This Date in Baseball

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Compiled by PAUL MONTELLA

Oct. 26

1911 -- Danny Murphy of Philadelphia had four hits as the Athletics beat the New York Giants 13-2 to win the World Series in six games. The A's put the game out of reach with a seven-run seventh inning.

1985 -- Dane Iorg's two-run single and a disputed call by first base umpire Don Denkinger in the ninth inning gave the Kansas City Royals a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals and tied the World Series after six games. St. Louis scored its run on a bloop single by Brian Harper in the eighth inning.

1997 -- Edgar Renteria ended one of the most thrilling Game 7s, singling with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Florida Marlins their first World Series championship with a 3-2 win over the Cleveland Indians. The 5-year-old Marlins became the youngest expansion team to win a championship.

1998 -- The New York Mets announced All-Star catcher Mike Piazza agreed to a seven-year, $91 million contract, the richest deal in baseball history.

2000 -- The New York Yankees became the first team in more than a quarter-century to win three straight World Series championships, beating the New York Mets 4-2. The Yankees matched the Oakland Athletics' three in a row from 1972-74, and won their fourth title in five years.

2005 -- Jermaine Dye singled home the only run in the eighth, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros 1-0 to win their first World Series title in 88 years. Chicago's sweep, its eighth straight postseason win and 16th in 17 games overall, made it the second team to go through the postseason 11-1 since the extra round of playoffs was added in 1995, joining the 1999 Yankees.

2008 -- Joe Blanton became the first pitcher in 34 years to homer in the World Series, Ryan Howard drove in five runs and the Philadelphia Phillies romped over the Tampa Bay Rays 10-2 to move within one win of their first championship since 1980.

2013 -- Third baseman Will Middlebrooks tripped Allen Craig for a game-ending obstruction call on Jon Jay's ninth-inning grounder, giving the St. Louis Cardinals a bizarre 5-4 win over the Boston Red Sox and a 2-1 World Series lead.

Today's birthday: Francisco Liriano 31.

Oct. 27

1985 -- The Kansas City Royals, behind Bret Saberhagen's five-hitter, beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-0 in Game 7 of the World Series.

1986 -- The New York Mets won the World Series with an 8-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox in Game 7.

1989 -- The World Series resumed after a 10-day delay because of the San Francisco earthquake. Oakland, behind two homers by Dave Henderson, beat the Giants 13-7 in Game 3.

1996 -- After two humbling losses at home, the New York Yankees won their first World Series title since 1978 with a 3-2 victory over the defending champion Atlanta Braves in Game 6.

1998 -- President Clinton signed a bill overturning part of baseball's 70-year-old antitrust exemption, putting baseball on a par with other professional sports on labor matters. The new law overrides part of a 1922 Supreme Court ruling that exempted baseball from antitrust laws on grounds that it was not interstate commerce. That exemption deprived baseball players of protections enjoyed by other professional athletes and the players association blamed it for contributing to baseball's eight work stoppages since 1972, including the disastrous 232-day strike in 1994-95.

1999 -- Roger Clemens pitched the New York Yankees to their second straight World Series sweep, shutting down the Atlanta Braves 4-1. The Yankees won their record 25th championship -- third in four years. Game 4 marked New York's 12th Series victory a row, matching the mark set by its Murderers' Row teams.

2004 -- The Boston Red Sox became World Series champions at long, long last. Johnny Damon homered on the fourth pitch of the game, Derek Lowe made it stand up and the Red Sox won Game 4 3-0, sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals for their first crown since 1918. Manny Ramirez, who batted .412 (7-for-17) with a homer and four RBIs, was named Boston's first World Series MVP.

2006 -- The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Detroit Tigers 4-2 in Game 5 to wrap up their first Series title in nearly a quarter-century and 10th overall. The Cardinals had just 83 regular-season wins, the fewest by a World Series champion. David Eckstein, the 5-foot-7 shortstop, was selected Series MVP after batting .364.

2007 -- Jacoby Ellsbury went 4-for-5 leading Boston to a 10-5 win over Colorado and a 3-0 series lead. Ellsbury became the first rookie with four hits in a World Series game since Joe Garagiola accomplished the feat for St. Louis in 1946. Game 3 took 4 hours, 19 minutes -- the longest nine-inning game in Series history.

2008 -- Tampa Bay's Carlos Pena hit a tying single into soggy left field just minutes before umpires halted play in Game 5 of the World Series because of rain in the middle of sixth inning. The game was suspended.

2009 -- The $845 million sale of the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field and other assets from the Tribune Co. to the Ricketts family was completed, more than 2½ years after the baseball franchise was put on the market.

