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Hat-trick

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A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he was presented with a hat bought with the proceeds.[1] The term was used in print for the first time in 1878.[2]

The term was eventually adopted by many other sports including association football, water polo, and team handball, but did not become popular in North America until the mid-1940s in the National Hockey League.

Origin

According to the Extended Oxford English Dictionary 1999 Edition, the term "came into use after HH Stephenson took three wickets in three balls for the all-England eleven against the twenty-two of Hallam at the Hyde Park ground, Sheffield in 1858. A collection was held for Stephenson (as was customary for outstanding feats by professionals) and he was presented with a cap or hat bought with the proceeds."

Cricket

A hat-trick occurs in cricket when a bowler dismisses three batsmen with consecutive deliveries. The deliveries may be interrupted by an over bowled by another bowler from the other end of the pitch or the other team's innings, but must be three consecutive deliveries by the individual bowler. Only wickets attributed to the bowler count towards a hat-trick; run outs do not count.

Hat-tricks are very rare and as such are treasured by bowlers. In Test cricket history there have been just 39 hat-tricks, the first achieved by Fred Spofforth for Australia against England in 1879. In 1912, Australian Jimmy Matthews achieved the feat twice in one game against South Africa. The only other players to achieve two hat-tricks are Australia's Hugh Trumble, against England in 1902 and 1904, and Pakistan's Wasim Akram, in separate games against Sri Lanka in 1999.

In One Day International cricket there have been 28 hat-tricks up to 2 March 2012, the first by Jalal-ud-Din for Pakistan against Australia in 1982, and the most recent by Lasith Malinga for Sri Lanka cricket team against Australia on 22 August 2011 in the last match of the five-ODI series played in Colombo. With this last hat-trick Lasith Malinga became the first and only bowler to take three hat-tricks in any form of international cricket. Four players have taken at least two One Day International hat-tricks in their careers: Wasim Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq of Pakistan and Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka. (Akram therefore has four international hat-tricks in total).

In Twenty20 International Cricket, Brett Lee of Australia had a hat-trick against Bangladesh in the Super Eight of the Twenty20 World Cup on 16 September 2007 in South Africa. Jacob Oram of New Zealand made a hat-trick against Sri Lanka on 2 September 2009 in Colombo, And Tim Southee, also from New Zealand, made a hat-trick against Pakistan, and ended up with a 5-For at the end of the match.[3]

Taking two wickets in two consecutive deliveries is occasionally known as a brace, or (more commonly) being on a hat-trick. Four wickets in four balls is referred to in cricket literature and record books as four in four but the term double hat-trick has also been used in the media, as it will contain two different, overlapping sets of three consecutively dismissed batsmen. It has occurred only once in international one-day cricket, in the 2007 World Cup, when Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga managed the feat against South Africa by dismissing Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis and Makhaya Ntini, though it has occurred on other occasions in first-class cricket. Kevan James of Hampshire took four wickets in four balls and scored a century in the same county game against India in 1996. The Cricinfo report on the game claimed that this was unique in cricket.[4][5]

Nuwan Zoysa of Sri Lanka is the only bowlers to achieve a hat-trick in the first three balls in test cricket dismissing Murray Goodwin, Neil Johnson and Trevor Gripper of England, in 1999, while Irfan Pathan of India also holds the distinction of achieving a hat-trick in the very first over of the test match but of the 4,5,6 deliveries when he dismissed Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf of Pakistan in 2006, Karachi. Chaminda Vaas being the only one to achieve a hat-trick of the very first deliveries in one day internationals, against Bangladesh in 2003. He got Hannan Sarkar, Mohammad Ashraful and Ehsanul Haque out in 10th match of ICC World Cup 2003, played at City Oval, Pietermaritzburg

Albert Trott and Joginder Rao are the only two bowlers credited with two hat-tricks in the same innings in first class cricket. One of Trott's two hat-tricks, for Middlesex against Somerset at Lords in 1907, was a four in four.

