August 9th will forever be the day Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to me. I was 12 and all I knew about hockey was that the Oilers won Stanley Cups and their owner Peter Pocklington was not a nice man (my dad was an employee of the Pocklington owned company named Gainers that went through a brutal strike in 1986).
With that in mind I asked the staff of Win Column Sports and site friend Alexandro Zatarain (owner of The AOSN) the simple question, what is your most shocking sports memory?
Kail Schofield:I was 8 yrs old at the time of the Gretzky trade and it completely blindsided me. It was the first time I realized that sports is a business. I thought the Oilers would never win again. Thank god for Mess (Mark Messier).
A close second for me, was Magic announcing he was retiring because of the HIV virus. I remember at the time thinking that it was only a matter of weeks or months before he would be dead. Clearly, he has proved as all wrong.
Spencer Love: Chris Pronger requesting a trade from the Edmonton Oilers. I was 13 years old, just coming down from the high of experiencing my first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals..all ripped away for the Decade of Darkness.
Liam Horrobin: Most shocking moment for me was when Sam Allardyce left Bolton 10 days before my birthday! That was in 2007 so I would’ve been 10 at time. He was the only manager I ever knew for that team and we were going through the best period in the clubs history. The club has never recovered since he left and is going through some tough times as we speak. Only time in sports I’ve shed a tear. Bolton are soccer team where I am from.
Ben Grieco: As a Jets fan, I didn’t expect to win the game anyways, as they were playing the always strong Patriots, but when your quarterback tries to be a runner (which Mark Sanchez wasn’t), and throws his face into his linesman’s butt, it’s just pathetic. What’s even better, they had to retire the play from ESPN’s “worst of the worst” because nothing could knock it off.
Joshua Berube: As far as OMG, two moments, 2004 when the Sox traded “Nomah” to the Cubs, I was in disbelief. How could they trade my favorite player and their prodigal son. I was sure the Cubs would break the curse before the Sox.
And in 2011 when the Celtics traded Kendrick Perkins at trade deadline. I mean this guy was part of two final teams and possibly could have gone back that year. Completely caught off guard!
Alexandro Zatarain: There’s two. June 16th,2017, Tony Gwynn’s passing and January 12th,2017 the Chargers announcing their move to LA.
Honourable Mentions:
One cannot use the word shocking without bringing up the Clint Malarchuk incident of March 22nd, 1989. DO NOT CLICK THE VIDEO if you are squeamish! An accidental skate to his Malarchuk’s throat would require 300 stitches to close could have died if not for the actions of trainer Jim Pizzutelli.
On a more chipper note, the above video is the weirdest way I’ve ever seen a team lose a game.
Speaking of losses, is there any loss more shocking than Iron Mike Tyson losing via KO to Buster Douglas?!
What is your most shocking sports memory?
