What's the greatest upset in sports history?

By: LOREN NELSON - North County Times sports editor | Saturday, January 19, 2008 11:41 PM PST ∞

What's the biggest upset in sports history?
By: MARC FIGUEROA - North County Times

Douglas over Tysonn

Begin inspiring "Rocky" theme music ...

No offense to Joe Namath, the 1980 U.S. hockey team or the 1969 Miracle Mets, but James "Buster" Douglas' defeat of Mike Tyson ranks as the biggest upset in sports history. You'll never convince me otherwise, unless your name is Rocky Balboa.

You have to remember that this was "Iron" Mike at his peak. This was before the face tattoo, before the ear chomping, before prison, after he beat sweetheart Robin Givens but before he publicly stated that he wanted to fight women in the ring.

In 1990, Tyson was pound-for-pound the best fighter on earth. Of course, I don't know what "pound-for-pound" actually means, but since Jim Lampley and Larry Merchant can't string together two sentences without using the term at least once, I figure it's legitimate enough.

All I know is that Tyson was unbeatable back then. He was 37-0 going into the fight. He was such a favorite that only one Las Vegas casino would even hold odds on the fight. Can you imagine a casino turning down money? The Mirage reportedly was the only casino that took the bait - it installed

Tyson as a 42-to-1 favorite.

Coming into the fight, no one gave Douglas a chance - for good reason. Although Douglas had the physical attributes to be a contender, he was about as motivated as an elephant on a hot summer day.

Belly dancers had more fire in the gut than this guy. Remember, this was the boxer who ballooned to nearly 400 pounds after the fight and nearly died after slipping into a diabetic coma.

But when Douglas showed up to face Tyson in Tokyo, the fuse ignited. He dominated the fight almost from the start, using his 12-inch reach advantage to perfection. Tyson knocked down the underdog in the eighth round, but Douglas - in a scene out of "Rocky," or "Rocky II" for that matter - climbed to his feet just before the count of 10.

Then, in the 10th, history was made as Douglas pounded Tyson to the canvas.

What I'll remember most about the 1990s isn't my college graduation (sorry, Dad) or my wedding day (sorry, Honey).

It's that image of Tyson desperately putting his mouthpiece back in sideways. That, my friends, is a moment that changed the face of boxing forever.

Never mind that Douglas never did anything after that, unless you count being a guest referee for a Hulk Hogan-Randy Savage WWF match as a significant milestone.

Frankly, who cares? Buster Douglas pulled off what no one in the world thought he could.

He beat the unbeatable.

End inspiring "Rocky" music. Begin "San Diego Super Chargers" song ...

Contact staff writer Marc Figueroa at marcfig@aol.com. Comment at sports.nctimes.com.

Miracle on Ice
As a peewee hockey player growing up in northern Minnesota, my team often crossed the border into Canada for games.

The strange thing about those trips to Ontario or Manitoba, especially Manitoba, was that the kids on the other team weren't just a head taller or 50 pounds heavier or warp speeds faster.

No, the oddest thing to me was the thick mustaches and fully groomed beards I'd see behind so many of the facemasks.

Come on. I'm supposed to believe a 12-year-old can really look like Tom Selleck? There was always talk of checking birth certificates, but I don't think our coaches ever bothered.

Most times, we'd get our butts kicked by Grizzly Adams, Rollie Fingers & Co. But we had fun nonetheless.

At about this same time, there was a group of college kids playing in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Herb Brooks, a Minnesotan, had assembled a team stocked with guys who had grown up in small towns all around us. There was Neal Broten from Roseau, Dave Christian from Warroad, Mark Pavelich from Eveleth, Billy Baker from Grand Rapids ---- 12 players from Minnesota in all.

We were just kids then, but we knew the U.S. had little chance of doing much in those Olympics. The Swedes, Finns and Canadians always had strong teams. And then there were the Russians.

For years, the Russians had been dominating the world hockey scene. This was a group of grown men who had spent most of their lifetimes, every waking hour, training and playing together.

In a communist country fighting the Cold War, winning hockey games was their job. And they performed it exceedingly well.

I'll never forget the images of those Russians, leaning on their sticks in stunned silence, as they watched those northern Minnesota kids dive into one big dogpile after the greatest upset I'll see in my lifetime.

Brooks died in a car accident in 2003. But I'll never forget the players on the team and the reason Brooks choose them.

"I don't want the best guys," Brooks said when criticized for passing on several flashy, highly credentialed players. "I want the right guys."

He had them that day in Lake Placid, even if most were barely old enough to shave.

Contact sports editor Loren Nelson at (760) 740-3551 or lnelson@nctimes.com.

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Pre-Registration Comments[-]Go to Top

tony wrote on Jan 20, 2008 6:43 AM:Loren Nelson is absolutely right.

The Miracle on Ice is the greatest upset in sports, and the greates moment in sports in my lifetime.

ed wrote on Jan 22, 2008 1:40 PM:in recent history it has to be Greece winning the 2004 European championship in soccer

sabriye wrote on Jan 22, 2008 2:24 PM:i miss you mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Walt wrote on Jan 23, 2008 7:24 AM:We hated Herb Brooks whenever he brought the U of M hockey team to Grand Forks to play the Sioux (think Raiders vs Chargers at Qualcomm or Packers vs Bears at Lambeau). But, we loved what he and his band of over-achieving ruffians accomplished on "home ice" in 1980. Absolutely, this is arguably the greatest upset of all time--totally surprising and uplifting, just like in the movies but in "real life".

Harry wrote on Jan 26, 2008 9:51 AM: Is this US sports history or world sports history? Americans refer to the champions of the MLB, NFL, NHL, and NBA as 'World Champs' but teams from other countries aren't invited to the tournament. That is how insular and arrogant sport is in the US.

Chris wrote on Feb 3, 2008 7:33 PM:Teams from other countries may not be invited to the championship tournaments, but the best athletes from around the globe are involved. Im not saying North American athletes are the best on earth, but that the ABSOLUTE BEST athletes from every corner of the globe are members of the major leauge orginizations.
And as a side note I'd have to say that the Giants victory over the Patriots is one of the greatest upsets.

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