Typically one of the final days of the MLB season, September 30th is significant for several all-time greats — Babe Ruth, George Brett, and Roberto Clemente. Albert Belle achieved an unprecedented feat as did the New York Yankees, the latter of which took place in the postseason 23 years ago. In addition to some terrific moments in baseball, one of the greatest QBs in NFL history also achieved an unprecedented milestone in one of the final games of his career.

Ricky Eisenbart also contributed to this article.

Ruth Hits 60 HRs

YEAR: 1927

SIGNIFICANCE: Babe Ruth broke his own record by becoming the 1st in MLB history to hit 60 HR

To cap off one of the most successful seasons in New York Yankees history, OF Babe Ruth broke his own single-season home run record by becoming the first hitter ever to reach the 60-HR mark six years after setting the record at 59. Ruth, a member of the iconic “Murderers’ Row”, hit .356/.486/1.258 to go along with 165 RBI during his iconic 1927 season. The ’27 Yankees, led by Ruth and Lou Gehrig (who set his own RBI record that season), won 110 regular season games and swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series. That year, Gehrig and Ruth combined for 107 HR and 338 RBI. Ruth’s 60 HR record lasted until 1961 when Roger Maris surpassed it, then Mark McGwire in 1998, and finally Barry Bonds in 2001.

HOFs get 3K Hits

YEARS: 1972 & 1992

SIGNIFICANCE: Roberto Clemente and George Brett collected their 3,000th career hits

On this day in MLB history, a pair of baseball’s greatest players each recorded their 3,000th hit. In 1972, Pirates OF Roberto Clemente got his 3,000th and final hit of his career—a double in the left-center field gap. The Puerto Rican native became the first Latino and 11th player overall to get at least 3,000 hits. Later that December, Clemente tragically passed away after a plane crash at the age of 38 when he was headed to Nicaragua to help earthquake victims.

20 years later, Kansas City Royals legendary 3B George Brett became the 18th player to reach the 3,000 hits plateau. The Hall of Famer was in the 20th year of his career, his second-to-last season in the bigs. At 39 years old, Brett went 4-for-5 in a 4-0 win over the California Angels. The historic hit came in the top of the 7th off Tim Fortugno and became the signifying accolade on his plaque in Cooperstown.

40,000 Pass Yards

Week 3, 1973
Johnny Unitas and the #Chargers welcome Ken Anderson and the #Bengals
Unitas is 2 yards short of 40 000 for his career.
He hits Mike Garrett to break the record.
Johnny was 15-31-215-1-2
Johnson was the of this game 21-121 and 2-116-2 pic.twitter.com/HCOuT8cQq0
— Old Time Football (@Ol_TimeFootball) May 6, 2019

YEAR: 1973

SIGNIFICANCE: Hall of Fame QB Johnny Unitas became the very 1st to accumulate 40,000 career passing yards

Widely considered the best QB in NFL history at the time of his 17th year in the NFL, “Johnny U” led a stretch where the Baltimore Colts won three NFL Championships (1958, ’59, ’68) and Super Bowl V, including the “Greatest Game Ever Played”. The 3x MVP was traded to San Diego after the 1972 season, however, and spent the final year of his Hall-of-Fame career with a lowly Chargers team that sputtered to a 2-11-1 record.

Clearly not his former self, Unitas would be benched at halftime of their Week 4 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, ceding the starting job to another future Hall-of-Famer (Dan Fouts). Yet, in a Week 3 loss to the Bengals, Johnny U reached another milestone that was thought of as impossible when his career began. After smashing Y.A. Tittle’s former record of 33,070 yards earlier in his career, Unitas became the very first in NFL history to reach 40,000 career passing yards on this date.

Historic 50-50 Season

YEAR: 1995

SIGNIFICANCE: Albert Belle became the 1st player in history with 50 HR and 50 2B in a season

Traditionally, baseball keeps track of 40-40 seasons (40 HR, 40 SB), but does not follow “home run/doubles” seasons. But in 1995, Albert Belle did something that no one had ever done before; he hit 50 home runs and had 50 doubles. That season, the Cleveland Indians OF hit .317/.401/1.091, had a major league-leading .617 slugging percentage, and an AL-high 126 RBI in addition to his majors leading 52 doubles and 50 home runs. The closest a player has ever gotten to a 50-50 season was Colorado Rockies 1B Todd Helton, who missed joining Belle by one home run.

3 Straight Playoff HRs

YEAR: 1997

SIGNIFICANCE: Tim Raines, Derek Jeter, and Paul O’Neill became the 1st to hit 3 straight HR in a postseason game

The 1997 American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians got off to a crazy start. Game 1 featured a pitching matchup between two former Cy Young winners: Orel Hershiser, owner of the consecutive scoreless inning record, and David Cone, a 5x All-Star and ace of the Yankees’ staff. After a 5-run 1st inning for the Indians, the Yankees started to chip thanks to a 4th inning Tino Martinez bomb.

But the historic feat of this series between two AL powerhouses came in the bottom of the 6th inning, when the Yankees had the ultimate postseason rally. After an RBI-single by Rey Sanchez, Tim Raines, Derek Jeter, and Paul O’Neill became the first trio in MLB history to hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in a postseason game. The Bronx Bombers ended up winning the game 8-6, so it wasn’t the pitching duel that was expected. However, Cleveland rallied back to win the series in five games, and ultimately the AL pennant.