The 99 Most Memorable Sports Moments from the 90s: 50-26
theScore's 90s week countdown continues with a look at Nos. 50-26 in our 99 most memorable sports moments.
Entries 99-76 can be viewed here, and Nos. 75-51 here.
One-timers, the ability to check players into the bench, and improved controls helped make NHL ‘94 for the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis consoles one of the most widely loved sports video games of all-time. EA Sports pulled fighting out of the game, and it would remain absent from the series until 1996, but the ‘94 effort achieved iconic status regardless. Any list of the greatest sports video games that does not include NHL ‘94 should be considered incomplete.
- Scott Lewis
Long before Jerry Jones built Jerry World, the Cowboys played in the old and creaky Texas Stadium, and they were exposed to the elements. On this particular day those elements were angry, with snow and swirling wind for the traditional Thanksgiving Day game, this time against the Dolphins. With 15 seconds left Dolphins kicker Pete Stoyanovich lined up for a potential game-winning 40-yard kick that would be near automatic in normal conditions. The icy and snowy hell led to a low kick and a block by tackle Jimmy Jones, and the ball bounced towards the end zone.
All the Cowboys needed to do was let it die so the clock could run out, they would win, and then everyone would go back to eating turkey happily. Then for reasons only he will ever understand, Leon Lett tried to recover the loose ball. He failed in the most miserable fashion, the Dolphins recovered again, and Stoyanovich kicked a chip shot from the goal-line on the free play he was gifted.
- Sean Tomlinson
Still probably the best Premier League match ever played. Collymore’s run to the Kop, a slumped Kevin Keegan who can’t seem to catch a break, a ding dong match that still entertains. A nineties classic.
- Richard Whittall
Shane Warne changed cricket forever when he delivered the Ball of the Century at the Ashes in 1993.
Warne’s delivery left Mike Gatting grasping for air as a new era in Cricket was ushered in by an Australian with golden locks of hair and the bravado to try anything at least once.
- Devang Desai
There might not be a more iconic image in the history of college football than Desmond Howard striking the “Heisman pose” following his 93-yard punt return touchdown versus Ohio State in 1991. Howard was awarded the Heisman a month later at the Downtown Athletic Club in Manhattan. "It changed my life, yeah," Howard told ESPN in 2011. "Had I not struck the pose, chances are I would have won the Heisman, I think, still, because it wasn't a close vote. But just would people still remember me or recognize me because of a signature moment? That moment pretty much changed my life."
- Scott Lewis
The single start upon which an entire Hall of Fame case was built - and for good reason. Game Seven of the World Series, Jack Morris goes TEN shutout innings for the Minnesota Twins, holding off the worst-to-first Braves and handing the Twinkies their second World Series title in a five year span.
- Drew Fairservice
Eric Lindros was the clear cut choice as the No. 1 overall selection heading into the 1991 NHL Draft. Although the Lindros camp made it clear that he would not play for the Quebec Nordiques, the team selected him first overall anyway.
Lindros would spend the following year with the Canadian national team, and made appearances at the World Junior Championship, Olympics, and Canada Cup.
He was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers a year after being selected by the Nordiques, but not before the story took one more dramatic turn. The Nordiques traded Lindros twice, and were forced to lean on an independent arbitrator to rule on where he would end up. The Flyers ended up trading Ron Hextall, Peter Forsberg, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, Mike Ricci, Chris Simon, 1st round selection in 1993, 1st round selection in 1994 and cash to the Nordiques for The Big E.
- Scott Lewis
The New York Yankees ended an 18-year World Series drought by knocking off the defending champion Atlanta Braves in six games in 1996. The Braves took the first two games of the series, but a dynasty loomed for the Yankees, who would win four straight. A 22-year old named Derek Jeter, who captured the '96 Rookie of the Year award, slashed .412/.412/.471 to establish himself as one of the best young players in the game.
- Scott Lewis
Never before has a sixth alternate turned a last-minute tournament entry into a golf movement. John Daly burst onto the stuffy PGA scene with enormous drives and a rough-around-the-edge persona that persists to this day.
Daly played fearless, terrific golf in winning his first ever PGA tournament, a major championship at that. His career and life have been up and down ever since but this win at Crooked Stick made a lasting impression.
- Drew Fairservice
There was something about the way Michael Johnson ran that made people stop what they were doing and gather in front of the television.
His upright running style coupled with a mouth that good run for days made him unique. Unique and the best sprinter in the world. He became the first man to win the 200m and 400m in a single Olympics in Atlanta.
- Devang Desai
Michael Schumacher and Ferrari made no friends while dominating Formula One. At Silverstone in 1998 they were assessed a one-lap stop and go penalty.
Schumacher and Co. decided to serve it on the final lap. The finish line stretched across into pit lane, allowing the German legend to win another race in rather stunning fashion.
