October 24, 1871, 150 years ago: Louis Francis Sockalexis is born in Old Town, Maine. A member of the Penobscot tribe, the outfielder starred with the Cleveland Spiders of the National League as a rookie in 1897, batting .338 with 16 stolen bases, and throwing runners out with outfield arm power that wouldn't be seen again in Cleveland until Rocky Colavito in the 1950s.
But his drinking problem, all too common among Native Americans, had already gotten him expelled from Notre Dame. And on July 4, 1897, when the brothel he was visiting was raided by the police, he jumped out of a 2nd-story window and wrecked his ankle. He was never the same player.
The circumstances surrounding the 1899 Cleveland Spiders are too convoluted to briefly summarize, but they were the worst team in Major League Baseball history, and they were his last major league team. They released him on May 7. If they'd kept him, despite all his trouble -- he was hitting .273 in spite of his carousing and his injury -- maybe they wouldn't have finished 20-134.)He died of tuberculosis in 1913, only 42 years old.
But his drinking problem, all too common among Native Americans, had already gotten him expelled from Notre Dame. And on July 4, 1897, when the brothel he was visiting was raided by the police, he jumped out of a 2nd-story window and wrecked his ankle. He was never the same player.
The circumstances surrounding the 1899 Cleveland Spiders are too convoluted to briefly summarize, but they were the worst team in Major League Baseball history, and they were his last major league team. They released him on May 7. If they'd kept him, despite all his trouble -- he was hitting .273 in spite of his carousing and his injury -- maybe they wouldn't have finished 20-134.)He died of tuberculosis in 1913, only 42 years old.
In 1993, Steve Rushin of Sports Illustrated wrote an article imagining that Sockalexis hadn't hurt his ankle in 1897. He imagined that, like their fellow charter American League teams in Boston, Chicago, St. Louis and Washington, Cleveland had taken on the name of a former National League team, and the stadium we knew as Cleveland Municipal was named Spider Stadium. He imagined Sock leading the Spiders to win the 1908 World Series (meaning now, the Chicago Cubs hadn't won one since 1907), and being a coach on their 1920 and 1948 World Series winners, still alive and in uniform at age 77.
And, because of his example, combined with that of Jim Thorpe, Native Americans were respected just a little bit more, so that the Boston team of the National League had never become the Braves, and were now known by the name of the former minor-league team in their current city: The Atlanta Crackers. And the NFL team in the Nation's Capital was... in this fantasy article, the Washington Pigskins.
It was long presumed that the Spiders' American League replacements, originally called the Blues, then the Broncos, and then the Naps in honor of 2nd baseman and manager Napoleon Lajoie, were renamed the Indians in 1915 in honor of either "Sock," the 1st Native American to play in the major leagues; or the tribes that once lined the shore of Lake Erie.
Neither story is true: Baseball is a monkey-see-monkey-do game, like most sports; and, the year before, the World Series had been won by the Boston Braves.
The 2021 season was the 107th and last in which the Cleveland team of the American League used the name "Indians." Next season, and in perpetuity, they will be the Cleveland Guardians. It's about time.
Also on this day, as it frequently did in the 19th Century, especially in California, the specter of anti-Asian bigotry rears its head. After hearing (it remains unknown if it was true) that Chinese men had killed a rancher and shot a policeman, a mob of around 500 people walked into Chinatown in Los Angeles, attacking, robbing and killing Chinese immigrants. They were shot, and, regardless of whether they were already dead, hanged. The number varies, between 17 and 20.
Eight men were convicted of manslaughter, but these convictions were overturned on appeal, due to what Wikipedia calls "technicalities," but does not elaborate.
*
October 24, 1721, 300 years ago: Anthony Morris dies in Philadelphia, where he had made a fortune as a brewer, and had served as Mayor in 1703 and 1704. His son, also named Anthony Morris, would serve as Mayor in 1738 and 1739.
October 24, 1795: The Third Partition of Poland takes place. Prussia, Austria and Russia each take part of the country, in each case with over 1 million people. This was a response to the nationalistic fervor stirred up in the Polish people by the Second Partition, in 1793. (The First was in 1772.)
This ended the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. There would not be an independent Polish state again for 123 years. These partitions, as well as their actions against the Jewish people in the lands they controlled, are why I can be impressed with the achievements of King Frederick II of Prussia and Empress Catherine II of Russia -- a.k.a. Frederick the Great and Catherine the Great -- but cannot admire them.
*
October 24, 1857: Sheffield Football Club, the world's first football club (soccer team), is founded in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Today, they are still in business, but are based in Dronfield, about 6 miles south of downtown Sheffield -- not even in Yorkshire, but in Derbyshire.
They are currently stuck in the Northern Premier League Division One East, which is the 8th level of English soccer, 7 levels below the Premier League. Sheffield United, founded in 1889, is in the Premier League. Sheffield Wednesday, founded in 1867, are in the 2nd division, "The Championship."
Sheffield F.C., a.k.a. simply "The Club," have not had much success: Promotion seasons in 1952, 1955, 1966, 1976, 1977, 1989, 1991 and 2007, but also frequent relegations; the FA Amateur Cup in 1904; the Yorkshire League Cup in 1978; the Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup in 1993, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010; and the Northern Counties East League Cup in 2001 and 2005.
But they have never been in the Football League proper (the top 4 divisions), meaning they have never been entered into the League Cup; and their best performance in the FA Cup was reaching the 4th Round, all the way back in 1878 and 1880.
In a weird quirk, Sheffield FC wear red jerseys at home and blue on the road; United wear red and white stripes as their basic uniform, while Wednesday wear blue and white stripes.
October 24, 1861, 160 years ago: At the Wheeling Convention, 41 Counties of the Commonwealth of Virginia, which had seceded from the Union and joined the Confederate States of America, vote to secede from the State and the Confederacy.
They soon apply to the federal government in Washington for readmission to the Union, as a separate State. It would take until June 20, 1863 for West Virginia to be admitted as the 35th State, making them the only State to secede from the Confederacy. (Although, since 2000 or so, it seems as though they cling to Southernness.) Once Virginia was readmitted to the Union after the American Civil War, in 1870, West Virginia remained separate.
Also on this day, the transcontinental telegraph begins operation. This renders the Pony Express, which had run from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California, since April 3, 1860, obsolete. That's right, the legendary Pony Express only operated for a year and a half. But it was vital in helping establish California (which had only gained Statehood in 1850) as a destination for people seeking a place to live and/or do business.
October 24, 1874: The Boston Red Stockings, forerunners of the team now known as the Atlanta Braves, clinch their 3rd straight championship of the 1st professional baseball league, the National Association. They beat the Hartford Blues, 11-8 at the South End Grounds in the Roxbury section of Boston. They finish the season 52-18. They won their 1st 12 games, from May 2 to 22, and had 3 other streaks of 6 wins.
