Today Craig Ehlo will be celebrating his 53rd birthday, likely gathering with friends and family to reflect on a life full of accomplishments. The former Cleveland Cavalier enjoyed a strong basketball career, playing professionally for four different NBA teams from 1983 through 1997. It’s certainly a level of basketball that few could ever hope to attain, and while his career numbers aren’t all that inspiring, the fact that he was able to make it to the league and have a long career at all is a remarkable accomplishment.
And yet, the most enduring moment of his career will be “The Shot” in the 1989 playoffs, when Michael Jordan rose above him and buried the now iconic game-winning jumper that signaled the true arrival of the Chicago Bulls. Ehlo flailing his arms in disbelief is perhaps the most enduring image of his entire career, and unfortunately for him has outlasted every other aspect of his basketball legacy.
In terms of being a “goat,” though, Ehlo got off pretty easily. After the 1989 debacle, he played another four years in Cleveland. People didn’t blame solely him for the Cavs’ loss, and life pretty much went on. Others, however, weren't so lucky. They became pariahs, in some cases forced into borderline exodus after their game-changing mistakes. In honor of Ehlo, we ask the question Where Are They Now? The Biggest Goats in Sports History.
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