October 28, 2018: Los Angeles Hosts All 5 Sports In 1 Day

October 28, 2018: Los Angeles becomes the 1st metropolitan area to host games in all 5 of North American sports' major leagues on the same day.

In the National Football League: The Los Angeles Rams beat the Green Bay Packers, 29-27 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, to move to 8-0. The following week, the Rams fell from the ranks of the undefeated, losing to the New Orleans Saints. The other team in the area, the Los Angeles Chargers, had a bye week, and did not play.

In the National Basketball Association: At the Staples Center (renamed the Crypto.com Arena a year later), the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Washington Wizards, 136-104. The city's main NBA team, the Los Angeles Lakers, were not scheduled.

In the National Hockey League: Later in the day, also at the Staples Center, the Los Angeles Kings beat the New York Rangers, 4-3. The area's other NHL team, the Anaheim Ducks, were also at home, at the Honda Center, but lost to the San Jose Sharks, 4-3. Timo Meier scored the winning goal with 2:48 left in overtime.

In Major League Soccer, the Los Angeles Galaxy lost to the Houston Dynamo 3-2 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The city's other MLS team, Los Angeles FC, were on the road, losing 2-1 to Sporting Kansas City.

Most importantly, in Major League Baseball: Game 5 of the World Series was held at Dodger Stadium. Andrew Bentinendi hit a 2-run home run for the Boston Red Sox in the top of the 1st inning, while David Freese hit a solo homer for the Dodgers in the bottom of the inning. That 2-1 score held until the 7th, when J.D. Martinez homered to make it 4-1, extending Clayton Kershaw's poor postseason record. Steve Pearce hit a home run in the 8th, cementing his status as the Series' Most Valuable Player.

The Red Sox won, 5-1, taking the Series in 5 games, their 4th World Championship since 2004 -- and their 4th since 1918. There was no steroid-using David Ortiz this time, but they found a new way to cheat: Apple Watches. A little more than 3 months later, Boston would beat Los Angeles for another World Championship, as the New England Patriots beat the Rams in Super Bowl LIII.

UPDATE: The Red Sox have a team Hall of Fame. From the 2018 World Champions, they have inducted 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia, pitcher Jon Lester; executive Elaine Weddington Steward, guest relations director Al Green, broadcasters Jerry Remy and Joe Castiglione, and longtime vendor Arthur D'Angelo.

*

October 28, 2018 was a Sunday. This was the only baseball game played that day. Aside from the Rams, these games were played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants lost to the Washington Redskins, 20-13 at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands.

* The New York Jets lost to the Chicago Bears, 24-10 at the new Soldier Field in Chicago.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 24-18 at the new Wembley Stadium in London. Officially, it was a home game for the Jaguars, who willingly gave up a home game because they weren't drawing well at home.

* The Carolina Panthers beat the Baltimore Ravens, 36-21 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 33-18 at Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) in Pittsburgh.

* The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 37-34 at Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* The Seattle Seahawks beat the Detroit Lions, 28-14 at Ford Field in Detroit.

* The New Orleans Saints beat the Minnesota Vikings, 30-23 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos, 30-23 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. It would almost make sense geographically for these teams to be each other's arch-rivals, but both teams have a bigger rivalry with the Raiders, whatever city they're in.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the San Francisco 49ers, 18-15 at State Farm Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, California.

* The Indianapolis Colts beat the Oakland Raiders, 42-28 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* In the week's Thursday night game, the Houston Texans beat the Miami Dolphins, 42-23 at NRG Stadium (as Reliant Stadium was then known) in Houston.

* The following night, on Monday Night Foot ball, the New England Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills, 25-6 at New Era Field (formerly Rich Stadium and Ralph Wilson Stadium)in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

* And the Atlanta Falcons, the Dallas Cowboys and the Tennessee Titans had a bye week.

In addition to the Clippers' game, there were 3 games played in the NBA:

* The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Golden State Warriors, 120-114 at the Barclays Center. Steph Curry scored 35 points.

* The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns, 117-110 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena (now the Paycom Center) in Oklahoma City.

* And the Utah Jazz beat the Dallas Mavericks, 113-104 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

In addition to the Kings' and Ducks' games, there were 4 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 2-1 at the PNC Arena (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Dallas Stars, 4-2 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-1 at the United Center in Chicago. Connor McDavid scored the winning goal, 53 seconds into overtime.

* And the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-3 at the T-Mobile Arena in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada. Jonathan Marchessault scored the winning goal, with 2:36 in overtime.

In addition to the 2 L.A.-area teams, there were 9 games in Major League Soccer:

* The New York Red Bulls beat Orlando City, 1-0 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

* New York City FC beat the Philadelphia Union, 3-1 at Yankee Stadium.

* The New England Revolution beat the Montreal Impact, 1-0 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* Toronto FC beat Atlanta United, 4-1 at BMO Field in Toronto.

* The Columbus Crew beat Minnesota United, 3-2 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

* The Chicago Fire and D.C. United played to a draw, 0-0 at SeatGeek Stadium in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview, Illinois.

* The Colorado Rapids beat FC Dallas, 2-1 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado.

* The Seattle Sounders beat the San Jose Sharks, 2-1 at CenturyLink Field (now Lumen Field) in Seattle.

* And the Vancouver Whitecaps beat the Portland Timbers, 2-1 at BC Place in Vancouver.

And in English soccer, North London team Arsenal went to South London, but could only manage a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

October 26, 2018: The Longest Game In World Series History

October 26, 2018: Game 3 of the World Series is played at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. It turns out to be the longest game in World Series history. Joc Pederson gives the Los Angeles Dodgers the lead with a home run in the 3rd inning, and Jackie Bradley Jr. ties it for the Boston Red Sox with a home run in the 8th, to make it 2-2. The Red Sox scored in the top of the 13th on a walk, a wild pitch and a single-and-error. But the Dodgers tied it on a walk, a fly out, and a single-and-error of their own.

As the game went on and on, Twitter users began making jokes about its length: This game had started at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn and was moved to Dodger Stadium; Sandy Koufax had started the game for the Dodgers, Cy Young for the Red Sox; Ted Williams and Jackie Robinson had traded home runs in the 14th, and so on.

