In 1986: As much as fans of the Boston Red Sox moped about the monumental chokes their team performed on the postseason stage, it is somewhat forgotten in the Buckner hoopla that the California Angels pulled off one of the biggest gag jobs of all time in the 1986 ALCS. Up three games to one at home in Game 5 and leading 5-2 going into the top of the ninth inning, Don Baylor hit a home run close the gap to one. Then, with Donnie Moore on the mound, Dave Henderson stroked a two-out, two-strike, two-run homer for a 6-5 lead. The Angels rallied to tie it at six, but Henderson, who would’ve been the goat because he dropped a fly ball in the seventh that could have cost the Sox, hit a game-winning sacrifice fly to send the series back to Boston, where the Sox took it in seven games. It later turned tragic as Moore, who was never the same pitcher after that game, committed suicide years later.
In 1989: Although in the midst of a 1-15 season, the Dallas Cowboys laid the foundation for their championship teams of the 1990s by trading disgruntled star running back Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings in a 12-player deal. The Cowboys sent Walker and some late-round draft picks to Minnesota in exchange for first and second round draft picks, “The Trade” was very complicated, as the Cowboys dealt many of those picks, but it eventually netted Dallas cornerstones Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Kevin Smith and Darren Woodson; and it propelled the Cowboys to three Super Bowl wins in four years. The Vikings, on the other hand, decimated their defense and are still searching for their first title. As one final groin-punch to the Vikings and former GM Mike Lynn, Walker ended up back on the Cowboys a few years later. (scout.com)
