Sports Question: From a purely statistical standpoint... in other words...

[battleknight24]

... in terms of the actual odds, which were, in fact, the biggest upsets ever in sports?


Peace,

[GOPisEvil]

1. Upset (going off at 100-1) defeating Man O' War

[mrboba1]

2. I think that NC State

winning the NCAA tournament in 1983 is one of the biggest.
Of course, that is a 6 game schedule and not just one game...

[ohiosmith]

3. 45/1 Buster Douglas defeats Mike Tyson.

[alarcojon]

4. Just to throw something out there

I KNOW the Pistons were heavy underdogs (maybe 70 to 1?) against the Lakers in the NBA Finals last June, yet they won it in 5 games, only one of which was close.

I doubt it was the biggest upset ever, but it's noteworthy.

[Awsi Dooger]

7. The media probably made it seem like 70/1

I live in Las Vegas and wager on sports. The Pistons were about a 6/1 underdog.

[alarcojon]

12. I stand corrected

Still, you gotta give the Pistons something for not just winning, but dismantling the Lakers.

[Awsi Dooger]

14. Right, should have been a sweep

Two friends of mine lost bigtime when Detroit blew that late lead in game two. They take flyers at high odds, and had wagered on Detroit to sweep at better than 100/1.

[shaolinmonkey]

5. USA Hockey over the Russians in 1980.

[calico1]

6. Mets winning the 1969 World Series

against the Orioles.

[Reverend_Smitty]

16. They didn't call them the Miracle Mets for nothing...

n/t

[LibLabUK]

8. Greece winning Euro'04

They started the tournament at 100-1.

[chiburb]

9. Cubs winning the World Series in your lifetime...

Astronomical ...

[Awsi Dooger]

10. Depends on one game, or over the course of a season

There have been many huge upsets when a team overcame huge odds at the start of the season, notably the '87 Twins and '99 Rams. I know the Twins were more than 100/1 prior to the season. This year's Euro 2004 soccer tournament featured Greece pulling a stunning triumph, at 150/1 or higher before the first game.

For a single game or event, two that have been mentioned certainly qualify -- Upset over Man 'O War and Buster Douglas over Tyson. Another game that should be mentioned is Chaminade over Virginia in college basketball, maybe '82 or '83. Virginia probably would have been a 30+ point favorite, and straight up odds on college basketball increase geometrically once the pointspread hits high double digits. Virginia would have been at least a 1/50 chalk, perhaps considerably higher.

BTW, that Douglas/Tyson fight was booked only at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, no other joint put it up. I was working across the street as a supervisor at the Horseshoe sportsbook at the time, February 1990, and told several friends for weeks I was going to make a standard, $300, wager on Douglas. Tyson was 1/47 and the takeback on Douglas 38/1. I had seen Mike Tyson in person several times and he's a glorified midget, seriously only 5-7 tops. It was a Saturday in college basketball season and I was getting buried on my basketball wagers, so when my shift ended at 5 I trudged home without making the "throwaway" wager on Douglas. When I showed up at work Sunday morning, co-workers were congratulating me on the supposed huge payoff, and telling me they put down $20 or so on Douglas.

[Davis_X_Machina]

11. '67 Red Sox, who finished one game out of the cellar in '66...

...in a ten-team league -- no divisions, no wildcard -- went off at 100/1 in April, and won the pennant.

Worst to first.

[gratuitous]

13. Jets over Colts in Super Bowl III

Chiefs over Vikings the next year.

Villanova beating Georgetown 46-44 in NCAA men's basketball title game.

Just off the top of my head while I listen to Randi.

[calico1]

19. Of course, how could I forget the Jets

upset? Same year as the Mets too. Great year for NY sports.

[masshole]

15. here's ESPN The Magazine's list

has USA Hockey at #1

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/topupsets/010525.html

[gratuitous]

17. Ooops, forgot Chaminade beating Ralph Samson's UVA team

I'll have to check to see if that made ESPN's list.

[northzax]

18. I'd go with USSR over US in Hoops

1972.

[calico1]

20. That was not an upset.

That was a steal. Outrageous.