December 25, 1989: Romania Overthrows the Ceaușescus

December 25, 1989: The last domino to fall in this year of revolution in Eastern Europe is Romania. Unlike every other country that overthrew its Communist regime, however, it was not peaceful, and it certainly was not a "bloodless coup." It was closer to the French Revolution of 100 years earlier than to what had happened earlier in the year in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and East Germany.

Nicolae Ceaușescu was born on January 26, 1918 in Scornicești, Romania, a country then in World War I on the side of the Allies, since it was allied with Russia, which had recently fallen to the Bolsheviks, but had not yet dropped out of the war. It remained a monarchy until World War II, when the right-leaning government allied with the Nazis against the Communist Soviet Union. The Soviets invaded on September 12, 1944, and a "Republic" was proclaimed on December 30, 1947.

Ceaușescu served in the war, and had been a prisoner of the Nazis. In the Republic, he was elected to the Great National Assembly, and became a full member of the Politburo in 1954. He was an ally of Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, who became General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1955, effectively the nation's dictator.

When Gheorghiu-Dej died on March 19, 1965, his successor was not obvious, but Ceaușescu used this to his advantage, since he was liked by Gheorghiu-Dej's other allies and not strenuously opposed by any of them. After 3 days, he emerged as the new leader.

Like Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, both Gheorghiu-Dej and Ceaușescu were "Home Communists," espousing far-left policies domestically, but not actively influencing nearby countries. In 1968, he condemned the Soviet Union's invasion of Czechoslovakia. That caught the attention of Richard Nixon, soon to be elected President of the United States.

On August 2, 1969, Nixon visited Romania, the 1st visit by a President to a Communist country, other than Franklin Roosevelt's meeting with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference in 1945. In 1973, Ceaușescu and his wife Elena returned the favor, by visiting America, and meeting with Nixon again.

Left to right: Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu, Pat and Richard Nixon

But by that point, Ceaușescu had changed, and the West hadn't noticed. In 1971, he visited China, North Vietnam and North Korea. On July 6, 1971, he delivered a speech before the executive committee of the Romanian Communist Party. This quasi-Maoist speech became known as the July Theses, and he announced a crackdown on culture he considered anti-patriotic.

Slowly, but surely, the people began to resist. A coup failed in 1984, and another, which became known as the Brașov Rebellion, failed in 1987. On November 20, 1989, as the Communist Parties of Eastern Europe were falling all around him, Ceaușescu was re-elected, and made a speech denouncing these revolutions.

Revolution broke out in Timișoara, the largest city in the west of the country. Copying the freedom fighters of 1956 in neighboring Hungary, demonstrators cut the Communist symbols out of their national flags, and carried the "liberated" flags through the streets. They were fired upon, and many died, but it didn't stop them.

Ceaușescu left for a state visit to Iran on December 18. Hearing that things had gotten worse in his absence, he figured he'd better get back, or he might be thrown out of power before he could. He returned on the 20th, and, on the 21st, delivered a speech from the balcony of the former Royal Palace in Bucharest, at this time the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party.

He denounces the demonstrators of Timișoara as "fascist agitators." Just 8 minutes into the speech, many in the crowd of 100,000 began booing him, and chanting, "Timișoara!" His wife, Elena, herself now unpopular, yelled, "Quiet!" They booed her, too: She had become known as "The Ogeress." The first couple had to be taken back inside, for fear of something happening to them.

It did. Hearing on December 22 that Defense Minister Vasile Milea had committed suicide rather than be taken by revolutionaries, the Ceaușescus escaped by helicopter. The Army, which had abandoned him, forced the helicopter down in Târgoviște.

On Christmas Day, December 25, 1989, the Ceaușescus were tried before a court convened in a small room on orders of the National Salvation Front, Romania's provisional government. They faced charges including illegal gathering of wealth and genocide -- this following reports that, under Ceaușescu's orders, the Army had killed 46,000 people in the last week. He denied the court's authority to try him, but they were both found guilty and sentenced to death.

They demanded to be allowed to die together. The soldiers agreed to this, but not to their refusal to be tied up. A committed Communist to the end, Nicolae Ceaușescu's last words were a singing of "The Internationale." They were executed by a firing squad. Nicolae was 71 years old, Elena 73.

The Ceaușescus' dead bodies were displayed on national television, and the images were shown around the world. They had received the same level of mercy that they had given. At least their corpses were not hung upside-down in a public square like Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci in Milan in 1945.

But Italy's leading newspaper, the Evening Courier,

had no problem putting the dictator's dead body

on its front page.

They had 3 children. Their elder son, Valentin, became a physicist. Their daughter, known to the country as "Comrade Zoia," became a mathematician. Neither was involved in politics. Their younger son, Nicu, was groomed as his father's heir apparent in government, and was already a county leader by 1987. He was known to be an alcoholic and a rapist -- a sadist like his friend, the heir apparent in Iraq, Uday Hussein -- and was imprisoned after the Revolution. He was released in 1992, for health reasons, and his drinking caught up with him in 1996. He was only 45.  