The last survivor of the 1874 Red Stockings was shortstop George Wright, who was also the last survivor of the 1st openly professional team, for whom this team was named, the 1869-70 Cincinnati Red Stockings. He lived until 1937.
October 24, 1875: In the wake of the National Association Pennant having been taken by the Boston Red Stockings (forerunners of the Atlanta Braves) for the 4th straight season, and by a wider margin (in terms of winning percentage, anyway) than any major league that would come after it ever has, causing several teams to drop out of the NA, the Chicago Tribune calls for the formation of an organization of major professional teams: Chicago‚ Cincinnati‚ Louisville‚ Philadelphia‚ New York‚ Boston‚ and Hartford: "Unless the present Professional Association leadership adopts rules to limit the number of teams allowed to participate in the Championship season‚ all clubs will go broke."The last survivor of the 1874 Red Stockings was shortstop George Wright, who was also the last survivor of the 1st openly professional team, for whom this team was named, the 1869-70 Cincinnati Red Stockings. He lived until 1937.
Most likely, this editorial was written by William Hulbert, president of the Chicago White Stockings. Also on this day, he meets in Chicago with Boston Red Stockings pitcher, and Illinois native, Al Spalding. Hulbert stresses to Spalding that his roots are in Illinois, and that he should play for the Chicago club. He also stresses to Spalding that the current National Association is going to result in all teams going broke without tighter control, that teams must stick to their schedules and not leave opponents in the lurch, and that gambling must be driven out of the game. Spalding agrees on all counts, and signs with the White Stockings for the 1876 season.
The following winter, on February 2, 1876, he gathers some other team owners in New York, and founds the National League, and remains its guiding force until his death in 1882, by which point professional baseball had been stabilized. The White Stockings, rather than the American League's Chicago White Sox, are the forerunners of the Chicago Cubs.
While the New York meeting on February 2, 1876 is, essentially, the birthdate of the National League, October 24, 1875 is its conception. Whether that makes Spalding or Hulbert "the mother," I don't know.
October 24, 1883: George Frederick Allison is born in Darlington, County Durham, England. He played for a local amateur soccer team in nearby Stockton-on-Tees, and wrote about his team's exploits, earning him a reporter's position at a newspaper. He also served as assistant manager of nearby team Middlesbrough FC, which would be a conflict of interest today.
He moved to London in 1906, covered soccer and greyhound racing, and in 1911 became the London correspondent for the New York Post. He served in the Royal Flying Corps (forerunner of the Royal Air Force) in World War I, then joined the nascent BBC. He was the 1st radio commentator for the English Derby (thoroughbred horse racing), the Grand National (steeplechase horse racing), and, in 1927, the FA Cup Final, in which Cardiff City of Wales defeated North London's Arsenal, becoming, to this day, the only non-English club ever to win the Cup.
He had already been the editor of Arsenal's matchday programme (we'd call it a "game program" in the U.S.) since 1906. He became club secretary, and after Herbert Chapman died in 1934 and Joe Shaw finished the season as caretaker manager, he was named the full-time manager. He led the club to League titles in 1935 and 1938, and the 1936 FA Cup.
In 1939, The Arsenal Stadium Mystery was filmed, and while the Arsenal players appeared, none of them had any lines. Allison did. After Alf Kirchen scored the only goal of the game filmed for the movie -- an actual Football League Division One match, on May 6, 1939, an Arsenal win over West London club Brentford -- he said, "One-nil to The Arsenal. That's the way we like it." The phrase "One-nil to The Arsenal" became a catchphrase, and eventually a song.
He continued to manage the team through World War II, and resigned after the 1947 season, handing the reins over to Tom Whittaker, his assistant, and a former player and physiotherapist (we would say "trainer") for the team. Ironically, he outlived Whittaker, who died in office in 1956. Allison followed him a year later.
October 24, 1884: The New York Mets lose the World Series. Well, not exactly.
The Providence Grays, Champions of the National League, defeat the New York Metropolitans -- and, yes, this early franchise was called the Mets for short -- 3-1, behind the pitching of future Hall-of-Famer Charlie "Old Hoss" Radbourn, at the Polo Grounds in New York. This gives the Grays the first-ever postseason series between champions of 2 major professional baseball leagues, a series that was officially called the "World's Series."
The last survivor of the 1884 Providence Grays was outfielder Paul Radford, who lived until 1945 -- 61 years, 10 States and 11 Presidents later.
October 24, 1892: The Boston Beaneaters, winners of the National League Pennant, defeat the 2nd-place Cleveland Spiders, 5 games to none with 1 tie, and win the Championship Series (it wasn't called the World Series), making themselves, as they were last season, the unofficial World Champions of Baseball.
The Beaneaters would become the Braves in 1912, move to Milwaukee in 1953, and move again to Atlanta in 1966. Hall of Fame outfielder Hugh Duffy would be the last survivor of the 1892 Beaneaters, living until 1954. The Spiders would fold after the 1899 season, and the 1892 Championship Series would be the closest a Cleveland team would come to winning a World Championship until the 1920 Indians.
Also on this day, Goodison Park, the world's 1st stadium built specifically for association football (whose abbreviation "assoc." is the source of the word "soccer") is opened in Liverpool. Home to Everton Football Club, it is across Stanley Park from Anfield, home ground of Liverpool Football Club, which was built in 1884 as Everton's home before they moved across the park, and Liverpool FC was founded to take their place at Anfield. This makes the 2 Merseyside teams in the Premiership the closest major rivals of any major sport on the planet.
Imagine that, instead of being in their actual locations, the Yankees' home field was where the Metropolitan Museum of Art is, at 82nd Street and 5th Avenue on one side of Central Park, and the Mets played where the American Museum of Natural History is, on the other side of the Park at 79th Street and Central Park West. Now imagine that the Yankees and the Mets play each other as often as the Yankees and the Red Sox (or the Mets and the Phillies) do. Finally, imagine that the Yankees were only half as successful as they've actually been, and you've got Liverpool; and the Mets were twice as much as you know them to have been, and you've got Everton; and that the Mets (Everton) were actually the older team. Now, you've got an idea of the intensity of "the Merseyside Derby."
Bender, a member of the Chippewa tribe from Minnesota, frequently had to hear fans taunt him with Indian war whoops. Knowing that this was a period of great immigration from Europe, he would sometimes yell at the fans taunting him, "You lousy bunch of foreigners! Why don't you go back where you came from?" Since a lot of them were immigrants, this had the desired effect. He was elected to the Hall of Fame.
Those 6 days are still a Series record for postponement due to inclement weather. But the 1989 San Francisco earthquake resulted in a 10-day postponement.
October 24, 1921, 100 years ago: Edwin George Ditchburn is born in Gillingham, Kent, England. Ted Ditchburn was the goalkeeper on the 1951 Tottenham Hotspur team that won the Football League title, the 1st for the other North London club, known that season as "the Push and Run Spurs."