Max Muncy nearly hit a walkoff home run in the bottom of the 15th, but his drive hooked just foul. He finally hit one in the bottom of the 18th, giving the Dodgers a 3-2 win. Nathan Eovaldi, normally a starting pitcher, had thrown 7 innings in relief before taking the loss.

But Eovaldi's effort helped save the Boston bullpen, keeping their relievers fresh. This would be the only game the Dodgers would win in the Series.

The 18 innings broke the Series record of 14, set by the same teams in 1916, and tied by the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros in Game 3 in 2005. The first pitch was at 5:10 PM Pacific Time (8:10 Eastern), and it ended at 12:30 AM (3:30 Eastern).

At 7 hours and 20 minutes, it broke the record of that 2005 Game 3, 5 hours and 41 minutes, and tied the record for longest postseason game ever, set in Game 4 of the 2005 National League Division Series, won by the Astros on Chris Burke's home run against the Cardinals. This game was longer than the entire 1939 World Series, a 4-game sweep by the Yankees over the Reds, which took a combined 7 hours and 5 minutes to play.

*

October 26, 2018 was a Friday. It was the only baseball game played that day. Football would be played for the next 3 days. There were 7 games played in the NBA that night:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Golden State Warriors, 128-100 at Madison Square Garden. Kevin Durant scored 41 points.

* The Brooklyn Nets lost to the New Orleans Hornets, 117-115 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

* The Charlotte Hornets beat the Chicago Bulls, 135-106 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

* The Toronto Raptors beat the Dallas Mavericks, 116-107 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Houston Rockets, 133-113 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 125-95 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* And the Sacramento Kings beat the Washington Wizards, 116-112 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

And there were 4 games played in the NHL:

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the San Jose Sharks, 4-3 in a shootout at the PNC Arena (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh.

* The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Ottawa Senators, 6-3 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

* And the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Vegas Golden Knights, 3-2 at the T-Mobile Center outside Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada.

October 25, 2024: The Freddie Freeman Game

NOTE: While these entries are dated 2022, I decided to backdate the posting dates of events from 2023 onward to the same date in 2022.

October 25, 2024: Game 1 of the World Series was played at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Dodgers were looking to win the World Series, as they had done in the "COVID Bubble" season of 2020, but not in a full season since 1988. The New York Yankees were looking to win the Series for the 1st time since 2009.

The Yankees needed baserunners, and didn't get enough of them. Juan Soto drew a walk in the 1st inning, and was stranded. Anthony Rizzo led off the 2nd with a single, got to 2nd base, but got no closer. Gleyber Torres singled to lead off the 3rd, but was erased on a double play. Alex Verdugo, who went on to make 2 great catches, singled in the 5th, but was stranded. 

With the Dodgers leading 1-0, Soto led off the top of the 6th with a single. Aaron Judge struck out -- his 3rd of the game, and his 2nd with Soto on 1st. Then Giancarlo Stanton hit a long drive down the left-field line, and out. 2-1 Yankees.

Jazz Chisholm singled. But Rizzo struck out. Anthony Volpe was intentionally walked, and Austin Wells singled. Bases loaded. This could have been where the Yankees broke the game wide open. But Verdugo struck out to end the inning.

At the age of 32, Judge finally got his 1st World Series hit, a single, with 2 out in the 7th. But Stanton, who has been doing in this season what we had hoped Judge would do, flipped the script, and stranded him by striking out.

The Dodgers tied the game in the 8th. With 2 out in the top of the 9th, Torres doubled, and Soto was intentionally walked to set up the force play. Walking somebody intentionally to pitch to Aaron Judge? In the postseason, it works: Judge popped up.

The game went to extra innings. The hated "ghost runner" rule, instituted in 2020, is not used in the postseason. Stanton struck out. But Chisholm stole 2nd. Rizzo was intentionally walked. Chisholm stole 3rd. Volpe grounded to short, and Tommy Edman, the Most Valuable Player of the National League Championship Series, couldn't make the throw to home plate, opting to go to 2nd base instead. Rizzo was out, but Chisholm scored, and Volpe was safe at 1st. Then Volpe stole 2nd. This could have been a big inning. Then Wells struck out.

If the top of the 10th felt like a return to the Joe Torre era, the bottom of the 10th was pure Brian Cashman "gutless wonder" baseball, with a bit of Aaron Boone "Baboone" managing thrown in. After Luke Weaver got out of a jam in the 8th with only 1 run, and pitched a scoreless 9th, Boone brought Jake Cousins in to pitch the 10th. He got Will Smith to fly out, but walked Gavin Lux. (Sounds like the real name of a comic book villain.) Edman grounded to 2nd, and Oswaldo Cabrera, having replaced Torres, couldn't make a throw.

A 1-run lead, but men on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, and the next 3 batters are Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. Career regular-season OPS+'s through the 2024 season, respectively: 157, 138 and 142. Career home runs? Ohtani 225 at age 30, Betts 271 at 32, and Freeman 343 at 35. Barring further injury, all 3 of them are likely to finish with at least 400, and Ohtani may well top 500.

Boone could have brought in Tim Hill, who has been very effective in this postseason. Instead, he (apparently) looked at stats only for Yankee pitchers against Ohtani, and brought in Nestor Cortés, who, due to injury, hadn't pitched since September 18. The Yankees have a history of unlikely postseason heroes, but this move looked really unlikely.

Ohtani sliced one into the left-field corner. It looked like a sure double, to tie or even win the game. Instead, Verdugo ran over and made a great catch, then managed to throw back and hold the runners. If Cortés had managed to get 1 more out, and the Yankees ended up winning the Series, it would have been a play that lived forever.

It lived just 2 more plate appearances. Boone made the mistake of ordering Betts walked to load the bases, and set up the out at any base. The next batter was Freeman, who has already won a World Series with the 2021 Atlanta Braves, and has been key for the Dodgers ever since.

He hit a no-doubt-about-it game-winning grand slam, landing in the right field pavilion, roughly where the ball that Kirk Gibson hit to win Game 1 of the 1988 World Series landed, the 1st homer to be called a "walkoff." Dodgers 6, Yankees 3.

The Yankees were 1 out away from taking home-field advantage away from the Dodgers. But they lost this game because Boone made the wrong strategy choices, and because, in innings 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 combined, they got only 5 singles and 2 walks, 1 of those intentional.

