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ArmchairQB.com’s Top 10
Most Memorable TV Sports Moments

This is our attempt to try to correct some of the flaws in TV Guide’s list. Some items on this list also appears on our Top 20 list. Some don’t. Our selections of events from before we were sportsviewers are based on our perceptions of their significance in sports television history.

Let us know what you think

10. 1972 AFC Playoffs - Immaculate Reception - Fourth and 10, 22 seconds left and 60 yards away from a touchdown. Who knew that one of the most famous and replayed plays in television sports history would occur then? Obviously, Steelers Owner Art Rooney didn’t, because he left his box to head to the locker room. He missed seeing Franco Harris grab a loose ball out of the air and take it in for the game-winning touchdown. Despite all the replays, it remains impossible to determine if the play was legal. In 1972, an offensive player could not catch the ball if another offensive player touched it first. Did Steeler running back John “Frenchy” Fuqua touch the ball first? Or was it Raider linebacker Jack Tatum? The debate only adds to the play’s legend.

9. 1977 World Series Game 6 - N.Y. Yankees vs. L.A. Dodgers - With a keen sense of drama, Reggie Jackson hits three straight home runs on three straight pitches off three different pitchers (Can you name the three in order?). Mr. October’s home run streak actually started in Game 5, when he hit one in the eighth inning. Four official at-bats; four home runs and one world championship. No wonder they named a candy bar after him. (By the way, the answer is Burt Hooten, Elias Sosa and Charlie Hough)

8. 1973 Belmont Stakes - Secretariat - Yet, another event not in TV Guide’s list. Secretariat dominated horse racing in 1973 like Dom DeLuise dominates a buffet table. Every year, television replays Secretariat’s awesome stretch run at the Belmont Stakes, which he won by 31 lengths. His performace that day has been called the greatest performance ever by a horse, but it actually may be the greatest performance ever by any animal.

7. Game 6 1986 World Series - Boston Red Sox vs N.Y. Mets - Despite some dubious managing by John McNamara, a key wild pitch by Bob Stanley and another whole game left to play, Red Sox fans still blame Bill Buckner for losing the World Series. It seems quite unfortunate that Buckner is remembered more for this fielding blunder than for his 2,715 career hits and lifetime .289 batting average. But then again, isn’t that like saying that it’s a shame that Bill Clinton is known more for his love affairs than his foreign affairs?

6. 1979 NCAA Finals - Bird vs Magic - We didn’t put the teams at the top because this game is better known for its two main participants. The game, one of the most-watched college basketball games ever, began a rivalry that continued in the NBA throughout the ‘80s. Earvin “Magic” Johnson and his Michigan State teammates won that game, but at least Larry Bird and his Indiana St. teammates can say they never hosted a dreadful late-night talk show. One could argue that the rise in popularity in the NCAA tournament and in the NBA during the 1980s was due to these two men.

5. Michael Jordan - The greatest athlete of the past 20 years gets a spot by himself because, really, we could have filled up half the list with Jordan’s memorable moments, ranging from his jumper to beat Georgetown in the 1982 NCAA Finals (Randy’s pick) to his jumper to beat Utah in the 1998 NBA Finals (George’s pick). Instead, we took the easy way out and just gave him a spot unto himself, leaving you to choose the moment. Hey, it’s our list, we can do what we want with it.

4. Game 6 1975 World Series - Cincinnati Reds vs. Boston Red Sox - We know this was No. 1 on TV Guide’s list, but we don’t agree. Yes, it was dramatic. Yes, it was a great moment. But the Sox lost the series. If Boston had won game seven, then maybe we would see this as more significant. As for the famous shot of Fisk waving the ball fair, the oft-told story goes that the cameraman in the Green Monster was distracted by a rodent in the legendary scoreboard and lost track of the ball, so he kept the camera on Fisk. More proof that it is often better to be lucky than good.

3. 1958 NFL Championship Game - Baltimore Colts vs. N.Y. Giants - Another event that didn’t find itself on TV Guide’s list. This nationally televised overtime thriller, capped by Alan Ameche’s one-yard run eight minutes and 15 seconds into overtime, started the NFL’s rise to its present spot as the most-watched sport on television. Its significance to the evolution of football cannot be overstated.

2. Super Bowl III - Baltimore Colts vs. N.Y. Jets - TV Guide’s biggest omission. If the 1958 NFL Championship sparked the boost in pro football’s popularity, Super Bowl III blasted the sport into television’s stratosphere. Joe Namath’s predicted upset over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts has helped to make the Super Bowl one of the most-watched television programs each year. Again, its influence cannot be overstated.

1. 1980 Winter Olympics - Men’s Hockey - We don’t understand how TV Guide rated this only the 23rd greatest moment in TV sports. The U.S. hockey team not only defeated the hated Russians but made millions of Americans feel patriotic again at a time when inflation problems and the Iran hostage crisis dominated the headlines. Moreover, who has forgotten Al Michaels immortal words as the game’s final seconds ticked off, “Do you believe in miracles?” Obviously, TV Guide has forgotten.

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