Unnecessary Ref-Ness: The Worst calls in sports history.
One call can make the difference between an unforgettable memory for sports fans and a nightmare
for the official who makes it.
And you thought your job was hard?
THE CALL WASN’T WHETHER SOMEONE slapped the football out of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s hand. Oakland Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson indeed caused the ball to tumble to the frozen field in snowy conditions and into an Oakland defender’s arms with less than two minutes remaining during the 2002 playoff game. The question was whether Brady had enough forward motion in his attempted throw to rule it an incomplete pass (which would give New England a breath of life, as the Pats were down by three). Or did the Raiders recover a fumble, thus wrapping up a spot in the conference championship game?
After more than two hours of football and dozens of bone-crushing collisions, it all came down to one call. An official’s part in a game doesn’t matter, you say? Tell that to the Patriots, who – had it not been for an instant replay in the above-mentioned game – may have never achieved the dynasty of winning three Super Bowls in four years.
Terrell Owens gets just as many cheers for amazing grabs as he does for his antics. A dunk from Shaquille O’Neal can produce praise or boos from the fans in the stands. But for better or for worse, an official’s part in a game – if it’s remembered at all – is often recalled for infamous reasons. Following are a few of the more memorable – and questionable – calls.
FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE
The United States Olympic basketball team didn’t just suffer its first-ever loss in Olympic competition in 1972. Players witnessed a nuclear meltdown in a Cold War showdown with the Soviet Union in that year’s gold medal game. With three seconds left, American player Doug Collins sank two free throws to put the U.S. ahead by one point. As the ball was put into play, time expired and the U.S. team celebrated another gold medal with a 50-49 win. Not so fast, boys. The officials ruled that the Soviet coach tried to call a timeout, and they rewarded it and placed three seconds back on the clock. Play resumed, again. No Soviet score, again. Game over ... again. But apparently the international officiating crew didn’t like the first two outcomes, ruling the timing equipment had “malfunctioned” (must have been made in Russia), and three seconds were put back on the clock. This time, the Soviets scored, the game was “officially” over and the U.S. went home without gold medals. In fact, they made the journey back stateside with no medals at all, as they refused to accept silver medals.
CHILD’S PLAY
The Yankees are notorious for having baseball’s highest payroll (they spent nearly a quarter-billion dollars on a team that choked against the Red Sox last season), but in 1996, it took a little help from the stands to put them ahead of the Baltimore Orioles in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. In what turned out to be a 5-4 contest, a fading Derek Jeter shot to right field was caught by then- 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier as Orioles outfielder Tony Tarasco tried to make a play on it. Instead of calling it fan interference, the ump ruled it a home run, which tied the game. The Yanks eventually won in the 11th inning off a Bernie Williams home run. We hear Maier is presently a college senior who gets his kicks on the weekends by fishing out stray golf balls from the water at nearby country clubs and throwing them back on the green.
GRAND SLAMMED
Superstar tennis sisters Venus and Serena Williams were headed for yet another Wimbledon Final showdown when someone lost track of the score. Venus, playing Karolina Sprem in the second round of the 2004 Wimbledon Open, was fighting her way through a final-set tiebreaker. With Venus up 3-1, the chair umpire added wrong and awarded Sprem a phantom point, making it 3-2. Sprem went on to win the final-set tiebreaker 8-6, that little extra nudge coming in handy. Sister Serena got a dose of the same elixir in a hard-fought match against rival Jennifer Capriati at the U.S. Open later that year. In the third set of their match, a shot by Williams ruled “in” by the line judge – because it clearly was, according to replay – was overturned by the chair umpire. Turns out everybody lost on that call expect Capriati; Williams lost 6-4 in the final set, and the ump didn’t chair another match at the Open.
