Greatest Moments in San Diego History

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Sep 28, 2010

Greatest Moments in San Diego History

1988 Super Bowl XXII

The top sports moments to happen within the city itself, including neutral-site matchups such as college bowl games, super bowls, NCAA Tournaments, etc. John Elway led the Broncos to their second straight Super Bowl in 1987, and when Denver jumped out to a 10-0 lead at Jack Murphy Stadium, it looked like it would raise the Lombardi Trophy for the first time in franchise history. But the Redskins scored 42 unanswered points. Washington's Doug Williams was named MVP after throwing for a Super Bowl record 340 yards and four touchdowns. He also became the first African-American quarterback to win a Super Bowl.

1998 Super Bowl XXXII

Ten years after the Broncos lost to the Redskins in Super Bowl XXII, John Elway and company finally got it right in San Diego. Despite being a huge underdog to the Packers and QB Brett Favre, Denver won 31-24 behind running back Terrell Davis' 157 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Davis, a San Diego native, took home the game's MVP honors despite battling a migraine headache in the first half. The Broncos' won their first Super Bowl after four failed attempts.

2003 Super Bowl XXXVII

Super Bowl XXXVII pit the NFL's top-ranked offense against the NFL's top-ranked defense. NFL MVP Rich Gannon led the Raiders' high-flying pass attack, while the Buccaneers' defense was anchored by stars Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, Ronde Barber and John Lynch. But the most intriguing of the game's storylines led to the nickname "The Gruden Bowl." After coaching the Raiders from 1998 to 2001, Jon Gruden's rights were traded to Tampa Bay for a package of draft picks and a lump sum. Thus, the game pit Gruden's new squad against his old one. His new team dominated, frustrating Gannon to the tune of five interceptions en route to a 48-21 Super Bowl victory.

1984 National League Championship Series

The Padres met the Cubs in San Diego's first-ever postseason series, and after two losses in Chicago, things looked dim for the Pads. When the series headed to Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, the Padres reversed the momentum and rallied to win three straight games. While San Diego celebrated the National League pennant, the Cubs' disastrous breakdown became part of the "Curse of the Billy Goat."

1998 NLCS Game 3

San Diego returned to the NLCS in 1998 against the Atlanta Braves thanks to a 50-home run season by Greg Vaughn and a the consistent hitting of future Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. The Padres stole Games 1 and 2 in Atlanta (the first in 10 innings), then traveled home to Qualcomm Stadium and beat Braves ace Greg Maddux. The win put San Diego in the driver's seat, up 3-0, and was the only game in the series won by the home team. The Padres put the series away in Atlanta four days later.

2006 Tomlinson breaks single-season TD record vs. Broncos

LaDainian Tomlinson set the NFL record for touchdowns in a season in 2006 when he scored three times against the Broncos at Qualcomm Stadium. Late in the fourth quarter of the Chargers' AFC West-clinching 48-20 win over Denver, LT scored touchdowns No. 28 and 29. After Tomlinson eclipsed Seattle's Shaun Alexander, who scored 28 touchdowns the previous season, he was Mobbed by teammates and showered with chants of "LT! LT!" from the home crowd.

1995 NFL Divisional Playoffs

San Diego won the AFC East in 1994 and was the No. 3 seed heading into the postseason. They hosted Miami, led by quarterback Dan Marino, in the Divisional round on Jan. 8, 1995 at Jack Murphy Stadium. The Dolphins took a 21-6 lead at halftime, stunning the Chargers and their fans. But in the second half, San Diego scored 16 unanswered points, and Miami's last-second field goal sailed wide, allowing the Bolts to win 22-21.

1999 Buick Invitational

Torrey Pines Golf Course has always been good to Tiger Woods, and he first played the San Diego-area course as a pro more than a decade ago. On Valentine's Day 1999, a 23-year-old Tiger collected the first of his eight PGA tournament wins that year, launching him into an extended period of golf dominance. In his first win at Torrey Pines, Woods tied the course record, shooting 22-under par for the tournament, despite starting the weekend an astounding nine strokes off the pace.

2008 US Open Tiger

Tiger Woods had major surgery on his left knee in April 2008. By mid-June, he was back on the golf course, albeit in noticeable pain, for the U.S. Open Championship at Torrey Pines. Tiger entered Sunday atop the leaderboard, but lost his one-stroke lead on the first hole of the day. He finished the day tied with 45-year-old underdog Rocco Mediate, forcing an 18-hole playoff the next day. Incredibly, the pair finished the day tied again, sending them to a sudden death playoff, which Woods won with an even par, running his streak of Major wins when leading heading into Sunday to a perfect 14-0.

1978 "Holy Roller"

In September 1978, the Raiders beat the Chargers at San Diego Stadium on one of the most controversial plays in NFL history. Oakland lined up on the Chargers' 14-yard line, trailing by six with 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter when Raiders' quarterback Ken Stabler intentionally fumbled the ball forward to avoid a sack. In the ensuing chaos, multiple Raiders players batted the ball toward the end zone until Oakland tight end Dave Casper kicked the ball into the end zone and landed on top of it. The Raiders were awarded a touchdown and won the game 21-20 on the extra point. The play forced the NFL to institute rules about intentional fumbles by the offense with less than two minutes to play. Send comments to siwriters@simail.com.