*

December 25, 1989 was a Monday. This was also the day that former baseball manager Billy Martin was killed in a truck crash. I have a separate entry for this event.

Baseball was out of season. There was 1 college football bowl game that day. Number 22 Michigan State beat Number 25 Hawaii, 33-13, in the Aloha Bowl, on Hawaii's home field, Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.

On ABC Monday Night Football, the Minnesota Vikings beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 29-21 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

The NHL does not schedule games for Christmas Day. The NBA does, and there was 1: The Atlanta Hawks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 115-104 at The Omni in Atlanta.

November 4, 2007: Adrian Peterson Rushes for 296 Yards

November 4, 2007: The Minnesota Vikings beat the San Diego Chargers, 35-17 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Adrian Peterson rushed 30 times for 296 yards, a new NFL record. Included were 3 touchdowns.

In the same game, Antonio Cromartie of the Chargers returned a missed field goal 109 yards. It set a record for the longest play in NFL history. It is a record that can be tied, but never broken.

In 1947, Orban "Spec" Sanders of the New York Yankees rushed for 250 yards in a game. But that was in the All-America Football Conference, and the NFL didn't recognize that as a record. At that point, the NFL record for rushing yards in a game was 215, by Cliff Battles with the Boston Redskins in 1933.

The NFL record rose from 218 yards by Gene Roberts of the New York Giants in 1950, to 223 by Tommy Wilson of the Los Angeles Rams in 1956, to 237 by Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns in 1957, and Brown did 237 again in 1961. In 1963, Carlton "Cookie" Gilchrist of the Buffalo Bills rushed for 243 in an AFL game. In 1970, after the AFL-NFL merger, the NFL decided to retroactively count AFL records as NFL records. But the actual NFL record was still Brown's 237.

It was raised to 247 by Willie Ellison of the Los Angeles Rams in 1971, to 273 by O.J. Simpson of the Bills in 1976, to 275 by Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears in 1977, to 278 by Corey Dillon of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2000, to 295 by Jamal Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens in 2003, and then came this game, when Peterson raised it to 296, which still stands.

In 2012, Peterson rushed for 2,097 yards on the season, just 8 yards short of the record of 2,105 set by Eric Dickerson with the Rams in 1984. Peterson has not played in the 2022 season, but has not officially announced his retirement. He currently has 14,918 rushing yards, placing him 5th on the all-time list, behind Emmitt Smith (the all-time leader with 18,355), Walter Payton, Frank Gore and Barry Sanders.

*

November 4, 2007 was a Sunday. These other games were played in the NFL that day:

* The New York Jets lost to the Washington Redskins, 23-20 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands. Shaun Suisham kicked a 46-yard field goal with 7:43 left in overtime.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-17 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

* The Atlanta Falcons beat the San Francisco 49ers, 20-16 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Arizona Cardinals, 17-10 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

* The Tennessee Titans beat the Carolina Panthers, 20-7 at LP Field (now Nissan Stadium) in Nashville.

* The New Orleans Saints beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 41-24 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The Buffalo Bills beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 33-21 at Ralph Wilson Stadium (formerly Rich Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

* The Cleveland Browns beat the Seattle Seahawks, 33-30 at Cleveland Browns Stadium (now named Huntington Bank Field). Phil Dawson kicked a 25-yard field goal with 9:19 left in overtime to win it.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Denver Broncos, 44-7 at Ford Field in Detroit.

* The New England Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts, 24-20 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 33-2 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Houston Texans beat the Oakland Raiders, 24-17 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* The next night, on Monday Night Football, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens, 38-7 at Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) in Pittsburgh.

* And the New York Giants, the Chicago Bears, the Miami Dolphins and the St. Louis Rams had a bye week.

There were 8 games in the NBA that day:

* The New York Knicks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 97-93 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Charlotte Bobcats beat the Miami Heat, 90-88 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Raptors, 98-95 in overtime at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the Atlanta Hawks, 92-91 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.

* The New Orleans Hornets beat the Denver Nuggets, 93-88 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 103-92 at the US Airways Center (now the Mortgage Matchup Center) in Phoenix.

* In a doubleheader at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Utah Jazz, 119-109; and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 115-101.

And there were 3 games in the NHL:

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Boston Bruins, 2-1 in a shootout at the TD Banknorth Garden (now the TD Garden) in Boston.

* The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the St. Louis Blues, 3-0 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* And the Nashville Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-2 at the United Center in Chicago.

October 30, 1995: The Close Call of the Quebec Referendum

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, leading the "Non" side

October 30, 1995: The Quebec sovereignty referendum fails by a razor-thin margin, with 2,362,648 people, or 50.58 percent, voting "Non"; and 2,308360, or 49.42 percent, voting "Oui."

The number of "spoiled ballots," unusable for whatever reason, is said to be greater than the margin of victory. Nevertheless, it is a win not for Quebec nationalism, but Canadian nationalism, and for Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, who, though a Francophone from Quebec, wanted the Province to stay.

Despite the anger of the separatists, angry over their perception of victimization at the hands of the federal government in Ottawa and the English-speaking establishment – an absolutely ridiculous notion, since the Provincial government has been dominated by the ethnic and linguistic French for most of the last 100 years – the Province will remain a part of Canada, but there is still bitterness on both sides.

