Image via Complex Original
Whether it's football, basketball, hockey, baseball, or soccer, professional sports are a dangerous game. As we've seen over the years with concussions, the effects of a long-term career as an athlete can be far-reaching, forever changing the life of the player who puts his neck out on the line, week in and week out. Naturally, in the course of all these battles, fans have been treated to more than their fair share of gruesome injuries. You know what it looks like.
Think Marcus Lattimore twisting up his knee, or Clint Malarchuk getting his throat cut by a skate. Sometimes, an injury is more than a sprained ankle or a dislocated shoulder. Sometimes, you find yourself watching another guy's career slip away from him in a single moment. And when that happens, unfortunately, you have one of The Scariest Injuries in Sports History on your hands. What other athletes made you cringe when they hit the turf or the hardwood the wrong way? Check out our list, and then let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
20. Marcus Lattimore
Date: 10/27/2012
Game: South Carolina vs. Tennessee
Injury: Dislocated right knee
Former South Caroline running back Marcus Lattimore was a supremely talented college football player who—for one reason or another—could never seem to have that breakout Heisman campaign that so many people expected him to have. This freak injury, which he sustained during his junior year, was one of the factors that played in to that disappointment. As you can see, Lattimore gets caught up in a pile, and his leg just does some things that legs are not supposed to do. Despite the fact that he would never play a down of college ball after this, Lattimore declared for the draft anyway, getting picked up by the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth round of the 2013 draft.
19. Patrick Edwards
Date: 10/28/2008
Game: Houston @ Marshall
Injury: Fractured right leg
Now with the Detroit Lions, former Houston Cougar, Patrick Edwards is probably best known for the leg injury he sustained back in college, when his Cougars were going up against the Marshall Thundering Herd. Going deep to the end zone for a pass from quarterback Blake Joseph. Unfortunately for Edwards, a motorized cart had been left right near the boundary line of the endzone, and he was too focused on the ball to see it. Edwards flipped over the cart, putting a nasty twist on Edwards' leg that effectively ended his season.
18. Chris Kuper
Date: 1/1/2012
Game: Broncos vs. Chiefs
Injury: Broken ankle
Not even Tebow could save Chris Kuper on this play. Facing the Chiefs during the 2011-12 season finale, Kuper, who had been enjoying another solid year on the line for Denver, ended the season on a low note after twisting his ankle 180 degrees the wrong way. Feet are not supposed to look like that, everyone. He's lucky to be able to walk right after that.
17. Eric LeGrand
Date: 10/16/2010
Game: Rutgers vs. Army
Injury: Injury to sixth and seventh vertebrae
The story of former Rutgers lineman, Eric LeGrand, has become one of the most devastating, but inspirational, sports stories of the past decade. LeGrand, playing special teams duties for Rutgers in a game against Army, took a hard shot that would prove to be his last in football. Damaging his vertebrae and spinal cord, the hit left LeGrand paralyzed, and completely unable to walk. However, since then, LeGrand hasn't simply given up, working through an extensive rehab program in hopes that, one day, he'll be able to step forward again, completely unaided. We're all pulling for you, Eric.
16. Buster Posey
Date: 5/25/2011
Game: Giants vs. Marlins
Injury: Concussion, broken left ankle
Home-plate collisions are always a tough thing to watch, but it didn't get much worse when we had to see Buster Posey get slammed into the the dirt by former Marlins outfielder Scott Cousins. It's understandable that Scott was trying to get the run, and wanted to get the ball out of Posey's mitt but, at the same time, the play happened during a May game. Neither team was thick in the pennant race or anything and, honestly, stuff like this just doesn't need to happen so early in the year. Thankfully, pending the MLBPA's approval, home-plate collisions like these will be banned as early as next season.
