OT - One hit wonder?
Slow day at work...exhausted of the OSU stuff...and was watching a great video on Youtube of the 2002 Red Wings playoff run. Noticed a couple names on the team that I thought would be great, but didn't quite pan out. I thought of framing this question as the closest thing to Al Bundy in sports, someone who is still bragging about that one game...or one season..but one hit wonder seems to encompass that. So ..any athletes come to mind that could fall under the one hit wonder category?
I guess it could be a play or a game even. Maybe a streak in baseball? A season gets dicey because who is Tressel without his title? or Lloyd Carr? Still good coaches, but I could see an argument being made.
Growing up in the DC area, I'd vote Timmy Smith or Doug Williams from Super Bowl 21.
My honorable mention: Trent Dilfer
Here are a few one hit wonders as head coaches.
Ron Turner, brought Illinois out of nowhere to win the Big Ten. Finished with a career record of 52-91.
Kevin Ollie, he took UConn to a national title in his 2nd year. Every other season was mediocre and he got fired for cause.
Rollie Massimimo, slightly unfair as he worked his way up, but after that 1985 season, he never got anywhere near another title run.
Bill Stewart, replaced RichRod for their bowl game and led WVU to a big upset over OU. Giving him the HC job was widely criticized and he didn't last long.
There's a fair bit of history of coaching changes where the head guy is hired away or retires and an overmatched assistant gets promoted to the job because the players like him and they'll keep the same system. It almost invariably winds up collapsing as the original coach's drive and acumen leave. Occasionally it takes a year or two for the rot to be fully exposed.
Classic examples: Bobby Williams at MSU; Bill Stewart at WVU; Frank Solich at Nebraska; Jim Lambright at Washington; arguably Bob Davie at Notre Dame; Gary Gibbs at Oklahoma; and even Mark Helfrich at Oregon and Larry Coker at Miami, who rode systems and incredible talent to national title game appearances that were followed by steep declines.
Yes, it was a bit different with Stewart. He was the only assistant Rodriguez wasn't planning to take with him, so he got to coach the bowl game by default. One big win and he was handed a job no thought he'd even get considered for.
Bobby Williams was the worst head coach I've ever seen at any level. I'd forgotten he'd won a bowl game to get the job too.
Citrus Bowl over Florida, who was playing there because they lost to Alabama in the SEC championship game (remember what happened to them?)
People gripe about Henson playing too long in that UM-MSU game in 1999, but that was a good MSU team that season. The B1G was stacked, Michigan and MSU were both terrific, and Wisconsin was actually the team that made it to the Rose Bowl (which they won).
It's honestly embarassing we lost that 2001 game to them. End of game shenanigans or not, it should have never been that close.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:24 PM ^
Not sure I would put Solich in there. He had decent success Nebraska firing him was always a head scratcher
Frank Solich is still a great, yet underrated, coach.
Rollie Massimino won over 800 games.
In the same vein as Stewart for RichRod - and this one hits closer to home - Brian Ellerbe. Took over the Fisher mess and won the B1G tournament and then was a disaster.
David Tyree
David Tyree --- absolutely. This should have more thumbs up.
His helmet catch in the Super Bowl was his last reception EVER in the NFL. Ever!!!
Dammit! I was going to say Tyree. Helmet catch in the Super Bowl on 3rd and long to extend the Giant’s game-winning drive against undefeated New England. And if I remember correctly, he was gone from the league before the end of the following year.
I thought Tom Chambers was the greatest basketball player in the world after that All-star game performance in Seattle in 1987.
Tate Forcier for Notre Dame 2009 (with Illinois 3OT in 2010 being the way less popular follow-up)
The Illinois 3OT game was as bad as I've felt after a win.
I just re-watched that game. Oh my God were we bad.
That ND performance was legendary when it happened. It got discounted with his exit and the black fog RR left on the program. But that QB draw with him pointing up into the stands as he entered the end zone was full of balls and moxie.
It really was. A friend of mine and his HS age son were here visiting from NYC 3-4 years ago. The father is not a sports fan, but his son asked if I had a copy of the 2009 Notre Dame game. Two of us had fun watching it.
TATE FORCIER
August 8th, 2018 at 12:16 AM ^
Yep. 2009 against Notre Dame. The Forcier was with us that day.
Gavin Groninger raining threes on Georgia Tech (?) in the first month of his freshman year, only to never duplicate that performance in his career.
