October 26, 1999: The Chad Curtis Game

October 26, 1999, 25 years ago: Game 3 of the World Series. Andy Pettitte did not have his good stuff, but home runs by Tino Martinez, Chad Curtis and Chuck Knoblauch helped the Yankees come from 5-1 down to send the game to extra innings. Curtis led off the bottom of the 10th, and knocked one out for a 6-5 win.

The following night, the Yanks wrapped up the sweep, the 25th World Championship, the title of Team of the Decade (it ain't about Division Titles, Braves fans), and the title, as NBC's Bob Costas said that next night, of "Most Successful Franchise of the Century."

Like fellow late 1990s Yankee Dynasty players Roger Clemens and John Wetteland, Curtis was among the most faith-vocal players of his era. Also like Clemens and Wetteland, he would later be accused of what would once have been quaintly called "morals charges," relating to his time as a high school athletic trainer in Michigan. He was sentenced to 7 to 15 years in prison, and served 7. He has not been employed in baseball since.