Scariest moments in sports history

[duff88]

Inspired from the hockey-related thread on HFBoards:

What are the scariest moments in sports history?

My nomination, the Clint Malarchuk incident (Be advised, this is bloody so watch at your own risks):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT4PenDwiPo

[bhlloy]

The only one I can think of off the top of my head that is worse than Marlachuk is Marc Vivien Foe collapsing and dying on the soccer field. You could tell from the other players reactions exactly what had happened and it was devastating.

Scariest I have ever seen in person was 6-7 years ago at Ninian Park when a young striker of ours called Gavin Gordon got kicked in the head by a defender and went into convulsions on the ground for ten seconds and then passed out. I thought he was dead, and the game was delayed for a half hour while they put the neck brace on, but turned out he was completely fine.

[Swaggs]

I was going to say Jason Kendall breaking his ankle, because that was a game I was watching live, but after seeing the Malarchuk video--there is not much of a contest. That is gruesome.

[sabotai]

I can't remember the guy's name, but someone was hit awhile back during an F1 race (I think it was F1) as he was running across the track. Not sure it counts as "scary", though, since he was pretty much dead instanty.

[Tasan]

Up until the moment I clicked that link, watching a young, promising Texas Rangers CF (Ruben Mateo) totally blow just about everything out in his right leg hitting first base wrong was the worst thing I'd ever seen in sports. Just running real hard to 1st and hit the bag completely wrong. He was having a pretty decent season and everything, and you just see his leg complete go wrong all at once. That Tampa Bay pitcher breaking his arm was pretty bad too, he just rares back, goes to throw and his arm suddenly has another elbow.

But that hockey clip, I had to turn it off. That was bad bad bad.

[Atocep]

The worst I've seen on live television are Robin Ventura breaking his leg sliding into home, Garrison Hearst breaking his leg just above the ankle and actually seeing the foot flop as he went to plant on it, and Napolean McCallum on MNF a few years ago.

McCallum: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVchNFaUiVc

[SackAttack]

I still cringe when I think about the Willis McGahee knee injury. I've seen stuff gorier than that, but nothing that ever made me wince quite like that.

[Schmidty]

I am not trying to be cool or tough, but that link didn't bother me. I'm not really creeped by blood at all.

Bones breaking, on the other hand, make me puke. I can't even watch a twisted ankle. I guess it's because I've broken so many bones, and torn so many ligaments. Ugh.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

A little follow up on Malarchuk from Wikipedia:

With pools of blood collecting on the ice, Malarchuk somehow left the ice under his own power with the assistance of his team's trainer, Jim Pizzutelli. Many spectators were physically sickened by the sight, with nine fainting and two suffering heart attacks while two teammates vomited on the ice. Local television cameras covering the game cut away from the sight of Malarchuk after realizing what had happened.

Malarchuk, meanwhile, had only two thoughts: He was going to die, and he had to do it the right way. "All I wanted to do was get off the ice", said Malarchuk. "My mother was watching the game on TV, and I didn't want her to see me die."

Malarchuk's life was saved by Jim Pizzutelli, the team's trainer and a former army medic who had served in Vietnam. He reached into Malarchuk's neck and pinched off the bleeding, not letting go until doctors arrived to begin suturing the wound. Still, Malarchuk came within minutes of becoming only the second on-ice fatality in NHL history (the first, and thus far only, was Bill Masterton).

Amazingly, after receiving in more than 300 stitches to close the wound, Malarchuk returned to practice four days later, having spent only one night in the hospital. And about a week after that, he was back between the pipes against the Quebec Nordiques. "Doctors told me to take the rest of the year off, but there was no way", Malarchuk said. "The longer you wait, the harder it's going to be. I play for keeps."

[rowech]

Krumrie's leg
Dravecky and Browning's broken arms
Propro? from Alabama a couple of years ago.

[Dr. Sak]

Propro? from Alabama a couple of years ago.

Prothro

[WSUCougar]

Got to be Malarchuk, but I'm surprised we're this far into the thread with no mention of Theismann.

