Interesting Rarely Known Sports Facts/Tidbits Thread

[BruiserBrody]

The 1994 49ers have to be one of the most prolific free agency movers and shakers ever. Here's a list of some of the short term players added that off season:

Charles Mann
Richard Dent
Deion Sanders
Ed McCaffrey
Ricky Jackson
Ken Norton jr
Tim Harris

On top of that they drafted William Floyd, Bryant Young, LB Kevin Mitchell and Lee Woodall that year as well


That's a crazy influx of talent, even if some guys were long in the tooth

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Defended the 1972 Miami Dolphins Undefeated Season as being a team that deserves its praise as one of the best Super Bowl teams ever.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Of course! However, all 4 uses of "whom" in the article should be "who" instead. Whom is your editor ?

 

[HarleyQuinn]

The more things change, the more they stay the same. I kind of wish we knew the in-depth history of the NFL similarly in the way that we know MLB.

- John Alexander became the first outside linebacker in NFL history in a game with the Milwaukee Badgers against the Chicago Cardinals on 10/01/1922.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Fun look at Jimmy Johnson's manipulation of the 1989 (and 1990 NFL Drafts). And you though Belichick traded a lot...

1989
- Dallas sends C Steven Wisniewski (selected 2x01 - #29) & #140 to Oakland Raiders for #39 (FB Daryl Johnston), #68, and #119, picks.

1990
- Dallas gives up 1x01 to select QB Steve Walsh in 1989 Supplemental Draft.
- Dallas sends #47 and #68 to San Francisco 49ers for Terrence Flagler, Daniel Stubbs, #81, and #304. Dallas sends Darrin Nelson to San Diego Chargers for #116. Dallas sends RB Herschel Walker, #54, #116, #249, and 1991 #68 to Minnesota Vikings for 4 Players, #21, #47, #158, 1991 #11, 1991 #38, 1992 #13, 1992 #40, and 1992 #71. Dallas sends #21 and #81 to Pittsburgh Steelers for #17 (RB Emmitt Smith)
- Dallas sends Kevin Brooks and #82 to Denver Broncos for #80. Dallas sends #80, #120, and #166 to New England Patriots for #64, #143, and #197
- Dallas sends Steve Pueller to Kansas City Chiefs for #68 and 1991 #106 (Conditional Pick)
- Dallas sends Daryle Smith to Seattle Seahawks for #230. Dallas sends Zefross Moss to Indianapolis Colts for #259. Dallas sends #158, #197, #230, #259, and #304 to Los Angeles Raiders for Stan Smagala.
- Dallas sends Steve DeOssie to New York Giants for #163. Dallas sends #138, #143, and #163 to San Diego Chargers for 1991 #62.

 

[Richard]

LA Raiders


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BruiserBrody]

http://listverse.com/2015/06/26/10-sporting-events-plagued-by-human-rights-abuses/

Of course, the Cup of Nations does have something of a track record when it comes to letting monstrous dictatorships host. Take the 1982 tournament, which was held in Muammar Gadhafi’s Libya, already a something of a regional pariah for its military intervention in Chad. Ironically, Gadhafi hated football and had even closed the Libyan league down from 1979–1982. (In one version of the story, the dictator became insanely jealous after seeing the names of popular footballers written on a wall in Tripoli.) He agreed to host the 1982 Cup to further his diplomatic goals but still insisted on opening the tournament with the stirring words: “All you stupid spectators, have your stupid game.”

Sadly, not everyone in Gadhafi’s family felt the same way. His son Al-Saadi actually loved football so much he decided to become a professional player. He wasn’t talented enough, but you don’t need talent when you’re a rich maniac with your dad’s army to back you up. Soon Al-Saadi was the star striker in a Libyan league so heavily rigged in his favor that announcers were forbidden from saying the names of any other players. If a team tried to protest the obvious cheating, they would be forced to keep playing at gunpoint. Al-Saadi’s glittering career only took a nose-dive when he leveraged Libya’s oil money to engineer a hilariously corrupt move to the Italian top division, where he played for less than half an hour over three years, failed a drug test, and was voted the league’s worst player ever. He is currently on trial in Libya for murdering a rival footballer.

