The Greatest Teams Never: Sports Memories of Near Misses, Total Messes, and Not-so-Magical Moments

By Tony Del Prete

The Greatest Teams Never: Sports Memories of Near Misses, Total Messes, and Not-so-magical Moments chronicles the despair and disappointment of 40 remarkable teams that are remembered more for what they didn’t accomplish than their successes. The book revisits some of the most memorable and unbelievable events in the annals of sports, while at the same time recognizing those deemed "second-best" as unofficially great, even if history may never remember them that way.

Each chapter comprises teams with similar notoriety and highlights a particular nuance of their ultimate demise. There is the 2007 New England Patriots stunning Super Bowl loss to the NY Giants headlining You Can't Win em All. Among other oddities in sports, the chapter Better Lucky than Good examines the Immaculate Reception and divergent outcomes for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders after their historic playoff game. Once long-suffering Red Sox and Cubs fans will appreciate the chapter, Wait til Near. Even international teams such as Brazil futbol and the USSR hockey are showcased in C'est La Vie.

Using hundreds of quotes from players and coaches, statistics, and “distant” replay the book explores both the promise and improbable ending for some truly great teams. Hear in their own words how several Golden State Warriors blamed themselves for blowing the 2016 NBA finals; that Mickey Mantle and other Yankees greats wouldn’t admit the 1960 world champion Pirates were the better team; heartbroken college athletes who try to make sense of one-loss seasons; and more.

From Baby Boomers to Millennials, avid sports fans to casual observers, there is something for anyone who follows sports, played sports, or simply roots for their hometown team. Each chapter is filled with reasons to consider the “losers” as still great and ends with a Claim to Fame providing some level of vindication for players and their fans. After all, everyone deserves a second chance — even the greatest teams never.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gatekeeper Press
• Release date: Nov 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781662919381

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Probably one of the most difficult and hotly debated sports topics is the notion of which team is the greatest. Pub and water cooler banter has long run the gamut from simply counting wins and losses to debating sports eras and even how rule changes and expansion have tempered competition. Now, sports analysts use computer simulations and metrics to fuel social media in comparing teams from different eras and leagues for bragging rights and imaginary banners to hang from the rafters of our minds.

We debate whether the No Name Defense of the undefeated ‘72 Dolphins could withstand the offensive barrage of the near-perfect Patriots in 2007. Would the Mantle-Maris Yankees from 1961 be able to outslug Ruth, Gehrig and the ‘27 Bronx Bombers comprising Murderers’ Row? Was the Canadiens’ hockey dynasty more impressive than those of the Islanders or Oilers? Even within the same franchise – such as the Lakers and Celtics – there is often debate as to which team was the best. Yet, ask anyone what team won the Super Bowl or World Series a few years ago and you’ll get a contemplative stare through the bottom of a beer mug. It’s easy for the greatest teams to get lost in Super Bowl LVI, the 118th World Series, or 70-plus NHL and NBA titles.

However, ask about the greatest sports collapses and watch the pain rise up and ignite emotion and conversation. Vivid memories of teams that could have been great but just missed are seared into our brains, forever topics of debate with avid and casual sports fans alike. A fluke play; a bad call; a missed shot at an inopportune time have all resulted in some of the most memorable and iconic images in all of sports. It is almost inevitable then that evoking memories of those teams that shoulda/coulda/woulda won is often not as difficult as recalling the eventual winners themselves. And nothing unites us more than suffering. It is the ultimate act of solidarity that each of us can recognize in others and identify with on some basic human level.¹

Some teams, much to the chagrin of their fan base, have suffered multiple meltdowns in the course of their history, others just one ignominious collapse coalescing around a game or even a single play. More notorious than noteworthy, it’s an ironic fate for many outstanding teams that despite all the excuses, rationalizations, and over-analyzing, by choking in the final game, or not coming up big, or just being beaten by a better team on any given day, they are relegated to punch line status, fodder for jokes, or just plain pity.

