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A timeline of sports cancellations over the years
After both teams ran out pitchers in the 11th inning of a tied 2002 MLB All-Star Game, then-Commissioner Bud Selig called the contest. USA TODAY Sports

A timeline of sports cancellations over the years

With Sunday's NFL Hall of Fame Game between the Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers called off due to poor field conditions, it got us thinking about all those other moments when a game or event was canceled or postponed due to ... well ... a variety of reasons.

Some were quirky like this, some were serious and some were downright historic. Let's check out the timeline of some memorable sports cancellations over the years.

1919 STANLEY CUP FINAL

Nearly 100 years ago, the Stanley Cup Final was canceled after the fifth game due to a flu outbreak. Several players and coaches on the Seattle Metropolitans and Montreal Canadiens fell ill during the series.

The series was tied with the winner-take-all on tap when the disease ravaged both teams (especially the Habs) and the decision was made to stop the series. The outbreak was so bad that one of the Canadiens players, Joe Hall, died four days later of the flu.

1940 AND 1944 OLYMPICS

World War II was going on. Not much you can do about that.

1970 MARSHALL VS. OHIO

The Marshall-Ohio football ball game scheduled for Nov. 21, 1970, was canceled after the plane that carried the Marshall football team clipped some trees, caught on fire and crashed. Thirty-six players and nine coaches of the football team were among the 75 people who died in that crash.

It is still the deadliest accident in American sports history.

1972 SUMMER GAMES

As we are in the midst of the Rio Olympics, remember that in Munich back in 1972, 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were killed by the Black September Palestine terrorist organization. International Olympic Committee President Avery Brundage declared that the "games must go on" after a 24-hour halt and a memorial held at Olympic Stadium.

Many were and still are critical of just how soon the games resumed after the horror that unfolded a day earlier. These Rio Olympics are the first time the IOC has done anything to recognize the fallen since that memorial service in 1972 when they put a Place of Mourning at the Olympic village. The Place of Mourning honors all 15 athletes who died during the Olympics, including the 11 Israelis.

1975 WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Yes! Chess! Bobby Fischer refused to play the USSR's Anatoly Karpov in the 1975 World Chess Championship due to a dispute over the format. Fischer wanted the champ to be named when one of them won 10 games, and if the match becomes a 9-9 tie, the reigning champion (which was him) would retain his title.

The sanctioning body, the FIDE, wouldn't agree to these terms, and Fischer resigned as champion. Karpov was declared champion by forfeit.

1982 AND 1987 NFL STRIKES

In both 1982 and 1987, the NFL lost games due to labor strife. In '82, players went on strike after Week 2 for 57 days. The NFL simply canceled those games, and each team played only nine of the scheduled 16 games.

In 1987, the players went on strike after Week 2. This time, the NFL decided to use replacement players for Weeks 4 through 6. The following week, the players were back with their teams and the season resumed as normal. Week 3's games were canceled and never made up.

But at least the Super Bowls were played those seasons.

The NBA and NHL have also had games canceled due to strikes or lockouts.

1994 WORLD SERIES

Even 22 years later, it still seems impossible that there was no 1994 World Series. It wasn't just a season that was canceled with the World Series going with it; the season was stopped when the players went on strike on Aug. 11, then officially canceled a month later, and that was it. There were games played and epic partial seasons had, but there was no champion. The Montreal Expos were stacked and were a league-best 74-40 when the season ended (that was on pace for a 105-win season). MLB still named the Cy Young and MVP award winners. Statistics counted. Yet, there was no World Series.

Remember in 1994, that was the first season that baseball went to the current three-division format in each league and the first season of the wild card. It was the first time since 1904 that no World Series was held and the first league to lose an entire postseason due to labor strife.