 

[alkeiper]

Griffith Stadium is kind of a forgotten pitchers' park. It was the home field for the Washington Senators from 1911-1960. It was around 400' to most of left/center field before the team finally built a shorter fence. Check out these numbers.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/share.cgi?id=VVZ3F

Essentially, before they moved the fences in the Senators had five seasons where they even hit 20+ home runs at home. Ossie Bluege hit 43 career home runs in an 18 year career with the Senators. Six of them came at home. George Case hit 21 home runs for the Senators, 2 at home. Even left handed batters hit twice as many home runs on the road. Notably Goose Goslin and Mickey Vernon.

More Griffith Field goodness.

In 1918, Babe Ruth hit three home runs in 30 plate appearances at Griffith Field. The rest of the league hit four home runs in 5,674 plate appearances there.

 

[BruiserBrody]

The first team to ever have 4 players achieve 1,000 yard seasons in one year was the 1995 Atlanta Falcons. Bert Emanuel, Terrance Mathis and Eric Metcalf went over 1,000 receiving and Ironhead Heyward surpassed the 1,000 mark rushing. Despite this, Jeff George still wanted out.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Just learned this as I do up coaching staffs for NFL teams but Bill Belichick coached alongside a defensive coach from the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers (Woody Widenhofer, who served under Belichick in Cleveland) and an offensive coach from the (early 1959-1964) 1960s Green Bay Packers (Bill Austin, who served as offensive line coach for the Giants from 1979-1982).

Nick Saban also coached under George Perles at Michigan State (DL Coach of the Steelers from 1972-1977 and DC in 1978) and alongside Widenhofer for the 1994 season (LB Coach of the Steelers from 1973-1978 and DC from 1979-1983).

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Thought I'd interrupt y'all's football wankfest for a minute... I know you all hate women's basketball, so I'll keep my facts about the NBA:

- Most people know Jerry West as "The Logo." Slightly fewer people know that he's the only player in NBA history to be named Finals MVP from the losing team (1969, vs. Boston Celtics).
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the only player to be named Finals MVP for two different teams (Milwaukee, Los Angeles).
- Jo-Jo White and Cedric Maxwell are the only two eligible players to have been named Finals MVP who are not in the Hall of Fame.
- As a player for the Boston Celtics, Bill Russell only lost two playoff series in his entire career: 1958 NBA Finals, vs. St. Louis (Atlanta) Hawks, and 1967 Eastern Division Finals, vs. Philadelphia 76ers. Both teams were coached by Alex Hannum.

So, since I posted this 4 years ago...

• LeBron James has joined Kareem as the only other player to be named Finals MVP for two different teams.
• I'm pretty sure that Andre Iguodala is going to join Jojo and Cornbread on that Finals-MVP-not-in-the-HOF list. The jury is still out on Chauncey; he was still playing when I posted that, so I wasn't prepared to speculate as to whether or not he'd finish strong enough to make the cut.

And a couple I left out:

• The seventies were the only decade in NBA history in which no team repeated as champion.
• The nineties were the only decade in NBA history in which neither the lakers nor the Celtics won the NBA championship.
• The Portland Trailblazers are the only team in NBA history to win a championship in their first-ever trip to the playoffs.
• The 1994-95 Houston Rockets are the only team in NBA history to win the NBA Championship without having home court in any round of the playoffs.
• Isaiah Thomas is the only player ever to be picked last in the NBA draft to be selected to the All-Star team (please note that I specifically said "last" and not "60th." The distinction is important because the NBA draft used to go 4 and 5 rounds).

