--- In SABR_Records@yahoogroups.com, "Bill Deane" <DizDeane@...> wrote:
>
> I hate to blaspheme this group with discussion about football, but
this reminds me of something that happened in the NFL in 1972. In the
last game of the year, the Dolphins' Mercury Morris had a chance to
reach 1000 yards rushing for the campaign, a big milestone in the
14-game-season days. I believe it also would have made Miami the
first team to have two 1000-yard rushers (Larry Csonka was the other)
in the same year. Morris made a valiant effort, but got banged up and
had to leave the game with just 991 yards to his credit. However,
shortly after the season ended, Commissioner Pete Rozelle announced
that he had been reviewing some game films and noticed that Morris
failed to get credit for a nine-yard run earlier in the season. Thus,
Morris is listed with an even 1000 yards for 1972.
>
> Bill Deane

Football statistics are changed after the game at almost every level.
It happens quite a bit at the top college level and also in the NFL.
The sport is rather imprecise for something that has such a regimented
style of play. At the college level, the home team provides the stat
crew and they, usually with the approval of their own head coach, will
alter the stats after the game.

Baseball, with the notable exception of fielding errors, tends to have
more plays which are yes/no or discrete in nature, so the record
after a game does not change nearly as often.

As a high school football stringer for a local paper, my least
favorite play was always an interception return for a touchdown. I
would have to make an educated guess where the return stated (often
upfield and away from where I was standing) and write in my boxscore
something like "Timmermann 46 interception return (kick failed)". Of
course, the beauty of that was that for the most part I was the de
facto official scorer. Whatever I wrote became the official record.

Sadly, my baseball scorebook that I take to games does not convey me
with such powers. Except to people who aren't paying attention.

Bob Timmermann