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Most Significant Sports History on November 3rd
Learn about November 3rd's most significant sports history including career records, Kobe's debut, unanimous MLB ROYs, and more!
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November 3rd brings a new level of significance to sports considering the accolades, achievements, and beginning of some legendary careers. Two iconic athletes in separate sports completed all-time records in some of the most prestigious milestones obtainable to pro athletes. Further, one of the most successful and legendary careers in the NBA was born on 11/3. Events like these can never be replicated again, and surely influenced the course of the game forever.
#OTD (1990) Moses Malone set an NBA record for free throws made in a career by hitting 7-9 from the line in a win over Indiana. pic.twitter.com/SowWuOQUET
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) November 3, 2016
YEAR: 1990 & 1996
SIGNIFICANCE: Moses Malone became NBA’s all-time leader in FTs AND Jerry Rice became the 1st to amass 1,000 career REC
By 1990, the 34-year-old Moses Malone was no longer in his prime but still consistently averaged a double-double each season (double-double career averages). One of the greatest big men of all time, Malone was incredibly nuanced in the post and knew how to draw fouls better than most of his contemporaries. On this date in his 16th season, Malone went 7/9 from the line in a victory over the Pacers and officially passed Oscar Robertson to become the NBA’s all-time leader in free throws made (7,694). Continuing to play for another four seasons, he would finish extending the record at 9,018 career free throws in 1994.
Six years later, Jerry Rice reached an unprecedented milestone in extending his record for career receptions. Well past Steve Largent‘s former record of 819 career receptions, Rice officially became the very first in NFL history to record 1,000 receptions in a loss to the Panthers. One year and a week earlier, he became the NFL’s all-time leader in receiving yards and had already set the career TD record in 1994 to go along with his team’s success. He avoided complacency and played another eight seasons, finishing his incredibly productive and lengthy career with 1,549 total receptions over 20 seasons along with countless NFL records to his name.
in 1996 Jerry Rice San Francisco @49ers became the first #NFL player to catch 1,000 career receptions. pic.twitter.com/sBP5yayun4
— OTBS Online (@OTBSonline) November 3, 2017
#OnThisDay in 1996 .@Lakers superstar .@kobebryant makes his #NBA debut vs .@Timberwolves .@ForumWestern; #Kobe at the time was the youngest player in #NBA history to make debut (18 yrs, 2 mnths, 11 dys)#blackmamba #mambamentality
— TieBreaker (@TieBreakerMedia) November 3, 2019
(via .@pennyccw) pic.twitter.com/l2DXTJcRqw
YEAR: 1996
SIGNIFICANCE: Kobe Bryant debuted as the youngest player in NBA history, breaking a 48-year record
Before the Supreme Court’s consequential decision on the Haywood v. National Basketball Association case, NBA prospects were forced to wait until four years after their high school graduation before entering the draft. After that decision in 1971, however, new avenues to reach the league became available rather than the predominant four-year college route. Though it took time, several players would be selected directly from high school as a result — until the “one-and-done” rule was implemented in 2005.
Kobe Bryant, a guard from Lower Merion High School outside of Philadelphia, was one of those high school draftees to benefit from the ruling. Selected by the Hornets at 13th overall, he was traded just a few weeks later to the Lakers for disgruntled C Vlade Divac and made his NBA debut for LA on this date in 1996. Though held scoreless (0/1 FG) through six minutes on the floor, at 18 years and 72 days old, Kobe’s debut broke Stan Brown’s longstanding record as the youngest player in NBA history — set in 1947. The record would last just a month until Jermaine O’Neal debuted at 18 years, 53 days old for the Portland Trail Blazers and again by Andrew Bynum in 2005.
In 1934, Lefty Gomez and Lou Gehrig made the Yankees the only team in MLB history to have a pitching and hitting Triple Crown winner in the same year.
— Jeremy Frank (@MLBRandomStats) April 28, 2020
Neither finished top-2 in the MVP voting; Gomez finished third and Gehrig came in fifth.
YEAR: 1934
SIGNIFICANCE: Lou Gehrig became the 10th Triple Crown winner ever, but did not win the AL MVP award
On this day in 1934, New York Yankees 1B Lou Gehrig won the American League Triple Crown with a .363 batting average, 49 home runs, and 166 RBI (the most by any Triple Crown winner ever). Despite winning the Triple Crown, Gehrig did not win the AL MVP award, the latter went to Detroit Tigers catcher Mickey Cochrane who had an OPS of .812.
