Columbus Day Sports Moments

Columbus Day takes place every second Monday in October, but the actual day is on October 12 which is observed as a holiday in America and Spain. On October 12, 1492(by the Julian Calendar), it was Christopher Columbus that discovered America - more specifically the Bahamas. The first modern celebration of the holiday in the USA took place 300 years after the initial discovery in 1792.

October is a busy month in sports, and the Major League Baseball post-season dominates most of the moments on this list. Some welcoming first "discoveries" took place on this day as did those that many fans and historians wished were never "discovered".

So let's "discover" some of the top sports moments that took place on October 12:

1853: A boxing match takes place between John Morrissey and Yankee Sullivan at what was then Boston Corner in Massachusetts. Around 3,000 fans "discovered" this illegal fight that took place on a field, but it was out of the area for the police to do anything about it. In the fight, Sullivan controlled most of the action even though Morrissey held up throughout the fight. After the 36th round, a riot took place after Sullivan hit Morrissey after he was on his knees which is illegal. The referee disqualified Sullivan and awarded the American Championship to Morrissey. The victory gave Morrissey national acclaim and made him a hero to the Irish as he got into politics later. Sullivan "discovered" what it was like to lose the title after he held it for over two years. He later moved to California.

1907: The World Series played its final game as the Detroit Tigers hosted the Chicago Cubs at Bennett Park in Detroit. After being the victims of one of first sports upsets by their cross-town rival White Sox the year before in the World Series, the Cubs finished off the Tigers with a 2-0 win for a four games to none series win that included a Game 1 tie. Hall of Famer Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown won the final game for the Cubs as Chicago pitching held the Tigers, led by Hall of Famer Ty Cobb, to only six runs in five games. Although the Cubs were very successful in the late 1800s as baseball was in its early existence, they "discovered" their first World Series pennant on this day in 1907. The two teams would play each other again the following year with the same result as the Cubs won back-to-back to titles. The Tigers would get their revenge many years later in 1945 by winning the pennant as this is currently the last time the Cubs made the World Series. The two had a chance to meet in the 1984 World Series, but the Cubs were beaten by the San Diego Padres. The Tigers returned to the World Series in 2006, and the Cubs have yet to "rediscover" the Fall Classic since 1945.

1913: A day after Philadelphia Athletics beat the New York Giants four games to one in the World Series, manager John McGraw gathers ex-Orioles players for a reunion. During the evening, McGraw blames long-time friend, teammate, and pitching coach Wilbert Robinson for the Giants losing the World Series. Robinson in turn blames McGraw for the loss as both exchanged insults. McGraw then fired Robinson after the exchange. McGraw would later coach the Giants to two World Series wins in 1921-22 before retiring in 1932. Robinson would later coach the rival Brooklyn club as he coached the team to the World Series in 1916 and 1920 in his 18 seasons there. Both McGraw and Robinson wouldn't speak to each other for nearly two decades as a result of this unfortunate "discovery". However, both men would later be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame(McGraw as manager and Robinson as a catcher).

1916: The Boston Red Sox played the Brooklyn Robins(later the Dodgers) in Game 5 of the World Series. The Red Sox "discovered" back-to-back pennants which is what they accomplished in the first World Series games in 1903-04. Brooklyn had their hopes of "discovering" their first World Series pennant in their initial appearance shattered when Boston clinched their fifth World Series title in a 4-1 win. Pitcher Ernie Shore won his second game of the Series in Game 5. Babe Ruth did not pitch in the 1915 World Series, but did so in Game 2 of this series with a 14-inning complete game victory in helping his team win. Brooklyn would get more chances to "discover" their first World Series title while Boston would win another one in 1918. It would take Boston another 86 years to "discover" another one though.

1920: The Cleveland Indians and Brooklyn Dodgers were both looking to "discover" their first World Series championship. The Brooklyn Dodgers looked to avoid elimination at Dunn Field in Cleveland, but the Indians pitched a shutout in Game 7(Between 1919 and 1921, the Series was best of nine) to win their first World Series title five games to two. Not only was this the first World Series title for Cleveland, but this series saw the first and only post-season triple play to date in Game 5, grand slam, and home run by a pitcher. It was an emotional first World Series win as the Indians lost shortstop Ray Chapman nearly two months before after he died as a result of being beaned in the head. His replacement was then rookie Joe Sewell, who later was inducted into the Hall of Fame. The Dodgers wouldn't "discover" their first World Series title until 1955, and have been mostly a winning club since that time. Meanwhile, Cleveland has only "discovered" one more World Series title in 1948, and have only made three appearances since that time.

