October 22, 1997: The Coldest World Series Game

Omar Vizquel. Aside from its mountains,

it usually doesn't get this cold in his native Venezuela.

October 22, 1997: Game 4 of the World Series is played at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. It is the coldest World Series game ever: 38 degrees! The wind-chill factor says 18 degrees. The game starts with snow falling, for the 1st time in World Series play since 1906.

People in Cleveland are used to this sort of thing. Fans from Miami, not so much! Players for either team from the Sun Belt or the Caribbean, forget about it!

Manny Ramirez and Matt Williams hit home runs to lead the Cleveland Indians to a 10-3 win over the Florida Marlins. The Series is tied. But the Marlins went on to win in 7 games.

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October 22, 1997 was a Wednesday. Football was in midweek. The NBA season started 9 days later. There were 8 games in the NHL:

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the New York Rangers lost to the Chicago Blackhawks, 1-0 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Florida Panthers, 4-3 at the Molson Centre (now the Bell Centre) in Montreal.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-3 at the Greensboro Coliseum (now the First Horizon Coliseum) in Greensboro, North Carolina.

* The Ottawa Senators beat their arch-rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Calgary Flames, 4-1 at the Marine Midland Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Washington Capitals, 4-3 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the San Jose Sharks, 5-2 at the San Jose Arena.

* And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 4-1 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (now the Honda Center). Before the game, Xena star Lucy Lawless, a native of New Zealand, sings the U.S. National Anthem, while wearing a revealing star-spangled outfit. It ended up revealing a bit too much. Perhaps not yet aware that she was unintentionally flashing the crowd, she finished by giving one of Xena's trademark war whoops. It didn't help the Ducks, who lost 3-0 to the Philadelphia Flyers.