AP Photo/Al BehrmanWould you have wanted to listen in when Pete Rose placed his first bet on baseball?
We should send an interoffice memo to ESPN Programming because we know what would be a great new series: “Sports Snoops.”
Seriously, let’s run this up the flag pole and see whether it waves; let’s drop it in the well and see whether it splashes; let’s pull it from the hat and see whether it hops. The pitch is a show that recreates moments in sports that were not actually recorded because either they happened too long ago or they were intentionally shrouded in secrecy. In other words, a show about being nosy.
That appeals to you, based on your response to our call for Top 10 Greatest Sports Moments to Hear. Some of you listed events that were great and were recorded, albeit often forgotten, but most of you submitted moments in sports history that were not recorded. And most of those moments were not of the shining variety.
Corruption sells.
So here is the list — and, ESPN Programming, this could be the episode guide for Season 1 of “Sports Snoops.” (Yes, I would like to be mentioned in the credits.)
Top 10 Greatest Sports Moments to Hear
10. “The famous ‘They’re Going Home’ broadcast of Jan. 11, 1976, when the Soviet Red Army hockey team left the ice against the Philadelphia Flyers,” submitted by Ian M. of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. (Not sure how famous this is now but we want to encourage our Canadian friends.)
9. “Tim Tebow’s birth so we all could have our lives enriched by hearing his first cry,” submitted by Ben M. of Peoria, Ill.
8. “Listening in when Pete Rose made his first bet on the Reds,” submitted by Charles T. of Cincinnati.
7. “Georgia Tech 222, Cumberland College 0 in 1916 — including Tech Coach John Heisman (Yes, that one) ripping his team at halftime when it led by a mere 126-0,” submitted by Samuel H. of Athens, Ga. (Any chance you are a Bulldog, Sam?)
6. “Johnny Miller breaking down Elin Woods’ swing with a 9-iron,” submitted by Kevin J. of Pekin, Ill.
5. “The meeting in September of 1994 when Bud Selig and baseball’s owners agreed to cancel the World Series,” submitted by Jason B. of Buffalo, N.Y.
4. “The final game during the last time the Cubs won the World Series in 1908,” submitted by Massawar A. of Queens, N.Y., and Adam L. of Morton, Ill.
3. “When Tonya Harding allegedly talked her ex-husband and another man into injuring her skating competitor Nancy Kerrigan in 1994,” submitted by Susan G. of Seattle.
2. “The conversations in 1919 that led members of the Chicago White Sox to throw the World Series and become the Black Sox for all time,” submitted by Harley K. of Little Rock, Ark.
1. “Howard Cosell calling the David vs. Goliath battle so we could hear Howard yell, ‘Down goes Goliath! Down goes Goliath! Down goes Goliath!'” submitted by Bill P. of Tualatin, Ore., and Janice H. of Palo Alto, Calif.
Interesting that four of the top 10 are baseball related, perhaps because baseball fans have a greater appreciation for the history of their sport — or they are the nosiest.
OK, ESPN Programming, what do you think?
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