The Craziest Rule Changes in Sports History: Rules are made in professional sports to maintain a level of equality and fairness for everyone. However, there are times when flexibility has to be introduced, and even the strictest rule books have to be amended. Some players tend to have a keen understanding of the rule book and know how to use these strict rules to their advantage and make clever use of the creative loopholes, and sometimes it even leads to them exploiting them at the expense of other players, which then becomes an issue.
Some of the rule changes are formal rule changes, while are remain informal changes and are not official modifications to the rule books of the sport.
These are the six craziest rule changes in sports history
The “Tiger Woods Effect”
Sport: Golf
A term called “Tiger Proofing” came into being during the dominance of Tiger Woods in the late 1990s. These were mainly designed to make the golf runs more challenging, which actually led to significant changes in golf courses, like tightening landing areas, adding more strategic fairway bunkers, and even changing the designs of the holes sometimes, with the intent of reducing the effect of powerful tee shots. Most notably, changes were made in the prestigious golf course of “Augusta National”.
The “Jordan Rules”
Sport: NBA
Year: 1980’s
The infamous “Jordan Rules” were formed in the 1980s by the Detroit Pistons during the time when Michael Jordan had begun to dominate the league. The intent behind these rules was to wear him down physically. However, the NBA saw the need to intervene and ended up tightening regulations to protect superstars from such unfair strategies.
The “Tuck Rule”
Sport: NFL
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Year: 2001
Football has a long list of rules, but the “Tuck Rule” remains one of the rules that was eventually repealed in 2013. What this rule meant was that it would be considered to be a fumble by the quarterback if he did not intend to pass the ball, but due to any forward momentum by his arm, the ball moved forward. This rule originated from a playoff game that happened between the Raiders and Patriots, where a fumble was incorrectly ruled.
The “Happy Gilmore” Ban
Sport: PGA Tour
Influenced by the movie Happy Gilmore which features many golf stars, many of the professional golf players had started to incorporate some of the run-up swings from the movie into the competitive sport and though it was initially hilarious, the running starts were eventually unofficially banned by the PGA.
Goaltender Pads Shrink
Sport: NHL
Year: 2005
The Goaltenders’ Pads Shrink was an initiative by the National Hockey League Players’ Association. This was mainly done with the objective of reducing the pad size so as to restore the scoring excitement. What led to this change is that goals were becoming difficult to score owing to the oversize pads, and hence a decision was made to set the maximum width of the pads to 11 inches in 2005-06.
Rules remain essential in professional sports, and they are made not just for equal and fair play but also for the safety of players. Sometimes, however, these rules have to be amended.
READ MORE: Game Changers: 4 Sports That Rewrote Their Own Rules
