In 1920, several firsts happened in a World Series game on this day including the first triple play.
In 1968, Curt Flood's mistake on a fly ball allowed Detroit to score 3 and win the World Series title.
In 1981, Southern Cal running back Marcus Allen ran for 211 yards against Arizona in a loss. It was the fifth consecutive game with Allen rushing for at least 200 yards to set a new collegiate record.
And in 1993, golfer Jeff Maggert won his first PGA tour event under the lights.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS BACKGROUND
Relive the greatest moments in sports every day of the year. From the triumphs to the tragedies, the first to do it to the last time it happened, the unbelievable to the strange, This Day in Sports History is a 365-day journey remembering those significant events that made a lasting impact.
STEVE WHITE BIO
The host of 'This DiSH' is me, Steve White. I've spent most of my life behind a microphone. As a kid, I realized the power of the spoken word, hanging out with my dad while we talked to people around the world via ham radio. Later, I put that penchant for communication into practice and ventured into radio and TV. I've worked for a few television stations in North Carolina doing sports reporting and anchoring before transitioning to voiceover in 2015.
'This Day in Sports History' evolved from a lifetime of watching, listening to, and going to ballgames, reading books, magazines, and newspaper articles about my favorite teams and sports heroes. It's not only a labor of love but a voyage of discovery, finding those forgotten tidbits or fascinating things I never knew.
Takeaways:
On October 10, 1920, the Cleveland Indians made history with two groundbreaking plays in the World Series.
Elmer Smith hit the first grand slam in World Series history during game five of 1920.
Jim Bagby became the first pitcher to hit a home run in a World Series game.
Bill Wamsganz executed the first unassisted triple play in World Series history during the same game.
Bob Gibson's outstanding performance in the 1968 World Series showcased his dominance over opposing batters.
Jeff Maggert won his first PGA Tour event in 1993, played under unique night conditions.
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Transcripts
Steve White:
Hey, this is Steve White, the host of this day in sports history.
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The situation in western North Carolina continues to be dire for so many who lost everything.
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Those who still have a home may be without power or access to cleaner running water for several more weeks.
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Some are trapped by washed out roads.
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Communication has been severed.
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So consider a donation to the western North Carolina Red Cross or another local charity that's doing work to help those affected by the storm.
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I've put some links links in the show notes if you would like a few suggestions.
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Thanks.
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And now here's today's episode.
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Hey, and welcome back to this day in sports history.
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A member of the Sports History Network, you can check out more podcasts and find more information@sportshistorynetwork.com.
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, and on this day in:
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Series has been around since:
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It skipped a year in:
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So here we are in:
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t be called the Dodgers until:
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Cleveland had some heavy hitters and they ended up outscored, touring Brooklyn 21 eight in this series.
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But there were only two home runs hit the entire series, and both of those were hit by Cleveland.
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Probably the biggest reason for that is both of these teams played in cavernous ballparks.
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Brooklyn's Ebbets Field was 477 to center, Cleveland's league park was 460, and by comparison, the deepest center field in the majors now is in Houston's minute Maid park at 435ft, and that's 15ft further than the next closest.
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So figure into the mix a fairly inconsistent ball that got knocked out of shape, and you can understand why no more than two were actually hit.
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But one of the first in this series was a home run.
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This was in game five, and the series was tied two games apiece.
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In the bottom of the first, Elmer Smith stepped to the plate with the bases loaded, and he unloaded on a burly Grimes spitball for the first grand slam in World Series history.
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On the other side was Jim Bagby, who was the Indians pitcher on this day, and he stepped up to take some swings in the fourth inning with his team still protecting that 40 lead, and two men on, Bagby unleashed his fury on another Grimes pitch for a three run homer, becoming the first pitcher to ever homer in a World Series game.
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And in case you were wondering, yes, Babe Ruth had played in two World Series with the Boston Red Sox by this point, and he had yet to hit one.
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So that's two firsts from this game.
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But the thing that is most remembered from this game is what happened in the fifth inning.
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The Robins had men on first and second with no outs.
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They were trailing seven to nothing at this point, but maybe they were set to have a big inning.
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Clarence Mitchell came to the plate with big ideas, and he smashed a liner that appeared to be headed into the gap in right center.
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But Cleveland second baseman Bill Wamsgantz snagged it, stepped on second to double up the runner who had broken for third, and then he turned to tag out the stunned runner coming from first for not only the first triple play in World Series history, but the first unassisted triple play in World Series history.
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The Indians went on to win the game eight one and then clinched the series to days later.
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e year that Bob Gibson had in:
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The record 17 strikeouts in game one of the 68 World Series.
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Well, on this day, it was game seven of the World Series and Gibson was back on the mound.
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Hed already won twice in this series, and if you were a Cardinals fan, this is the man that you wanted on the hill that day.
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He squared off with Detroit's Mickey Lullage in this one, and this game was a beaut for the first six innings.
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That is, if you like pitchers duels.
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It was a scoreless tie heading into the 7th, and in fact, Gibson had sent the first two Tiger batters in the top half to the bench.
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But with two outs, the Tigers were able to get a couple of hits, and that brought up heavy hitting Jim Northrup.
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Now, listen, I'm a guy who did not play baseball past high school, so who am I to criticize a big leaguer, especially a good defensive outfielder like Kurt Flood?
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Flood was a seven time Gold Glove winner for his play in the outfield.
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But the one thing that I remember as a kid is that when a ball is hit to you in the outfield, your first step should always be back because it's easier to run in after a ball than to backtrack.
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Well, that's exactly what Flood did not do.
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When Northrop sent a deep fly to center.
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Flood's first few steps were in, and then he realized his mistake, turned to run back.
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But it was too late for him to recover.
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The ball hit the wall and the two runs scored.
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If Flood breaks back, he gets to it.
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The ending's over.
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Game's still tied.
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Instead, when Detroit added another single to score Northrop, it was 30.
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Detroit.
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ame four one, wrapping up the:
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at he had against Oklahoma in:
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Well, a few weeks later, in:
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yards and a:
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It was the fifth consecutive game with Allen rushing for at least 200 yards to set a new collegiate record.
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Allen would also set the NCAA record for the most 200 yard rushing games in a season that year.
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And on this day in:
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Now, when you think golf, you don't envision night golf.
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And unless you're Ty Webb, you're definitely not very good at it.
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That's because golf is meant to be played under the sunshine and finish up before nightfall.
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Well, this particular week in Orlando was a little bit rainy and it had delayed play off and on over the course of the tournament.
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On this, the final day of the Walt Disney World Oldsmobile Classic, weather had delayed play a little over an hour.
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Maggurt was playing in the final group and cruising to the wind, but he was losing the race with the sun.
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So tournament officials went into action and they moved the rented floodlights that had illuminated the driving range in the early dawn hours to behind the 18th green to give a baseball stadium feel to the final green.
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t rolled in his final putt at:
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sundown had been:
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The quick thinking by the officials prevented everybody having to come back the following day to play the final hole.
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Maggurt won his first PGA tournament by three shots over Greg Kraft.
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Time now for todays non sports fun fact.
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If you have ever wondered why Amerika was named after Amerigo Vespucci, well, its because the cartographers who designed the first maps showing this new place that Columbus had supposedly found first had never heard of that guy.
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The mapmakers were under the impression that Vespucci was the first to discover it.
