Don Denkinger's Costly World Series Mistake

Worst Calls in Sports History

The American League umpire blew a call at first base in the ninth inning of Game 6 in the 1985 World Series between St. Louis and Kansas City. Denkinger ruled Jorge Orta safe even though the ball beat him by half a step. The Royals won Game 6 and 7, when Denkinger was behind the plate. (AP Photo)

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Monday Night Mis... The list of mistakes made by the NFL's replacement officials has grown week over week since the start of the 2012 season. But after three weeks of play, no call, blatantly blown or otherwise, has been more egregious than the call made at the end of regulation in Monday night's Packers-Seahawks game.

On a final play Hail Mary, Seattle receiver Golden Tate shoved a Packer defender out of the way (offensive pass interference wasn’t called), and jumped into the air and tried to wrestle the ball away from Green Bay’s M.D. Jennings, who appeared to intercept the ball and secure possession in the end zone as a pile of players hit the ground. The side and back judges entered the pictured with opposing calls, the former signaling the catch a touchdown for Seattle and the latter a touchback for Green Bay. After a lengthy review, the officials deemed it a “simultaneous catch,” which by rule, goes to the receiver. Seattle won 14-12. The problem is video evidence showed conclusively that it was an interception and not a simultaneous catch as Jennings had both hands on the ball. Green Bay should have won the game 12-7. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

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2011 Season's Lo... After 19 innings and nearly seven hours of play, the Braves edged the Pirates on a controversial call at the plate. Umpire Jerry Meals called the Braves’ Julio Lugo safe when replays appeared to show that catcher Michael McKenry easily beat Lugo to the plate. Lugo said after the game that he didn’t feel a tag and that he wasn’t sticking around to argue.
The game, which ended at 1:50 a.m., was the longest in Turner Field history and matched the longest game of the season for both teams at 6 hours, 39 minutes. (AP Photo/John Amis)

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Jim Joyce Blows ... With two outs in the ninth inning, umpire Jim Joyce missed a call at first base to ruin Armando Galarraga's perfect game. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

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Don Denkinger's ... The American League umpire blew a call at first base in the ninth inning of Game 6 in the 1985 World Series between St. Louis and Kansas City. Denkinger ruled Jorge Orta safe even though the ball beat him by half a step. The Royals won Game 6 and 7, when Denkinger was behind the plate. (AP Photo)

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Phil Luckett's M... On Thanksgiving Day of 1998 in Pittsburgh, Luckett failed to name the Steelers the winner of the coin toss even though Jerome Bettis called tails and the coin came up tails. (AP Photo)

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Soviets Get Extr... In the gold medal game at the 1972 Olympics, the Soviet Union was given three inbounds plays in the final seconds. It eventually scored the game-winning bucket at the buzzer. The U.S. team unanimously declined their silver medals in protest. (AP Photo)

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Jeffrey Maier Ho... The 12-year-old reached over the right-field wall and snared Derek Jeter's fly ball in the field of play during the eighth inning of Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS. Umpire Richie Garcia ruled it a home run, allowing the Yankees to tie a game they would eventually win in extra innings. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

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Brett Hull's Gam... Hull scored the game-winning goal of the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals against Dominick Hasek and the Sabres illegally in the third overtime of Game 6. Hull was in the crease and the goal should not have counted. The 'in-the-crease' rule was changed the following season. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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"Hand of God" Go... In the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals, Argentina's Diego Maradona punched the ball past England's goalkeeper and no whistle was blown. The goal stood and Argentina advanced. (AP Photo/El Grafico)
Thierry Henry's ... Ireland missed out on this year's World Cup because Henry's blatant handball went unnoticed and led to Williams Gallas' tying goal in the final qualifier. The draw allowed France to book its spot in South Africa and sent Ireland home furious. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

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Eric Gregg's Hug... Gregg's enormous strike zone allowed Florida's Livan Hernandez to rack up 15 strikeouts in Game 5 of the 1997 NLCS against the Atlanta Braves. (AP Photo/James A. Finley)

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Mike Renfro's Ou... The Houston Texans receiver appeared to catch the tying touchdown in the 1980 AFC Championship Game against Pittsburgh, but was incorrectly ruled out of bounds. (AP Photo)

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Phantom Call on ... NBA official Hue Hollins called a foul on Scottie Pippen with seconds left in Game 5 of a 1994 playoff series against the Knicks. The questionable call came when Pippen contested and made minimal contact on a Hubert Davis jump shot. The Knicks won the game on Davis' free throws and went on to win the series against the Michael Jordan-less Bulls. Jordan was off playing baseball at the time. (AP Photo)

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Michael Jordan P... The Bulls superstar pushed off Russell on the game-winning shot in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals between the Bulls and Jazz. Like there was any chance they were going to call an offensive foul on Jordan in the final seconds? (AP Photo)

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Roy Jones Jr. Ge... Jones pummeled South Korea's Park Si-Hun in the 1998 Soul Olympics, yet somehow lost, 3-2, on the scorecard in the gold-medal round. (AP Photo)

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Jerry Rice's Non... In the 1999 NFC wild-card game, Steve Young found Rice open. The legendary receiver appeared to fumble, but was ruled down by contact. Moments later, Young found Terrell Owens in the end zone in the final seconds to win the game. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

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America's Most M... Winning is everything in sports. But some cities don't remember what it feels like. Find out which cities are the most miserable right here.