The Parti Québécois, dedicated to the Province's independence, held the Provincial government from 1976 to 1985, and lost a referendum in 1980, 60 percent to 40. They held the government again from 1994 to 2003, launching the nearly successful 2nd referendum. After launching the referendum and failing, Jacques Parizeau resigned as Premier and as PQ Leader. He died in 2015.

The PQ held a minority government from 2012 to 2014, and knew they couldn't get a 3rd referendum to pass, so they didn't launch one.

Splits in the party, including defections to new parties on both the left and the right, have dropped the PQ, or "Péquistes," to a mere 7 seats in the 125-seat National Assembly. The current government is led by the conservative Coalition Avenir Québec, and its Leader, Premier François Legault, has said that there will never be a sovereignty referendum launched by his party.

It's just as well: Would you be the one who has to tell the Montreal Canadiens, the greatest cultural institution in Quebec, that they had to change their name?

*

October 30, 1995 was a Monday. The baseball season had ended 2 days before, with the Atlanta Braves beating the Cleveland Indians in the World Series. The NBA season wouldn't start for another 4 days. On ABC Monday Night Football, the Chicago Bears beat the Minnesota Vikings, 14-6 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. And there were 3 games in the NHL:

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars, 6-1 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2 at the Winnipeg Arena.

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the San Jose Sharks, 4-3 at General Motors Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.

October 27, 1991: The Jack Morris Game

October 27, 1991: Game 7 of the World Series is played at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. Jack Morris, having led the Detroit Tigers to victory in the 1984 World Series, and won more games than any other pitcher in the 1980s, 162, was a native of St. Paul, across the Mississippi River from Minneapolis. Now, at age 36, he is trying to close out the Series, against the Atlanta Braves.

The Braves' starter is John Smoltz, a Michigan native who considered Morris his idol. Although just 24 years old, he would be the ace in most team's starting rotations. Not on the Braves, though: They already had Tom Glavine, and would get Greg Maddux in 1993.

In 1990, both of these teams had finished in last place in their Divisions, the Twins in the American League Western, and the Braves in the National League Western. But the Twins had improved by an amazing 21 wins in 1991, the Braves by a whopping 29.

Even more impressive in these teams' "Worst to First" runs: The Twins were 29 games out of 1st place in '90, and won the AL West by 8 games over the Chicago White Sox in '91, a 38-game jump; the Braves were 26 back in the NL West in '90, but beat the Los Angeles Dodgers out by 1 game in '91, a 27-game jump.

In 1987, the Twins had won the World Series by winning all 4 games at the Metrodome, while losing all 3 at Busch Memorial Stadium, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals. For the 1st 6 games, history had repeated itself. Except this was a better Series, one of the best of all time even before Game 7 got underway:

* Game 1 at the Metrodome: Twins 5, Braves 2. It was the Braves' 1st World Series game since 1958, having moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966. Morris started and won for the Twins and manager Tom Kelly. Charlie Liebrandt, a veteran of the 1985 World Champion Kansas City Royals, was the only Brave starting pitcher to have World Series experience, so manager Bobby Cox started him, but he lost.

* Game 2 in Minneapolis: Glavine and the Twins' Kevin Tapani, like Twins reliever Rick Aguilera a veteran of the 1986 World Champion New York Mets, both went 8 innings. Light-hitting Scott Leius hit a home run in the bottom of the 8th to give the Twins a 3-2 lead.

* Game 3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, the 1st World Series game ever played in a State that had seceded from the Union for the Civil War: Scott Erickson, who had gone 20-8 at age 23, started for the Twins, against Steve Avery, at 21 the youngest player in the major leagues, but had gone 18-8. The Braves led 4-1 after 6 innings, but the Twins came back to send the game to extra innings. In the bottom of the 12th, Mark Lemke singled home the winning run, giving the Braves a 5-4 win.

* Game 4 in Atlanta: Morris started on 3 days' rest, against Smoltz. This time, it was the Braves who came back, from 2-1 down in the 7th, tying it then, and, after Morris left the game, winning it in the bottom of the 9th on a sacrifice fly by Jerry Willard that scored Lemke. Catcher Brian Harper appeared to have tagged Lemke out. The problem was, he did so with his glove, when the ball was in his bare hand. That's not a tag-out, and home plate umpire Terry Tata correctly called him safe.

* Game 5 in Atlanta: Glavine against Tapani. This was the only game in the Series that wasn't close, as the Braves scored 6 runs in the 7th to put the game out of reach, winning, 12-3. They were 1 win away from their 1st World Championship since their Milwaukee title of 1957.

* Game 6 in Minneapolis: Erickson and Avery each started on 3 days' rest. This game went to 11 innings. In the bottom of the 11th, Kirby Puckett, the Twins' biggest star, homered off Liebrandt to end it, 4-3 Minnesota. Jack Buck, the voice of the Cardinals, called the game for CBS, and as the ball dropped into the seats, said, "And we'll see you, tomorrow night!"