On June 15, 1952, he played for Tottenham in a 7-1 victory over Manchester United (the winners of the last 2 League titles playing each other) at Yankee Stadium. On June 18, 1953, he played for England as they beat the U.S. 6-3 at the Polo Grounds. He lived until 2005.
The GWB is the gateway for Yankee Fans driving from New Jersey into Yankee Stadium, as it was for the old Stadium, and for baseball Giants fans going to the Polo Grounds. Many was the time that Phil Rizzuto, living in Hillside, Union County, New Jersey during his time as a Yankee broadcaster, would talk about leaving a game early by saying, "I gotta get over that bridge!"
October 24, 1933: William Samuel Bell is born in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Like a later pitcher with the surname, Gary, Bill Bell was nicknamed "Ding-Dong." He pitched in the minor leagues from 1951 to 1959, but made only 5 major league apperances, all for the Pittsburgh Pirtes: 4 in 1952, and 1 more in 1955. He was killed in a car accident in Durhamin 1962, just before his 29th birthday.
Its lobby included a bust of Herbert Chapman, who had managed Arsenal from 1925 until his death in 1934, winning the League title in 1931 and 1933, and the FA Cup in 1930. He had previously managed Huddersfield Town to the League title in 1924 and 1925. What he left in place added a 1926 League title for Huddersfield, and the 1934 and 1935 League titles and the 1936 FA Cup for Arsenal. Arsenal would add a League title in 1938 before World War II closed down League and Cup play for the duration.
The bust was commissioned by The Pals of Herbert Chapman, 12 men, some of whom had known him since he was player-manager at Northampton Town in 1907, and had dinner with him in December 1933 just before he fell victim to pneumonia which, in those days before antibiotics, could easily be fatal -- in Chapman's case, at age 55. They were all wealthy men by the standards of the time, and raised a great deal of money (including their own) for local charities in Chapman's name.
Their names were: Harry Bryant, John Hope, William McLean Johnston, Harry Joyner, W. Kendrick, Joe Levi, Mark Mintz, Hugh Stewart, Mark Swears, William Valentine, William Webster and John Whitehall.
The state of medicine to which I referred meant that, at their 1949 ceremony honoring Chapman at his lobby bust, just 15 years after his death, only 4 of them were able to appear. The last survivor was Stewart, who only lived until 1971, 37 years -- but he did live long enough to see the League and Cup "Double" won by The Arsenal, a Bertie Mee-managed team which thus surpassed the 1930s Chapman side in the public memory as the club's defining team.
When The Arsenal moved a few blocks away to the Emirates Stadium in 2006, the bust of Chapman was moved there as well. In 2011, a full-body live-size statue of Chapman was dedicated.
October 24, 1946, 75 years ago: The Bihar Riots take place in Bihar, West Bengal, India. They are in response to the Calcutta Killings the previous August 16, and the Noakhali Riots on October 10, both actions by Muslims against Hindus.
Between both sides, up to 10,000 people are killed, as India heads toward independence, which takes place on August 15, 1947, but Muslims get their separate nation of Pakistan. Even this does not stop the violence, and, to this day, with religion being the key, the two nations still hate each other's guts.
*
October 24, 1959: The greatest player in the history of basketball makes his NBA debut. If you're paying attention to the date, you will notice that Michael Jordan hasn't been born yet, and neither have LeBron James' parents.
The place is the old Madison Square Garden. The home team is the New York Knicks. The visiting team is the Philadelphia Warriors. Unfortunately for the Knicks, it is the Warriors who have the player in question: West Philadelphia native Wilton Norman Chamberlain.
Wilt, at this point a 23-year-old 7-foot-1-inch center, scores 43 points. Kenny Sears scores 35 for the Knicks, but it's nowhere near enough, as the Warriors beat the Knicks, 118-109. Basketball will never be the same again.
A little more than 2 years later, on March 2, 1962, these teams will play at the Hershey Arena outside Harrisburg, and Wilt will score 100 points in a 169-147 Warriors victory.
*
Also on this day, Don McLean releases his album American Pie. The title track is one of the most analyzed songs ever written, including references to the death of Buddy Holly, Bob Dylan replacing Elvis Presley as America's most important rock and roll performer, the rise of the Beatles, the Woodstock and Altamont rock festivals, and the disillusionment faced as the 1960s gave way to the 1970s. The 4th verse uses a football game as a metaphor.
October 24, 1972: Jackie Robinson dies. The 1st black player in modern baseball had been suffering from diabetes, which had robbed him of most his eyesight, caused such poor circulation in his legs that amputation was being considered, and damaged his heart to the point where it killed him at age 53.
The last remaining Number 42 in baseball was Mariano Rivera of the Yankees; the Yankees appeared to have been waiting for Mariano to retire before retiring the number for both him and Jackie, but in 2007, on the 60th Anniversary of Jackie's arrival, they retired it for Jackie, and did so again for Mariano when he hung 'em up in 2013, just as they retired Number 8 for both Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra.
October 24, 1974: The expansion New Orleans Jazz play their 1st home game, the 1st NBA game played in New Orleans. It doesn't go so well: Pete Maravich is held to just 11 points, while Freddie Boyd drops 35, and the Jazz hit a sour note, losing to the Philadelphia 76ers 102-89.
The game is played at the Municipal Auditorium, where they played their 1st season, until the Superdome opened, going from a building that opened in 1930 with 7,853 seats to one brand-new with a basketball capacity of 47,000. The Auditorium was damaged in Hurricane Katrina and, 12 years later, its future remains in doubt.
Johnstone would later write, in his memoir Temporary Insanity (a title based on his quirky personality), that George Steinbrenner stormed into the locker room and demanded that Ron Davis (Yankee reliever and Ike's father) tell him why he threw Johnstone a fastball.
This was the only game of the Series that was not close.
October 24, 1992: For the 1st time, a World Series is won by a team from outside the United States of America. The Toronto Blue Jays clinch their 1st World Championship with a 4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves in Game 6.
Dave Winfield's 2-out‚ 2-run double in the top of the 11th gives Toronto a 4-2 lead. The Braves score 1 run in the bottom half of the inning, and have the tying run on 3rd when the final out is made. Jimmy Key wins the game in relief‚ and Candy Maldonado homers for the Blue Jays.
Before the game, the winners in the fan balloting for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team are introduced. With some older players overlooked by young fans, some "wild cards" were added by a "select panel."
But, as disgusting as the Red Sox cheating their way to another World Series is, that wasn't the most disgusting sporting event that happened on this day. Not by a long shot.
Arsenal had gone 49 straight Premier League games without a loss, a record streak for top-flight English "football" dating back to the founding of The Football League in 1888. Arsenal hadn't lost since Leeds United beat them on May 7, 2003 -- 536 days.
