Events in Sports History in October 1977

Sports History

Oct 1 Brazilian soccer great Pelé plays his final game for the New York Cosmos in an exhibition against Santos in front of 75,000 at Giants Stadium; 1,281 goals in 1,363 games

Oct 1 New York Yankees end MLB season with 100-62 record; win 2nd consecutive AL East title; go on the win World Series 4-2 v LA Dodgers

F1 World Champion

Oct 2 Austrian Ferrari driver Niki Lauda finishes 4th in the US Grand Prix East at Watkins Glen to clinch his second Formula 1 World Drivers Championship; Englishman James Hunt wins the race

Baseball Record

Oct 2 Dusty Baker hits his 30th homer of the season against Astros' J.R. Richard; Dodgers become the first team in MLB history to have 4 players hit 30 or more HRs; joins Steve Garvey (33), Reggie Smith (32) and Ron Cey (30)

Oct 6 Yankees win AL pennant by rallying for 3 runs in 9th to beat KC Royals 5-3 in 5th & deciding playoff game
Oct 8 Largest baseball crowd in Penns, 64,924 see Dodgers beat Phillies 4-1 in 4th NL championship game (Dodgers win pennant)
Oct 8 MLB National League Championship: Los Angeles Dodgers beat Philadelphia Phillies, 3 games to 1
Oct 9 MLB American League Championship: New York Yankees beat Kansas City Royals, 3 games to 2
Oct 9 Yanks rally for 3 in 9th & beat Royals 5-3 for pennant #31
Oct 12 "Throwaway Game" Catfish Hunter loses WS 6-1 resting Yank pitchers

Sports History

Oct 14 Linda Ronstadt sings national anthem prior to World Series Game 3 at Dodger Stadium; criticised for casual attire but ranked by Washington Examiner as second-best rendition ever at a sporting event

World Series

Oct 18 Baseball World Series: Reggie Jackson hits 3 consecutive HRs tying Babe Ruth's WS record; NY Yankees beat LA Dodgers, 8-4 to clinch, 4-2 series win; MVP: Yankees outfielder Reggie Jackson

Oct 18 NY Yankees win their 21st World Championship, 4 games
Oct 18 Yanks beat Dodgers 8-4 for 21st world championship, 1st in 15 years
Oct 23 Despite not driving in season ending Japanese Grand Prix, Austrian Niki Lauda wins his second Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by 17 points from Jody Scheckter of South Africa

New York City Marathon

Oct 23 New York City Marathon: defending champion Bill Rodgers wins in 2:11:38; Miki Gorman retains women's title in 2:43:10