15. Richard Zednik
Date: 2/10/2008
Game: Panthers vs. Sabres
Injury: Sliced external carotid artery
Much like Clint Malarchuk before him, former Florida Panthers right winger Richard Zednik was one of the unlucky few in NHL history who has had to catch a skate in the exact wrong place. For Zednik, it was the carotid artery on his neck, cut up after his teammate Olli Jokinen tripped and sliced Zednik with his skate. After that, it looked like a bad Hollywood movie out on the ice, with blood exiting Zednik's neck in bunches. As with Malarchuk, Zednick would eventually be able to make it back onto the ice, last playing for the Panthers during the 2008-09 season.
14. Sid Vicious
Date: 1/14/2001
Game: WCW Championship
Injury: Fractured tibia and fibula
Wrestling is all faked, right? Well, mostly. Try and tell former WCW wrestler, Sid Vicious, that he was faking the leg injury he sustained in a 2001 WCW Championship match, and he might have a few different things to say to you. As you can probably tell, this one was a career-ender for Vicious in WCW, as he later sued the organization for forcing him to pull-off the maneuver that led him to suffer such a gruesome break.
13. Shaun Livingston
Date: 2/26/2007
Game: Clippers vs. Bobcats
Injury: Torn ACL, PCL, and meniscus, dislocated patella and tibia-femoral joint
It's a testament to the advances in modern medicine that Shaun Livingston is still able to play the game of basketball today. Then with the Clippers, Livingston was dealt one of the worst knee and leg injuries in basketball history back in 2007, when he took a hard, awkward fall on the fast break against the Bobcats. In truth, Livingston was lucky that he didn't need to have his leg amputated after this injury and, though he wasn't able to fulfill all of his superstar potential for the Clippers, he has at least been able to carve out a career as a back-up, since making his way back into the league.
12. Willis McGahee
Date: 1/3/2003
Game: Miami vs. Ohio State
Injury: Torn ACL, PCL, and MCL
Willis McGahee's pro career didn't exactly have the smoothest start to it, as the former Miami Hurricane first had to take care of a vicious knee injury that he had been given in the National Championship game against the Ohio State Buckeyes. McGahee has since been able to shape out a serviceable, and occasionally spectacular, career in the NFL, now with the Cleveland Browns, and previously a Pro Bowl-caliber back with Ravens and the Broncos. On this hit, though, it looked like his career was going nowhere fast. Props to McGahee for working his way back from rehab to make the comeback.
11. Oupa Ngulube
Date: 5/24/2009
Game: Carara vs. Mpumalanga
Injury: Fractured right tibia and fibula
Soccer shouldn't always be so dangerous as this, but on 50/50 balls like the one that Oupa Ngulube was going after, sometimes, a cleat can come down hard on the wrong spot. When that happens, the results—as you can see with Ngulube's injury—are pretty terrifying. A leg just shouldn't break that easily. His shin looks like it belongs to a scarecrow.
10. Petr Cech
Date: 10/14/2006
Game: Chelsea @ Reading
Injury: Depressed skull fracture
If you've ever wondered why world-class goalkeeper Petr Cech wears that goofy helmet around, it's because of this head injury that he suffered against Reading back in 2006. It may not look like much on the video, but Cech actually ended up with a depressed skull fracture that day. And if there's one thing on your body that you probably don't want to be depressed, it's your skull. Cech is lucky to be alive after this one.
9. Brandon McCarthy
Date: 9/5/2012
Game: A's vs. Angels
Injury: Brain contusion, skull fracture, epidural hemorrhage
It may not be something that you think about often, but pitchers are sitting ducks when they're out there on the mound. And, as the occasional comebacker has shown us, when their vulnerability is exposed, the results aren't pretty. Exhibit A: former A's (and current D'Backs) pitcher, Brandon McCarthy, who took a nasty shot to the dome back in September of 2012. MLB's decision to address home-plate collisions was a laudable and necessary move, but when are they going to start taking the same steps to protect the pitchers?
8. Renzo Gracie
Date: 8/27/2000
Game: Gracie vs. Sakuraba
Injury: Broken arm
MMA fighters are obviously just a different breed, but Renzo Gracie's willingness to stay in a fight after he had broken his arm is border-line insane. Sorry, scratch that. It's not border-line insane, it's just totally, completely insane. Squaring off against Kazushi Sakuraba in Pride 10, Gracie bit the bullet and fought with a wounded wing but, unfortunately, had nothing to show for his heroics in the end. Aside from a great story, that is.
