Rev Up the Time Machine

2020 definitely broke the all-time record for the number of times somebody wished for a time machine to get us the heck out of this nightmarish year. That led me to wonder – if I could go to another time, what past sporting events would I most want to see live?  And no, we’re not going back to bet on the games and get rich – this isn’t Back to the Future II. 

This is purely about seeing history, whether it be solving the mystery of Babe Ruth’s “supposed” called shot against the Cubs in 1932, witnessing Jesse Owens humiliating Adolf Hitler and Germany at the 1936 Olympics, or experiencing the greatest basketball performance of all time (Wilt scoring 100?  Magic Johnson going for 42/15/7 to win the 1980 NBA Title as a rookie?).  There are no wrong answers here, so let’s fire up the DeLorean (or head to the Quantum Realm for you MCU fans) and go see the best that sports have to offer. 

My Top 5 Historical Sports Destinations

Honorable Mentions 

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Obviously any sports fan could come up with dozens of games they would love to be able to go back in time and witness, and for many, it would simply be their favorite team’s biggest win.  I was of course around for the Red Sox’ recent run of success, and I’ve been fortunate enough to see my UNC Tar Heels win multiple basketball championships, so the obvious answer would be my beloved Miami Dolphins, who haven’t won a Super Bowl during my actual fandom.  But the Super Bowl that topped off their 1972 undefeated season was a clunker, so that’s out.  Certainly the events mentioned in the first paragraph would be great choices, as would Willie Mays making “The Catch” in the 1954 World Series, the Rumble in the Jungle (Ali vs Foreman) in 1974, Jack Nicklaus winning his 6^th Masters in 1986, Magic Johnson and Michigan State winning the NCAA title over Larry Bird and Indiana State in 1979, and any Negro Leagues game either (1) pitched by Satchel Paige (he has a legitimate claim as the greatest pitcher who ever lived) or (2) played by Oscar Charleston, most likely the greatest baseball player you’ve never heard of (basically Willie Mays before Willie Mays). I’d also put on the list the chance to watch Jim Brown in his prime, or Walter Johnson, Ty Cobb, Wilt Chamberlain and Pele in theirs. 

But that’s all prelude.  Let’s get to the winners!

Number 5 – The Thrilla in Manilla (1975)

Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier had already fought twice and split the two bouts, leading to this climactic rubber match.  It surely did not disappoint.  For 14 rounds two of the greatest heavyweights of all time battered each other, each refusing to yield to their greatest rival. Ali finally prevailed when Eddie Futch, Frazier’s trainer, called the fight at the end of the 14^th round.  Smokin’ Joe wanted to continue, but Futch didn’t want to risk his long term health (especially his eyesight, which was compromised by the 13^th round). The fight was watched by over a billion people worldwide, and to accommodate the global TV audience, it was held at 10:00 in the morning local time (Quezon City, Philippines).  The temperature in the ring was estimated to be well over 100 degrees, with no breeze and stifling humidity.  I mean, could they have POSSIBLY chosen worse conditions for the Fight of the Century?  Ali said afterwards he lost 5 pounds during the match.  Clearly I would have preferred to have been in an air-conditioned box for this fight (of which I’m assuming there were none), but if the fighters could handle those conditions while pummeling each other, I could probably think of it as a nice sauna and still enjoy maybe the greatest boxing match of all-time.  

Number 4 – The Dream Team Scrimmage (1992)

The participants called this the greatest basketball game ever played. Not because the stakes were high (the only thing on the line were the egos of Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan) and not because the game itself had a spectacular ending (MJ’s squad ran away with it in the second half), but simply because it’s quite likely that no collection of basketball players has ever played the sport at a level NEARLY as high as what a few people got to witness at the USA Basketball training facility one afternoon leading up to the 1992 Summer Olympics.  Coach Chuck Daly split up the greatest team ever assembled into two teams and let them go at it one day at practice, and apparently what started as a fun scrimmage turned into something serious for everyone involved.  Just imagine the talent level on display that day.  Magic and Michael were the leaders, and the rest of the players were a who’s who of 1980’s/1990’s basketball royalty – Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, Clyde Drexler, John Stockton, David Robinson and Chris Mullin.  Christian Laettner was there also but nobody cared.  Magic’s squad dominated the first half and then Magic, trying to reassert his claim as basketball’s alpha dog of all alpha dogs (a claim he probably didn’t have a right to make since 1987), started trash-talking Jordan, and anyone who saw The Last Dance knows what a bad idea THAT was.  Jordan went bananas in the second half and once again made it clear to everyone who the basketball world belonged to.  A few clips of the game can be found of YouTube, but seeing the whole game would have been truly incredible.