And, one for the ladies, because I just can't help myself:

• The WNBA's Washington Mystics are the only active franchise that has never competed in the WNBA Finals.

 

[Richard]

The New York Giants are the only team to win a Super Bowl on all 4 networks (XXI on CBS, XXV on ABC, XLII on FOX, and XLVI on NBC). The Steelers and Broncos have played Super Bowls on all 4, but have only won on 3 (Pittsburgh is 0/1 on FOX while Denver lost their lone ABC game).

 

[alfdogg]

JoJo finally went into the Hall since Slim's OP as well, class of 2015

 

[Richard]

• The WNBA's Washington Mystics are the only active franchise that has never competed in the WNBA Finals.

The Houston Comets have the most titles of any WNBA team, and they haven't existed in 9 years. LOL

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Watching the Race For the Record video released by MLB via Youtube and was surprised at Vinny Castilla briefly leading in 1998 with 17 HRs at one point. Looked and he finished with just 46 HR in a career year with a .589 SLG and .951 OPS.

 

[Baby Shoes]

I didn't realize Castilla had the lead at that point but they had some hitters with Castilla, Walker and Bichette. Baby Todd Helton. Think there was someone else I am missing too, outside my love for Ellis Burks.

 

[alkeiper]

Tippy Martinez picked off three runners in one inning in a game in 1983. He never picked off three runners in any other full SEASON.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

The 2003 Boston Red Sox were pretty mediocre to bad on the road: .263/.328/.456 compared to an insane .316/.392/.527 line at Fenway Park.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Could Mike Piazza have finished with 500+ HRs if he had hit in better home ballparks?

1993 Dodger Stadium: .313 and 21 HR vs. .323 and 14 HR. Let's be conservative and give him 36 HR.
1994 Dodger Stadium: .275 and 13 HR vs. .358 and 11 HR. Monster on the road but let's give him 25 HR.
1995 Dodger Stadium: .302 and 9 HR vs. .384 and 23 HR. Let's be conservative and give him about 40 HR.
1996 Dodger Stadium: .320 and 14 HR vs. .353 and 22 HR. Let's be conservative and give him about 38 HR as he's starting to hit his prime.
1997 Dodger Stadium: .355 and 22 HR vs. .368 and 18 HR. We'll split the difference here and give him a very solid 40 HR.
1998 3 Ballparks: .305 and 15 HR vs. .346 and 17 HR. We'll split the difference here and give him a solid 32 HR.
1999 Shea Stadium: .282 and 18 HR vs. .323 and 22 HR. We'll split the difference here and give him a very solid 40 HR.
2000 Shea Stadium: .269 and 17 HR vs. .377 and 21 HR. Let's be conservative and give him about 36 HR.
2001 Shea Stadium: .304 and 16 HR vs. .297 and 20 HR. We'll split the difference here and give him about 37 HR.
2002 Shea Stadium: .275 and 12 HR vs. .285 and 21 HR. Still a power bat so we'll give him about 32 HR as he's starting to get older.
2003 Shea Stadium: .294 and 4 HR vs. .280 and 7 HR. Age is starting to matter but we'll split the difference and go 12 HR.
2004 Shea Stadium: .319 and 12 HR vs. .219 and 8 HR. Age is starting to matter but we'll split the difference and go 19 HR.
2005 Shea Stadium: .277 and 9 HR vs. .224 and 10 HR. Age is starting to matter but we'll split the difference and go 18 HR.
2006 PetCo Park: .223 and 10 HR vs. .332 and 12 HR. Age is starting to matter but we'll split the difference and go 21 HR.
2007 Oakland Coliseum: .227 and 2 HR vs. .315 and 6 HR. Final season but we'll split the difference and give him about 8 HR.

Real Life: 427 HR
Conservative: 435 HR
Extreme (e.g. best split doubled): 476 HR

Piazza not only would've been a feared power slugger but would've shattered the 'Best Hitting Catcher' belief, period especially as far as BA and Hits. In his peak, he was hitting well over .340 & .350 on the road, which is just crazy even acknowledging Coors Field at the time.