2010 -- Freddy Sanchez and the San Francisco Giants chased Cliff Lee early, roughing up the postseason ace for an 11-7 victory over the Texas Rangers in the World Series opener. Sanchez doubled three times in the first five innings and finished with three RBIs.

2011 -- David Freese homered to lead off the bottom of the 11th inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals forced the World Series to a Game 7 by rallying from two-run deficits against the Texas Rangers in the 9th and 10th. Freese hit a two-run triple just over a leaping Nelson Cruz to tie the score 7-7 in the ninth inning against Neftali Feliz. Then, after Josh Hamilton put Texas ahead with a two-run homer in the 10th off Jason Motte, Ryan Theriot hit an RBI groundout in the bottom half and Lance Berkman tied it 9-9 with a single. Freese's game-winning shot to center came off Mark Lowe.

2012 -- Ryan Vogelsong escaped trouble three times and Gregor Blanco hit a go-ahead triple to lead San Francisco over the Detroit Tigers 2-0 and move the Giants into a 3-0 World Series lead. The Giants became the first team to pitch consecutive shutouts in the Series since Baltimore's staff ended 1966 with three straight against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

2013 -- Another wacky end to a World Series game as Game 4 finished with a pickoff play, a first in postseason history. Jonny Gomes hit a decisive, three-run homer as the Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 to tie the series at two games apiece. Koji Uehara picked off rookie pinch-runner Kolten Wong at first base for the final out -- with postseason star Carlos Beltran standing at the plate.

Today's birthdays: Ruben Tejada 25; Jonathon Niese 28; Martin Prado 31.

Oct. 28

1958 -- Construction began on the new ballpark for the Giants in San Francisco. The rocks in the area resembled candlesticks.

1981 -- The Los Angeles Dodgers, behind Pedro Guerrero's five RBIs, beat the New York Yankees 9-2 to take the World Series in six games.

1989 -- The Oakland Athletics swept the San Francisco Giants in the World Series with a 9-6 win over San Francisco.

1995 -- The Braves won their first World Series since moving to Atlanta with a 1-0 win over Cleveland in Game 6. Tom Glavine and Mark Wohlers combined on a one-hitter and David Justice homered in the sixth inning.

2007 -- The Boston Red Sox swept to their second title in four years with a 4-3 win over the Colorado Rockies in Game 4. Jon Lester pitched shutout ball into the sixth inning and Jonathan Papelbon closed with his third save of the Series. Mike Lowell won the MVP award, leading a team that hit .333 in the Series.

2009 -- Chase Utley hit two solo homers off CC Sabathia to help the defending champion Philaldelphia Phillies beat the New York Yankees 6-1 in Game 1 of the World Series.

2011 -- The St. Louis Cardinals won a remarkable World Series they weren't even supposed to reach, beating the Texas Rangers 6-2 in Game 7. A day after an epic Game 6 that saw them twice within one strike of elimination, the Cardinals captured their 11th World Series crown behind another key hit by hometown star David Freese and six innings from starter Chris Carpenter. Freese's two-run double tied it in the first inning against loser Matt Harrison and Allen Craig hit a go-ahead homer in the third.

2012 -- Marco Scutaro singled home the tiebreaking run in the 10th inning, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Detroit Tigers 4-3 to complete a four-game sweep and win their second World Series title in three years. Pablo Sandoval, who hit three homers in Game 1, was selected Series MVP. He was 1 for 5 in Game 4, dropping his Series average to .500 (8 for 16).

Today's birthdays: Josh Thole 28; Nate McLouth 33.

Oct. 29

1931 -- Lefty Grove, winner of 31 games for the Philadelphia A's, was named the American League MVP.

1942 -- Branch Rickey, the architect of the St. Louis Cardinals' farm system, resigned as the team's vice president. Rickey was named president of the Dodgers on Nov. 1.

1979 -- Willie Mays severed all tied to major league baseball after signing a contract with the Bally Corporation, which is involved with legalized gambling in Atlantic City, N.J.

2008 -- Brad Lidge and the Philadelphia Phillies finished off the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 in a three-inning sprint to win a suspended Game 5 nearly 50 hours after it started, capturing their first World Series title since 1980. Left in limbo by a two-day rainstorm, Pedro Feliz singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh and Lidge closed out his perfect season to deliver the title.

2009 -- Alex Rodriguez delivered the biggest hit of his career, a go ahead two-out double in the ninth inning off Brad Lidge as the New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-4 for a 3-1 lead in the World Series.