Indeed, as the Series went on, each team had only 1 player who really produced: Stanton for the Yankees, Freeman for the Dodgers. Freeman was a little bit better, and, like that aforementioned 1988 Fall Classic -- and a few others, including in 1954, 1966, 1970, 1972, 1990, 1998, 2000 and 2007 -- the 2024 World Series was basically won in Game 1. And Freeman was rightly named its Most Valuable Player.

*

October 25, 2024 was a Friday. There were 3 college football games played:

* Also between teams from the New York and Los Angeles metropolitan areas, the University of Southern California (USC) beat Rutgers, 42-20 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, 5 miles south of Dodger Stadium.

* Number 17 Boise State beat the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV), 29-24 at Allegiant Stadium in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada.

* And the University of Louisville beat Boston College, 31-27 at Alumni Stadium in the Boston suburb of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Louisville scored 14 points in the 4th quarter to come from behind.

There were 10 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers, 123-98 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Orlando Magic, 116-101 at the Kia Center in Orlando.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Charlotte Hornets, 125-120 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Trae Young scored 38 points.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 128-108 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

* The Toronto Raptors beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 115-107 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons, 113-101 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 133-122 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Utah Jazz, 127-86 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns, 123-116 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, 3 miles south of Dodger Stadium. Anthony Davis scored 35 points.

* And the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 105-103 at the Moda Center in Portland.

There were 4 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat the New Jersey Devils, 4-3 at the Prudential Center in Newark. These teams are metropolitan rivals, but not arch-rivals: Each team's arch-rival is the New York Rangers. Bo Horvat scored the winning goal with 3:51 left in overtime.

* The Nashville Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-0 at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

* And the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Ottawa Senators, 6-4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.

And in New Jersey high school football, my Alma Mater, East Brunswick won away to South Brunswick, 24-14.

October 25, 1975: Elton John at Dodger Stadium

October 25, 1975: Elton John, at the height of his popularity, performs the 1st of 2 sold-out shows at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The gates opened at 1:00 PM, and the warmup acts were country singer Emmylou Harris, and the James Gang, featuring future Eagle Joe Walsh on guitar.

Elton took the stage at 4:30, wearing a sequin-encrusted Dodger uniform designed by Bob Mackie, the costume designer for CBS, famed for his designs for The Carol Burnett Show and The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.

Elton started with his 1st big hit, "Your Song." He usually closes with "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting," but, this time, with his role in the recent film version of The Who's Tommy in mind, he followed that with "Pinball Wizard."

Joining him on backing vocals was Billie Jean King. Elton was a big tennis fan, and, in Billie Jean, also then closeted despite being the biggest star in her field of endeavor, he found a kindred spirit.

These would be the only concerts at Dodger Stadium between The Beatles' last tour in 1966 and Michael Jackson's Victory Tour with his brothers in 1984. Now 75 years old, Elton has scheduled 3 night there for his "farewell tour" in 2022, on November 17, 19 and 20.

Also on this day, on CBS, The Mary Tyler Moore show airs the episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust." Chuckles the Clown, the never-seen kids-show host on WJM-Channel 12 in Minneapolis, meets a sad end. As his rival for attention, newscaster Ted Baxter (Ted Knight), says, "He died a broken man."

Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore) can't believe that nobody is sad about his death. Everybody is laughing. Finally, at his funeral, the minister recites Chuckles' "A Clown's Credo": "A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants." And Mary cracks up. And the minister tells her that this is exactly what Chuckles would have wanted, and encourages her to laugh some more. And she bursts into tears. It's often called the show's best episode.

Later that night, on NBC's Saturday Night Live, John Belushi debuted his uncanny impression of British soul singer Joe Cocker. In 1978, Cocker was the musical guest, and in the middle of singing "Feelin' Alright," Belushi sidled up to him and mimicked him perfectly. This ticked Cocker off, and he never appeared on the show again.

*

October 25, 1975 was a Saturday. Baseball season had ended 3 days earlier, when the Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of the World Series.

Among the college football games played that day were these:

* Number 1 Ohio State beat Purdue, 35-6 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana. Ohio State were led by running back Archie Griffin, about to become the only 2-time winner of the Heisman Trophy.

* Number 2 Oklahoma beat Iowa State, 39-7 at Owen Field in Norman. Oklahoma lost only once, to Kansas, and beat Nebraska for the Big Eight title.

* Number 3 Southern California beat Number 14 Notre Dame, 24-17 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

* Number 4 Nebraska beat Number 10 Colorado, 63-21 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. Nebraska lost their chance at conference and national honors by losing to Oklahoma.

* Number 5 Texas A&M beat Baylor, 19-10 at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.

* Number 6 Alabama beat Texas Christian (TCU), 45-0 at Legion Field in Birmingham. 'Bama lost their season opener to Missouri in Birmingham, then won the rest of their games, winning the Southeastern Conference title.

* Number 7 Michigan beat Indiana, 55-7 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Michigan were undefeated going into their game against Ohio State, but lost, giving Ohio State the Big Ten title. Michigan were invited to the Orange Bowl, but lost to Oklahoma, who were awarded the National Championship.

* Number 8 Texas beat Rice, 41-9 at Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.

* Number 9 Penn State beat Army, 31-0 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. Alabama beat Penn State in the Sugar Bowl.

* Number 13 Arizona were upset by New Mexico, 44-34 at Arizona Stadium in Tucson.

* Number 16 Michigan State were upset by Illinois, 21-19 at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.

* Number 17 Pittsburgh were upset by Navy, 17-0 at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* Number 19 UCLA, the University of California at Los Angeles, beat the main campus of the University of California (Berkeley), 28-14 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. UCLA won the Pacific-Eight Conference title, and beat Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, ruining Ohio State's National Championship hopes.

* Number 20 South Carolina were upset by Louisiana State, 24-6 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.

* Arkansas, then unranked, beat Utah State, 31-0 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Arkansas went on to upset then-Number 2 Texas A&M to win the Southwest Conference title, and beat Georgia in the Cotton Bowl.

* In a "trophy rivalry" game, Minnesota beat Iowa, 31-7 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, for the bronze pig trophy named Floyd of Rosedale.

* And in New Jersey, Rutgers beat Columbia, 41-0 at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey; while Princeton lost to the University of Pennsylvania, 24-20 at Palmer Stadium in Princeton.

