The Craziest Moments In Detroit Sports History

Detroit sports has a long history of amazing plays and moments, some of which were truly unprecedented and have become defining moments in that history.

One of the defining elements of sports fandom is the fantastic. That’s true for Detroit sports as well. However, while walk-off home runs, buzzer-beaters and spectacular comebacks are special and might make Sports Center, ultimately they are to be expected. We watch sports in part because those things are part of the experience.

Sometimes, however, things happen that are just not normal. They break our understanding of the games we think we know and change the way we think and talk about sports. They are, in short, unprecedented. Sometimes they’re controversial, but controversy alone is not what sets them apart. Sometimes, it’s a bone-headed decision with unforeseen consequences, an unexpected bounce or a statistically near-impossible circumstance.

In any case, they weave themselves into the lore of sports history until they are more recognizable as legend than history. They aren’t as much about individual brilliance or superhuman achievement as much as they are about, “oh, wow, that just happened.”

There have been several of these moments in Detroit sports history: plays that have made us all wonder what just happened and how it happened, events that we never could have anticipated. These moments are crazy and iconic. They flip the script on what a sports miracle or tragedy looks like, and sometimes they themselves stop a potential miracle in its tracks.

A note about the selections

Given that there are so many options and criteria to choose from in the long history of Detroit sports, I had to narrow the field. This piece is about moments in Detroit sports history that are completely unprecedented and/or unexpected, so out-of-the-ordinary that no one would have or could have anticipated occurring.

Sometimes, however, things happen that are just not normal. They break our understanding of the games we think we know and change the way we think and talk about sports.

I opted not to include moments that were simply great plays in their own right, such as Steve Yzerman’s 1996 double-overtime winner or Tayshaun Prince’s block in the 2004 playoffs. Those plays are outstanding moments, but they were also simply great plays made at crucial times in the normal course of games and there will be another piece soon for such moments.

I also chose not to include moments that are remembered for being heartbreakers, such as Larry Bird’s steal against the Pistons in 1987, or controversial officiating decisions, such as the no-calls and clock controversies in the 1990 and 2001 Michigan-Michigan State football games or the picked-up pass interference flag in the Lions’ 2014 playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Although significant and memorable, close losses due to controversial decisions or events which are part of normal play are not unprecedented or particularly out-of-the-ordinary, the kind of events with which this piece concerns itself.

Finally, I also chose not to include events that were publicity stunts or had little to do with the gameplay itself, such as 3’7″ Eddie Gaedel’s plate appearance for the St. Louis Browns against the Tigers in 1951 or the Chicago White Sox’s odd Disco Demolition event that got out of hand and caused the White Sox to forfeit a game against the Tigers in 1979, although both of those events are certainly worth mentioning because of just how different they were.

So, all of that being said, listed in chronological order, here are some of the craziest moments in Detroit sports history.