Early agate
ON THIS DATE
Oct. 2
1920 – The major league’s last tripleheader is played in Pittsburgh between the Pirates and Cincinnati Reds. Cincinnati wins the first two games and Pittsburgh wins the finale, which is shortened to six innings.
1965 – Allen McCune passes for five touchdowns and runs for another score as West Virginia outscores Pitt, 63-48, in one of the highest-scoring games in the Backyard Brawl series. West Virginia gains 624 yards.
1970 – Mark Kurinczak scores on a two-yard run late in the fourth quarter and John Chambers throws a two-point conversion pass to Tony Mayer to give Carmichaels a 16-14 victory over visiting Frazier.
1974 – Manny Sanguillen’s infield single in the 10th inning scores Al Oliver with the winning run as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the Chicago Cubs 5-4 and win the National League East Division championship. The Pirates trail 4-2 entering the ninth inning and tie the score when Chicago catcher Steve Swisher turns a game-ending strikeout into a run-scoring passed ball. The ninth inning is delayed several times by rowdy Pittsburgh fans, who toss whiskey bottles onto the Three Rivers Stadium field.
1979 – Willie Stargell hits a three-run homer off Cincinnati reliever Tom Hume in the top of the 10th inning to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 5-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at Riverfront Stadium.
1985 – The Galbreath family sells the Pittsburgh Pirates to a private-public investor group headed by Pittsburgh mayor Richard Caliguri, Malcolm Prine and Carl Barger.
Oct. 3
1914 – In one of the most lopsided college football games ever, Washington & Jefferson defeats Dickinson, 105-0. The Presidents have an 815-39 edge in total yards.
1951 – Bobby Thomson hits a three-run homer off Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers with one out in the bottom of the ninth to give the New York Giants a dramatic 5-4 playoff victory and the National League pennant.
1969 – Doug Kotar returns a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. giving Canon-McMillan a 26-22 come-from-behind win over host Chambersburg. Kotar began the scoring with a 70-yard TD run in the first quarter. The win gives the Big Macs a 5-0 record.
1970 – Tim Kelly scores on a one-yard run with 4:53 remaining to give Waynesburg College a 7-0 victory over California State at College Field.
1970 – The Cleveland Browns defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 15-7, in the last of the Saturday night games played between the NFL teams.
1971 – Bob Robertson’s three home runs lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 9-4 trouncing of the San Francisco Giants, tying the National League playoffs at 1-1.
1973 – The formation of the World Football League is announced.
1979 – Dave Parker’s single to left field in the top of the 10th inning scores Omar Moreno from second base and gives the Pittsburgh Pirates a 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. The Pirates lead the series, 2-0.
1980 – Burgettstown gains 321 yards of offense — all of it on the ground — and blanks McGuffey 12-0 in the Century Conference. All the scoring comes during a two-minute stretch of the third quarter and is by Terry Fowler, on a one-yard run and a 40-yard interception return.
2000 – St. Louis’ Rick Ankiel becomes the first pitcher in 110 years to throw five wild pitches in one inning but the Cardinals still defeat the Atlanta Braves, 7-5, in the National League Division Series opener.