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We rank 'em. You react. That's how the Daily List rolls.6/12/2008 02:39:00 PM Most Infamous Refs in History
By Lang Whitaker, SI.com
Will Tom Donaghy go down as the most famous referee in history?Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
One year ago, nobody knew Tim Donaghy from Tim Duncan. Now Donaghy will go down in history as the man who blew his whistle during the NBA's biggest gathering and managed to draw attention away from the Celts/Lakers match-up and to the men in stripes. In a perfect world, we pay no attention to the men behind the stripes. But this is not a perfect world. Here are my top five most infamous referees in history...
1. Don Denkinger: Made the worst and most famous wrong safe/out call of the modern era during the 1985 World Series. He wasn't only wrong, he was wildly wrong. Here's a nifty animated gif explaining the entire mess.
2. Joey Crawford: After being charged with filing false income taxes in the this late '90s, this NBA ref was suspended a few years ago for ejecting Tim Duncan from the bench during a game (while Duncan was laughing), and then, according to Duncan, challenging him to a fight on the court. Crawford returned and even reffed the Derek Fisher no-call game against San Antonio a few weeks ago.
3. Eric Gregg: The man referred to as the "Plump Ump" forgot the strike zone for Livan Hernandez during the 1997 NLCS against the my Braves.
4. Red Cashen: Hey, not every ref is infamous for being bad. Cashen will forever be linked with his iconic, "First Down!" call.
5. Danny Davis: OK, so he was a WWF referee, but still, his egregious flaunting of the rules back in the late '80s, when he allowed The Hart Foundation to blatantly cheat and take away the tag team titles from The British Bulldogs, shook me to my core. Then again, I was about 12.
Which ref will you never forget? Let us know below...
Lang Whitaker is the executive editor of SLAM magazine and writes daily at SLAMonline.composted by SI.com | View comments |
Comments:
Bruce Froemming stealing perfect game from Milt Pappas???Terry Porter - official that threw flag in OT in 2003 Fiasco Bowl.Never in my life have I seen a worse umpired game that the 97' game against the Marlins and Braves in the NLCS. Eric GReggs' Strikezone was as large as his body. That was a pathetic display of umpiring....Piss PoorUm, Doug Eddings?!*%$J.C. Louderback.
The guy practically handed Colorado a share of the national title when he couldn't count to 5.
Worse, the ball never broke the plane of the goal line... even with the extra down.Gordon Reese, replay analyst of the infamous Oklahoma Sooners - Oregon Ducks football game.
got MULTIPLE calls wrong in the REPLAY booth.
that pretty much says it all.The best official ever in any sport in the U.S. - Ben Dreith ("he was giving him the business down there"). He made every penalty call fun (and that's a first down!)
Jake O'Donnell - his infamy was due to Johnny MostDoug Eddings in the 2005 Alcs White Sox against the AngelsAbsolutely no way you can put a WWF/E ref on this list without it being Earl Hebner for the Montreal Screwjob on Bret Hart, and then later getting fired from the company for selling WWF merchandise without permission.Danny Davis was my first thought as well. Gald to see him on your list.Super Bowl XL refs-I have never seen so many BS calls against one team (Seahawks) in such as meaningful game. And, no, I am not a Seahawk fan or Seattle resident.Don Koharski.
Everybody who just read that immediately thought of the phrase, "Have another donut, ya fat pig!"2 from the NHL. First of all: Kerry Fraser. From his hairdo to his questionable calls, he is one of the most famous hockey refs in history.
Andy Van Hellemond - while head referee of the NHL he was trying to get loans from his staff to pay off gambling debts.Dick Bavetta had his own agenda in SLC game 6 Jazz vs Bulls in the 98 finals. Waiving off Howard Eisley's three and giving a jumper that was after the shot clock expired to Ron Harper.how about that game when the then Houston Oilers got all those call against the BillsI don't know the names of the umpires in the '91 Series between Atlanta and Minnesota, but my God, how could they be that bad?! Hrbek pulls Gant off the bag and then Gant gets called out!? Justice hits a home run that is clearly inside the foul pole but it is called foul?! The Gant one really got me though. Hrbek literally picked Gant up off 1st base, threw him away from the bag, and then "tagging" him "out" was the worst call I have ever seen whether in person or on TV.NFL ref Jeff Triplette.
Derailed Orlando Brown's career by throwing a flag into his eye.I have to agree with the comment about the anti-Seahawks refs in SB XL. Never seen anything like that before or since in the NFL. And I don't like the Seahawks or live in or near Seattle (I'm from Ohio).Walt Coleman!!! tuck thisActually, it was a hockey ref when I was playing Midget hockey that we dubbed "Charley Tuna."
Called a bench minor on the time-keeper and then charged it to the VISITING team.
One kid took a slash to the face and he called that kid for delay of game.
He used to jump up on the boards all the time and two kids from different teams rode their check into him so he went over the boards. He "retired"soon after.
Nothing that has happened in the pros has stuck with me as the one that affected the outcomes of MY games. ;-DHow come tim donahugh got caught cheating, but recieved no trouble from the NBA...inside job? nothing happened...David stern wanted to keep him quite\....My suggestion: Dan Crawford.
Spurs vs Lakers, game 5 2004 Western Conference Semifinals. 0.4 seconds left in the game. Lakers to inbound.
