Last week, as part of our Daily Draft series on SiriusXM Fantasy, Chris Liss and I invited Joe Sheehan to participate in a draft of the Greatest Sports One-Hit Wonders. We were allowed to draft both players and teams, and we didn't limit the sports to draft in or require a particular category. Each of us drafted six of them, and had a little space to speak expansively about them.
In retrospect, I wish I would have had us draft at least eight or maybe even 10 apiece - the list of one-hit wonders in sport is so huge. To that end, I'll list some of the notable omissions at the end of the draft list, confident that you can still find many more on your own.
As always, we gave our guest the first choice in this draft. Unlike other drafts, however, we made this a non-snaking draft, because of the nature of the list, and that this is somewhat less competitive than the all-time teams drafts. Given this generosity, Joe still went in my backyard and took my favorite team of all-time, the Northwestern Wildcats team that made the 1996 Rose Bowl. Thanks Joe, what a great friend. But still, it's a great pick, because even though they've had many other good years since, including a couple of shares of the Big Ten title, they've never reached those heights (Rose Bowl, #3 in the country), and it was such an improbable run.
Liss focused on individuals with his picks, and started off the draft with Robert Griffin III. I really wonder what his career would have looked like if he didn't get hurt in his rookie season, and if the Redskins hadn't botched his recovery so badly.
For my first pick, I think I grabbed the championship team that had the most impossible preseason odds to win it all, the 2015-16 Premier League Champions, Leicester City. They entered the season as 5,000-to-1 against winning it all, and yet won it going away. Their win changed the very nature of futures bets for team sports.
Dig into the whole list - there are a ton of great stories here, and we had a thoroughly enjoyable time drafting.
First, the full draft:
| Rd | Drafter | Team/Player |
| 1 | Sheehan | 1995 Northwestern Wildcats |
| 1 | Liss | Robert Griffin III |
| 1 | Erickson | 2015-16 Leicester City |
| 2 | Sheehan | 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 2 | Liss | David Johnson |
| 2 | Erickson | Joe Charboneau |
| 3 | Sheehan | 2005 Chicago White Sox |
| 3 | Liss | Brady Anderson (1996) |
| 3 | Erickson | #16 UMBC vs. #1 UVA |
| 4 | Sheehan | Larry Sheets (1987) |
| 4 | Liss | Rick Ankiel |
| 4 | Erickson | Jeremy Lin - Linsanity (2012) |
| 5 | Sheehan | Loyola Marymount (Gathers/Kimble) |
| 5 | Liss | Davey Johnson (1973) |
| 5 | Erickson | Buster Douglas |
| 6 | Sheehan | Boston Braves (1914) |
| 6 | Liss | Nick Foles |
| 6 | Erickson | Ickey Woods (1988) |
Draft picks by person:
| Sheehan | Liss | Erickson |
| 1995 Northwestern Wildcats | Robert Griffin III | 2015-16 Leicester City |
| 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers | David Johnson | Joe Charboneau (1980) |
| 2005 Chicago White Sox | Brady Anderson (1996) | #16 UMBC vs. #1 UVA |
| Larry Sheets (1987) | Rick Ankiel | Jeremy Lin - Linsanity (2012) |
| Loyola Marymount (Gathers/Kimble) | Davey Johnson (1973) | Buster Douglas |
| Boston Braves (1914) | Nick Foles | Ickey Woods (1988) |
And finally, a great list of notable omissions:
| Notable Omissions |
| 2006 George Mason |
| Harold Miner |
| 1960 Pirates |
| 1990 Reds |
| Mike Wier |
| Chien Ming Wang |
| Luis Gonzalez |
| Marcus Giles |
| Steve Slaton |
| Steve Beurlien |
| Andrew Bynum |
| Bob Hamlin |
| Kevin Maas |
| Mark Fidrych |
| Bryan Doyle |
| Shane Spencer |
| Peyton Hillis |
Who else would you have added to this list? Chime in on the comments!