[Neon_Chaos]

Not exactly sports... but a very gruesome sight in Sports Entertainment back in good old WCW when Sycho Sid Vicious broke his leg in half after trying to hit Scott Steiner with a big boot off the top rope.

Like said above, watch at your own risk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ_RR9WjUlI

[Logan]

Malarchuk returned to practice four days later, having spent only one night in the hospital. And about a week after that, he was back between the pipes against the Quebec Nordiques.[/I]

Of course he was...he's a hockey player.

Got to be Malarchuk, but I'm surprised we're this far into the thread with no mention of Theismann.

When I think "scary" I think of times when someone's life is in danger. I was at the game when Dennis Byrd of the Jets got paralyzed -- that was pretty damn scary.

[Butter]

I can't remember the guy's name, but someone was hit awhile back during an F1 race (I think it was F1) as he was running across the track. Not sure it counts as "scary", though, since he was pretty much dead instanty.

Along similar lines, there was an IndyCar guy who I can't remember... he was hit, his car flipped airborne and completely disintegrated as it hit the fence in the air. There was pretty much no doubt he was going to be dead instantly when the safety crew got there. Can't remember who that was exactly, but it was horrible.

[Neon_Chaos]

Also...

Formula One's Ayrton Senna's death, when he crashed into the concrete wall at Imola in 1994.

[molson]

Ya, there's nothing really scary about broken bones, no matter how gruesome.

I have a different angle on it - I remember falling asleep once during a MNF game in, I believe, 2002. I woke up, groggy, and the first thing I heard was Al Michaels saying that a foreign substance had been sprayed on the field, and all the players had fled one of the sidelines. Of course, that just turned out to be security being a little too liberal with pepper spray in breaking up a fight in the stands, but for a few seconds there, I had thought there had been a terrorist attack.

[Bearcat729]

Joe Montana getting hit so hard that he went into seizures on the field was the scariest thing I can think of.

[Rizon]

Krumrie's leg
Dravecky and Browning's broken arms
Propro? from Alabama a couple of years ago.

Dravecky's arm breaking was the worst thing I've seen (on TV).

[Toddzilla]

Inspired from the hockey-related thread on HFBoards:

What are the scariest moments in sports history?

My nomination, the Clint Malarchuk incident (Be advised, this is bloody so watch at your own risks):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT4PenDwiPo

Before I even opened the thread, this was exactly what I was going to mention. I remember watching it at college with a bunch of other hockey goons and thinking - "Holy Shit, we're watching a man die on the ice..."

[spleen1015]

Mine would have to be the day Dale Earnhardt died.

After crashes like that, they always show the driver getting out of the car, etc. When they didn't, I thought he was hurt pretty bad. When they showed Jr. running off of pit road, I knew it was going to be bad news.

[cartman]

Munich Olympics?

[Maple Leafs]

This thread should really be titled "Scariest moments in sports history besides Clint Malarchuk", because that one may never be topped.

Some other bad ones from hockey, all of whom wound up being (relatively) OK:

- Trent McCleary of the Habs taking a slapshot directly to the throat. It was clear pretty much right away that he couldn't breathe at all. He jumped up immediately and sprinted off the ice and down the tunnel, clutching at his throat with trainers chasing him. This one didn't have the gore factor, but it actually came close to Malurchuk in the sense that you were thinking "that guy is about to die".

- Chris Pronger taking a slapshot to the chest, getting up and skating a few steps, then collapsing. Mark my words, a slapshot directly to the heart will kill a hockey player some day.

- Bryan Marchment being checked into the penatly box door and going into convulsions, made worse by him swallowing his mouth guard and choking on it.

[johnnyshaka]

I remember this like it was yesterday...I was 17 playing rep baseball when a fly ball was hit into shallow CF. I was playing 2nd base and noticed that my SS had a better jump on the ball so I headed for the bag to cover up. Well, you guys can imagine what happens next...the CF and SS collide both going full speed. Gear went flying every which way and both were out cold. The CF looked like he got the worst of if as he was bleeding from several places on his face. Luckily there was an ambulance on site because there was a BMX track right next to the diamond and there were races going on all day so paramedics were on scene within minutes. Neither kid was conscious when they left the scene about 20 minutes after the collision initially happened. Being so young and having never seen anything like that before I had no idea what to think and honestly thought at least one, if not both, weren't going to make it. Turns out the CF, who we all thought was in worse shape, ended up with a broken nose and a concussion and the SS ended up having an emergency appendectomy and a pretty severe concussion.

