The day September 18th has held heavy significance for sports events that occurred in the previous millennium. Way back in 1966 when the Colts were in Baltimore, Johnny Unitas cemented his name as one of the greats with a huge record. Exactly 30 years later, Roger Clemens repeated his own MLB record by completely brutalizing Tigers batters in two separate games. Some serious studs in pro sports history had their most significant outings over the years on 9/18.

Kaivan Tabatabai also contributed to this article.

Unitas Leads the NFL

YEAR: 1966

SIGNIFICANCE: Baltimore Colts QB Johnny Unitas became the career passing touchdown leader in the NFL

One of the most decorated athletes in NFL history was QB Johnny Unitas, who played for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Beginning in 1953, Unitas led the Colts to four NFL Championships, three of which were in the pre-Super Bowl era. Commonly referred to as, “the Golden Arm” the 3x MVP took the lead for most NFL career touchdowns in 1966 on 9/18 with 212 in total. Unitas was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979, and will forever be known as one of the greatest to throw the football.

Rocket Punches Out 20

YEAR: 1996

SIGNIFICANCE: Roger Clemens tied his own MLB record by striking out 20 batters in a single game

Boston Red Sox SP Roger Clemens struck out 20 Detroit Tigers, matching his own MLB record on this day in 1996, and a little over 10 years after his first 20-K performance. Clemens took the mound at the old Tiger Stadium facing a woeful Tiger squad, who entered the game with a dreadful record of 51-100. Clemens was 33 years old at the time, and was in a point of his career that many thought was close to the end of what was already an incredible career. Little did they know, the HGH-accused hurler would add four more Cy Youngs to his legacy after this outstanding outing.

The Rocket pitched one of the most dominating performances ever on a Major League mound, allowing just five hits. Of the 20 strikeouts, 14 were swinging due to his wicked split-changeup. Clemens is one of just four pitchers ever to strikeout 20 in a game and is the only one to have ever done it twice. After 1996, Clemens left Boston and arrived in Toronto, where he won back-to-back AL Cy Young awards in ’97 and ’98 before winning again in 2001 (Yankees) and in ’04 (Astros).

Rally After Fan Interference

YEAR: 1993

SIGNIFICANCE: Yankees rally for 3 runs after fan interference calls off a game-ending pop-fly vs. Boston

During the 1993 pennant race, the New York Yankees trailed the Boston Red Sox 3-1 in the 9th inning with two outs. Yankees C Mike Stanley hit a pop fly to left field for the final out, but a fan had run onto the field just before the pitch was thrown, forcing third base umpire Tim Welke to call a timeout. Due to the play being stopped before the pitch, the out was restored and the play called for a replay. So, they had to do it again; 3-1 count, two outs… Stanley instead gets a base hit.

Red Sox manager Butch Hobson is furious in the third base dugout while the Yankee faithful is going wild. Next up was former Sox legend and Yankees 3B Wade Boggs, who singled to deep 2B after a diving Scott Fletcher couldn’t get the ball out in time, and it was suddenly a one run game. After a walk to Dion James, Don Mattingly singled to RF scoring two runs and capping off one of the most bizarre endings to a baseball game. This game could be looked at as one of the prime examples of how cursed the Red Sox were prior to their legendary 2004 comeback.

The 1st Place '87 Tigers

One of baseballs greatest teams ever...1984 Detroit Tigers Opening Day...1st place every game entire season#Tigers pic.twitter.com/nn055mE6DE
— Chad Clement (@Chad_B_Clement) April 4, 2013

YEAR: 1984

SIGNIFICANCE: Tigers became the 4th team in MLB history to stay in 1st place all season

The Detroit Tigers of 1987 had a absolutely dominant season, staying in first place all the way from Opening Day to the final pitch of the year. The Tigers finished with a league-best 98-64 record, and became just the fourth team ever to stay in first place all season long. Unluckily for the Tigers, they lost in the ALCS to the eventual champion, Minnesota Twins, in five games. The team was led by Hall of Famers SS Alan Tramell, who finished second in MVP voting that year by hitting .343/.402/.953, and SP Jack Morris, who went 18-11 with a 3.32 ERA in 266 IP.

NO OT Triumph

OTD 1983: In a wild game in which the score was tied five different times, the #Saints claim their first overtime victory ever, 34-31 over the #Bears.

Walter Payton does it ALL:
• Rushing: 28 carries, 161 yards, 1 TD
• Receiving: 2 rec, 27 yards
• Passing: 2-2, 77 yards, 2 TD https://t.co/9y6vK00SfN
— Kevin Gallagher (@KevG163) September 18, 2020

YEAR: 1983

SIGNIFICANCE: New Orleans Saints secured their 1st ever OT victory in franchise history after 16 seasons

As many fans and players know, winning a game in over-time is a special feeling. Going head-to-head for an entire match-up and clutching it out in the final stretch gives everyone in the sports world a sense of accomplishment. For the New Orleans Saints, it took them an astounding 16 seasons for the franchise to win their first game in OT. They did so in an exhilarating battle against the Chicago Bears, pulling out the 34-31 victory. Nowadays, the Saints hold high confidence in getting the job done, as Drew Brees leads an extremely talented New Orleans group with Super Bowl aspirations.