Freakish Freaks Of The Sports World (Most Who Never Made It)

(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

Ever wonder what happened to that guy you heard of coming up in baseball, or basketball, or football who was supposed to be the next big thing? 

There are several different kinds of freaks who made big huge splashes when they first hit the sports world, or were first noticed by the sports world.

But many of these freakish freaks have remained relatively unnoticed.  I want to tell the stories of three of these freaks.  One most of us have heard of, and two most of us may not have heard of.

Bo Jackson

Freakish Freak No. 1 is regarded by some, myself included, to be possibly the best natural athlete of the last century.  Bo Jackson was electrifying, unreal, and truly freakish. 

A two-sport athlete, he played full-time in the MLB and part-time in the NFL.

A few stories that show how freakish Jackson's abilities were are easy to find.

On June 6, 1989, Jackson fielded a deep hit at the warning track in left center, turned flat footed, and threw to home plate.  The strike he threw outed Harold Reynolds, a very speedy base runner, on a play Reynolds never even expected to slide.  Many other stories of Jackson's stunning abilities are astounding.

I remember hearing one Jackson story of a deep fly he caught in left field.  The runner on second tagged up for an easy extra base, and Jackson fired a laser to third while backpedalling.  Later the runner asked the third baseman who relayed the throw.  The fielder pointed at Bo and said, "Nobody, just Bo."

At the plate, Bo once called time out as the pitcher began his delivery.  Bo turned around as the ball hurtled toward the plate, and, acting on impulse, threw his bat out in front of the pitch.  The ball landed in the bleachers in right center.

Jackson also managed to have a stellar back-up career in the NFL.  Any Bo Jackson youtube clip will show a freakishly fast, extremely strong runner with great moves and acceleration as well.

Lastly, Bo Jackson ran a freakish 40 yard dash at the NFL combine after his college career.  Still regarded as the fastest true time of the combine, Jackson sprinted an astounding 4.12 second dash.

Steve Dalkowski

Quite possibly the most astounding pitcher in organized baseball history, Steve Dalkowski was truly a freak among freaks.  At only 5'11" and 170 pounds, he never made it to the majors, but his statistics are absolutely amazing.

He had a 5.95 ERA with 46 wins and 80 losses from 1957 to 1965.  Not impressed yet?  Wait for it.

In 995 innings pitched, Dalkowski walked 1,354 batters, and struck out 1396.  Then there is the Sports Illustrated story on Dalkowski that shows why his numbers are so impossibly improbable:

In 1958 Dalkowski was invited to the Orioles' camp in Miami. One day that spring Ted Williams was lurking around the batting cage and decided to see this Dalkowski kid for himself. The Splendid Splinter stepped into the batter's box, watched one pitch fly by and stepped out of the cage, muttering to reporters that he'd be damned if he would face Dalkowski until he had to. Williams told Dalkowski he hadn't even seen the ball, he'd just heard the pop of the catcher's glove...

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