Most Lopsided Trades in History

Well there was a lot of hustling and bustling going on in the closing hours of the trade deadline for Major League Baseball. It always amazed me how the different General Managers were able to assess the talent and get back equal, if not superior talent, for players they apparently had no use for or flat out did not want at all. Then again there are those trades that have gone down in infamy. So bad that fans shed tears when thinking about how lopsided they turned out. With this in mind I started looking back into the annuals of sports to see the trades, the debacles that changed the fortunes of the franchises involved. I did not feel it appropriate to focus just on baseball so my top six spread across the various sports. Coming at # 6…The now infamous deal which sent Eric Lindros to the Flyers and sent two Stanley Cups to the Quebec Nordiques, after they moved and became the Colorado Avalanche. After confusion over whether Quebec had traded Lindros’ rights to the Philadelphia Flyers or New York Rangers was settled by an arbitrator, the Nordiques sent Lindros to the Flyers in exchange for forwards Peter Forsberg and Mike Ricci, goaltender Ron Hextall, defensemen Steve Duchesne and Kerry Huffman, “future considerations” which eventually became enforcer Chris Simon, two first-round picks and $15 million. One of the draft picks was used by the Nordiques to select goaltender Jocelyn Thibault, the other was traded twice and ultimately used by the Washington Capitals to select Nolan Baumgartner. The deal transformed the Nordiques from league doormats to a legitimate Stanley Cup contender almost overnight. Philly bet the farm on a young stud named Lindros and lost … big-time. At # 5…Herschel Walker traded from the Dallas Cowboys to the Minnesota Vikings. In a deal that involved an incredible six players and 12 draft picks, the Cowboys laid the groundwork for their Super Bowl teams of the 1990s with this trade. Two of those draft choices turned out to be running back Emmitt Smith and safety Darren Woodson, key players who helped the Cowboys win three Super Bowls in four seasons. Walker played just 2½ years in Minnesota and never had a 1,000-yard season for the Vikings. Minnesota felt the running back was the missing piece to its Super Bowl puzzle, but the team never won a playoff game with Walker, and the loss of the draft picks seriously hurt a team that consistently contended. The Paul Harvey of this trade, when the Vikings got rid of Herschel, where did he end up? Back in Dallas! #4…John Elway is traded from the Colts to the Broncos. When No. 1 pick Elway refused to play in Baltimore, the Colts traded the draft rights to the Stanford quarterback to Denver in exchange for quarterback Mark Hermann, the rights to offensive tackle Chris Hinton and a first-round pick in the 1984 draft, which ended up being guard Ron Solt. Elway became a legend in Denver, where he won more games (148) than any quarterback in NFL history and led the Broncos to five Super Bowl appearances, winning two. He finished his 16-year career ranked second in passing yardage (51,475), third in TD passes (300) and first in fourth-quarter comebacks (47). Does it really matter what the players Baltimore got did? #3…Julius Erving is sold to the Philadelphia 76ers. Embattled New York Nets owner Roy Boe sold “Dr. J” to Philadelphia for $3 million. After completing the deal, Sixers owner F. Eugene Dixon called Erving “the Babe Ruth of basketball.” Erving took the Sixers to the NBA Finals four times and won a championship in 1983. An 11-time NBA All-Star, Erving was the NBA’s MVP in 1981 and was voted one of the greatest 50 players of all time for the NBA. Nets season-ticket holders sued the team for a refund and ended up getting their money back. #2…The Red Sox sell babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold baseball’s greatest player to the Yankees for $100,000, plus a $300,000 loan, so he could finance the musical “No, No, Nanette”. Of Babe’s 714 career homers, he hit 665 for the Yanks, including 54 in his first season in the Bronx. He led the Yankees to seven World Series appearances and four titles, and the one of the greatest dynasties in the history of professional sports was born. “No, No, Nanette” ended up being a hit but Boston fans paid for it on more ways than one. And the most lopsided trade ever…Jesus Christ for us. Jesus was scorned, betrayed, whipped, spit upon, mocked, beaten and finally crucified. His friends abandoned Him, the religious leaders ridiculed Him and to this day the culture makes light of Him and what He has done for us. And as for us, we get our sins forgiven, access to eternal life, a Comforter to guide us through life’s pit falls and “a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God”. This is the only trade with eternal ramifications and the only one you can bet your life on.