Buster Douglas, literally and figuratively.
Mike Ditka..1985. He's been riding that and playing Macho Man ever since.
2008 - Sam McGuffie, my very first recruiting crush! Early 20s me thought that Sam McGuffie was gonna win like two heismans and lead us to a Big 10 Championship...
How about Scott Mitchell right before the Lions way overpaid for him?
August 7th, 2018 at 10:43 PM ^
He had one big year for Lions.
He was kind of like Charlie Weis. Way overpaid. Big disappointments, but each had two pretty good seasons among a slew of poor ones.
Does Chris Pitarro count? Does anyone even know who that is or does this just make me old? He may be more of a “most overhyped of all time” but he was amazing for a few weeks.
I remember Sparky really liked him.
Believe he went 3-5 opening day 1985 and sparky Couldn’t stop heaping praise on him until he was sent down to AAA a few weeks later.
As I recall, Pittaro was good enough - in Sparky's estimation - that for 15 minutes his presence nearly upset the perfection of the Trammell-Whitaker double play duo. The Tigers considered moving Whitaker to third for a hot minute, until of course, Lou passed on the idea.
I think he was traded to the Twins and very quickly wandered off the field and into front office roles in baseball.
Brady Hoke.
Joel (Zoom Zoom*) Zumaya - great talent and rookie season in 2006 and then couldn't stay healthy
*that may have just been my nickname for him?
Hard to keep a 100 mph arm healthy when it wasn't genetically designed to throw 100 mph.
Spike in the first half.
Hey OP, Doug Williams and Washington won SB 22... The Giants beat the Broncos in SB 21 at The Rose Bowl.
Kam Chatman, and what a great hit it was
I helped my dad record that Super Bowl on VHS, so Timmy Smith's 200 yards is seared in my memory... Tony Delk's 2 or 3 40-pt games in a 2 week period also popped in my head
BYU - 1984 National Championship
All because Pitt was way, way overrated when BYU beat them and the referees would not call holding against BYU when they played Michigan in the bowl. (I am not bitter.)
I don’t follow the NBA much but I feel like Linsanity should be here. Guy was unstoppable for what, 3 weeks?
Lotta good ones taken so I'll go with Johan Franzen. 2008 playoffs he was unstoppable. Concussion issues did him in and he never came close to that form again.
Very obscure but my girlfriend (at the time) continues to think that Leon Powe (Celtics) is one of the great basketball players of all time because she has watched only one NBA game ever:
from wikipedia:
in Game 2 of the 2008 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers on June 8, 2008, as he scored 21 points, which included several dunks and 13 free throw attempts in only 15 minutes of play in front of a crowd chanting his name[8] en route to a 108–102 Celtics victory.
2010 Peyton Hillis should be a contender. Back when the Madden curse was in its prime.
George Mason basketball ---- they've won 1 NCAA game (2011) outside of their Final Four run.
I know it's hard for the mid-majors, but the likes of Wichita State, VCU, Gonzaga, etc have become consistently pretty good and regularly make NCAA tourneys while winning some games.
George Mason literally just popped out of nowhere. And then fell right back. It wasn't like they were Indiana State either, with a generational talent like Larry Bird on the team. Nobody from that GMU Final Four team played a single minute in the NBA.
Of late, GMU has had a losing record in 4 of the last 5 seasons.
(Indiana State has only won one other NCAA game in their history. But again, Larry Bird, the generational talent disqualifies them as a true 1-hit wonder)
Not the "ND Preview Show"
Yes, I know this will make no sense once the mods nuke that thread.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:48 PM ^
Spike Albrecht, 1st half, title game
August 7th, 2018 at 10:57 PM ^
I think that sells Spike a little short - he was a solid contributor throughout his career.
August 7th, 2018 at 11:15 PM ^
Eric Hipple. I remember him being forced to start a prime time game due to injury to the regular starter. He had an excellent performance and hung around with the Lions for another 9 years or so. Management hoped he could return to that first start magic. He couldn’t.
August 7th, 2018 at 11:26 PM ^
Chuck Long - Thew a TD on his first NFL pass and it was downhill from there.
August 7th, 2018 at 11:30 PM ^
How about Ren Stevens from disney channel's Even Stevens. Thought she was going to be a big star but never had any significant role after that show ended.
August 8th, 2018 at 12:13 AM ^
MARK FIDRYCH.
END THREAD NOW. HARBAUGH APPROVES THIS MESSAGE.