30 Darkest Moments in Sports History

30 Darkest Moments in Sports History

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at thirty tragic moments that shook the sporting world to its very core.

Malice in the Palace

One of the most infamous nights in NBA history took place in 2004 during a showdown between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons. In the game’s dying embers, a foul by Ron Artest set off a series of events that led to a full-on brawl. At first, it was player-on-player, right up until the dismissed Artest had a drink thrown at him by a fan, causing the chaos to spill into the stands. As far as ugly moments are concerned, this was among the worst in basketball history. The game was understandably called off, and Artest received an 86-game suspension, the longest ever handed out for an on-court incident.

The Attack on Monica Seles

The former world number 1 tennis star, Monica Seles, was on the receiving end of one of the most senseless acts of violence the sporting world has ever seen. In the middle of a game against Magdalena Maleeva, a crazed fan of Seles’ rival Steffi Graf rushed onto the court and stabbed Seles in the back with a boning knife. Thankfully, the physical damage was not too severe, and she made a return to full health in a few weeks. However, the psychological impact it had on Seles was tremendous. She didn’t return to competition for another two years, and although she did win another Grand Slam, her dominant career was thrown completely off-track by this assault.

Wichita State University Football Team Plane Crash

In 1970, one of two planes carrying the Wichita State University football team to a game in Utah crashed into a mountain, killing 31 of the 37 people onboard - a mixture of players and staff. The plane flew into a box canyon and was unable to gain altitude, resulting in a direct collision. Pilot error and poor preflight planning were pointed to as the contributing factors and the general consensus was that it was a tragedy that could have been avoided. To this day, it remains one of the most devastating aviation disasters involving a collegiate sports team in U.S. history.

Blood On the Ice

The inherent danger of ice hockey’s use of bladed skates is something that can be easily forgotten, or at least that’s the case until something like Clint Malarchuk’s injury happens. In a collision near the goal crease, a player’s skate blade accidentally slashed Malarchuk’s neck, slicing his carotid artery and partially his jugular vein. Blood rapidly poured onto the ice in a scene witnessed by thousands in the arena and on television. He would have died were it not for the quick actions of the team’s trainer. The sight of such a gruesome accident was deeply disturbing for those in the arena, causing two onlookers to have heart-attacks, eleven to faint, and several to vomit. Thankfully, he survived and returned to the ice shortly after.

Marc-Vivien Foé's Collapse

The world of football was well and truly rocked by the sudden collapse and death of Manchester City footballer Marc Vivien Foé in 2003. During a Confederations Cup matchup between his Cameroon side and Colombia, Foé collapsed mid-game, seemingly for no reason. Medical staff attempted to resuscitate him on the pitch before eventually bringing him to a facility where he was pronounced dead. He was 28 years old at the time. His death was later ruled to be due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and it led to renewed emphasis on cardiac screening for professional athletes.

Max Baer Sucker Punches Frankie Campbell

Few moments in fighting history display the dangers of sucker-punching quite like Max Baer’s showdown with Frankie Campbell. After Campbell seemingly dropped the future world champion to the canvas in round 2, he turned his back on his rival, expecting the ten-count. However, Baer rose back to his feet, pursued him, and proceeded to land a huge right hand to his turned head, which sent him to the canvas. Campbell seemed fine at first, although he told his coach that he felt as though something had snapped in his head. Baer took back the bout’s momentum, battering Campbell for a brutal late TKO. He then collapsed and died shortly after, despite the best efforts of the doctors who tried to save him.

Reggie Lewis's Death

Boston Celtics player Reggie Lewis received what probably should have been a career-ending diagnosis of focal cardiomyopathy after collapsing during a playoff game in 1993. However, after getting a second opinion, he decided to return to practice ahead of the 1994 season. In a tragic turn of events, he would collapse again during off-season practice, suffering a sudden cardiac death. He was 27 years old at the time, and the Celtics proceeded to retire his number 35 jersey in his honour. Lewis is remembered as one of the most promising players of his generation, whose career and life ended abruptly at his peak.