There were 5 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 100-91 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the Atlanta Hawks, 108-102 at The Omni in Atlanta.

* The Buffalo Braves beat the Golden State Warriors, 104-92 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Bob McAdoo scored 36 points for the Braves.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 91-87 at the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena, or "The MECCA." Since 2014, it has been named the UW-Panther Arena.

* And the Phoenix Suns beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 89-88 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.

There were 4 games in the American Basketball Association, now beginning its 9th and, as it turned out, last season:

* The New York Nets lost to the San Antonio Spurs, 131-111 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio. Former Net Larry Kenon scored 38 for the Spurs.

* The Indiana Pacers beat their arch-rivals, the Kentucky Colonels, 103-100 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. Billy Knight -- no relation to Indiana University head coach Bobby Knight -- scored 40 points to lead all pro basketball scorers on the day.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Spirits of St. Louis, 118-101 at the brand-new McNichols Arena in Denver. David Thompson scored 33 points for the Nugs.

* And the San Diego Sails beat the Utah Stars, 99-97 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.

There were 7 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat their arch-rivals, the New York Rangers, 7-1 at the Nassau Coliseum. The Potvin brothers, Denis and Jean, each scored 2 goals.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 6-2 at the Montreal Forum.

* The California Golden Seals and the Toronto Maple Leafs played to a tie, 2-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Philadelphia Flyers and their arch-rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, played to a tie, 4-4 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-3 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Atlanta Flames, 7-3 at the St. Louis Arena.

* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Kansas City Scouts, 4-0 at the Kemper Arena (now the Hy-Vee Arena) in Kansas City.

* And the Los Angeles Kings, the Minnesota North Stars, the Vancouver Canucks and the Washington Capitals were not scheduled.

And there were 4 games in the World Hockey Association:

* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Toronto Toros, 3-2 at the Colisée de Québec.

* The Cleveland Crusaders beat the Edmonton Oilers, 5-2 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio.

* The Cincinnati Stingers beat the Houston Aeros, 7-4 at the Riverfront Coliseum (now the Heritage Bank Center) in Cincinnati.

* And the San Diego Mariners beat the Minnesota Fighting Saints, 6-1 at the San Diego Sports Arena (now the Pechanga Arena).

In New Jersey High School football, the school that would become my Alma Mater, East Brunswick beat Edison, 14-6 at Matthew J. Drwal Stadium in Edison.

And in English soccer, Arsenal beat Yorkshire team Middlesbrough, 2-1 at Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury for its North London neighborhood.

October 17, 1978: Jackson vs. Welch, Part II

When you're Mr. October, you can drink a bottle of good champagne

and two cans of weak beer at the same time.

October 17, 1978: The New York Yankees complete their last of many comebacks in this amazing season, taking Game 6, 7-2 at Dodger Stadium, and winning their 22nd World Championship, their 2nd in a row, having taken the last 4 games after dropping the first 2.

Reggie Jackson has his chance for revenge over Dodger rookie Bob Welch for striking him out with the bases loaded to end Game 2, and his revenge goes to right field, halfway to the San Gabriel Mountains.

Both halves of the Yankee double-play combination, Bucky Dent and Brian Doyle (substituting for the injured Willie Randolph) collect 3 hits. Dent batted .417 for the Series and is named the Most Valuable Player, capping a month that began with his Playoff homer over Boston. Doyle bats .438, and, along with 3rd base wizard Graig Nettles and reliever Goose Gossage, also makes a pretty good case for Series MVP.

Jim "Catfish" Hunter, hurting and apparently finished earlier in the season, completes his late-season renaissance, starting and winning. The final out is Gossage popping up Ron Cey behind home plate, where Thurman Munson catches it. The Goose thus becomes the 1st pitcher to nail down the final out of a Division clincher, a Pennant clincher, and a World Series clincher in the same season.

This remains my favorite single-season sports team of all time, as it was the first baseball season I was really old enough to "get" what was happening. I was aware of the 1977 title, but I didn't really comprehend what the Yankees had to overcome to win it.

Unfortunately, as with the year before, my parents waited until the Yankees were winning, and then sent me to bed, so I didn't see it. Despite being a fan of the greatest franchise in the history of sports, I was almost 27 years old before I saw my favorite team win a World Series while it was actually happening. And I don't think it was until that 1996 Series that I got over that fact.

The next season, 1979, Munson was killed in a plane crash. The Yankees didn't win another World Series until said 1996 Series. That is not a coincidence.

UPDATE: Among the Yankees' many traditions is Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. From the 1976-81 team that won 4 American League Pennants, including 2 World Series, they have given a Monument to team owner George Steinbrenner; and Plaques to manager Billy Martin (who managed the 1977 title), coaches Lawrence "Yogi" Berra and Elston Howard; catcher Thurman Munson, 2nd baseman Willie Randolph, right fielder Reggie Jackson, pitchers Ron Guidry and Rich "Goose" Gossage (who arrived in 1978); public address announcer Bob Sheppard, and broadcaster Phil Rizzuto.

Bob Lemon, who managed the 1978 title, has not been honored. The Yankees have retired uniform numbers 1 for Martin, 8 for Berra, 10 for Rizzuto, 15 for Munson, 32 for Howard, 44 for Jackson and 49 for Guidry.

Despite being on the 1981 Pennant winners, and having been elected to the Hall of Fame, Dave Winfield has not been honored with a Plaque, or with the retirement of his Number 31. Despite having never played on a Pennant winner, and not having been elected to the Hall of Fame, 1980s 1st baseman Don Mattingly has been honored with a Plaque, and the retirement of his Number 23.

*

October 17, 1978 was a Tuesday. Football was in midweek. There were 7 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Seattle SuperSonics, 120-109 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Washington Bullets, 113-109 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The New Orleans Jazz beat the Detroit Pistons, 114-109 at the Superdome in New Orleans. Pete Maravich scored 36 points.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 113-111 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Phoenix Suns, 110-107 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Larry Kenon scored 39 for the Spurs.

* The San Diego Clippers beat the Chicago Bulls, 99-94 at the San Diego Sports Arena (now the Pechanga Arena).

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Kansas City Kings, 115-112 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland. Mychal Thompson scored 37 for the Blazers.

