Oct. 11
Today in sports history
Today is Oct. 11. On this date in:
1902: Laurie Auchterlonie won the U.S. Open at Garden City Golf Club, setting a then-championship scoring record and capturing his lone major title.
1906: Chicago White Sox ace Ed Walsh threw a two-hit shutout against the Cubs in Game 3 of the World Series, striking out 12 and setting a World Series record at the time.
1911: Ty Cobb of the Tigers and Frank Schulte of the Cubs became the first recipients of Major League Baseball’s MVP honor, then known as the Chalmers Award.
1925: Washington Senators ace Walter Johnson threw a six-hit shutout to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 in Game 4 of the World Series, his second complete-game victory of the Series.
1927: Lou Gehrig was named American League MVP after helping power the Yankees’ legendary 1927 season.
1943: Spud Chandler pitched a 10-hit shutout as the New York Yankees defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 2-0 in Game 5 to capture their 10th World Series championship.
1948: The Cleveland Indians defeated the Boston Braves 4-3 in Game 6 to win the World Series, securing the second championship in franchise history.
1959: NFL commissioner Bert Bell suffered a fatal heart attack while watching the Philadelphia Eagles play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Franklin Field. Bell had served as NFL commissioner since 1946.
1960: John Fetzer, already a member of the Detroit Tigers’ ownership group, acquired majority ownership of the franchise and became its principal owner.
1967: Carl Yastrzemski, Reggie Smith and Rico Petrocelli homered in the fourth inning of World Series Game 6, making Boston the first team to hit three home runs in one inning of a World Series game, as the Red Sox defeated St. Louis 8-4.
1971: Baltimore’s Brooks Robinson reached base in five consecutive plate appearances during an 11-3 World Series victory over Pittsburgh, setting a World Series record.
1980: The Dallas Mavericks won their first NBA regular-season game, defeating the San Antonio Spurs 103-92 in the expansion franchise’s debut.
1984: Pittsburgh Penguins rookie Mario Lemieux scored on the first shot of his first shift in his NHL debut, beating Boston Bruins goaltender Pete Peeters 2:59 into the game.
1986: Lenny Dykstra hit a two-run, ninth-inning walk-off home run to give the New York Mets a 6-5 victory over the Houston Astros in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.
1991: Chip Beck shot a 59 during the Las Vegas Invitational, becoming just the second golfer to record a sub-60 round on the PGA Tour.
1992: Deion Sanders made sports history by playing for the Atlanta Falcons and joining the Atlanta Braves for that night’s National League Championship Series game on the same day, though he didn’t play in the Braves’ game.
1999: Pedro Martínez came out of the bullpen to throw six no-hit innings and strike out eight, leading Boston past Cleveland in the decisive Game 5 of the AL Division Series.
2004: Carlos Beltrán homered twice as the Houston Astros routed the Atlanta Braves 12-3 in Game 5 of the NL Division Series, giving Houston the first postseason series victory in franchise history.
2009: The United States defeated the International Team to win the Presidents Cup at Harding Park, with Tiger Woods completing a perfect 5-0 week and clinching the event in singles.
2010: Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre became the first player in NFL history to reach both 500 career touchdown passes and 70,000 passing yards in a game against the New York Jets.
2012: Buster Posey hit a grand slam as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Cincinnati Reds 6-4 in Game 5 of the NL Division Series, completing a comeback from a 2-0 series deficit with three consecutive road victories.
2014: Dak Prescott accounted for three touchdowns as No. 3 Mississippi State defeated No. 2 Auburn 38-23, improving to 6-0 during a season in which the Bulldogs reached No. 1 for the first time in school history.
2015: The United States edged the International Team 15½-14½ to capture a sixth consecutive Presidents Cup.
2020: Rafael Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 to win his record-extending 13th French Open title, earn his 100th Roland Garros match victory and tie Roger Federer’s then-record of 20 men’s Grand Slam singles titles.
2023: The Arizona Diamondbacks became the first team in postseason history to hit four home runs in one inning, using the record-setting third to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 and complete an NL Division Series sweep.
— USA TODAY Network
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Today in sports history, October 11