Some of these not - so - secret admirers could sell their own jerseys in arena stores . Some should be locked up . ( And one is . )
1. Bobby Murcer’s Biggest Fan
Our first story has a pansy - tale center and a horrible close . In August of ' 77 , Bobby Murcer of the Cubs foretell to strike a home run for terminally ill fan Scott Crull . That Nox , Murcer hit two of them . Pretty awing , especially when you consider Murcer only hit nine homers the whole next season . But that ’s not why Crull — a 12 - year - old from Calumet City , Illinois , with bone cancer — makes this inclination .
broadcast the game nationally on ABC , Keith Jackson told the country how Murcer had fulfilled the expire boy ’s last wish . Eyes water , spines tingle . There was only one problem — nobody had ever told the son he was dying . His parent were horrified . Three hebdomad later on , Crull passed away .
2. The Good Luck Charmers
Every sport has its own unusual traditions . I ’d argue hockey ’s " have an octopus on the ice for sound fortune " is the uncanny . toss the eight - tentacled cephalopod was the inspiration of Detroit storeowners Pete & Jerry Cusimano . The engagement : April 15 , 1952 . The logic : one tentacle for each of the eight playoff victories it have to win the Stanley Cup . subsequently that outflow , most likely fuel by the good fate octopus , the Red Wings won the title . PETA has object to this exercise , which cover to this Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . The Red Wings mascot is not a Red Wing , but Al the Octopus .
3. The John 3:16 Guy
Also known as " Rainbow Man , " the born - again Rollen Stewart and his John 3:16 sign were fixtures at major events in the 1970s and fourscore . He convey his subject matter to the World Series , Super Bowl , Olympics , and World Cup . He was outside Buckingham Palace when Di & Charles we d ; he go to see the Pope in Alaska . But he was more religious fanatic than sports rooter . According to the
LA Times
, Stewart be after to
assassinate
President Bush and candidate Clinton in 1992 . And he ’s now wait on three life sentences for holding a maid surety at a Los Angeles Hyatt , also in 1992 .
By the way , chapter three , rhyme sixteen of the Gospel of John say , " For God so loved the world , that he fall in his only begotten Son , that whosoever believeth in him should not conk , but have everlasting life . " This is also print on cups at theIn - N - Out Burger .
4. The All-Star Heckler
For 12 years , Maryland lawyer and Washington Bullets buff Robin Ficker was the NBA ’s most prominent heckler . With season tickets behind the visiting squad ’s terrace , his antics were legendary . When he reminded Frank Layden
of the Jazz that
USA Today
had rated him Worst polished Coach , Layden had to be restrained by security measure . With the Bulls in town , Ficker forte read excerpts of
Maverick
, coach Phil Jackson ’s sexual practice - ladened 1975 autobiography . During the 1993 Suns - Bulls NBA Finals , Charles Barkley ( of the Suns ) flew Ficker to Phoenix and purchase him a ticket behind the Chicago workbench . Ficker was ejected in the first quarter .
The Bullets became the Wizards in 1997 and moved into the MCI Center the undermentioned season . Ficker ’s new buns were not in shout out length of the visiting team , impel him into heckling retreat . In 2006 , he received 9.5 % of the vote in a lose dictation for Montgomery County Executive .
5. Kim Jong-il
That ’s right , the mankind ’s most feared dictator is a hoops freak . During a 2000 sojourn , then - Secretary of State Madeleine Albright presented him a hoops signed by Michael Jordan . The Chicago Bulls are the favorite team of Kim Jong - il , who reportedly has a video recording library with every secret plan Jordan ever played . At 5'3 " , the Supreme Commander of the Korean People ’s Army is roughly the same height as Mugsy Bogues .
6. David Letterman’s Stalker
David Letterman ’s grownup fan was also his great headache . When she was apprehend for stealing Dave ’s Porsche in 1988 , Margaret Ray told police she was Mrs. Letterman . She was a frequent intruder on Dave ’s estate of the realm , once camp out on his tennis court . Ray ’s antics made her a regular soliloquy target . But the jokes stopped in 1998 , when Ray commit suicide . The corporate guilt spread when we learned she wasschizophrenic , as were her two brothers , who also put self-destruction .
7. Joe from Saddle River
8. Steffi Graf’s Biggest Fanatic
Deranged and obsess with seeing Steffi Graf return to the top of the ranking , Gunter Parche stabbed Monica Seles during a 1993 match in one of the most distressful incident in sports account . Almost as disturbing was his penalty . Parche receive a two - year suspended sentence and was ordered to attend mandatory counseling . Even more shocking , I ca n’t find footage of any of this on YouTube .
