Events in Sport
Event of Interest
1924 Harold "Red" Grange, finest collegiate football game (4 long TD runs)
Red Grange
- 1930 Joseph Sylvester becomes 1st jockey to win 7 races in 1 day
Event of Interest
1950 Connie Mack retires as manager of Philadelphia Athletics after 50 years, longest serving manager in MLB history
Connie Mack
- 1953 Willie Thrower becomes 1st black NFL quarterback in modern times
- 1960 Casey Stengel retired by NY Yankees (won 10 pennants in 12 years)
- 1963 IOC votes Mexico City to host 1968 Olympics
- 1964 Australian swimmer Kevin Berry sets world record 2:06.6 to beat American Carl Robie by 0.9s and win the men's 200m backstroke gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
- 1967 AL votes to allow Athletics to move from KC to Oakland & expand league to 12 teams in 1971 with KC & Seattle teams
- 1968 American long jumper Bob Beamon sets an incredible world record (8.90m, 29' 2½") in high altitude at the Mexico City Olympics; 0.55m (22") improvement over previous world record
- 1968 US Olympic Committee suspends Tommie Smith & John Carlos for giving "black power" salute as a protest during victory ceremony
- 1968 American swimmer Don Schollander anchors US 4 × 200m freestyle relay team to world record 7:52.1 and the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo; Schollander's 4th gold of the Games
- 1968 American athletes sweep the medals in the men's 400m at the Mexico City Olympics; Lee Evans wins gold in world record 43.86s ahead of Larry James and Ron Freeman
- 1968 Polish sprinter Irena Szewińska runs a world record 22.58s to beat Australian Raelene Boyle by 0.16s and win the 200m gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics
- 1968 A rare Australian 1-2 in track & field; Maureen Caird in Olympic record 10.39s beats team mate Pam Kilborn by 0.07s to win the 80m hurdles at the Mexico City Games
- 1974 1st NBA game at Market Square Arena - Pacers beat Spurs 129-121
Event of Interest
1974 Chicago Bull Nate Thurmond becomes 1st in NBA to complete a quadruple double-22 pts, 14 rebounds, 13 assists & 12 blocks
Nate Thurmond
- 1977 NY Yankees win their 21st World Championship, 4 games
Baseball Record
1977 Reggie Jackson hits 3 consecutive homers tying Ruth's series record
Reggie Jackson
- 1977 Yanks beat Dodgers 8-4 for 21st world championship, 1st in 15 years
- 1978 NY Islanders 1st scoreless tie, vs LA Kings
- 1980 Detroit blocks 21 Atlanta shots setting NBA record (double OT)
- 1981 NY Giant Joe Danelo ties NFL record of 6 field goals in a game
- 1992 1st non-US team to win a World Series Game; Toronto 5, Atlanta 4
- 1992 Philadelphia Eagle Randall Cunningham sets NFL quarterback scramble record of 3,683
- 1995 NHL Winnipeg Jets sold to Americans who plan to move them to Phoenix
- 1999 MLB American League Championship: New York Yankees beat Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 1
- 2009 British Mercedes driver Jenson Button finishes 5th in Brazilian Grand Prix at Autódromo José Carlos Pace to clinch his first F1 World Drivers Championship
- 2012 MLB American League Championship: Detroit Tigers beat New York Yankees, 4 games to 0
- 2013 MLB National League Championship: St. Louis Cardinals beat Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 2
Birthdays in Sport
- 1854 Bill Murdoch, cricketer (great pioneer of Australian Test cricket)
- 1875 Len Braund, cricketer (great England all-rounder in 23 Tests 1901-08)
- 1882 Lucien Petit-Breton, French road cyclist (Tour de France 1907-8), born in Plessé, France (d. 1917)
- 1927 Ramesh Divecha, cricketer (eleven wickets for India in early 50's)
- 1928 Keith Jackson, American sportscaster (ABC Monday Night Football, college football), born in Roopville, Georgia (d. 2018)
- 1928 R H "Deepak" Shodhan, cricketer (century on Test debut for India)
- 1933 Forrest Gregg, American Pro Football Hall of Fame tackle, coach (9-time Pro Bowl; Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys), born in Birthright, TX (d. 2019)
Mike Ditka
1939 Mike Ditka, NFL coach and tight-end (Bears, Cowboys, NFL rookie year 1961), born in Carnegie, Pennsylvania
Mike Ditka
- 1942 Willie Horton, baseball slugger (Detroit Tigers)
- 1945 Yıldo, Turkish famous showman and football player
- 1947 John Johnson, NBA (Seattle SuperSonic)
- 1949 George Hendrick, baseball player
- 1952 Roy Dias, cricketer (pioneering Sri Lankan Test batsman)
- 1952 Jerry Royster, American baseball player
