October 10, 1999: Philadelphia fans, and Philadelphia Eagles fans in particular, get ripped for having booed a man in a Santa Claus suit in a 1968 game. But that was not their worst moment. This was.
As usual, when the Dallas Cowboys come to Philadelphia, the Eagles wore white jerseys, meaning the Cowboys had to wear blue ones, which they don't like to do. The Cowboys came into the game at Veterans Stadium 3-0; the Eagles, 0-4.
With 5:28 left in the 1st quarter, and the Cowboys leading, 3-0, Troy Aikman threw a pass to Michael Irvin, which gained 8 yards. Bobby Taylor tackled Irvin, and, as he did so, Tim Hauck hit Irvin, driving him head-first into The Vet's infamously hard artificial turf.
Irvin lay motionless on the field. Clearly, this was not some run-of-the-mill, "You're okay, it's just a bruise" football injury. But Eagle fans, so used to the Cowboys beating the Eagles, often with dirty play, cheered wildly. It was a horrible display.
Irvin was stretchered off the field, and taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Center City. He was diagnosed with cervical spinal stenosis. It wasn't immediately life-threatening, but he was told that he was at higher risk for injury if he suffered another head or neck injury. He chose to retire the following Spring, making him the last active player who had played on the Cowboys for Tom Landry.
The Eagles won the game, 13-10, as Doug Pederson threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Charles Johnson with 1:07 left in regulation. It was Andy Reid's 1st season as an NFL head coach, and Donovan McNabb's 1st season as an NFL quarterback. The Eagles finished 5-11. They got better.
So did Irvin. Although just 33 when he played his last game, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and has become an admired studio analyst for CBS' The NFL Today.
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October 10, 1999 was a Sunday. These other NFL games were played that day:
* The New York Giants lost to the Arizona Cardinals, 16-3 at Sun Devil Stadium (now Mountain America Stadium) in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona.
* The Tennessee Titans beat the Baltimore Ravens, 14-11 at the Adelphia Coliseum (now Nissan Stadium) in Nashville.
* The Atlanta Falcons beat their arch-rivals, the New Orleans Saints, 20-17 at the Superdome in New Orleans.
* The Buffalo Bills beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-21 at Ralph Wilson Stadium (now Highmark Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.
* The Cincinnati Bengals beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 18-17 at Cleveland Browns Stadium (now named Huntington Bank Field).
* The San Diego Chargers beat the Detroit Lions, 20-10 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.
* The Miami Dolphins beat the Indianapolis Colts, 34-31 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.
* The Green Bay Packers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 26-23 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
* The Chicago Bears beat the Minnesota Vikings, 24-22 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The St. Louis Rams beat the San Francisco 49ers, 42-20 at the Trans World Dome (now The Dome at America's Center) in St. Louis.
* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the New England Patriots, 16-14 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
* The Denver Broncos beat the Oakland Raiders, 16-13 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Network Associates Coliseum).
* The next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the New York Jets, 16-6 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.
* And the Carolina Panthers, the Seattle Seahawks and the Washington Redskins had a bye.
Game 4 was played in the American League Division Series. The Boston Red Sox set an all-time postseason play record by scoring 23 runs in defeating the Cleveland Indians, 23-7 at Fenway Park in Boston. The win ties the series at 2 games apiece.
Boston got 24 hits in the contest‚ including 5 by Mike Stanley, and 4 each by John Valentin and Jason Varitek. Valentin hit a pair of home runs and drove home 7 runs‚ while José Offerman and Trot Nixon brought home 5 apiece. The Sox had outscored 19 of the 30 teams playing in the NFL that day.
Boston got 24 hits in the contest‚ including 5 by Mike Stanley, and 4 each by John Valentin and Jason Varitek. Valentin hit a pair of home runs and drove home 7 runs‚ while José Offerman and Trot Nixon brought home 5 apiece. The Sox had outscored 19 of the 30 teams playing in the NFL that day.
The NBA season didn't start for another 22 days. There were 3 games played in the NHL:
* The New York Rangers beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-2 at Madison Square Garden.
* The New York Islanders beat the Colorado Avalanche, 4-2 at the Nassau Coliseum.
* And the Nashville Predators and the Chicago Blackhawks played to a tie, 3-3 at the United Center in Chicago.
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