Thick Headed Baseball Events of the Century by A&W Root Beer : A Legendary List on Baseball Almanac

Thick Headed Baseball Events of the Century

Baseball fans remember great performances. Even more memorable are some of the not so great plays made by great players. Sportswriters and columnists were surveyed by A&W Root Beer in 1999 and asked to select the 80 most Thick Headed Baseball Events of the Century.

"Why did Johnson bat for Willoughby? Where were you when you heard Denny Galehouse was pitching against the Indians? How could Slaughter have scored from first? Why was Buckner still in the game?" - Dan Shaughnessy in The Curse of the Bambino (1990)

Thick Headed Baseball Events of the Century by A&W Root Beer (1999)
#	Thick Headed Baseball Events of the Century
10.	The Pine Tar Incident, 1983: In a Yankees-Royals game, Hall of Fame third baseman George Brett hits a home run that is disallowed and results in him being called out after New York manager Billy Martin complains that the pine tar on the bat (used to give players a firmer grip) exceeded an 18-inch limit. A week later, AL President Lee MacPhail overruled the umpires and allowed the homer.
9.	The Lou Brock Trade, 1964: The Cubs dealt Lou Brock to the Cardinals for pitcher Ernie Broglio. Brock went on to hit .418 the rest of the season and led St. Louis to its first pennant in 18 years. He eventually broke Ty Cobb's base-stealing record and was elected to the Hall of Fame.
8.	Chewing tobacco: The players' longtime association with spit tobacco earns a spot on any thick-headed list.
7.	Asterisk, 1961: Commissioner Ford Frick made his infamous "asterisk" comment in 1961 by stating that in order for Roger Maris to have credit for breaking Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs, he'd would have to do it in the same number of games (154).
6.	The Pete Rose Incident, 1989: (Pete) Rose is banned from baseball for his alleged gambling on games by commissioner Bart Giamatti.
5.	The George Steinbrenner-Billy Martin Saga, 1988: The Yankees' owner fired manager (Billy) Martin for the fifth and final time.
4.	The Black Sox Scandal, 1919: Although voted "not guilty" by a jury, all eight White Sox defendants were banned for life by commissioner Judge Landis for accusations of throwing the 1919 World Series.
3.	Jackie Robinson Incident, 1942: After allowing Jackie Robinson to try out for the team in spring training in 1942, White Sox manager Jimmy Dykes dismisses him, symbolic of the owners' reluctance to integrate the majors.
2.	Player Strike, 1994: The 1994 strike, which resulted in the cancellation of the World Series.
1.	The Curse of the Bambino, 1920: Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees for $100,000 and a $300,000 loan. The Red Sox have not won the World Series since.
Thick Headed Baseball Events of the Century by A&W Root Beer

On June 20, 1919, an entrepreneur named Roy Allen sold his root beer creation at a roadside stand during a parade honoring returning World War I veterans. In 1922 he took on a partner named Frank Wright to help with the business and Allen & Wright combined to create A&W Root Beer.

Do you agree with the choices made by the sportswriters? Would you have chosen differently? Share your list on Baseball Fever today.

How popular is A&W? By 1933 there were more than 170 franchises! By 1950 there were more than 450 and less than 10 years later (with new owner Gene Hurtz at the helm) there were more than 2000 franchises nationwide.

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