HOT
Most Significant Sports History on October 2nd
Learn about October 2nd's most significant sports history including a World Series record, major NBA trades, the Braves' NFL debut (not a typo), & more!
Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE
The second of October is a day filled with record-breaking performances and significant occurrences in the history of sports. The baseball and football Cardinals, respectively based in St. Louis and Chicago at the time, fielded players with the same first name that would set all-time records. In addition to the last recorded triple-header in MLB history taking place, the NFL’s Boston franchise — named after one of the city’s baseball clubs — made its debut as well. Key Chicago Bulls dynasty members also had career-altering events happen on 9/2.
YEAR: 1968
SIGNIFICANCE: Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson set a World Series record by striking out 17 Tigers batters
In the 1968 World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals faced off against the Detroit Tigers in a best of seven series. In Game 1, fans were treated to perhaps the greatest World Series pitching matchup ever. Cardinals’ ace Bob Gibson, the NL Cy Young and MVP battled it out against the AL’s Cy Young and MVP, Denny McLain (spectacularly, the full game is available online). These two pitchers had a couple of the greatest seasons of all-time; McClain went 31-6 with a 1.96 ERA in 336 IP while Gibson owned a 22-9 record with a 1.12 ERA, the lowest earned run average in the post-Dead Ball Era of baseball.
Gibson made the most of the matchup as he threw a complete game shutout while striking out 17 batters, the most ever in a postseason game. Gibson was absolutely masterful, allowing just five hits and walking just one. McLain lasted just five innings and allowed three runs, two of those earned. Gibson later pitched in Game 4, where he had ANOTHER complete game, this time allowing one run with 10 strikeouts, and also pitched in Game 7, a game that he lost against the series MVP Mickey Lolich.
YEAR: 1995 & 1999
SIGNIFICANCE: Dennis Rodman was acquired by the Chicago Bulls and Scottie Pippen was traded to Portland
On this day in 1995, the Chicago Bulls traded for one of the most physical interior presences of his generation, PF Dennis Rodman. Acquiring him from San Antonio for C Will Perdue, “The Worm” was arguably the league’s best rebounder but had his fair share of controversies, which led HC Gregg Popovich to unload his contract. For the Bulls, however, Rodman was essentially the final missing piece to one of, if not the greatest team in NBA history as Chicago ransacked the league toward an all-time-best 72-10 record and the franchise’s fourth NBA Championship.
Four years later on the same exact day, the Houston Rockets shipped Rodman’s former teammate and fellow superstar SF Scottie Pippen to Portland in exchange for six players. Following Chicago’s “Last Dance” in 1998, Pippen signed a five-year, $77 million deal and immediately traded to Houston, but spent just one year with Hall-of-Famers Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon before chemistry issues emerged and he requested a trade. He played out the rest of that deal half-decade with Portland, leading them to the playoffs each season and the Western Conference Finals in 2000. In 2003, Scottie returned to Chicago to finish the final season of his career in the building where his six Championships were won.
#OTD on Oct 2, 1950 Bob Shaw of Chicago Cardinals sets #NFL record with 5 TD receptions in 55-13 win against Baltimore Colts; Cardinals quarterback Jim Hardy tosses 6 touchdown passes. #ARI #football #sports #RedSea pic.twitter.com/kf5MZ64cDk
— Baseball&Football (@SportsNostalgai) October 2, 2019
YEAR: 1950
SIGNIFICANCE: TE Bob Shaw set a single-game NFL record with 5 TD receptions
Despite just a four-year NFL career, Bob Shaw was a very accomplished athlete. An All-American two-way “end” (TE/DE) at Ohio State, he also played basketball and was on the track-and-field team. A member of the Buckeyes’ very first National Championship team in 1942, Shaw was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 1996. Following his military service, where he earned a Bronze Star, Shaw returned to the gridiron with the Cleveland Rams and won an NFL Championship his rookie season.
He remained with the Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams through 1949, when he left for the Chicago Cardinals. During his debut for the Cardinals, a 55-13 demolition of the Baltimore Colts, five of Bob Shaw’s eight receptions (165 yards) finished in the end zone to set a single-game record. His last season in the NFL, Shaw led the league with 12 touchdown receptions but went north to join the Calgary Stampeders. The CFL’s top scorer in 1951 and ’52, Shaw eventually transitioned into a Kicker to extend his career.
DID YOU KNOW: The last MLB Triple Header was played on October 2, 1920 between the Reds and the Pirates. Cincinnati ended up taking 2 of 3. Only three triple headers have ever been played, the other two occurred in 1890 and 1896. pic.twitter.com/4JRaqMrMYn
— Ethan Eibe (@EthanEibe) August 4, 2020
YEAR: 1920
SIGNIFICANCE: The last triple-header in MLB history took place between the Reds and Pirates
On this day in 1920, the final triple-header in Major League Baseball history took place as the Cincinnati Reds faced the Pittsburgh Pirates in Forbes Field. Two of the games were postponements, one from June 5th (rain), and the other was from the night before (also rain). The Reds won two games that day, beating the Pittsburgh 13-4 and 7-3, respectively. The third game went the Pirates way 6-0, but it was just a six-inning game, likely due to the lack of lighting in the ballpark. Each game lasted no more than two hours and three minutes, none featured home runs, and only the first game saw relievers being used. A lot has clearly changed in America’s pastime over the last century.
YEAR: 1932
SIGNIFICANCE: Boston Braves (now the Washington Football Team) played their 1st NFL game against the Brooklyn Dodgers
Granted an expansion franchise after the Providence Steam Rollers had folded, George Preston Marshall chose to start his new team in Boston, MA. The city had two MLB teams at the time in the Red Sox and Braves, who played at Fenway Park and Braves Field, the latter of which Marshall signed a lease with. NFL franchises were unstable and folded regularly, so they sought any sort of recognition and typically aligned with their city’s baseball clubs’ imagery (see: Giants, Dodgers, Cubs/Bears, Tigers/Lions, Indians, Yankees). Because of this, along with the team’s significant number of Native American players (and head coach: Lone Star Dietz), Marshall decided to name his new football team after the baseball team they shared a home with — the Braves.
They were defeated by the Brooklyn Dodgers (go figure) in their inaugural NFL game 14-0, yet would finish the 1932 season with a respectable 4-4-2 record despite just five total offensive touchdowns. Following a dispute over the rent for Braves Field, however, Marshall moved his team over to Fenway Park. Rather than give the “Braves” name further exposure, Marshall then renamed the team to sound similar to their new neighbors, and the controversial “Redskins” nickname was born in 1937.
So in 1932, the new NFL expansion franchise would play in Boston where the Braves were popular, and they named themselves the… Boston Braves.
This was George Preston Marshall’s team, in their first season. pic.twitter.com/5O7R3NlZQT
— Football Perspective (@fbgchase) July 3, 2020
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