The Weirdest Sports Injuries Ever

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The weirdest sports injuries ever

Elliott Kalb / Special to FOXSports.com

Athletes get hurt in a variety of ways. Some get hurt on the playing field. Some get hurt in taxis. Some get hurt in their sleep. The dumbest injuries are often contract violations: skiing accidents, motorcycle accidents, hunting accidents.
And then there's Clint Barmes, the Rockies shortstop who recently saw his promising rookie season derailed when he broke his collarbone while carrying deer meat up the stairs in his apartment building.

But Barmes can rest easy (or at least as easy as someone with his left arm in a sling can). He didn't make the cut when it comes to the weirdest injuries in sports history.

But these guys did.

Guys who got burned — by themselves

1. John Smoltz irons his shirt in April of 1990.
Smoltz figured out a nifty way to save time. He ironed his own shirts, while wearing them. This worked out well, until he gave himself burns to his chest and blood stains to the polo shirt he was ironing. Smoltz said at the time, "I couldn't believe it. I've done it five or six times and never had that happen."

2. Marty Cordova gets a suntan in May of 2002.
Orioles outfielder Marty Cordova scorched his face in a tanning salon. He relaxed a little too much on a tanning bed. It's understandable. Ballplayers have way too few day games to work on their tans. In the old days, this never would have happened.

3. Bob Feller scalded in May of 1951.
Just so people don't think modern-day athletes have all the weird injuries, I've included Feller. A hose flew out of Feller's hands and threw scalding water on the lower half of his body. He suffered first and second degree burns on his torso and legs. The hose got away from him as he attempted to fill a whirlpool, to ease the pain of a lower back.

Guys who got frostbite — in August

4. Rickey Henderson in August, 1993.
Toronto left fielder Henderson missed three games with frostbite on his left foot following application of an icepack. Rickey, is it 20 minutes on, and three games off?

Taxicab confessions

5. Tom Glavine's five-minute cab ride from LaGuardia to Shea, 2004.
Glavine lost his two front upper teeth, and needed stitches for a cut lower lip. He was a passenger in an auto accident, traveling the short distance from Laguardia Airport to Shea Stadium. There is no truth to the rumor he quickly hailed a cab from Shea to catch up with a gopher ball he had thrown to a former Atlanta Braves teammate.

6. Brian Anderson's cab ride from hell, 1998.
They say left-handers have more accidents, but in taxis? Anderson, a career .500 pitcher then with the Diamondbacks, took a 20-minute cab ride to shop on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. He laid his pitching arm across the top of the backseat, and felt stiffness that night at the ballpark. He said the injury was the strangest of his career, forgetting about the time he burned his face with an iron in his hotel room.

You think it's easy celebrating a score in the NFL?

7. Gus Frerotte uses his head, 1997.
NFL players are always told that when they get to the end zone, to act like they've been there before. Well, Redskins quarterback Frerotte really did not know how to act after his third career rushing touchdown. After his late November one-yard touchdown run, Gus deliberately smacked his head against the stadium wall beyond the end zone. The $18 million dollar quarterback was taken to the hospital with neck pain, missing the second half of the most important game of the season (against the Giants) and was never really the same afterward. When Warner Brothers cartoon characters pull the same head-butt stunt, it's funny.

8. Bill Gramatica dances with joy following first quarter FG, 2001.
Okay, I almost understand a quarterback on the hot seat losing his mind following a touchdown against a division rival. Now, someone please explain this one to me: An Arizona Cardinals field goal kicker celebrates wildly following a 42-yard field goal put his team up 3-0. Gramatica hyper-extended his right leg and tore his ACL, putting him on injured reserve the rest of the season.


Bill Gramatica hurt his knee while celebrating a field goal

Of course, the hardest part of baseball is the team picture

9. Cal Ripken's streak gets jeopardized by posing for All-Star team photo, 1996.
At least, when you bat against Randy Johnson, you wear a protective helmet. When the league requires the All-Star team gather round for a photo, there's no protection in sight. Ripken broke his nose at the end of the pregame photo session when White Sox pitcher Roberto Hernandez lost his balance and swung his forearm back, striking Ripken.