What we saw at the beginning of the next night was CBS studio host Pat O'Brien comparing baseball to a painting, showing highlights of the 1st 6 games, and closing by saying, "And now, the World Series is one game away from becoming... a masterpiece." He and the other pregame analysts, including Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, were comparing this Series to the 7-game Cincinnati vs. Boston classic of 1975, the 7-game Yankees vs. Pittsburgh see-saw battle of 1960, and the Yankees vs. Brooklyn Dodgers "Subway Series" of the 1950s. Could Game 7 live up to that hype?

If you wanted action, then, no. But if you liked good pitching, then, absolutely. Through 9 innings, Morris had allowed 7 hits and 2 walks, but no runs. Smoltz went 7 1/3rd innings, Mike Stanton closed out the 8th, and Alejandro Peña had to finish the 9th for Stanton. Between them, those 3 pitchers allowed 8 hits and 3 walks, but no runs.

In the top of the 8th, Lonnie Smith singled. Terry Pendleton doubled to left. But Twins 2nd baseman Chuck Knoblauch and shortstop Greg Gagne faked him out, hanging him up at 3rd base so he couldn't score. Morris got out of the jam, forcing Smith out at the plate as the front half of a double play.

For the 1st time since 1924, Game 7 of a World Series was going to extra innings. For the 1st time ever, Game 7 of a World Series was scoreless going to extra innings.

Morris still had something left, getting the Braves out 1-2-3 in the top of the 10th, walking off to a standing ovation from his hometown crowd. Yet he had thrown just 126 pitches. I've seen pitchers throw that many in half as many innings.

Cox sent Peña back out to pitch the 10th. He had been a rookie on the Dodgers' 1981 World Series winners, but hadn't pitched in the Series. He did pitch in their 1988 World Series win. Now, he had to hold the Twins off for at least 1 more inning.

But he had nothing left. Dan Gladden led off with a double. Chuck Knoblauch, later to be part of the Yankees' turn-of-the-21st Century dynasty, bunted him over to 3rd. Now, a long fly ball would win the Series. With 2 bases open, and neither of those runs meaning anything, Cox ordered Peña to intentionally walk Puckett and powerful slugger Kent Hrbek.

Jarvis Brown was due up for the Twins. Kelly sent Gene Larkin up instead. Larkin was an Ivy Leaguer, having broken most of the records set at Columbia University by Lou Gehrig in the early 1920s, but hadn't done much at the major league level. After one swing of the bat, he would never need to do anything in Minnesota again: He hit a fly ball into left field, over the head of Brian Hunter, and Gladden easily scored. Final score: Minnesota 1, Atlanta 0. It was the 1st World Series Game 7 ever to end 1-0, never mind in extra innings.

In 2010, the MLB Network listed this game at 2nd on their list of MLB's 20 Greatest Games -- limited in scope, due to the availability of surviving videotape, to 1975 onward.

Morris was named the Series' Most Valuable Player. His masterpiece -- O'Brien called it -- turned out to be the last extra-inning complete game of the 20th Century, regular-season or postseason. The next day, I told friends that, before the game, Morris was a borderline candidate for the Hall of Fame, and now he would make it for sure.

Morris went to the Toronto Blue Jays the next season. Although he didn't have a good year, he did pitch for them in the World Series, and did so again the next year. Few players have won back-to-back World Series with different teams, and even fewer have won the World Series with 3 different teams. Morris almost became the 1st player to win them for 4 different teams, as he finished his career with the 1995 Cleveland Indians, but they lost the Series -- to the Braves. But despite a career record of 254-186, 5 All-Star appearances and 4 World Series rings, he wasn't elected to the Hall of Fame until 2018.

Through the 2022 season, the Twins' record in World Series play is 11-10: 11-1 at home (3-1 at Metropolitan Stadium in '65, 4-0 at the Metrodome in '87 and again in '91, and they have yet to get that far at Target Field) and 0-9 on the road. However, since that day, 31 years ago, they have never won another Pennant. The Braves have, although once in the World Series, they've rarely been better off.

*

October 27, 1991 was a Sunday. These games were played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants lost to the Washington Redskins, 17-13 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.

* The Denver Broncos beat the New England Patriots, 9-6 at Foxboro Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 23-7 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Atlanta Falcons beat the Los Angeles Rams, 31-14 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The Braves weren't going to be using it: It was the American League's turn to have home-field advantage in the World Series for Games 6 and 7.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 27-0 at Tampa Stadium.

* The Chicago Bears beat the New Orleans Saints, 20-17 at the Superdome in New Orleans. Jim Harbaugh won it with a late 12-yard touchdown pass to Tom Waddle.

* The Houston Oilers beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 35-3 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Cleveland Browns beat their arch-rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-14 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Dallas Cowboys, 34-10 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Phoenix Cardinals, 28-0 at Sun Devil Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona.

* The Seattle Seahawks beat the San Diego Chargers, 20-9 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

* The next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Raiders, 24-21 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Steve DeBerg threw a late 6-yard touchdown pass to Tim Barnett to win it.