1929: This World Series "discovered" another record as Game 4 took place between the Philadelphia Athletics and the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs cut the series deficit to two games to one in Game 3, and held what was thought to be a comfortable 8-0 lead in Game 4 in bottom of the 7th inning. Cubs centerfielder Hack Wilson lost a flyball in the sun hit by Mule Haas that led to a bases-clearing inside-the-park home run as the Chicago lead was at 8-7. The "Mack Attack", named after Philadelphia manager Connie Mack, ended with the Athletics having a 10-run 7th inning to take a 10-8 lead and win in Game 4 making it the biggest comeback in post-season history. The Athletics won Game 5 to clinch the pennant, and would win another the following year. It was their 4th World Series title, and after 1930, it would take them until 1972 when they moved to Oakland to "discover" another one. The Cubs would get four more tries to "rediscover" a World Series title from 1932 to 1945 losing each time. They haven't been back to a World Series since that time.

1963: It was a college football match-up that ended up with a surprising "discovery" as the Alabama Crimson Tide hosted the Florida Gators in Tuscaloosa. Legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant led his No. 3 team to a 16-game home winning streak with future NFL icon Joe Namath at quarterback. But this day belonged to the Gators defense as they forced five turnovers including three fumbles and two Namath interceptions as Florida won 10-6. Florida running back Dick Kirk scored the Gators' only touchdown on a 41-yard run in the 4th quarter as both defenses controlled most of the game up to that point. Namath did score a touchdown on a QB sneak late in the game, but the two-point conversion failed as the Florida 4-point lead held up. The Gators were 14 point underdogs going into the game, and Bryant "discovered" his first home loss as Alabama coach. He would only "discover" losing twice in Tuscaloosa in 25 seasons as head coach as he would go on to become one of the greatest coaches ever. Five years later, Namath would forever be etched into the minds of football fans everywhere with his guaranteed win in Super Bowl III. The Gators wouldn't "discover" a national championship until 1996.

1967: The St. Louis Cardinals were looking for their 8th World Series title and second in four years. The Impossible Dream was the theme for the Boston Red Sox as they were looking for their first title since 1918, and overcame a 3-1 series deficit to force Game 7 on this day. The Red Sox were used to overcoming adversity all season with very low expectations(as a result of eight straight losing seasons), but none were as significant as losing young star Tony Conigliaro after he was hit in the face by a pitch in August. But they had future Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski, who won the Triple Crown leading the league in home runs, runs batted in, and batting average. Ace pitchers for both teams started this game as Bob Gibson of the Cardinals faced AL Cy Young winnner Jim Lonberg of the Red Sox as both pitchers were 2-0 which marked only the second time in Series history that both starters had two wins facing each other(it first happened in 1925). Lonberg was pitching on two days rest after starting Game 5 while Gibson had an extra day off after winning Game 4. Gibson was magificent again winning for the third time and also helping himself with a 5th inning home run as the Cardinals "discovered" another World Series win. Future Hall of Famer Lou Brock "discovered" a record with seven stolen bases in a series including two in the clinching Game 7. Boston would make it back in memorable classics in 1975 and 1986 before finally "rediscovering" a World Series pennant again in 2004 which was against the same Cardinals franchise that year. The Cardinals lost a chance to win back-to-back titles in 1968 as the Detroit Tigers won the pennant. But the Cardinals won the 1982 World Series and appeared in losing efforts in 1985 and 1987 before winning it all again in 2006.

1968: The Summer Olympics begin with its opening ceremony in Mexico City. This day marked new "discoveries" for these Olympic Games. Norma Enriqueta Basilio became the first woman to light Olympic Cauldron. This marked the first time that the Olympics were held in a Spanish-speaking country as well as a nation that was still developing. Also, it is the first Olympics held in Latin America. For the first time ever, West and East Germany competed on separate teams as well. The most talked about moment and controversy took place four days after the start of the game when Tommie Smith and John Carlos held their fists up in the "Black Salute" after both won medals in the 200M dash. Later, other athletes wore Human Rights badges after the two were suspended for the salute. Czech gymnast Věra Čáslavská also publicly disapproved the Soviet invasion of her country by looking down and away during the playing of the Soviet anthem after winning a medal as she later was forced to retire as a result. In 2016, Rio de Janiero will become the second Latin American city to host the Olympics.