It's not just happening in the States

10. Santiago Canizares puts on a little too much Aqua-Velva, 2002.
Spain's starting goalkeeper, 32-year old Canizares, was ruled out of the 2002 World Cup after he ruptured a tendon when a bottle of cologne fell on his foot. I've always said a little dab is good, but too much of that stuff is overpowering and harmful.

More wild and wacky injuries:

11. Vince Coleman gets run down by technology, 1985.
In the 1985 League Championship Series, he got rolled up by the automatic tarpaulin machine.

12. Brian Griese gets sacked by his own dog, 2002.
When then-Broncos quarterback Griese was walking down the stairs, his dog came barreling down after him and clipped him.*

13. Kevin Mitchell injures himself vomiting, 1992.
Mariners outfielder Kevin Mitchell re-injured a muscle on his side while vomiting. When asked why he vomited, Mitchell said, "Sometimes, I just do that."

14. Sammy Sosa injures himself sneezing, 2004.
Sosa sprained a ligament in his back after a violent sneeze last season. It happened while sneezing and bending over in front of his locker. He sneezed to the truth.

15. Glenallen Hill had scary nightmare, 1990.
He spent two weeks on the disabled list due to cuts and scrapes he suffered during a nightmare about spiders. He hurt himself without ever waking during this incident. I heard about this, of course, on the Web.

*
"How about one these across your lips, Mr Quarterback?"

[Garcia Bronco]

Wait a minute.....how do we get credit for old Bus?

[Pendejo]

Nice find Slap.

A couple not on the list that I remember. I believe Lawrence "Chipper" Jones had to go on the DL after an escalator mishap while on a shopping trip. And the was one guy...I can't remember who he was, but he was a pretty good player in one of the big three pro sports...had to go on the list due to a wrist injury caused by playing too much Nofriendo (read:Nintendo).

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Originally Posted by Garcia Bronco

Wait a minute.....how do we get credit for old Bus?

I know he didn't do it while on active duty, but I still thought it funny that we landed two former QBs on the list.

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In Ball Four, Jim Bouton divulged that Joe Pepitone put a piece of popcorn under his foreskin and told the trainer he had a new strain of venereal disease.

[Mr Chatterboodamn]

Two Jags burned in fondue-pot accident
By EDDIE PELLS
AP Sports Writer
June 27, 2002

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Jaret Holmes and punter Chris Hanson were severely burned when a fondue pot slipped and overturned. ADVERTISEMENT


Both players have recovered from the accident, which occurred while they were cooking at Hanson's home earlier this month.

Hanson sustained first- and second-degree burns on both hands and his right ankle. He punts with his left foot. Hanson said Holmes also sustained severe burns.

Hanson's wife, Kasey, sustained second- and third-degree burns that required skin grafts. She also has recovered.

``It happened so fast,'' Hanson told the Florida Times-Union. He said they were moving the fondue pot when it slipped onto the tile floor in his house.

``Then, my wife fell into it,'' Hanson said. ``I know it doesn't sound like much, but it's been quite an ordeal.''

He said his wife has just returned home from the burn unit at Shands Hospital in Gainesville.

Hanson made the Jaguars' roster as a free agent last season and had a 37.1-yard net average. He is favored to win the job again this year.

Holmes, who signed with the Jaguars late last season as a kickoff specialist, is one of three kickers competing to replace Mike Hollis.

Both are expected to be fully recovered when training camp begins July 25.

Neither plans any more fondue meals.

"We've already thrown out the pot,'' Hanson said.

[B-Love]

Moises Alou's gruesome broken leg simply making the token round of 1st base, while playing for the Expos? I think it was the Spos.

[Rocket 7]

How about Deion Sanders sitting out a couple of years with a case of "terribly overrated loud mouth persona". Wait he is back. How is he? Still overated.

