October 19th represents a rich day of wild events in the history of pro sports. On the same day in two separate years, the Houston Astros found LCS glory which accelerated the franchise forever. Similarly, the St. Louis Cardinals found success in the NLCS with some extremely memorable late-game plays. The occurrences that took place just before the World Series go to show how tough and unpredictable League Championship Series baseball is as the 2020 NLCS Game 7 proved once again.

Ricky Eisenbart also contributed to this article.

Astros' LCS Clinchers

YEAR: 2005 & 2019

SIGNIFICANCE: Astros advanced to their 1st ever WS & Jose Altuve hit a walk-off HR for HOU’s 2nd WS in 3 years

A year after losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS, the Houston Astros returned the favor by defeating the Cards in six games on this day in 2005. The 5-1, Game 6 win clinched the National League for the Houston Astros, the first league pennant in franchise history. SP Roy Oswalt completely dominated the St. Louis bats during his two starts in the series. In 14 innings pitched, Oswalt had a 1.29 ERA with 12 strikeouts. In Game 6 on October 19th, 2005, Oswalt pitched seven innings of one-run ball, allowing just three hits. His performance in the NLCS earned him NLCS MVP honors. The Astros went on to face the Chicago White Sox in the 2005 World Series, who also won their first pennant in a long time.

14 years later, the Houston Astros (now in the American League) walked-off the New York Yankees in Game 6 of the ALCS to clinch their second AL Pennant in three years. 2B Jose Altuve sent an Aroldis Chapman hanging slider deep, leaving Chapman stunned on the mound. Prior to the bottom of the 9th inning, the Yankees had temporarily tied the game at four when 2B DJ LeMahieu played hero by hitting a 2-run game-tying shot off CP Roberto Osuna. This loss made the 2010’s the first decade in 100 years that New York didn’t win a single league pennant (1910’s).

Cards Clutch G7 Win

YEAR: 2006

SIGNIFICANCE: Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright came up big late in NLCS Game 7 vs. NY Mets

In the top of the 9th inning of a tied NLCS Game 7, St. Louis Cardinals C Yadier Molina hit a 2-run HR off Aaron Heilman to give the red birds a 3-1 lead. Molina hit the home run over the left field wall, and well out of the reach of LF Endy Chavez, who extraordinarily robbed 3B Scott Rolen of a potential two-run home run back in the sixth inning of the same game. In the bottom half of the inning, closer Adam Wainwright came in to shut the series and propel the Cardinals to their second World Series in three years.

Wainwright loaded the bases after back-to-back singles to begin the inning, and a two-out walk. That brought up OF Carlos Beltran, who hit 41 HR during the regular season, with the tying run in scoring position and the winning run on first base. Wainwright needed just three pitches to take care of Beltran, who struck out looking at a big looping curveball that dropped right over the middle of the plate. The 83-win Cardinals beat the 97-win Mets and would face the Detroit Tigers in the 2006 World Series, where Albert Pujols and co. led STL to their first ring in over two decades.

NBA HOFers Debut

https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/788756606632722432

YEAR: 1960

SIGNIFICANCE: HOFers Oscar Robertson and Jerry West made their NBA debuts against each other

Exactly six decades ago, two of the NBA’s greatest guards made their respective debuts against each other. Oscar Robertson’s Cincinnati Royals came away with a 140-126 victory against West’s Los Angeles Lakers as the former recorded a 21-point triple-double (of course) and the latter finished with 20 points and five assists.

It was the Lakers’ first game since moving from Minneapolis, as the team featured three future Hall-of-Famers — Elgin Baylor and Slick Leonard, along with the “Logo” — but could not hold off the Royals’ HOF duo of the “Big O” and Jack Twyman. Beating out West for Rookie of the Year honors, Robertson would finish fifth in MVP voting as a rookie by averaging 30.5 points, 10 rebounds, and a league-leading 9.7 assists per game despite an uninspiring 33-46 record.

"Bloody Sock" Game

YEAR: 2004

SIGNIFICANCE: Curt Schilling forces a Game 7 after his infamous “bloody sock” start at Yankee Stadium

In the midst of the greatest comeback in sports history, the Boston Red Sox turned to Curt Schilling in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS, trailing 3-2 in the series after winning 2 straight games at Fenway Park. The series shifted to the Bronx, but that did not faze the mighty ’04 Red Sox. Schilling had suffered a tendon injury in his right ankle during the Division Series. That injury affected him in Game 1 of the ALCS, where he got lit up for six runs over three innings in the Bronx zoo.

Prior to Game 6, the team doctor decided to stitch up the tendon area as a temporary measure to help Schilling pitch the elimination game in hostile territory. During his warmups, Schilling began to bleed from the injury, soaking the sock in blood. And despite the bloody ankle, Schilling cruised through seven innings, allowing just one run on four hits, and no walks. The 4-2 Sox victory forced a Game 7 after being down 3-0 in the ALCS. Schilling’s “bloody sock” game became a major part of one of the greatest stories in sports history.

Rays Win 1st Pennant

YEAR: 2008

SIGNIFICANCE: Tampa Bay Rays beat Boston in ALCS Game 7 and advance to the 1st WS in franchise history

For the 1st time in their 11-year existence, the Tampa Bay Rays advanced to the World Series after defeating the Boston Red Sox 3-1 in Game 7 of the ALCS. The 97-win Rays won the AL East and cruised past the White Sox in four ALDS games. It took seven games for the Rays to beat the defending World Champions Red Sox, but they got it done thanks to Matt Garza (ALCS MVP), great relief pitching, and the big bats producing when it mattered most. Garza had two starts in the series (13 IP) and posted an ERA of 1.38 with 14 punch outs.

In Game 7, he pitched seven innings and struck out nine batters while only allowing just one run on two hits. Rookie 2007 first overall pick David Price then came into the game with two outs in the eighth inning and shut the door, striking out three in just over an inning of work. Offensively, Tampa Bay was led by five hitters: Willy Aybar (1.211 OPS, Gm7 HR), Evan Longoria (.815 SLG, 4 HR), Melvin Upton Jr. (11 RBI), Carlos Peña (1.060 OPS), and Carl Crawford (.345 AVG). It took Tampa Bay 12 years to return to the World Series, as they just recently beat the Astros in the 2020 ALCS in seven games.