While nearly all [citation needed] hat-tricks are rare and prized, some examples are particularly extraordinary. On 2 December 1988, Merv Hughes, playing for Australia, dismissing Curtly Ambrose with the last ball of his penultimate over and Patrick Patterson with the first ball of his next over, wrapping up the West Indies first innings. When Hughes returned to bowl in the West Indies second innings, he trapped Gordon Greenidge lbw with his first ball, completing a hat-trick over two different innings and becoming the only player in Test cricket history to achieve the three wickets of a hat-trick in three different overs.

In 1844, underarm bowler William Clark, playing for "England" against Kent, achieved a hat-trick spread over two innings, dismissing Kent batsman John Fagge twice within the hat-trick. Fagge batted at number 11 in the first innings and at number 3 in the second. This event is believed to be unique in first-class cricket.[6]

The most involved hat-trick was perhaps when Melbourne club cricketer Stephen Hickman, playing for Power House, achieved a hat-trick spread over three overs, two days, two innings, involving the same batsman twice, and observed by the same non-striker, with the hat-trick ball being bowled from the opposite end to the first two. In the Mercantile Cricket Association C Grade semi-final at Fawkner Park South Yarra in Melbourne, Gunbower United Cricket Club were 8 for 109 when Hickman came on to bowl his off spin. He took a wicket with the last ball of his third over and then bowled number 11 batsman Richard Higgins with the first ball of his next over to complete the Gunbower innings, leaving Chris Taylor the not out batsman. Power House scored 361 putting the game out of reach of Gunbower. In the second innings opener Taylor was joined by Higgins at the fall of the fourth wicket as Hickman returned to the attack. With his first ball, observed by an incredulous Taylor at the non-striker's end, he clean bowled Higgins leaving Higgins with a pair of golden ducks.[7]

One of the most unlikely of hat-tricks occurred in 2009. Representing City Eagles in Christchurch, New Zealand, David Crocker (a former wicket-keeper/batsman turned surprise bowler) took 3 wickets to secure a hat-trick with the first 3 deliveries he bowled in Suburban Cricket. It is unknown if this has occurred before with the very first deliveries a bowler would bowl in a competition claiming wickets. David also scored 118 against the same team.

At least two triple hat-tricks have been achieved. The first was by Scott Babot of Wainuiomata Cricket Club playing in the Senior 3 competition in New Zealand in 2008. It consisted of five wickets in five balls, across two innings and separated by seven days, as the match took place on consecutive Saturdays.[8] The second was in an Ireland club U13 youth game in 2011,[citation needed] achieved by David Delany of Clontarf Cricket Club playing in an All-Ireland final against Bready Cricket Club. Bready needed 19 runs to win with 6 wickets in hand, when Delany took five wickets in five balls, with all five batsmen being dismissed bowled. Clontarf won the game.

Association football

A hat-trick occurs in association football when a player scores three goals in a single game. In common with other official record-keeping rules, goals in a penalty shootout are excluded from the tally.[9] Players achieving hat-tricks are usually rewarded by being given the match ball to keep. The fastest time to score a hat-trick is 90 seconds, a record set by Tommy Ross playing for Ross County against Nairn County on 28 November 1964.[10] Only one hat-trick has been scored in the FIFA World Cup Final, by Geoff Hurst for England in the 1966 final, after extra time.[11] Association Football has also extended the term to include the phrase "perfect hat-trick." A perfect hatrick is achieved when a player scores one right footed goal, one left footed goal and one headed goal within one match.

Hockey

File:HatTrick.jpg
Hats on the Verizon Center ice after Alex Ovechkin's hat trick, February 7, 2010.

In both field hockey and ice hockey, a hat trick occurs when a player scores three goals in a single match. A hat trick, as it is known in its current form, culminates with fans throwing hats onto the ice from the stands. The tradition is said to have begun among fans in the National Hockey League around the 1950s.[12]

Origins in hockey

There are several conflicting legends of how the "hat trick" was popularized in professional hockey. In the 1940s, a Toronto haberdasher used to give Maple Leaf hockey players free hats when they scored three goals in a game, which brought the "Hat Trick" expression into the world of hockey.[citation needed] The list of winners includes legendary players such as Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull from the Chicago Blackhawks, Syl Apps and Charlie Conacher from the home-town Toronto Maple Leafs, Norm Ullman from the Detroit Red Wings, and many others.