* And the New York Jets, the Buffalo Bills, the Indianapolis Colts and the Miami Dolphins all had a bye week. Two weeks later, the Colts would gain their only win of the season -- over the Jets.

The NBA season started 5 days later. There were 4 games played in the NHL:

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Hartford Whalers, 5-1 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Boston Bruins beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 6-3 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Washington Capitals, 6-5 at the Winnipeg Arena.

* And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks, 6-3 at the Pacific Coliseum in Denver.

October 26, 1991: The Kirby Puckett Game

October 26, 1991: Game 6 of the World Series is played at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Twins are hosting the Atlanta Braves, broadcast live on CBS. While the game is still going on, NBC airs Saturday Night Live.

This episode would be the debut of Ellen Cleghorne's character Queen Shenequa, but it opens with their version of NBC's political talk show The McLaughlin Group, with Dana Carvey playing host John McLaughlin. He and all the panelists are wearing Halloween costumes. Then, Carvey keels over with a knife in his back, and the real McLaughlin takes over -- but stays in character, exaggerating his tagline, "Wrong!" the way Carvey does.

When host Christian Slater comes out, he sees the entire audience doing the Braves' Tomahawk Chop and War Chant. He turns and sees McLaughlin and executive producer Lorne Michaels watching the game, rather than watching the show they're actually working on, doing the Chop with the big red foam Tomahawks, and wearing Indian headdresses -- something they couldn't have gotten away with today. With the game in extra innings, Michaels says, "Braves in 6." McLaughlin says, "Wrong! Braves in 7!"

They're both wrong: Kirby Puckett makes a great catch and hits a dramatic home run in the bottom half of the 11th inning, to give the Twins a 4-3 win, and tie the Series. What has been shaping up as one of the best World Series ever will go to a Game 7. As with 1975, the last time a World Series game ended with an extra-inning home run, and that also a Game 6, the upcoming Game 7 turned out to be worthy of what had come before.

*

October 26, 1991 was a Saturday. Among the college football games played that day were these:

* Number 1 Florida State beat Louisiana State, 27-16 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

* Number 2 Miami beat Arizona, 36-9 at Arizona Stadium in Tucson.

* Number 3 Washington beat Oregon, 29-7 at Husky Stadium in Washington.

* The night before, Number 4 Michigan won the Little Brown Jug by beating Minnesota, 52-6 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* Number 5 Notre Dame beat Southern California (USC), 24-20 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

* Number 8 Penn State beat West Virginia, 51-6 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.

* Number 9 Nebraska beat Missouri, 63-6 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

* Number 10 California beat San Jose State, 41-20 at California Memorial Stadium in the San Francisco suburb of Berkeley.

* Number 12 North Carolina were upset by Number 19 Clemson, 29-19 at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.

* Number 17 Illinois were upset by arch-rival Northwestern, 17-11 at Dyche Stadium (now Ryan Field) in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois.

* Number 18 Syracuse beat Rutgers, 21-7 at the old Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.

* Number 20 East Carolina beat Number 23 Pittsburgh, 24-23 at Dowdy-Ficklin Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina.

* Among the service academies, Air Force beat Texas-El Paso (UTEP), 20-13 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs; but Army lost to Boston College, 28-17 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York; and Navy lost to Delaware, 29-25 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

The NBA season started 6 days later. There were 9 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Quebec Nordiques, 5-3 at the Colisée de Québec.

* The New York Islanders lost to the Los Angeles Kings, 4-2 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the San Jose Sharks, 9-0 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands. The Devils got 2 goals each from Claude Lemieux, Tom Chorske and Doug Brown; and 1 goal each from Laurie Boschman, Walt Poddubny and the newly-acquired Scott Stevens.

This was the biggest margin of victory in the Devils' history. They matched it twice in 2000, on March 10 in a 9-0 win away to the Atlanta Thrashers, and on October 28 in a 9-0 win away to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-1 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Hartford Whalers, 4-2 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena).

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings, 6-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

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

* The Calgary Flames and the St. Louis Blues played to a tie, 2-2 at the St. Louis Arena.

* And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks, 5-4 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

And in English soccer, Arsenal beat Nottingham team Notts County, 2-0 at Highbury in North London, on late goals by Alan Smith and Ian Wright.

October 25, 1987: Minnesota's Dome, Sweet Dome

Local hero Kent Hrbek greets his teammates.

October 25, 1987: The Minnesota Twins defeat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-2 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, in Game 7, and win the World Series. Wave them Homer Hankies!

The Twins won Games 1, 2, 6 and 7 at the Metrodome. The Cards won Games 3, 4 and 5 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. This is the 1st time every game of a World Series has been won by the home team. It has happened since in 1991 (again the Twins, over the Braves) and 2001 (Diamondbacks

over Yankees).

Game 1, on October 17, was the 1st World Series game ever played indoors. The Houston Astros and the Seattle Mariners had both moved into domes before the Twins, but neither had yet won a Pennant. Houston wouldn't until 2005, and, through 2022, Seattle still hasn't.

