October 26, 2013: Game 3 of the World Series is played at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, and it has the weirdest ending of any Series game ever.
In the bottom of the 9th inning, with the score tied 4-4, Boston Red Sox pitcher Brandon Workman gives up a 1-out single to Yadier Molina. Boston closer Koji Uehara is brought in to face pinch-hitter Allen Craig, who doubles on the 1st pitch. Jon Jay hits a grounder to 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia, who makes a sensational diving stab, and throws home to catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who tags out the sliding Molina for the 2nd out.
But then Saltalamacchia throws to 3rd, trying to get Craig, who was running on the play, and decides to slide towards Will Middlebrooks, knocking him down. However, the ball glances off Middlebrooks' glove and Craig's body, caroming into foul territory down the left field line. When Craig sees this, he starts toward home, and runs over Middlebrooks, who winds up slowing Craig down as he tries to take off for home.
The 3rd base umpire, Jim Joyce, calls obstruction on the play. Home plate umpire Dana DeMuth determines that Craig would have scored without the obstruction, and awards the Cardinals the run, giving them a 5-4 win, and a 2–1 lead in the World Series.
In the bottom of the 9th inning, with the score tied 4-4, Boston Red Sox pitcher Brandon Workman gives up a 1-out single to Yadier Molina. Boston closer Koji Uehara is brought in to face pinch-hitter Allen Craig, who doubles on the 1st pitch. Jon Jay hits a grounder to 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia, who makes a sensational diving stab, and throws home to catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who tags out the sliding Molina for the 2nd out.
But then Saltalamacchia throws to 3rd, trying to get Craig, who was running on the play, and decides to slide towards Will Middlebrooks, knocking him down. However, the ball glances off Middlebrooks' glove and Craig's body, caroming into foul territory down the left field line. When Craig sees this, he starts toward home, and runs over Middlebrooks, who winds up slowing Craig down as he tries to take off for home.
Allen Craig
As far as I know, this is only the 2nd game in baseball history where a game-winning run was awarded without the runner having touched the plate. The 1st was in 1976, when, after hitting a Pennant-winning home run for the New York Yankees, Chris Chambliss couldn't touch home plate, or even 3rd base for that matter, because fans running onto the field had stolen them.
(Joyce was the pitcher who owned up to the fact that his "safe" call ruined a perfect game and a no-hitter for Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga in 2010. Having already called 3 All-Star Games, 10 Division Series, 4 League Championship Series and 3 World Series, he wasn't punished for that call. However, after this call, he umpired 3 more seasons before retiring, and never called another postseason game. I guess, when the Red Sox get hurt, there's punishment.)
This was 28 years to the day after an incorrect call by umpire Don Denkinger set in motion a series of events that seemed to cost the Cardinals the 1985 World Series. Had the Cardinals gone on to win this Series, it would have become an epic moment, and Red Sox fans would fume about getting screwed for the rest of their lives -- even though, unlike the Denkinger call in 1985, this call was correct. We know they would have forever fumed, because Sox fans old enough to remember the 1975 World Series are still fuming about Larry Barnett's refusal to call interference on Ed Armbrister of Cincinnati in the 10th inning of another Game 3.
But, of course, the Sox won the Series (by cheating), so this play is a footnote. A bizarre footnote, but a footnote nonetheless.
Craig's October performance was a big reason why the Cardinals had won the 2011 World Series. The 2013 season featured a 2nd Pennant for him, and his only All-Star Game berth. Oddly, the Cardinals traded him to the Red Sox the next season, and he played one more season after that, before injuries ended his major league tenure. After a decent season with the San Diego Padres' Triple-A team in 2018, he joined their front office, where, as of the 2022 postseason, he remains.
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October 26, 2013 was a Saturday. Among the college football games played that day were these:
* Number 1 Alabama beat Tennessee, 45-10 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
* Number 2 Oregon beat Number 12 UCLA, 42-14 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. Oregon blew their chances at glory by losing 2 of their next 3 games.
* Number 3 Florida State beat North Carolina State, 49-17 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. Florida State won the Atlantic Coast Conference title.
* Number 4 Ohio State beat Penn State, 63-14 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.
* Number 5 Missouri were upset by Number 20 South Carolina, 27-24 at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri.
* Number 6 Baylor beat Kansas, 59-14 at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas. Baylor won the Big Twelve title, but lost the Fiesta Bowl to Central Florida.
* Number 7 Miami beat Wake Forest, 24-21 at Sun Life Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. Miami lost their next 3 games, denying them any chance at any title.
* Number 8 Stanford beat Oregon State, 20-12 at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon. Stanford went on to win the Pacific-Twelve title.
* Number 10 Texas Tech were upset by Number 17 Oklahoma, 38-30 at Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma.
* Number 11 Auburn beat Florida Atlantic, 45-10 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. Auburn beat Alabama with what became known as the Kick Six Play, then won the Southeastern Conference title, beat Missouri in the SEC Championship Game, and beat Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, but lost the National Championship Game to Florida State.
* Number 16 Virginia Tech were upset by Duke, 13-10 at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia.
* Number 25 Nebraska were upset by Minnesota, 34-23 at TCF Bank Stadium (now Huntington Bank Stadium) in Minneapolis.
* Michigan State, then unranked, beat Illinois, 42-3 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. Michigan State went on to win the Big Ten title, beating Ohio State in the Championship Game, and beat Stanford in the Rose Bowl.
* Among the service academies, Navy beat Pittsburgh, 24-21 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland; Air Force lost to Notre Dame, 45-10 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, and Army had the week off.
* In a rivalry known as the Battle for the Fremont Cannon, the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV) beat the University of Nevada, 27-22 at Mackay Stadium in Reno.
* And Rutgers lost to the University of Houston, 49-14 at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.
The NBA season started 3 days later. There were 11 games played in the NHL:
* In an "Original Six" matchup, the New York Rangers beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. Derek Brassard scored the winning goal with 13 seconds left in overtime.
* The New York Islanders lost to the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2 at the Nassau Coliseum.
* The New Jersey Devils beat the Boston Bruins, 4-3 at the TD Garden in Boston.
* The San Jose Sharks beat the Montreal Canadiens, 2-0 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2 at the Amalie Arena (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.
* The St. Louis Blues beat the Nashville Predators, 6-1 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Dallas Stars, 2-1 in a shootout at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-1 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-3 at the United Center in Chicago.
* The Calgary Flames beat the Washington Capitals, 5-2 at the Saddledome in Calgary.
* And the Phoenix Coyotes beat the Edmonton Oilers, 5-4 at the Jobing.com Arena (now the Desert Diamond Arena) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.
And in English soccer, North London's Arsenal went to South London, and beat Crystal Palace, 2-0 at Selhurst Park.
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