What were the most intense sports fights you ever saw?

[a994]

What were the most intense, wildest, or ugliest fights you ever saw at a sporting event, either live or on TV?

Here's my short list:

1. Just for sheer devastation, Los Angeles Laker Kermit Washington's face-shattering punchout of Houston Rocket Rudy Tomjanovich in 1977

2. the 1972 Ohio State at Minnesota basketball brawl

3. San Francisco Giant pitcher Juan Marichal going upside Los Angeles Dodger catcher John Roseboro's head with a bat in 1965

4. the 1984 beanball war in Atlanta between the Braves and the San Diego Padres, which resulted in a total of 19 ejections

5. 1970 Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs--began with a late hit by Raider defensive end Ben Davidson on Chief quarterback Len Dawson

6. the Malice At the Palace, 2004 Indiana Pacers vs. the Detroit Pistons' fans

7. a 1984 free-for-all between the California Angels and New York Yankees, a few weeks after the aforementioned Braves-Padres war

8. 1986 New York Mets at Cincinnati Reds

9. 1986 Cleveland Indians at Oakland As

10. 1977 NBA Finals, Portland Trail Blazer Maurice Lucas vs. Philadelphia 76er Darryl Dawkins

11. 1986 NBA Finals, Houston Rocket Ralph Sampson vs. Boston Celtics Jerry Sichting and Dennis Johnson

12. 1990 Philadelphia 76er Charles Barkley vs. Detroit Piston Bill Laimbeer

13. 1993 Phoenix Sun Kevin Johnson vs. New York Knicks Doc Rivers and Greg Anthony, who was in his street clothes that night

14. 1995 Houston Astros vs. Cincinnati Reds--they brawled twice on the same night that Baltimore Oriole Cal Ripken tied Lou Gehrig's consecutive game record

15. 1976 Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees

[flabbybody]

people in my dad's generation would always say they thought Marichal should have gotten a lifetime ban for the bat swinging thing. It wasn't televised so it's tough to say
you're right, Rudy's injuries were devasting so thats an appropriate # 1

great thread btw. maybe it should be in the main forum where it gets more eyeballs

[a994]

I should also include three classic college football brawls, 2006 Florida International University at University of Miami, 2004 South Carolina at Clemson, and 1971 USC at Notre Dame.

2000 Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox, which had two melees, also qualifies.

Two of the better one-on-one NFL bouts I've seen both involve Cleveland Browns--2004 William Green vs. then-Steeler linebacker Joey Porter, and I recently saw one from 1979 in which Brown running back Greg Pruitt and a Chief defensive back surnamed Collier started trading punches long after the play had ended.

Speaking of Browns-Steelers, I understand their 1980 game in Pittsburgh had a big fight at halftime, and I have some NFL Films footage of Pittsburgh defensive tackle "Mean" Joe Greene kicking Brown offensive lineman Bob McKay in the groin and then punching him before being attacked by a bunch of McKay's teammates, with the rest of the Steeler defense likewise joining in, in their 1975 game at Cleveland.

Man how I miss old-school NFL football. Man how the NFL needs rivalries.

[a994]

Here are some YouTube clips:

The Punch


1972 Ohio State @ Minnesota:


The Marichal-Roseboro incident:


1977 Lucas vs. Dawkins:


1986 Sampson vs. Sichting:


1990 Barkley vs. Laimbeer:


1993 Knicks @ Suns (starts at 4:31):


The Malice At the Palace:

[diablito]

2006 Florida International University at University of Miami...

great fight... one kid gets folded in half by a UM player right in the middle of the field... Also, cant leave out the Heat vs. Knicks (also great fights!!)...

[south ov da border]

Had to repost the knicks fight and put the fiu-um one...

[diablito]

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES>>> nothing like the Orange Bowl !! hahaha

[a994]

Thanks south for the Knicks-Suns and Miami-FIU incidents.

[Blazr63]

I can remember as a kid in the 70's watching the Mets vs Reds. Pete Rose slid into 2nd and spiked Bud Harrelson. Both benches emptied and it was like a war on the field.

[Stavros]

I recall either the first or the second fight between Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran. I am not a fan of boxing but that fight was not intense, it was super-intense, and I can't even remember who won it!

The most politically intense that I recall reading about was, I think, a water polo match between the USA and the USSR duringthe cold war Olympics in Melbourne in 1956.