Events in Sport
- 1912 Red Sox Tris Speaker's makes only world series unassisted double play, from the outfield
- 1917 Chicago White Sox beat NY Giants, 4 games to 2 in 14th World Series
- 1923 NY Yankees 1st World Series win beating NY Giants, 4 games to 2
- 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates beat Washington Senators, 4 games to 3 in 22nd World Series
Contract of Interest
1928 Walter Johnson signs a 3-year contract to manage the Senators
Walter Johnson
- 1933 Philadelphia Eagles play 1st NFL game, lose to NY Giants 56-0
- 1935 NHL's St Louis Eagles fold
- 1945 Baseball Attendance hits record 10.28 million (Tigers 1.28 is highest)
- 1946 Smallest World Series share since 1918 (Cards $3,748, Red Sox $2,140)
- 1946 St Louis Cards beat Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 3 in 43rd World Series
- 1946 Enos Slaughter scores from 1st on a single in World Series
- 1956 Yankees Enos Slaughter scores from 1st on a single in World Series
- 1957 Giants trade Minneapolis franchise to Red Sox for SF Seals-franchises only, not the players
LPGA Championship
1961 LPGA Championship, Stardust CC: Mickey Wright convincingly wins her 3rd LPGA title by 9 strokes from Louise Suggs
Mickey Wright
Louise Suggs
- 1964 St Louis Cardinals beat NY Yankees, 4 games to 3 in 61st World Series
- 1964 NY Yankees appears in 14 & win 9 of last 16 World Series
- 1964 American Al Oerter wins his third of 4 consecutive Olympic men's discus titles at the Tokyo Olympics; beats Czech Ludvík Daněk by 0.08m
- 1964 American Don Schollander swims a world record 4:12.2 to win the 400m freestyle gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics; second of Schollander's 4 gold medals at the Games
- 1964 American sprinter Bob Hayes equals world record 10.0s to beat Cuba's Enrique Figuerola by 0.2s and win the men's 100m gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
- 1964 Soviet rower Vyacheslav Ivanov wins his third consecutive Olympic men's single sculls gold medal at the Tokyo Games; also the reigning World and European champion
- 1964 Australian swimmer Ian O'Brien sets world record 2:27.8 to beat Soviet Georgy Prokopenko by 0.4s and win men's 200m breaststroke gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
- 1964 US women's 4 x 100m freestyle relay team of Sharon Stouder, Donna de Varona, Lillian Watson & Kathy Ellis swims world record 4:03.8 to beat Australia by 3.1s and win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
- 1965 Dodgers & Sandy Koufax win 7th game of 62nd World Series vs Twins
- 1968 Al Oerter of the US wins the men's discus in Olympic record 64.78m at the Mexico City Games; Oerter's unprecedented 4th consecutive Olympic discus title
- 1968 Australian Ralph Doubell runs a world record 1:44.40 to beat Kenyan Wilson Kiprugut and win the men's 800m at the Mexico City Olympics
- 1968 British athlete David Hemery sets a world record 48.12s to beat Gerhard Hennige of West Germany and take the gold medal in the men's 400m hurdles at the Mexico City Olympics
- 1968 American sprinter Wyomia Tyus wins her second consecutive Olympic 100m title with a world record 11.08s; beats team mate Barbara Ferrell by 0.08s for the gold medal at the Mexico City Games
- 1969 Madison Square Garden TV Network begins (Rangers vs North Stars)
- 1969 NY Met Ron Swoboda's spectacular diving catch of sinking liner with runners at 1st & 3rd in 9th, Mets win in 10th in World Series game
- 1969 Oriole Earl Weaver becomes 1st manager ejected in a World Series
- 1970 Baltimore Orioles beat Cincinnati Reds, 4 games to 1 in 67th World Series
- 1972 61st Davis Cup: USA beats Romania in Bucharest (3-2)
- 1972 Omni in Atlanta opens - Hawks beat NY Knicks 109-101
Event of Interest
1972 17 year old American tennis prodigy Chris Evert wins inaugural WTA Tour Championship at Boca Raton, Florida; beats Australian Kerry Melville Reid 7-5, 6-4; Evert not eligible for prize money
Chris Evert
- 1974 Washington Capitals 1st NHL tie, playing LA Kings to 1-1 tie
Event of Interest
1979 NY Knicks retire 2nd number, # 10, Walt Frazier
Walt Frazier
Event of Interest
1980 George Brett is forced out of World Series with hemorrhoids
George Brett
- 1981 MLB American League Championship: New York Yankees beat Oakland Athletics, 3 games to 0
- 1983 Black Hawks & Maple Leafs combine for fastest 5 goals (84 seconds)