There were 3 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-1 at the Nassau Coliseum. However, as it turned out, the Isles weren't quite ready to overtake the Habs as the best team in the NHL, and the Habs weren't yet willing to cede that title, either.

* The Atlanta Flames beat the Colorado Rockies, 8-2 at The Omni in Atlanta.

* And the St. Louis Blues beat the Vancouver Canucks, 8-6 at the St. Louis Arena -- or the Checkerdome, as it was then known, during the time that St. Louis-based Ralston-Purina, with its "Checkerboard Square" logo, owned the Blues. The Canucks blew a 3-0 lead, as Garry Unger and Wayne Babych each scored 2 goals.

And there were 2 games played in the World Hockey Association, early in what turned out to be its last season. The Quebec Nordiques and the Cincinnati Stingers played to a tie, 5-5 at the Colisée de Québec. And the New England Whalers beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

October 15, 1988: The Kirk Gibson Game

October 15, 1988: In one of the most improbable finishes in World Series history‚ pinch hitter Kirk Gibson hit a 2-run home run off Dennis Eckersley with 2 out and 2 strikes in the bottom of the 9th inning, to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 win over the Oakland Athletics in Game 1.

The injured Gibson was not expected to play in the Series, and did not play in it again. It was the 1st World Series game to end on a home run since Game 6 in 1975.

Vin Scully, normally the voice of the Dodgers, but broadcasting this game for NBC, said, "In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened!" Jack Buck, normally the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals, but broadcasting on radio for CBS, said, "I don't believe what I just saw!"

Yankee Fans of my generation had heard tall tales of Mickey Mantle limping up to home plate, looking like he had no chance, then hitting a home run anyway, and limping around the bases to the rapturous cheers of the Bronx faithful. But since we weren't old enough to have seen it, and the expense of videotape meant that so many of those old games were taped over by WPIX-Channel 11, we've hardly seen any footage of it. (Mickey’s 500th homer, on May 14, 1967, is an exception, thankfully preserved, showing both Mickey and the pre-renovation old Yankee Stadium in full color.)

Gibson, one of many players who got the tag "the next Mickey Mantle" -- and he got a lot more of the Mantle injuries than the Mantle homers, finishing with 255 dingers -- gave my generation a glimpse of what that must have been like.

After the game, Eckersley coined the phrase "walkoff home run," because there was nothing he could do after Gibson hit the ball except walk off the field. The powerful A's, winners of 103 games and sweepers of teh Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series, were expected to make quick work of the comparatively weak-hitting Dodgers, who barely scraped by the Mets in the National League Championship Series. Instead, Gibson's homer set the tone for a very different Series.

But it was Orel Hershiser, who was named the NL Cy Young Award winner, in part due to a new record streak of 59 consecutive scoreless innings, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the Series, winning Game 2 and the clinching Game 5. He would also be named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year.

In 2010, the MLB Network listed this game at 10th on their list of MLB's 20 Greatest Games -- limited in scope, due to the availability of surviving videotape, to 1975 onward.

It's also worth noting that Gibson had a good enough year to be named NL Most Valuable Player that season, and had previously hit 2 home runs in Game 5 of the 1984 World Series, to give the Detroit Tigers the championship. So he's one of the few players to be a World Series hero for 2 different teams -- in 2 different leagues, no less.

Speaking of 2 different leagues: This win gave the Los Angeles metropolitan area World Championships in 2 different sports for the 1st time, as the Los Angeles Lakers were the defending NBA Champions. The Lakers would do it again, with the team then known as the Anaheim Angels, in 2002-03.  

*

October 15, 1988 was a Saturday. This was the day at Number 4 Notre Dame beat Number 1 Miami, 31-30 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana, a game labeled both the "Game of the Century" and "Catholics vs. Convicts." I have a separate entry for this event. Among the other college football games played that day were these:

* Number 2 UCLA beat the University of California, 38-21 at California Memorial Stadium in the San Francisco suburb of Berkley., California.

* Number 3 Southern California beat Number 16 Washington, 28-27 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. USC beat UCLA to win the Pacific-Ten Conference title, but blew their shot at the National Championship the next week, when they lost to Notre Dame.

* Number 5 Florida State beat East Carolina, 45-21 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee.

* Number 7 Nebraska beat Number 10 Oklahoma State, 63-42 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska won the Big Eight Conference title, but lost the Orange Bowl to Miami.

* Number 8 South Carolina were upset by Georgia Tech, 34-0 at Grant Field in Atlanta.

* Number 9 Oklahoma pounded Kansas State, 70-24 at Owen Field in Norman, Oklahoma.

* Number 12 Auburn beat the University of Akron, 42-0 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. Auburn won the Southeastern Conference title, but lost the Sugar Bowl to Florida State.

* Number 15 Michigan were held to a tie by Iowa, 17-17 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. Michigan still won the Big Ten Conference title, and beat USC in the Rose Bowl.

* Number 20 Florida were upset by Vanderbilt, 24-9 at Vanderbilt Stadium (now FirstBank Stadium) in Nashville.

* Syracuse beat Penn State, 24-10 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.

* North Carolina State beat their arch-rivals, North Carolina, 48-3 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

* Alabama beat Tennessee, 28-20 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee.

* Among the service academies, Army beat Lafayette, 24-17 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York; and Air Force beat Utah, 56-49 at Rice Stadium (now Rice-Eccles Stadium) in Salt Lake City.

* And with New Jersey's teams, Rutgers beat Boston College, 17-6 at Alumni Stadium, just outside Boston in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts; while Princeton beat Bucknell, 41-35 at Memorial Stadium in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The next year, that stadium was renamed for Bucknell's most famous graduate, a charter member of the Baseball Hall of Fame: Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium.

The NBA season wouldn't start for another 20 days. There were 7 games in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat the Montreal Canadiens, 2-1 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Hartford Whalers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 7-5 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena).

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Washington Capitals, 8-5 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland. Dave Christian scored a hat trick for the Caps.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Detroit.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the St. Louis Blues, 9-2 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. Rob Brown scored a hat trick, and Mario Lemieux scored 2 goals.

* The Minnesota North Stars beat the Boston Bruins, 5-1 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* And the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Los Angeles Kings, 4-1 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

And German soccer great Mesut Özil was born on this day.

