In 1920, the Boston Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 ($2 million today). 24-year-old Babe Ruth had already won three World Series with Red Sox. With the New York Yankees, he went on to lead major league baseball in home runs ten times over the next 15 years, including the record-breaking year of 1927 when he hit 60 home runs. The Yankees won four World Series with Ruth. In the meantime, the Red Sox, suffering what became known as “the curse of the Bambino” didn’t win another World Series for 86 years. •Swimmer Ryan Lochte was one of the world’s finest athletes, racking up world records, and bringing home 6 Olympic gold medals. But he ran into trouble during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. Lochte and a few teammates took off one evening to blow off some steam. They got rowdy at a gas station convenience store, causing trouble and damaging goods. When they returned to the Olympic Village, they covered their tracks by claiming they had been jumped and robbed at gunpoint, a story that made headlines. The truth came out only when guards who had dealt with them at the convenience store told their side of the story. Lochte lost his sponsorships, was suspended, and never again qualified for the Olympics. •U.S. snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis was the favorite to win gold in the 2006 Olympics women’s snowboardcross race in Turin, Italy. She was clearly in the lead as she approached the finish line. On the final jump, out of sheer joy, she grabbed her snowboard in mid-air, a standard snowboard move, just to add a little flourish to her impending win. Unfortunately, however, she lost her balance in a gust of wind, falling just short of the finish line. A Swiss snowboarder rushed past her to win, and Jacobellis had to settle for the silver medal.
It was a snowy, cold game on Thanksgiving when the Miami Dolphins were up against the Dallas Cowboys. Leon Lett, a defensive tackle for Dallas, had helped them to three different Super Bowl wins in the 1990s. But on a rare snowy Thanksgiving Day in Dallas, Lett blundered. Dallas was leading 14-13 with just 15 seconds on the clock. Miami attempted a game-winning field goal, but Dallas blocked the kick; the ball came to rest on Miami’s one-yard line.
The rules state that a blocked ball belongs to the team that blocked it, so all Dallas needed to do was to let the ball rest on the ground for 15 seconds till the clock ran out and victory would be theirs. Then Leon Lett came running up through the snow in an attempt to recover a ball that absolutely did not need to be recovered. He slipped in the snow, but his foot kicked the ball, meaning the ball was now in play once again. Miami grabbed the opportunity for possession of the ball. They won the game with an easy field goal from the one-yard line. Lett later called it one of the worst moments in his career.
Jim Marshall has long been recognized as the Minnesota Vikings’ best defensive end. Yet he made an error that has gone down in the annals of NFL history. The Minnesota Vikings were playing the San Francisco 49ers on October 25, 1964. Marshall recovered the ball after a fumble. He got up with the ball securely tucked under his arm and ran an incredible 66 yards – in the wrong direction, as an incredulous announcer gave a play-by-play. He gave a victory leap in the end zone and only realized his error when a 49er ran up to him, gave him a pat, and said, “Thank you!” Referees awarded two points to the 49ers for the effort. Although the Vikings won the game, Marshall never lived it down.
