Top 10: Sports Comebacks
Phil Helm
Victor: Dallas Cowboys
Victim: San Francisco 49ers
The Cowboys and the 49ers met during the 1972 NFL playoffs. Going into the fourth quarter, the Niners built a comfortable 28-13 cushion, thanks to the bull running of San Francisco's Larry Schreiber and the inept play of Dallas quarterback Craig Morton, whose fumble and interception led to San Fran touchdowns. Morton was replaced in the fourth by some guy named Roger Staubach, who proceeded to lead the Cowboys to 17 unanswered points. Staubach's apt nickname of Captain Comeback gained considerable popularity after throwing two touchdown passes with under two minutes left in the game to lead the Pokes to a 30-28 victory.
Turning point: After Staubach's first TD pass, Mel Renfro recovered an onside kickoff and kept the befuddled San Francisco defense on the field for a little more Cowboy magic.
Victor: Toronto Maple Leafs
Victim: Detroit Red Wings
The 1942 Detroit Red Wings had finished fifth out of seven NHL teams and had a losing record going into the playoffs. In theory, the boys from Hockeytown had no business owning a 3-0 lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Red Wings beat the Leafs twice in Toronto and took Game 3 in Detroit 5-2. When all hope seemed lost, Don Metz brought the team back from the brink of elimination. Metz scored a hat trick in Game 4 and almost single-handedly won the 4-3 game. Game 5 and 6 were blowouts as the Maple Leafs outscored Detroit 12-3. Sweeney Schriner completed the comeback with two goals in Game 7, taking the NHL championship with a 3-1 victory.
Turning point: Metz's hat trick in Game 4 jump-started the Leafs and sent the Red Wings back to Toronto wondering if it might be the beginning of the end. It was.
Victor: Michigan State Spartans
Victim: Northwestern Wildcats
Michigan State was touted as a contender for the Big Ten title in 2006, but had struggled through the third quarter and had been absolutely demolished for the first 40 minutes by the suddenly juggernaut Northwestern defense. The Spartans' head coach, John L. Smith, was already in jeopardy of losing his job and losing at Northwestern this badly might have sealed his fate. The Spartans befuddled the Wildcats and football fans when they went on a tear. Senior QB Drew Stanton capitalized on some pesky Spartan defense — an interception and a blocked punt — and helped lead the Spartans to score 38 unanswered points and win 41-38.
Turning point: When the score was 38-17, Tyrell Sutton ripped off a 64-yard run only to have MSU's Kaleb Thornhill intercept a pass in the end zone. During the next Northwestern possession, MSU blocked a punt and Ashton Henderson returned it for a 33-yard touchdown to make the score 38-24 early in the fourth quarter. The momentum had swung in the Spartan's favor, and all the Wildcats could do was watch.
Victor: Gary Player
Victim: The Masters
Gary Player has won The Masters three times in his storied career, but during the 1978 version, he did not have the start he hoped for. After the third day, he was trailing the leader Tom Watson by an almost insurmountable seven strokes and was sitting in 10th place. Watson won the tournament in 1977 and was clearly in the driver's seat for another green jacket, but Player had different ideas. With Watson, Rod Funseth and Hubert Green breathing down his neck on the final day, Player made the turn at two under par and buried six birdies in his final nine holes to take the lead and the win by one stroke with an unexpected score of 64.
Turning point: It could be argued that Player's first birdie on the back nine started the momentum, but clearly a pressure-packed 15-foot putt on the 18th hole for a birdie and the lead was fuel enough to put the pressure back on Watson and the rest of the field.
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