[Mtbrncofn]

1. John Smoltz irons his shirt in April of 1990.
Smoltz figured out a nifty way to save time. He ironed his own shirts, while wearing them. This worked out well, until he gave himself burns to his chest and blood stains to the polo shirt he was ironing. Smoltz said at the time, "I couldn't believe it. I've done it five or six times and never had that happen."

I think this one's better than SOB and the dog mauling. I cannot even imagine how he would dream that up. He must have been really "pressed" for time.

[watermock]

Deion has spent the past two weeks trying to find a doctor to clear his ass.

Not mentioned is the couch attack that nearly took Jake out for the season.

I would still like to happen with IHOPS little Breakfast Brunch went bad.

I think we have all figured out the Griese tripping on the sidewalk incident.

They are like a comedy revue. The problem is most of them don't even know which way to point it, just talk smak with it.

[ludo21]

lol, thanks for that list, i remeber ferottes head banging accident like it was yesterday. It was hilarious!! and then grieses dog incident, hahaha, it was also very funny,

[kappys]

Hanson is one unluckey dude isn't he. The fondue incident and if memory serves correctly he nearly chopped half of his foot off with an axe that Jack Del Rio kept in the locker room along with a big log to help motivate his players.

[Jens1893]

didnt a pitcher once break his arm on the mound?

[clarker]

What about that bird that Randy Johnson hit a few years ago. That was a pretty messed up sports injury. It ended the bird's sports career, but it did open the door to a great job as pillow stuffing.

[NaptownChief]

I would say Bryan "Dick" Herta should be on the list for getting his penis cut off in wreck...Thankfully for him and his sex life they were able to reattach it.

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Originally Posted by Jens

didnt a pitcher once break his arm on the mound?

That has happened a few times, most recently to Tony Saunders of the Devil Rays four years ago. His subsequent comeback attempts have failed.

Dave Dravecky of the Giants broke his arm while pitching in a game in 1989. The previous year he had been diagnosed with cancer and had a muscle from his shoulder removed from that arm. A successful comeback was permanently derailed when his arm broke the following year and then rebroke a couple months later. A couple years after that, the cancer returned and forced the amputation of his arm at the shoulder.

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No list of sports Jakes could ever be complete without former San Francisco Giants third baseman Chris Brown. He was a natural hitter, but a potentially fine career went down the crapper due to his refusal to play with even the most minor injuries. He actually begged his way out of the lineup once citing a sprained eyelid.

Here are a list of baseball injuries someone compiled that occurred during the same time frame as Ripken's consecutive games streak.

During Cal's Streak there has been tons of injuries. Here are some of the stranger ones

This is from an article by Knight-Ridder Tribune News Service.

In what must be considered the quintessential modern athlete injury, Tony Gwynn missed a couple of games after he smashed his thumb in the door of his luxury car. While going to the bank.

Rickey Henderson missed several games because of frost-bite. In August.

Vince Coleman missed the 1985 World Series when he got rolled up in the tarp machine.

Pascual Perez missed a start in Atlanta when he circled the city for more than two hours searching for the exit ramp from Highway 285 to Fulton County Stadium.

Kevin Mitchell strained a muscle while vomiting.

Twins farmhand David Foster was knocked out for the season when a lightning strike through a phone line zapped him while he was making a call.

Pitcher Steve Foster injured his shoulder knocking over milk bottles during a segment with Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show."

Wade Boggs missed several games after straining his back while pulling on his cowboy boots.

Paul Molitor dislocated a knuckle when it got stuck in another player's glove.

Milwaukee's Dave Nilsson missed part of this season with Ross River Fever, a mosquito-borne virus that annually affects 200 out of Australia's 17 million residents.

Twins general manager Terry Ryan required dozens of stitches when he was scouting a game and a bat flew out of the hitter's hands, sailed through a space in the backstop and struck him in the forehead.