Making it 50 straight games without a loss would have been great semantically, but more important was who they are playing in Game 50: They went into Old Trafford, home of the other dominant team of the era, Manchester United. Either Arsenal or Man U had won the last 9 League titles, and 13 of the last 16.
The game is scoreless going into the 72nd minute (out of 90, so, 80 percent done), mainly because
He moved to London in 1906, covered soccer and greyhound racing, and in 1911 became the London correspondent for the New York Post. He served in the Royal Flying Corps (forerunner of the Royal Air Force) in World War I, then joined the nascent BBC. He was the 1st radio commentator for the English Derby (thoroughbred horse racing), the Grand National (steeplechase horse racing), and, in 1927, the FA Cup Final, in which Cardiff City of Wales defeated North London's Arsenal, becoming, to this day, the only non-English club ever to win the Cup.
He had already been the editor of Arsenal's matchday programme (we'd call it a "game program" in the U.S.) since 1906. He became club secretary, and after Herbert Chapman died in 1934 and Joe Shaw finished the season as caretaker manager, he was named the full-time manager. He led the club to League titles in 1935 and 1938, and the 1936 FA Cup.
In 1939, The Arsenal Stadium Mystery was filmed, and while the Arsenal players appeared, none of them had any lines. Allison did. After Alf Kirchen scored the only goal of the game filmed for the movie -- an actual Football League Division One match, on May 6, 1939, an Arsenal win over West London club Brentford -- he said, "One-nil to The Arsenal. That's the way we like it." The phrase "One-nil to The Arsenal" became a catchphrase, and eventually a song.
He continued to manage the team through World War II, and resigned after the 1947 season, handing the reins over to Tom Whittaker, his assistant, and a former player and physiotherapist (we would say "trainer") for the team. Ironically, he outlived Whittaker, who died in office in 1956. Allison followed him a year later.
October 24, 1884: The New York Mets lose the World Series. Well, not exactly.
The Providence Grays, Champions of the National League, defeat the New York Metropolitans -- and, yes, this early franchise was called the Mets for short -- 3-1, behind the pitching of future Hall-of-Famer Charlie "Old Hoss" Radbourn, at the Polo Grounds in New York. This gives the Grays the first-ever postseason series between champions of 2 major professional baseball leagues, a series that was officially called the "World's Series."
A Game 3 was played, for charity, and the Grays won that, too. The Grays had won the NL Pennant in 1879, too, but would go out of business after the 1885 season. The last surviving Providence Gray was right fielder Paul Radford, who lived on until 1945.
Aside from teams known as the the Providence Steam Rollers in the NFL (1920-1931, 1928 Champions) and the NBA (only the inaugural 1946-47 season), the State of Rhode Island has never had another major league sports team -- the New England Patriots, who play 25 miles from downtown Providence in Foxboro, Massachusetts, don't count.
Aside from teams known as the the Providence Steam Rollers in the NFL (1920-1931, 1928 Champions) and the NBA (only the inaugural 1946-47 season), the State of Rhode Island has never had another major league sports team -- the New England Patriots, who play 25 miles from downtown Providence in Foxboro, Massachusetts, don't count.
The last survivor of the 1884 Providence Grays was outfielder Paul Radford, who lived until 1945 -- 61 years, 10 States and 11 Presidents later.
Also on this day, the Calhoun Street Bridge opens, connecting Trenton, New Jersey and Morrisville, Pennsylvania over the Delaware River. From 1913 to 1928, it was an original part of the Lincoln Highway, until that road's realignment over the new Lower Trenton Bridge (the one with the big letters reading "TRENTON MAKES THE WORLD TAKES"). It is now part of the East Coast Greenway.
October 24, 1885: The St. Louis Browns, Champions of the American Association, defeat the Chicago White Stockings, Champions of the National League, 13-4 in the 7th and last game in their series. The Browns claim the Game 2 forfeit didn't count, and therefore claim the championship. Each club receives $500.
These 2 teams would meet again the next season, forging the NL rivalry that still exists between the teams, by 1901 known as the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs.
This was the 1st of 4 straight AA Pennants for the Browns. The last surviving member of the 1885-88 AA Champions was 3rd baseman Walter Arlington "Arlie" Latham, who lived until 1952.
These 2 teams would meet again the next season, forging the NL rivalry that still exists between the teams, by 1901 known as the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs.
This was the 1st of 4 straight AA Pennants for the Browns. The last surviving member of the 1885-88 AA Champions was 3rd baseman Walter Arlington "Arlie" Latham, who lived until 1952.
October 24, 1892: The Boston Beaneaters, winners of the National League Pennant, defeat the 2nd-place Cleveland Spiders, 5 games to none with 1 tie, and win the Championship Series (it wasn't called the World Series), making themselves, as they were last season, the unofficial World Champions of Baseball.
The Beaneaters would become the Braves in 1912, move to Milwaukee in 1953, and move again to Atlanta in 1966. Hall of Fame outfielder Hugh Duffy would be the last survivor of the 1892 Beaneaters, living until 1954. The Spiders would fold after the 1899 season, and the 1892 Championship Series would be the closest a Cleveland team would come to winning a World Championship until the 1920 Indians.
Also on this day, Goodison Park, the world's 1st stadium built specifically for association football (whose abbreviation "assoc." is the source of the word "soccer") is opened in Liverpool. Home to Everton Football Club, it is across Stanley Park from Anfield, home ground of Liverpool Football Club, which was built in 1884 as Everton's home before they moved across the park, and Liverpool FC was founded to take their place at Anfield. This makes the 2 Merseyside teams in the Premiership the closest major rivals of any major sport on the planet.
Imagine that, instead of being in their actual locations, the Yankees' home field was where the Metropolitan Museum of Art is, at 82nd Street and 5th Avenue on one side of Central Park, and the Mets played where the American Museum of Natural History is, on the other side of the Park at 79th Street and Central Park West. Now imagine that the Yankees and the Mets play each other as often as the Yankees and the Red Sox (or the Mets and the Phillies) do. Finally, imagine that the Yankees were only half as successful as they've actually been, and you've got Liverpool; and the Mets were twice as much as you know them to have been, and you've got Everton; and that the Mets (Everton) were actually the older team. Now, you've got an idea of the intensity of "the Merseyside Derby."
Goodison Park hosted some of the 1966 World Cup matches, and even hosted a post-World War I tour by two U.S. baseball teams, the New York Giants and the Chicago White Sox. It seats 39,572. Everton wanted to expand the stadium, but there was no room. So they have begun to build a new stadium, at Bramley-Moore Dock on the Mersey waterfront. The current plan is to have it open by 2024.
