Athlete Hall Of Shame
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Top Ten Shameful Trades
The following list is of the top ten most shameful trades ever made. The only criteria for this list is that the trades were made in the four major sports. If you think we forgot a trade or you think one of these shouldn't be here, let us know at topten@athletehos.com
Dishonorable Mention: Houston Oilers WR Steve Largent to the Seattle Seahawks for 198th pick in 1977 draft - 1976
The Oilers were getting ready to cut Largent after four preseason games in 1976 but instead made a trade to the Seahawks for an 8th-round pick the following year. The pick was used on WR Steve Davis, who never stepped onto the field. Largent did step onto the field a few times. Playing all of his 14 seasons for the Seahawks, he retired with NFL records for most receptions, most consecutive games with a reception, most receiving yards, most receiving TDs, most seasons with 50+ receptions, and most seasons with 1000+ receiving yards. He also made 7 Pro Bowls and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Not a bad trade for an 8th round pick.
10. Philadelphia Athletics 2B Nellie Fox to the Chicago White Sox for C Joe Tipton - 1949
Tipton stayed consistent with his numbers after going to Philadelphia, who felt he had more potential than Fox. He played two and a half seasons with the Athletics and didn’t play in more than 72 games or bat higher than .266 in any season with them. Fox, on the other hand, played 14 seasons with the White Sox and never played in less than 130 games and he batted below .260 only twice (one was still an All-Star season). He played in 11 straight All-Star games and 12 total. He won the 1959 MVP as well as 3 Gold Gloves, including the first ever Gold Glove at his position (Gold Gloves weren’t given out until Tipton’s 11th season). He went into the Hall of Fame in 1997. No doubt the A’s wish they’d evaluated his potential a little more.
9. Pittsburgh Penguins LW Markus Naslund to the Vancouver Canucks for RW Alek Stojanov - 1996
Stojanov played every bit of 45 games over one full season and one partial season for the Penguins. He scored a total of 2 goals and 4 assists before he was sent down to the Penguins’ farm team in Syracuse of the AHL in ‘97, never again to appear in the NHL. Naslund got a bit of a slow start with the Canucks getting only 3 points in the last 10 games of the ‘95-’96 season. He’s fared a little better in the 11 full seasons he’s played in since the trade (he played for his hometown team in Sweden during the ‘04-’05 season). He’s amassed 341 goals and 404 assists in his time with Vancouver. He’s also won the Pearson Award, the Molson Cup, the McLean Trophy twice, the Cyclone Taylor Award 4 times, and been named an All-Star 5 times. The only knock on this trade is that Naslund hasn’t led the Canucks to a single Stanley Cup appearance. Then again, the Penguins haven’t been to one since the trade either.
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Steve Young to the San Francisco 49ers for 50th and 106th pick in 1987 draft - 1987
Tampa Bay got a little bang for their buck by drafting LB Winston Moss with the earlier pick and WR Bruce Hill with the later pick. Moss started 52 games over four seasons while Hill started 50 games over five seasons. The Buccaneers, however, felt Young was obsolete after drafting QB Vinny Testaverde with the 1st pick in that year’s draft. The Niners felt he wasn’t, allowing him to backup starter Joe Montana for four seasons before becoming the starter himself. Young followed that with 7 straight Pro Bowl seasons, 2 MVPs, 6 passing titles, and a win in Super Bowl XXIX. Shameful? We think so.
7. Detroit Tigers P John Smoltz to the Atlanta Braves for P Doyle Alexander - 1987
The Tigers were needing pitching while trying to win the AL East and decided to send 20-year-old prospect Smoltz to the Braves for 36-year-old veteran Alexander. Alexander finished the season 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA for the Tigers and finished 4th in the Cy Young vote. The Tigers also won the division but lost in the playoffs. Alexander was named an All-Star the next season, but he didn’t do so well the following season and ended up retiring after only two full seasons with the Tigers and 11 games of another one. Smoltz, on the other hand, has played his entire career for the Braves, winning over 200 games and saving over 150 more. He’s an 8-time All-Star and won the ‘96 Cy Young Award. He also helped the Braves to five World Series appearances, winning one of them. We hope Detroit thinks that AL East crown was worth it.
6. Chicago Cubs OF Lou Brock, P Jack Spring, and P Paul Toth to the St. Louis Cardinals for OF Doug Clemens, P Ernie Broglio, and P Bobby Shantz - 1964
Clemens, Broglio, and Shantz played in a combined 261 games for the Cubs. They made exactly 0 All-Star appearances. Brock, however, finished his 19-year career (3 with Cubs and 16 with Cardinals) with 1620 runs, 3023 hits, 938 stolen bases, and batted .293. He finished in the top 15 of the MVP voting 7 times with one 2nd place finish and was a 5-time All-Star. He’s a Hall of Famer, too. Is now a good time to mention the Cubs also haven’t won a World Series since 1908?
