October 27, 2002: The Seattle Seahawks beat the Dallas Cowboys, 17-14 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas. Rian Lindell wins it with a 20-yard field goal with 25 seconds left.
But the game was memorable for another reason. The Cowboys' Emmitt Smith rushed for 109 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown that tied the game with 5:35 left in regulation. Those 109 yards enabled him to surpass Chicago Bears legend Walter Payton as the NFL's all-time rushing leader, breaking the record of 16,726 yards.
Drafted out of the University of Florida in 1990, Smith had helped the Cowboys win Super Bowls XXVII, XXVIII and XXX. He made 8 Pro Bowls, and in 1995, he set a new single-season record with 25 rushing touchdowns. (That record is now 28, set in 2006, by La Dainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers.)
Smith, a native of Pensacola, in the Florida Panhandle, remained with the Cowboys through the 2002 season, and played 2 more seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. He still holds the NFL career records for most rushing attempts, 4,409; most rushing yards, 18,355, with Payton still 2nd; and most rushing touchdowns, 164.
In 1999, before he broke the record, The Sporting News ranked him 68th on their list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. In 2010, the NFL Network ranked him 28th on their list of the 100 Greatest Players. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor.
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October 27, 2002 was a Sunday. These other NFL games were played:
* The New York Jets lost to the Cleveland Browns, 24-21 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.
* The Denver Broncos beat the New England Patriots, 24-16 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.
* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens, 31-18 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
* The Washington Redskins beat the Indianapolis Colts, 26-21 at FedEx Field (now Northwest Stadium) in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.
* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Carolina Panthers, 12-9 at Ericsson Stadium (now Bank of America Stadium) in Charlotte.
* The Houston Texans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 21-19 at Alltel Stadium (now EverBank Stadium) in Jacksonville.
* The Atlanta Falcons beat their arch-rivals, the New Orleans Saints, 37-35 at the Superdome in New Orleans.
* The Buffalo Bills beat the Detroit Lions, 24-17 at Ralph Wilson Stadium (formerly Rich Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.
* The Tennessee Titans beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 30-24 at Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium) in Cincinnati.
* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Chicago Bears, 25-7 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Oakland Raiders, 20-10 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Arizona Cardinals, 38-28 at Candlestick Park (then named San Francisco Stadium at Candlestick Point) in San Francisco.
* The next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Philadelphia Eagles beat the New York Giants, 17-3 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. The Giants are the Eagles' geographical and longest-lasting rivals, but most Eagle fans consider the Cowboys to be the team's true arch-rivals.
* And the Green Bay Packers, the Miami Dolphins, the St. Louis Rams and the San Diego Chargers had a bye that week.
In baseball, Game 7 of the World Series was played. At the ballpark then known as Edison International Field of Anaheim, the team then known as the Anaheim Angels beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-1. The team now known as the Los Angeles Angels, playing at what's now named Angel Stadium of Anaheim, having already won their 1st Pennant in 42 seasons of trying, had now won their 1st World Championship.
The NBA season started 2 days later. There were 3 games played in the NHL:
* The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-1 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.
* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the San Jose Sharks, 3-2 at the United Center in Chicago.
* And the Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche played to a tie, 3-3 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.
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