With 55,171 fans waving "Homer Hankies" printed by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, in honor of the hitter-friendly Metrodome being known as the Homerdome, and the stadium being the loudest in the major leagues, the Twins won that Game 1, 10-1, on home runs by Dan Gladden and Steve Lombardozzi, and the pitching of Frank Viola. The Twins also won Game 2, 8-4, with Gary Gaetti and Tim Laudner hitting home runs.

With the strong pitching of John Tudor, the Cards won Game 3, 3-1. Bob Forsch outpitched Viola in Game 4, as the Cards won, 7-2. Danny Cox outpitched the veteran curveballer Bert Blyleven, and the Cards completed a St. Louis sweep, 4-2. They just needed to win 1 out of 2 in Minneapolis.

It didn't happen. Veteran Don Baylor and hometown hero Kent Hrbek homered in Game 6, and the Twins won, 11-5. The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning of Game 7, but the Twins came back with a run on a Lombardozzi single in the bottom of the 2nd, tied it with an RBI double by Puckett in the 5th, took the lead for good with an RBI infield single by Greg Gagne in the 6th, and added an insurance run on an RBI double by Gladden in the 8th. The last out was Jeff Reardon getting Willie McGee to ground to 3rd baseman Gaetti. Viola was named the Series' Most Valuable Player.

It was the 1st-ever World Championship for a Minnesota baseball team, the 1st for the franchise since they were the Washington Senators in 1924 (63 years), and the 1st for any Minnesota team since the Lakers won the 1954 NBA Championship (33 years).

Game 7 starter Frank Viola was named the Series' Most Valuable Player.

*

October 25, 1987 was a Sunday. These NFL games were played:

* The New York Giants beat the football version of the St. Louis Cardinals, 30-7 at Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands.

* The New York Jets lost to the Washington Redskins, 17-16 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Dallas Cowboys, 37-20 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. This was 2 weeks after some of the Cowboy players had broken the strike, and took the field at Texas Stadium against an Eagles team pretty much staffed by "weekend warriors." The Cowboys won, 41-22. So, for this game, Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan called for a fake spike in the final seconds, as payback. Already up by 10 points, the Eagles scored a touchdown

* The Buffalo Bills beat the Miami Dolphins, 34-31 at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat the New Orleans Saints, 24-22 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The Houston Oilers beat the Atlanta Falcons, 37-33 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Detroit Lions, 34-33 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The Indianapolis Colts beat the New England Patriots, 30-16 at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 27-26 at Tampa Stadium.

* The San Diego Chargers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 42-21 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego.

* The Seattle Seahawks beat the Los Angeles Raiders, 35-13 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* The next night, there were 2 Monday Night Football games. The Minnesota Vikings were supposed to play the Denver Broncos on October 25, but the Twins' success meant that the Metrodome wasn't available, so it was moved to the next night. ABC broadcast that game to Minnesota and Colorado, and the Vikings won, 34-27.

* The network broadcast the regularly-scheduled game to the other 48 States: The Cleveland Browns beat the Los Angeles Rams, 30-17 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

The NBA season began 12 days later. There was 1 game played in the NHL: The Los Angeles Kings beat the Winnipeg Jets, 2-1 at the Winnipeg Arena.

October 21, 1984: Billy Sims, Martyr to Artificial Turf

October 21, 1984: Billy Sims wrecks his knee, landing on the ungiving and unforgiving turf of the Metrodome in Minneapolis. The 1978 Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Oklahoma never plays another down.

Incredibly, he had already gained 103 yards for the Detroit Lions in the game against the Minnesota Vikings, and the Lions won, 16-14.

Forced to retire after gaining 5,106 rushing yards, and 2,072 receiving yards, in only 4 1/2 seasons, what should have been a Hall of Fame career gets cut in half.

After a series of failed businesses, forcing him to sell his Trophy, he succeeded with the Billy Sims Barbecue restaurant chain, enabling him to buy his Trophy back. He has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, and a statue of him, along with those of Oklahoma's other Heisman winners, stands in Heisman Park outside their stadium.

The Lions have retired Number 20, making it the only number in North American sports retired for 3 players: Sims, later running back Barry Sanders (himself a Heisman winner at Oklahoma State), and earlier defensive back Lem Barney.

Forced to play under a permanent roof at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan, the Lions had to continue to play on artificial turf. This proved dangerous in 1991, when offensive tackle Mike Utley was flipped on a play, landing on his hand, and breaking his neck. He remained paralyzed for several years, and only learned to take a few steps after years of difficulty. In 2002, the Lions opened Ford Field, at the edge of downtown Detroit. It has FieldTurf, which is a softer surface.

*

October 21, 1984 was a Sunday. These other NFL games were played that day:

* The New York Giants lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-10 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The New York Jets beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 28-7 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.

* The Miami Dolphins beat the New England Patriots, 44-24 at Sullivan Stadium (formerly Schafer Stadium, later Foxboro Stadium) in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 44-9 at Tampa Stadium.

* The Denver Broncos beat the Buffalo Bills, 37-7 at Rich Stadium (formerly Ralph Wilson Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

* The Cincinnati Bengals beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 12-9 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Indianapolis Colts, in their 1st season after moving from Baltimore, beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-16 at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis.