October 14, 1977: Anita Bryant Gets "Canceled" With a Pie

October 14, 1977: Gay activist Thom Higgins responds to singer Anita Bryant's anti-gay legislative campaign by hitting her in the face with a pie during a press conference in Des Moines, Iowa. At first, she maintained her composure, and joked, using a slur on gay men, "At least it's a fruit pie." She soon broke down in tears.

Gay people had run a boycott of her most famous endorsement, of Florida orange juice. The growers soon realized they were losing money, and dropped her as a spokesperson. Jokes about her had become part of Johnny Carson's monologue on The Tonight Show and questions on Match Game.

Bryant as a young singer

Although she had peaked as a decidedly non-rock singer in the early 1960s, she was still fairly popular until her "Save Our Children" campaign. But after this, her career was ruined. Her marriage soon broke up. Eventually, the only town where she could get hired was Branson, Missouri, the place known as "the Redneck Vegas." She is still alive, age 82, an early victim of "cancel culture." Higgins died in 1994, from complications of AIDS.

The most recent picture of her I could find, dated 2011

(UPDATE: Anita Bryant died on December 16, 2024, at the age of 84. It had been 3 years since her granddaughter, Sarah Green, had come out as gay and announced she was marrying a woman.)

Also on this day, Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby dies at age 74, of a heart attack following a round of golf at a country club in Alcobendas, Spain, a suburb of Madrid. How good a golfer the legendary singer and actor known as "Der Bingle" was is open to debate, but he did sponsor the Bing Crosby Open tournament.

Golf isn't a real sport? I agree. Okay, then: From 1946 until his death, he was a part-owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, while his frequent movie costar and golfing buddy Bob Hope was a part-owner of the next-closest big-league team, the Cleveland Indians. Fortunately for them, the 2 teams are in different leagues, so the nasty Pittsburgh-Cleveland football rivalry did not spill over into baseball. (In fact, 2013 marked the 1st time both the Pirates and the Indians ever made the postseason in the same year.)

*

October 14, 1977 was a Friday. The New York Yankees won Game 3 of the World Series, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Mike Torrez went the distance for the win, and Mickey Rivers collected 3 hits, 2 of them doubles.

Football was in midweek. The NBA season began 4 days later. There were 2 NHL games. The New York Islanders and the Los Angeles Kings played to a tie, 0-0 at the Nassau Coliseum. And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

And there were 2 games in the World Hockey Association. The Quebec Nordiques beat the Cincinnati Stingers, 5-1 at the Colisée de Québec. And the New England Whalers and the Indianapolis Racers played to a 2-2 tie at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

October 13, 1974: Herb Washington, "Designated Runner"

The only baseball card that Topps has ever produced

where the position is listed as "Pinch Runner."

October 13, 1974: Game 2 of the World Series is played in Los Angeles. A 6th-inning home run by Joe Ferguson gives the Dodgers a 3-2 win over the Oakland Athletics. Don Sutton gets the win over Vida Blue.

The big story, though, is Herb Washington. A track star at Michigan State University, he said his greatest regret was not qualifying for the 1972 Olympics in Munich. A's owner Charlie Finley signed him to be a "designated runner." After all, baseball now had a designated hitter for the pitcher, a change he liked; so, he thought, why not a designated runner?

Wearing Number 3, Washington made 92 appearances in the 1974 season, all as a pinch-runner, stealing 29 bases and scoring 29 runs, without ever coming to the plate, or appearing in the field. He was also caught stealing 16 times, so it was hardly a done deal when he took off. If you believe in WAR (Wins Above Replacement), which I don't, his WAR for 1974 was -0.4, making him less valuable than a replacement player.

In Game 2 of the 1974 World Series, in the top of the 9th inning, Joe Rudi singled home Sal Bando and Reggie Jackson, to close the A's to within 3-2. A's manager Alvin Dark sent Washington in to pincy-run for Rudi. Mike Marshall, who set a major league record with 106 pitching appearances and became the 1st reliever to win the Cy Young Award, embarrassed Washington (and Finley) by picking him off 1st base. Marshall then struck out the man at bat at the time, Ángel Mangual, to end the game in the Dodgers' favor.

This would be the only game the Dodgers would win in the Series, as the A's took the next 3 straight in Oakland. Washington would make 3 more appearances the next season, before Finley released him. He started buying McDonald's franchises, and is now one of the most successful black fast-food restaurant owners -- as is later A's World Champion Dave Parker, an operator of several Popeye's in his native Cincinnati and environs.

*

October 13, 1974 was a Sunday. These NFL games were played:

* The New York Giants lost to their arch-rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, 35-7 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The New York Jets lost to the team that would one day be their arch-rivals, the New England Patriots, 24-0 at Shea Stadium.

* The Buffalo Bills beat the Baltimore Colts, 27-14 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

* The Washington Redskins beat the Miami Dolphins, 20-17 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington.

* The Atlanta Falcons beat the Chicago Bears, 13-10 at Atlanta Stadium. (It was renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium the next year.)

* The Cincinnati Bengals beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 34-24 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Los Angeles Rams, 17-6 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Houston Oilers, 51-10 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The football version of the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Dallas Cowboys, 31-28 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 34-24 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Denver Broncos beat the New Orleans Saints, 33-17 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

* The Oakland Raiders beat the San Diego Chargers, 14-10 at San Diego Stadium (later renamed Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium).

* And the next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Detroit Tigers beat the San Francisco 49ers, 17-13 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

The NBA season wouldn't start for another 4 days; the ABA season, the day after that. There were 5 NHL games played: 

* The Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Bruins played to a tie, 2-2 at the Boston Garden.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Kansas City Scouts, 3-2 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. This was only the 3rd regular-season game played by the Scouts, who became the Colorado Rockies in 1976, and the New Jersey Devils in 1982.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-1 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the California Golden Seals, 7-3 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit. Like the A's, Charlie Finley owned the Seals from 1970 to 1974, and dressed them in green and gold uniforms. In the 1972-73 and 1973-74 seasons, he also owned the Memphis Tams of the American Basketball Association, named for the 3 States in the Memphis metropolitan area: T for Tennessee, A for Arkansas and M for Mississippi. In those seasons, they also wore green and gold.

