This Day in Sports History: October 4
Sports in October are all about Major League Baseball postseason, the start of the NBA and NHL seasons, some big college football games, Xfinity 500 for NASCAR, track events, UEFA…
Sports in October are all about Major League Baseball postseason, the start of the NBA and NHL seasons, some big college football games, Xfinity 500 for NASCAR, track events, UEFA Champions League, and Formula One. Over the years, Oct. 4 has witnessed plenty of notable sports moments and stories from legends of the game. Here's a closer look at some of them.
Unforgettable Games and Remarkable Records
Great moments in sports history from Oct. 4 include:
- 1873: Tom Kidd won the British Golf Open by one stroke.
- 1895: Horace Rawlins won the first US Open for men's golf by two strokes.
- 1906: The Chicago Cubs finished the MLB season with a .763 winning percentage.
- 1925: Harry Heilmann picked up six hits, and Detroit got a doubleheader sweep of the St. Louis Browns.
- 1930: At the age of 47, Jack Quinn became the oldest person to play in a World Series game.
- 1953: Runner Jim Peters set a world marathon record time of 2:18:34.8.
- 1958: The Montreal Canadiens beat the All-Stars 6-3 in the 12th NHL All-Star game.
- 1959: Browns running back Jim Brown set a club record of 37 rushing attempts in a game against the Chicago Cardinals.
- 1961: Yankees pitcher Whitey Ford recorded his third straight World Series shutout.
- 1964: Patriots kicker Gino Cappelletti went 6-for-6 on field goals, and the Pats beat the Denver Broncos 39-10.
- 1964: Mary Mills won the LPGA Championship by two strokes in the first of her two LPGA Championship titles.
- 1972: Ted Williams managed his final game in the big leagues as the Texas Rangers lost to the Royals 4-0.
- 1980: Mike Schmidt broke the single-season MLB record for homers by third basemen.
- 1991: The Edmonton Oilers traded captain Mark Messier to the New York Rangers. Messier led the Rangers to a Cup win two years later.
- 1998: Motorcycle racer Mick Doohan won the Australian Grand Prix and clinched his fifth world 500cc championship.
- 2001: Brendan Shanahan became the second player in NHL history to get an opening-night hat trick twice in his career.
- 2001: Barry Bonds hit his 70th home run of the season.
- 2009: Jay Haas won the Senior Players Golf Championship for his third and final Champions Tour major title.
- 2018: Tom Brady became the third NFL quarterback to record 500 career touchdown passes.
- 2022: Aaron Judge broke the American League single-season home run record.
Three athletes who really stood out on this day are Jim Brown, Whitey Ford, and Mark Messier.
Brown was a multitalented athlete and one of the greatest football players of all time, with a dominant career as a running back for the Browns. Ford was a 10-time All-Star, winner of the 1961 Cy Young Award, six-time World Series champion, and a holder of multiple Yankees franchise records, including most career wins and shutouts. Messier was known for his exceptional leadership, toughness, and skill during a 25-year career with the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers.