5. Golden State Warriors C Robert Parish and 3rd pick in 1980 draft to the Boston Celtics for 1st and 13th picks in 1980 draft - 1980
The Warriors wanted to move up in the draft so they could get C Joe Barry Carroll and they used the 13th pick on C Rickey Brown. Carroll gave Golden State six full seasons and averaged over 20 ppg in four of those seasons. He even made the ‘87 All-Star team before being traded to the Houston Rockets during the following season. The same can’t be said for Brown as he gave the Warriors two full, forgettable seasons and part of another and was out of league after six. The Celtics, however, used their 3rd pick on F Kevin McHale. McHale, Parish, and F Larry Bird became the “Big Three” while leading Boston to 3 NBA Championships in the ‘80s. McHale and Parish both were enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame, were named as two of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, and had their numbers retired by the Celtics. To pour salt on the wounds, the Warriors never made it past the conference semifinals in the 13 seasons Parish and McHale were together in Boston, nor have they gotten past them since. Sorry.
4. Atlanta Falcons QB Brett Favre to the Green Bay Packers for 19th pick in 1992 draft - 1992
The Falcons used the draft pick on RB Tony Smith. Smith was used mainly as a kick returner, but he did get several carries in his rookie season. He played 3 seasons for the Falcons before retiring completely. Then Falcons coach Jerry Glanville once said that it would take a plane crash for him to start Favre. Favre made four passes in a Falcons uniform, all of them incomplete. In his first season with the Packers, he threw for 3,227 yards and 18 touchdowns and made the first of his 9 Pro Bowls. He holds the NFL records for attempts, completions, yards, touchdowns, and consecutive games started by a QB. Throw in his three consecutive league MVPs, two NFC Championships, and one Super Bowl win and we think it’s pretty easy to tell who got the shaft on this trade.
3. Charlotte Hornets G Kobe Bryant to the Los Angeles Lakers for C Vlade Divac - 1996
Some may consider Divac to be a serviceable center. Others may not. Either way, Divac spent two seasons with Charlotte averaging 11.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg before leaving via free agency. Bryant, as we all know, has averaged 24.8 ppg and led the NBA in scoring twice. He’s been named an All-Star 10 times, All-NBA 9 times, and won the 2008 MVP award. Oh yeah, he's won 3 NBA Championships, too. And to top it all off, the Lakers even got Divac back for his last season in ‘04-’05.
2. Minnesota Vikings 5 players and 8 draft picks in ‘90, ‘91, ‘92, and ‘93 drafts to the Dallas Cowboys for RB Herschel Walker and 4 draft picks in ‘90 and ‘91 drafts - 1989
The Vikings received Walker and draft picks in ‘90 and ‘91 that became TE Mike Jones, WR Pat Newman, WR Reggie Thornton, and WR Jake Reed. Jones was out of the league in 3 seasons (2 for Minnesota), Newman was out in 4 seasons (none for Minnesota), Thornton played in 6 games over 3 seasons (none for Minnesota), and Reed was fairly productive registering 1000 yards in a season 4 times and lasted 12 years in the league (10 for Minnesota). He failed to make the Pro Bowl, however. Walker played the last 11 games of the ’89 season for the Vikings and stayed for the next 2 years. His best season for the Vikings was ’91 when he had 198 carries for 825 yards and 10 touchdowns. He bounced around to the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants over the next 4 years and ironically, finished his career with the Cowboys in ‘96 and ‘97. In probably the worst NFL trade ever, the Cowboys received LB Jesse Solomon, LB David Howard, DB Issiac Holt, DE Alex Stewart, RB Darrin Nelson, and draft picks in ‘90, ‘91, ‘92 and ‘93 that would become, RB Emmitt Smith, DT Russell Maryland (after some trading around by coach Jimmy Johnson), DB Kevin Smith, and DB Darren Woodson among others. The players the Cowboys got that were already in the league didn’t really pan out, except for Holt who was named All-Pro in ‘90 and was on their ‘92 Super Bowl team. The four main guys they drafted were key players for several years, all playing on their ‘92, ‘93, and ‘95 Super Bowl teams. They also made a combined 14 Pro Bowls for the Cowboys. Teams are a little smarter than this now, but it’s hard to blame the Vikings. They were getting one of the hottest players at the time. Who knew they were giving up three Super Bowls to get him?
1. Boston Red Sox OF/P Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 in cash, three $25,000 notes payable every year at 6% interest, and a $300,000 loan with the mortgage on Fenway Park as collateral - 1919
In the Red Sox defense, Ruth was unhappy in Boston and was holding Red Sox owner Harry Frazee hostage by not playing in an attempt to double in his salary of $10,000. Frazee grew tired of Ruth and made the trade with the Yankees. At the time, Ruth was more just a base hitter averaging .308 in 6 season with the Red Sox but helped lead the team to 3 World Series titles in 4 seasons. He broke out in 1919 when he batted .322 with 29 home runs and 114 RBIs. He was then sent to the Yankees and the rest is history. His first season with the club yielded a .376 average with 54 home runs and 137 RBIs. He won the AL MVP in 1923 and led the team to 7 World Series in 12 years, and won 4 of them. The Yankees have been associated with greatness ever since. The Red Sox, not so much. They got in such a lull that they believed there was a “Curse of the Bambino” on the team when they failed to reach the World Series for 85 years (they broke the “curse” when they won in 2004). It also didn’t help that legend says Frazee sold Ruth and other good players to finance his Broadway play No, No, Nanette. How shameful is a trade when the team’s faithful believe that there’s a curse on the club just because of it? The answer: the most shameful trade ever.