The 20 Biggest Blowouts in Sports History

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Sports fans yearn for the nail-biting, edge-of-the-couch finishes that build and define legacies. Sometimes, however, they get far from the tight game they dream of. In fact, sometimes they get the opposite.

Blowouts are inevitable. When David matches up against Goliath, a pure beatdown is always possible.

After searching far and wide for the most dominant victories in history, we found a collection of eye-watering assaults that are, at the very least, visually crippling.

Here are the biggest blowouts in sports history. These victims are still recovering.

20. Morningside vs. South Torrance, 1990

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Date: February 19, 1990

Score: Morningside 102, South Torrance 24 (at halftime, before South Torrance sent the girls home)

For one night, star baller Lisa Leslie was Wilt Chamberlain. She scored 101 points...in only one half.

19. Chicago Colts vs. Louisville Colonels, 1897

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Date: June 29, 1897

Score: Colts 36, Colonels 7

We'd like to believe that the Colts made a breathtaking ninth-inning comeback after being down 7-0. But the box score is probably resting 10-feet deep.

18. Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, 1991

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Date: December 17, 1991

Score: Cleveland Cavaliers 148, Miami Heat 80

The early-1990s Cavs had eight players in double figures, and the Heat had no answer, as the second half was a pure crumble, 75-27.

17. Stade Olympique De L'Emyrne vs. Adema, 2002

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Date: October 31, 2002

Score: AS Adema 149–0 Stade Olympique l'Emyrne

Don't be fooled by the score, victimized Olympique actually scored 149 times...against themselves. 

Olympique head coach Zaka Be staged a pre-planned protest that cost his team a chance at the title, and he was banned from soccer for three years.

16. Loyola University Wolves vs. Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, 1963

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Date: Mar 11, 1963

Score: Wolves 111, Golden Eagles 42

Loyola went on to win the championship after setting the mark for largest margin of victory (69 points). Tennessee Tech, meanwhile, recorded the all-time lowest field-goal percentage in an early-round game, shooting 22 percent (18-of-82) from the field.

15. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. Tennessee State Tigers, 2010

Date: December 30, 2010

Score: Georgia Tech 82, Tennessee State 11

Tennessee State set the NCAA women's Division I record for fewest points in a game, as it shot 3-of-50 from the field. The Tigers trailed 49-3 at halftime, and Tyaunna Marshall and Chelsea Regins each dropped 16 points.

14. J.D. Edgar, Joe Kirkwood Sr. and Bobby Locke

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Score: All won by 16 strokes

J.D. Edgar (1919 Canadian Open), Joe Kirkwood Sr. (1924 Corpus Christi Open) and Bobby Locke (pictured, 1948 Chicago Victory National Championship) each trampled the opposition with pure elegance.

Note: Tiger Woods won by 15 strokes at the 2000 U.S. Open

13. Detroit Red Wings vs. New York Rangers, 1944

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Date: January 23, 1944

Score: Red Wings 15, Rangers 0

The Red Wings naturally became the first team to score 15 consecutive goals in a game. One more second and they'd have had 16 goals, as their last shot went in after the buzzer. 

12. Australia vs. Namibia, 2003

Date: October 25, 2003

Score: Australia 142, Namibia 0

Everyone loves a close game, especially at the Rugby World Cup.

11. Australia vs. American Samoa, 2001

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Date: April 11, 2001

Score: Australia 31, American Samoa 0

World Cup qualifier, for which American Samoa certainly did not qualify.

10. Sri Lanka vs. Kenya, 2007

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Date: September 14, 2007

Score: Sri Lanka 201, Kenya 27

To give you perspective on how monstrous a 172-run margin is, keep in mind that the only margin that even came close was when South Africa defeated Scotland by 130 runs in 2009.

9. Ned Jarrett, 1965

Date: September 6, 1965

Score: Ned Jarrett by 14 laps

Ned Jarrett finished 14 laps ahead of second-place Buck Baker, which remains a NASCAR record. But let's keep in mind that only 15 of the 44 cars originally involved in the race survived until the end.

8. Super Bowl XXIV, 1990

Date: Jan 28, 1990

Score: 49ers 55, Broncos 10

The most lopsided game in Super Bowl history to date featured one mistake from the victorious 49ers: a missed extra point.

7. Chicago Bears vs. Washington Redskins, 1940

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Date: December 8, 1940

Score: Bears 73, Redskins 0

After Washington Redskins coach George Preston Marshall told reporters that Chicago Bears coach George Halas and his team were "quitters" and "cry babies," a bulletin-board-filled vengeance was inevitable. This National Football League Championship trouncing remains the largest margin of defeat in NFL history, let alone in a championship game.

6. Steffi Graf vs. Natasha Zvereva, 1988

Date: June 5, 1988

Score: 6-0, 6-0

All it took was 32 minutes for Steffi Graf to mentally and physically destroy her baffled opponent at the 1988 French Open.

5. Secretariat, 1973

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Date: June 9, 1973

Score: Victory by 31 lengths

While becoming first U.S. Triple Crown champion in 25 years, legendary thoroughbred Secretariat set race records in all three events. His Belmont Stakes performance was pure brilliance.

4. Slovakia vs. Bulgaria, 2008

Date: September 8, 2008

Score: Slovakia 82, Bulgaria 0

When Bulgaria trailed 7-0 after five minutes, 19-0 after 10 and 31-0 at the end of the first period, it was clear history was being scripted in this 2010 Winter Olympics qualifying tournament.

3. Haven High School vs. Sylvia High School, 1927

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Date: November 16, 1927

Score: Haven High School (KS) 256, Sylvia High School 0

80 years ago, in the small town of Haven, Kansas—population 1,200—a high school team not only pulled off the most lopsided victory in high school history, but went undefeated and didn't give up a score all season.

2. South Korea vs. Thailand, 1998

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Date: March of 1998

Score: South Korea 92, Thailand 0

Not much is known about the 1998 Asia-Oceania Junior Championships, except that hats were tossed onto the ice like candy. By the looks of it, even the Zamboni was scoring goals.

1. Georgia Tech Engineers vs. Cumberland College Bulldogs, 1916

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Date: October 7, 1916

Score: Georgia Tech 222, Cumberland 0

Though Cumberland had discontinued its football program before the season, it was not allowed to cancel its game against the Georgia Tech Engineers in 1916. And considering that Cumberland's baseball team had demolished Georgia Tech earlier that year, 22–0, Tech coach John Heisman felt inclined to run up the score. 

Cumberland finished with minus-96 yards rushing and 14 yards passing, while Tech finished with 1,620 yards rushing and no passes thrown.