- Devang Desai
Florida State's first visit to the Big House resulted in a 51-31 win for the Seminoles who, along with Nebraska, would go on to become one of the decade's most dominant college football programs. This trouncing of the Wolverines remains one of the most fondly remembered games in FSU history.
- Scott Lewis
With one defiant fist pump we knew this was going to be something else. At 39-year-old Jimmy Connors was inching closer to the end of a storied career.
He saved one last moment of brilliance for the U.S Open in 1991, making the semifinals against all odds. His fourth round encounter with Aaron Krickstein is still considered one of the greatest matches ever played.
- Devang Desai
December 2nd, 1995. The Canadiens are playing a run-of-the-mill regular season game against the Red Wings, although, it ended up being anything but run-of-the-mill. The Red Wings shelled the Canadiens, who had Patrick Roy in net. By the time it was 7-1, the fans were giving Roy the Bronx cheer for stopping easy shots.
With the game out of reach and the team playing like garbage in front of him, he should’ve been mercy pulled long before it came to that. Roy ended up giving up nine goals on 26 shots, very few of which were his fault, and the notoriously passionate Roy snapped. He told the team president behind the bench, immediately, he’d never play for the Canadiens again. He didn’t. He’s also never spoken to coach Mario Tremblay since.
- Justin Bourne
Robin Ventura played 16 years in the big leagues. He hit 18 grand slams, more than all but three players in the history of the game. He is currently the manager of the Chicago White Sox.
But his most famous moment in uniform came when he got beat down by a 46-year old man.
- Drew Fairservice
First he was on top of the scoreboard, then the other scoreboard. Then he blew your damn mind, and by the time Michael Jackson was finished during his 1993 halftime show, he had created the spectacle Super Bowl halftime extravaganzas are now.
- Sean Tomlinson
Michael Jordan's brief foray into Minor League baseball meant the door was open for a team other than the Chicago Bulls to make a run at the NBA title in 1993-94. Enter: The Houston Rockets. Led by Hakeem Olajuwon, the Rockets knocked off Portland, Phoenix, and Utah before defeating the New York Knicks in seven games for the franchise's first championship.
- Scott Lewis
The Cornhuskers were the last great team to truly dominate the SEC. Between 1993 and 1997, Nebraska won 60 games and lost just three, while walking away with three national titles. The Cornhuskers were the most dominant team in college football for five years under head coach Tom Osborne. Nick Saban’s Alabama juggernaut from 2008-12 is the only program to come close to matching the Cornhuskers’ impressive run of the mid-90s.
Nebraska's dynasty came to close shortly after its 42-17 win over Tennessee in the '98 Orange Bowl game.
- Scott Lewis
Expansion, lockout, revenue growth, more expansion, another lockout, more revenue, and yet another lockout. The NHL has certainly grown under the watch of commissioner Gary Bettman, but not without some struggle for the players. Bettman has held his post since 1993, and has drawn the ire of hockey fans everywhere throughout his tenure. Hockey's greatest villain? Maybe, but you can't ignore some of the good he's accomplished.
- Scott Lewis
Michael Jordan entered the 1992 playoffs as a career 28.4 percent three-point shooter, so when he opened The Finals with a record six three-pointers in the first half as part of a record-setting 35-point half, what else was there to do but shrug?
- Joseph Casciaro
The 1992-93 season looked like it would be a record-breaking affair for Mario Lemieux, until Hodgkins Lymphoma forced him out of action and into radiation treatment. Lemieux missed two months of the season, and ended up walking away with the Art Ross Trophy after an unfathomable 160-point (69 goals, 91 assists) output in just 60 games. Perhaps Mario really was "super" after all.
- Scott Lewis
The hero baseball needed in its time of greatest need. After the acrimony of the strike that cost the 1994 World Series, Cal Ripken’s miraculous streak built on hard work and determination gave the baseball world exactly what it needed - something to cheer about.
- Drew Fairservice
The long toss, the catch, the turnaround, everything about this shot and moment needed to be just right. One of the best college teams of all time calls on their best player to make one of the most famous plays in one of the greatest games in NCAA history.
- Drew Fairservice
With the Bulls down 1-0 in their first ever Finals appearance, Michael Jordan erupted for 33 points, 13 assists, seven rebounds, two steals and a block in Game 2 to send the series to Los Angeles tied at one. But one shining drive to the basket and one marvelous Marv Albert call from that night will always stand out.
With one unorthodox switch from right hand to left, Jordan took control of the 90’s and never looked back, as his presence on this list exemplifies.
- Joseph Casciaro
John Elway is forever an American hero. He was 37 years young when he ran those eight yards, diving to secure a key first down that will forever be remembered as the iconic moment in his career. It's a play that prolonged what would eventually be a 92-yard touchdown drive after a Terrell Davis plunge a few snaps later, giving the Broncos a lead over Green Bay in Super Bowl XXXII they wouldn't relinquish.
- Sean Tomlinson