Features

One-hit wonders abound

Author: John Harris
Date: 10/02/2010
Other sport betting

New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl for the first time in their 43-year history on Sunday night.

Inspired by the devastation caused to the city by Hurricane Katrina just five years before, the Saints caused a major upset in the online betting markets as they were expected to be soundly beaten by the Indianapolis Colts.

But are the Saints poised to dominate the NFL for a prolonged period or are they merely one-hit wonders?

Sport is littered with examples of the latter as the following collection of names proves.

Todd Hamilton

Absolutely nobody expected an unknown American by the name of Todd Hamilton to fare well at the 2004 Open Championship.

But Hamilton didn't just do well, he stared down some of the biggest names in golf to win the famous Claret Jug at Royal Troon.

Hamilton only won his tour card the previous autumn after 12 years playing in the backwaters of Japan but he still managed to triumph over Ernie Els in a play-off.

He's now ranked 351 in the world and has missed the cut in three of his last five returns to The Open.

When will a British player next win a Major? - Latest Golf Betting

Jacques Villeneuve

A fanfare of publicity welcomed Jacques - son of the legendary Gilles Villeneuve - into Formula One in 1996.

The quiet Canadian duly delivered the world championship in his second season with Williams after a thrilling duel with Michael Schumacher.

However, his career nosedived immediately afterwards and he failed to win another Grand Prix over the next nine years of a nomadic career before finally retiring in 2005.

Salvatore Schillaci

Italian football rejoiced as the diminutive striker lit up World Cup 90 on home soil.

Schillaci scored six goals in five matches to take the tournament's Golden Boot award, but the end of the tournament effectively brought the curtain down on his international career.

Injury plagued spells with Juventus and Internazionale saw him retire from professional football after winning just 16 international caps.

Marcelo Rios

The Chilean rose to the top of the tennis rankings in 1998 where he stayed for six weeks.

However, Rios remains the only man in the open era to have held the world number one ranking despite never winning a Grand Slam singles tournament.

The closest he got was the final of the Australian Open in the same year before a back injury forced his retirement in 2004.

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