Adding to the already painful memories, a plethora of sports talk shows and the evolution of social media have resulted in the possibility of unexpected reminders at any time of day or night, welcome or not. It seems there is no escaping the disgrace and stigma of losing no matter how much success a team may have had prior to or after that moment when the thrill of victory turned into the agony of defeat. We live in a winner-take-all society where losing is often laughed off, dismissed, and shamed,² and that’s a shame.

This book, however, aims to redeem many of the great teams that have suffered the fate of being labeled losers or second-best. Captured on these pages are stories from across the four major sports and around the world revisiting the good, the bad, and the ugly we were fortunate, or unfortunate as it were, to have experienced in the history of sports in an attempt to tape over some of the images burned into the DVR of our minds. So here’s to recalling and recognizing just how great those teams were, even if history and the pub or water cooler crowd doesn’t remember them that way.

CHAPTER 2

YOU WIN SOME, YOU LOSE SOME

For many organizations and teams winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing. The culture expects it; the fans expect it; and the media expects it; and for the most part, they aren’t disappointed. There may be dips in productivity and the level of success, but overall everyone believes the team will win regardless of the competition, unforeseen events, and even poor decision-making on the field and off.

Predictably, as enjoyable as a winning tradition is to the hometown fans, the rest of the sports world does not care for dominance and dynasties. There is often a collective schadenfreude that revels in the slightest chink in the armor of greatness. Those who wallow in decades of disappointment and heartbreak beckon the cosmos to knock the champions down a peg if they cannot experience the joy of winning themselves which, for many teams, is their status quo.

So, when teams synonymous with success of a given sport don’t reach the mountaintop there are sighs of relief and squeals of delight at the demise of the mighty. It’s as if all of those who cannot achieve greatness relish when the crown is knocked from the king’s head. Yet it is a hollow victory, for in our hearts we know that champions rebound, regroup and reclaim what is rightfully theirs – greatness.

DAMNED YANKEES

The New York Yankees – possibly the most successful and enduring franchise in baseball history – may well also be just as noteworthy for its excruciating collapses. Both at the hands of underdogs and hated rivals, the Bronx Bombers have dropped some incredible duds in their post-season annals.

Topping the list would have to be the 1960 improbable loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates who captured their first World Series in 35 years. Known for its lopsided wins and nail-biting defeats, almost everyone has seen or heard of Bill Mazeroski’s home run in the bottom of the ninth to steal the Series from New York. The result was said to have the great Mickey Mantle shaking his head after the game.

That’s the worst thing about it, Mantle said. We hit so much better, but we lost anyhow. This is a lot better club than they are. But we lost. That’s all that counts. I never thought we would. We had it won, too. We got nobody to blame but ourselves. Years from now, all they’ll know is that we lost.¹

What made this such a bad loss was the historic season the Yankees had delivered as a team and as individuals. They were 97-57 and won the American League by eight games over the Baltimore Orioles and 10 games over the Chicago White Sox who had lost the Series to the Dodgers the prior year. In fact, the Yankees had won the world title in 1958 and would win again with pretty much the same team in ’61 and ’62. Everybody says we hated the Yankees, said long-time White Sox manager, Al Lopez. We didn’t hate the Yankees. We just hated the way they beat us.²

Led by Mantle, Maris, Skowron and Elston Howard, they compiled a team batting average of .260 while clubbing 193 home runs. Mantle and Roger Maris led the way by hitting 40 and 39 homers respectively, and with Moose Skowron they totaled almost 300 RBI collectively. You kind of always took it for granted around the Yankees that there was going to be baseball in October, pitching ace Whitey Ford recounted.³ And they usually won. In fact, as a club they outscored the Pirates 55-27 in the Series and outhit them, 91-60 in seven games, but ultimately came up short in the end.

The Pirates, by comparison, hit only 120 home runs, but with a team batting average of .276 they were known for timely hitting. League MVP and batting champ Dick Groat hit at a .325 clip while Roberto Clemente hit .314 with 16 home runs and 94 RBI. Pitching and fielding helped propel the Pirates to a comfortable seven-game lead in winning the National League title.