BAD LUCK MUST CREASE
Someone send an exorcist to Buffalo, because the city must be cursed. That’s the only way to explain the close-but-no-cigar moments endured by nearly all of its professional teams that end up one win away from a championship. Case in point: In Game 6 of the NHL Finals in 1999, Dallas Stars player Brett Hull found an opening against Buffalo Sabres alleverything goalie Dominik Hasek to score the seriesending goal in the third overtime. But his skate was in the crease before the puck, which is a big no-no in hockey rules. But for some reason, the refs opted not to look at the instant replay of the single most important goal of the entire series. Despite an immediate protest, the game ended. The Stars won it all, and Buffalo was again the bridesmaid, never the bride.
FIFTH-AND-GOAL?
You’re having a down year in college football when a top-15 team comes knocking and, somehow, through the better part of threeand- a-half quarters, you find yourself ahead of said team 31-27. That’s where the Missouri Tigers were in 1990 against powerhouse Colorado with 31 seconds left in the game. Then the Buffalos marched down to their 3-yard line for a first-and-goal. Amazingly, the sub-par Tigers held them out of the end zone four straight times. The only problem is, the down marker wasn’t turned over to fourth down on the final play. So when the Buffs’ quarterback spiked the ball on the real fourth down, Colorado got one more shot at the end zone, much to the chagrin of Missouri and its fans – many of whom had already toppled one of the goal posts. On “fifth down,” the Buffs scored to win the game and ended up sharing a national championship with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, with an 11-1-1 record. Word has it that Missouri players, in an attempt to get back at those Colorado cheaters, ate Buffalo wings all night long.
MAKING THE CALL: EQUAL TIME WITH AN NFL OFFICIAL
IMAGINE YOUR BOSS WATCHING EVERY ANGLE of everything you do at your job. That’s the reality of being an official in the National Football League (NFL), says 14-year veteran official Phil Luckett, who has made calls in playoff games, the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl. Every play of every game is critiqued from different camera angles to evaluate each of the 119 NFL officials.
A crew of seven is used in each game. These officials all come from strong backgrounds in high school and college officiating before ascending to NFL ranks, and have spent hours at clinics, league rules meetings and reviewing tapes from previous games. But even with all that collective experience, seven sets of eyes are trying to observe everything in an extremely fast-paced game with 22 professional athletes competing on the field.
“I’ve heard pilots say, ‘A good landing is one you can walk away from,’” Luckett says. “So you might say a good game in officiating is one that you can walk off the field and not be the center of attention afterward. But contrary to what many coaches and fans think, almost all officials are extremely critical of themselves and conscientious about their work. We hate to miss a call for either team. And it really does not matter to us which team is positively or negatively affected.”
Luckett says officials are just reacting to the situation with each call. That’s where he found himself in a pivotal 2000 Wild Card playoff game between the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans. With 16 seconds left on the clock and Buffalo up 16-15, Titans return man Lorenzo Neal received the kick and handed it backward to tight end Frank Wycheck. Wycheck infamously tossed the ball across the field to wide receiver Kevin Dyson, who took off for a 75-yard touchdown. As the referee for that game, it was Luckett’s call whether or not Wycheck’s pass was a backward pass (legal) or a forward pass (a penalty). Players, fans and commentators had their own differing opinions, but it came down to one man on the field. After reviewing the play countless times, Luckett announced that the pass was not forward. Tennessee won.
“Since the game was played in Nashville, the winning play came to be called ‘The Music City Miracle,’” Luckett says. “It is controversial to this day, especially in Buffalo, but we made the right call – on the field and in the replay review.”
After more than two hours of football and dozens of bone-crushing collisions, it all came down to one call. An official’s part in a game doesn’t matter, you say? Tell that to the Patriots, who – had it not been for an instant replay in the above-mentioned game – may have never achieved the dynasty of winning three Super Bowls in four years. 
