Miami Lost Its Star. Here Are 10 Teams That Won a Title Without Theirs

Miami is 8-0 and No. 1 in the AP poll, and on Wednesday it lost its star receiver. Malachi Toney, the sophomore receiver, hurt his ankle in practice, and reports say he needs surgery, will miss tonight’s game at Notre Dame, and is aiming to be back for the Playoff. He has 73 catches for 1,027 yards and 13 touchdowns in 8 games, and he was a Heisman contender.

Plenty of teams have won a title without their star. Here are 10, counting down to the one that did it against Miami.

10. The 1988 Dodgers: One Swing From Kirk Gibson

The NL MVP got one at-bat in the whole World Series.

Kirk Gibson was the 1988 National League MVP, and he came out of the NLCS with a torn hamstring in his left leg and a strained ligament in his right knee. Vin Scully told the TV audience during Game 1 that Gibson wasn’t expected to play.

In the bottom of the ninth, down 4-3 with 2 outs and a man on, Gibson limped up to pinch-hit against Dennis Eckersley. He worked a full count and hit a 2-run home run to win it. “In a year that has been so improbable,” Scully said, “the impossible has happened.”

It was Gibson’s only plate appearance of the Series. The Dodgers finished off the A’s in 5 games without him, behind Orel Hershiser, who threw a shutout in Game 2 and a complete game in the clincher and was the Series MVP.

9. The 1972 Dolphins: Earl Morrall Keeps the Streak Alive

Bob Griese broke his leg in Week 5. Miami went 17-0 anyway.

On Oct. 15, 1972, Bob Griese broke his leg and dislocated his ankle against the San Diego Chargers. Miami was 4-0. In came Earl Morrall, a 38-year-old backup.

Morrall started the next 9 games and won all 9, and Miami finished the regular season 14-0. He started the AFC title game in Pittsburgh, too. With the score tied 7-7 in the third quarter, Don Shula sent Griese back in, and Miami won 21-17. Griese started the Super Bowl, a 14-7 win over Washington, to finish the only perfect season in NFL history.

8. The 1950 Red Wings: Gordie Howe’s Fractured Skull

Howe was 21. He spent the playoffs recovering from skull surgery.

In Game 1 of the 1950 semifinals against Toronto, at Olympia in Detroit, Gordie Howe went after Maple Leafs captain Ted Kennedy and crashed headfirst into the boards. He wasn’t wearing a helmet. He had a fractured skull, a broken nose and cheekbone, and bleeding on his brain. Surgeons drilled a small hole in his skull to drain the fluid, and the doctors feared for his life.

Detroit beat Toronto in 7 games, then beat the New York Rangers in 7 more. Pete Babando won Game 7 at 8:31 of the second overtime, 4-3. Afterward, Howe walked onto the Olympia ice in street clothes, his head still bandaged, and the crowd cheered him.

7. 1962 Brazil: The World Cup Without Pelé

Pelé got hurt in the 2nd game. Garrincha took over.

Brazil came to Chile as the defending World Cup champion with the best player in the world. In the second group game, a 0-0 draw with Czechoslovakia on June 2, Pelé tore a muscle in his leg. He didn’t play again.

Coach Aymoré Moreira replaced him with Amarildo, and Garrincha carried the team. Garrincha scored 4 goals in the tournament. He was sent off in the semifinal win over Chile, and FIFA let him play the final anyway.

The final, on June 17 in Santiago, was a rematch with Czechoslovakia. The Czechs scored first. Two minutes later, Amarildo, the man who replaced Pelé, tied it. Brazil won 3-1.

6. The 1990 Giants: Jeff Hostetler Finishes It

Phil Simms broke his foot in December. The backup won the Super Bowl.

The Giants were 11-2 when Phil Simms broke his right foot against the Bills on Dec. 15, 1990. They lost that day, 17-13, and the job went to backup Jeff Hostetler.

In the NFC title game at Candlestick Park, the Giants never scored a touchdown. Matt Bahr kicked 5 field goals, the last a 42-yarder as time ran out, after Lawrence Taylor recovered a Roger Craig fumble. Giants 15, 49ers 13.

Super Bowl XXV was a rematch with the Bills. The Giants held the ball for a record 40 minutes and 33 seconds, Hostetler threw for 222 yards and a touchdown, and Ottis Anderson ran for 102 yards and won the MVP. Scott Norwood’s 47-yard kick went wide right with 8 seconds left. Giants 20, Bills 19, still the only 1-point Super Bowl.

5. The 1980 Lakers: Magic Plays Center

Kareem sprained his ankle. A 20-year-old rookie jumped center in Game 6.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sprained his left ankle in Game 5 of the 1980 Finals and scored 40 anyway. But he couldn’t make the trip to Philadelphia for Game 6. He watched it on TV at home in Bel-Air with his foot up.

