October 20, 1993: Toronto 15, Philadelphia 14

Blue Jays closer Duane Ward

October 20, 1993: Game 4 of the World Series is played at a rainy Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. The defending World Champion Toronto Blue Jays lead the Philadelphia Phillies, 2 games to 1. Charlie Williams becomes the 1st black man to serve as a home plate umpire in a World Series game.

Todd Stottlemyre started for the Jays, Tommy Greene for the Phils. Neither would complete the 3rd inning. The Jays jumped on Greene for 3 runs in the 3rd, but the Phils, thanks in part to 4 walks, socked Stottlemyre for 4. Lenny Dykstra added a 2-run homer in the 2nd, and it was 6-3 Philadelphia.

But 4 singles and 2 walks gave the Blue Jays a 7-6 lead in the top of the 3rd. The Phillies tied it in the bottom of the 4th, then broke out for 5 runs in the 5th, including home runs by Dykstra and Darren Daulton. The Jays' linescore was 30400. That ZIP Code isn't in use, but, if it was, it would be in Swainsboro, Georgia. The Phils' linescore was 42015. That ZIP Code also isn't in use, but would be in Paducah, Kentucky.

The 6th saw 2 runs for the Jays, 1 for the Phils. In the bottom of the 7th, Tony Castillo gave up a single to Mariano Duncan, walked John Kruk and Dave Hollins to load the bases, and hit Daulton with a pitch to force Duncan home. It was Phillies 14, Blue Jays 9. Already, the record had been set for most combined runs in a World Series game, breaking the record of Game 2 of the 1936 Series, the Yankees beating the Giants 18-4.

After Larry Andersen got Roberto Alomar to ground to 3rd to lead off the top of the 8th, the Phillies were 5 outs away from winning the game and tying up the Series. Then came an inning every bit as calamitous for the Philadelphia franchise of the National League as the top of the 9th inning of Game 7 of the 1977 NL Championship Series. And, unlike that time, they couldn't blame a bad umpire.

Joe Carter singled. John Olerud drew a walk. Paul Molitor hit a grounder to 3rd, and Hollins totally mishandled it, letting it into the left-field corner, scoring Carter. Manager Jim Fregosi brought his closer, Mitch Williams, in to pitch. Tony Fernández singled Olerud home. Pat Borders drew a walk. Ed Sprague struck out. One more out, And the Phils would have kept their lead.

But Rickey Henderson singled home Molitor and Fernández. And Devon White hit a triple into the right-center field alley, scoring Borders and Henderson. Blue Jays 15, Philadelphia 14. That would be the final score, as the Phillies went down 1-2-3 in both the 8th and the 9th innings.

Curt Schilling would pitch a shutout in Game 5, keeping the Phillies going. But in Game 6 in Toronto, the Phils took a 6-5 lead into the bottom of the 9th, but Williams had nothing, and Carter hit a home run to give the Jays the title.

If you're a Phillies fan, you should accept that Game 4 was when the Series was lost, not when Williams came in to relieve in Game 6. But then, if you're a Phillies fan, the 2007-11 quasi-dynasty may have helped you get over it.

This game has been cited as part of "The Curse of Billy Penn": From 1983, when the Philadelphia 76ers won the NBA Championship, until 2008, when the Phillies won their next World Series, no Philadelphia professional sports team won a World Championship. The suggestion was that the construction of One Liberty Place in 1987, making it taller than the statue of William Penn atop City Hall, caused Penn's spirit to put a curse on the city's teams.

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October 20, 1993 was a Wednesday. Football was in midweek. The NBA season started 16 days later. There were 5 games played in the NHL:

* The New Jersey Devils beat the expansion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 4-0 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Dallas Stars, 5-2 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Hartford Whalers, 5-2 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena).

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-3 at Expo Hall in Tampa.

* And in the Battle of Alberta, the Calgary Flames beat their arch-rivals, the Edmonton Oilers, 5-3 at the Northlands Coliseum.