- 1955 Denis Watson, South African golfer (US Open 1985 runner-up; Senior PGA C'ship 2007), born in Harare, Zimbabwe
Martina Navratilova
1956 Martina Navratilova, Czech/American tennis player (18 Grand Slam singles titles), born in Prague, Czech Republic
Martina Navratilova
- 1958 Hal Haenel, star sailor (Olympic 8th 1988, 92, 96), born in St Louis, Missouri
- 1958 Kjell Samuelsson, Tyngsryd Swe, NHL defenseman (Philadelphia Flyers)
- 1958 Thomas Hearns, American boxer (first boxer to win world titles in 5 weight divisions), born in Memphis, Tennessee
- 1960 Doug Lidster, Kamloops, NHL defenseman (NY Rangers)
Jean-Claude Van Damme
1960 Jean-Claude Van Damme, Belgian actor (Double Impact, Kickboxer, No Retreat), born in Brussels, Belgium
- 1961 Eric Jespersen, Port Alberni BC, star sailor (Olympic bronze 1992, 96)
- 1961 Gladstone Small, English cricketer, born in St. George, Barbados
- 1962 Jody Rosenthal, American golfer (du Maurier Classic 1987), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- 1964 Etsuko Inoue, Japan, tennis star
- 1964 George Ferris, Antigua cricketer (Leewards fast bowler), born in Antigua
- 1966 Alan Mills, pitcher (Baltimore Orioles), born in Lakeland, Florida
- 1966 Jerod Swallow, American ice skater (1997 Nationals), born in Ann Arbor, Michigan
- 1966 Kristine Middeler, Felicity Oh, WPVA volleyballer (US Open-13th-1994)
- 1967 Gary John Anderson, New Zealand track and road cyclist (Olympics 1996-bronze), born in Wanganui, New Zealand
- 1968 Denisa Szabova, Bratislava Czech, tennis star (1987 Futures-GER)
- 1968 Michael Stich, German tennis star
- 1968 Narendra Hirwani, Indian cricketer (16 wickets v WI on debut 1988), born in Gorakhpur, India
- 1968 Stuart Law, cricketer (prolific Queensland batsman, Australia 1995)
- 1969 Anthony Avent, NBA forward (Vancouver Grizzlies)
- 1969 Nelson Vivas, Argentine former footballer
- 1970 Bob Kennedy, Bloomington Indiana, 5k runner
- 1970 Camille Spitaleri, Mountain View Ca, female infielder (Silver Bullets)
- 1970 Mark Schenning, Dutch soccer player (Go Ahead Eagles)
- 1970 Shane Bonham, NFL defensive linesman (Detroit Lions)
- 1971 Bob Whitfield, NFL tackle (Atlanta Falcons), born in Carson, California
- 1972 Angie Marzetta, Norfolk Virginia, female outfielder (Silver Bullets)
- 1972 Alex Tagliani, Quebec racing driver
- 1973 Demetrious Maxie, CFL defensive end (Toronto Argonauts)
- 1973 John Baldwin Jr, figure skater (1996 SW Pacific Sr champ), born in Dallas, Texas
- 1973 Michalis Kapsis, Greek footballer
- 1974 Robbie Savage, Welsh footballer
- 1975 Alex Cora, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1977 Ryan Nelsen, New Zealand footballer
- 1977 David Vuillemin, French professional Motocross Rider, born in Berre-l'Étang, Bouches-du-Rhône, France
- 1978 Mike Tindall, English rugby union player
- 1985 Yoenis Cespedes, Cuban MLB player, born in Campechuela
Weddings in Sport
- 1986 NFL player Frank Gifford (56) marries 3rd wife Kathie Lee Johnson (35)
Wedding of Interest
2008 Tennis player Michael Chang (35) weds fellow tennis player Amber Liu (24) at Lake Hills Community Church in Laguna Hills, California
Michael Chang
Deaths in Sport
- 1862 James Creighton, amateur American baseball player, dies of ruptured bladder from hitting home run on Oct 14th
- 1932 Ioannis Chrysafis, Greek gymnast (b. 1873)
- 1945 Fred Hovey, American tennis player (US Nationals 1895), dies at 77
- 1959 Boughera El Ouafi, Algerian athlete (Olympic gold 1928), dies at 61
- 1972 Ken Wishart, cricketer (WI opening batsman in one Test 1935), dies
- 1977 Rolph Grant, West Indian cricketer (West Indian captain on 1939 England tour), dies at 67
- 1978 Frank Woolley, English cricketer (58,969 1st-class runs), dies at 91
- 1983 Vijay Manjrekar, Indian cricketer (55 Tests for India), dies at 52
- 2001 Micheline Ostermeyer, French athlete and musician (b. 1922)
- 2005 Bill King, American sports broadcaster (b. 1927)
- 2005 Johnny Haynes, English footballer (b. 1934)
- 2013 Allan Stanley, Canadian ice hockey player, dies at 87
- 2013 Allan Stanley, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman (4-times Stanley Cup winner), dies at 87
October in History
![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![Jumping Jacques Makes First Parachute Descent]()
Jumping Jacques Makes First Parachute Descent
Daredevil André-Jacques Garnerin took to the sky in a hydrogen balloon on this day and after cutting himself adrift performed the first ‘parachute’ descent.
October 22, 1797