Obviously nowhere near as dramatic as seeing puddles of blood on national TV but when two of your friends are bleeding and motionless on a ball diamond time damn near stands still. I don't ever want to experience that ever again.

[duff88]

Another hockey nomination would be Jiri Fisher of the Detroit Red Wings collapsing on the bench:

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=kUU4-JKfB_o

[Logan]

Can't believe I forgot Bryan Berard taking a stick to the eye...terrifying. You knew having that much blood come directly out of the eye just was not good.

[DeToxRox]

Another hockey nomination would be Jiri Fisher of the Detroit Red Wings collapsing on the bench:

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=kUU4-JKfB_o

Ditto. That was unreal.

[DeToxRox]

If you consider wrestling a sport, Owen Hart dying. Even though they didn't show it, the whole aspect of it was unreal.

[molson]

What I've learned in this thread is that hockey is clearly the scariest sport.

[Toddzilla]

What I've learned in this thread is that hockey is clearly the scariest sport.+1

Don't hear much about scary moments in bowling...

[FrogMan]

Can't believe I forgot Bryan Berard taking a stick to the eye...terrifying. You knew having that much blood come directly out of the eye just was not good.


Malarchuk would be my first but after reading that eye thing for Berard, I thought I'd remembered that Borje Salming had a pretty bad one. After some googling, there a list of the most gruesome hockey injuries over at
http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/271006

The list in a nutshell:

Clint Malarchuk's jugular vein cut by a skate (1989): It was both sickening and ghastly and 18 years later, it's difficult to believe that the Sabres' netminder survived to work today as the goaltending coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
A collision with Blues winger Steve Tuttle left Malarchuk kneeling on the ice, the blood squirting from his neck. Buffalo trainer Jim Pizzutelli scrambled on to the ice and put pressure on the wound to keep Malarchuk alive. "Somewhere I had heard that you only have a few minutes to live if (the jugular) ever gets cut," said Malarchuk, who required 300 stitches. "I thought, `I have a lot of repenting to do in the next three minutes.' I thought I was going to die." How horrifying was it? Seven fans fainted and two suffered heart attacks.

Borje Salming's face stepped on (1986): During a game at Detroit, the Maple Leafs defenceman lay on the ice during a goalmouth scramble. Wings' forward Gerard Gallant was pushed backwards and accidentally stepped on Salming, cutting him on the right side of his face. It took about 250 stitches to close the wound. "He looked like a softball after the game," said teammate Steve Thomas.

Ted Green clubbed by Wayne Maki (1969): During an exhibition game at Ottawa, Boston's Green and Maki of St. Louis got into an ugly stick-swinging exchange. As Green skated away to the penalty box, Maki connected with a blow to Green's head, breaking the Bruin player's skull and causing him to suffer partial paralysis. Green missed the entire season but returned the NHL in 1970, playing with a metal plate inserted in his head.

Ace Bailey ambushed by Eddie Shore (1933): Bruins defenceman Shore reacted angrily after he was hit by Toronto's Red Horner and went looking for revenge. Shore slammed Bailey down with a vicious hit from behind and the Maple Leafs' head, according to reports, smacked the ice "like a watermelon hitting pavement." Bailey suffered a fractured skull and newspapers prepared obits, the injury was that severe. Though Bailey survived, his career was over.

Rocket Richard clobbers Hal Laycoe (1955): During a late-season game, the Montreal legend is highsticked by Boston's Laycoe, opening a cut. Incensed by the sight of his own blood, the story goes, Richard went after Laycoe, highsticking him in the shoulders and face. When his stick was taken away, Richard grabbed another and broke it, depending on the account, over Laycoe's back, shoulders or head. Richard also punched a linesman and was suspended for the post-season, causing Montreal fans to riot.