In fact, Gehrig didn’t even finish inside the Top-3 of the AL MVP voting; his fifth-place vote is the lowest ever among all of the 11 Triple Crown winners since 1924, the year that both the NL and AL both had MVP awards. Gehrig became the 10th player ever to win the Triple Crown at the time, and since then there have been seven winners; Miguel Cabrera in 2012 being the most recent. As it stands, Gehrig is one of just three players ever (since ‘24) to win the Triple Crown and not win MVP. The other two are Chuck Klein in 1933 and Ted Williams in 1942 and 1947.
#OnThisDay 🏈 On Sunday, November 3rd 1935, a crowd of 10,000 gathered at Fenway Park to watch the then Boston #Redskins against the Philadelphia #Eagles. While the Redskins lost by just one point, the game goes down in #NFL History with QB’s throwing a record 11 interceptions. pic.twitter.com/HTNYtCbsSE
— Gary Clark (@GaryClarkInc) November 3, 2019
YEAR: 1935
SIGNIFICANCE: The Boston Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles combined for an NFL-record 11 interceptions
In the franchise’s first season (1932), the brand-new Boston NFL franchise shared a stadium with MLB’s Boston Braves — therefore, taking the name for themselves. After a leasing dispute, however, owner George Preston Marshall moved his young team over to Fenway Park and promptly changed the team’s name to match that of their new stadium mates’ (Red Sox) while retaining their jerseys and logo. They would remain in Fenway until 1937, when Marshall moved the team to Washington, D.C. and immediately delivered a Championship to the nation’s capital.
Two seasons before their move to D.C., however, Boston hosted the Philadelphia Eagles in one of the sloppiest games on-record in NFL history. In a 7-6 win for Philly, the two teams combined for a then-record 11 total interceptions — in a single game. Unsurprisingly, the teams combined for just four wins and 17 total losses (Boston tied Brooklyn) while scoring a grand total of 125 points (65 and 60) on the season, tossing 35 (BOS) and 30 (PHI) INTs each. Boston HC Eddie Casey was let go after his lone season and replaced by Ray Flaherty, who led the franchise to their very 1st winning record (7-5) in what would be their last season in Fenway Park.
#OTD 1987: Mark McGwire is named American League Rookie of the Year after breaking the rookie record for home runs in a season with 49. pic.twitter.com/lXwVJzuICd
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) November 3, 2017
YEAR: 1987 & 1997
SIGNIFICANCE: Mark McGwire became the 2nd unanimous AL ROY and Nomar Garciaparra became the 6th unanimous AL ROY
For the first time since 1972, the American League had a unanimous Rookie of the Year award winner. Carlton Fisk became the first ever unanimous recipient in ’72, and Oakland Athletics 1B Mark McGwire did the exact same thing on this day 33 years ago. McGwire had one of the greatest rookie seasons of all-time, especially in the power department. Big Mac set a new rookie home run record in 1987 with his 49 home runs, a record that stood until Aaron Judge (52 HR) broke it in 2017 before Pete Alonso (53 HR) established the new record in 2019. McGwire led the majors in home runs and slugging percentage (.618) and would go on to become a World Champion, 12x All-Star, 3x Silver Slugger, and the brief single-season home run record holder (1998).
10 years later, Boston Red Sox SS Nomar Garciaparra became the sixth unanimous AL ROY after posting an .875 OPS and leading the AL in hits. Garciaparra also led the majors in at-bats in a season that saw him win a Silver Slugger, make the All-Star team, and get some recognition in AL MVP voting in addition to his ROY honors. Garciaparra’s 230 hits before his rookie eligibility expired are the seventh-most among all rookies since the start of the live ball era (1920-present). The gifted bat of Garciaparra led him to become a 2x batting champ in the AL and a 6x All-Star. Since 1997, there have been five unanimous AL ROY winners: Evan Longoria (2008), Mike Trout (2012), Jose Abreu (2014), Judge (2017), and Yordan Alvarez (2019). There have been a total of 24 unanimous ROY awardees in MLB history since the award became nationally recognized in 1947.
On this day in sports (1997): Nomar Garciaparra (@Nomar5) unanimously wins @MLB AL Rookie of the Year! https://t.co/zaXCZ6Sagm pic.twitter.com/gM0PP7P63i
— COMC.com - Check Out My Cards (@CheckOutMyCards) November 3, 2018
