LEEInks list: Villains in Boston sports history

Raiders safety Jack Tatum became an instant villain for this 1978 preseason hit on Patriot Darryl Stingley that left the receiver paralyzed. (AP)

In sports, you can’t have the teams and players you root for without having the villains. You know, the players who aggravate you and get under your skin, but who you probably would welcome if they wore your teams colors … or maybe not.

Patriots villain Jack Tatum died Tuesday after a heart attack. The Pro Bowl safety will forever be remembered for his hit that paralyzed Patriots receiver Darryl Stingley in a 1978 preseason game. Though the hit was legal, it didn’t take away the bad taste.

With that said, here is our list of the most villainous characters in Boston sports history. Note that our list is nearly half full with Yankees.

10. Joba Chamberlain

Despite being introduced to the New York-Boston rivalry fairly recently, Chamberlain has already vilified himself in the eyes of Red Sox Nation. In only his first season in the majors, Chamberlain zipped back-to-back fastballs behind the head of Kevin Youkilis in August 2007 at Yankee Stadium. Though Chamberlain was suspended two games for it, there have been other instances where he has had control issues with Youkilis at the plate. Red Sox fans have been adamant that it’s intentional, but Chamberlain denies it. Then again, there was a time when Pedro Martinez had his own problems going inside on New York hitters.

9. Joey Porter

Porter has never been shy with words throughout his NFL career. Leading up to a matchup against the Patriots in November 2009, the Miami linebacker lashed out against New England and most notably, quarterback Tom Brady. Porter criticized Brady for having his own rules when it came to attacking the quarterback’s legs after a game in which Brady seemed to persuade an official to throw a penalty flag after a play. The former Steeler also admitted he possessed a “natural hate” for the Patriots, saying, “Never really too much cared for New England. Still don’t care for New England. The hate’s been there for a while, especially after all the cheating they did back in the day.” In typical Bill Belichick fashion, the New England coach responded by saying, ‘That is not our fight; our fight is on the field.” Can’t help but think though that those comments were bulletin board material that week.

8. Claude Lemieux

Lemieux is the first of two Bruins and Cam Neely instigators on our list. He would antagonize Boston players and get under their skin with his slashing and poking. In this particular video, Lemieux raised his stick into the face of Neely, forcing him to retaliate by fighting. Instead of fighting, however, Lemieux tried to get away, forcing the referees to penalize Neely and not the instigator.

7. Jeff Ruland/Rick Mahorn

As the first tag-team tandem on this list, Ruland and Mahorn were infamous to Celtics fans. Former Celtics radio announcer and legend Johnny Most nicknamed the duo McFilthy and McNasty for their overly physical play as members of the Washington Bullets. In the early ’80s, they would give the Celtics a hard time whenever they played them because they made it a dogfight and refused to play any other style besides grinding it out. While Ruland’s career fizzled out later on with the Sixers, Mahorn went on to play with the “Bad Boy” Pistons and joined Bill Laimbeer, who makes an appearance further down our list.

6. Jack Tatum

Though Tatum didn’t continuously terrorize the Patriots, his infamous hit against Stingley in 1978 was enough to make him a villain in New England history. To make matters worse, it came during a preseason game. Stingley leaped for a pass and Tatum hit him mid-air, damaging Stingley’s spinal cord and leaving him paralyzed. According to Stingley, Tatum never attempted to apologize before Stingley’s death on April 5, 2007.

5. Alex Rodriguez

Though he lands No. 5 on our list, A-Rod was incredibly close to being the Red Sox shortstop through a trade in the 2003 offseason. Following his AL MVP season, Texas and Boston had a deal in place to swap Manny Ramirez and Rodriguez, the game’s two highest-paid players. It nearly went through, but the players association vetoed the trade because Rodriguez had to significantly reduce his salary. New York, in Yankee-like fashion, proceeded to acquire Rodriguez in February 2004 for Alfonso Soriano. Following a memorable fight with Jason Varitek in the regular season that year, Rodriguez permanently placed himself among Red Sox villains in the playoffs with his glove-slapping play on Bronson Arroyo while running down the first base line. After admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs in 2009, Rodriguez now receives some of the most jeers of any opposing player at Fenway Park.

4. Ulf Samuelsson

Similar to Lemieux, Ulf Samuelsson was an agitator and got under the skin of Cam Neely on numerous occasions. He was given the nickname Robocop for the armor-like padding he wore. Though his teammates loved his tough and physical style of play, he generally had a reputation for a being a dirty player. During the 1991 Wales Conference finals against the Bruins, Samuelsson laid a knee-on-knee hit to Neely, which was a factor in Neely’s injury-plagued seasons thereafter. The Boston right winger went from being a 50-goal-scorer to having knee and hip issues end his career prematurely. Neely said he didn’t respect Samuelsson’s style of play and that he hid behind his visor in fights.