*
October 24, 1901, 120 years ago: Annie Edson Taylor, a music and dance teacher, having planned it very carefully,
pulls a stunt on her 63rd birthday: She goes over Niagara Falls in a
barrel. This is not a figure of speech.
She went
over on the Canadian side of the Horseshoe Falls, and was retrieved within 20 minutes,
her only injury a cut to her head – by a weird coincidence, the exact same
injury sustained by the cat she used as a test subject 2 days earlier.
"The
Queen of the Mist" lived another 20 years, never made much money off her stunt, warned others against trying it because it was too dangerous, and the barrel itself has long since disappeared into history. The one on
display at a local museum is a replica.
Since she tried it, 26 people have tried it, 17 of them surviving. The last successful attempt was in 2019; the last failure, in 2017.
October 24, 1911, 110 years ago: A 6-day postponement due to rain is over, and the field at Shibe Park is ready to play Game 4 of the World Series. With Albert "Chief" Bender pitching, the Athletics beat Christy Mathewson and the Giants 4-2, giving the A's a 3-games-to-1 lead.
Bender, a member of the Chippewa tribe from Minnesota, frequently had to hear fans taunt him with Indian war whoops. Knowing that this was a period of great immigration from Europe, he would sometimes yell at the fans taunting him, "You lousy bunch of foreigners! Why don't you go back where you came from?" Since a lot of them were immigrants, this had the desired effect. He was elected to the Hall of Fame.
Those 6 days are still a Series record for postponement due to inclement weather. But the 1989 San Francisco earthquake resulted in a 10-day postponement.
October 24, 1914: Palmer Stadium opens in Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey. Princeton defeats Dartmouth 16-12. The 42,000-seat horseshoe will remain the Princeton Tigers' home until 1996, when, finally bowing to the reality that age has rendered it unsafe, it is demolished. Princeton played all their 1997 games on the road while Powers Field at Princeton University Stadium was built on the site, and the new 27,773-seat stadium opened on September 19, 1998.
October 24, 1921, 100 years ago: Edwin George Ditchburn is born in Gillingham, Kent, England. Ted Ditchburn was the goalkeeper on the 1951 Tottenham Hotspur team that won the Football League title, the 1st for the other North London club, known that season as "the Push and Run Spurs."
On June 15, 1952, he played for Tottenham in a 7-1 victory over Manchester United (the winners of the last 2 League titles playing each other) at Yankee Stadium. On June 18, 1953, he played for England as they beat the U.S. 6-3 at the Polo Grounds. He lived until 2005.
October 24, 1931, 90 years ago: The George Washington Bridge opens to traffic, connecting the Washington Heights section of Manhattan with Fort Lee, Bergen County, New Jersey. Today, it carries U.S. Routes 1 and 9 and Interstate 95 over the Hudson River. Until the Golden Gate Bridge opened in San Francisco 6 years later, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world.
The GWB is the gateway for Yankee Fans driving from New Jersey into Yankee Stadium, as it was for the old Stadium, and for baseball Giants fans going to the Polo Grounds. Many was the time that Phil Rizzuto, living in Hillside, Union County, New Jersey during his time as a Yankee broadcaster, would talk about leaving a game early by saying, "I gotta get over that bridge!"
October 24, 1933: William Samuel Bell is born in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Like a later pitcher with the surname, Gary, Bill Bell was nicknamed "Ding-Dong." He pitched in the minor leagues from 1951 to 1959, but made only 5 major league apperances, all for the Pittsburgh Pirtes: 4 in 1952, and 1 more in 1955. He was killed in a car accident in Durhamin 1962, just before his 29th birthday.
October 24, 1936: The East Stand opens at the Arsenal Stadium, nicknamed Highbury for its North London neighborhood. It becomes the stadium's main entrance, on the street named Highbury Hill. It is a companion to the West Stand that opened in 1932. Arsenal play Grimsby Town, then in the Football League Division One, to a 0-0 draw.
Its lobby included a bust of Herbert Chapman, who had managed Arsenal from 1925 until his death in 1934, winning the League title in 1931 and 1933, and the FA Cup in 1930. He had previously managed Huddersfield Town to the League title in 1924 and 1925. What he left in place added a 1926 League title for Huddersfield, and the 1934 and 1935 League titles and the 1936 FA Cup for Arsenal. Arsenal would add a League title in 1938 before World War II closed down League and Cup play for the duration.
The bust was commissioned by The Pals of Herbert Chapman, 12 men, some of whom had known him since he was player-manager at Northampton Town in 1907, and had dinner with him in December 1933 just before he fell victim to pneumonia which, in those days before antibiotics, could easily be fatal -- in Chapman's case, at age 55. They were all wealthy men by the standards of the time, and raised a great deal of money (including their own) for local charities in Chapman's name.
Their names were: Harry Bryant, John Hope, William McLean Johnston, Harry Joyner, W. Kendrick, Joe Levi, Mark Mintz, Hugh Stewart, Mark Swears, William Valentine, William Webster and John Whitehall.
The state of medicine to which I referred meant that, at their 1949 ceremony honoring Chapman at his lobby bust, just 15 years after his death, only 4 of them were able to appear. The last survivor was Stewart, who only lived until 1971, 37 years -- but he did live long enough to see the League and Cup "Double" won by The Arsenal, a Bertie Mee-managed team which thus surpassed the 1930s Chapman side in the public memory as the club's defining team.
When The Arsenal moved a few blocks away to the Emirates Stadium in 2006, the bust of Chapman was moved there as well. In 2011, a full-body live-size statue of Chapman was dedicated.
*
October 24, 1941, 80 years ago: Ulis C. Williams -- I can find no record of what the C stands for -- is born in Hollandale, Mississippi, and grows up outside Los Angeles: Like Duke Snider and the tennis-playing Williams sisters, he was straight outta Compton. He was a member of the U.S. team that won the Gold Medal in the 4x400-meter relay at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. He later served as President of Compton Community College outside Los Angeles, and is still alive.
October 24, 1941, 80 years ago: Ulis C. Williams -- I can find no record of what the C stands for -- is born in Hollandale, Mississippi, and grows up outside Los Angeles: Like Duke Snider and the tennis-playing Williams sisters, he was straight outta Compton. He was a member of the U.S. team that won the Gold Medal in the 4x400-meter relay at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. He later served as President of Compton Community College outside Los Angeles, and is still alive.
October 24, 1945: The Charter of the United Nations is ratified by the original 5 permanent members of the United Nations Security Council: America, Britain, France, China and the Soviet Union, and by a majority of the other signatories.
The Charter established the purposes, governing structure and overall framework of the UN system, including its 6 principal organs: The Secretariat, the General Asembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice, and the Trusteeship Council.
In commemoration of the event, the General Assembly celebrates United Nations Day every October 24, and schedules its annual gathering for the days leading up to the date.