On the plane, rookie Magic Johnson sat in Kareem’s seat and told his teammates, “Never fear, E.J. is here.” Then he started at center. He played all 5 positions, made 14 of 23 shots and all 14 of his free throws, and finished with 42 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists. The Lakers won 123-107, and Magic became the first rookie to win Finals MVP.

4. The 2017 Eagles: Nick Foles and the Philly Special

Carson Wentz was an MVP candidate. He tore his ACL in Week 14.

On Dec. 10, 2017, Carson Wentz threw 4 touchdown passes against the Rams and tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee. The Eagles won the game 43-35 and lost their quarterback for the season.

Nick Foles took them to the Super Bowl. Against the Patriots, he threw for 373 yards and 3 touchdowns. On fourth-and-goal late in the first half, he stood over the right tackle, then ran into the end zone and caught a touchdown pass from tight end Trey Burton. It was the Philly Special, and Foles had suggested it to coach Doug Pederson. He’s the first player to throw and catch a touchdown in a Super Bowl.

The Eagles won 41-33 for their first Super Bowl title, and Foles was the MVP. Asked afterward who the starter was, receiver Alshon Jeffery said, “Carson, of course.”

3. The 2001 Patriots: Drew Bledsoe Gets Hurt, Tom Brady Happens

Bledsoe signed a $103 million deal in March. A 6th-round pick won the Super Bowl.

In March 2001 the Patriots gave Drew Bledsoe a 10-year, $103 million contract. On Sept. 23, in their first home game after 9/11, Jets linebacker Mo Lewis hit him on the sideline and tore a blood vessel in his chest. About 3 liters of blood filled his chest cavity. “Drew could have died,” the team doctor said later. The Patriots lost 10-3 and fell to 0-2.

Tom Brady, the 199th pick in the 2000 draft, started the next week and beat the Colts 44-13. When Bledsoe was cleared in November, Bill Belichick stayed with Brady.

Bledsoe still got his moment. When Brady got hurt in the AFC title game in Pittsburgh, Bledsoe came off the bench and threw a touchdown pass to David Patten, and the Patriots won 24-17. Then Brady started Super Bowl XXXVI against the Rams and drove the Patriots into range for Adam Vinatieri’s 48-yard field goal as time ran out. Patriots 20, Rams 17. Brady was the MVP. Bledsoe was traded to Buffalo after the season.

2. The 2014 Buckeyes: The Third-String Quarterback

Braxton Miller went down in August. J.T. Barrett went down in November.

Braxton Miller, Ohio State’s star quarterback, reinjured his throwing shoulder in practice on Aug. 18, 2014, and was out for the season. Redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett took over and kept the job until he broke his ankle against Michigan on Nov. 29.

That left Cardale Jones, the third-stringer, one week to get ready for the Big Ten title game. He threw for 257 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 59-0 win over Wisconsin. Then he beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and Oregon 42-20 in the championship game for the first College Football Playoff title.

1. The 1994 Cornhuskers: Without Frazier, Against Miami

Tommie Frazier had a blood clot. Nebraska kept winning with 2 backups.

Tommie Frazier was a junior and a Heisman candidate, 4-0 as the starter that season. After the Pacific game on Sept. 24, 1994, doctors found a blood clot behind his right knee. It came back after he returned to practice, and he had surgery on Oct. 6.

Brook Berringer took over and went 7-0 as a starter, twice playing with a partially collapsed lung. When Berringer couldn’t go, a walk-on from Wahoo, Neb., named Matt Turman made his first career start at Kansas State. Nebraska won that one 17-6.

Nebraska finished the regular season 12-0 and played No. 3 Miami in the Orange Bowl, on Miami’s home field, on Jan. 1, 1995. Frazier was cleared and started, then got pulled. Berringer threw a touchdown pass. Miami led 17-9 going into the fourth quarter. Frazier came back in, and fullback Cory Schlesinger ran for touchdowns of 15 and 14 yards. Nebraska 24, Miami 17.

It was Tom Osborne’s first national title, in his 22nd season. Years later, Frazier said, “Without Brook, we don’t beat Miami.”

Honorable Mentions

The 1999 Rams lost starter Trent Green to a knee injury in the preseason. Kurt Warner, a former grocery-store stocker, won the Super Bowl. The 1990 Oilers won the Stanley Cup with goalie Bill Ranford, the Conn Smythe winner, while Grant Fuhr sat out most of the season. It was also their first Cup since the Gretzky trade.

Who did we miss? Tell us in the comments.