unluckiest scratch
I have a good one to report.
I was 17 and playing pretty strong. Someone a little older from another city came to town to play me some $100 a set 9 ball. I was spotting him the last two. I beat him the first two sets and we doubled the bet.
The second set went hill-hill, so I was looking at a $400 swing (even or up $400). The cue ball was near the middle of the table, and the 1 and 9 were near each other near the side rail. They were positioned so I could back cut bank the 1 at the side and try to billiard the 9 ball into the corner pocket.
The problem was they were really close together and I couldn't quite hit the 9 thin enough. It looked like it would catch the side rail and probably hang up. So I juiced the cue ball with some inside english on the 1 to twist the 9 ball and help throw it towards the corner. Keep in mind these balls were near the third diamond about 6" off the side rail so it wasn't an easy shot, particularly on the hill.
I pulled the trigger, the 1 ball banked back towards my bridge hand, and the 9 started shooting towards the pocket. The cue ball stopped dead in place spinning like a top. I was watching the 9 ball and it hit the center of the pocket and fell. VICTORY!
But the 1 ball! I forgot about the 1 ball. Because of my inside english it banked just short of the side pocket, and then it REVERSED directions like a trick shot and headed back towards the cue ball. It clipped the edge of the cue ball and cut it thinly down the rail and into the same pocket as the 9 ball had fallen. It barely had the speed to make it and the entire time I thought it would lose pace, but it wasn't meant to be.
My opponent laughed pretty hard, ran the balls out, then quit even.
I have tried to recreate that shot and have never come close. If that's not in contention for a tough scratch I don't know what is.