Also on this day, Gene Monahan (as far as I know, his full name) is born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In 1962, during his senior year in high school, the Yankees began their Spring Training tenure in Fort Lauderdale. Gene ("Geno" to some friends) became a bat boy and clubhouse attendant. After graduating from Indiana University, he was rehired by the Yankees. From 1973 to 2011, he was the team's head trainer, 1 of only 3 people to be a Yankee employee through the entire ownership of George Steinbrenner.
He survived throat cancer in 2009-10, and passed the trainer's job on to his assistant, Steve Donohue, in 2011. While the Yankees had their issues with injuries during his tenure, they have greatly increased since his retirement. He is now a consultant for Hendrick Motorsports in North Carolina, and has returned for every Old-Timers' Day at Yankee Stadium.
October 24, 1946, 75 years ago: The Bihar Riots take place in Bihar, West Bengal, India. They are in response to the Calcutta Killings the previous August 16, and the Noakhali Riots on October 10, both actions by Muslims against Hindus.
Between both sides, up to 10,000 people are killed, as India heads toward independence, which takes place on August 15, 1947, but Muslims get their separate nation of Pakistan. Even this does not stop the violence, and, to this day, with religion being the key, the two nations still hate each other's guts.
*
October 24, 1956: Tom Whittaker dies of a heart attack in London, only 58 years old. He is 1 of only 2 men to die in office as manager of North London's Arsenal Football Club, the 1st being his former boss, Herbert Chapman, in 1934.
Born in Aldershot, Hampshire on July 21, 1898, where his father was stationed in the British Army, Tom grew up in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and thus was a "Geordie." He served first in the Army, then in the Royal Navy, during World War I. He played as a "wing half," a position that became obsolete as fullbacks became more defensive, from 1919 to 1925, all for Arsenal. In 1925, on a tour of Australia as part of a Football Association all-star team, he broke his kneecap, and his playing career was over.
But his service to Arsenal was far from over. Chapman, who had led Huddersfield Town to the League title, became manager, and, when Tom's attempt to come back from injury led him to want to study to become a physiotherapist, thinking he could do it better, Chapman encouraged this. He was the club's head trainer from 1927 until 1947, first under Chapman, then under George Allison, taking time off in World War II to be an air raid warden.
When Allison retired in 1947, Tom was named manager. In his 1st season, 1947-48, he took them to the League title. He led them to the FA Cup in 1950 (beating Liverpool in the Final), to the FA Cup Final but lost in 1952 (ironically, to his hometown side, Newcastle United), and winning the closest League title race ever, beating Burnley by goal difference on the last day of the 1953 season. In total, he was a part of the club's 1st 7 League titles, their 1st 6 FA Cup Finals, and their 1st 3 FA Cup wins. (There were no European club tournaments until the 1955-56 season.)
The club's last game with Tom in charge was on October 20, a 3-1 home win over arch-rival Tottenham. It should surprise no one that they lost their next game badly, on October 27, 4-0 to Everton at Goodison Park.
The place is the old Madison Square Garden. The home team is the New York Knicks. The visiting team is the Philadelphia Warriors. Unfortunately for the Knicks, it is the Warriors who have the player in question: West Philadelphia native Wilton Norman Chamberlain.
Wilt, at this point a 23-year-old 7-foot-1-inch center, scores 43 points. Kenny Sears scores 35 for the Knicks, but it's nowhere near enough, as the Warriors beat the Knicks, 118-109. Basketball will never be the same again.
A little more than 2 years later, on March 2, 1962, these teams will play at the Hershey Arena outside Harrisburg, and Wilt will score 100 points in a 169-147 Warriors victory.
*
October 24, 1971, 50 years ago: After playing their 1st home game of the season at their original home, the Cotton Bowl, the Dallas Cowboys open Texas Stadium in the suburb of Irving, Texas. They beat the New England Patriots 44-21. They will go on to win Super Bowl VI at the end of the season. It will remain their home through the 2008 season, including 7 Super Bowl berths, winning 5.
Also on this day, Don McLean releases his album American Pie. The title track is one of the most analyzed songs ever written, including references to the death of Buddy Holly, Bob Dylan replacing Elvis Presley as America's most important rock and roll performer, the rise of the Beatles, the Woodstock and Altamont rock festivals, and the disillusionment faced as the 1960s gave way to the 1970s. The 4th verse uses a football game as a metaphor.
October 24, 1972: Jackie Robinson dies. The 1st black player in modern baseball had been suffering from diabetes, which had robbed him of most his eyesight, caused such poor circulation in his legs that amputation was being considered, and damaged his heart to the point where it killed him at age 53.
Just 10 days earlier, he had flown from his home in Stamford, Connecticut (his wife Rachel, now 93, now lives near their old house), and was a special guest at Game 2 of the World Series between the A's and Reds in Cincinnati. It had been 25 years since the great experiment that he and Brooklyn Dodger president Branch Rickey (who died in 1965) had reached its successful conclusion with the Dodgers winning the Pennant and Jackie making it through the season, not just surviving but excelling. His former teammate, Pee Wee Reese, was on hand, and former Dodger broadcaster Red Barber introduced him. Jackie said, "I'm extremely pleased to be here, but I must confess, I'm going to be even more pleased when I see a black face managing in baseball."
Jackie's eulogy was delivered by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and his funeral was attended by most of his surviving teammates. Roy Campanella was there in his wheelchair. Among his pallbearers were former Dodger pitcher Don Newcombe and basketball legend Bill Russell.
Earlier in the year, on June 4, in Los Angeles, Jackie's hometown (if not the team's), the Dodgers retired uniform numbers for the first time, packing away Jackie's Number 42, Campy's Number 39 and Sandy Koufax' Number 32. Jackie was the 1st black player in the Hall of Fame, Campy the 2nd, and Koufax had been newly elected at the time of the ceremony.
It would be 2 more years, on October 3, 1974, before Frank Robinson, no relation, was hired as Major League Baseball's 1st black manager, with the Cleveland Indians, the team that had been the first in the American League to add black players with Larry Doby and Satchel Paige.
Oddly, Frank beat Jackie to being the 1st black player to get his number retired: The Orioles let him go before the 1972 season, and, though he was still active, announced the retirement of his number on March 10 of that year.
Oddly, Frank beat Jackie to being the 1st black player to get his number retired: The Orioles let him go before the 1972 season, and, though he was still active, announced the retirement of his number on March 10 of that year.
Ironically, while black Hispanics are now the leading presence in the game, very few black Americans are in the major leagues. Jackie would probably be disturbed by that, but not puzzled, as he would surely factor in the rise of pro football and basketball as sports preferred by African-Americans, especially since he played those, in addition to baseball, at UCLA.
Of the 30 current MLB franchises, 5 have never had a manager who was either black or Hispanic: The Yankees, the Minnesota Twins, the Oakland Athletics, the Los Angeles Angels, and the Philadelphia Phillies -- by an unfortunate coincidence, also the last National League team to have had a black player.