The Murder of Andres Escobar

One false move from Colombian centre-back Andres Escobar saw him score an own-goal that pretty much sealed a disastrous 1994 World Cup collapse for his country. Days later, Escobar was shot and killed in a nightclub parking lot by Humberto Muñoz Castro, a driver and bodyguard to several cartel figures. It’s widely believed that the murder was linked to gambling syndicates who had lost money as a result of Colombia’s failure. It caused a huge outcry of grief from the footballing world, doing major damage to the nation’s reputation internationally. One of the darkest days in football history.

The Tragic Crash of Jules Bianchi

The 2014 Japanese Grand Prix was the scene of the infamous crash involving 25-year-old French driver Jules Bianchi. In heavy rain at Suzuka Circuit, Bianchi lost control of his car and collided with a recovery vehicle that was removing another crashed car. He sustained a severe diffuse axonal brain injury and was placed in a medically induced coma. He would not wake from this coma and eventually, he succumbed to his injuries and passed away nine months later. This was the first race-related death in Formula 1 since 1994’s passing of the legendary Ayrton Senna.

The Death of Ray Chapman

Shortstop for the Cleveland Indians, Ray Chapman, died on August 17, 1920, after being struck in the head by a pitch thrown by Carl Mays the previous day. At first, the impact was so loud that some had assumed it had hit his bat, but things took a dark turn when Chapman was seen to be bleeding from his ear. After losing consciousness, he would undergo emergency surgery that would ultimately fail. To this day, he remains the only player to ever die from injuries received during a Major League Baseball game.

The Chris Benoit Double-Murder

There are few stories in sporting culture that are as chilling as the story of Chris Benoit. Once a highly-respected and hard-working pro-wrestler, he would write his name in the history books for the worst possible reason. In 2007, Benoit murdered his wife, Nancy, and their seven-year-old son before taking his own life in their Georgia home. Subsequent examination of his brain would show that he was suffering from extreme brain damage, as a result of repeated head trauma. It was an incident that shone a spotlight on the risks of concussions in the wrestling business. The WWE responded by implementing better wellness checks, before largely removing most appearances of Benoit from their historical programming.

The Death of Diogo Jota

The former Liverpool star Diogo Jota was driving in Spain with his brother and fellow footballer André Silva when his Lamborghini suffered a tyre blowout while overtaking another vehicle. Evidence seemed to suggest that Jota had been exceeding the speed limit by quite a large amount. This caused the car to veer off the road and eventually catch fire. Both brothers died at the scene of the crash, leading to a huge outpour of grief from all corners of the footballing world. Liverpool proceeded to retire the number 20 jersey at all levels within the club, a fitting tribute to an elite player at the peak of his powers.

Southern Airways Flight 932

Although travelling to games by plane was a rarity for the Marshall University football team, they opted not to drive to their game against East Carolina. They were flying home from that matchup when the aircraft descended below minimum altitude in poor weather conditions and struck trees short of the runway. All seventy-five passengers were killed in the crash, including 37 of the players. To this day, it remains the deadliest accident to ever befall a US sports team. In a shocking coincidence, this would be the second major plane crash involving a college football team in that month. It joins the Wichita State crash as one of the darkest days in American sports history.

The Andes Flight Disaster

The Uruguayan amateur rugby team was being flown to a game in Santiago, Chile, when a series of errors led to a fatal crash into the side of the Andes mountains. Of the 45 people onboard, many died instantly, while others succumbed to injuries, avalanches, and extreme cold. Sixteen ultimately survived after 72 days stranded in harsh alpine conditions. With no food available, survivors resorted to cannibalism, consuming the bodies of those who had died. A last gasp trek in search of help led two of the survivors to eventually get rescued. It remains one of the most extraordinary survival stories of its time.

Bradford City Stadium Fire

No list of stadium disasters would be complete without a mention for the horrific events that took place in May of 1985 in Bradford. During a matchup between Bradford City and Lincoln City, a fire broke out in the stands, which led to many fans climbing over the barrier onto the pitch. The antiquated design and structure of the stadium saw the fire spread quickly, and the inadequate exits made escape difficult. 56 people were killed in the chaos and hundreds more were injured in the process, which led to it becoming a major turning point in English football safety standards.

