Where Are They Now? The Biggest Goats in Sports History
Not every athlete is remembered for something good; these are the biggest goats in sports history.
Image via Complex Original
Today Craig Ehlo will be celebrating his 53rd birthday, likely gathering with friends and family to reflect on a life full of accomplishments. The former Cleveland Cavalier enjoyed a strong basketball career, playing professionally for four different NBA teams from 1983 through 1997. It’s certainly a level of basketball that few could ever hope to attain, and while his career numbers aren’t all that inspiring, the fact that he was able to make it to the league and have a long career at all is a remarkable accomplishment.
And yet, the most enduring moment of his career will be “The Shot” in the 1989 playoffs, when Michael Jordan rose above him and buried the now iconic game-winning jumper that signaled the true arrival of the Chicago Bulls. Ehlo flailing his arms in disbelief is perhaps the most enduring image of his entire career, and unfortunately for him has outlasted every other aspect of his basketball legacy.
In terms of being a “goat,” though, Ehlo got off pretty easily. After the 1989 debacle, he played another four years in Cleveland. People didn’t blame solely him for the Cavs’ loss, and life pretty much went on. Others, however, weren't so lucky. They became pariahs, in some cases forced into borderline exodus after their game-changing mistakes. In honor of Ehlo, we ask the question Where Are They Now? The Biggest Goats in Sports History.
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Craig Ehlo
Team: Cleveland Cavaliers
Game: 1989 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Game 5
The birthday boy Craig Ehlo may be famous for his inability to prevent Michael Jordan from burying his game-winning shot, but things still turned out pretty well for the 6’ 8” shooting guard. He went on to have the best season of his career the following year averaging 13.6 points per game and shooting .419 from three point range. The durable Ehlo managed to play in either 81 or 82 games in four of the next five seasons, and he remained a solid rotation player throughout his NBA career.
Bill Buckner
Team: Boston Red Sox
Game: 1986 World Series, Game 6
It’s hard to get run out of town more profoundly than Bill Buckner did following his error in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. His error put the exclamation point on a complete collapse by the Red Sox, and after they dropped Game 7 the next day Buckner’s error became the focal point of locals’ anger. Books were written and threats were sent, and after playing 75 games for the Sox in 1987 Buckner was mercifully shipped out of town. He remained silent and far, far away until after the 2004 World Series, in which the fickle Red Sox nation collectively decided to stop being so mean to a player unjustly scapegoated.
Scott Norwood
Team: Buffalo Bills
Game: Super Bowl XXV
You don’t need to know much more than “Wide Right” to know about the legacy of Scott Norwood. A solid kicker really put in position to fail, Norwood’s missed 47 yard field goal in Super Bowl XXV handed the Giants the victory over the Buffalo Bills and forever cemented Norwood’s legacy as “the Wide Right Guy.” Norwood played for the Bills for just one more season, and upon being released by the team he returned to Virginia where he vanished for quite a long time before re-emerging as an insurance salesman and real estate agent.
Tony Romo
Team: Dallas Cowboys
Game: 2007 NFC Wild Card playoff
For someone who has made three Pro Bowls and has the best 4th quarter passer rating for any quarterback since 2006, Tony Romo is known more as a choker than anything else. He began this legacy in 2007, with his Cowboys needing only a chip shot 19 yard field goal to take the lead in a playoff game against the Seahawks. There was only 1:19 left on the clock, and the three points almost surely would have given Dallas a win. Unfortunately, Romo fumbled the snap, the Cowboys lost, and now these and other moments dog the quarterback whenever a game is close in the 4th quarter.
Nick Anderson
Team: Orlando Magic
Game: Game 1, 1995 NBA Finals
Despite the fact that it was only Game 1 of the NBA Finals, every single win was critical for the Magic against the favored Rockets. Protecting home court with just seconds to go in the game, Nick Anderson had four free throw attempts, and all he needed to do was make one. One! He missed all four, the Rockets won, and just two years later his career took a dramatic downward turn as the once-solid free throw shooter suddenly could not find the hoop. He went from a 70 percent shooter in 1994-95 down to 40 percent in 1996-97, and was never again the same player after his fateful misses.
