Best Sports Play Ever

Lawyer Milloy has been a NFL safety for over a decade, once a Pro Bowl player, but now a solid veteran. He has been a Super Bowl Champion with the New England Patriots, and a starter for the Buffalo Bills and Atlanta Falcons. While Milloy won’t be headed to Canton, he has been a hard hitting player throughout his career. Despite being one of my favorite Patriots, my favorite memory of him had nothing to do with the Patriots. The best play Milloy ever made occurred at the University of Washington, but not on the gridiron. Milloy was drafted as a pitcher by the Detroit Tigers, but I first saw his talent when he was patrolling center field.

Growing up in Massachusetts Pac-10 sports were rarely ever on television unless it was a Bowl game or NCAA March Madness. One spring day I turned on Sports Channel (now defunct and a precursor to Fox Sports) and found the weekly Pac-10 baseball game of the week. Why would a Massachusetts channel show a weekly college baseball game from teams thousands of miles away? In this one case it might have been destiny. I turned in for a few minutes to see what may be the best defensive play I have ever seen. “The Catch” by Willie Mays was great, this play was better. Lawyer Milloy was playing a center field that was so shallow that the worst hitter on a little league team could have hit it over his head. On the first play there was a hard hit flare to deep right center field, an extra base hit for sure. Milloy came out of nowhere to make a diving, over-the-head catch, while taking a face plant on the warning track.

At the time Kenny Lofton was the fastest center fielder I have ever seen and played too shallow for his own good but Milloy put Lofton to shame. He looked like a short fielder in softball catching a Hail Mary pass. As Milloy was a pitching prospect he might have just been out of position, but his speed more than made up for poor positioning. Milloy didn’t get up as he was injured in the process, hurting his shoulder and collarbone. It was during the multiple replays that they mentioned that Milloy was a star safety on the Huskies football team. I never got to see Milloy play again (either baseball or football) in college but I was ecstatic when he was drafted by the Patriots. I still wear my number 36 “Milloy” Patriots jersey with pride for the man that made the best play I have ever seen in any sport.