The United States Olympic basketball team didn’t just suffer its first-ever loss in Olympic competition in 1972. Players witnessed a nuclear meltdown in a Cold War showdown with the Soviet Union in that year’s gold medal game. With three seconds left, American player Doug Collins sank two free throws to put the U.S. ahead by one point. As the ball was put into play, time expired and the U.S. team celebrated another gold medal with a 50-49 win. Not so fast, boys. The officials ruled that the Soviet coach tried to call a timeout, and they rewarded it and placed three seconds back on the clock. Play resumed, again. No Soviet score, again. Game over ... again. But apparently the international officiating crew didn’t like the first two outcomes, ruling the timing equipment had “malfunctioned” (must have been made in Russia), and three seconds were put back on the clock. This time, the Soviets scored, the game was “officially” over and the U.S. went home without gold medals. In fact, they made the journey back stateside with no medals at all, as they refused to accept silver medals.
The Yankees are notorious for having baseball’s highest payroll (they spent nearly a quarter-billion dollars on a team that choked against the Red Sox last season), but in 1996, it took a little help from the stands to put them ahead of the Baltimore Orioles in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. In what turned out to be a 5-4 contest, a fading Derek Jeter shot to right field was caught by then- 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier as Orioles outfielder Tony Tarasco tried to make a play on it. Instead of calling it fan interference, the ump ruled it a home run, which tied the game. The Yanks eventually won in the 11th inning off a Bernie Williams home run. We hear Maier is presently a college senior who gets his kicks on the weekends by fishing out stray golf balls from the water at nearby country clubs and throwing them back on the green.
Superstar tennis sisters Venus and Serena Williams were headed for yet another Wimbledon Final showdown when someone lost track of the score. Venus, playing Karolina Sprem in the second round of the 2004 Wimbledon Open, was fighting her way through a final-set tiebreaker. With Venus up 3-1, the chair umpire added wrong and awarded Sprem a phantom point, making it 3-2. Sprem went on to win the final-set tiebreaker 8-6, that little extra nudge coming in handy. Sister Serena got a dose of the same elixir in a hard-fought match against rival Jennifer Capriati at the U.S. Open later that year. In the third set of their match, a shot by Williams ruled “in” by the line judge – because it clearly was, according to replay – was overturned by the chair umpire. Turns out everybody lost on that call expect Capriati; Williams lost 6-4 in the final set, and the ump didn’t chair another match at the Open.
Someone send an exorcist to Buffalo, because the city must be cursed. That’s the only way to explain the close-but-no-cigar moments endured by nearly all of its professional teams that end up one win away from a championship. Case in point: In Game 6 of the NHL Finals in 1999, Dallas Stars player Brett Hull found an opening against Buffalo Sabres alleverything goalie Dominik Hasek to score the seriesending goal in the third overtime. But his skate was in the crease before the puck, which is a big no-no in hockey rules. But for some reason, the refs opted not to look at the instant replay of the single most important goal of the entire series. Despite an immediate protest, the game ended. The Stars won it all, and Buffalo was again the bridesmaid, never the bride.
You’re having a down year in college football when a top-15 team comes knocking and, somehow, through the better part of threeand- a-half quarters, you find yourself ahead of said team 31-27. That’s where the Missouri Tigers were in 1990 against powerhouse Colorado with 31 seconds left in the game. Then the Buffalos marched down to their 3-yard line for a first-and-goal. Amazingly, the sub-par Tigers held them out of the end zone four straight times. The only problem is, the down marker wasn’t turned over to fourth down on the final play. So when the Buffs’ quarterback spiked the ball on the real fourth down, Colorado got one more shot at the end zone, much to the chagrin of Missouri and its fans – many of whom had already toppled one of the goal posts. On “fifth down,” the Buffs scored to win the game and ended up sharing a national championship with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, with an 11-1-1 record. Word has it that Missouri players, in an attempt to get back at those Colorado cheaters, ate Buffalo wings all night long.
IMAGINE YOUR BOSS WATCHING EVERY ANGLE of everything you do at your job. That’s the reality of being an official in the National Football League (NFL), says 14-year veteran official Phil Luckett, who has made calls in playoff games, the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl. Every play of every game is critiqued from different camera angles to evaluate each of the 119 NFL officials.