Sport’s history is full of heroes, men and women who were able to use their great abilities to overcome adversity and succeed in the face of almost inevitable defeat.  I can still hear legendary Celtic’s announcer, Johnny Most, yelling out as Larry Bird stole the inbound pass from Isaiah Thomas, flipped the ball under the basket to a cutting Dennis Johnson who laid it up and in, snatching a victory from the Pistons against impossible odds.  I can see Michael Jordan calmly pushing Bryon Russell, of the Utah Jazz, out of the way and hitting the game winner at the end of game 6 in the 1998 NBA Finals to steal the game and win the Championship.  How many times has Tiger woods needed an incredible shot to win a Major and then stepped up and executed to perfection?

But, what about the unlikely heroes of sports?  What about the athletes who were not expected to make the shot, hit the homerun, win the MVP, or cripple the hopes of a struggling franchise for another hundred years?  What of them?  What of the men who, not having been blessed with the talent of a Larry Bird or Michael Jordan, found some other way to rise to greatness?

And so it is I present to you a list of the most unlikely heroes in sports history.

Bill Laimbeer, Center, Detroit Pistons

Laimbeer made a career of pushing, pulling, fighting, and flopping (and hitting an occasional really weird-looking jumpshot).  He wasn’t athletic or particularly gifted in any asset of the game, but he was good at getting under people’s skin.  Everybody who played against this guy hated him, but in the eyes of the Detroit faithful Laimbeer is definitely an unlikely hero.  In one particular game in a 1987 Playoff series with the Boston Celtics Laimbeer knocked Larry Bird to the ground and a fight started.  In the end Bird and Laimbeer were both ejected, but there is no one who can argue that the Pistons wouldn’t take that trade every day of the week and twice on Sundays.  Detroit went on to win the game and tie the series 2-2.  As I think back on my youth watching the Pistons and the C’s battling it out for Eastern Conference supremacy I can only conclude that Chuck Daily’s game plan was for Laimbeer to date-rape Bird on every single possession in hopes to provoke a fight and garner the double ejection.  Not a bad idea now that I think about it.  Way to go Bill Laimbeer.  You are Detroit’s most unlikely hero.

Robert Horry, Forward, Houston Rockets, LA Lakers, San Antonio Spurs

When I think about Robert Horry I think about “Big Shot Rob”.  Horry was clutch no matter his minutes, his role, or his uniform.  But take a look at his career numbers:  7.0 points per game, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 43% FG, 34% 3-point FG.  These are hardly the numbers I expected to see when I looked them up.  34% 3-point FG is not exactly what I would call clutch shooting.  On one website it listed Horry’s Hall of Fame probability as 0.026%.  Not good news, Rob.  He played 16 NBA seasons and was never an All-Star.  By the numbers, Robert Horry is as unlikely a candidate to become a hero as there ever was in the NBA, but ask fans in Houston, LA, and San Antonio whether or not Horry is a hero.  Two Championships with Houston, three with LA, and two with San Antonio and he didn’t ride the bench to these rings, Horry played a vital role in almost every series.  In the 1995 Western Conference Finals against the Spurs Robert began writing his big shot making legend with a game winner in game 1, and then followed that up with a crucial basket in game 3 of the Finals against Orlando, giving the Rockets the 106-103 victory and the series lead.  From 2001-2003 Horry hit a game clinching 3-pointer in at least one game in four straight playoff series while playing for the Lakers, including a shot as time expired in game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals vs. Sacramento, and another against the Pacers in game 4 of the 2003 Finals.  After scoring only 3 points in the first three quarters of game 5 of the 2005 NBA Finals against Detroit Horry exploded for 21 points in the 4^th quarter and OT and he hit the game winning 3-pointer in the final seconds of that game too.  “Big Shot Rob” may only have a 0.026% chance of making the Hall of Fame, but I think his chances of hitting a game winning 3-pointer in your eye during the playoffs is significantly higher.

Steve Bartman, most-hated Chicago Cubs Fan ever

How can I say that Steve Bartman is a hero?  How dare I bring up his name in any way other than in a voodoo curse?  Well, every Cubs fan that ever lived may hate the guy, but he is definitely a hero to those who root for the Florida Marlins.  Marlins fans have got to love the hell out of this guy.  I mean the Cubs were five outs away from winning game 6 of the NLCS and playing in the World Series for the first time in like 208 million years, but old Stevie Bartman had to go and stick his big stupid hands out there and knock the ball away from Moises Alou (maybe more amazing is the fact that Alou was actually in the game and not on the IR, or that he didn’t blow his ACL and MCL when he jumped up and down in protest to Bartman hitting the ball, but I digress).  The Cubs went on to lose that game and the next and the Marlins went on to beat the Yankees in the World Series 4 games to 2.  I know that you can never even fly over Chicago without going into the cold sweats Steve, but if its any consolation they probably would have thrown you a parade in Florida if you hadn’t been put into witness protection immediately following the game.

Desmond Howard, KR, Green Bay Packers

Now Desmond had a pretty pedestrian career in the NFL.  He played 9 years and made the Pro-Bowl once, had career punt return and kick return averages of 11.9 and 22.2 yards respectively, and his receiving numbers don’t even deserve mention among even the most average NFL receivers.  But on one glorious afternoon in Super Bowl XXXI, Desmond Howard was the cat’s pajamas.  Desmond was named Super Bowl MVP, the first special teams player ever to do so. He ran for 154 kickoff return yards, and scored the game-clinching touchdown on a Super Bowl record 99-yard kickoff return. Howard also recorded a Super Bowl record 90 punt return yards, thus setting the Super Bowl records of total return yards (244) and combined net yards gained (244).  Howard did win the Heisman Trophy in college and had worlds of talent when he entered the NFL, but he never really realized his full potential until this game, and then he could never duplicate his performance after.  Super Bowl MVP is not bad though and this award alone earns Desmond Howard a spot on my list.

That’s all I have time for, but feel free to let me know about all the unlikely heroes that I left out.          

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