Updated: Sep 1, 2005, 11:24 AM

Vote: Top Game 7s


Which Game 7 is No. 1? That's for you to decide!

 Who'sNo1
ESPN Classic's ''Who's No. 1?'' airs Monday-Friday at 8 p.m. ET and gives you the Top 20 on topics such as people, games, moments and much more. They have their rankings but the show isn't complete without your input.

On Monday, ''Who's No. 1?'' will be looking at the best Game 7s in sports history. Which game-ending home run was better: Bill Mazeroski's that beat the Yankees in the 1960 World Series or Aaron Boone's that sent the Yankees to the 2003 World Series? Do you prefer Twins over Braves, 1-0 in the 1993 World Series, or Red Wings over Blues, 1-0 in the 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs?

Those games, along with plenty of other baseball, hockey and basketball, are among the 20 Game 7s that appear in the show. Tune in Monday night to see how they rank, and cast your ballot before then and tell us your Top 5!

Which FIVE of the Game 7s listed below are your favorites?

  • 1946 World Series: Cardinals 4, Red Sox 3 -- The Cardinals go up 3-1 after the 5th inning, the Red Sox tie the score 3-3 in the top of the 8th before St. Louis scores the winning run in the top of the 9th.
  • 1957 NBA Finals: Celtics 125, Hawks 123 (2OT) -- The Hawks get two free throws from Bob Pettit to force overtime then a jumper from Jack Coleman to force a second overtime. Two Celtics free throws ice a game that saw Bill Russel and Tom Heinsohn combine for 46 points and 55 rebounds.
  • 1960 World Series: Pirates 10, Yankees 9 -- The teams combined for seven runs in the eighth inning, but two Yankees runs in the top of the ninth tie the score at 9-9. Pittsburgh's Bill Mazeroski ends the game with a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 9th.
  • 1962 NBA Finals: Celtics 110, Lakers 107 (OT) -- Jerry West of the Lakers scores seven points in the final minute of the 3rd quarter to tie the score and the teams trade baskets until the Celtics close it out in overtime.
  • 1965 NBA Finals: Celtics 110, 76ers 109 -- The Celtics overcome the 76ers and their new addition, Wilt Chamberlain, when a last gasp Philadelphia inbounds pass is broken up: 'Havlicek stole the ball!'
  • 1966 NBA Finals: Celtics 95, Lakers 93 -- Boston jumped out to a huge early lead before Los Angeles pulled within two with :04 remaining. Fans prematurely rushed the court before John Havlicek was able to dribble out the clock.
  • 1969 NBA Finals: Celtics 108, Lakers 106 -- The Celtics finish off a comeback from an 0-2 series deficit and win their 11th title in 13 seasons by keeping Wilt Chamberlain in foul trouble.
  • 1986 World Series: Mets 8, Red Sox 5 -- In a game played only after Bill Buckner couldn't field Mookie Wilson's 9th-inning grounder in Game 6, the Mets have an answer for every Red Sox rally.
  • 1987 NHL Patrick Division Semifinals: Islanders 3, Capitals 2 (4OT) -- The Islanders took a 3-1 series lead but the Capitals forced a Game 7. Pat LaFontaine scored the game-winning goal 8:47 into the fourth overtime period.
  • 1988 NBA Finals: Lakers 108, Pistons 105 -- The Pistons trim a 15-point 4th-quarter deficit to two with :06 remaining, but James Worthy's triple-double (36-16-10) is too much to overcome.
  • 1991 World Series: Twins 1, Braves 0 (10) -- Jack Morris authors one of the greatest pitching performances in postseason history, throwing 10 scoreless innings before Gene Larkin's pinch-hit single wins it in the bottom of the 10th.
  • 1993 NHL Campbell Conference Finals: Kings 5, Maple Leafs 4 -- Wayne Gretzky puts on one of the greatest one-game performances in postseason history, scoring a hat trick and adding an assist to propel the Kings to the Stanley Cup Finals.
  • 1993 NLCS: Braves 3, Pirates 2 -- Atlanta scores three runs in the bottom of the ninth, capped by Francisco Cabrera's two run single. Cabrera had only 10 previous at-bats that season.
  • 1994 NHL Eastern Conference Finals: Rangers 2, Devils 1 (2OT) -- New York captain Mark Messier guaranteed a win in Game 6 and backed it up with a hat trick, then Game 7 was even better. Valeri Zelepukin scored for the Devils with 7.7 seconds remaining to push the game to overtime before Stephane Matteau's wraparound goal won it for the Rangers at 4:24 of the second extra period.
  • 1996 NHL Eastern Conference Semifinals: Red Wings 1, Blues 0 (2OT) -- Goalies Chris Osgood of Detroit and Jon Casey of St. Louis were unbeatable until Wings captain Steve Yzerman rifled a slapshot from near the blue line 1:15 into the second OT, beating Casey and sending the Red Wings to the conference finals.
  • 1997 World Series: Marlins 3, Indians 2 (11) -- The Marlins score a run in the bottom of the 9th, tying the score at 2-2 and forcing extra innings. Edgar Renteria's game-winning single in the bottom of the 11th makes Florida the youngest franchise to win the World Series.
  • 2000 NBA Western Conference Finals: Lakers 89, Blazers 84 -- Los Angeles trailed 71-58 after the 3rd quarter but outscored Portland 31-13 in the 4th to advance to the Finals.
  • 2001 World Series: Diamondbacks 3, Yankees 2 -- Alfonso Soriano's homer put New York up 2-1 in the top of the 8th, but Arizona scored two runs off Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the 9th, including Luis Gonzalez's game-winning single.
  • 2002 NBA Western Conference Finals: Lakers 112, Kings 106 (OT) -- Shaq dominated inside, Kobe played with food poisoning and the officiating was questionable to many. It might not have mattered if Sacramento had shot better than 53 percent (16-30) from the free throw line.
  • 2003 ALCS: Yankees 6, Red Sox 5 (11) -- Boston led 5-2 after the top of the 8th but allowed New York to tie the score in the bottom of the inning. Aaron Boone's walk-off homer wins it for the Yankees in the bottom of the 11th.

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