The Death of Owen Hart

Part of the allure of pro-wrestling comes from the times when the line between fiction and reality is blurred. But in 1999, when Owen Hart fell 78 feet after a harness malfunction at a Kansas City pay-per-view, things became far too real, far too quickly. All of a sudden, all gimmicks and acting went out the window as the WWE staff and some of the wrestlers themselves scrambled to try to save Hart’s life. Unfortunately, the damage he sustained in the fall was too great and he succumbed to his injuries shortly after. The show did continue on that night, but the effect of losing a superstar like him in the prime of his life never truly faded.

The 1955 Le Mans Disaster

Though it happened decades ago, the 1955 Le Mans Disaster remains the most catastrophic accident in motor-racing history. Driver Pierre Levegh’s car was involved in a crash that sent it flying into the air. Levegh was killed instantly after being thrown from the vehicle, but debris from the car went flying towards the crowd of spectators. 82 people were killed in the chaos and between 120 and 180 were injured. This horrific accident caused many countries, including France, Switzerland, and Spain, to ban motorsports until greater levels of safety precautions had been implemented. A shocking day for the sport!

Chapecoense Plane Crash

In 2016, the Brazilian football team Chapecoense was left utterly devastated when a plane carrying the entire team crashed in Colombia. An oversight in pre-fight preparation had led the aircraft to run out of fuel in the air. Of the 77 people on board, only 6 survived - including just 3 of the club’s players. Poor decision-making by the pilot in the middle of the ongoing crisis was cited as a major reason for the outcome. When reports of the crash reached other football clubs internationally, there was a huge outpouring of grief - and many attempts from other clubs to help Chapecoense rebuild. A tragedy that will haunt this club for decades to come.

1985 Heysel Stadium Disaster

This infamous night put a stain on English football that did not fully fade away for years. Liverpool met Juventus in the 1985 European Cup final in Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, and the match was marred by some disgusting fan violence in the stands. Tension had been brewing prior to the start of the match, and eventually, a group of Liverpool fans stormed an area full of Juve supporters. In their desperate attempts to flee, they forced the side perimeter wall to collapse - killing 39 people and injuring around 600. It was such an ugly moment for the sport that all English clubs were banned from competing in UEFA events for five years. Liverpool were banned for one further year.

Zambian National Football Team Air Disaster

When the Zambian national football team were travelling by plane to a 1994 World Cup qualifying game with Senegal in Dakar, human error ended up costing them everything. The pilot noticed an engine fire while flying off the coast of Gabon. Official reports would later conclude that he was fatigued and, in his attempt to turn off the faulty engine, he chose the wrong one. This led the plane to crash 500m from land. All 30 people aboard - including 18 players were killed on impact, ripping apart the Zambian football team in the process. A week-long period of mourning was announced by the government shortly after.

Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s Crash

It’s not often you see a legitimate superstar end up losing their life in the middle of competition. But for the 49-year-old Dale Earnhardt Sr., that’s exactly what happened. While competing in the final lap of the Daytona 500 in 2001, Earnhardt was involved in a three car collision. After crashing into rival Ken Schrader, both cars slid off the track's asphalt into the infield grass. It would become very clear that something was wrong. Earnhardt had been killed instantly by the impact - sustaining a fatal basilar skull fracture. With 17 million people tuning in live for this race, it represented a huge blow to the sport and a catalyst for much greater safety regulations moving forward.

The Hillsborough Disaster

The sad fact about sporting events is that it sometimes takes a truly horrific incident to force teams and franchises to make much-needed changes. And for Liverpool football club, there were some real oversights in areas of crowd control and safety precautions. When overcrowding in the stands during Liverpool’s FA Cup semi-final clash with Nottingham Forest led to a deadly crush, the result was brutal. 97 fans were killed and hundreds more were injured. Though some blamed unruly fan behavior at first, it became clear that regulations needed to change for all football teams - and thankfully, they did. The victim’s families continued to fight for justice, with them voicing their disgust at how little priority was placed on general fan safety prior to this disaster.

The Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Air Disaster

September 7, 2011 marked one of the darkest days in the history of international hockey, when a plane carrying the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team crashed while taking off for a flight to Minsk, Belarus. The team were being transported to their first game of the KHL season, when the pilot lost control of his vehicle and crashed after failing to take-off. Of the 45 people onboard, only the flight mechanic survived. As it turned out, the pilot was woefully underqualified to fly the plane and had falsified documents in order to get permission. Of course, by the time the crash happened, there was no-one left to prosecute.