3. Bill Laimbeer

There was no one who personified the “Bad Boy” Pistons image as well as Laimbeer . He was a hard and physical player who took liberty in doling out a little extra on every foul. Against the Celtics, it was no different. Most notably, Laimbeer got into fights with Larry Bird and Robert Parish in the 1987 Conference finals against the Celtics. In Game 3, he pulled down Bird as he went up for a layup, starting a scuffle on the floor. As a result, both Bird and Laimbeer were ejected, helping the Pistons to a blowout victory. In Game 5, Parish got fed up with the center and punched him in the face, earning Parish a one-game suspension for Game 6, which Detroit would win. Boston won Game 7, 117-114, to take the series and move on the finals, but Laimbeer was never forgiven by the Garden faithful. (Skip to 2:49 mark.)

2. Roger Clemens

As the only player on our list to play with a Boston team, Clemens quickly went from a fan favorite to one of the most hated opposing players. Though he had a great 12 seasons with the Red Sox in which he won 192 games, tying Cy Young for the franchise record, he began slowing down in his final years with Boston. The Red Sox decided not to re-sign him following the 1996 season and general manager Dan Duquette famously commented that Clemens was in twilight of his career. Signing with the Blue Jays, Rocket won the Cy Young Award in both his seasons with Toronto before orchestrating a trade in 1999 to the rival Yankees, with whom he won two World Series. Combine that with his alleged steroid use, and Clemens is not looked upon very kindly by many in Boston, including one radio personality who was the “victim” of one of Clemens’ beanball pitches.

1. George Steinbrenner

The only non-player to make our list, the legendary owner was a major catalyst behind the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. He didn’t aggravate Red Sox fans on the field, but from the luxury box instead. Steinbrenner wanted to win so badly that he didn’t mind stepping on emotions or obliterating the salary cap to pursue top free agents. At one point, it seemed that Boston simply didn’t have the money to compete with the New York ownership because of Steinbrenner’s commitment to winning. Many believe he ruined the game of baseball and bought players, but no one can take away the seven World Series titles he brought to New York. Though Steinbrenner died of a heart attack in July, the villain aura will continue with his sons Hank and Hal, even if it is on a lesser level. We’ll let ex-Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee have the final say on Steinbrenner.

27 Comments for “LEEInks list: Villains in Boston sports history”

1. Chris Says:
   July 29th, 2010 at 9:29 am

   Are you kidding? No Bucky Dent? No Magic? No Manning?

2. santos Says:
   July 29th, 2010 at 10:07 am

   i,d have to add the nilan but end to rick middleton,at the puc drop against the habs.

3. Tiger Says:
   July 29th, 2010 at 11:47 am

   Lee:

   Classless. Phony teeth and all.

4. Todd Says:
   July 29th, 2010 at 12:21 pm

   Joba? Really? He is an unproven kid, with a couple of beanballs. C’mon, your giving him way too much credit. Thurman Munson, Bucky Dent, Paul O’Neil, are a few Yankees who should have made your list before Joba. What about Andrew Toney, “The Boston Strangler?” Your list is not well thought out.

5. dachsiemom Says:
   July 29th, 2010 at 1:14 pm

   LOVE Bill Lee! No one has done more to the detriment of MLB than Steinbrenner. That said, leaving Bucky *&$#(@! Dent off the list and putting Joba on is crazy.

6. AdamBruinsFan Says:
   July 29th, 2010 at 1:26 pm

   Where’s Jeremy Jacobs on the list? lol

7. dennie Says:
   July 29th, 2010 at 1:30 pm

   no jeter? jeter sucks is chanted everytime he goes to boston.what about eric mangini?

8. chucko Says:
   July 29th, 2010 at 1:39 pm

   Anyone remember BEN DREITH (’76 playoff Pats-Raiders)?? He is no. 1 villain on any list!

9. Pond Plymth Says:
   July 29th, 2010 at 1:42 pm

   Shannon Sharpe can take the phone and shove it…

10. Marcus Says:
    July 29th, 2010 at 1:50 pm

    Bill Buckner?

11. Danno Says:
    July 29th, 2010 at 2:00 pm

    No Andrew Toney??????

12. you guys are wrong again Says:
    July 29th, 2010 at 2:01 pm

    Bucky Dent has to be number 1… And we all love cam neely.. But really guys… Your not going to go back to the phily or montreal rivalries of generations past?? Really? Roger Clemins over Dave Stewart… Really…did you watch any of the A’s Sox series in the 80′s/90′s?
    Joba over Jeter…that is laughable…A-rod over Bernie Williams…sad…sad guys… This is why I have switched over to satelite radio… your pure ignorance!

