The 25 Freakiest Sports Injuries of All Time

Intro

Everyone from the players to coaches to managers would tell you that sustaining injuries is just a part of the game. Any pulled muscle or torn ligament is to be expected when you're giving your all on the field of play. But what about those rare instances when an athlete performs some mundane, ordinary task and suffers a random injury? Such was the case this week for Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Penner who injured his back while sitting down to eat pancakes.

But Penner is far from the first and won't be the last athlete to hurt himself in such a ridiculous manner. From pitcher Charlie Hough breaking his pinky finger during a handshake to Alex Stepney dislocating his jaw from screaming at his teammates to Sammy Sosa's "sneeze heard 'round the world," the people on this list got hurt for all the wrong reasons. So, on a day like Friday the 13th where you may want to be extra careful, here are The 25 Freakiest Sports Injuries of All Time.

Cold As Ice

25. Cold As Ice

Year: 2006
Athlete: Jose Theodore
Sport: Hockey
Injury: Strained his Achilles tendon after slipping on ice outside of his house.
Let us reiterate one point: Jose Theodore makes a living out of skating on ice. You figure homie would be pretty familiar with the surface he's spent so much time on but nah. Soundtrack, please!

Carlos Zambrano x Computers = Fail

24. Carlos Zambrano x Computers = Fail

Year: 2007
Athlete: Carlos Zambrano
Sport: Baseball
Injury: Got tendinitis after spending so much time on the computer instant messaging his family back in Venezuela.
Computers x Carlos Zambrano just doesn't seem like a good combination. Zambrano may have got tendinitis from "instant messaging ," but we would love to see what his PC looks like.

The Shower Can Be a Very Dangerous Place

23. The Shower Can Be a Very Dangerous Place

Year: 2001
Athlete: Spergon Wynn
Sport: Football
Injury: Injured his groin when he slipped trying to get out of the shower.
Some people have referred to Spergon Wynn one of the worst quarterbacks in NFL history, but did you know that his horrible play on the field also spread to the shower? After a slip in the shower, Wynn turned himself into a human wishbone. And people thought dropping the soap was all anyone had to worry about...

Don't Trip, Homie!

22. Don't Trip, Homie!

Year: 2003
Athlete: Kazuhiro Sasaki
Sport: Baseball
Injury: Bruised ribs after tripping over luggage.
Just in case you were wondering, this is why athletes need people to carry their bags for them.

Some Serious Shit...

21. Some Serious Shit...

Year: 2008
Athlete: Darren Fletcher
Sport: Soccer
Injury: Suffered a gash to the head after being knocked unconscious by a toilet door.
That's no typo. Darren Fletcher got knocked out by a toilet door. A toilet door! Let this be a lesson: Never underestimate the power of the crapper.

Jacked Up Jack-O'-Lantern

20. Jacked Up Jack-O'-Lantern

Year: 2010
Athlete: Brad Gruner
Sport: Football
Injury: Needed season-ending surgery after slicing his pinky while carving a pumpkin.
Gruner to the pumpkin: "I'm gonna carve you up real nice!" Pumpkin's response: "Say word?"

Making It Rain On Them Hoes...And Golfers

19. Making It Rain On Them Hoes...And Golfers

Year: 2003
Athlete: Colin Montgomerie
Sport: Golf
Injury: He thought he felt a drop of rain, looked up and missed a step. He went sprawling, tried to brace himself and badly injured his hand causing soft tissue damage.
We've all been there. After feeling one drop of rain, we look up wondering if it's going to come down. But in Colin Montgomerie's case, the only thing that came down was the golfer's body on his hand after falling down a flight of stairs. We're pretty sure the same thing happens to strippers any time a rapper or baller enters the club.

Why You Trippin', Dog?

18. Why You Trippin', Dog?

Year: 2002
Athlete: Brian Griese
Sport: Football
Injury: Sprained his ankle after tripping over his dog on a flight of stairs. Missed a game.
They say that dog is man's best friend. But Brian Griese's dog should be known as man's worst enemy after tripping Griese and causing him to fall down a flight of stairs. Either that, or Griese is just as much of a klutz in his personal life as he is on the field. We'll go with the latter.

More Than Just A Shaving Knick

17. More Than Just A Shaving Knick

Year: 2002
Athlete: Santiago Canizares
Sport: Soccer
Injury: Missed the World Cup after a shard of glass from his aftershave bottle landed on his foot and cut a ligament.
Cuts or knicks from shaving happen from time to time but Santiago Canizares took it to a whole other level. We bet dude has sworn off aftershave from here on out.

Leet Gaming Fail

16. Leet Gaming Fail

Year: 1992
Athlete: Lionel Simmons
Sport: Basketball
Injury: Developed "Nintendonitus" after playing too much Game Boy.
We love gaming just as much as the next dude but at some point you have to give it a rest. This theory also applies for other carpal tunnel-causing activities we care not to mention.

Never Get Between A Squirrel (or Man) And His Nut. Ayo!

15. Never Get Between A Squirrel (or Man) And His Nut. Ayo!

Year: 2010
Athlete: Robby Ginepri
Sport: Tennis
Injury: He was riding his bike when a squirrel ran into his path causing him to swerve out of the way to avoid the critter. He rolled about 50 yards and broke his ulna (forearm).
You gotta applaud Robby Ginepri for his consideration towards the little creatures of the world, but at what cost? A broken ulna? Yeah, sorry people, but in that case there's gonna be one less squirrel in the world. And PETA, don't even think about coming at us with that bullshit.