Marty McSorley clubs Donald Brashear (2000): Boston's McSorley stalks Vancouver's Brashear up the ice, trying to engage him in fisticuffs. McSorley takes a two-handed swing at the Canuck with his stick and wallops him on the side of the head. Brashear collapses unconscious. McSorley was found guilty of assault with a weapon but didn't serve jail time.

Jiri Fischer's cardiac arrest (2005): The drama played out in front of a full house at Joe Louis Arena as the Detroit defenceman's heart ceased beating on the bench and he began shaking uncontrollably before keeling over. Fans watched as doctor's pumped his chest. A defibrillator was used to shock Fischer's heart back to a regular rhythm. The emotion of the moment caused the game to be cancelled.

Todd Bertuzzi sucker punches Steve Moore (2004): Vancouver's Bertuzzi approaches Moore from behind and blindsides him with a punch to the head. Moore goes down – with Bertuzzi riding him to the ice – and suffers a broken neck. In court, Bertuzzi pleads guilty to assault causing bodily harm and receives a conditional discharge.

Bryan Berard blinded by errant stick (2000): It was instantly obvious something horrible had happened. When then-Senators forward Marian Hossa swung wildly at a bounding puck and missed, his stick came up into the right eye of Berard. The blood began to pool moments after the Toronto defenceman hit the ice. Berard lost vision in his eye but continues his comeback with the Islanders.

Bryan Marchment goes into seizure on ice (1997): With sickening force, Bryan Marchment's head slammed into the open penalty box door during a playoff game at Dallas. He suffered a concussion and his body went into convulsions as he lay on the ice. Marchment made a full recovery.


Pic of Salming after 250 stitches...
http://multimedia.thestar.com/images/69/f4/a50563c340fba5c7e72a419974d0.jpeg

[DeToxRox]

Another scary hockey moment is obivously Steve Moore being taken out by Bertuzzi and when that kid from Boston got paralyzed his first shift playing college puck

[Logan]

Another scary hockey moment is obivously Steve Moore being taken out by Bertuzzi and when that kid from Boston got paralyzed his first shift playing college puck

Travis Roy I believe is his name. Yeah, that was awful.

Back in 1997, I was at a preseason Rangers - Leafs game where I had the fortune of sitting about 3 rows off the ice (since it was preseason and not many people went). At one point, about 10 feet away from me, Ryan Vandenbussche of the Rangers and Nick Kypreos of the Leafs fought. Vandenbussche was a goon, Kypreos a fighter too but a little more well-rounded of a player. It was your typical fight, some punches landing with a lot of grabbing. All of a sudden, while the two guys were grappling, Vandenbussche unleashed a huge left that caught Kypreos square on the jaw, knocking him unconscious before he hit the ice face-first, where he landed and blood started pouring out of his mouth. My first thought was that he killed him; there was very little doubt in my mind. He was out for awhile but eventually came to, and then never played again.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1QHaTxgvTn8

[molson]

"Still, Malarchuk came within minutes of becoming only the second on-ice fatality in NHL history (the first, and thus far only, was Bill Masterton)"

After Reading this thread, this is pretty amazing - that there's been only one one-ice fatality.

[Maple Leafs]

Can't believe I forgot Bryan Berard taking a stick to the eye...terrifying. You knew having that much blood come directly out of the eye just was not good.
I was at that game. Not fun. I remember hearing Ottawa fans booing when they announced Hossa's high-sticking minor, and thinking "what planet are these guys on?"

Another bad hockey one: Kevin Stevens in game seven against the Islanders in 1993.

[Radii]

Before most of our time(insert Bucc joke here), but the first thing I thought of as a non hockey fan:

http://www.dodgerblues.com/images/roseboro-marichal.jpg

Juan Marichal, the San Francisco Giants pitcher, came up to bat in the third inning of a game at Candlestick Park. Marichal had hit a Dodger player earlier and a peeved Roseboro had been firing Sandy Koufax's pitches back to him just inches from Marichal's ear as he took his turn at bat.

