This Day in Sports History: October 12
Sports in October are all about Major League Baseball postseason, the start of the NBA and NHL seasons, the Xfinity 500 for NASCAR, track events, the UEFA Champions League, and…
Sports in October are all about Major League Baseball postseason, the start of the NBA and NHL seasons, the Xfinity 500 for NASCAR, track events, the UEFA Champions League, and Formula 1. Over the years, Oct. 12 has witnessed plenty of notable sports moments and stories from legends of the game. Here's a closer look at some of those instances.
Unforgettable Games and Remarkable Records
Great moments in sports history from Oct. 12 include:
- 1907: The Cubs beat the Tigers and won their first World Series title.
- 1916: The Red Sox beat the Robins 4-1 and retained their World Series title.
- 1925: Albert Michelsen ran a world-record marathon time of 2:29:01.
- 1929: The Cubs blew an 8-0 lead in Game 4 of the World Series, allowing the Athletics to win 10-8 with a World Series record of 10 runs in one inning.
- 1963: The very last baseball game at the Polo Grounds took place. It was a Latin American all-star charity event, featuring six players who later became Hall of Famers.
- 1964: Swimmer Don Schollander swam an Olympic record of 53.4 seconds and won the 100-meter freestyle gold medal. It was the first of four gold medals that he won that year in the Tokyo Games.
- 1967: Lou Brock stole a World Series record of seven bases, leading the Cardinals to beat the Red Sox 4-3.
- 1979: Celtics guard Chris Ford made the first-ever three-point basket in NBA history.
- 1979: Magic Johnson made his NBA debut with the Los Angeles Lakers.
- 1982: The Milwaukee Brewers' Paul Molitor got a World Series record of five hits in a single game.
- 1989: Dallas running back Herschel Walker was traded from the Cowboys to the Vikings for five players and six future draft picks.
- 1991: Doug Flutie of the BC Lions set a CFL passing record of 582 yards in a loss to the Edmonton Eskimos.
- 1991: Mike Lerch tied a National Collegiate Athletics Association record with 370 receiving yards.
- 1992: Bret Hart beat Ric Flair for the WWF heavyweight title.
- 1992: Art Monk got his 820th career reception, with which he set an NFL record.
- 2003: Germany beat Sweden 2-1 in extra time and won the FIFA Women's World Cup title.
- 2003: Racing driver Michael Schumacher clinched his fourth straight World Drivers Championship.
- 2008: D.A. Weibring won the Senior Players Championship. It was his only career major title.
- 2016: Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs became the first player in NHL history to debut with four goals in a game.
- 2019: Eliud Kipchoge became the first person to run a marathon in under two hours. His time was 1:59:40.
Three athletes who stood out on Oct. 12 were Lou Brock, Herschel Walker, and Eliud Kipchoge.
Brock was a Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder, famous for his incredible speed and base-stealing ability, which resulted in a record 938 career stolen bases. Walker was renowned for his illustrious football career, including his legendary run at the University of Georgia, a Heisman Trophy, his time in the USFL and the NFL, and his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. Kipchoge's philosophy, "no human is limited," encapsulates his dedication and success over a distinguished career.