* The football version of the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Redskins, 26-24 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Seattle Seahawks beat the Green Bay Packers, 30-24 at Milwaukee County Stadium

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the New Orleans Saints, 30-27 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Houston Oilers, 34-21 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Los Angeles Raiders beat the San Diego Chargers, 44-37 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego.

* And the next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Los Angeles Rams beat the Atlanta Falcons, 24-10 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

Baseball season ended a week earlier, when the Detroit Tigers won the World Series, beating the San Diego Padres in 5 games. So Detroit sports fans had 7 days to feel good about things.

The NBA season started 5 days later. There were 6 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat their arch-rivals, the New York Islanders, 6-5 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat their arch-rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-2 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Minnesota North Stars, 8-6 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. 

* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-2 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Boston Bruins, 3-2 at the Winnipeg Arena.

* And the Edmonton Oilers beat their arch-rivals, the Calgary Flames, 6-4 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

October 5, 2009: Favre vs. All 32

October 5, 2009: ESPN's broadcast of Monday Night Football between the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings at the Metrodome becomes the most-watched cable television program in history, with 15 million homes tuning in to see Vikings quarterback Brett Favre face his former team for the 1st time.

The Vikings win the game 30–23, making Favre, 6 days short of his 40th birthday, the 1st quarterback in NFL history to beat all 32 teams. He completed 24 out of 31 passes, for 271, throwing 3 touchdown passes without an interception. His successor as Packer starting quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, went 26-for-37, for 384 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception, so he didn't have a bad game. But the Vikings outplayed the Packers.

Favre had played 1st season, 1991, with the Atlanta Falcons, but he only played in 2 games, throwing 4 passes, completing none of them. He never fit in with the Falcon organization, and, as with Babe Ruth with the Boston Red Sox 78 years earlier, fans of the team in question should blame the player, not the team's management. While the Falcons did play the Packers that season, he did not appear in the game.

The Falcons traded him to the Packers for 1992, and he fit in there. He remained with them through the 2007 season, 16 seasons in which he racked up many feats, but beating the Packers could not be one of them. (A sports team will occasionally "beat itself," but that's not the same thing.)

Favre first beat the Cincinnati Bengals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Detroit Lions, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Chicago Bears, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Houston Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans) and the Los Angeles Rams in 1992. He first beat the Denver Broncos, the New Orleans Saints, the San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers and the Los Angeles (now Las Vegas) Raiders in 1993. He first beat the Vikings, the New York Jets and the Falcons in 1994. He first beat the New York Giants, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cleveland Browns in 1995. He first beat the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers in 1996. He first beat the Miami Dolphins, the New England Patriots, the Dallas Cowboys, the Carolina Panthers and the Buffalo Bills in 1997. He first beat the Baltimore Ravens (and also the Oilers/Titans franchise in Tennessee) in 1998. He first beat the Arizona Cardinals (and the Raiders as an Oakland team) in 1999. He first beat the Indianapolis Colts in 2000. He first beat the Washington Redskins (now the Washington Commanders) in 2001. He first beat the Houston Texans in 2004. He first beat the Kansas City Chiefs in 2007. Finally, he first beat the Packers in 2009.

Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 2010, including 297 regular season games, the most in NFL history. He was also the 1st NFL quarterback to throw 10,000 passes, the 1st to complete 6,000, the 1st to pass for 70,000 yards, the 1st to pass for 500 touchdowns. Each of these records, except for consecutive starts, would be surpassed by Tom Brady.

But Favre won only 1 Super Bowl, XXXI, the Packers beating the pre-Brady Patriots. They got back the next season, but lost Super Bowl XXXII to the Broncos. He also led the Packers to the NFC Championship Game for the seasons of 1995 (lost to the Cowboys) and 2007 (lost in overtime to the Giants, his last game with Green Bay).

In 2008, he played for the Jets, going 9-7 and failing to qualify for the Playoffs. After beating the Packers for the Vikings, he got them to a 12-4 record, and to the NFC Championship Game, losing to the Saints. In 2010, they fell to 6-10. The season-ending loss, away to the Lions on January 2, 2011, was his last game. He had come out of retirement in each of the last 3 seasons, making him look like the Roger Clemens of football. This time, he meant it.

Then he got himself in business trouble in his native Mississippi, making himself look more like football's answer to Curt Schilling, who robbed people blind in a scam in Rhode Island. His Green Bay successor, Rodgers, was little better: Only one Super Bowl (XLV, though he did win it), a few close calls, a disaster with the Jets, and a lot of burned bridges.

Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees have since joined Favre in having beaten all 32 NFL teams.

*

October 5, 2009 was, as stated, a Monday. This was the only Monday night game in the NFL. Baseball was between the end of its regular season and the start of its Playoffs. And the NBA season wouldn't begin for another 22 days.

The NHL season was underway, and 2 games were played. To my dismay, the New York Rangers beat the New Jersey Devils, 3-2 at the Prudential Center in Newark. And the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Vancouver Canucks, 5-3 at General Motors Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.

