{
  "id": 4938087,
  "title": "Today in sports history, October 4",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/today-in-sports-history-october-4",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-01T21:05:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/today-sports-history-october-4-210504923.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On October 4, sports history was marked by several notable events. In golf, England's Horace Rawlins claimed the inaugural U.S. Open title at Newport Golf Club in 1895, defeating the field by two strokes. The same year, American League batting champion Harry Heilmann of Detroit went head-to-head with teammate Ty Cobb in a doubleheader, collecting six hits to edge Cobb for the batting title.\n\nIn baseball, the Cleveland Indians secured the American League pennant in 1948 with an 8-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox in a one-game playoff. Johnny Podres of the New York Mets achieved a historic milestone in 1948 by throwing a shutout and becoming the first World Series MVP in franchise history. The Mets also played their first postseason game in 1969, defeating the Atlanta Braves 9-5 in the first National League Championship Series game. Mark Messier's trade from the Edmonton Oilers to the New York Rangers in 1991 paved the way for his later leadership in delivering the Rangers their first Stanley Cup championship in 1994.\n\nIn 1995, Jim Leyritz of the New York Yankees hit a two-run homer in the 15th inning to secure a 7-5 victory over the Seattle Mariners in Game 2 of the AL Division Series, which became the longest postseason game in major league history at the time. In 1999, Al Leiter of the New York Mets threw a two-hit shutout as the team triumphed over the Cincinnati Reds 5-0 in a one-game playoff for the National League wild card.\n\nBarry Bonds made history in 2001 by hitting his 70th home run of the season, tying Mark McGwire's major league single-season record while playing for the San Francisco Giants. Rickey Henderson of the San Diego Padres also made history in 2001 by homering to surpass Ty Cobb and become Major League Baseball's career leader in runs scored. In 2011, Paul Goldschmidt of the Arizona Diamondbacks hit a grand slam and drove in five runs in Game 3 of the NL Division Series in an 8-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Brandon Belt of the San Francisco Giants hit a home run in the 18th inning of Game 2 of the NL Division Series against the Washington Nationals in 2014, extending the game to 6 hours and 23 minutes, becoming the longest postseason game by time in major league history at the time.\n\nIn 2020, Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers set a record by throwing five touchdown passes in a game against the Los Angeles Chargers, becoming the oldest quarterback to accomplish such a feat. The Seattle Storm of the WNBA set a Finals record with 33 assists in a 104-91 victory over the Las Vegas Aces in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals. In a historic performance, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees hit his 62nd home run of the season in 2022, surpassing Roger Maris' American League single-season record.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Today in sports history, October 1",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/today-in-sports-history-october-1",
        "published": "2026-09-01T15:49:45.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}