But Finley sold the Seals in January 1974, and the Tams later in the year. They had been the New Orleans Buccaneers from 1967 to 1970, the Memphis Pros until 1972, and the Memphis Sounds in 1974-75. They tried to move and become the Baltimore Claws, but went bankrupt before the 1975-76 season started. And the Seals became the Cleveland Barons in 1976, and merged with the also-bankrupt Minnesota North Stars in 1978.

* And the Atlanta Flames beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 4-3 at the Chicago Stadium.

October 11, 1978: Jackson vs. Welch, Part I

October 11, 1978: Game 2 of the World Series is played at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. It is a rematch of the previous year's Series, in which the New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Dodgers. This time, the Dodgers won Game 1, and were leading Game 2, 4-3 in the top of the 9th. But the Yankees mounted a rally, and with 1 out, Bucky Dent was on 2nd base, Paul Blair on 1st.

Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda brought rookie Bob Welch in to relieve Terry Forster, who had relieved Burt Hooton. He had the unenviable task of getting 2 outs before the Yankees scored, and the next 2 batters were Thurman Munson and Reggie Jackson. Yikes.

Welch had debuted on June 20, and Lasorda was impressed enough to use him in both the rotation and the bullpen. By the time the regular season was over, the nearly 22-year-old righthander had made 13 starts and 10 relief appearances, going 7-4 with a sizzling 2.02 ERA.

He got Munson to fly to right. Jackson, who earned his Mr. October nickname the year before by hitting 5 home runs off the Dodgers in the previous year's Series, including 3 in the clinching Game 6 (off Hooton, Elias Sosa and Charlie Hough), fought him hard, running the count full and fouling pitches off. Finally, on the 9th pitch of the at-bat, Reggie saw the runners break, and claiming to be distracted by it, swung and missed.

The Dodgers had a 2-games-to-none lead, and Bob Welch was a national hero to Yankee-haters.

If this had been a movie, the Dodgers would have gone on to win the World Series, and Welch would have become one of the greatest pitchers of his generation.

It wasn't a movie. The Yankees took the next 4 games. Once again, Reggie homered in a Game 6 to clinch, this time in L.A. -- off Welch, who was pitching in relief of Don Sutton. The Yankees won, 7-2.

Yankee Haters love to talk about what Welch did to Jackson in Game 2. They do not like to talk about what Jackson did to Welch in Game 6.

If you were taking over the script from here, you might have Welch so unsettled by this experience that he squanders his great chance at stardom, turning to alcohol and ruining his career and his life, before turning it around.

That's what happened: In 1979, he had a bad year on the mound, and a worse year off it. He claimed to have had alcohol-induced blackouts, and challenged opposing players to fights. After being confronted by his teammates and club officials, he spent 36 days at a treatment facility in Arizona.

Lasorda showed enough confidence in him and his recovery to move him into the starting rotation full-time in 1980. He rebounded to make the All-Star Game, playing it in his home park, Dodger Stadium. In 1981, he helped the Dodgers get back to the World Series; although he didn't pitch especially well in it, they finally beat the Yankees.

Shortly thereafter, he became perhaps the first prominent athlete to publish a memoir about substance abuse issues while still playing: Five O'Clock Comes Early, with New York Times sports columnist George Vescey. Even now, few athletes have written such a book while still playing. Another who did is Tony Adams, longtime Captain of London soccer team Arsenal, who published Addicted in 1998.

Welch won 16 games in 1982, 15 in '83 (an NL West-winning year for the Dodgers), went 14-4 in '85 (another Division title) and 15-9 with a League-leading 4 shutouts in '87. At age 32, he was, statistically speaking, having a pretty good career.

And yet, the Dodgers traded him. It was an awkward 3-team deal. Welch and Matt Young went to the Oakland Athletics. Jack Savage went to the Mets. The A's sent Alfredo Griffin and Jay Howell to the Dodgers, and Kevin Tapani and Wally Whitehurst to the Mets. The Mets traded away just one player, Jesse Orosco, to the Dodgers, not 14 months after Orosco got the last out in the 1986 World Series (still the Mets' last).

As you might guess, this was not such a good trade for the Mets: They really could have used Orosco on the mound, instead of a tiring Dwight Gooden, in the 9th inning of Game 4 of the 1988 NL Championship Series. Instead, the Dodgers, NL West Champs for the 7th time in 15 years, won on Mike Scioscia's home run, and won the Pennant. Griffin and Howell were big reasons why, so it was a good trade for the Dodgers.

It was a good trade for the A's, too, as Welch and Young solidified a pitching staff with Dave Stewart as the ace. The A's won 104 games and swept the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series, taking their first Pennant in 14 years.

Welch was in his 3rd World Series, and were heavily favored to beat the Dodgers, who had one of the weakest-hitting teams ever to reach the Series, especially since their best hitter, Kirk Gibson, was hurt. But Gibson, in his only at-bat of the Series, took Dennis Eckersley deep to win Game 1, and the Dodgers won in 5 games.

The A's were not fazed by this, and won the whole thing in 1989, with Welch and Eckersley -- both recovering alcoholics who had big years with other teams in 1978 -- helping lead the way. As in 1988, Welch won 17. They won another Pennant in 1990, and Welch went 27-6 -- the most wins in a season since Steve Carlton won 27 in 1972. No other pitcher has even won 25 in a season since. He received the AL's Cy Young Award. But the A's got swept in the World Series by the Cincinnati Reds.

Perhaps the big season took a lot out of Welch: At 34, he went into decline. In 1994, having gone just 3-6 before the strike hit, he decided not to come back when it ended, and retired, shortly before turning 38.

His career record was 211-146, for a .591 winning percentage. He's not in the Hall of Fame, and never will be, but that .591 WP is higher than those of Hall-of-Fame starting pitchers Bob Gibson, Dazzy Vance, Hal Newhouser, Catfish Hunter, Rube Waddell, Steve Carlton, Jesse Haines, Waite Hoyt, Burleigh Grimes, Don Drysdale, Don Sutton, Fergie Jenkins, Early Wynn, Jim Bunning, Vic Willis, Robin Roberts, Phil Niekro, Bert Blyleven, Nolan Ryan, Jack Morris and John Smoltz.

In 2014, Welch died from an accidental fall at his home in Seal Beach, California. He was 57 years old.

