There's a saying in sports that the refs and officials do their jobs best you don't notice them throughout the contest. Nothing could be further from the truth, however, for these horrific blown calls that ended up changing the course of sports history forever.
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The Galarraga Game
On June 2 of 2010, Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was one out away from becoming just the 21st pitcher in MLB history to toss a perfect game, but when first base umpire Jim Joyce blew this call in baseball's pre-instant-replay world, Galarraga was denied his place in history.
But in an act of incredible sportsmanship we don't see enough, Joyce not only fully owned his mistake, but also was reduced to tears the following afternoon as he prepared to call balls and strikes behind home plate. Thankfully Galarraga was there to show forgiveness and support.
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Colorado Uses 5 Downs to Top Missouri
Think this massive officiating blunder didn't change the course of the 1990 college football season? The Buffaloes would end up sharing the national championship with Georgia Tech, which never would have happened in what should have been a loss to the Tigers.
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Denkinger Alters Game 6 of 1985 World Series
With the St. Louis Cardinals up 3 games to 2 in the 1985 World Series and holding on to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth, Kansas City Royals pinch-hitter Jorge Orta squibed a grounder to the right side. Reliever Todd Worrell raced to the bag, fielded the toss from first baseman Jack Clark, and tagged the bag just before Orta got to first and tumbled to the ground.
But first base umpire Don Denkinger incorrectly called the pinch-hitter safe, and the Royals would rally for two runs. They'd seal the deal the following night in game 7 with an 11-0 victory.
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Houston Robbery in Pittsburgh
Perhaps no team in NFL history is more overlooked than the Houston Oilers from the mid-'70s to the early '80s. Between 1975 and 1980, the Oilers won 10 or more games four times, including 11 in 1979 and 1980.
The problem for Houston was getting past the team of the '70s — the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Oilers were routed in the Steel City in the 1978 AFC Championship by the lopsided count of 34-5, but the AFC title rematch the following year at Three Rivers Stadium could have had a much different outcome were it not for one of the worst blown calls in NFL history.
With the Steelers clinging to a 17-10 lead late in the third quarter, Houston QB Dan Pastorini found Mike Renfro in the back of the end zone for the apparent game-tying score. The official missed the call, replay didn't exist, and the Oilers had to settle for a field goal.
The Steelers would score the game's final 10 points for the 27-13 win and go on to defeat the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 14.
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The Day the Fix Was In?
A novel could be written about game six of the Western Conference Finals between the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers back in 2002, but this video tells you all you need to know.
