The 25 Most Unbelievable Hoaxes in Sports History

Happy April Fool's Day, everyone.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Has anything in sports ever seemed too good to be true? Has there ever been a story or moment that made you wonder if there wasn't some sort of foul play involved behind it? Have you ever witnessed the effects of a prank or a hoax on your favorite player or team? 

Today is April Fool's Day, and while we often associate the day with stupid jokes or harmless tricks, it's also an opportunity to remember those larger-than-life moments in sports, when fiction began to overtake fact. We all, of course, remember the Manti Te'o scandal of last year, when the Notre Dame linebacker was discovered to have been catfished.

And who could forget about infamous moments like the Danny Almonte hoax, when the not-so-Little Leaguer was discovered to be too old for his competition? Instances like this remind of us how crazy sports can get sometimes. They're proof of how real the obsession with fame and fortune truly are in athletics today. 

However, they also make for some pretty great stories. So, we decided to collect the best of them all in The 25 Most Unbelievable Hoaxes in Sports History. Even we couldn't have made these ones up.

25. Ivan The Imaginary

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24. The Little Black Donkey

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23. Identity Theft

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22. A Suspicious Sale

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21. The Buffalo Katanas

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20. He's Got the Power

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19. Family Ties

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18. Sayonara

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17. Here Comes the Bride

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16. The Porcupine Prank

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15. Rocky

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14. The Fake Sheikh

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13. Gone Fishing

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12. Marathon Man?

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11. Too Good To Be True

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10. Nay

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9. Unreal Love

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8. Shocking

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7. Committment Issues

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6. Little League World Scandal

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5. The Curious Case of Sidd Finch

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4. Run, Rosie, Run

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3. Spanish Scandal at Sydney

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2. The Invisible Girl

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1. Fatal Fraud

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