October 15, 1997: Breaking the Sound Barrier On Land

October 15, 1997: The 1st supersonic (faster than the speed of sound) land speed record is set. Wing Commander Andy Green of Britain's Royal Air Force, then 33 years old, had already set a record of 714 miles per hour on September 25, in the jet-powered Thrust SSC (SuperSonic Car), at Black Rock Desert in Utah. He tries again, in the same vehicle, at the same location, and does it: 763 miles per hour. This happens 1 day after the 50th Anniversary of Chuck Yeager becoming the 1st pilot to fly faster than sound.

Thrust SSC

Thrust SSC was designed by Green and Richard Noble, who held the previous record, set in 1983, at age 37. The record of 763 still stands, but it might not for much longer: Green, now 57, and Noble, 73, have designed a new car, Bloodhound SSC, and they think they could break the 1,000 MPH barrier. 

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October 15, 1997 was a Wednesday. Game 6 of the American League Championship Series is played at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The Cleveland Indians win it, 1-0, beating the Baltimore Orioles on Tony Fernández's home run in the top of the 12th. I have a separate entry for this event.

The National League Championship Series ended the day before, with the Florida Marlins beating the Atlanta Braves for the Pennant.

Football was in midweek. The NBA season didn't start for another 16 days. There were 9 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Ottawa Seantors, 5-1 at the Corel Center in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, Ontario. (It's now the Canadian Tire Centre. The town was absorbed into Ottawa proper in 2001.)

* The Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins played to a tie, 1-1 at the Molson Centre (now the Bell Centre) in Montreal.

* The Buffalo Sabres and the Carolina Hurricanes played to a tie, 3-3 at the Greensboro Coliseum.

* The Florida Panthers beat their arch-rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1 at the Miami Arena.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-3 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-0 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers, 6-2 at the Edmonton Coliseum (as the Northlands Coliseum was named at the time).

* The Philadelphia Flyers and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim played to a tie, 2-2 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (now named the Honda Center).

* And the Boston Bruins beat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-3 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.