October 19, 1941: The River Plate Machine

Left to right: Adolfo Pedernera, José Manuel Moreno,

Juan Carlos Muñoz, Félix Loustau, Ángel Labruna.

October 19, 1941: South America's greatest sports rivalry takes place in Buenos Aires, Argentina. River Plate, at home at the stadium known as El Monumental, defeat Boca Juniors 5-1, dethroning the defending League Champions, and all but wrapping up the title for themselves. It is considered the beginning of a team known as La Máquina, "the Machine."

They are led by a 5-man forward line of Juan Carlos Muñoz, José Manuel Moreno, Adolfo Pedernera, Ángel Labruna and Félix Loustau. They would win the title in 1941, 1942, 1945 and 1947. But that would be the extent of it: World War II led to the cancellation of the 1942 and 1946 World Cups, and of the 1944 Olympic Games; while Argentina's national soccer team did not qualify for either the 1948 Olympics or the 1950 World Cup.

Pedernera stayed with "River" until 1946, Moreno until 1948, Muñoz until 1950, Luostau until 1957, and Labruna lasted until 1959. Moreno died in 1978, a few weeks after Argentina won its 1st World Cup. Labruna died in 1983. Pedernera died in 1995. Loustau died in 2003. Muñoz was the last survivor of La Máquina, living until 2009.

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October 19, 1941 was a Sunday. Baseball season ended 13 days earlier, when the New York Yankees won the World Series by beating the Brooklyn Dodgers. The NHL season started 13 days later. And the NBA hadn't been founded yet. But there were 5 games played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 28-7 at the Polo Grounds.

* The football version of the Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the Chicago Cardinals, 20-6 at Ebbets Field.

* The Washington Redskins beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 21-17 at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium (later renamed John F. Kennedy Stadium).

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Cleveland Rams, 17-14 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* And the Chicago Bears beat the Detroit Lions, 49-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.