Amazing Stories from the World of Sports

Sports play a huge role in the lives of many. Whether we play, watch, or even bet on sports, there is no question that the games we love are part of our daily existence. Day after day, we consume sports news and think nothing of it. Then, every so often, something comes up that we just never forget.

That’s the topic today. Amazing stories from the world of sports. The stories are so rare that you simply have to remember them. Too many of these stories just haven’t been told. It starts with Michael Lorenzen’s no-hitter that just happened last week.

 

No, No, No, No Hitters

When Lorenzen pitched his no-hitter last week against Washington, it was significant for a number of reasons. It was the home debut for Lorenzen who had just been acquired via a trade with Detroit. Lorenzen threw 124 pitches in achieving his no-hitter, the most since Mike Fiers threw 131 in 2019.

But, the real story is this. Lorenzen played high school baseball at Union HS in Fullerton, California. In the history of Major League Baseball, there have been four pitchers from Union HS. Hall of Famer Walter Johnson, Steve Busby, and Mike Warren are the other three. What do all four pitchers have in common?

Aside from attending the same high school and pitching in the majors, all four have thrown at least one MLB no-hitter. Busby, who played for the Royals in the 1970s, threw two career no-nos. Miami (OH) is the Cradle of Coaches. Purdue is the Cradle of Quarterbacks. Union HS is the Cradle of No-Hit Pitchers.

 

Money for Two Teams

Even the most devout NBA fans have probably never heard of Eric Money. If one happens to be reading this, they will never forget him. Money played for the then-New Jersey Nets in November 1978. In a game against the Philadelphia 76ers, one of Money’s teammates was given his second technical foul in the second half of the game.

The player kicked a chair on his way off the court prompting an official to give him another technical foul. The problem with that is a player or coach can only be given two technical fouls, which results in ejection. Nets head coach Kevin Loughery argued the call and he was T’d up twice when he already had one technical foul in the game. 

After the game, the Nets convinced NBA commissioner Larry O’Brien to let them replay the second half of the game because of the technical foul issue. The replay didn’t happen until March. In between, Money was traded from the Nets to the Sixers. In one of the craziest box scores in NBA history, Money appears in it for both teams for the same game!

 

The Great One

Wayne Gretzky. The Great One. Gretzky is the NHL’s career leader in goals (894) and points (2,857). There may never be another player quite so talented. But how good was Gretzky? He was so good that if you were to take away every single goal that he ever scored, he would still be the NHL’s all-time leader in points. His 1,963 assists would put him 62 points ahead of second-place Jaromir Jagr (1,921). 

 

Enter Sandman

In the history of the world, it has been documented that 12 people have actually set foot on the moon. Neil Armstrong was the first in 1969 and 11 more followed. It’s not noted whether any of the 12 ever played baseball, but Mariano Rivera did.

Rivera never walked on the moon, but in 140 innings of playoff pitching the former Yankees star didn’t allow many earned runs. In fact, he allowed just 11 total. That means it was more likely for a human to walk on the moon than score a run in the postseason against Mariano Rivera. Crazy!

 

Lightning Strikes

Ray Caldwell was a pretty decent MLB pitcher decades ago. Caldwell was pitching for Cleveland in August 1919 against the then-Philadelphia Athletics. Caldwell and the Indians were up 2-1 with two outs in the top of the ninth inning when Mother Nature took over. 

A lightning bolt struck the field and Caldwell lay sprawled out on the pitcher’s mound. His teammates thought he might be dead. Moments later, he got up, brushed himself off, and then got the last out for the win. 

 

Black & Gold

The city of Pittsburgh has long been known as Steel City, the home of US Steel Corporation and an industrial giant for many years. The city is home to three major sports teams – the Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins. Pittsburgh has never had a professional basketball team.

You can bet if the city did have an NBA team one thing would be certain. The team colors would be black and gold. Pittsburgh is the only city in the US where all of the sports teams wear the same colors. 

 

The First DH

Danny Heep. Yes, his initials are DH. Heep was also the first MLB player to be a DH in the World Series. Like Money in the NBA, most baseball fans have probably never heard of Heep. He played 13 seasons in the big leagues and actually has two World Series rings – ‘86 with the Mets and ‘88 with the Dodgers.

However, what Heep might be most remembered for is this. While playing for the Mets in 1985, he was the 4,000th strikeout victim of Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.