Holding both recent and long-standing significance, October 4th remains the day that the city of Brooklyn secured its first and only championship in professional sports. 10/4 also marks the anniversary of the very first “Scab Sunday” as well as more recent events like Tom Brady joining a legendary group and the Minnesota Twins setting a dubious postseason record that was recently extended.

Ricky Eisenbart also contributed to this article.

TB12 is Mr. 500

YEAR: 2018

SIGNIFICANCE: Tom Brady became just the 3rd player in NFL history to reach 500 career PASS TDs

In a 38-24 Thursday night victory over the Indianapolis Colts, Patriots QB Tom Brady connected for the very first time with newly-acquired WR Josh Gordon for his 500th career TD pass. Just the third in NFL history to reach the mark, Brady joined a distinguished group consisting of only Brett Favre (508) and Peyton Manning (539).

In addition to the elusive achievement, Brady not only tied his former teammate (Adam Vinatieri) for the most wins in NFL history (226), but Gordon was also the 71st different player to catch a TD from Brady, breaking Vinny Testaverde‘s former record. Holding a 3-2 record on the season after the victory, New England would go on to win six of their next seven games, secure the #2 seed, and advance to Super Bowl LIII, where Brady would win his record-setting sixth Super Bowl over the Rams.

No one more deserving of Tom Brady’s 500th TD than Josh Gordon
(via @thecheckdown) pic.twitter.com/yJaZqPh081
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 5, 2018

Dodgers Making History

YEARS: 1955 & 1959

SIGNIFICANCE: Brooklyn Dodgers won 1st WS in franchise history AND the WS was played out west for the 1st time ever

After defeating the New York Yankees 2-0 in Game 7, the Brooklyn Dodgers became World Champions for the first time in franchise history. The series got off to a two-game series lead for the Yankees, with SP’s Whitey Ford and Tommy Byrne shutting down the Dodgers’ offense. Brooklyn bounced back and took the next three games at Ebbets Field, setting up a championship-winning opportunity for “Dem Bums”. After a Game 6 loss, Dodgers SP Johnny Podres led Brooklyn to a Game 7 win with an incredible complete game shutout. Podres was awarded the WS MVP after pitching 18 innings and going 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA. The 1955 World Championship would be the Dodgers’ only title in Brooklyn as the team relocated to Los Angeles just three years later. NOTE: The Brooklyn Nets have never won a NBA championship.

Four years later, the Dodgers would make it to the World Series for the third time in five years. This time, however, they were the Los Angeles Dodgers, after their move in ’58. This became the first time ever Major League Baseball hosted the Fall Classic anywhere west of Missouri. The 1959 World Series was between L.A. and the Chicago White Sox, with the Dodgers emerging as victorious 4-2. Larry Sherry won WS MVP after going 2-0 with two saves in four appearances. The reliever had a 0.71 ERA in 12.2 IP during the World Series and closed out the series in Game 6 with five scoreless innings out of the bullpen—relieving Podres, the World Series MVP from Brooklyn’s only title.

"Scabs" Take the Field

YEAR: 1987

SIGNIFICANCE: The very 1st “Scab Sunday” took place as a result of the NFLPA strike

On this day in 1987, replacement players known as “scabs” took the gridiron for the first time as a result of the NFLPA strike. Rather than concede to the players’ demands of free agency rights, retirement benefits, and the elimination of artificial turf, NFL owners decided to hire replacements, a decision that was widely scrutinized by the public. Justly outraged, ticket holders and fans were furious and attendance fell drastically. Fans and interest groups held protests outside of stadiums on gamedays, relentlessly ridiculing the “scabs” and intimidating other fans from attending the games.

NFL cast-offs, these “scabs” consisted of current Canadian Football League and Arena Football League players, but also many unemployed players impacted by the recent foldings of the United States Football League, the World Football League, and the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes. The strike ended after Week 6 with many players crossing picket lines, but the “scab” season remains arguably one of the most influential and divisive periods in NFL history. Though not given their full list of demands, the players largely showed their strength, let their voice be heard, and the public legitimized their struggle, which has heavily impacted the generations of players that have followed. Yet, many current and former players as well as union executives would suggest there’s still lots of work to be done in regards to labor relations today.

All-Time 3B HR Record

YEAR: 1980

SIGNIFICANCE: Mike Schmidt hit a 3B-record 48th HR in a season to secure the NL East title for Philadelphia

The Montreal Expos and Philadelphia Phillies were tied at four before Mike Schmidt homered in the top of the 11th inning, giving the Phillies a 6-4 lead and eventually their 91st win of the season. That win clinched the NL East for the Fightin’ Phils as that win put them up two games ahead of the Expos heading into the final game of the season.

That 1980 NL East division banner was their fourth div. title in the last five years. The two-run, game winning bomb also gave Schmidt his major league-leading 48th home run of the season, an all-time record for a full-time third baseman at the time. His home run record stood until Alex Rodriguez hit 54 HR in his 2007 AL MVP season. Schmidt won the his first of three career NL MVP’s in that ’80 campaign, and he followed it up with back-to-back MVP’s in 1981 (his third award came in ’86).

Record Playoff Streak

YEAR: 2019

SIGNIFICANCE: Minnesota Twins set the MLB record for most consecutive postseason losses (14) ever

One year ago, the Minnesota Twins lost their 14th consecutive postseason game after a 10-4 loss to the New York Yankees. The 14 losses were an MLB record, and date all the way back to October 2004. All but one postseason series were in the hands of the Yankees, meaning that New York was responsible for 11 of the Twins’ historic 14 straight losses at the time. The Yankees 11 straight playoff wins over Minnesota also represented the most such victories versus any single franchise in history.

Three days later, the Yankees would sweep the Twins, further expanding the Twins’ postseason failures. In addition, this past Wednesday on Sept. 30, the Houston Astros swept the Twins in the new best-of-three Wild Card Series, pushing the Twins’ playoff losing streak to a dreadful 18 straight games. The 18 consecutive losses are a record that stretches across all of the big four American sport leagues. The Twins last postseason victory was in Game 1 of the 2004 ALDS, when Johan Santana threw seven masterful innings in a 2-0 victory over the Yankees.