In honor of the conclusion of the History Channel's excellent Hatfields & McCoys, I decided that today's blog would be a countdown of what I think are some of the greatest sports feuds of all-time. These aren't necessarily rivalries. In fact, most of my list is two individuals. I'm simply talking about two parties that had a well-publicized rocky relationship for whatever reason. Some ended amicably. Others, not so much. I was just going to go until I couldn't think of anymore, but I actually came up with more than I thought I would, so this turned into a Top 10 list.
10. Babe Ruth vs. Lou Gehrig-Ruth and Gehrig are forever linked. They're, of course, best known as the heart of the batting order during the Yankees' first dynasty. But they didn't speak to each other for years because of a remark Gehrig's mother made about Ruth's wife. All was forgiven on July 4, 1939, when Babe Ruth showed up at Yankee Stadium for "Lou Gehrig Day" and buried the hatchet with his longtime teammate.
9. Pat Summit vs. Geno Auriemma-Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, UConn and Tennessee used to play every year. Sometimes twice. But they haven't played since 2007. Not even in the NCAA Tournament. Why? Tennessee chose not to renew the series after the 2006-07. It was never really the friendliest of rivalries (Auriemma once called Tennessee the "Evil Empire," an obvious Yankees-Red Sox reference), but the annual meetings ended because Pat Summitt was angry about what she thought was the illegal recruitment of Maya Moore. Even with Summitt now retired, I don't see UConn and Tennessee playing in the regular season anytime soon.
8. Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins-A lot of teams hated the Flyers during the 70s, so I had a lot of options here, but I'm going with the Bruins, since that's the team that the "Broad Street Bullies" were really born against. Dave Schultz led the league in penalty minutes in 1973-74, as the Flyers advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals. They played the great Bobby Orr and the Bruins, who had won the Cup in two of the previous four seasons. But Schultz, Bobby Clarke and the rest of the "Broad Street Bullies" (with their physical style of play) took the Bruins completely out of their game. A frustrated Orr pulled down Clarke on a breakway late in the clinching Game 6, as the Flyers became the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup.
7. Cale Yarborough vs. Donnie Allison-The 1979 Daytona 500 has often been cited as one of the biggest reasons for the growth of NASCAR. At the start of the final lap, Allison was leading and Yarborough was in second. Yarborough tried to pass. Allison wouldn't let him. Yarborough tried again. This time he made contact with Allison, sending both cars into the wall. Allison obviously wasn't pleased, and he wanted to make sure Yarborough knew it. Except back then, drivers settled disputes a little differently. Yarborough actually got into a fist fight with Allison and his brother Bobby on the infield after the race.
6. Thurman Munson vs. Carlton Fisk-In the 70s, the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry was arguably at its most intense. And at the heart of it was the mutual dislike of the teams' two catchers, something that they both made known at every possible opportunity. It came to a head on August 1, 1973, when Munson plowed into Fisk while trying to score the go-ahead run during a game at Fenway, igniting a 10-minute bench-clearing brawl. Pedro Martinez and Don Zimmer could easily have made this list, as well, but the Munson-Fisk feud lasted longer and was a lot more public.
5. Al Davis vs. Pete Rozelle-This feud goes all the way back to the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. Al Davis was the commissioner of the AFL when merger talks began in 1966, and he was completely against it. NFL Commissioner Rozelle was the driving force behind the merger and rightfully received all the credit for it. Fast forward 10 years, Davis wants to move the Raiders from Oakland to L.A. Rozelle won't let him. So, Davis goes to court, sues the NFL on antitrust grounds, wins, and the Raiders move in 1982. (For some reason, they moved back to Oakland 13 years later.) And, of course, Davis was well-known for always being the only owner to vote "No" on something the NFL wanted, even if he actually wanted it too.
4. George Steinbrenner vs. Yogi Berra-George Steinbrenner could fill a list of Top 10 feuds all on his own. There was Billy Martin, Dave Winfield, Billy Martin, Reggie Jackson, Billy Martin, Fay Vincent, Billy Martin. But The Boss' most famous feud might've been the one he had with Yogi Berra. One of the greatest players in Yankees history, Berra was hired as Yankees manager in 1985 and promised to be given a fair chance, only to be fired by Steinbrenner three weeks into the season. Yogi vowed never to return to Yankee Stadium as long as Steinbrenner owned the team, and he stayed away for 14 years until Steinbrenner apologized in 1999. Yogi was welcomed back to Yankee Stadium with open arms, and "Yogi Berra Day" was held at the Stadium on July 18, 1999. On that day, David Cone threw a perfect game against the Expos.
3. Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier-These two became great friends later in life (Ali attended Frazier's private funeral in November), but they had a shared animosity when their rivalry was at its heyday. Ali made his political views well-known, and he characterized Frazier as essentially the "Great White Hope." His trademark taunts got very personal, underscoring their three epic fights. The first fight in the trilogy was the 1971 "Fight of the Century," when the undefeated Frazier handed Ali the first loss of his career. Ali won the two rematches, including the famous "Thrilla In Manila" in 1975. Frazier carried feelings of resentment and bitterness towards his great rival for many years, but those wounds healed over time.
2. MLB Owners vs. MLB Players (NHL Owners vs. NHL Players)-These two share the No. 2 spot because there have only been two instances in the history of professional sports that a labor dispute resulted in no champion being crowned. There was no 1994 World Series because the MLB players went on strike, while the entire 2004-05 NHL season didn't happen because the owners locked out the players. Both were about money. The MLB owners thought salaries were getting out of control in 1994 and wanted to institute a salary cap. The NHL owners needed a better business model and were willing to sacrifice an entire season to get one. Ultimately, baseball's players "won" in 1994 and hockey's owners "won" in 2005. But in reality, everybody lost. No one more so than the fans. However, there may be a silver lining behind both of these work stoppages. Both sports were nearly damaged beyond repair. As a result, I don't think either will ever have a work stoppage again.
1. United States vs. Soviet Union-Cold War tensions carried over into an intense sporting rivalry between the Americans and the Soviets. Every game was "Us vs. Them," Capitalists vs. Communists. And it was at its most intense during the Olympics. Especially in 1980. The 1980 Summer Olympics were in Moscow, but the U.S. didn't go. President Jimmy Carter boycotted the Games in protest of the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and he got more than 60 other countries to join him. The Soviet Union responded by boycotting the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, joined by 15 other Communit-bloc countries. The Soviets did attend the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York, however. The most famous event of those Games, of course (perhaps the most famous event in Winter Olympics history) is the "Miracle on Ice," when the U.S. hockey team consisting entirely of amateurs beat the team of Soviet professionals and won the gold medal.
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