Events in Sports History on October 21

  • 1905 In early promotion of soccer in America, England Pilgrim Association XI beats All New York XI, 7-1 at the Polo Grounds, NY
  • 1911 Manitoba, Saskatchewan & Alberta Unions form Western Canada Rugby Football Union

World Record

1964 Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia runs a world record 2:12:11.2 to beat Briton Basil Heatley by more than 4 minutes and win the men's marathon at the Tokyo Olympics; first athlete to win Olympic marathon twice

  • 1964 American men's 4×400m relay team beats Great Britain by 0.9s to set world record 3:00.7 and win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics; Ollan Cassell, Mike Larrabee, Ulis Williams & Henry Carr
  • 1964 MLB Milwaukee Braves ask NL to allow them to move to Atlanta, Georgia
  • 1964 New Zealand athlete Peter Snell wins the 1,500m at the Tokyo Olympics; his second gold medal of the Games (800m); 3rd career gold
  • 1964 Polish 4×100m women's relay team runs a world record 43.6 to beat the US by 0.3s and win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics; Teresa Ciepły, Irena Kirszenstein, Halina Górecka & Ewa Kłobukowska
  • 1964 US 4 x 100m men's relay team of Paul Drayton, Gerry Ashworth, Richard Stebbins & Bob Hayes run world record 39.0s to beat Poland by 0.3s and win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
  • 1973 23rd NASCAR Sprint Cup: Benny Parsons wins

World Series

1973 Baseball World Series: defending champion Oakland A's beat NY Mets, 5-2 in Game 7 at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum to retain title; A's manager Dick Williams immediately quits; MVP: A's outfielder Reggie Jackson

  • 1973 Fred Dryer of the then Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in the same game.
  • 1974 NHL New York Islanders and goaltender Billy Smith's 1st shut-out win, 5-0 vs Washington Capitals
  • 1975 Red Sox Carlton Fisk's 12th inning HR beats Reds 7-6 in game 6 of WS

World Series

1976 Baseball World Series: defending champions Cincinnati Reds sweep NY Yankees; beat Bombers, 7-2 in Game 4 at Yankee Stadium; MVP: Reds catcher Johnny Bench

Sports History

1976 NY Knicks retire 1st number, # 19, Willis Reed

New York City Marathon

1979 New York City Marathon: Bill Rodgers wins 4th straight men's title in 2:11:42; defending champion Grete Waitz of Norway takes out women's event in 2:27:33

  • 1979 Ozzie Newsome begins NFL streak of 150 consecutive game receptions

World Series

1980 Baseball World Series: Philadelphia Phillies beat KC Royals, 4-1 at Veterans Stadium to secure series, 4-2; first championship in franchise history; MVP: Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt

  • 1980 Phillies win their 1st World Championship in their 98-year history

F1 World Champion

1984 Austrian Ferrari driver Niki Lauda becomes a 3-time Formula 1 World Drivers champion when he finishes 2nd in the season ending Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril; wins title by just 0.5 from Alain Prost

  • 1984 Cleveland Browns' Steve Cox sets club record with a 60-yd field goal
  • 1984 Steve Jones runs Chicago Marathon in world record 2:08:05
  • 1985 Qasim Omar (206) & Javed Miandad (203*) make 397 stand v SL
  • 1986 1st-class cricket debut of Andy Flower, ZCU Presidents XI v Young WI
  • 1988 Boston Celtics beat Yugoslavia 113-85 in Madrid
  • 1989 Betram Lee & Peter Bynoe purchase the Denver Nuggets for $65m - 1st African American owners of a major sports team,

F1 World Champion

1990 Ayrton Senna of Brazil crashes his McLaren during the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka but clinches his second Formula 1 World Drivers Championship

Sports History

1993 Garry Kasparov defeats Nigel Short for chess championship

  • 1995 Mario Tremblay, selected 22nd NHL coach of Montreal Canadians
  • 1997 Cleveland outfielder Marquis Grissom records a hit in his 15th straight World Series game; second longest 9 inning WS game (4:12) as Florida Marlins beat Indians, 14-11
  • 1998 Baseball World Series: New York Yankees beat San Diego, 3-0 in Game 4 at Qualcomm Stadium to sweep Padres and win 2nd title in 3 years; MVP: Yankees 3rd baseman Scott Brosius
  • 2001 MLB National League Championship: Arizona Diamondbacks beat Atlanta Braves, 4 games to 1
  • 2004 MLB National League Championship: St. Louis Cardinals beat Houston Astros, 4 games to 3

F1 World Champion

2007 Finnish Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen wins season ending Brazilian F1 Grand Prix to claim his first World Drivers Championship by 1 point from Lewis Hamilton

  • 2007 MLB American League Championship: Boston Red Sox beat Cleveland Indians, 4 games to 3
  • 2007 Tennessee Titans kicker Rob Bironas sets NFL record for most points scored in a game (no touchdowns) with 26 in 38-36 win over the Texans at Reliant Stadium, Houston
  • 2009 MLB National League Championship: Philadelphia Phillies beat Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 1