What was your biggest goof, typo, etc.?

In the huge book I wrote on the Dodgers I had an even more enormous brain fart and credited Vin Scully with Jack Buck's call after Gibson's World Series home run - used it as a chapter lede and title. Long after I'd signed off on the galley I was flipping channels and stumbled over a WS film, and just happened to hear the call, and went - Wait a minute. Made a panicked call and got it changed with like, one day to spare.

 

May have mentioned this before.
Ran a sports briefs for several issues in a row for a local high school seeking a clock operator for basketball games, but I accidentally left the "l" out of clock. Of course, spellcheck and proofreaders did not catch it.
In fact, only one person caught it.

 

My first gig at a daily newspaper, a small one where the staff was me, the editor, the sports editor, one layout/paste-up/photo toning person and a couple press guys. The editor is off one day so I have to finish the front page. Not much news so I'm using two photos on one story. The toner for some reason uses the same photo in both spots. ... So not really my goof, per se, but still one I took the heat for.

 

Wasn't mine but an older guy who was making over for our second edition wrote this headline: Bengals aide gets head job

 

Had some computer mishap here where we ran a photo on our cover from the local NHL game. But when the papers came out the photo was of some older ladies sitting around a table knitting. Seriously. Still no idea how it happened.

 

Writing an outdoors story, wrote "largemouth ass" in place of largemouth bass. Got through. At least it was funny.

 

I wrote a 16/18-inch feature on a baseball team's trainer and had his name wrong from start to finish. He laughed it off and I never heard anything from anyone else. It's been about 40 years, so I think the statute of limitations has expired.

 

Back in college: Podunk cooch said...

 

We solve that problem by labeling the city the school is in: Instead of Park County, it's Livingston High. Broadwater County is Townsend, etc. Only time we'll use the xxx County is if it's an actual quote. Nobody has ever complained about it.

 

In a column memorializing a guy in town I wrote that crocodile tears were shed by his family. I thought at the time that crocodile tears were just really big tears, no other meaning.

At our paper there is no such thing as copy editors at night. I do the layout, I do my own writing, so if I don't catch it, it gets printed.

 

Yikes!

 

Headline: "OSU assistant gets head job in South Carolina" ...

This was in the old, old, old days, and the paste-up shop caught it. Thank you, lord ...