- 1983 Nelson Piquet of Brazil finishes 3rd in the season ending South African Grand Prix at Kyalami to clinch his second Formula 1 World Drivers Championship; wins by 2 points from Alain Prost
- 1986 Longest post season game, Mets beat Astros 7-6 in 16 & win NL pennant
- 1986 MLB National League Championship: New York Mets beat Houston Astros, 4 games to 2
- 1986 MLB American League Championship: Boston Red Sox beat California Angels, 4 games to 3
- 1987 NFL Players Association orders an end to 24 day strike; union fails to achieve demands short-term with no collective bargaining agreement in place
- 1988 NCAA record rushing yardage (768 yards-Oklahoma)
- 1988 With 2 outs in bottom of 9th, an injured Kirk Gibson hits dramatic 2 run HR to give Dodgers a 5-4 win in 1st game of World Series
Event of Interest
1989 American radio and television evangelist Billy Graham is given the 1,900th star on Hollywood Boulevard, the first clergyman to be granted a star
Billy Graham
Event of Interest
1989 Wayne Gretzky passes Gordie Howe as NHL's all time top scorer
Wayne Gretzky
- 1995 Carolina Panthers win 1st game ever beating NY Jets 26-15
Event of Interest
1997 NY jury awards boxer Mitch Green $45,000 in civil lawsuit against Mike Tyson, for street brawl in 1988
Mike Tyson
- 1997 MLB American League Championship: Cleveland Indians beat Baltimore Orioles, 4 games to 2
- 2003 MLB National League Championship: Florida Marlins beat Chicago Cubs, 4 games to 3
- 2007 MLB National League Championship: Colorado Rockies beat Arizona Diamondbacks, 4 games to 0
- 2008 MLB National League Championship: Philadelphia Phillies beat Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 1
- 2011 MLB American League Championship: Texas Rangers beat Detroit Tigers, 4 games to 2
- 2014 MLB American League Championship: Kansas City Royals beat Baltimore Orioles, 4 games to 0
Birthdays in Sport
- 1858 John L. Sullivan, Irish-American heavyweight boxing champ (1882-92), born in Roxbury, Massachusetts (d. 1918)
- 1882 Charley O'Leary, American baseball player (Detroit Tigers), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1941)
- 1898 Boughera El Ouafi, Algerian athlete (Olympic gold 1928), born in Ouled Djellal, Algeria (d. 1951)
- 1910 Xenophon Balaskas, South Africa cricketer (South African leg-spinner of 30's), born in Kimberley, Cape Province (d. 1994)
- 1921 Angelica Rozeanu, Romanian table tennis player (World Champ 1950-55), born in Bucharest, Romania (d. 2006)
- 1921 Gul Mahomed, Pakistani cricketer (Indian & Pakistani batsman), born in Lahore, Punjab, British India (d. 1992)
- 1927 Bill Henry, American baseball player (Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds), born in Alice, Texas (d. 2014)
- 1935 Bobby Morrow, American sprinter (Olympic-3 gold-1956), born in Brownsville, Texas
- 1935 Willie O'Ree, Canadian former professional ice hockey player and the first black player in the National Hockey League (Boston Bruins), born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
- 1939 Carmelo Bossi, Italian light middleweight boxer (Olympic silver 1960), born in Milan, Italy (d. 2014)
- 1945 Jim Palmer, American baseball player (Baltimore Orioles 1965-1984), born in NYC, New York
- 1945 Steven Camacho, West Indian cricketer (WI batsman early seventies), born in Georgetown, Demerara, British Guiana (d. 2015)
Roscoe Tanner
1951 Roscoe Tanner, American tennis player (Australian Open 1977), born in Kiawah Island, South Carolina
Roscoe Tanner
Victor Pecci
1955 Victor Pecci, Paraguayan tennis star, born in Asuncion, Paraguay
Victor Pecci
- 1955 Kulbir Bhaura, British field hockey player (Olympic gold 1988), born in Jalandhar, Punjab, India
- 1962 Susan DeMattei, American cyclist (Olympic bronze 1996), born in San Francisco, California
- 1963 Angela Rock, American WPVA volleyball player (US Open-1992), born in Lakewood, California
- 1963 Stanley Menzo, Surinamese-Dutch soccer goalkeeper (Ajax/PSV), born in Paramaribo, Suriname
- 1965 Daniel Held, American 10k runner, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- 1966 Jorge Campos, Mexican football goalkeeper, born in Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico
- 1967 Carlos García, Venezuelan baseball infielder (Pittsburgh Pirates), born in Táchira State, Venezuela
- 1968 George Koonce, American NFL linebacker (Green Bay Packers-Super Bowl 31), born in New Bern, North Carolina
