1. The Miracle on Ice
Topping our list of the Top 10 Upsets in Sports History is, what else, the Miracle on Ice - the United States hockey team’s triumph against the Soviet Union in the semifinals of the 1980 Winter Olympics. The odds were against the Americans in so many ways. They were a bunch of unproven college and amateur players in a society that was not hockey-centric, and they entered the 1980 Games as the seventh seed amongst 12 teams.
The Soviets, however, were virtually full-time hockey players who had played together for years, and they were representing a nation which had produced eight of the past nine gold medalists in the sport. The two nations were competitors in every sense of the term, with the political disagreements between them contributing to enhance the meeting between the two teams on the ice.
And to top it all off, the USSR and USA had previously played each other in 1980, with the Americans suffering a 10-3 thumping in a February exhibition match. If they played 100 times, the Soviet Union probably would have won 99 times. But they only played once, and on that day, the United States was the superior squad, prevailing 4-3 in what Sports Illustrated has dubbed the greatest sports event of the 20th century. Do you believe in miracles?
2. Upset’s upset.
Throughout this list, there have been many giants of sport who have fallen prey to the underdog. But unlike all of others, only one upset is considered to have truly given us the word “upset” to characterise the scenario of a team or individual overcoming enormous odds to achieve victory against an apparently more skilled opponent.
That upset, of course, was Man o’ War’s defeat in the 1919 Sanford Memorial against a horse called, what else, Upset. It would be the only defeat of Man o’ War’s career, as he would go on to earn Horse of the Year honors in 1920 and would eventually be crowned the Best Racehorse of the 20th Century by Blood-Horse magazine. But on that day, it was Upset who, as a 100-to-1 underdog, won the day.
3. 1969 Miracle Mets
Since joining the National League in 1962, the New York Mets have never finished over .500 during a season. They had lost 100 games in five of their first seven seasons, and in 1969, they opened the season as 100-to-1 longshots to win the World Series. True to pattern, they began off 18-23.
Then something fantastic occurred. The Mets won 11 consecutive games, and concluded the season with a 100-62 record. They won the NL East, then swept the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS before surprising the Baltimore Orioles, four games to one, to win the 1969 World Series. It was one of the most spectacular turnarounds in sports history, and the miraculous nature of the upset not only contributed to the team’s iconic nickname, but also inspired New York pitcher Tom Seaver to joke, “God is living in New York City, and He’s a Mets fan.” Yet as spectacular as the 1969 Mets were, they aren’t the highest ranked “miracle” on our list.
4. Buster Douglas K.O.’s Mike Tyson
Forget Cinderella Man. As amazing as James J. Braddock’s triumph over Max Baer in 1935 was, Braddock was simply a 10-to-1 underdog in that fight, which is nothing compared to the 42-to-1 odds that confronted James “Buster” Douglas in his heavyweight championship bout against Mike Tyson in 1990.
Tyson had been the heavyweight champion of the world for more than two years, and seemed unbeatable. The Douglas bout was meant to be a tune-up, essentially warming “Iron Mike” up for an eventual battle with Evander Holyfield. Douglas had other intentions, though, bringing the fight to Tyson early and unlike any opponent the champ had ever faced, dominating the early rounds. Tyson would strike again, knocking Douglas down (but not out) in the ninth. The two continued to fight until the tenth round, when Douglas clocked Tyson and knocked him down for the count, becoming the undisputed champion of the world in the process.