Marichal turned around to tell Roseboro to stop and Roseboro stood up and took off his mask. Marichal saw this as a threat and immediately hit the catcher over the head with the bat twice, opening a 2-inch gash in Roseboro's head. With blood gushing down Roseboro's face, the two teams—already heated rivals battling for the NL pennant—brawled for 14 minutes.

[Neon_Chaos]

If you consider wrestling a sport, Owen Hart dying. Even though they didn't show it, the whole aspect of it was unreal.

:( RIP Owen.

[sabotai]

I can't remember the guy's name, but someone was hit awhile back during an F1 race (I think it was F1) as he was running across the track. Not sure it counts as "scary", though, since he was pretty much dead instanty.

Looked it up. It was the South Africa GP in '77. Tom Pryce was the guy who was hit.

[cartman]

In F1, there is always the crash of David Williamson at the Dutch Grand Prix. He suffered a tire failure and his car ended upside down, then caught on fire. One of the other racers, David Purley, stopped and tried to get the car flipped over so Williamson could get out. Williamson was conscious during the time, but they couldn't get the car flipped over and he burned to death.

[Critch]

Just to break the monotony of endless hockey scaries, I've got a volleyball story.

When I was at school we were forced to play volleyball, some kid was messing about and tried to slide down one of the poles holding up the net. He forgot there was a hook to tie the bottom of the net to. The hook ripped his nuts wide open, there was blood, screaming, and a fair bit of laughing too. He was led out to be stiched up, holding his nuts in and crying.

[duff88]

Just to break the monotony of endless hockey scaries, I've got a volleyball story.

When I was at school we were forced to play volleyball, some kid was messing about and tried to slide down one of the poles holding up the net. He forgot there was a hook to tie the bottom of the net to. The hook ripped his nuts wide open, there was blood, screaming, and a fair bit of laughing too. He was led out to be stiched up, holding his nuts in and crying.

:eek:

I don't mind seeing broken bones

I'm not grossed out by blood flowing from someone's throat

But this, this... :(

[Radii]

DUDE. Critch that was totally unnecessary dear lord.

[Dr. Sak]

In high school our offensive lineman were taught that if a defensive lineman jumps and puts his hands up, to hit him in the nuts. Well first day of camp, the defensive end jumps up...the LT hits him square in the nuts. Well he hit him in such a way that his balls go back up inside him. He had to go to the hospital so the doctor could get his balls to "drop" again.

[MikeVic]

I'm never coming back to this thread.

[Passacaglia]

Munich Olympics?

My thought was Munich, or that Pistons-Pacers game a while back.

[Maple Leafs]

Just once I'd like to have a nice thread without bsak coming in to talk about touching other guys' balls.

[JS19]

I remember watching Beltran and Cameron collide in CF. It was a real scary site to watch live, as they pretty much went head first into each other, turned out not to be too serious, in respect to the other incidents mentioned.

EDIT: After watching the video again, i take back the "pretty much", that was a full blown head to head collision.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dzXt1C2M5Y

[NevStar]

In case you LIKE looking at this stuff:

hxxp://www.askmen.com/sports/fitness_top_ten_100/133_fitness_list.html (ads possibly NSFW)

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/scorecard/jimmys_blog/2007/02/most-gruesomebizarre-injuries.html

Besides Malarchuk, Allan Ray's looked pretty bad... amazing he never had any damage.

[molson]

My thought was Munich, or that Pistons-Pacers game a while back.

Ya, I forgot about that one - I somehow caught the Piston/Pacers thing live (and I hardly ever watch NBA games), and it was pretty terrifying. I was almost waiting for one of those fans to pull out a gun and start shooting.

[korme]

Damian Jackson and Johnny Damon were pretty solid crashes as well.
Worst thing I've seen live is McGahee in the championship game.

[SackAttack]

Prothro

That one was gruesome to watch, but I didn't have the same reaction as I did to McGahee's injury; desensitized maybe? Dunno.

I DO remember showing that to a friend of mine in the journalism class I was taking at the time, having him nearly retch, and then here comes this girl wanting to know what we're looking at.