 

[alkeiper]

Piazza lost home runs due to his home parks, but it's difficult to avoid that he was still hitting in an extremely good era for hitters overall. Compare him to Johnny Bench who hit 389 home runs when almost every park was modeled like Shea, and it's a bit muddled. Baseball-Reference.com has a tool that lets you quickly create neutralized statistics. Put Piazza's career in 2000 Coors Field, he gets his 500+ home runs. But if you even put him in Arizona, he only makes it to 482.

Related query. Are there any players who missed milestones due to bad home parks? Simple methodology. Road splits, doubled, to find potential candidates.

David Ortiz: Hit 300 home runs on the road, 242 at home. Overall he hit much better at Fenway. But the park weighed down his home run totals, and it is possible he reaches 600 somewhere else.

Willie Stargell: 254 road home runs. Forbes Field was a tough home run park, a lot of Stargell's home runs became triples in the '60s. He needed 25 more home runs for 500.

Fred McGriff: 252 road HRs. He missed by seven home runs and had fairly even splits. Valid argument though that the 1994 work stoppage cost him 500.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Piazza lost home runs due to his home parks, but it's difficult to avoid that he was still hitting in an extremely good era for hitters overall. Compare him to Johnny Bench who hit 389 home runs when almost every park was modeled like Shea, and it's a bit muddled. Baseball-Reference.com has a tool that lets you quickly create neutralized statistics.

Yeah. Even for the era though, I think Piazza in more favorable home ballparks could've gotten 2,500+ hits and 440+ HR compared to barely eclipsing 2,100 hits and 425 HR. He was putting up .320+ batting averages while hitting over .350 or .360 on the road alone.

It's interesting to note that Bench, while hitting 195 HR at home and 194 on the road, actually hit better for his career at home including almost .010 points better in BA and .020 better in SLG.

I did a quick Neutral Park NL in 1996 and 1998 for Bench to see how he'd compare to Piazza.
Mike Piazza Real Life Stats: .308/.377/.545 with 1048 R, 2127 H, 344 2B, 8 3B, 427 HR, 1335 RBI, 759 BB, and 1113 K in 7745 PA.
Mike Piazza Pro-Rated #s: .308/.377/.545 with 1224 R, 2485 H, 402 2B, 9 3B, 499 HR, 1560 RBI, 887 BB, and 1300 K in 9048 PA.
Johnny Bench 1996 Neutral: .285/.361/.505 with 1265 R, 2264 H, 420 2B, 24 3B, 427 HR, 1592 RBI, 984 BB, and 1292 K in 9048 PA.
Johnny Bench 1998 Neutral: .282/.358/.500 with 1243 R, 2235 H, 417 2B, 24 3B, 421 HR, 1563 RBI, 974 BB, and 1292 K in 9007 PA.

 

[BruiserBrody]

From the Mr Irrelevant wiki:
"Irrelevant Week" gave so much publicity to "Mr. Irrelevant" that in 1979 the Los Angeles Rams, with the penultimate pick, intentionally passed to let the Pittsburgh Steelers, with the last pick, choose first. The Steelers also wanted the publicity and passed as well. The two teams continued to refuse to choose a player until NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle forced the teams to pick. The incident led to the "Salata Rule", which prohibits teams from passing to get the final pick

 

[BruiserBrody]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Dupree


Dupree left college after his sophomore year to play in the USFL. He suffered a serious injury before he even reached 21 and was out of football for several years. Walter Payton convinced him to get in shape for a comeback and Dupree dropped 100 pounds. He ended up making a brief run with the Rams and a few years later wrestled for the USWA(!)

