A History of Athletes Who Owe Their Entire Legacy to One Game

Image via Complex Original

Legacy game: Game 5, 1956 World Series
Career years: 1953-1967
Career stats: 81-91, 3.78 ERA, 1.40 WHIP
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There weren't many signs prior to Don Larsen's start in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series that he was destined to set one of baseball's most prestigious records. He had lost 21 games in 29 starts with the Orioles in 1954, then was only used as a spot starter and long reliever for the 1955 and 1956 regular seasons. He started Game 2 of the World Series before his famous Game 5, and it didn't go well; Larsen lasted just 1.2 innings and allowing five baserunners which led to four runs. After his perfect Game 5, Larsen would return to very average form; he went 51-51 over the rest of his career, spending just one full season as a starter.

Legacy game: Super Bowl III
Career years: 1965-1977
Career stats: 140 G, 62-63-4 Record, 27,663 YDs, 173 TDs, 220 INTs, 65.5 QB Rating
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Broadway Joe Namath is, of course, most famous for his Super Bowl guarantee, which he offered in a bit of a drunken haze the Thursday before the game. While nobody actually talked about the guarantee until after the Jets actually pulled off the massive upset, Namath is widely given credit as the man who guided the Jets to the win. That's not entirely accurate, either; he was reasonably competent (17-for-28, 206 yards, O TDs, 0 INTs), but the real reason for the win was the running of Jets' back Matt Snell (30 carries, 121 yards, 1 TD) and the play of the Jets' defense, which picked off Colts quarterbacks Johnny Unitas and Earl Morrall a combined four times. The game was a reflection of Namath's whole career, really: a middling performance that his oversized personality made into legend.

Legacy game: 2/15/78 vs. Muhammad Ali
Career years: 1977-1995
Career stats: 26-17-3, 14 KOs
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Leon Spinks started off his career with a gold medal in the 1976 Olympics, followed by going 6-0-1 in his first seven professional fights. When he stepped into the ring with an aging Muhammad Ali, Spinks still was not expected to do all that much against "the Greatest." However, he shocked everyone as he pummeled Ali, ultimately winning in a unanimous decision and winning the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world. It was all downhill from there, though. Spinks lost the title back to Ali in the rematch, and he finished his career with a lackluster 26-17-3 record.

Legacy game: 1978 AL East tie-breaker game
Career years: 1973-1984
Career stats: 40 HRs, 423 RBIs, .247 BA
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For how often you hear Bucky Dent's name get thrown around when the subject of the Red Sox curse gets brought up, you'd think that the former Yankees shortstop was on-par with Derek Jeter. Not exactly the case. Sure, Dent manned the shortstop position for New York during the 1977 and '78 seasons (picking up two World Series rings in the process) and, yes, he did appear in three All-Star games before he retired. But Dent's only standout contribution came at the end of the 1978 regular season when—after the Yankees had climbed back from a 14.5 game deficit in the AL East—Dent put the nail in Boston's coffin, and sent the Bronx Bombers to the playoffs with a key three-run homer in the tie-breaker game.

It was unexpected for a couple of reasons, the first being that Dent was never known as a power hitter (he only hit 40 home runs in his career), and the second being that he was the ninth batter in their line-up. The Red Sox certainly didn't see it coming, and Dent's unlikely heroics stand out for the BoSox as one of the most gut-wrenching blows in franchise history.

Legacy game: Game 7, 1981 NBA Finals
Career years: 1978-1988
Career stats: 835 G, 12.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.5 BPG
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Most assume that the three Celtics championships in the 1980s were due to the heroics of Larry Bird. While that is certainly true, the best player in the 1981 NBA Finals wasn't Bird; it was Cedric Maxwell. The man known as "Cornbread" famously told the Celtics prior to Game 7 to "climb on my back, boys," then went out and scored 19 points as his team won the title on the road in Houston and he was named Finals MVP. Apart from his second year in the league, though, Maxwell had a relatively unremarkable career. He never made an All-NBA team, and remains the only Finals MVP in history to never make an All-Star team.

Legacy game: 1984 Orange Bowl
Career years: 1986-2005
Career stats: 92 G, 38-28 record, 14,715 YDs, 86 TDs, 84 INTs, 76.3 QB Rating
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When you think of Doug Flutie, you think of a scrappy little quarterback who clawed his way to a career full of heroics in both the NFL and CFL after his amazing pass in the 1984 Orange Bowl. While part of that is true (the guy is a legend in Canada), he had a very mediocre NFL career at best. While he did manage to set a career-high in passing yards at age 39, he also threw 18 interceptions that same season. His late-career success also covers up a spotty record for much of the earlier portions, when he bounced from team to team before finding success in the lesser league to the north.

Legacy game: Super Bowl XXII
Career years: 1987-1988, 1990
Career stats: 602 career rushing yards, 3.2 YPC, 3 TDs
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There are few Super Bowl MVPs more unexpected than former Washington Redskins running back, Timmy Smith. Smith shouldn't have been playing in Super Bowl XXII, when the Redskins beat up on the Denver Broncos, 42-10. But, as fate would have it, the team's leading rusher, George Rogers, was sidelined with injuries, and it was up to Smith—then in his rookie year—to answer the call. He certainly did, gaining 204 yards and two TDs in the game, but, unfortunately, Smith's subsequent career was unable to live up to this single performance. Injuries and drug use kept Smith from ever making good on the potential that he flashed during Washington's championship rout, and the former Texas Tech running back was out of the league by 1990.