Jean Van de Velde
Team: N/A
Game: 1999 British Open
Jean Van de Velde holds the title for the most epic meltdown in the history of golf. The Frenchman needed only a double-bogey on the 18th hole to win the 1999 British Open, in what would have been a tremendous upset. Instead, he responded by unleashing the most hellacious barrage of misplaced shots you’ll ever see on a professional golf course, punctuated by him removing his shoes and socks and wading into a shallow brook to try to hit his ball. He triple-bogeyed the hole, lost in the playoff, and has never been heard from again on tour.
Grady Little
Team: Boston Red Sox
Game: 2003 ALCS, Game 7
There were fewer people more relieved to see the Red Sox win the 2004 World Series than Grady Little. His decision to leave Pedro Martinez in the game against the Yankees despite the pitcher clearly tiring and having thrown over 100 pitches was enough for Red Sox fans (and the owners, as it turns out) to run the soft-spoken manager out of town pretty much right after Aaron Boone’s pennant-clinching home run had settled into the Yankee Stadium bleachers. Little managed the Dodgers for two years in 2006 and 2007 before being functionally fired, and he has not returned to pro baseball since.
Jackie Smith
Team: Dallas Cowboys
Game: Super Bowl XIII
Jackie Smith made a name for himself as a Hall of Fame tight end with the Cardinals. He played a part in revolutionizing the position, making five All-Pro teams and bringing the versatility to the position teams crave. He was merely playing out the string of his career when he joined the Cowboys in 1978, and he didn’t even catch a pass all regular season. With the Cowboys trailing by a touchdown in the third quarter of Super Bowl XIII and facing third down, Smith found himself wide open in the end zone, yet failed to catch Roger Staubach’s pass. Dallas would lose by four points, and Smith would retire before the next season. Tough way to go out.
Steve Bartman
Team: N/A
Game: 2003 NLCS, Game 6
There may be no better definition of a goat than Steve Bartman. The Chicago Cubs diehard (relatively) innocently grabbed a foul ball away from left fielder Moises Alou, giving the Marlins a chance to rally and eventually beat the Cubs and prolong fans’ agony. It was merely a small part of the collapse, but it became a national sensation, with Bartman gracing the cover of many prominent publications. He went into hiding shortly after the incident, and he has not been heard from ever since.
Earnest Byner
Team: Cleveland Browns
Game: 1987 AFC Championship Game
A career-defining play can sometimes be a good thing, but too often it seems to cut in the other direction. Just ask Earnest Byner. Despite two Pro Bowl nods and over 50 career rushing touchdowns, the running back’s career is remembered mostly for “The Fumble.” With his path to the endzone pretty much clear in the 1987 AFC Championship Game, Byner inexplicably fumbled the ball on the Broncos’ three yard line. The Browns lost the game and Byner took much of the heat, getting traded to the Redskins prior to the next season.
Chris Webber
Team: Michigan Wolverines
Game: 1993 NCAA Championship Game
Despite being one of the most versatile forwards in the history of the NBA, Chris Webber’s career is defined largely by his injuries and a moment that happened before he even set foot on an NBA court. Trailing by two points with 11 seconds to go in the NCAA title game, Webber brought the ball up the floor and was closed down in a halfcourt trap. Michigan did not have any timeouts left, but C-Webb called one anyway, and the subsequent technical foul essentially ended the game. Whether he truly didn’t know his team had timeouts or whether someone else told him to call one is still subject for debate, but it’s a moment that looms over the rest of his basketball career.
Andres Escobar
Team: Colombia
Game: 1994 World Cup Group Stage
The case of Andres Escobar and his own goal against the United States in the 1994 World Cup is the saddest, most extreme form of scapegoating imaginable. Just five days after Colombia was shockingly eliminated in the Group Stage, Escobar was gunned down outside a night club back in Medellin. The murder was carried out by a cartel that had lost a lot of money thanks to Colombia’s performance, and a grief-stricken nation saw 120,000 people attend the star defender’s funeral.
Eugene Robinson
Team: Atlanta Falcons
Game: Super Bowl XXXIII
Three-time Pro Bowler Eugene Robinson pulled off one of the most hilariously ironic 1-2 combos in history, winning a Christian organization’s Bart Starr Award for high moral character, and then that very same night being arrested for offering an undercover police officer $40 for oral sex. As if that weren’t enough, he started the Super Bowl the next day anyway, and blew a coverage on Rod Smith that allowed the Broncos to score an early 80 yard touchdown. Needless to say, Robinson did not play another game for the Atlanta Falcons after that, and he was never the same player.
