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

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...

On a dare Dalkowski once threw a ball over the stands behind home plate from a centerfield wall 440 feet away.

The article goes on to discuss just how hard Dalkowski could throw back then.  Speculations usually fluctuated between 105 mph and 110 mph.

Speaking of freaks who never made it:

Nathan Lusk, the writer of this article

I graduated from high school in 1995, a freakish athlete only moderately skilled at most sports.  I was 6'6'', about 195 pounds, and a quality high jumper despite breaking L5 in my lower back my senior year.

I recuperated my leg strength for a little while after high school, and regained my three step jumping height of 54 inches.  I was able, in my prime, to hit my throat on the rim.  I then continued entering local dunk contests as an unheralded dark horse.

Most notably, in 1996, Texas Tech had a student open gym night with a dunk exhibition starring three students and three Red Raider players in which I was invited to participate.  The players were Corey Carr, Demont Dailey, and Tony Battie.

I managed to awe the crowd with reverse under the leg dunks, and a few other high flying, far reaching slams as well.

The next year, Tech again had their all night gym, but this time they invited all students to participate in a true dunk contest.  We were only given two dunks, and I went next to last in the set.

The judges, some notable locals and former players, decided the fates of the contenders on the court. I was detrimentally tabbed because of the apparent jealousy, or blindness, of Texas Tech's own former player, Lance Hughes.

Either upset at a young white kid able to outperform his dunking exploits so easily or unable to see properly from the judges' table at half court, Hughes scored two 8's on my two dunks when all the other judges gave me tens. 

The only dunk contest I ever lost, and my last one, I am still miffed how anyone could score the two dunks I performed so low.

The first dunk:  I took off with the ball of my left foot on the left elbow of the free throw line, did a full step and a half airwalk, and dunked one handed with room to spare.

The second dunk:  I left the confines of gravity with my foot fully behind the right elbow of the free throw line, turned a 180 in the air, cocked the ball down between my outspread legs, and hammered it through the rim just above the back of my head.

Two low scores from one judge, and I lost a dunk contest the crowd knew I had won.

I, obviously, still have a grudge against Lance Hughes for that one, and I have never competed again.  Now 80 pounds heavier, the dunk is practically a thing of the past for me.

I love swapping outrageous stories of truly heroic and gargantuan athletes.  If you know of an athlete who was or is a truly freakish freak, let me know about them.  Or write a story about them yourself and tell me so I can read it.