(The Yankees have had black coaches, such as Elston Howard, Willie Randolph and Tony Peña, but no black or Hispanic managers, unless you count Peña on those occasions when Joe Torre or Joe Girardi was thrown out of a game, or took a personal day.)
It took until 2016, with former Red Sox star Dave Roberts, for the Dodgers to have their 1st black manager. Currently, of the 24 MLB teams that don't have vacancies, 5 have a black or Hispanic manager. That's right: More teams have their manager's jobs vacant than have them filled with a nonwhite man.
In 1997, on the 50th Anniversary of Jackie's arrival, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig announced that Jackie's Number 42 would be retired for all of baseball, as yet a unique honor. All players then wearing it would be allowed to continue to do so for the remainder of their careers, but no new players could wear it, and no current players could switch to it.
Of the 30 current MLB franchises, 5 have never had a manager who was either black or Hispanic: The Yankees, the Minnesota Twins, the Oakland Athletics, the Los Angeles Angels, and the Philadelphia Phillies -- by an unfortunate coincidence, also the last National League team to have had a black player.
(The Yankees have had black coaches, such as Elston Howard, Willie Randolph and Tony Peña, but no black or Hispanic managers, unless you count Peña on those occasions when Joe Torre or Joe Girardi was thrown out of a game, or took a personal day.)
It took until 2016, with former Red Sox star Dave Roberts, for the Dodgers to have their 1st black manager. Currently, of the 24 MLB teams that don't have vacancies, 5 have a black or Hispanic manager. That's right: More teams have their manager's jobs vacant than have them filled with a nonwhite man.
In 1997, on the 50th Anniversary of Jackie's arrival, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig announced that Jackie's Number 42 would be retired for all of baseball, as yet a unique honor. All players then wearing it would be allowed to continue to do so for the remainder of their careers, but no new players could wear it, and no current players could switch to it.
The last remaining Number 42 in baseball was Mariano Rivera of the Yankees; the Yankees appeared to have been waiting for Mariano to retire before retiring the number for both him and Jackie, but in 2007, on the 60th Anniversary of Jackie's arrival, they retired it for Jackie, and did so again for Mariano when he hung 'em up in 2013, just as they retired Number 8 for both Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra.
October 24, 1974: The expansion New Orleans Jazz play their 1st home game, the 1st NBA game played in New Orleans. It doesn't go so well: Pete Maravich is held to just 11 points, while Freddie Boyd drops 35, and the Jazz hit a sour note, losing to the Philadelphia 76ers 102-89.
The game is played at the Municipal Auditorium, where they played their 1st season, until the Superdome opened, going from a building that opened in 1930 with 7,853 seats to one brand-new with a basketball capacity of 47,000. The Auditorium was damaged in Hurricane Katrina and, 12 years later, its future remains in doubt.
*
October 24, 1981, 40 years ago: The Dodgers tie the World Series up at 2 games apiece, 8-7, thanks to some poor Yankee fielding. Reggie Jackson and Willie Randolph hit home runs for the Bronx Bombers -- Reggie's last in a Yankee uniform, as it turned out -- but Jay Johnstone, who'd helped the Yankees beat the Dodgers in the 1978 World Series, returns the favor.
October 24, 1981, 40 years ago: The Dodgers tie the World Series up at 2 games apiece, 8-7, thanks to some poor Yankee fielding. Reggie Jackson and Willie Randolph hit home runs for the Bronx Bombers -- Reggie's last in a Yankee uniform, as it turned out -- but Jay Johnstone, who'd helped the Yankees beat the Dodgers in the 1978 World Series, returns the favor.
Johnstone would later write, in his memoir Temporary Insanity (a title based on his quirky personality), that George Steinbrenner stormed into the locker room and demanded that Ron Davis (Yankee reliever and Ike's father) tell him why he threw Johnstone a fastball.
October 24, 1991, 30 years ago: David Justice, Lonnie Smith and Brian Hunter hit home runs to back Tom Glavine, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Minnesota Twins 14-5. The Braves need 1 more win to clinch their 1st title in Atlanta -- but Game 6 and, if necessary, Game 7 will be at the Metrodome.
This was the only game of the Series that was not close.
October 24, 1992: For the 1st time, a World Series is won by a team from outside the United States of America. The Toronto Blue Jays clinch their 1st World Championship with a 4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves in Game 6.
Dave Winfield's 2-out‚ 2-run double in the top of the 11th gives Toronto a 4-2 lead. The Braves score 1 run in the bottom half of the inning, and have the tying run on 3rd when the final out is made. Jimmy Key wins the game in relief‚ and Candy Maldonado homers for the Blue Jays.
Toronto catcher Pat Borders‚ with a .450 BA‚ is named Series MVP. Winfield, derided as "Mister May" by Yankee owner George Steinbrenner for his poor performances in the 1981 World Series and subsequent Pennant races, finally has his ring, in his 20th season in the majors.
October 24, 1999: The Yankees beat the Braves, 7-2 at Turner Field, behind the pitching of David Cone and 3 hits from Bernie Williams, and take a 2 games to 0 lead in the World Series.
Before the game, the winners in the fan balloting for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team are introduced. With some older players overlooked by young fans, some "wild cards" were added by a "select panel."
* Pitchers: Cy Young, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Left Grove, Warren Spahn, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens.
* Catchers: Yogi Berra and Johnny Bench.
* 1st Basemen: Lou Gehrig and Mark McGwire.
* 2nd Basemen: Rogers Hornsby and Jackie Robinson.
* Shortstops: Honus Wagner, Erie Banks and Cal Rikpken Jr.
* 3rd Basemen: Brooks Robinson and Mike Schmidt.
* Outfielders: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Pete Rose and Ken Griffey Jr.
*
October 24, 2000: Game 3 of the World Series at Shea Stadium. The Mets defeat the Yankees‚ 4-2‚ behind the pitching of Rick Reed and their bullpen. Benny Agbayani's 8th inning double is the key hit for the Mets as they cut the Yankees Series lead to 2-games-to-1. Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez strikes out 12, a Series record for a Yankee pitcher, but loses a postseason game for the 1st time after 8 wins.
The loss ends the Yankees' record streak of 14 consecutive wins in World Series action. This would be the last World Series game won by the Mets until Game 3 in 2015.
October 24, 2004: The Boston Red Sox take a 2-games-to-0 lead in the World Series with a 6-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Fenway Park. Curt Schilling, again wearing the Bloody Sock, gets the win. Orlando Cabrera‚ Mark Bellhorn‚ and Jason Varitek each drive in a pair of runs.
But, as disgusting as the Red Sox cheating their way to another World Series is, that wasn't the most disgusting sporting event that happened on this day. Not by a long shot.
