The Most Infamous Hoaxes in Sports History

If your Facebook feed has looked anything like mine, you've probably seen a bunch of people posting that stupid thing about how the largest social media site on the planet needs people to share something to protect users' privacy.

Well, guess what? It's all a hoax.

Thanks to millions of people believing that little prank, it got me thinking about some sports hoaxes that had fans convinced they were real, only to end up being a figment of someone's imagination.

Someone once said you can't believe everything you see on the Internet, and these sports hoaxes prove that.

Sylvester Carmouche at Delta Downs

Mike Groll/Associated Press

Whether it was a hoax or just straight up cheating, jockey Sylvester Carmouche briefly got away with pulling a quick one at a race in December 1990.

Entering at 23-1 odds at Delta Downs race track, Carmouche rode Landing Officer to a stunning finish, which was 24 lengths ahead of the next competitor, according to People.

When track officials heard rumblings that something didn't seem right from other riders, they discovered that the jockey had cut corners due to foggy conditions that day, running about half the race without notice.

Once he was busted, Carmouche received a 10-year ban for the phantom victory.

The 2000 Spanish Paralympic Men's Hoops Team

To compete in the intellectually disabled division of the Paralympic Games, a participant must have tested for an IQ under 70. The 2000 Spanish men's hoops team must've missed the memo, though.

After winning the gold medal at the tournament, an undercover journalist found that 10 of the 12 players didn't fit the disabled description, leaving the team to return the medals and endure complete embarrassment.

This one is actually kind of sick.

Simon Brodkin as Jason Bent

OK, so maybe there weren't too many of us who actually believed Jason Bent was a real player for Manchester City, but the stunt was still one of the most hilarious in sports hoaxes in history.

Comedian Simon Brodkin was the one who pulled it off, slipping on the Man City kit before a game against Everton in 2013 and taking the pitch with his "teammates," who quickly realized during warm-ups that there was an impostor out there among them.

Nelson was escorted off the field by security and arrested, but for a few moments, there had to be some who wondered who the new guy wearing No. 9 for City was.

Bobby Knight Makes Up Ivan Renko

James A. Finley/Associated Press

Former Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball coach Bobby Knight might best be known for his temper, but he showed a little bit of cleverness during the 1993 college hoops season.

Knight, who was hoping to confuse recruiting experts, created a fictitious player from Yugoslavia named Ivan Renko.

Standing 6'8" and weighing 230 pounds, Renko was supposed to be the star of the Hoosiers recruiting class, with the fake dude even showing up on various recruiting services after people fell for the hoax.

Seeing as how Indiana finished 31-4 and lost in the Elite Eight that season, Renko may have helped IU march on the tourney—had he been real, of course.

Danny Almonte

CHRIS GARDNER/Associated Press

This is the story about how a (presumed) 12-year-old boy dominated his peers to capture the nation during the 2001 Little League World Series.

Of course, until the truth came out.

When Danny Almonte guided his Bronx team through the biggest little league baseball tourney on the planet to finish third overall, many just believed he was a freak of nature who had stuff like a kid a couple years older.

That's actually exactly what Almonte had, because after receiving national attention and the key to New York City, it was discovered that his birth certificate was forged and that he was, in fact, two years older than every other player.

Whoops!

The Other Kevin Hart Who Fooled Us

It's every high school football player's dream to, one day, stand in front of a podium with his entire school awaiting the biggest announcement in his life—the decision on where he would play college football.

For Kevin Hart—a former Nevada high school player—he pulled a prank that the comedian who shares his same name would be proud of, with a lot of us falling for it.

Holding a press conference for himself in 2008, Hart chose between Cal and Oregon to continue his academic and athletic careers. Problem was, neither college actually offered him a scholarship, leaving Hart to explain the hoax once it was uncovered.

Richard Pohle Is Rocky Perone

Imagine being a lifelong baseball fan who, at 36 years old, was just hoping for a chance to make it in the major leagues.

Now imagine making up a lie about being 21 years old and from Australia, with a lie so good that a team actually believed it and signed you to a contract.

That's exactly what happened to Richard Pohle in 1974, when he described himself as Rocky Perone, who fooled the San Diego Padres into signing him and playing in a game against the Cincinnati Reds.

The hoax actually worked out better than some would have thought, before the truth finally came out after "Perone" played one game in the Northwest League.

Simonya Popova

TIMOTHY A. CLARY/Getty Images

Much like the aforementioned hoax that former Indiana Hoosiers coach Bobby Knight pulled on recruiting experts, Sports Illustrated writer Jon Wertheim did a similar stunt in 2002 when he created a 17-year-old tennis star named Simonya Popova.

Said to be from Uzbekistan, the magazine used computer-generated images to create a portrait of Popova, who was created out of fun.

The WTA wasn't laughing, though.

Kyle Kendrick Isn't Going to Japan

Back during spring training in 2008, the Philadelphia Phillies pulled one of the best hoaxes ever on pitcher Kyle Kendrick, even getting the general manager involved in the prank.

Telling the guy that he was to be traded to Japan for a player to be named later, Kendrick was asked questions by the media about the swap, which caught him completely off-guard.

At the time, Kendrick was still just 23 years old and entering his first full season in the big leagues, so he was more than just a little gullible to have believed what his mates pulled on him.

Manti Te'o and Lennay Kekua

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

What was supposed to be the most heartwarming story of the 2012 college football season turned into nothing but a giant lie on one of the most polarizing players that year, Manti T'eo.

In one of the biggest catfishing tales on the planet, it was discovered that the former Notre Dame star linebacker didn't actually have a girlfriend by the name of Lennay Kekua who, allegedly, died during that 2012 season.

With Te'o pledging that he would play out the season in her memory, along with his grandmother who passed away around the same time, football fans really felt for the kid—until everyone found out it was all false.

Deadspin broke the story detailing how a man named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo pretended to be the girl said to have been dating Te'o, embarrassing the linebacker and leaving people to question if he was involved or not.

Sidd Finch

When it comes to famous sports hoaxes, nothing stacks up to the legend of New York Mets pitching prospect Sidd Finch.

Setting the gold standard, the Finch lie became popular after Sports Illustrated writer Geroge Pimpton created the character for an April Fool's Day issue of the magazine.

Finch, whom Pimpton described as having a 168 mph fastball, never actually came to existence, yet there were some out there who believed a human could sling a ball faster than a sports car.

Most people took the news that it was all fake with a smirk, although Mets fans had to be a little upset they weren't getting a pitcher against whom no batter stood a chance.