made you scream at the officials whether or not they needed their vision checked?
I'll be honest: I've seen baseball pitchers who have sent fastballs toward batters that looked pretty deliberate. One of those was a guy named Eric Gagne for the Milwaukee Brewers who threw head shots at the Cubs one game. The ump eventually ejected him, but it seemed as if he threw a LOT of them at players before anything was done (this was about 9-10 years ago). On a broader scale, I wonder whether or not more pitchers get away with this than are actually caught.
Anyway, have at it, gentlemen.
1978 Gator Bowl.
Woody Hayes hits Clemson player( for you younguns).
I was at the game where Albert Belle gave Fernando Vina the forearm shiver and actually could not believe my eyes.
can't believe nobody has posted the minnesota - ohio state hoops brawl from 1972. it's one of those rare old-timey cases where the cheap shot is completely and totally clear on the (grainy) footage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR_xiYLJ6c8
minnesota basketball was (and continues to be) some kinda chickenshit program. their warmup in 1975 is textbook wankery.
I thought about that one, but always remembered it more as a brawl instead of a cheap shot. After watching the video, yep, cheap shot. I believe Dave Winfield was part of that.
By far the shot taken on Jim McMahon by Charles Martin.
While playing intramural bball @WMU, I was undercut on a breakaway layup after stealing the ball at halfcourt. I landed on my head, knocking me out cold. I then had a seizure and stopped breathing. My jaw locked up and nobody knew what to do. I then came around and went into a rage, trying to kill my attacker. Multiple people restrained me and an ambulance was called. I spent the night in the hospital and to this day have no memory of what happened. All of the details were told to me by my teammates. The game was postponed as it was part of the all- campus tournament. We only had 5 players. The game was resumed a week later with me making my free throw. Probably the world's longest basket and one.
ok it wasn't really a cheapshot, but when Margaret cracked the field hockey ball into Tom's neck, he fell down like a sack of potatoes, moaning and groaning for a long while. Man, that was something.
Maybe not the worst, but up there. Women's college soccer, entire game's antics from one player, including a violent ponytail take down at the 37 second mark.
It's funny you put this up, because I've been told by women that women sports can be quite notorious for dirty play.
I don't know if any of our resident ladies here (do we have any?) can verify that, but it's been said more than once to me.
I remember that. It was the top line story of the New York Times website, which was weird since it happened right around the time that Florida player tried to gouge out an opponents eye, which is, in my opinion, far worse. It got no national news coverage
The Packers Charles Martin’s body slam of Jim McMahon in 86 sure sticks in my head...
I vaguely remember a BYU player punching a guy in the balls, several times, a few years ago.
No no, he was just checking for the magic underwear
Bar fight I saw on YouTube had the cheapest shot I’ve ever seen. It was in Tasmania
To my knowledge, Happy Gilmore is still the only person to take of their skate and try to stab somebody.
Honestly? The late hit that knocked out Wilton Speight out of the 2017 Purdue game. Wasn’t even flagged.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OOzOok9KnmM
Late, helmet to helmet from behind.
I have an idiot Purdue friend that still thinks that wasn't a dirty hit .
I hate that program after that game. Fuck 'em
Claude Lemuiex from behind into the dasher on Kris Draper, Western Conference Finals Game 6.
Keith Gary attempting to rip off Ken Anderson's head stands out to me.
The old “Let me help you up” knee to the nuts routine.
tyson biting hollyfield's ear...twice.
My vote goes to the Tropp/Conboy incident, which I also happened to see live. Pisses me off to this day that Comley let Tropp back on the team the next year and even gave him a letter. Got what he deserved in the end when he hurt himself before game 2 of the CCHA playoffs and watched us eliminate them from a possible at-large in the NCAA tournament. I was there for that game too; half-empty building with mostly Michigan fans treating it like a home game. Season being over, they did a stick salute even after losing while we chanted "season's over" at them. That was part of the run we made after a meh season to win the CCHA and make it into the NCAA tournament, only to get screwed out of a Frozen Four in Detroit. Also still pissed Tropp managed to get into the NHL for a hot second, he should never have played hockey ever again.
Since that has already been posted though, I will contribute my own entry. I was in Japan in May 2018 and saw this one in the news. Certainly an egregious cheap shot that would have made ESPN for a day or two in the US and perhaps a mention on nightly national news, but after I got through half the vacation and they were STILL talking about it, I decided to look up the backstory in English, since I couldn't understand the reports on TV. I though there had to me more to it than just the hit.
Turns out it really was just about that. The whole country completely lost it over this cheap shot like a national disaster. Paparazzi was swarming the coach, press conferences were held, etc. (and yet they always censored the players names even though that must have been pretty easy to look up)
What's more, I learned looking it up it had happened 10 days before we even got there, so this was headline news for over two weeks and they were still talking about it the last we had the news on a day or two before we left.
The hit that Speight took at the Purdue game was the dirtiest thing I’ve seen in person. I was sitting directly in line of the hit and it was absolutely clear that the lineman was trying to hurt Wilton. Mission accomplished, I guess
Stevan Micic in the NCAA tourney 2 years ago. He was whooping this asshole named Austin DeSanto (who now wrestles for Iowa, surprise surpise) and at the end of the match, DeSanto puts Micic in a kamura or key lock which is a submission grappling move to break someones arm. It's on youtube. DeSanto is a piece of shit.
Roy Keane ending a guy's career. It was payback for the guy getting in his face when Keane was injured the year before, but it was brutal.
Edit: Looking at the comments, it apparently wasn't a career ending injury and the guy actually came back to finish the game! I was fed a bunch of lies by my English "friends"! No surprise there.
Pretty much Vontaze Burficts entire career.
Ju Ju Smith Schuster became my hero when he destroyed Burfict with that crack back block and then stood over his crumpled body.
Suh had quite a few too
Don't have the video but when Carole baskins rubbed sardine oil on her husband before he went in the tiger cage that was pretty low.
Gus Frerotte headbutting a wall. The wall got the last laugh, however.
(file under: stupidest self-inflicted cheap shot)
That guy at the beginning of 'The Last Boy Scout.'
My high school sophomore year, a senior (defensive end and place kicker) got cut block by a freshman in practice (perfectly clean, legal block that mirrored what our opponents did on that play). The coaches got on the senior about getting off the block, and this psycho didn't like getting beat by a freshman.
A few plays later, the scout offense runs the same play and the same freshman cuts the same senior. The play gets outside him (again) and while pursuing the play, he sees the freshman on the ground and winds up and kicks him on the side of the head. I was seriously surprised he didn't get a neck or head injury.
The coaches saw it, immediately flip out, and he starts trying to say it was an accident. Another freshman and team comedian yells from the sideline "Accident? You practically stepped it off first!" Was pretty hilarious at the time, actually.
My good friend Lance Hohaia lives here in Michigan. He had a 15 year professional rugby career.
It ended with the punch shown here. Dirtiest thing I have ever seen in sports: