Best Sports Moment

Well, I can really only answer one:

"What is the best sports moment you've ever seen in person?"

Son's senior year (HS), district championship game, huge hometown crowd.  Team is down by one run going into the bottom of the 7th.  Line up coming to bat is 8-9-1 (son is #2 in the line up).  Batters 8 & 9 go down swinging.  Two outs.  Batter #1 is intentionally walked (he hit a 2 run blast in the 5th to bring the team to within one run).  Son now coming to bat.  Batter #1(now on 1st) steals 2nd with the count 1-1.  Son works count to 3-1.  Next pitch is inside but tails towards the middle of the plate.  Son rips a line drive over the 3B head deep into the LF corner scoring batter #1.  Tie ball game.  Team goes on to win in the 8th.  First district championship in 25 years.  I still remember it like it was yesterday.

BTW - I was a HS senior when the "Miracle on Ice" in Lake Placid transpired.  Can anyone top Al Michaels play by play in the closing seconds of the game? ("Do you believe in miracles?  Yes!).    I think not.

1) Christian Watford hitting a 3 to beat Kentucky in Bloomington bringing IU basketball back from the dead.

2)  After a year of rehab for a broken hip, watching my kid hit his first home run. 

3)  In high school football, being down 2 scores and comming back to win the game in the last two minutes.  1st score, pass to tight end, who fumble, buddy picks it up and runs for TD.  2nd score, onside kick.  Kicker looks at me and says who and I say "number 33."  We recover and end up scoring a TD.  Fans rush the field.  Truely a wild ending. 

 " The best sports moment you've ever seen in person ?"

 This time 3 years ago in 2010, son was 13 playing in a 14U tournament. His team was in the championship game and coach named him the starting pitcher. It was the game of his life, at the time. He went 3 for 3 with 2 HR's and a Dbl off the fence and also threw a No-Hitter. It was unbelievable to watch. A day his dad and I will never forget !! Today he is the starting pitcher for his varsity team as a sophmore throwing 87-89 and topping out at 90   We are very proud !!

Last year at Cooperstown, my son (12), hit three bombs in three at bats in a pool game.  It has been 6 months since and his baseball confidence is still sky high!

Great topic for a thread.   What I learned is that it is vastly different and better moment when you share that moment with a team, country, or with loved ones.  When the US beat the Russians it was the first time I'd seen my Dad cry.   I still get choked up when I think about that hockey game and moment in time.   I'll take it to the grave with me. 

1) What is the best sports moment you've ever seen in your life?

Tie between 1980 US Hockey team and 2004 Red Sox World Series champs.

2) What is the best sports moment you've ever seen in person? 

Tie between my oldest son throwing a no hitter in college in 2012, and his college team winning the conference championship in 2012 to go to NCAA regionals.

3) What is the best sports moment you've ever personally been a part of?

Tie between 12U State championship in 2007 (with middle son) and USTA National Tennis Championship in 2001.

In the Bum household it is a four-way tie 1) throwing a no-hitter in his first varsity start in h.s., 2) tossing a state-record 21 strikeouts in a 7 inning game in h.s. (no passed balls!), 3) the day he won Gatorade State Player of the Year, and 4) getting drafted in h.s.

Bum:

This is the "greatest sports moment" that I have seen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4fTjcJwImw. Sam Jones played for 13 years for the Boston Celtics.

I coached Sam in the US Army before he joined the Celtics.

Game, I watched in person: the Japan HS tournament in Osaka.  40,000 attended and 40 million watched and after the games, our American "All Stars" then played the Japan National Team in a 5 games Goodwill Series.

One of my best moments playing was against the "greatest" team in the history of baseball. The Willie Mays "All Stars", which included, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Larry Doby, Monte Irvin, Roy Campanella, Don Newcombe, Joe Black, Hank Thompson was on a "barnstorming" tour traveling from NY to LA.

Connie Johnson pitched the visitors for a win 4-2 over our US Army Team. Aaron hit a HR over the top of the light towers Dudley Field in El Paso, Texas. In the 9th inning, Connie threw a "hanging" curve and my HR was 340'. Over 5,000 attended.

When Willie moved to SF, he helped me promote my General Tire business.

Bob Williams

Bob, your stories always fascinate me.  Can you share with our readers how you started the Area Code Games and the Goodwill Games?  I'd love to hear the genesis of that.. Bum

Bum;

Dick Case, Executive Director of USA Baseball and I became friends at the College Coaches Convention and in 1983 he asked if I would "host" the Japan National Team.

I never asked Dick any questions, but said Yes!

This was my 1st International Baseball event and I was "on my own", because Dick was East Coast and I was Northern California. Rented the pro park in Rohnert Park, ask Lefty Gomez to throw out the 1st ball, sold tickets, place ads in a program, select "host families" and relied on the pro scouts to select the 18 player team.

The California team yielded 7 future MLB players. However, I did not know that the President of Japan Baseball, Mr. Makino had played against the Yankees [Ruth and Gomez in 1934]. The Japan team traveled with Asahi-TV and I charged Asahi only $5,000.00 for the rights to film the 1st Goodwill Series. Makino caught the 1st ball from Lefty Gomez.

Little did I know that 40 million watch this film in Japan.

The rest is history now 30 years later.

Area Code games 1987, began with conversations with the scouts.

Bob