1982: The first game of the World Series took place as the Milwaukee Brewers dominated the St. Louis Cardinals in the opening game. Despite never playing each other before, a rivalry had existed in part because of both teams association in the beer market(Miller Brewing for Milwaukee and Anheiser Busch for the Cardinals). A new record was "discovered" in this opening game as Milwaukee infielder and future Hall of Famer Paul Molitor became the first player in World Series history to have five hits in one game. The Brewers shutout the Cardinals 10-0 to win the opening game. However, the speedy Cardinals would rebound to win the World Series in seven games against the power-hitting Milwaukee club. The Brewers haven't returned to the World Series and have only one post-season appearance since that time. The Cardinals would appear two more times in the 1980s in 1985 and 1987 losing both times before "discovering" another title in 2006.

1986: Game 5 of the American League Championship Series took place in Anahiem as the California Angels looked to eliminate the Boston Red Sox from the post-season. Angels ace Mike Witt pitched well again as he had done in a Game 1 win taking a 5-2 lead into the top of the 9th inning. Witt was two outs away from sending the Angels to their first World Series when Boston's Don Baylor hit a two-run home run to cut the lead to 5-4. After catcher Rich Gedman reached base after being hit by a pitch, the Angels called on closer Donnie Moore to finish off the Red Sox and got them within one strike of an AL pennant. Dave Henderson, who made a defensive blunder by deflecting Bobby Grich's homer over the fence in the 6th inning, redeemed himself hitting the two-strike pitch over the fence to give the Red Sox a 6-5 lead. But the Angels tied the game in the bottom half of the inning to force extra innings. The Red Sox scored the game-winning run on a Henderson sacrifice fly in the top of the 11th inning as the Red Sox won the game. Boston would go on to win the ALCS to face the New York Mets in the World Series in a losing effort. They wouldn't return to the World Series again until 2004 ending their long drought. The Los Angeles Angels finally made the most of their first World Series appearance in 2002 by winning it all against the San Francisco Giants. As for Donnie Moore, he was never the same and eventually committed suicide as he became associated in the Angels not making the World Series that year. Oddly enough, Red Sox player Bill Buckner would later suffer the same fate of being blamed for his team losing in the 1986 World Series.

1987: The Minnesota Twins were on the brink of making their second World Series since they moved to the Twin Cities against the Tigers in Detroit. The Tigers had the best record in baseball against a team that at the time had the worst winning percentage for a playoff club. The Twins won Game 5 to advance to "discover" the World Series for the second time in Minnesota. Manager Tom Kelly made the most of his first full year as Twins skipper by beating the St. Louis Cardinals as this became the first World Series in which the home team won all seven games. Four years later, the Twins would win another World Series in the same fashion in which the home team won all seven games. The Tigers never again would "discover" a post-season game at Tiger Stadium, and not make a post-season appearance again until 2006. Tigers outfielder Kirk Gibson signed with the Dodgers in the off-season, and helped to lead them to a World Series win with a memorable game-winning home run in the opener. The Twins have experienced success by consistently making the post-season in recent years, but haven't returned to the Fall Classic since last winning the World Series.

1989: The Herschel Walker trade takes place as the Dallas Cowboys traded their star running back to the Minnesota Vikings along with four draft picks in exchange for five players and eight draft picks. This was the biggest trade in league history in terms of the number of players involved with a total of 18 of them. The Cowboys had experienced a downfall in their franchise history, and new coach Jimmy Johnson had used this trade to help build the club. The Vikings felt they were a running back away from winning a Super Bowl, but they would never reach the big game and still haven't done so. Meanwhile, the Cowboys drafted future all-time leading rusher in Emmitt Smith as well as key defensive players such as tackle Russell Maryland and defensive back Darren Woodson. Three years later, the Cowboys dynasty began with a Super Bowl win followed by a repeat the following season. They won their third Super Bowl in four years in 1995. The Vikings still remained competitive throughout the 1990s and into 2000s despite not ever making it to the Super Bowl. Minnesota is still looking to "discover" their first Super Bowl win in franchise history. Walker would later end up with the Philadelphia Eagles and back to Dallas before retiring for good in 1997. The Cowboys "discovered" a winning formula with this most lopsided trade, and forever changed the mindset of teams in building their franchises in years to come.

Sources:
Wikipedia
USA Today College Football Encyclopedia
Baseball History site
Herschel Walker trade article