7. Allan Ray
Date: 3/10/2006
Game: Villanova vs. Pittsburgh
Injury: Eye
You may not see it at first, but take a second glance at the ocular injury that former 'Nova guard, Allan Ray, suffered during the 2006 Big East Tournament, and be ready to cringe. Spoiler alert: His EYE is out of his head. What type of shit do you see when that happens? Or does everything just go black? So many questions, and so many answers that we never want to have to find out for ourselves.
6. Djibril Cisse
Date: 10/30/2004
Game: Liverpool vs. Blackburn
Injury: Fractured tibia and fibula
Psh...he flopped. Alright, alright, bad joke, but, for a moment you know that you thought that Djibril Cisse's injury was just like any other footballer who takes a dive in the box to earn that PK. After seeing the replay, though, it suddenly became clear that his fall was just that horrific.
5. Joe Theismann
Date: 11/18/1985
Game: Redskins vs. Giants
Injury: Fractured tibia and fibula
When you open the book on horrific sports injuries, former Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann will be on the very first page. Sure, there had been some brutal injuries before Theismann, but something about the stakes and the setting of Theismann's injury made it seem so much more significant. It was Monday Night Football, featuring an NFC East match-up between the Skins and the Giants. Future Hall of Famers Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson would be the ones to take Theismann down on that fateful sack, and even Taylor, who was known for being one of the most ruthless players in the league, looked terrified after he saw what had happened. It was just that bad.
4. Anquan Boldin
Date: 9/28/2008
Game: Cardinals vs. Jets
Injury: Fractured paranasal sinuses
Anquan Boldin is one of the toughest veterans in the league; a seasoned, hard-nosed football player who has put up some solid numbers throughout his career, earned himself a Super Bowl ring, and even made a few trips to the Pro Bowl in the process. Though it was hard to watch, your respect for him only grew after seeing him take this vicious, dual hit from Kerry Rhodes and Eric Smith. However, it's also important to note that collisions like these are why they're enforcing the helmet-to-helmet rule so harshly.
3. Derrick Roland
Date: 12/22/2009
Game: Texas A&M @ Washington
Injury: Broken tibia and fibula
Though he would eventually make it back onto the court, when former Texas A&M forward Derrick Roland suffered a nasty leg injury against Washington back in 2009, many thought his career was done. Breaking the two tibia and fibula is one of the worst combinations in sports, and even a surface view could tell you that Roland's injury looked no more encouraging than anyone else who had fallen to a similar fate. Roland may not have made it to the NBA, but you have to give him some serious credit for just making it back on the hardwood at all.
2. Kevin Ware
Date: 3/31/2013
Game: Louisville vs. Duke
Injury: Broken right leg
We all know about Kevin Ware's injury and, by now, we've all seen it. Does much more really need to be said? Let's set the scene and then let the video do the rest. It was an Elite Eight match-up featuring Duke and Louisville. Still early in the game, back-up center Kevin Ware subbed in for a few minutes before losing the rest of his season to an ill-fated attempt to block a shot by Tyler Thornton. As for what happened next, well, even the Blue Devils were cringing at the scene.
1. Clint Malarchuk
Date: 3/22/1989
Game: Sabres vs. Blues
Injury: Slashed jugular vein
Hockey is already a pretty tough sport, but seeing former Buffalo Sabres goaltender, Clint Malarchuk, get slashed in the throat with a skate really took that idea to a whole new level. Initially, it's hard to see how the injury happened, but it isn't difficult to see the aftermath of it. Malarchuk is spitting up blood out of his neck, staining the ice more than any fistfight ever could. In total, Malarchuk lost about one-third of the blood in his body, and was only saved after a team trainer pinched off the flow until the doctors arrived. Thankfully, Malarchuk would survive, and go on to play in the league for a few years more.