October 17th in sports history truly stands out for its astronomical events in occurrence. Not only did one of the most incredible comebacks of all-time go down in the ALCS between the fiercest rivalry in professional baseball history but a historic MLB stoppage occurred due to an earthquake that held the World Series from playing out for a number of days. These events remain in the conversation of sports fans each day and will certainly never be forgotten.

Ricky Eisenbart also contributed to this article.

The Comeback Begins

YEAR: 2004

SIGNIFICANCE: David Ortiz walked-off the Yankees to kick-start the 1st 3-0 postseason series comeback ever

Entering the 9th inning in Game 4 of the ALCS, the Boston Red Sox were down 4-3 and stared at a 4-0 series sweep by the New York Yankees, a year after getting walked-off by Aaron Boone in Game 7 of the ALCS. Facing Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera, 1B Kevin Millar worked a lead-off walk; Dave Roberts pinch-ran for him. Everyone in the world knew Roberts would steal and he did just that.

Roberts then scored on a single by Bill Mueller two pitches later. Fast forward to the bottom of the 12th inning, and after a lead-off single by Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz hit a home run over the right field fence for a 6-4 Boston win. That win initiated the greatest comeback in American sports history when the Yankees blew a 3-0 ALCS advantage, eventually ending the Red Sox’s 86-year World Series drought, known as the “Curse of the Bambino.”

Earthquake Delays WS

YEAR: 1989

SIGNIFICANCE: Minutes before World Series Game 3, an earthquake hit the Bay Area, postponing the WS 10 days

The Bay Area was buzzing about the 1989 World Series, with the local San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics going head-to-head for the ’89 World Championship. First pitch was scheduled for 5:30 pm local time at Candlestick Park, the home of the Giants. But at 5:09 pm a 7.1 magnitude earthquake centered near the Loma Prieta peak, impacted the entire Northern California region. The earthquake postponed Game 3 and delayed the whole series, which didn’t resume until 10 days later. The Athletics had a 2-0 series lead entering Game 3, and would go on to sweep the Giants a year after losing to the Dodgers in the Fall Classic.

Single-Game Records

OTD: 10/17/1954 Adrian Burk threw 7 TD passes as the @Eagles beat the @Redskins 49-21. pic.twitter.com/7AbrQWooEi
— Ken Crippen (@KenCrippen) October 17, 2015

YEAR: 1943 & 1954

SIGNIFICANCE: Lions recorded a record -53 RUSH YDS AND Adrian Burk tied the single-game record with 7 PASS TDs

In the old days of professional football, before innovations in placekicking and the passing game, among others, final scores and stat lines could get pretty wacky. The Detroit Lions of 1943 lay claim to two of the oddest, as on this day they didn’t gain, but lost a total of 53 yards on the ground in a 7-0 loss to the Chicago Cardinals. The Cardinals totaled just 84 yards on offense and turned the ball over three times, but Detroit’s rushing woes stagnated the entire team. Later that season, the Lions and New York Giants would also play out the last 0 –0 tie in NFL history.

Eleven years later in a game between classic NFC East rivals, Philadelphia Eagles QB Adrian Burk became just the second player in NFL history to throw seven TDs in a single game. Explaining later that they had initially planned for a run-heavy offense, the Eagles found themselves in the red zone quite often and with Washington consistently stacking the box, the former DC draft pick took advantage against his old team. Even Burk never imagined he could ever match Sid Luckman‘s record from 1943, but going into the fourth quarter with a five TD passes and a 35-14 lead, he went for it. Washington didn’t seem to learn from their previous mistakes, as Burk was able to drive down the field for his sixth and seventh TDs.

GW 5-Star Catch

YEAR: 2018

SIGNIFICANCE: Boston held onto a 8-6 lead after Andrew Benintendi made a 5-star catch to end ALCS Game 4 vs. Houston

Two years ago, Boston Red Sox LF Andrew Benintendi made a game-saving catch to end a crucial Game 4 of the 2018 ALCS against the Houston Astros. The Astros loaded the bases thanks to Craig Kimbrel, who couldn’t find the strike zone in the bottom of the 9th. It all worked out for Boston, because Benintendi laid out and caught a sinking line drive off the bat of Alex Bregman with two outs to end the game, and essentially seal the series.

Bregman’s line drive wasn’t hit hard, only 86.3 mph, but it still had an xBA of .790 meaning Benintendi’s stellar defensive play had a 21% catch probability, making it a five-star catch, according to Statcast. Furthermore, that was the only batted ball that game with an xBA of at least .550 that did not result in a base hit. That win gave the Sox a commanding 3-1 series lead. The very next night, Boston clinched the 13th AL pennant in franchise history.

Mahomes 7,500 Yards

Mahomes under pressure. Money.

He becomes the fastest player ever to reach 7,500 career passing yards (24 games) 🔥

(via @thecheckdown)pic.twitter.com/CmVXWaX6CR
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 18, 2019

YEAR: 2019

SIGNIFICANCE: Patrick Mahomes became the quickest in NFL history to reach 7,500 career passing yards

Before his 24th career game, Patrick Mahomes had already tossed 50 TDs and 5,000 yards, made an AFC Championship, and won an MVP, all in his first season as the starting QB. Since taking over in Andy Reid‘s offense, it seems as if he has broken a new record or reached a new milestone every week. His 24th game was no different, as the 24-year-old Mahomes reached the 7,500-yard milestone to break Kurt Warner‘s former record of 27 games as the fastest player to reach 7.5K in NFL history.

Suffering a broken patella in the first half, however, he was forced to leave the 30-6 victory with just 76 yards and a TD while completing 10 of 11 attempts before the injury. He would end up missing just two games and return without missing a beat, ultimately leading the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl appearance and victory in 50 years. It’s crazy to think that KC’s first Super Bowl victory also came in a season their star QB Len Dawson suffered a knee injury before leading the troops to the title.