13. Lewis Banelis Says:
    July 29th, 2010 at 2:28 pm

    I don’t get the Bucky Dent thing as a villain or Andrew Toney either, they made plays that beat the Sox and Celtics,but they were’nt villains.The guys who think they, are ought to look up the meaning of the word.

14. Tony Clarkwell Says:
    July 29th, 2010 at 2:42 pm

    I’m with Lewis. Bucky Dent, Jeter, and Williams weren’t villains; they’re just players who happened to bite the Sox in the ass. Peyton Manning? A villain? That’s a reach. Especially when I think the Pats, overall, have gotten the better of that matchup (although not recently).

15. Tony Says:
    July 29th, 2010 at 2:48 pm

    For every Boston fan George Steinbrenner was not good for Baseball just for the fact that Boston Red Sox never had and will never have an onwner like him. Boston Red Sox fans are just looooooooseeeeeeerrrrrrrrrssssssss…….

16. ralph Says:
    July 29th, 2010 at 3:03 pm

    what about the guy that injured Brady’s knee then had t-shirts made celebrating his accomplishment???

17. Murray Liverman Says:
    July 29th, 2010 at 4:21 pm

    Bill Lee is my number one, by far, just in case anyone has forgotten his Sunday Globe statement in August of 1978, on the day that the Sox win put them some 14 games ahead, that Bill Lee came out with the statement that —-Zimmer is a lousy manager, and we all know what happened after that

18. Brian Says:
    July 29th, 2010 at 5:20 pm

    I’d even put Matt Cooke ahead of Joba

19. Tom in East Longmeadow Says:
    July 29th, 2010 at 7:39 pm

    These list are, of course, always objective. Bill Laimbeer certainly deserves to be here, though. I can still hear Johnny going wild.

    I really don’t understand why Derek Jeter gets the heat. As far as I know, he usually keeps his mouth shut and is a standup guy on the field.

    What really concerns me – as do most postings – are the atrocious errors of grammar, punctuation and spelling. Being able to speak doesn’t mean that one can write it properly.

    Living in one’s parent’s basement must arrest cranial development.

20. Kevin in Springfield Says:
    July 30th, 2010 at 6:27 pm

    Hey Tom in E.Longmeadow. Just before you criticized everyones grammar, spelling, and puntuation, you forgot the “s” at the beginning of your statement. “These list”? Or did you really mean to use the word “This” instead of “These”?

21. Kevin in Springfield Says:
    July 30th, 2010 at 6:29 pm

    Of course,I don’t seem to be able to spell either. ie: “puntuation”

22. barnibus Says:
    July 31st, 2010 at 1:42 am

    Anyone remember the Goon Pat Quinn and his Orr-baiting?

23. JR Says:
    July 31st, 2010 at 6:40 pm

    Wilt The Stilt?

24. J SON Says:
    July 31st, 2010 at 11:13 pm

    IN RETROSPECT , IT WAS NEELEY’S NAMES FOR LEMIEUX “CLAUDE THE FRAUD ” “THE GUTLESS PUKE” ARE MY FAVORITES !!!

25. dave Says:
    August 1st, 2010 at 11:42 pm

    Laimbeer was the classic guy you love to hate but would love to have.

    If only the NBA could go back to those days. As opposed to the overly soft-serve style now.

26. T-man Says:
    August 5th, 2010 at 7:38 pm

    Bill Lee’s too old to act like a child, a child who’s parents apparently never taught him manners; and if the list goes back to the 70′s, then Craig Nettles/Mickey Rivers in their day were every bit the villians that A-Rod is/was, and perhaps even more. I’d also suggest Andrew Toney should be on that list before Chamberlain; and Bucky “Bleepin” Dent HAS to be on the lisst.

27. Red Sox Oldtimer Says:
    August 27th, 2011 at 1:04 am

    You gotta make a special category for opponents that subsequently played poorly when traded or signed by Boston teams. These guys beat us when they played against us but choked when they later joined our team. So in effect theey hurt us TWICE…Cases inpoint:
    Ramerio Mendoza, Yankee setup picther who beat Boston a dozen times, but later came here and blew lead after lead. I recall a fan next to me yelling “Go back to NewYork you choker”,

    Roland Sheldon: another yankeee starting picture that was always beating us but when he played here was a total flop.

    Luis Aparicio, SS for the White Sox who stole tons of bases and killed Boston in the 60′s and 70′s. He went 0 -47 when playing for the Red Sox and was here when the Red Sox blew a pennant while he was in his slump.

    I almost want to add Carl Crawford to this list, but I’ll wait for next season to see if he can get is ass and head right.

    On a different sport Hockey: Chris Nilan who tormented Bruins while a Canadiens player but would not fight for his team when he joined the Bruins. He is a complete fraud. If you see him in a clothing store keep an eye on him. He’s known to shoplift,

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