Today's birthdays: Will Venable 31; R.A. Dickey 39.

Oct. 30

1945 -- Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson to a minor-league contract for the 1946 season with Montreal of the International League.

1956 -- The Brooklyn Dodgers sold Ebbets Field to real estate developer Marvin Kratter. Kratter leased the stadium back to the Dodgers through the 1959 season before using the site for a housing development.

1963 -- Sandy Koufax of Los Angeles became the second player to win the Cy Young and MVP in the same year. Koufax beat out Dick Groat of the St. Louis Cardinals for the MVP award.

1974 -- Oakland's Catfish Hunter, who led the league with 25 wins and a 2.49 ERA, was named the American League's Cy Young winner.

Today's birthdays: Desmond Jennings 28; Shane Robinson 30; Manny Parra 32; Marco Scutaro 39.

Oct. 31

1961 -- A federal judge ruled that Birmingham, Ala. laws against integrated playing fields were illegal. This ruling eliminated the last barrier against integrating the Southern Association.

1967 -- San Francisco's Mike McCormick won the National League Cy Young award.

1972 -- Gaylord Perry, a 24-game winner with the fifth-place Cleveland Indians, won the American League Cy Young award.

1973 -- Tom Seaver of the New York Mets became the first pitcher to win the National League Cy Young award with less than 20 wins. Seaver went 19-10 with a 2.08 ERA.

2001 -- Derek Jeter hit a game-winning home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift New York over Arizona 4-3 and tie the World Series at 2-2. The Yankees' Tino Martinez connected for a game-tying, two-run homer in the ninth inning off Byung-Hyun Kim. It was the first time in World Series history that a team tied a game with a ninth-inning homer and won with a homer in extra innings.

2013 -- David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox romped to their third World Series championship in 10 seasons, thumping October ace Michael Wacha and the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 in Game 6. Shane Victorino drove in four runs and John Lackey pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning as the Red Sox clinched a crown on their own field for the first time since 1918. Ortiz, the only player remaining from the 2004 champs, had a Ruthian World Series. He batted .688 (11 for 16) with two homers, six RBIs and eight walks -- including four in the finale -- for a .760 on-base percentage in 25 plate appearances.

Today's birthdays: Andy Parrino 29; Anthony Varvaro 30; Mike Napoli 33; Tim Byrdak 41.

Nov. 1

1914 -- Connie Mack of the Philadelphia A's citing a loss of $50,000 for lack of fan support starts to clean house by waiving Jack Coombs, Eddie Plank and Chief Bender. Plank and Bender eventually signed with the Federal League.

1916 -- New York theater owner and producer Harry H. Frazee bought the Boston Red Sox for $675,000.

1938 -- Ernie Lombardi of Cincinnati won the National League MVP award. Lombardi led the league in batting with a .342 mark.

1951 -- Brooklyn's Roy Campanella won the first of three National League MVP awards. The Dodger catcher hit .325 with 33 homers and 108 RBIs.

1966 -- Sandy Koufax of Los Angeles became the first three-time winner of the Cy Young Award. This was the last year there was one selection from both leagues.

1968 -- Detroit's Denny McLain, the last 30-game winner in major league history, was the unanimous winner of the American League Cy Young award.

1978 -- New York's Ron Guidry, 25-3, was the unanimous winner of the American League Cy Young award. Guidry led the league in shutouts (9) and ERA (1.79).

1979 -- Edward Bennett Williams purchased the Baltimore Orioles for $12.3 million.

2001 -- Scott Brosius hit a game-tying two-run homer with two out in the ninth inning and Alfonso Soriano singled home the winning run in the 12th inning to give New York a 3-2 victory over Arizona and a 3-2 lead in the World Series. The Yankees became the first team in postseason history to win two straight games when trailing after eight innings. It was their World Series-record 10th successive win at home. Byung-Hyun Kim gave up the game-tying home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth for the second straight game.

2006 -- Reliever Guillermo Mota was suspended for 50 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, becoming the third player penalized this year for violating Major League Baseball's toughened drug policy.

2010 -- The San Franciso Giants beat the Texas Rangers 3-1 in a tense Game 5 to bring a World Series title to the city by the Bay for the first time. Tim Lincecum and Edgar Renteria gave the Giants their first crown since 1954, four years before they moved West. Lincecum outdueled Cliff Lee in a matchup that was scoreless until Renteria earned the Series MVP award by hitting a stunning three-run homer with two outs in the seventh inning.

Today's birthdays: Anthony Bass 27; Steven Vogt 30; Coco Crisp 35.

Copyright 2014 by The Associated Press

This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index

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