Number 3 – McEnroe vs. Borg, 1980 Wimbledon Finals

On any tennis fan’s short-list of the greatest tennis matches ever played, highlighted by the immortal 4^th set tiebreaker (which McEnroe won 18-16), Bjorn Borg’s fifth and final Wimbledon title ushered in one of tennis’ greatest eras, as the next several years would feature one of sports’ greatest rivalries (McEnroe/Borg), continued greatness by one of the sports’ true legends (Jimmy Connors), and the rise of all-timers Ivan Lendl, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander.  As a tennis player and fan for the last 45 years, I can think of no match I’d rather see than that 1980 Finals (even though I would have been heartbroken at the result since Johnny Mac was my favorite player), and the intimacy of the setting (Centre Court at the All-England Club) has no equal in the world of big time tennis. The tiebreaker was especially exhilarating as McEnroe saved match point after match point and the number of winners the two players hit dwarfed the number of errors. McEnroe was on his best behavior (he always said he had to focus too hard against Borg to waste energy with tantrums) and the contrast in styles, the temperamental but brilliant serve-and-volleyer versus the seemingly emotionless and unflappable baseliner, added a dimension to their matches that today’s tennis too often fails to provide. Nobody could have imagined that Borg would retire a little over a year later, and the tennis world only got to see the two stars play each other a handful of times.  This was their masterpiece.

Number 2 – Game 6, 1975 World Series, Boston Red Sox vs. Cincinnati Reds

The greatest game of arguably the greatest World Series ever played, Fenway Park bore witness to two incredible teams (featuring Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, Ken Griffey, Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, Fred Lynn, Luis Tiant and Dwight Evans) battling for 12 innings before Carlton Fisk ended things with his famous walk-off blast off the left field foul pole. The game was fantastic from start to finish, highlighted by Fred Lynn’s homerun and diving catch, George Foster’s game-saving throw in the 9^th inning to nail Denny Doyle at the plate, Bernie Carbo’s game-tying 3-run homer in the 8^th after looking completely overmatched earlier in the at-bat, Dwight Evans’ amazing catch and double-play off Joe Morgan in the 11th inning, and of course Fisk’s iconic homerun in the 12th, punctuated by him waving his arms willing the ball fair as he started down the first-base line. Pete Rose told Fisk, while at the plate, that it was the most exciting game he ever played in.  Add to all of that the fact that it was played in the greatest possible setting for a baseball game (Fenway Park), and the chance to be a part of THAT atmosphere while watching baseball history makes this an easy choice for me. 

Number 1 – USA vs. USSR, 1980 Olympic Hockey Semifinals

Could it be anything else?  Maybe the greatest sports upset ever, the college kids of the USA somehow beat the greatest hockey team in the world 4-3, after losing to the same team 10-3 in an exhibition a couple weeks earlier. Jim Craig put on a performance for the ages in goal, and Mike Eruzione’s game-winner in the 3^rd period has been replayed millions of time on TV, and yet never fails to bring goose bumps.  I was 10 years old and had heard earlier in the day that the US had won, but watching the game on tape-delay that night, and listening to the announcers talk about how overmatched the American team was, I convinced myself I had gotten the score wrong.  The tension was indescribable as the United States struggled to kill off the last 10 minutes of the game, clinging to a one goal lead, while the Russians threw everything they had at them.  Actually being in that arena, with thousands of fans screaming USA! USA! would have been the absolute thrill of a lifetime.