Pitcher Jeff Juden had a start early in the 1994 season pushed back after getting an infection from a tattoo.

Outfielder Bret Barberie missed a game when he accidentally rubbed chili juice in his eye.

Ken Griffey Jr. missed a game after his protective cup slipped and pinched a testicle.

Doc Gooden missed a start when Coleman accidentally hit him with a golf club in the Mets' clubhouse.

Mark Portugal missed a start because of food poisoning from eating bad mahi-mahi.

Pitcher Steve Sparks dislocated his shoulder while tearing a phone book in half.

Reliever Larry Anderson strained a rib muscle getting out of a Jacuzzi.

Pitcher Ted Power pulled a hamstring jumping off the bullpen bench to join a brawl.

Kent Hrbek missed the final 10 games of the 1990 season when he sprained an ankle while wrestling with a clubhouse attendant.

Florida's Randy Veres hurt his hand pounding on a hotel room wall trying to get the people in the next room to quiet down.

Dennis Martinez injured his arm tossing his luggage onto the team bus. He was diagnosed with Samsonitis.

Chris Brown missed a game with a strained eyelid after sleeping on an eye a funny way.

Former Seattle shortstop Rey Quinones was unavailable as a pinch-hitter because he was in the clubhouse playing Nintendo.

Terry Harper (OF-Atlanta) Injured his shoulder after giving another player a high five.

Greg Harris (RP-Texas) injured his shoulder trying to flick sunflower seeds into the stands from the Bullpen.

Baltimore's Mark Smith was hurt when he stuck his hand in an air conditioner to see why it wasn't working properly. As if the Orioles would let Ripken test the air conditioner?

[Tredici]

A Few From CBS Sportsline


Second baseman Bret Barberie was once held out of the lineup after inadvertently rubbing chili juice in his eye.

Hall of Fame third baseman Wade Boggs missed a handful of games after straining his back while pulling on a pair of cowboy boots.

Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller was scalded with near-boiling water when he lost control of a hose for the whirlpool, burning himself below the waste. He was unable to perform baseball activities for nearly a week.

Pitcher Dwight Gooden once missed a start after teammate Vince Coleman hit him with a golf club in the team clubhouse by mistake.

Outfielder Terry Harper of the Braves injured his shoulder after giving another player a high-five.

Outfielder Glenallen Hill was unable to play for a few games after falling out of his bed due to a nightmare about spiders. He jumped from the bed, fell through a glass table and crawled through the broken glass suffering multiple cuts.

Minnesota's Kent Hrbek missed the final 10 games in 1990 due to a sprained ankle. He suffered the injury after wrestling with a clubhouse attendant.

Pitcher Jeff Juden had one of his scheduled starts pushed back in 1994 after getting an infection from a tattoo.

Pitcher Carlos Perez missed time after breaking his nose in a car accident. The wreck occurred as he was trying to pass the team bus.

Catcher Mickey Tettleton was once placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a severe bout of athlete's foot. The irritation was the result of tying his shoes too tight.

[Tredici]

Didn't Brad Johnson also go a few rounds with a glass coffee table and cut up his knee?

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Originally Posted by Tredici

Hall of Fame third baseman Wade Boggs missed a handful of games after straining his back while pulling on a pair of cowboy boots.

Mr Tough Guy. Boggs' hobby now is big game hunting. He's capped well over a hundred exotic animals around the world. I hope a rogue hippo steps on his empty bleeping head.

[Bronx33]

Originally Posted by -Slap-

Mr Tough Guy. Boggs' hobby now is big game hunting. He's capped well over a hundred exotic animals around the world. I hope a rogue hippo steps on his empty bleeping head.

I agree! exotic animal hunting is for candy a**es....... GO ROGUE HIPPO!

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Pitcher Carlos Perez missed time after breaking his nose in a car accident. The wreck occurred as he was trying to pass the team bus.

This filthy piece of trash is probably the worst human being who ever played pro sports. Serial rapist scumbag who deserves to die.