The rest is history.totally agree with 11:03...Super Bowl XL. The worst was Hasselbeck being called for an illegal block after throwing an interception and trying to tackle the guy with the ball. He went low to avoid a block and get to the ballcarrier behind the blocker. The blocker went flying, and Hasselbeck got called for an illegal block below the waist. Sad stuff...Walt Coleman!!! tuck this
In defense of Coleman, he is a very highly rated referee still, and he got the call right with respect to the rules at the time.1984 NFC Championship Game won by the Redskins who scored late following not one, but two bogus pass interference calls.Would that be the same Braves who benefited from grossly over-generous strike zones during the Maddux, Glavine, Avery years?Joey Crawford!Just watch a NBA game and you will know that Tim Donaghy is right.Kings and Lakers game 6. I wrote the NBA after the game and didn't watch an NBA game for a year or two afterwards. I'm not from Sacramento, but the whole thing was sick to watch.
The NBA gets lots of complaints about refs. Something needs to be done. The NBA that called out Duncan a few years ago should have been fired not suspended.Mick McGeough. Every time he steps on the ice, the game becomes secondary to his performances. Has cost numerous teams games and even Stanley Cups on his phantom or non-calls.SBXL refs. Jerammy Stevens fumbles after a catch and the refs say incomplete pass. Cost Pittsburgh great field position. This never gets mentioned though.Walt Coleman...raiders patriots "tuck" rule, such BSHow can any 1 forget the '75 world series, when Larry Barnett failed to call what, even today, looks as though Ed Armbrister interfered with Carlton Fisk ??all 3 officials on the court for the uconn washingon regional semifinal in 2006 - washington had no chance when the game become 5 on 8.john clougherty for calling a touch block foul on seton hall against michigan in 1989 and handing the wolverines a bogus national championshipHow about Ed Hochuli? He's only the scariest ref ever. The man is referred to not only by fans but by NFL players themselves as Ed Hurcules. You couldn't disagree with one of his calls if you wanted to. And if you wanted to you WOULDN'T!Hue Hollins - cost the 93-94 bulls their 4 title in a row with the phantom foul call in the garden with three seconds left against the knicks...Hollins later admitted that he blew the call...Horace Grant had blocked a final shot cleanly and then suddenly Hollins called for two free throws...there was no time left...the Bulls ended up losing by one - went home and won game 6 and couldn't win game 7 in NYC...of course the knicks lost to the Rockets so there was some justice...From this Celtics fan, I give you Kenny Mauer and Bennett Salvatore.
Mauer conveniently ignored Paul Pierce breaking his teeth a few years back and continues to hold an apparent grudge against him (see LeBron hauling him down in Game 7 of the Celts-Cavs series, no call).
Salvatore called the bogus charge on Pierce in the Eastern Finals and is known for being a homer.Everyone you're forgetting Rich Garcia, the umpire from the Orioles/Yankees game in which Jeffrey Maier reached over Tony Trasco's head to give Derek Jeter a homer run and thus ruining the O's franchise and allowing me to come up with new swear words at 8 years oldPhil Luckett anyone? He blew a QB sneak by Vince Testaverde (which cost Denis Erickson his job with the Seahawks) and the coin toss in the space of a few weeks!The entire NHL is bloated with bad officiating. It is so consistently inconsistant. In no other professional sport do the rules change depending on the time on the clock. It makes it confusing and frustrating to watch. No wonder hockey ranks right below Womens Softball in the TV viewership in the US, because how can you follow a game when you don't know which plays are going to be called.Balkin Bob Davidson.... worst umpire in baseball.Richard Steele. Stopped the Chavez v Taylor fight with 2 seconds left, after Taylor pummeled Chavez most of the fight. Julio had a good comeback at the end, but Taylor got robbed.Bob Davidson . 1992 world series . game 3 . blew what should have been a triple play call . would have been the first in almost 75 years in a world series ."Hey, not every ref is infamous for being bad."
Er, then what would Cashen's infamy be for? It sounds as though you approve of "First Down!", so it's not that. You seem to be confusing famous with infamous.I'll never forget John Sherry, who collapsed mid-way through the Pirates v. Braves 1992 NLCS. I forget who replaced him, but that guy later called 4 straight balls on 4 straight Stan Belinda strikes to Damon Berryhill in the 9th inning. Cost the Pirates the game. Very Leslie Nielsen-esque from Naked Gun."Hey, not every ref is infamous for being bad." You might want to have someone literate edit your blogging. Or you can tell us which one of these definitions defines Red Cashen:
in·fa·mous [ínfəməss]
adj
1. notorious: having an extremely bad reputation
2. abominable: so bad as to earn somebody an extremely bad reputation
3. law punishable by a serious penalty: punishable by imprisonment or loss of civil rights
4. law convicted of infamous crime: convicted of an infamous crime
[14th century. From medieval Latin infamosus , a variant of Latin infamis “of ill repute,” literally “having no fame,” from fama (see fame).]Game 5 1992-1993 Knicks-Bulls - they couldn't even call one foul when Charles Smith got fouled 5 times. The leagues was too scared of the big bad Knicks beating Michael Jordan and his babies. Guess Hue Hollins gave us some poetic justice. But Bulls fans, you are the biggest whiners out there.During the '80s, Ed T. Rush was the most inconsistent and biased official in the NBA. As a kid, I remember cringing before every Laker game when Chick Hearn announced that he would be officiating that evening. He was always good for 2-3 missed calls a night and there was little doubt in his desire for controlling the outcome. And this was WAAAY before ref integrity was questioned. Think I am biased; go ask Cuban for his opinion on him once he became Director of Officiating (http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2002/0107/1307127.html)Hue Hollins. No question. That loss prevented the rest of the Bulls - especially Scottie Pippen -from getting the recognition they deserved and a ring without MJ. Terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE call.Recent Posts
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