Sport’s unpredictability is a big part of what makes it so captivating. We have a separate feature looking at some of the greatest underdog victories in history, but amazing comebacks are perhaps even more captivating.
Sport, be it golf, cricket, football, or pretty much anything else, tends to swing one way and then the other. Partly this is just coincidence or variance, but pressure is also a big factor. A side or individual that is losing has nothing to lose and can play without fear. Their opponent, in contrast, can all of a sudden feel the pressure of winning and really struggle to get over the line.
In snooker it is often said that the last frame is the hardest to win. But in all sports, paradoxically, the closer one gets to glory, the further away it can seem. Here is a small selection of the greatest comebacks in sporting history, across a range of sports.
Team USA Make History at the Ryder Cup
Prior to 1999 no team had come from more than two points behind on the final day to claim victory in the Ryder Cup. However, Ben Crenshaw’s hosts overturned a massive four-point deficit on the Sunday in the Battle of Brookline. It was easily the greatest comeback in Ryder Cup history at the time. Heading into the singles, nobody gave the home team much hope; nobody apart from their skipper, two-time US Masters champion “Gentle Ben” Crenshaw.
He gave a press conference at the end of Saturday’s play, at which point the US trailed by 10 points to six, which is now part of Ryder Cup folklore. He told the assembled journalists,
I’m going to leave y’all with one thought: I’m a big believer in fate and I have a good feeling about this match.
Well, his intuition was proved to be right, as the pre-contest favourites showed why they had been so heavily fancied. They reeled off the first six singles matches, including three by five holes or more, and eventually sealed the deal 14.5-13.5.
The Miracle of Istanbul: Liverpool Win Champions League from 3-0 Down
The history of football is full of amazing comebacks, including teams coming from three or four goals down to win or draw. Everton famously won the 1966 FA Cup final 3-2 having been 2-0 down. Barcelona also beat PSG 6-5 on aggregate in the last 16 of the Champions League, despite losing the first leg 4-0! There have also been amazing fightbacks in the league, such as in 1995/96 when Manchester United overturned a 12-point deficit to win the Premier League.
However, for the scale of the fightback, its improbability and the importance of the match, the Miracle of Istanbul is probably unbeatable. Liverpool faced Milan in the final of the Champions League in 2004/05. Milan scored in the first minute and then added two more before half-time.
Somehow, though, Liverpool came back to force extra time. Steven Gerrard was the driving force, and he scored his team’s first after 54 minutes. Six minutes later it was 3-3, and it stayed that way after 90 and then after extra time. Liverpool completed football’s most amazing comeback by winning the shootout 3-2.
Headingley: Home of the Ashes Comeback
Test cricket remains the pinnacle of the sport for many fans and England versus Australia is the biggest clash going. English sport, especially English cricket, is not typically associated with iron nerve and a winning resolve, but Headingley, in Leeds, has witnessed not one but two of the most staggering comebacks in cricket, both in Ashes Tests against the old enemy.
The first came in 1981, after England appeared down and out, with Ladbrokes offering 500/1 on them turning it around. Australia made 401, and England were forced to follow on having managed only 174 in the first innings. Ian Botham top scored with 50 and, second time around, came in with the score on 105/5, his side seemingly heading for a crushing defeat.
However, despite England being 135/7 at one stage, Botham launched a blistering counter-attack and his 149 not out, from 148 balls, helped the home side to 356. They were in the game, but Australia needed just 129 to win. Bob Willis bowled a blistering 15 overs, taking eight wickets as Australia were bowled out for just 111.
About five weeks after his heroics at the 2019 Cricket World Cup led England to victory, Ben Stokes was at it again. As in 1981, it was the third Test of the series, at Headingley, against Australia. The tourists made a meagre 179 but when England were all out for 67 and Australia made 246 second time round, it looked like the hosts were done for. They needed 359 to win but were 15/2, 159/4, 261/7 and then 286/9.
But Stokes had other ideas. He came in at number five and batted with determination, scoring very slowly initially. As he began to run out of partners he changed gear and finished 135 not out from 219 balls. He scored just two from his first 50 balls and 61 from his first 174. He then pummelled 74 runs from the next 45 balls, with Jack Leach scoring one run in the 76-run partnership for the last wicket, which completed England’s sensational fightback!
Taylor Turns Tide to Topple Nugget
Slower sports that allow plenty of time to think often produce thrilling comebacks because the mental aspect is so much more important. Snooker has, therefore, produced plenty of incredible comebacks, but perhaps none as dramatic as the 1985 World Championship final.
Steve Davis was the game’s dominant player and was expected to win easily against Northern Irishman Dennis Taylor. Davis had won the title in 1981, 1983 and 1984 and when he raced into an 8-0 lead the underdog must have been focused solely on avoiding total humiliation.
He looked set to go 9-0 down but a miss from the Nugget allowed Taylor to finally get on the board. The defending champion won the next and, at 9-1, was halfway to the required 18 frames. But then, miraculously, Taylor fought back to make it 9-7 overnight. It was then 13-11, meaning the world number 11 still needed to win seven of the final 11 frames against the sport’s undisputed number one.
He held his nerve and took the final to a decider. The match lasted almost 15 hours, and finally, for the first time in the contest, Taylor led at the only time it really mattered. Taylor won 18-17. The 35th frame lasted 68 minutes, finishing at 23 minutes past midnight, and the match remains one of the most iconic moments in snooker history.
1973 Grand National: Red Rum Announces Himself
Red Rum would go on to win the Grand National in 1974 and 1977, also finishing second in 1975 and 1976. An incredible jumper, he never fell in 100 races and is one of the most popular racehorses of all time, and one of the best. As far as racing comebacks go, however, his Grand National success in 1973 is one of the most impressive and most famous ever. Red Rum won in a then-record time, but had been 30 lengths or more behind the leader Crisp (a classy horse that won the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 1971) at one stage.
He was still 15 lengths in arrears when Crisp jumped the last. However, the future legend showed what he was made of and reeled in the leader. Crisp was carrying top weight, 23 pounds more than his rival, and it began to show. He tired, while Red Rum, ridden by Brian Fletcher, found more and more. He got up at the line, winning by three-quarters of a length to complete a stunning equine comeback.