*

October 11, 1978 was a Wednesday. Football was in midweek. The NBA and World Hockey Association seasons opened 2 days later. The NHL season opened that night, with these 6 games:

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

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-4 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

* The Atlanta Flames and the Chicago Black Hawks played to a tie, 4-4 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Los Angeles Kings, 4-2 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Colorado Rockies, 8-2 at the Pacific Coliseum in Denver.

October 10, 2015: Chase Utley vs. Rubén Tejada

October 10, 2015: Game 2 of the National League Division Series is played at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The New York Mets lead the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-1 in the bottom of the 7th inning, thanks to solo home runs by Yoenis Céspedes and Michael Conforto, but Dodger starter Zack Greinke has only allowed 3 other hits.

Thus far, Met starter Noah Syndergaard has lived up to his "Thor" nickname. (He is of Danish descent.) But with 1 out in the 7th -- 8 outs from going up 2 games to none, with the next 3 games set for New York -- Enrique Hernández draws a walk. Dodger manager Don Mattingly sends former Philadelphia Phillies hero and longtime Met nemesis Chase Utley up to pinch-hit for Greinke. Hernández steals 2nd, and Utley singles him over to 3rd. Terry Collins sends 42-year-old big fat steroid cheat Bartolo Colón in to relieve Syndergaard.

The batter is Howie Kendrick, who lines a shot over Colón's outstretched arm. Daniel Murphy takes it on a hop, and he attempts to start a double play by throwing to shortstop Rubén Tejada, who covers 2nd. But Utley slides late, and his batting helmet, with his head inside it, crashes into Tejada's leg. Tejada goes down. He is injured, and out for the rest of the postseason. Hernández scores, Kendrick is safe at 1st, and the game is tied, 2-2.

Mattingly challenges the ruling, to make it even better for the Dodgers: He argues that Tejada never touched 2nd, and that Utley should be safe. The umpires give him the call, enraging Met fans, who already don't like Mattingly, given his playing career with the New York Yankees; and are sure that Utley should have been called out (and thrown out of the game) for sliding outside the baseline and attempting to purposely injure Tejada.

Now, it's 1st and 2nd with 1 out, and the roof caves in on the Mets. They get Corey Seager to fly out, but Adrian Gonazalez and Justin Turner hit back-to-back doubles, and the Dodgers win, 5-2. The series is tied. To the Mets' credit, though, they got themselves together, and won the rest of the games in the series.

When the season was over, it had become clear that the way to beat the Mets was to stand up to them. In the regular season, the Yankees did. In the NLDS, Chase Utley did. In the World Series, the Kansas City Royals did. Otherwise, nobody did, certainly not the Washington Nationals, and the Mets won the NL Eastern Division; the rest of the Dodgers didn't, and the Mets won the NLDS; and the Chicago Cubs didn't, and the Mets swept them in the NLCS.

Beating the 2015 Mets required standing up to them. As former soccer manager Arsène Wenger would say, The Mets lacked a little bit the mental strength.

*

October 10, 2015 was a Saturday. In the other NLDS, for the 1st time, the Chicago Cubs won a postseason game against their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. Jorge Soler hit a home run to spark a 5-run 2nd inning, and the Cubbies won, 6-3 at Busch Stadium, to even the series at 1 game apiece.

Both ALDSes were on travel days. The Houston Astros and the Kansas City Royals were tied, 1-1, and the Royals would win it in 5 games. The Texas Rangers led the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0, but the Jays would take the next 3 to win it.

There were college football games, including these:

* Number 1 Ohio State beat Maryland, 49-28 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. The Buckeyes lost only 1 game all season, but it was to Michigan State, costing them a Division title, never mind the Big Ten. They did beat Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.

* Number 2 Texas Christian beat Kansas State, 52-45 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas. Losses to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State cost them a shot at the Big Twelve title game.

* Number 3 Baylor beat Kansas, 66-7 at David Booth Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas. Baylor rose to Number 2, but a late 1-3 stretch cost them major honors.

* Number 4 Michigan State beat Rutgers, 31-24 at High Point Solutions Stadium (now SHI Stadium) in Piscataway, New Jersey. The Scarlet Knights gave the Spartans a fight, but couldn't get the job done. Michigan State won the Big Ten title.

* Number 5 Utah beat Number 23 California, 30-24 at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. Two weeks later, the Utes began a 2-3 stretch that cost them any shot at a conference title or a major bowl berth.

* Number 6 Clemson beat Georgia Tech, 43-24 at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina. Clemson went undefeated in the regular season, won the Atlantic Coast Conference title, and beat Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl to reach the National Championship Playoff Game.

* Number 7 Louisiana State beat South Carolina, 45-24 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A 3-game losing streak in November cost LSU any chance at titles.

* Number 8 Alabama beat Arkansas, 27-14 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 'Bama won the Southeastern Conference title, beat Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl, and then beat Clemson to win the National Championship.

* Number 10 Oklahoma were upset by Texas, 24-17 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

* Number 12 Florida State beat rival Miami, 29-24 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  

* Number 13 Northwestern were upset by Number 18 Michigan, 38-0 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. The fact that Northwestern were favored over Michigan at "The Big House" was strange, too strange to pan out that way, as it turned out.

* Number 15 Notre Dame beat Navy, 41-24 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. And Army lost to Duke, 44-3 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York.

The NBA season didn't begin for another 17 days. All but 2 NHL teams (the Los Angeles Kings and the Winnipeg Jets) were in action, though:

* The New York Rangers beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-2 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Washington Capitals, 5-3 at the Capital One Arena in Washington.

* The New York Islanders lost to the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-1 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Calgary Flames beat the Vancouver Canucks, 3-2 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver. Johnny Gaudreau scored the winning goal with 1:57 left in overtime.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 4-2 at the TD Garden in Boston.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-3 at the PNC Arena (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh.

* The Florida Panthers beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 7-1 at the BB&T Center (now the Amerant Bank Arena) in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida.

* The Nashville Predators beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-0 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

* On CBC's Hockey Night In Canada, the Ottawa Senators beat their arch-rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-4 in a shootout at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-1 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* The Minnesota Wild beat the St. Louis Blues, 3-2 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars, 6-3 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.

* The Arizona Coyotes beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2-1 at the Gila River Arena (now the Desert Diamond Arena) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* And the San Jose Sharks beat the Anaheim Ducks, 2-0 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.