"I don't think you want to see this."

"Show me!"

"I'm not kidding, you don't want to see this."

"What, you think I can't handle it because I'm a chick?"

"Don't say I didn't warn you." *clicks play*

She ran screaming from the room.

[Buccaneer]

Inspired from the hockey-related thread on HFBoards:

What are the scariest moments in sports history?

My nomination, the Clint Malarchuk incident (Be advised, this is bloody so watch at your own risks):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT4PenDwiPo

I didn't watch the rest of that. Did he survive ok?

[Buccaneer]

A little follow up on Malarchuk from Wikipedia:

With pools of blood collecting on the ice, Malarchuk somehow left the ice under his own power with the assistance of his team's trainer, Jim Pizzutelli. Many spectators were physically sickened by the sight, with nine fainting and two suffering heart attacks while two teammates vomited on the ice. Local television cameras covering the game cut away from the sight of Malarchuk after realizing what had happened.

Malarchuk, meanwhile, had only two thoughts: He was going to die, and he had to do it the right way. "All I wanted to do was get off the ice", said Malarchuk. "My mother was watching the game on TV, and I didn't want her to see me die."

Malarchuk's life was saved by Jim Pizzutelli, the team's trainer and a former army medic who had served in Vietnam. He reached into Malarchuk's neck and pinched off the bleeding, not letting go until doctors arrived to begin suturing the wound. Still, Malarchuk came within minutes of becoming only the second on-ice fatality in NHL history (the first, and thus far only, was Bill Masterton).

Amazingly, after receiving in more than 300 stitches to close the wound, Malarchuk returned to practice four days later, having spent only one night in the hospital. And about a week after that, he was back between the pipes against the Quebec Nordiques. "Doctors told me to take the rest of the year off, but there was no way", Malarchuk said. "The longer you wait, the harder it's going to be. I play for keeps."

Ok, maybe I should have read the rest of the thread.

[Vegas Vic]

Jerry Lawler's vicious suplex and piledriver on Andy Kaufman (6:45 mark) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4c3UJa-2oA)

[st.cronin]

Personal story: When I was playing high school hockey, at one of our practices we had scheduled a full-contact scrimmage. I didn't see the hit (happened behind me), but one guy got hit so hard, that when he was done with rehab (took over a year, it was some sort of back injury) he was 2 inches shorter. The guy that hit him actually quit hockey that day.

[IMetTrentGreen]

Munich Olympics?

2nd

[Senator]

The ones I remember was watching live the injuries to Willis McGahee and McCallum. The only NASCAR race I ever watched complete live was the one where Dale E was killed. I thought, WTF?

But, for just that sickening feeling, we had a big family event in the 90's to watch the Breeders Cup horse races, and there was something like 4 races where horses broke down and it just soured me for weeks.

[kingnebwsu]

I'm a huge Ohio State fan and the McGahee thing was just awful. It's like, a person's leg isn't supposed to bend like that. At least he made it back and did alright in the NFL.

[Vegas Vic]

I'm a huge Ohio State fan and the McGahee thing was just awful.

I'd say that this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEVJyf0ft3I) is the scariest moment in Ohio State's sports history.

[Clark]

In F1, there is always the crash of David Williamson at the Dutch Grand Prix. He suffered a tire failure and his car ended upside down, then caught on fire. One of the other racers, David Purley, stopped and tried to get the car flipped over so Williamson could get out. Williamson was conscious during the time, but they couldn't get the car flipped over and he burned to death.

I have to agree it's just gut-wrenching to watch.

No gore:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mz3ZzSXyWM

From Wikipedia:
"During the race, Williamson suffered a sudden tyre deflation, which pitched his car into the barriers at high speed and catapulted it 300 yards (275 metres) across the track, eventually coming to rest upside down against the barriers on the other side, during which his petrol tank had ignited while being scraped along the track. A fire began to take hold and Williamson was unable to extricate himself. Fellow driver and friend David Purley, although not a teammate of Williamson's, abandoned his own race in a desperate and valiant attempt to rescue him. Williamson had not been seriously injured by the impact, and was heard shouting to Purley to get him out of the car as Purley tried in vain to turn the car upright. Initially the commentators on Dutch TV, race control and some of the other drivers participating in the race assumed that it was Purley's car that had crashed and that the driver had escaped unharmed. As a result the race continued at full pace while Purley desperately tried to save the life of his friend.