Thurman Thomas
Team: Buffalo Bills
Game: Super Bowl XXVI
Thurman Thomas became a symbol for the Bills’ Super Bowl failure at the beginning of Super Bowl XXVI, somehow misplacing his helmet and missing the first two plays from scrimmage. Whether it affected his performance or not, only Thomas knows for sure, but we can tell you that he ran for just 13 yards on 10 carries during the rest of the game, so it couldn’t have helped. The Bills lost yet again, their third straight Super Bowl defeat.
Fred Merkle
Team: New York Giants
Game: Giants vs. Cubs
OK, we’ll get this out of the way now. This play is known as “Merkle’s Boner.” Yes, it is funny. No, it has nothing to do with a part of his anatomy. The pennant was hanging in the balance during a late September game in 1908 between the Giants and Cubs, and New York Giants first baseman Fred Merkle stood on first base after hitting a single in the ninth inning. However, he never touched second base on a walk-off hit, and was called out after fans had already stormed the field. They replayed the game two weeks later and the Giants lost, which gave the Cubs the pennant. Merkle nevertheless enjoyed a long career, retiring in 1926.
Fred Brown
Team: Georgetown Hoyas
Game: 1982 NCAA Championship Game
The 1982 NCAA Championship game is mostly remembered for Michael Jordan’s corner jumper that gave North Carolina the title, but it also must be noted that Georgetown’s Fred Brown greatly assisted the Tar Heels’ title win. After Jordan’s jumper put UNC up by one, Georgetown did not call timeout and went for the win. Brown mistook the Heels’ James Worthy for a teammate, though, and fired a pass straight to the wrong guy. Worthy was fouled with two seconds left, Carolina won the game, and Brown was no longer remembered for an otherwise-outstanding college career.
Mitch Williams
Team: Philadelphia Phillies
Game: 1993 World Series, Game 6
Mitch Williams had already received death threats from Phillies fans after blowing the save in Game 4 of the 1993 World Series, but had a chance to redeem himself in Game 6 after the Phillies had just completed a stunning five run rally to take a 6-5 lead heading into the ninth inning. It didn’t go well. Williams got an out but also put two guys on, and then Joe Carter blasted a walk-off home run to win the World Series. Needless to say, that was it for him in a Philadelphia uniform, although to his credit Williams never hid from his moment of “shame.”
Jim Joyce
Team: N/A
Game: Tigers vs. Indians
Being an umpire is usually a very tough job. Plays tend to be very close, and mistakes on many of these decisions can easily be forgiven. But nobody knew better than Jim Joyce that he horribly botched a call that cost the Tigers’ Armando Galarraga a perfect game in June of 2010. While the Indians’ Jason Donald was clearly out at first (even to the naked eye), Joyce’s safe call ended the perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning. The sincerity with which Joyce owned up to his mistake and Galarraga’s complete forgiveness after the fact really helped both parties move on, and Joyce has gone on to remain one of the most respected umpires in MLB.
Don Denkinger
Team: N/A
Game: 1985 World Series, Game 6
The 1985 World Series looked like it belonged to the Cardinals, who held a 3-2 series lead over the Royals and were on top 1-0 heading into the ninth inning. Royals’ leadoff hitter Jorge Orta hit a dribbler to first base and was clearly out, but umpire Don Denkinger ruled Orta safe. The Royals would rally to win the game, and with Denkinger behind the plate the Royals would take Game 7 and the World Series. His 30 year career has been forever overshadowed by this one moment, despite his otherwise exemplary record.
Steve Smith
Team: Edmonton Oilers
Game: 1986 Smythe Division Final, Game 7
Steve Smith of the Edmonton Oilers found himself right in the middle of the team’s fierce rivalry with the Calgary Flames, and with the score tied 2-2 in the third period of Game 7 of their playoff series he had a chance to become a legend. Well, he did, but in the worst way possible. Smith tried to clear the puck out of his own zone, only it ricocheted off the goalie and into his own net. The Oilers never recovered and lost the series. Don’t feel too badly, though; the team had won the Stanley Cup each of the previous two years, and would go on to win three of the next four.