Airplane Food Sucks

14. Airplane Food Sucks

Year: 1992
Athlete: Tom Glavine
Sport: Baseball
Injury: Broke two ribs when he threw up the in-flight meal.
If you ever get heated about your in-flight meal consisting of only peanuts or pretzels, just think of Tom Glavine. After all, his food was so bad that he broke two ribs throwing it up. If it was anything like that special pie inThe Help, we don't blame him.

Oh So Soft...

13. Oh So Soft...

Year: 2008
Athlete: Brandon Inge
Sport: Baseball
Injury: Strained his oblique while "moving a pillow for his three-year-old."
In an effort to fulfill his fatherly duties, Brandon Inge fluffed his son's pillow right before he went to bed. But in a very unfatherly-like twist, Inge ended up straining his oblique in the process. Following this unfortunate scenario, we can report that Brandon's son has lost multiple "my dad is better than your dad" arguments.

Leave That WWE Mess For the Pros

12. Leave That WWE Mess For the Pros

Year: 2008
Athlete: Brandon Marshall
Sport: Football
Injury: Severed an artery and damaged a nerve in his right forearm after putting hand through a TV while wrestling with family members.
Brandon Marshall originally said he tripped on a McDonald's wrapper then fell and put his arm through a TV. Well, he later admitted his arm went through the TV as a result of wrestling with family members. SMH, like either reason is better than the other.

It's Just A Game, Bro

11. It's Just A Game, Bro

Year: 2006
Athlete: Joel Zumaya
Sport: Baseball
Injury: Sprained his wrist while playing Guitar Hero.
Reliever Joel Zumaya missed three games of the 2006 ALCS because of the ridiculous reason aforementioned. When Guitar Hero II dropped they added insult to injury with this comment in the credits: "No pitchers were harmed in the making of this game. Except for one. Joel Zumaya. He had it coming." #ether

Stay In Your Lane, Fam

10. Stay In Your Lane, Fam

Year: 1973
Athlete: Svein Grondalen
Sport: Soccer
Injury: Forced to miss a match after colliding with a moose during a jog.
Next time you take a jog, make sure you watch out for the evil moose that may be lurking in the woods. And if you don't believe us, just ask Svein Grondalen.

Egg On Your Face. Literally.

9. Egg On Your Face. Literally.

Year: 2009
Athlete: Kirk Broadfoot
Sport: Soccer
Injury: Scalded his face after water from an egg exploded.
Eggs are a great meal for any athlete. But what happens when eggs strike back? You get salmonella or hot scalding water in your face. We want no part of either of those terrible scenarios.

Some Toe-Curling Action

8. Some Toe-Curling Action

Year: 1967
Athlete: Denny McLain
Sport: Baseball
Injury: Dislocated his toes after stubbing them while getting up from watching TV.
In baseball, there's no time when your team needs you more than during a pennant race. In September of 1967 that's exactly when McLain's freak injury supposedly went down. The pitcher claims his foot fell asleep while watching TV and that he stubbed his toes while getting up after hearing raccoons rattling his garbage cans. The injury caused him to miss two weeks worth of games. Needless to say his teammates did not believe his ridiculous story.

When Being Lazy Goes Horribly Wrong

7. When Being Lazy Goes Horribly Wrong

Year: Unknown
Athlete: David Seaman
Sport: Soccer
Injury: Broke a bone when he reached for the remote and lost his balance.
First Lesson of Being a Couch Potato: Make sure the remote is within reasonable distance before positioning yourself. #expertwithyearsofexperience

Lean Wit It...

6. Lean Wit It...

Year: 2012
Athlete: Dustin Penner
Sport: Hockey
Injury: Injured back while sitting down to eat pancakes.
A bit too excited to tear into some pancakes made by his wife, Dustin Penner triggered back spasms. Side bar: Did we mention that his wife looks like this? If dude is that excited for the pancakes, we could only imagine the fit he goes into over dessert.

Another Side Effect of Steroid Use?

5. Another Side Effect of Steroid Use?

Year: 2004
Athlete: Sammy Sosa
Sport: Baseball
Injury: Suffered back spasms after sneezing.
Once he got into his team's clubhouse, Sammy Sosa let out two violent sneezes that caused immediate debilitating back spasms. Needless to say, he really uncorked on those. Zing!

Botched Hand Job

4. Botched Hand Job

Year: 1986
Athlete: Charlie Hough
Sport: Baseball
Injury: Broke his pinky finger while shaking hands.
MLB pitcher Charlie Hough brings you the dangers of the fancy and intricate handshake. You never know when one wrong move can turn into a broken piny. Who we kidding? But don't worry. This only happens to one in every 1,000,000 losers.

Backups Have Way Too Much Time on Their Hands

3. Backups Have Way Too Much Time on Their Hands

Year: 2000
Athlete: Glenn Healy
Sport: Hockey
Injury: Needed 40 stitches after he cut his hand while changing the bag on his bagpipes.
Oh the life of a backup goalie in the NHL...

Strange Truth or Web of Lies?

2. Strange Truth or Web of Lies?

Year: 1990
Athlete: Glenallen Hill
Sport: Baseball
Injury: Suffered cuts to his feet after crashing through a glass table when he had a nightmare about spiders.
Is it any coincidence that this injury happened the same year that Arachnophobia was released? We think not.

The Jawbreaker (II)

1. The Jawbreaker (II)

Year: 1975
Athlete: Alex Stepney
Sport: Soccer
Injury: Yelled at his defenders with such force that he dislocated his jaw.
A dislocated jaw from screaming? How did this happen to goalkeeper Alex Stepney and not the countless pissed off football coaches?