The Lima Football Riot

The infamous Lima football riot is not the only horrific sports disaster to befall the people of the Peruvian capital. We’d be remiss if we didn’t also mention the 1987 plane crash that killed 42 people, including 37 players and staff members of the Alianza Lima football club. But in 1964, a tragedy of monstrous proportions befell the Estadio Nacional during a game between Peru and Argentina. After a referee decision infuriated the Peruvian support, they stormed the pitch, leading to a crush that had hundreds of people trapped. Riot police were called in and by the time the dust settled, 328 people had lost their lives and over 500 were injured. One of the darkest days in football history.

Iraq’s Extermination of Athletes

Stadium disasters and accidental crashes are one thing, but the intentional slaying of athletes by a brutal dictator as punishment for poor performances… that’s a different level of depravity. During Saddam Hussein’s regime, the country’s athletes and coaches faced harsh consequences such as being imprisoned, caned, or worse for losing. In 2007, the remains of 13 members of the country’s taekwondo team were found in the desert after they had been kidnapped while en route to a training camp in Jordan. It was a barbaric display of violence and one that was widely condemned by the entire sporting world.

Happy Valley Racecourse Fire

Over one hundred years ago, the Chinese racecourse, Happy Valley, witnessed one of the most destructive fires in sports arena history. Due to the fact that the stands were largely made of bamboo and wood, they were rapidly set ablaze after coming into contact with a fire caused by a nearby food stall. With improper precautions taken and inadequate tools to fight the fire, it eventually claimed the lives of 614 people. This was not just one of the most impactful disasters in sporting history, it remains one of the deadliest fires in modern Chinese history.

Ayrton Senna's Death

The legendary Ayrton Senna had already voiced his concerns over the state of Formula 1 safety in 1994, and had his doubts about taking to the Imola Circuit in Italy on May 1 of that year. Just one day before, his fellow driver, Roland Ratzenberger, had become the first F1 fatality in twelve years. But Senna decided to race anyway. Unfortunately, his car collided with a concrete wall at a speed of over 200km/h, causing him to sustain several injuries that could have all led to his death on their own. Though attempts were made to resuscitate him, they were futile. This marked a major turning point for Formula 1 - with increased emphasis placed on advanced crash barriers, cockpit protection, and medical protocols.

Israeli Team Attack at the Munich Olympics

At the 1972 Olympics in Munich, eight members of the Palestinian militant organisation Black September, attacked the athletes’ village, killing two members of the Israeli Olympic team. They also took nine hostages. This understandably kicked off a major panic and a total overshadowing of the Munich games. While several rescue attempts were attempted, they failed, and in the process, all nine hostages were executed. Five of the eight perpetrators were also killed in the chaos, but the damage was already done. The disorganisation of the police and government response was widely criticised, but after a 34 hour suspension, the Games continued as scheduled.

The Superga Disaster

In 1949, a disaster that shook Italian football to its very core took place. An Italian Airlines flight carrying the entire Torino football team crashed into the retaining wall at the rear side of the famous Basilica of Superga in Turin. A navigational error made by the pilot was brought about by terrible flying conditions as they made their descent. Instead of reaching the runway, as planned, the aircraft crashed into the basilica, killing everyone onboard. There was an outpour of support from every club in Italy - with some offering players to the struggling side, free of charge. They even awarded an honorary Serie A title to Torino, but nothing could erase the foundational damage and trauma this accident caused.

Munich Air Disaster

It was the most infamous disaster in football history. The world-famous Manchester United and their iconic manager, Matt Busby, were returning from a European Cup matchup against Red Star Belgrade. During their third attempt to takeoff from Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany, the unthinkable happened. The plane skidded on the runway, crashing into the fence that surrounded the airport, leading to a fire that threatened to engulf everyone inside. Out of the 44 onboard, 21 survived, but it was a moment that left the world’s most famous football club completely ripped apart. Other clubs stepped up and offered players and money, but there was only so much that could be done. Decades later, Manchester United have still not forgotten this dark night in their history.

But did we miss out on any sporting tragedies that deserved a mention? Let us know in the comments below.