It also may have contributed to all that came after it. Due to fans' anger at Major League Baseball over this, baseball may have overlooked the use of steroids since it was Mark McGwire's and Sammy Sosa's chemically enhanced home run chase of 1998 that helped bring a lot of the fans back. It killed a broadcast deal with NBC and ABC. It also may have killed baseball in Montreal as the Expos never recovered and ended up relocating to Washington after the 2004 season.

The only good thing to come out of this? We weren't subjected to see the Texas Rangers, who were 52-62 and leading the AL West when the players went on strike, make it to the postseason.

1998 UCLA-MIAMI FOOTBALL

There has been a lot of debate over this one. With Hurricane George coming down on Florida, the UCLA-Miami college football game that was originally scheduled for Sept. 26 was moved to the end of the season, Dec. 5. This happens from time to time, as September is hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean, and games are rescheduled or just canceled. This postponement may have affected the national championship race, however.

Miami was a young team while UCLA was an established unit that had its sights on a title run. If the game was to be played as scheduled, Miami's youth may have been exposed. But with a full season behind them, the Canes actually stunned the 10-0 Bruins and kept them from getting in the inaugural BCS title game.

1999 NBA ALL-STAR GAME

The 1999 NBA All-Star Game was canceled due to the lockout that lasted until late January that year. The season was shortened to 50 games, and the All-Star Break was called off.

2001 NFL PRESEASON GAME

A preseason game that in 2001 between the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens was canceled due to a poor playing surface. Philly's Veterans Stadium, long known for a tough turf, was a used at the time by both the Eagles and the Phillies. Turf cutouts used to cover the bases were deemed dangerous by Ravens coach Brian Billick, who refused to let his team play. Players on both teams felt unsafe on the surface, and the game was canceled.

WEEK 2 OF THE 2001 NFL SEASON/SIX DAYS OF BASEBALL

The NFL canceled Week 2 of the 2001 season in response to the terror attacks that Tuesday, Sept. 11. Major League Baseball canceled all games from Sept. 11 through Sept. 16. The NFL games and MLB games were tacked on after the original end to the regular season, and both postseasons were pushed back a week. Various minor leagues, which were in the midst of their postseasons, canceled the rest of the season and awarded the top teams their leagues' championships.

We all know too well about the nation's mood that day. Unlike the NFL's response to the Sunday after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, the NFL didn't play. Both leagues saw epic championship events at the end the seasons. The World Series went a full seven games with the Arizona Diamondbacks coming from behind in the bottom of the ninth to win the title over the three-time defending champion New York Yankees. The games played in New York were especially emotional, particularly when President George W. Bush fired a strike during a ceremonial first pitch.

The Super Bowl was won by the upstart New England Patriots — wearing their red, white and blue uniforms — and a young Tom Brady on a field goal as time expired.

2002 MLB ALL-STAR GAME

The MLB All-Star Game was once a magical part of baseball and sports in general. With interleague play, free agency and expansion, the game isn't as meaningful as it once was. That lack of interest helped spawn a sentiment of making sure all players get a chance to play instead of playing solely to win.

Because of that, the 2002 All-Star Game will live in infamy. Despite each team having nine pitchers on its roster available to pitch, the game ended after the 11th inning due to both squads running out of pitching. How does that happen?

The game ended in a 7-7 tie and boos from the crowd at Milwaukee's Miller Park. This is one of the biggest embarrassments in former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig's tenure, as this game was played in his hometown.

After the game, Selig decided to put stakes on the Midsummer's Classic by declaring the league who won the game would get home-field advantage in the World Series.

PACERS-CELTICS 2013 GAME

The Indiana Pacers-Boston Celtics game that was to be held in Boston on April 16, 2013, was canceled due to the Boston Marathon bombing. Since there were just two games left in the NBA season and both teams had locked in their postseason standings, this game was not made up.

Other Boston-area sports were also affected. A Bruins-Senators hockey game was postponed but made up at a later date. The Red Sox game was already in progress when the bombing happened. They were scheduled to be on the road after that day.

More must-reads:

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