The achievements of both individuals and teams on the 5th of October stood out as some of the greatest occurrences in professional sports history. MLB icon Barry Bonds set a massive single-season record to further his argument as one of the greatest to ever pick up a bat. Additionally, the Mariners had the best season any MLB team has had in over a century. The accolades on 10/5 remain neither replicated nor bettered.

Ricky Eisenbart also contributed to this article.

Bonds Stands Alone

YEAR: 2001

SIGNIFICANCE: Barry Bonds hit his 71st and 72nd HR’s of the season, breaking Mark McGwire‘s season record

On this day in 2001, San Francisco Giants OF Barry Bonds hit his 71st and 72nd home runs, officially breaking Mark McGwire’s single-season record of 70 set in 1998. Bonds had tied the record the night prior against the Houston Astros, but against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers, he delivered two bombs in a 2-for-5 night. Even though the Giants lost to the Dodgers at Pacific Bell Park, the story was that Bonds had finally overtaken McGwire and cemented himself as arguably the most notorious power hitter ever. Bonds hit his home runs in his first two at bats of the game against Chan Ho Park, who was an All-Star that season. Bonds record still stands at 73 with Giancarlo Stanton’s 59 HR’s in 2017 being the closest a player has gotten.

SEA's AL Wins Record

YEAR: 2001

SIGNIFICANCE: Seattle Mariners won their 115th game, breaking the American League single-season wins record

After a 6-2 win over the Texas Rangers, the Seattle Mariners became the first team in AL history to win 115 regular season games. Seattle broke the 1998 New York Yankees record of 114 regular season victories. The Mariners of the late ’90’s had made some incredible strides in becoming an absolute juggernaut in the AL West, especially in terms of generational talent. But by 2001, some very key pieces left the squad. Most notably, Ken Griffey Jr. leaving for the Cincinnati Reds, Jay Buhner retiring, and Alex Rodriguez signing with their division rival Rangers for the richest contract in American sports at the time.

But that didn’t seem to faze the Mariners, who were inaugurating Safeco Field that season. 38-year-old Edgar Martinez was still with the M’s wreaking havoc as the DH, but Seattle’s most important piece in 2001 was the acquisition of Japanese international icon, Ichiro Suzuki. The 2001 AL Rookie of the Year and MVP filled the void left by the departure of superstars and led the Mariners to an all-time MLB-tying record 116 wins; a record that has yet to be matched. The 116-46 Mariners spent 161 games in first place and had a season-long winning streak of 15 games (May 23 – June 8). Seattle beat the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS (3-2) but lost to the Yankees in the ALCS (4-1).

Henderson's Historic Run

Rickey Henderson - 3055 Hits, 297 HR, 1115 RBI, 2295 Runs (#1 all-time), 1406 Stolen Bases (#1 all-time), 10x All-Star, 3x Silver Slugger, 2x World Series champ, 1990 AL MVP pic.twitter.com/rkZZBqCwbh
— OldTimeHardball (@OleTimeHardball) August 31, 2020

YEAR: 2001

SIGNIFICANCE: Rickey Henderson scored his 2,246th career run, breaking Ty Cobb‘s all-time MLB record

In his age-42 season, San Diego Padres OF Rickey Henderson scored his 2,246th career run, surpassing Ty Cobb for the all-time lead. The all-time stolen base leader finished his career with 2,295 runs; 50 more than Cobb. In his 25-year career, Henderson led the majors in runs scored in five seasons with his career-high of 146 runs coming in 1985 as a member of the New York Yankees. The 2009 Hall of Fame inductee had three seasons of at least 100 steals and 100 runs scored, a modern-baseball record.

Record Return TD Streak

YEAR: 2003

SIGNIFICANCE: Dante Hall set an NFL record with a return TD in his 4th consecutive game, also the game-winner

Over his nine-year career with the Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Rams, WR Dante Hall made a name for himself as an electric return man, earning the nickname “Human Joystick”. A 2x Pro Bowl returner, he finished his career tied for the most kickoff return TDs (6) and second-most total return TDs (12) in NFL history along with seven Chiefs franchise records.

Yet, for a 10-week stretch spanning from 2002 to 2003, Hall reached an entirely different level of game-breaker, scoring on a return in seven of ten games and capping it off with a record-setting four-week TD streak. Named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week over that entire span, the “X-Factor” was the very first to win the Award in four consecutive weeks and was eventually named the tenth-best returner in NFL history by NFL Network.

Pippen Calls it a Career

NBA Champion
Olympic Gold Medal
All-Star
All-NBA
All-Defence#OnThisDay in 2004, Scottie Pippen announced his retirement from the #NBA

@NBATV pic.twitter.com/zZtJz1BnTC

— thesportsman (@TheSportsman) October 5, 2020

YEAR: 2004

SIGNIFICANCE: Scottie Pippen announced his retirement after a farewell tour with the Chicago Bulls the previous season

After leaving Chicago for Houston and then Portland to play out a five-year, $77 million deal, Scottie Pippen returned to the Bulls on a two-year, $10 million contract in 2003. Returning to end his career where it all started, the 38-year-old Pippen struggled with a variety of injuries and was only available for 23 games. The Bulls struggled to a paltry 23-59 record, marking the very first time in Pippen’s career he failed to qualify for the postseason; in fact, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had appeared in more playoff games over his professional career (237 to 208).

Because of his availability, or lack thereof, Pippen decided it was time to hang up his jersey, claiming “I’ve done all I could as a player“. Satisfied to walk away from the game as a 6x NBA Champion and 10x All-NBA defender after one last year in Chicago, former teammate and current GM John Paxson promised to still pay the future Hall of Famer’s 2004 salary of $5 million.