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Ichiro Suzuki
- Has played 17 seasons in MLB, despite coming over at age 27 and losing 9 years playing in Japan.
- Is just 20 hits away from 3,100 if he plays the 2018 Season. Also has 509 SB and just 117 CS. He stole 56 SB vs. 14 CS from Age 39-42...
- Has 70 more hits than Wade Boggs, who "started late" at age 24 and played 18 years while hitting in a far superior home park in Fenway.

 

[alkeiper]

From Age 27 onwards, Ichiro is second all time in games, plate appearances and hits (all behind Pete Rose). Those stolen base totals nearly match Davey Lopes (557 SB, 114 CS), who was a basestealing wizard. Ichiro is also second in singles from 27 on, he needs 38 to pass Rose.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

I never realized how good John Valentin was in 1995, to the point he probably got robbed of an MVP by teammate Mo Vaughn.

#1: Scored over 100 Runs and had over 100 RBI.
#2: Got on base 91 times (81 BB + 10 HBP) while striking out just 67 times. Also hit into just 7 double plays.
#3: Put up a .298/.399/.533 line while hitting 27 HR and stealing 20 bases (with just 5 CS)
#4: Played Gold Glove level defense at SS that year (+23 RFielding and 3.0 dWAR at BRef)
#5: Mo Vaughn played 5 more games yet had 10 fewer runs, just 10 more hits, and 24 more RBI

 

[alkeiper]

I find it amazing that someone looked at the '95 Indians and determined their most valuable player (and of the whole league) was Jose Mesa.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Been reading some thoughts in which people have rated Mickey Mantle as better than Willie Mays, which is an interesting argument given Mays' prowess especially as a fielder & the old belief that Mays was superior to Mantle.

Player	Year Stretch	Games	PA	Hits	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	SB/CS	BB + HBP	K	Slash	OPS+	WAR	oWAR	dWAR
Willie Mays	1951-1968	2446	10386	2812	446	129	587	1763	1654	299/93 (76.3%)	1150	1147	.308/.384/.578	160	139.8	119.7	19.3
Mickey Mantle	1951-1968	2401	9907	2415	344	72	536	1676	1509	153/38 (82.7%)	1746	1710	.298/.421/.557	172	109.7	116.0	-10.1

Mantle grounded into far fewer double plays and got on base a lot more (although Mays was the greater power hitter). Mantle had the much higher OPS+ and was arguably the better runner (Mays was no slouch in this department) but Mays the far superior fielder.

An interesting look at players who overlapped during the same time period and how the growing evolution of statistics has muddied what were once believe to be obvious argument winners.

 

[alkeiper]

It's a classic hitter vs. all around player argument. DiMaggio vs. Williams, Cabrera vs. Trout, etc. WAR really hurts Mantle here as it pegs the difference between their defensive prowess at 29 wins. That's an awful lot of ground to make up on the bat, and Mays was nearly at Mantle's level there. But it really depends on how much faith you put in defensive statistics in defense in general.

Other little things. Mays missed a season and a half to military service. He averaged 16 more games played per season, while the Yankees lost 200-300 points of OPS when Mantle couldn't play.

 

[alkeiper]

Making a list of baseball's greatest bench players and I come across someone I never heard of before. Alfred "Chubby" Dean. Dean was signed by the Philadelphia Athletics out of Duke University as an amateur free agent in 1936. The A's at this point are terrible and don't really have a farm system, so Dean goes right into the majors. The incumbent first baseman Lou Finney splits time between first base and the outfield, so Dean starts about 70-75 games each of his first two seasons when Finney is in the outfield.

Dean's OPS+ is 78. Not good enough to play first base in the majors but he's just 22. He's relegated to the bench, pinch hits ten times and takes the mound six others. He becomes a pitcher full time. Thing is, he's not a particularly good pitcher. His career record is 30-46 with a 5.08 ERA. What I found interesting is he actually pinch hit more than he pitched. 234 career pinch hitting appearances compared to 162 pitching appearances. Kind of the Brooks Kieschnick of his era.