Is Warriors loss the most painful in area sports history?
Misery loves company, and the 2016 Warriors have plenty of company in the history of Bay Area pro sports collapses. If I had to rank this latest heartbreak, I’d probably put it No. 3. But to steal a word from Stephen Curry, I want to let it “marinate.” So
The Warriors’ collapse in the NBA Finals might feel like the most crushing defeat in Bay Area professional sports history, and it just might be. ¶ If misery loves company, though, Stephen Curry & Co., have lots of it. The 49ers, the Giants, the A’s, the Raiders and the Sharks all have felt this level of pain. As Bay Area fans, we have experienced the thrill of victory and agony of defeat many times over. ¶ If I had to rank this latest heartbreak, I’d probably put it No. 3. But to steal a word from Curry after the unthinkable conclusion to the NBA Finals, I want to let it “marinate.”
1. 2002 WORLD SERIES Giants vs. Angels
What happened: Leading 3-2 in the Series and 5-0 in the seventh inning of Game 6, Giants manager Dusty Baker made a pitching change, sending starter Russ Ortiz off with the game ball. Reliever Felix Rodriguez served up a three-run homer to Scott Spiezio, igniting an Angels comeback. The Giants lost 6-5 and then lost Game 7 at home 4-1, as starter Livan Hernandez allowed four runs in two innings.
What made it so painful: The Giants were seven outs away from their first championship since moving here in 1958.
Personal memory: Riding in an elevator with Baker after the game. He looked like he’d just had his guts ripped out.
2. 1990 NFC TITLE GAME 49ers vs. N.Y. Giants
What happened: Running out the clock with a 13-12 lead, the 49ers lost the ball when Roger Craig fumbled. They lost the game when Matt Bahr kicked a 42-yard field goal as time expired.
What made it so painful: The 49ers were less than three minutes away from becoming the first team to play in three consecutive Super Bowls.
Personal memory: I’ve never witnessed a crowd of 60,000 people go so quiet so suddenly.
3. 1988 WORLD SERIES A’s vs. L.A. Dodgers
What happened: Sending their unbeatable closer out for the ninth inning with a 4-3 lead, the A’s saw Dennis Eckersley give up a two-run walk-off homer to a hobbled Kirk Gibson. Orel Hershiser shut out the A’s in Game 2, and they never recovered, losing in five games.
What made it so painful: The A’s, winners of 104 games, were so heavily favored, nobody ever saw this coming.
Footnote: Eckersley had walked just 11 batters all season, but he walked light-hitting Mike Davis before Gibson came to the plate.
What happened: Trailing 1-0 in the ninth inning of Game 7 at Candlestick Park. the Giants had runners at second and third when Willie McCovey stepped to the plate after a two-out double by Willie Mays. McCovey hit a screaming line drive — that was snared by second baseman Bobby Richardson for the final out.
What made it so painful: It was the first hard-to-swallow finish in Bay Area sports history.
Footnote: Should third base coach Whitey Lockman have sent Matty Alou home from first on Mays’ double? The question still nags.
What happened: The Raiders (14-4) were rolling behind Rich Gannon, the league MVP. They got rolled 48-21 as Gannon threw five interceptions. three returned for touchdowns.
What made it so painful: Jon Gruden, Tampa Bay’s coach, had been the Raiders’ coach the four previous seasons until Al Davis traded him during a contract squabble. Gruden beat the Raiders by attacking them in ways only he could have known.
Footnote: The Raiders haven’t made the playoffs — haven’t had a winning record — since that game.
6. 2013-14 NHL PLAYOFFS (1ST ROUND) Sharks vs. L.A. Kings
What happened: The Sharks won the first three games against their chief rival, then became the fourth team in history to blow a 3-0 series lead. They scored only two goals in the final three games.
What made it so painful: Aside from becoming only the fourth team in Stanley Cup playoff history to blow a 3-0 series, the Sharks did it against a team led by Darryl Sutter and Dean Lombardi, long the coach-GM tandem in San Jose. They then delivered to Los Angeles the Stanley Cup that the Bay Area still hasn’t won.
7. 1976 NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS Warriors vs. Phoenix Suns
What happened: Leading the series 3-2, the Warriors lost a one-point heartbreaker in Game 6 and then returned home for an ugly Game 7 loss in which star Rick Barry was perceived to pout because he wasn’t getting enough shots.
What made it so painful: The defending champion Warriors had the best record in the regular season. (Ring a bell?)
Personal note: Attending Game 7 as a spectator, witnessed young stars Paul Westphal and Alvan Adams tear up the Warriors (and me) inside.
Footnote: It portended the end of an era. After a quick playoff exit the next year, Barry was traded and the Warriors missed the playoffs for nine consecutive years.
8. 2013 NFC TITLE GAME 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks
What happened: Trailing 23-17, Colin Kaepernick drove the 49ers to the Seattle 18, but on fourth-and-2 with 30 seconds left, Richard Sherman batted away a Kaepernick pass in the end zone, resulting in a game-ending interception by Malcolm Smith.
What made it so painful: Other than losing to Seattle for the third time in four games, this was the Super Bowl coronation because Denver wasn’t going to beat either NFC team, evidenced by its 43-8 loss to Seattle two weeks later.
Footnote: That game set the wheels in motion for Jim Harbaugh’s forced departure as 49ers coach.
9. 2001 A.L. DIVISION SERIES A’s vs. N.Y. Yankees
What happened: The A’s were on the verge of sweeping the best-offive series and were on the verge of tying Game 3 when Terrence Long doubled into the right field corner with two outs in the seventh inning and Jeremy Giambi running from first base. But Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter made an orthodox play, cutting off a throw and shoveling it home, and Giambi failed to slide for safety. The A’s lost 1-0 and then lost the next two games.
What made it so painful: It was probably the best team of the Billy Beane era, and the best opportunity for the Big Three — Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson and Barry Zito — to win a championship.
10. 1972 AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF Raiders vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
What happened: The Raiders were leading 7-6 and appeared to have won the game when, with 30 seconds to play, safety Jack Tatum blasted Frenchy Fuqua as the Pittsburgh running back was about to catch a pass across the middle from Terry Bradshaw. In the collision, the ball ricocheted backward and was caught on the run — or was it? — by Franco Harris, who rambled 60 yards for a touchdown.
Why it was so painful: The “Immaculate Reception” could have been ruled incomplete on two counts. Was Fuqua the only player to touch the ball before Harris? Did Harris catch it before it touched the ground? The Raiders and their fans, to this day, say yes and yes. History says no and no.