April 6, 1992: The Metrodome's Treble

April 6, 1992: Duke University beat the University of Michigan, 71-51, at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, to win the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. It makes the Blue Devils the 1st team to win back-to-back National Championships since UCLA in 1972 and 1973.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils were led by Christian Laettner with 19 points, Grant Hill with 18, and Thomas Hill with 16. Michigan were led by their "Fab Five," all freshmen: Forward Chris Webber scored 14 points, guard Jalen Rose 11, center Juwan Howard 9, guard Jimmy King 7, and forward Ray Jackson 4.

This NCAA Final Four, the 1st held in Minneapolis since Williams Arena, on the campus of the University of Minnesota, held it in 1951, was the conclusion of a historic period. The Metrodome had a unique treble: It hosted the World Series on October 19, 20, 26 and 27, 1991, with the Minnesota Twins beating the St. Louis Cardinals; and Super Bowl XXVI on January 26, 1992, with the Washington Redskins beating the Buffalo Sabres, 37-24.

Metrodome basketball setup

The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was named for the former Vice President of the United States, U.S. Senator from Minnesota, Mayor of Minneapolis, and 3-time candidate for President including the 1968 Democratic nominee for President.

It opened at 5th Street and Chicago Avenue on April 3, 1982, and local officials bragged that it opened on time and on budget. It replaced suburban Metropolitan Stadium as the home of Major League Baseball's Twins and the NFL's Minnesota Vikings.

The University of Minnesota played their football games there from 1982 to 2008. And for their 1st season, 1989-90, before the Target Center opened, it also hosted the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves.

But baseball teams hated it, having trouble seeing the white ball against the white roof, and feeling that it was too easy to hit home runs there. It became known as the Homerdome. Perhaps New York Yankees manager Billy Martin hated it more than anyone else: Possibly channeling his former teammate and coach Yogi Berra, he once said, "It's a shame a great guy like HHH had to be named after it." (He meant "had it named after him.")

Football players didn't like it, either, citing its hard artificial turf. In 1984, Detroit Lions running back Billy Sims blew out his knee on that turf, ending what could have been a Hall of Fame career.

The Twins won the World Series there in 1987 and 1991, and made the Playoffs in 5 other seasons. The Vikings were considerably less successful: They reached the NFC Championship Game 4 times, including hosting it in the 1998 season, but lost them all.

In 2009, UM moved back onto their own campus, opening TCF Bank Stadium (now Huntington Bank Stadium). The Twins moved into Target Field, a mile to the west, for the 2010 season. On December 12, 2010, snow broke through the Metrodome's roof, forcing the Vikings into TCF Bank Stadium.

Finally, after threats by team owner Zygi Wilf to move them to Los Angeles, Las Vegas or San Antonio if he didn't get a new stadium, on December 29, 2013, the Vikings beat the Lions, 14-13, on the playing surface named Mall of America Field -- ironically, named for the giant shopping center built on the site of Metropolitan Stadium -- and the Metrodome was demolished. The Vikings played at UM for 2 seasons, while U.S. Bank Stadium was built on the site of the Metrodome.

The Metrodome is not missed outside the Gopher State. Nevertheless, it remains the only venue to have hosted a World Series, an NFL Championship Game (under any name), and an NCAA Final Four. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium and Miami's Hard Rock Stadium had hosted a World Series and a Super Bowl.

The Superdome in New Orleans, the Georgia Dome and Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ford Field in Detroit, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, NRG Stadium in Houston, AT&T Stadium in Dallas, State Farm Stadium in Phoenix, and U.S. Bank Stadium have hosted a Super Bowl and a Final Four.

*

April 6, 1992 was a Monday. This was also the day that Barney & Friends premiered on PBS. I have a separate entry for that event.

And American soccer player Julie Ertz, a 2-time winner of the Women's World Cup, was born.

The NBA didn't schedule any games for the night of the NCAA Final. The NHL was in the middle of its 1st players' strike, which ended up lasting 10 days. So there were no scores in that League.

And Major League Baseball had its Opening Day, and these games were played:

* The New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Bobby Bonilla hit a home run in the top of the 10th inning. It would be the highlight of the season for the 1992 Mets, which local sportswriter Bob Klapisch would call, in the title of his book about them, The Worst Team Money Could Buy. Bonilla, in particular, did not appreciate it.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Cleveland Indians, 2-0. This was the 1st game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. I have a separate entry for that event. Rick Sutcliffe pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Montreal Expos, 2-0 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Doug Drabek pitched 8 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, with Roger Mason completing a 6-hit shutout. Barry Bonds went 1-for-3.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Kirby Puckett hit a home run. Chuck Knoblauch went 4-for-5 with an RBI. Robin Yount went 2-for-3 with a walk. Paul Molitor went 0-for-4.

* The San Francisco Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-3 at the Oakland Coliseum. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base. George Brett did not play.

* And the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners, 12-10 at the Kingdome in Seattle. In spite of the big score, it was a bad day for legends, old and young. Nolan Ryan didn't make it out of the 5th inning, and Randy Johnson didn't get out of the 6th. Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-4.