On paper and in the batter’s box, statistically and to a man, the Yankees were the superior team. Their fine shortstop, Tony Kubek, a member of six World Series teams, was adamant about that. I know Pittsburgh won it, he said, but I’d think they’d be the first to say they (beat) the better team.⁴

Yankees’ pitching had been serviceable most of the season; however, there may have been a chink in the armor as the Bronx hurlers issued a high number of walks throughout the year. In addition, the starters gave up over 100 home runs, which was the Achilles heel of the team and came to haunt them in the Series. In contrast, anchored by Vernon Law’s 20-win season, and Bob Friend and Harvey Haddix combining for another 30 wins, the Pirates’ starters were good enough to turn things over to one of the greatest relief pitchers of all time, Elroy Face.

But games are played between the white lines and Pittsburgh used small ball and capitalized on some shoddy Yankees’ fielding to steal the first game, 6-4. Games 2 and 3, on the other hand, went just the way the experts predicted, with the Yankees cruising to a 16-3 laugher and 10-0 four-hitter from Ford. But Pittsburgh had won just two fewer games than New York during the season and Law, winner of Game 1, came back to pitch a 3-2 gem in Game 4 to even the series.

Surprisingly, Pittsburgh won the next game in New York rather easily, 5-2 and would be returning home for the final two games of the series. The Pirates’ starting pitching was keeping the games close and Face was closing them out. The Yankees were obviously flustered prompting this response from Yogi Berra. We just got beat by the damnedest baseball team that me, you or anybody else ever played against. He added, Even if they beat us tomorrow, we’re the better club.⁵

His comments must have re-ignited the offense as New York pounded out 17 hits to complement Ford’s second shutout of the Series, a 12-0 trouncing similar to Game 3. The highs and lows of both teams made for both great drama and, at the same time, predictable outcomes. No matter; as with many best-of-seven playoffs, it would come down to one winner-take-all game.

Game 7 was a microcosm of the Series with the Pirates making key plays and the Yankees seemingly unable to catch a break. Starter Bob Turley and then relievers Bobby Shantz and Jim Coates – like most of the other New York hurlers in the series – couldn’t close the game out and Pittsburgh took advantage of every misstep. From Bill Virdon’s bad-hop single that hit shortstop Tony Kubek in the throat to replacement Hal Smith hitting a 3-run homer to take the lead in the 8th inning, the Pirates constantly had the widely acknowledged superior Yankees off balance. Even Mazeroski’s home run was atypical of the second basement known more for his Gold Glove than the long ball.

They had a fine ball club, Ford recalled. Gino Cimoli (the Pirates’ outfielder) summed up the whole Series when he said, ‘The Yankees set all the records and we won the Series.’ We did everything right except win the World Series. When the chips were down, they came through. They hung real tough every day, Ford recounted. You can’t beat that, and we didn’t.⁶

Not quite as unpredictable an outcome but just as dreadful to their fans, the Yankees were the victims of a similar walk-off loss, this time to the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. What made this loss so memorable is that it came about as the city was still recovering from the tragedy of 9/11 and winning the Series would certainly have been an antidote for the Big Apple’s pain.

Behind all-time greats Derek Jeter, Roger Clemens, Bernie Willams, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera the Yankees had won the three previous World Series and with the addition of Mike Mussina a fourth seemed likely. After all, the Diamondbacks were making only their second playoff run and only World Series appearance ever in the team’s brief four-year history. The Yankees’ Chili Davis, who retired just prior to the 2000 season, said it best. When you go to other ballparks they hang banners for the wild card or Eastern or Western Champions. Around here, they don’t hang anything unless it’s for being world champions.⁷

But Arizona wasn’t the typical expansion team. Owner Jerry Colangelo, who had success transforming the NBA Phoenix Suns from a fledgling organization to a perennial playoff team, and GM Joe Garagiola Jr., whose father was a mainstay with the St. Louis Cardinals, developed a team built on pitching, speed and fielding which paid off in particular during the 2001 World Series. Just look at how the ninth inning of Game 7 unfolded.

