October 7, 2000: The Old Wembley Finale

October 7, 2000: The last event is held in the 77-year history of the original Wembley Stadium in London. The England national soccer team loses to Germany, 1-0. The last goal in the stadium is scored by Dietmar Hamann, who was, at the least, playing for an English club at the time, Liverpool.

Paul Scholes of Manchester United and England (left)

and Marco Bode of Werder Bremen and Germany

Liverpool had been the club at which Kevin Keegan rose to stardom. He had also played in Germany, for Hamburger SV, before returning home, and starring for Southampton and Newcastle United. He had managed several teams, including nearly taking Newcastle to the 1996 Premier League title. So after Glenn Hoddle was properly fired as England manager, Keegan, known as Mighty Mouse for being short but talented, was named manager.

But after this match, the media cornered him in the bathroom of the dressing room, and he resigned. And so, Wembley's history as the home of English football ended with "Keegan quits in the toilet." (In England, "the toilet" is the entire rest room, not just the bowl.) Although Keegan has had a few managing jobs since, he has never again managed any national side.

One more note: The old Wembley Stadium is 1 of 3 stadiums to have hosted an Olympic Games, a World Cup Final and a UEFA European Cup/Champions League Final. The others are the Olympiastadions in Berlin and Munich. In 2024, the Stade de France outside Paris will make it 4.

It was demolished in 2002, and delays meant that the new Wembley Stadium did not open until 2007.

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October 7, 2000 was a Saturday. This was also the day the TV show Queen of Swords premiered. I have a separate entry for that event.

It was also the day of Game 3 of the National League Division Series. Benny Agbayani's 13th inning home run ends the longest LDS game ever played to that point, 5 hours and 22 minutes. The dramatic round-tripper by the Mets outfielder, who (like a previous Met, Sid Fernandez) wears Number 50 because he's from Hawaii, the 50th State, gives the Mets a 3-2 victory, and a 2-games-to-1 series advantage over the San Francisco Giants.

In the other NLDS, the St. Louis Cardinals do the Mets a huge favor, completing a 3-game sweep over the team in the Mets' heads, the Atlanta Braves. The Cards win, 7-1 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.

In the American League Division Series, the Oakland Athletics beat the New York Yankees, 11-1 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Network Associates Coliseum) in Game 4. This ties the series up. But the Yankees win the series the next day. The other ALDS was wrapped up the day before, with the Seattle Mariners sweeping the Chicago White Sox.

On the same day, the Columbus Blue Jackets bring the NHL back to Ohio after 22 years, and give the State capital its 1st-ever major league team, unless you count Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew, or the Columbus Bullies who won the only titles of the 1940-41 American Football League.

Their 1st game is at home against the Chicago Blackhawks, who win, 5-3 at Nationwide Arena, still the Jackets' home. Their 1st goal is scored by Bruce Gardiner. I have a separate entry for this game.

It is also the night of the 1st game for another expansion team, the Minnesota Wild. They open on the road, at the America West Arena (now the Footprint Center) in Phoenix, and lose to the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-1.

Elsewhere in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 2-1 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-1 at the First Union Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes play to a tie, 3-3 at the Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena (now the Lenovo Center).

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Dallas Stars, 3-1 at the Corel Centre (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, Ontario.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat their arch-rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, 2-0 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Nashville Predators, 3-1 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center (now the Bridgestone Arena) in Nashville.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-3 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* And the Colorado Rockies and the Edmonton Oilers play to a tie, 1-1 at the Skyreach Centre, as the Northlands Coliseum was then known, in Edmonton.

And there was college football on the day, including the following games:

* Number 1 Florida State were upset by Number 7 Miami, 27-24 at the Orange Bowl in Miami. The Hurricanes won the Big East Conference title. Florida State still won the Atlantic Coast Conference title.

* Number 2 Nebraska beat Iowa State, 49-27 at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa.

* Number 3 Virginia Tech beat Temple, 35-13 at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia.

* Number 4 Kansas State beat their arch-rivals, Kansas, 52-13 at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.

* Number 5 Clemson beat North Carolina State, 34-27 at Clemson Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.

* Number 6 Michigan lost to Purdue, 32-31 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue won the Big 10 Conference title.

* Number 8 Ohio State beat Number 24 Wisconsin, 23-7 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

* Number 10 Oklahoma beat Number 11 Texas, 63-14 in the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The Sooners went on to win beat Kansas State for the Big 12 Conference title, and Florida State in the Orange Bowl, and won the National Championship.

* Number 12 Florida beat Louisiana State, 41-9 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. The Gators went on to beat Auburn for the Southeastern Conference title, but lost the Sugar Bowl to Miami.

* Number 13 Washington beat Number 23 Oregon State, 33-30 at Husky Stadium in Seattle. Washington won the Pacific-10 Conference title, and beat Purdue in the Rose Bowl.

* Number 15 Auburn were upset by Number 20 Mississippi State, 17-10 at Scott Field in Starkville, Mississippi.

* Number 18 Southern California were upset by Arizona, 31-15 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* Number 19 Georgia beat Number 21 Tennessee, 21-10 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. Tennessee still ended up going to the Cotton Bowl, but lost it to Kansas State.

* Number 25 Notre Dame beat Stanford, 20-14 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame went to the Fiesta Bowl, but lost to Oregon State.

* Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) beat arch-rival Nevada, 38-7 at Sam Boyd Stadium in the Las Vegas suburb of Whitney, Nevada.

* In a battle between service academies, Air Force beat Navy, 27-13 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

* Army lost to New Mexico State, 42-23 at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces, New Mexico.