The fire marshals stationed at the corner where the accident occurred were both poorly trained and badly equipped, and it was left to Purley to snatch the sole fire extinguisher and attempt to put out the fire. The marshals, who were not wearing flame retardant overalls, stood by as the fire spread, awaiting the arrival of the fire truck, which had to navigate across the track while the race was still in progress. The fire was relatively small for at least three minutes and there was more than ample time to right the car and pull Williamson out, but as desperately as he tried, Purley was unable to do it by himself. In what was seen by many as the most shocking aspect of the incident, one of the marshals tried to pull Purley away from the wreck as the helpless Williamson remained trapped. Some spectators, appalled at the seeming indifference of the marshals to Williamson's plight, tried to breach the safety fences in order to help Purley, but were pushed back by track security staff with dogs. It was some eight minutes before the first fire truck arrived on the scene. By the time the car was eventually righted, and the fire extinguished, Williamson had died of asphyxiation.

A blanket was thrown over the burnt out wreck with Williamson still inside, and the race carried on."

[Buccaneer]

I get angry and sad watching that.

[path12]

Wow, I never knew that story. That's brutal to watch.

[molson]

Wow, I never knew that story. That's brutal to watch.

+1

What the hell is wrong with people?

They had one fire extinguisher (which only another driver apparently thought to use), and 3 fire marshalls who stood around for eight minutes?

Sometimes even the 1970s seem like the dark ages. Can you imagine if this happened today? There'd probably be criminal charges.

[duff88]

Wow... I'm simply speechless... This is so sad, I can't believe the disgust the other driver must have felt that he was alone trying to save someone's life while everyone seemed to simply ignore it. :(

[Scoobz0202]

I don't think I could have gone back to racing with all those people after just seeing them drive by...

[molson]

"Fellow driver and friend David Purley, although not a teammate of Williamson's, abandoned his own race in a desperate and valiant attempt to rescue him"

This is the most bizzare quote that wiki article. Purley certainly was heroic, but how surreal is that we're giving him credit for "abandoning his own race", as if doing so as someone is burning alive is somehow going above and beyond. (Though in this case, I guess it was).

And the fact that Purley stopped "although not a teammate", as if only a teamate should be expected to help under these circumstances.

[Scoobz0202]

I agree with what your saying, but apparently it must be pretty impressive if he was the only one with enough balls to abandon the race to try and save a fellow driver.

[Critch]

F1 was deadly back in those days. In Jackie Stewart's autobiography he mentioned that in an 11 year period in F1 he knew 57 drivers and test drivers who died. When he tried to organize the drivers to campaign for safety changes, he got hate mail accusing him of not being enough of a man for F1.

[Critch]

Dola....

It wasn't uncommon for F1 drivers to stop and try to help at crashes, at a lot of tracks the marshals were badly equipped and/or badly trained, so the drivers would get in as they were the ones with fire-retardant gear. It was drivers who pulled Niki Lauda out of his car, and James Hunt pulled Ronnie Peterson from a burning car in the late 70s too.

[Axxon]

Kermit Washington's punch that fractured Rudy Tomjanovich face fits here.

From the wiki article

The punch, which took Tomjanovich by surprise, fractured his face about 1/3 of an inch away from his skull and left Tomjanovich unconscious in a pool of blood in the middle of the arena. Players involved often say that right after Tomjanovich collapsed, the silence at the arena, filled with shocked fans, was "the loudest silence you have ever heard."[1] Upon later inspection by the doctors at the scene, it was discovered that Rudy was actually leaking spinal fluid into his mouth, and that not only his basketball career, but his life was in danger at that point. Tomjanovich would later recount that at the time of the incident, he believed a scoreboard fell on him.

hxxp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermit_Washington