Facing a 2-1 deficit and arguably one of the greatest relief pitchers on the mound in Mariano Rivera, the Diamondbacks mounted a comeback that all-told wouldn’t cover the distance of Mazeroski’s famous home run four decades prior. Mark Grace singled to lead off the inning. Then uncharacteristically, Rivera, after fielding Damian Miller’s bunt, threw wildly to Jeter covering second and both runners were safe. Pinch runner David Dellucci was thrown out at third after Mariano fielded Jay Bell’s ineffective bunt. It looked like the Yankees were back in control, but singles hitter, Tony Womack sliced a double down the line, tying the game at two.

The Yankees’ faithful were nervous but thought Rivera, who had a career .70 ERA in the playoffs, would surely save the day. However, Rivera hit Craig Counsell with an 0-1 pitch, loading the bases for Luis Gonzalez, the heart of the Diamondbacks and who clubbed 57 home runs during the season. With Arizona’s most productive hitter at the plate and only one out, Yankee manager Joe Torre had no choice but to bring the infield in. It was a classic match-up, but not one Rivera would win on this day. Gonzalez fought off a 2-2 cutter and blooped a single over Jeter’s head scoring Jay Bell and ending the Yankees’ run of greatness.

The Series itself was paradoxical, with Arizona outscoring, outhitting, and outpitching the star-laden Yankees. Every game was won by the home team and the powerhouse Yankees could muster only three one-run victories, two in extra innings. One could argue that the combination of Arizona pitchers Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, both recognized as Series MVPs, were the difference, but had it not been for the late-game heroics the better team on paper would not have won. For the Yankees purists it was probably tough for them to swallow, Torre said. But it was probably the most exciting World Series.⁸

Lastly, and possibly the most ignominious loss of all, occurred when the hated Boston Red Sox blind-sided the Yankees in an historic comeback unparalleled in the sport. In the 2004 American League Championship Series, the Bosox made history becoming the first team to win a best-of-seven series after trailing three games to none.

Game 7 was the moment that changed the lives of the Yankees and their fans forever. With the Red Sox already leading 2-0, the bases were loaded in the second inning and manager Joe Torre called upon Javier Vazquez to face Johnny Damon. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Damon hammered a drive into the right-field seats for a grand slam. The rout was on, and the game was all, but over. The Red Sox won 10–3 and four games later Boston finally ended the Curse of the Bambino by capturing their first World Series championship in 86 years.

Claim to fame: They’re the Yankees, winners of 27 World Series, more than doubling the next highest team the St. Louis Cardinals with 13. The core of the 1960 team – Mantle, Ford, Berra, Howard and Skowron – won five titles in the ‘50s and two more after losing to Pittsburgh in 1960. The loss in 2001 to Arizona was their fifth World Series appearance in six years and the only one they didn’t win. Even Ernest Hemingway paid homage in his prize-winning novel, The Old Man and Sea, when Santiago says to his faithful boy helper, Manolin, But man is not made for defeat. Have faith in the Yankees, my son.⁹

RED WINGS CLIPPED

Sometimes great franchises find themselves in an unfamiliar position: Failing to win when they should. That was the case with the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings who set an NHL record by winning 62 of 82 games and finishing with 27 more points than the second-place team in the Western Conference. Their win total is an NHL record for most in a season and 131 points is second only to the 1977 Montreal Canadiens. They were the heavy favorites to win it all.

But when a game is played on ice it can be tough sledding once the playoffs start. Perhaps the Red Wings, led by team captain and Hall of Famer, Steve Yzerman, put too much into winning during the season. The scoring in the playoffs, as it is wont to do, came less frequently and with a bullseye on their back made for much closer games than they had seen all year long. Scotty (Bowman) did a heck of a job molding a talented group into a really good team, Yzerman recalled. And I think a pretty complete hockey team as well.¹⁰

After a slow start in the quarter finals, Slava Fetisov, Yzerman, and defenseman, Paul Coffey tallied goals in multiple games to finish off the Winnipeg Jets in six games. The roster was loaded with skilled players and an influx of international stars such as Sergei Fedorov (39 goals, 68 assists), Vyacheslav Kozlov (36 goals), and Igor Larianov (21 goals, 50 assists). In addition, grinders like Keith Primeau and Dino Ciccarelli contributed with 49 goals between them. They would need all that firepower and more in the next round against St. Louis.

The teams were a contrast in styles as