Pete Rose's record or the Freezer Bowl. Johnny Bench's home run in the 1972 playoffs or Aaron Pryor's win over Alexis Arguello? Which is your favorite Cincinnati sports - TV moment?
In answer to TV Guide's "50 Greatest Sports Moments," I've put together a list of Cincinnati's 25 Greatest Sports Moments. Like TV Guide's, this is a list of moments that were televised, so you won't find the 1919 World Series on here. And as TV's role has become greater in recent years, more recent events are on the list. This is my list, formed by my opinion, although I did consult Enquirer veterans Jim Schottelkotte and Steve Hoffman. Your list and your opinions are probably different.
I would strongly defend the top three, not the order, but the fact that they are the three biggest moments in sports TV in these parts -- by virtue of drama, impact and viewer interest.
Twenty-five is probably too few, but 50 would have watered it down too much.
Do you have a list? Fax it to me at 768-8550, and I'll run the People's Choices at later date.
Here's my list:
1. Pete Rose breaks Ty Cobb's record: This gets the nod for two reasons: a.) Rose's reaction was such a great and unexpected moment -- no one would have ever guessed he would break down and cry; and b.) all that happened since the 1985 hit, i.e., Rose is the tragic figure in Cincinnati sports history.
2. The Freezer Bowl: Mention this game (Bengals vs. San Diego for the AFC title in 1982) and every Cincinnatian knows what you're talking about. The image of players walking on the field with their breath frozen in the air remains fresh all these years later.
3. Game 7 of the 1975 World Series: Sure, Carlton Fisk's homer in the 12th inning of Game 6 is No. 1 on TV Guide's list. But the Reds lost that game. If they had lost Game 7, the Big Red Machine would be a footnote to baseball history, not considered one of the greatest teams ever. Game 7 was a dandy, too. The Reds won it on Joe Morgan's single in the ninth. That, not Fisk's homer, had people dancing on Fountain Square.
4. Super Bowl XXIII: The 1989 game was the best Super Bowl ever. From Tim Krumrie breaking his leg to Stanford Jennings' kickoff return for a touchdown to the final TD by the 49ers with 34 seconds remaining that broke the heart of every Bengal fan, this was great TV. It was No. 41 in TVG's list.
5. Game 5 of the 1972 NL playoffs: Johnny Bench's home run in the bottom of ninth was arguably the biggest in Reds history.
6. Aaron Pryor defeating Alexis Arguello with a 10th-round knockout in 1983: For sheer visual drama, Pryor's ending flurry may be No. 1.
7. UC's first NCAA basketball championship: The Bearcats beat Jerry Lucas and Ohio State, the defending champion, 70-65 in overtime in 1961. It was Cincinnati's third straight trip to the championship game.
8. Game 4, 1990 World Series: Eric Davis going to hospital after suffering a lacerated kidney while trying to make a diving catch in the second inning. Jose Rijo retiring 20 straight. The Reds' winning rally in eighth to complete a most unlikely sweep of the Oakland A's.
9. Super Bowl XVI: It wasn't great, compared to XXIII, but the 1982 game was the team's first Super Bowl and that is as big as TV sports get.
10. Rose runs over Cleveland catcher Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star Game at Riverfront Stadium: No. 41 on the TV Guide's list.
11. The Olympic gold medal in women's gymnastics at Atlanta in 1996: This would be higher if the local girls, Amanda Borden and Jaycie Phelps, had played bigger roles.
12. The 1963 NCAA basketball championship game: UC loses to Loyola 60-58 in overtime, missing a third straight national title. 13. The Bob Huggins-Pete Gillen handshake game. Or no handshake -- UC's Huggins refused to shake the hand of the Xavier coach after the Muskies won 82-76 in OT. Never did the UC-XU basketball rivalry carry that kind of heat. Great TV.
14. Game 2, 1976 World Series: This was baseball's Freezer Bowl. The first Sunday night game in series history, thus the end of the World Series as we knew it. The Reds beat Catfish Hunter when Tony Perez drove in Ken Griffey with a single in the bottom of the ninth. A sweep was just a matter of time.
15. The famous "time management" game in 1987 when the Bengals, with the lead and the ball on fourth-and-25 with six seconds left, defied the principles of football and called a sweep to James Brooks. He was tackled with two seconds left, and Jerry Rice scored on a 25-yard pass from Joe Montana as the clock ran out to win it 27-26.
16. UC-North Carolina East Regional Final of the 1993 NCAA Tournament: The Tar Heels won 75-68 in OT, costing UC a second straight trip to the Final Four. But how good was this game? Huggins was completely satisfied with the Bearcats effort and they lost.
17. Bengals vs. San Diego Chargers on Monday night in 1982: Cincinnati lost 50-34, but this was a celebration of the great passing offenses of the AFC in late '70s and early '80s -- Ken Anderson threw for 416 yards, Dan Fouts had 435.
18. Crosstown Shootout, 1996: Never have two seasons turned so much on one play. When UC's Charles Williams dribbled the ball off his foot, giving XU's Lenny Brown the chance to make his last-second jumper and give the Muskies a 71-69 victory over the then-No. 1 Bearcats, the fortunes of XU and UC flopped for a full calendar year.
19. Xavier vs. Georgetown, 1990 NCAA Tournament: The little Muskies beat the Hoyas, led by Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo, 74-71 to advance to the Sweet 16 -- still XU's best tourney showing.
20. Game 2, 1990 World Series: The Reds came back after being down 4-2 to beat super closer Dennis Eckersley of Oakland. Where's Billy Bates these days?
21. O.J. Simpson goes for 197 yards on Monday night in 1975: The Bengals won 33-24. Where's O.J. Simpson these days?
22. Boston Celtics 128, Cincinnati Royals 110, April 3, 1963: This was a playoff game played at Schmidt Fieldhouse because the circus was at the Gardens. If the Royals had won, they would have gone up 3-1 in the series.
23. Julie Isphording makes the 1984 Olympic team in the marathon: This was so dramatic (she came from waaaay back to place third), surprising (she wasn't a favorite) and refreshing (she was and is such a nice person).
24. UC loses to Kansas State in the NCAA regionals in 1958: Referees began clocking Oscar Robertson's free throws, enforcing an often-overlooked rule that players must shoot within 10 seconds. The Bearcats lost 83-80 in overtime and deprived Oscar of his best chance for a title.
25. Northern Kentucky upsets Xavier in 1979: A local game on a Saturday afternoon before 642 college games were on every week. A dramatic ending with Mike Hofmeyer hitting the winning basket in overtime.
Others considered:
Joe Hudepohl, a swimmer from St. Xavier High with a smile as wide as North Bend Road, wins a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in 400-meter freestyle relay.
UC beats Bradley 75-73 in seven overtimes in 1981. The longest college basketball game ever. This was a trip to a freak show, not great basketball or TV. Channel 19 sent only one man, Tom Kelly, to do the game. When he ran out of commercials and voice in the late stages, he let the stall ball stand on its own and watched silently. Elder wins its second straight state basketball title in 1974. On the West Side, this is in the top 10.
One of Moeller's seven state football titles.
The "You don't live in Cleveland" Bengals game: Dec. 7, 1989, vs. Houston.
A couple of Crosstown Shootouts (the game Joe Stiffend won with a last-second shot at the Coliseum; the game that ended with a controversial call in Huggins' first year).
Did I forget one? Remember, that fax number is 768-8550.