In another account, the origins of a hat being awarded for scoring three goals occurred in Toronto when a local businessman, Sammy Taft, was approached by the Chicago Blackhawks forward Alex Kaleta. According to legend, Kaleta entered Taft's shop to purchase a new hat but did not have enough money. Taft arranged a deal with Kaleta stipulating that if Kaleta scored three goals as he played the Toronto Maple Leafs that night, he would give him a free hat. That night, on 26 January 1946, Kaleta scored four goals against the Maple Leafs and Taft made good on his offer.[12]

While this account is credited by the Hockey Hall of Fame as the hat trick's origin in the NHL,[12] there exists yet another competing story in Guelph, Ontario. In the 1950s, the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters of the Ontario Hockey Association, who were then a farm team of the NHL's New York Rangers, were sponsored by Guelph-based Biltmore Hats, a leading manufacturer of hats with North American dominance. The sponsor would award any Madhatters player who scored three goals in a game with a new fedora.[12]

Henri Henri, a hatter in Montreal, claims that between 1950 and 1970, they would reward any NHL player to score three or more goals in a game at the Montreal Forum with a hat, thus originating the term "Hat Trick".[13]

NHL record

Wayne Gretzky holds the NHL record for the most hat tricks in a career with 50.

Variations

Natural hat trick

A natural hat trick is when a player scores three consecutive goals in the same game, uninterrupted by any other scoring.[14]

The NHL record for fastest natural hat trick is 21 seconds, set by Bill Mosienko in 1952 for the Chicago Blackhawks.[15]

The junior hockey record is believed to be held by Cody Stettin of the Duluth Clydesdales, scoring 3 goals in 29 seconds on Feb. 21, 2012 against the Iron Range Ironheads in a Superior International Junior Hockey League regular season game.[16]

On June 28, 2010, Mark Del Ville of the AIHAL’s Mid Ice Crisis, scored the fastest ever natural hat trick against the Ashburn Rinkrats. Del Ville scored the goals over a span of 17 seconds. Del Ville’s goals came at the 3:21, 3:36, and 3:38 marks of the second period. The Mid Ice Crisis went on to loose the game 10-4.[17]

Double hat trick

Occurs when the player scores six goals in a game (or four; see the cricket section above for an explanation of this alternative usage).

Other variations

A player accomplishes a Gordie Howe hat trick by scoring a goal, getting an assist, and getting in a fight, all in the same game (Howe himself only recorded two in his career). While this description has remained popular, it does not satisfy the conditions of a hat trick.[18]

In December 1995, Florida Panthers captain Scott Mellanby scored a rat trick, the term coined by teammate John Vanbiesbrouck, after ridding the locker room of an unwanted rat with his stick, and scoring a pair of goals later that night.[19] When Mellanby scored a hat trick in a later game, some fans threw plastic rats on the ice, a tradition that continued for all Panthers' goals throughout the 1996 playoffs. Because of the resulting game delays, the league eventually banned this activity and modified Rule 63 to impose a minor penalty against the home team for a violation.[20]

Scoring five goals in a game is an incredibly unique feat. Some call this feat "The Mario" in reference to the even rarer accomplishment where a player scores a goal in every possible way (regulation play, power-play, short-handed, penalty shot and empty net) during the same game. To date, Mario Lemieux is the only NHL player to accomplish this feat.

There are numerous other potential variations not in common usage, that are usually created to refer to memorable incidents or different players' particular playing styles.

Rugby

In both codes of rugby football (rugby union and rugby league) a hat-trick is scored if a player scores three or more tries in a game. In rugby union, a related concept is that of a "full house" (scoring a try, conversion, penalty goal, and drop goal) in a single game. When a player scored two tries, this is often referred to as a "brace".

As with association football, it is common for the player to be awarded the match ball after scoring a hat-trick.

Lacrosse

A hat-trick in lacrosse is when a player scores three goals in one game. However, since lacrosse is more of a high-scoring game than hockey or soccer, the accomplishment is not as rare as in hockey or soccer, and good players may pick up hat-tricks easily.