Arsenal had gone 49 straight Premier League games without a loss, a record streak for top-flight English "football" dating back to the founding of The Football League in 1888. Arsenal hadn't lost since Leeds United beat them on May 7, 2003 -- 536 days.
Making it 50 straight games without a loss would have been great semantically, but more important was who they are playing in Game 50: They went into Old Trafford, home of the other dominant team of the era, Manchester United. Either Arsenal or Man U had won the last 9 League titles, and 13 of the last 16.
The game is scoreless going into the 72nd minute (out of 90, so, 80 percent done), mainly because
United's players, particularly the Neville brothers -- right back Gary and midfielder Phil, not the singing Neville brothers of New Orleans -- were kicking Gunners forward José Antonio Reyes into oblivion, rendering him too timid to shoot -- he is, literally, intimidated.
In addition, United's Dutch striker, Ruud van Nistelrooy -- nicknamed Van Horseface due to an uncanny facial resemblance to Seattle Slew -- has a challenge on Arsenal defender Ashley Cole that is clearly worthy of a straight red card. So the Red Devils should be down to no more than 10 men, possibly as few as 8.
But the referee is Mike Riley, and he hates Arsenal. He gives only 2 cards to United throughout the match, a yellow each to the Neville brothers. Indeed, van Nistelrooy was retroactively given the punishment he would have gotten if, in fact, he had received a straight red during the game: 3 domestic games. (2 yellows, which equal 1 red, would have been a mere 1-game suspension.)
In that 72nd minute, United's young striker, Wayne Rooney, on his 19th birthday, executes a blatant dive in the 18-yard box. Instead of properly giving him a straight red card and sending him off, Riley calls a foul on Arsenal defender Sol Campbell, who never even touched Rooney. It is a completely bogus call, and Riley awards a penalty, which van Nistelrooy converts. Rooney adds another goal that he didn't deserve to even be on the pitch for in the 90th minute, and United had unfairly won, 2-0.
The fireworks for this most dubious of games in the long and dubious history of Arsenal-Manchester United matches are hardly over at the final whistle. Despite being teammates on the national side, Campbell refuses to shake Rooney's hand, a deserved mark of disrespect. Entering the tunnel to head to the locker rooms, United manager Alex Ferguson is hit in the face by a slice of pizza from the postgame spread in Arsenal's locker room.
The game becomes known as the Battle of the Buffet, and, as it turned out, the Arsenal player who threw the slice was 17-year-old Spanish midfield wizard Cesc Fàbregas. As it also turned out, this, not anything he did on the field from 2003 to 2011, was the best thing Fàbregas did in an Arsenal uniform, the traitorous bastard.
They're still looking for that 1 more win.
October 24, 2012: Babe Ruth, Babe Ruth again, Reggie Jackson, Albert Pujols… Pablo Sandoval? Yes, Pablo Sandoval hits 3 home runs in a World Series game, helping the San Francisco Giants beat the Detroit Tigers 8-3 in Game 1.
Also of note was Gerry Davis becoming the umpire with the most postseason games worked: He would finish the Series, which was swept by the Giants, with 115.
October 24, 2017: Game 1 of the World Series, the 1st to be held at Dodger Stadium since Game 2 of 1988, is the hottest Series game ever: The temperature at first pitch was 103 degrees. Clayton Kershaw, until now an underachiever in postseason play, outpitches Dallas Keuchel, and gets home runs from Chris Taylor and Justin Turner. The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros 3-1.
In their respective histories to this point, in World Series games, the Los Angeles edition of the Dodgers is 25-24. The Astros? 0-5. That would change the next night.
In addition, United's Dutch striker, Ruud van Nistelrooy -- nicknamed Van Horseface due to an uncanny facial resemblance to Seattle Slew -- has a challenge on Arsenal defender Ashley Cole that is clearly worthy of a straight red card. So the Red Devils should be down to no more than 10 men, possibly as few as 8.
But the referee is Mike Riley, and he hates Arsenal. He gives only 2 cards to United throughout the match, a yellow each to the Neville brothers. Indeed, van Nistelrooy was retroactively given the punishment he would have gotten if, in fact, he had received a straight red during the game: 3 domestic games. (2 yellows, which equal 1 red, would have been a mere 1-game suspension.)
In that 72nd minute, United's young striker, Wayne Rooney, on his 19th birthday, executes a blatant dive in the 18-yard box. Instead of properly giving him a straight red card and sending him off, Riley calls a foul on Arsenal defender Sol Campbell, who never even touched Rooney. It is a completely bogus call, and Riley awards a penalty, which van Nistelrooy converts. Rooney adds another goal that he didn't deserve to even be on the pitch for in the 90th minute, and United had unfairly won, 2-0.
In contrast to the 2 yellow cards on United, Riley had actually given Arsenal 3 yellow cards -- and the alleged penalty foul by Campbell wasn't one of them.
The fireworks for this most dubious of games in the long and dubious history of Arsenal-Manchester United matches are hardly over at the final whistle. Despite being teammates on the national side, Campbell refuses to shake Rooney's hand, a deserved mark of disrespect. Entering the tunnel to head to the locker rooms, United manager Alex Ferguson is hit in the face by a slice of pizza from the postgame spread in Arsenal's locker room.
The game becomes known as the Battle of the Buffet, and, as it turned out, the Arsenal player who threw the slice was 17-year-old Spanish midfield wizard Cesc Fàbregas. As it also turned out, this, not anything he did on the field from 2003 to 2011, was the best thing Fàbregas did in an Arsenal uniform, the traitorous bastard.
October 24, 2011, 10 years ago: Game 5 of the World Series, at whatever the Texas Rangers were calling their 1994-2019 stadium in Arlington at the time. Mitch Moreland and Adrian Beltre back the veteran Darren Oliver with home runs, and the Rangers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2. The Rangers need 1 more win to take their 1st-ever World Championship.
They're still looking for that 1 more win.
October 24, 2012: Babe Ruth, Babe Ruth again, Reggie Jackson, Albert Pujols… Pablo Sandoval? Yes, Pablo Sandoval hits 3 home runs in a World Series game, helping the San Francisco Giants beat the Detroit Tigers 8-3 in Game 1.
Also of note was Gerry Davis becoming the umpire with the most postseason games worked: He would finish the Series, which was swept by the Giants, with 115.
October 24, 2017: Game 1 of the World Series, the 1st to be held at Dodger Stadium since Game 2 of 1988, is the hottest Series game ever: The temperature at first pitch was 103 degrees. Clayton Kershaw, until now an underachiever in postseason play, outpitches Dallas Keuchel, and gets home runs from Chris Taylor and Justin Turner. The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros 3-1.
In their respective histories to this point, in World Series games, the Los Angeles edition of the Dodgers is 25-24. The Astros? 0-5. That would change the next night.
No comments:
Post a Comment