Legacy game: Game 1, 1988 World Series
Career years: 1979-1995
Career stats: .268 BA, 255 HRs, 870 RBIs
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Kirk Gibson's game-winning home-run against Oakland A's reliever Dennis Eckersley in the 1988 World Series is undoubtedly one of the greatest moments in playoff baseball history. And Gibson himself—the 1988 NL MVP—certainly didn't have a career that deserves to be ignored. However, if there's one thing that baseball fans everywhere are going to remember Gibson for, it's that magical moment when, nursing hamstring and knee injuries, the former Dodgers outfielder hobbled up to bat and crushed a home run to right field to put Los Angeles up for good in the ninth inning. Did Gibson have other highlights throughout his playing career? Sure. But when it's all said and done, this is the memory to which Gibson is always going to be inextricably linked and defined by.

Legacy game: 1989 French Open
Career years: 1988-2003
Career stats: 662-312. 34 career singles titles, one Grand Slam title
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Before there was Tiger Woods, there was Michael Chang. As a 17-year-old, he had already won his first professional tournament and was competing at the same level as the world's best. After taking down World No. 1 Ivan Lendl in the fourth round of the 1989 French Open, Chang won a five-set battle against Stefan Edberg in the Finals to become the youngest Grand Slam champion in history. While he did go on to have a solid career after the French win, Chang never again won a major title and only reached the finals of a Grand Slam event two more times.

Legacy game: 2/11/90 vs. Mike Tyson
Career years: 1981-1999
Career stats: 38-6-1, 25 KOs
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Buster Douglas entered his fight with Mike Tyson as a 42:1 underdog, and for good reason; Douglas was a relative nobody who had lost four fights (including his only other title shot), whereas Tyson was 37-0 and considered one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. Douglas' 10th round knockout of Tyson shocked the world and earned Douglas the heavyweight championship. It all went downhill for Buster after that, though; he was knocked out in the third round of his next fight by Evander Holyfield, retiring after the fight. While he did launch a comeback six years later, he was knocked out in the first round by Lou Savarese.

Legacy game: Super Bowl XXX
Career years: 1991-1998
Career stats: 14 INTs, 303 tackles
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No, not that Larry Brown. But, hey, when you're career was as undistinguished as that of former Cowboys cornerback Larry Brown, then the confusion with the Hall of Fame basketball coach is going to happen more than a few times. Though he was able to pick up a handful of titles with Dallas' dynasty of the '90s, Brown was largely anonymous compared to his superstar teammates like Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith, and Troy Aikman. Oh, and don't forget the man standing across from him in the secondary, Deion Sanders. However, it wasn't Neon who would win the Super XXX MVP and snatch two interceptions in that championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, it was Larry Brown. Brown was the first defensive back since 1973 to pick up the award and, while the rest of his career wasn't anywhere near as noteworthy, he can at least always say that he has something over the great Sanders.

Legacy game: Super Bowl XXXI
Career years: 1992-2002
Career stats: 157 G, 11.9 YDs/Punt Return, 22.2 YDs/Kick Return, 8 Return TDs, 123 REC, 1597 YDs, 7 TDs
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Desmond Howard basically has two things going for his football career: the Heisman pose (and win), and Super Bowl XXXI. While those are obviously two huge feathers in his cap, Howard was a disappointment as a professional receiver. After being selected by the Redskins at No. 4 overall in the 1992 NFL Draft, he managed only three receptions his rookie season. He did grab as many as 40 by his third year in the league, but that would prove to be the last time he was anything more than a dangerous returner.

Legacy game: Game 7, 2003 ALCS
Career years: 1997-2009
Career stats: .263 BA, 126 HRs, 555 RBI
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With how many other members of the Boone family have played baseball (Bob, Bret, Ray, and Matt) it's likely that former Yankees third baseman Aaron Boone has been subject to a few mix-ups with one of his relatives. However, when you bring up the topic of the 2003 ALCS, no one is going to forget the game-winning home-run that Boone hit against the Boston Red Sox to send the Yankees to the World Series. Unfortunately for Boone, his hero status among New Yorkers was abruptly cut short when he tore a knee ligament during a pick-up basketball game in the following off-season.

The injury voided Boone's contract, and New York quickly replaced him with the one and only, Alex Rodriguez. Honestly, considering that the Yankees didn't even win the World Series in '03, Boone's injury may have given him a greater legacy than his home run did.

Legacy game: Game 4, 2004 ALCS
Career years: 1998-2008
Career stats: 243 SB, .266 BA, 213 RBIs
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A journeyman for all his career, former MLB outfielder Dave Roberts only lasted one season with the Boston Red Sox, but he certainly chose the right time to come along. In 2004, the Red Sox were the long-awaited "Team of Destiny" that would go on to break the franchise's even-longer-standing championship drought, and a pivotal moment from Roberts in the ALCS played a big part in making that happen. Down 4-3 at the bottom of the ninth inning, and standing on the brink of elimination, the Red Sox needed to manufacture a run to stay in the game. With Roberts on first base, and no outs, it was time to take a chance. Making a key steal with Mariano Rivera on the mound, Roberts moved himself into scoring position, and would go on to grab the tying run after a monumental single from Bill Mueller.

And, well, we all know what unfolded after that. Roberts wasn't a bad player throughout his career, he just wasn't a particularly flashy one. However, you can be sure that this moment etched his name in MLB history forever.

Legacy game: Super Bowl XLII
Career years: 2003-2009
Career stats: 83 G, 54 REC, 650 YDs, 4 TDs
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A true New England Patriots fan still can't bring themselves to watch David Tyree and his famous "helmet catch." The memory is just too painful. If you couple that with the fact that Tyree went on to have exactly zero NFL catches after that one, it makes it even worse. It doesn't come as much of a surprise, though, that Tyree's Super Bowl heroics were an outlier in an otherwise unremarkable career; his best season was 2006, in which he set highs in receptions (19), receiving yards (197), and TDs (2). Nevertheless, for his one moment his name will forever live in Super Bowl lore.