Ed Walsh
Ed Walsh’s seemingly impossible 1.82 career ERA is the lowest ever, and his dominance was partly because he was a master at the spitball and made it popular. In the 1910s, usage of the spitball became rampant, which led to other pitches like using Vaseline or using an emery board to doctor the baseball. This made the ball more difficult to hit due to its erratic movements, and the discoloration made the ball very difficult to spot in low light situations. Sadly, this led to a death, when a spitball struck Ray Chapman in the head after he couldn’t see the ball during a dark game. In 1920, these practices got banned but those which were grandfathered in were exceptions and were allowed to be used.
Ed Walsh
Shaquille O’Neal
Shaq is considered one of the all-time most dominant centers, and his strength damaged a lot of hoops during his long and highly successful career. The ferocity of his dunks shattered backboards and on one occasion, he broke the supports that keep the goal up and also broke another goal’s hydraulics. Because of this, there were very lengthy delays as the arena crew had to wheel one goal to the back to re-weld things in the middle of the game. This resulted in goals being made sturdier and the league adding a rule in the books that the opposing team would get free throws in case it occurred once more. Now, there is a rule that states any player who makes the ring unplayable or damages the backboard after making contact with it will be penalized and will be assessed as a non-unsportsmanlike conduct technical foul.
Shaquille O’Neal