- 1968 Meredith Rainey, American 800m runner, born in Brooklyn, New York
Didier Deschamps
1968 Didier Deschamps, French footballer and coach (France: 2018 World Cup), born in Bayonne, France
Didier Deschamps
- 1969 Curtis Cotton, NFL/WLAF cornerback (Oak Raiders, Frankfurt Galaxy)
- 1969 Vítor Baía, Portuguese football goalkeeper, born in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
- 1970 Cooper Harris, CFL linebacker (Hamilton Tiger Cats), born in Calgary, Alberta
- 1970 Lonnie Palelei, American football offensive lineman (NY Jets), born in Nu'uuli, American Samoa
- 1971 Bernardo Harris, American NFL linebacker (Green Bay Packers-Super Bowl 31), born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- 1971 Roland McGhee, American long jumper, born in Flint, Michigan
- 1971 Andy Cole, British footballer (Manchester United), born in Nottingham, England
- 1972 Fred Hoiberg, American NBA guard (Indiana Pacers), born in Lincoln, Nebraska
- 1973 Susannah Kate Pryde, New Zealand road race cyclist (Olympics 1996), born in Auckland, New Zealand
- 1975 Glen Little, English footballer
- 1977 Masato Kawabata, Japanese racing driver
- 1977 Patricio Urrutia, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1977 David Trezeguet, French football player
- 1979 Paul Robinson, English football player
- 1979 Māris Verpakovskis, Latvian football player
- 1979 Blue Adams, American Football Player
- 1980 Tom Boonen, Belgian cyclist
- 1981 Guo Jingjing, Chinese diver
- 1981 Radoslav Židek, Slovak snowboarder
- 1981 Elena Dementieva, Russian tennis player
- 1982 Charline Labonté, French Canadian ice hockey goaltender
- 1985 Walter López, Uruguayan footballer
- 1985 Marcos Martinez Ucha, Spanish racing driver
- 1987 Jesse Levine, American Canadian tennis player, born in Boca Raton, Florida
- 1988 Mesut Özil, Turkish-German football player (Arsenal, German national team), born in Gelsenkirchen, West Germany
Divorces in Sport
Divorce of Interest
1993 Baseball player Darryl Strawberry (31) divorces Lisa Andrews after more than 8 years of marriage
Darryl Strawberry
Deaths in Sport
- 1852 Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, German educator and founder of the turnverein (gymnastics) movement, dies at 74
- 1910 Stanley Ketchel [The Michigan Assassin], Polish-American heavyweight boxing champion (1908-10), murdered at a ranch in Missouri at 24
- 1958 Jack Mason, cricketer (England all-rounder v Australia 1897-98), dies
- 1963 Horton Smith. American golfer (US Masters 1934, 36), dies of Hodgkin's disease at 55
- 1980 Apostolos Nikolaidis, Greek footballer and volleyball player (b. 1896)
- 1981 Philip Fotheringham-Parker, British racing driver (b. 1907)
- 1994 Hannes Wustinger, Austrian race car driver, dies at 29
- 2005 Jason Collier, American basketball player (b. 1977)
- 2011 Elizabeth "Betty" Driver, British singer and actress (Coronation Street, Pardon the Expression), dies from pneumonia at 91
- 2014 Nobby Wirkowski, American-Canadian football player and coach (Toronto Argonauts), dies at 88
- 2016 Barbara Romack, American golfer (US Curtis Cup team 1954, 56, 58), dies at 83
Paul Allen
2018 Paul Allen, American business magnate (co-founder Microsoft, owner Portland Trail Blazers, Seattle Seahawks), dies of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at 65
Paul Allen
- 2018 Shelley Hamlin, American golfer (US Open runner-up 1973), dies of breast cancer at 69
October in History
![The Great Stand on the Ugra River]()
The Great Stand on the Ugra River
On one side of the Ugra River stood the Mongol Golden Horde, on the other, Ivan III, Grand Prince of the rising Muscovy Principality. At stake, everything.
October 8, 1480![Grim History of London's Speakers' Corner]()
Grim History of London's Speakers' Corner
Nowhere in England is the principal of free speech embodied more than at Speakers’ Corner in London’s Hyde Park. But this right was won through death and protest.
October 14, 1855![Hurricane on the Way? Don't Worry]()
Hurricane on the Way? Don't Worry
A cosy assurance from a BBC weather forecaster for viewers not to worry about an impending storm has gone down as the most spectacular mis-forecast in history.
October 15, 1987![The Tragedy of Aberfan]()
The Tragedy of Aberfan
One hundred and sixteen young children died on this day when an avalanche of coal tip waste and debris thundered down a hillside and engulfed their school.
October 21, 1966