In 2004, Colorado Mammoth public address announcer Steve Meade (a local radio broadcaster known as "Willie B") used the phrase "sock-trick" to describe a player scoring six goals in a game. When Mammoth superstar Gary Gait scored six in a game against the Anaheim Storm, fans threw socks onto the playing surface, earning a delay of game penalty to Colorado (served by Gait himself).[21]

Darts

A hat-trick in darts is a score of three consecutive bullseyes, also known as the "Alan Evans Shot", after Alan Evans scored three bulleyes during a match on numerous occasions.

Poker

Eliminating three players from a table with one hand in live poker play is sometimes referred to as a hat-trick and is incredibly rare. It is a much more frequent occurrence in online poker games, given the faster and greater number of hands played in online tournaments and the continuing presence of multiple "all-in" players during the early stages of tournament play as players look to build large chip stacks quickly and early.

Motor racing

In motor racing, three successive race wins, winning the same event three times in a row, or securing pole position, fastest lap and race victory in one event may all be referred to as a hat-trick.

Marbles

In marbles, a hat-trick occurs when a player hits all marbles in a single turn.

Scrabble

In Scrabble, a hat-trick occurs when a player plays three consecutive bingos.

See also

References

  1. ^ Extended Oxford English Dictionary 1999 Edition : "It came into use after HH Stephenson took three wickets in three balls for the all-England eleven against the twenty-two of Hallam at the Hyde Park ground, Sheffield in 1858. A collection was held for Stephenson (as was customary for outstanding feats by professionals) and he was presented with a cap or hat bought with the proceeds."
  2. ^ The Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket (Oxford University Press, 1996) mentions that the word hat-trick was used in print for the first time in The Sportsman to describe Spofforth clean bowling three consecutive batsmen in the match against Hastings and Districts at the Oval on 29 August 1878. Spofforth did take a hat-trick and nine wickets in 20 balls against the XVIII of Hastings and Districts in 1878 (not a first class match), but the dates are incorrect.
  3. ^ "Fighting NZ overcome Dilshan blitz". Cricinfo.com. 2 September 2009.
  4. ^ "Hampshire v Indians, Match Report". CricInfo. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
  5. ^ "Hampshire v Indians at Southampton, 29 June-1 July 1996". CricInfo. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
  6. ^ "Stirling's gold, and the not-so-roaring forties". CricInfo. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
  7. ^ Warwick Franks, Australian Wisden Cricketers Almanac 2002. Hardie Grant Books.
  8. ^ Cricket Wellington – Babot: Triple Hat-trick
  9. ^ Kicks from the penalty mark (aka penalty shootout) are not part of the match. IFAB (2009). "Laws of the Game 2009/2010" (PDF). Zurich: FIFA. p. 130. Retrieved 9 April 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  10. ^ "Fastest time to score a hat-trick, Football". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  11. ^ "ON THIS DAY 30 July - 1966: Football glory for England". BBC. 30 July 1966. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  12. ^ a b c d "Guelph's tricky claim". 'Guelph Mercury'. 21 March 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
  13. ^ "About Henri Henri". Henri Henri. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  14. ^ Adam Kimmelman (15 November 2010). "Hat tricks coming at a fairly frequent pace". NHL Insider. NHL. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  15. ^ "Ryan's natural hat trick not enough as Ducks fall to Kings". The Sports Network. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  16. ^ "Stettin sets record, Clydesdales fall in overtime". SIJHL.com. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  17. ^ "OFFICIAL POINTSTREAK GAMESHEET". Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  18. ^ John McGourty (25 January 2010). "Going inside the "Gordie Howe Hat Trick"". Inside NHL. NHL. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  19. ^ Montville, Leigh (10 June 1996). "Rat Pack". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
  20. ^ "OFFICIAL NHL RULES - Rule 63, Delaying the Game". Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  21. ^ Philly, R.A. (3 April 2004). "Gait knocks fans' socks off in 17–10 win". Outsider's Guide to the NLL. Retrieved 12 April 2008.[dead link]