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This Day in Baseball History
October 18th

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20 Fact(s) Found
1913 In Cincinnati, the Giants rout the White Sox, 11-2, beginning a five-month worldwide barnstorming trip that will include stops in Australia, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. The teams recruit top players from both leagues, including Tris Speaker, Buck Weaver, Christy Mathewson, and Sam Crawford, with former Olympian Jim Thorpe being the main attraction during the global tour.
1925 Two weeks after pitching his final game for the Reds, 34-year-old Army Reserve First Lieutenant pilot Marvin Goodwin's plane goes into a tailspin and crashes near Houston's Ellington Field. The right-hander, who appeared in four games for Cincinnati, three as a starter, posting an 0-2 record that included two complete games, dies after being severely injured with two broken legs, a fractured skull, and critical internal injuries.
1950 After spending half a century managing in the major leagues, Connie Mack retires as skipper of the A's. The 87-year-old manager, who has the most wins and losses in the game's history, will be replaced by Jimmy Dykes, after compiling a 3731-3948 (.486) record during his 50 years in the dugout.
1960

"Resigned, fired, quit, discharged, use whatever you damn please. I'll never make the mistake of being seventy again" - CASEY STENGEL, announcing his dismissal from the Yankees for being too old to manage.

Five days after losing to the Pirates in Game 7 of the World Series, the Yankees fire Casey Stengel, believing he's too old to manage. During his twelve-year tenure with the Bronx Bombers, the 'Old Perfesser' compiled an 1149-696 (.623) record while capturing ten AL pennants and seven World Championships.

1967 Avoiding a protracted legal battle, the American League awards a new franchise to Kansas City, replacing the team the city lost when the owners permitted Charlie Finley to move the A's to Oakland. Also, the AL announces a new team, soon known as the Pilots, will play in Seattle, an ill-advised decision given that new owners will be under-financed.
1971 Dick Williams is named the Associated Press American League Manager of the Year after guiding the A's to their first playoff appearance since the franchise faced the Cardinals in the 1931 Fall Classic. The 42-year-old skipper also copped the honor for piloting the Red Sox during the team's Impossible Dream season in 1967.
1972 With runners on second and third base in Game 3 of the World Series, Johnny Bench strikes out looking with a full count when a trick play dupes him. After the A's manager visits the mound and catcher Gene Tenace returns to his position, the Reds' slugger, believing he is getting an intentional walk, is fooled when the A's backstop quickly crouches behind home to catch a called strike three from Rollie Fingers.

1977 After homering in his last at-bat yesterday and drawing a walk in his first at-bat, Reggie Jackson hits three more on each first pitch he sees in the Yankees' 8-4 victory over the Dodgers in the Bronx, giving him three homers on three consecutive pitches. Mr. October's heroics in Game 6 of the Fall Classic assure the team of their twenty-first World Championship and first since 1962.

1988 At Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Mark McGwire goes deep off LA's Jay Howell with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the A's a 2-1 victory for its only win in the World Series. Along with Kirk Gibson's heroics in Game 1, Big Mac's walk-off home run marks the first time two game-winning round-trippers occur in the same Fall Classic.

1992 In the top of the ninth inning, Ed Sprague, pinch-hitting for the first time this season, takes Braves' closer Jeff Reardon deep for a two-run homer, giving the Blue Jays an eventual 5-4 comeback victory in Game 2 of the World Series. The corner infielder's second round-tripper of the year knots the Fall Classic at one game apiece, with the series shifting to Toronto.

1992 The Canadian flag is inadvertently flown upside-down by a United States Marine Corps color guard at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium during the pregame ceremonies before Game 2 of the World Series between the Blue Jays and Braves. Although the international incident annoys the U.S.'s northern neighbors, most Toronto fans resist the call to fly the American Stars and Stripes similarly during Game 3 at the SkyDome but opt instead to wave Canada's L'Unifoli with the message "This end up" affixed to the top.

1997 The Expos trade future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez to the Red Sox for minor league prospect Carl Pavano and a player to be named later (Tony Armas, December 18, 1997). During his seven seasons with Boston, the 25-year-old Dominican right-hander compiles an unworldly 117-37 (.760) record for his new team.
1999 The Yankees win their record 36th pennant when the team beats the Red Sox, 6-1, in Game 5 of the ALCS. Orlando Hernandez blanks Boston into the eighth inning, with Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada providing the offense punch with two-run round-trippers, respectively, in the first and ninth frames of the Fenway Park contest.
2004 After 5 hours, 49 minutes, and 471 pitches, the Red Sox, staving off elimination, outlast the Yankees, 5-4, in Game 5 of the league championship. Boston's DH David Ortiz, who is the first player in baseball history to hit two walk-off home runs during the postseason, ends the longest game in ALCS history at 1:22 a.m. with a two-out single into center, scoring Johnny Damon from second in the 14th inning at Fenway Park.

2005 The Montreal Canadiens pay tribute to the departed Expos team by raising a commemorative banner to the rafters of Montreal's Bell Centre. Working in his first game for the NHL team, displaced mascot Youppi and former players Gary Carter and Andre Dawson assist in the hoisting of the blue and orange banner that features their retired numbers, 8 and 10, respectively, as well as the numbers for Tim Raines (30) and Rusty Staub (10).

2008 The Red Sox, scoring in each of the last three innings, erase a seven-run deficit in the seventh to beat the Rays, 8-7, in Game 5 of the ALCS. The Philadelphia A's, who rallied after trailing 8-0 to beat the Cubs, 10-8, in Game 4 of the 1929 World Series, are the only team to have made a bigger comeback in the postseason.
2010 The Mariners hire Eric Wedge as the team's new manager, Seattle's seventh skipper since 2003. The former Cleveland field boss, out of baseball last season after spending seven seasons in the Tribe's dugout, replaces Daren Brown, filling in on an interim basis for Don Wakamatsu, dismissed in August.
2010 The Cardinals announce signing its long-time manager, keeping Tony La Russa in the Redbirds' dugout for at least one more season, the skipper's sixteenth with the club. The franchise has won eight division titles, two National League pennants, and a World Championship under their 66-year-old pilot; however, his heavily favored team collapses during the season's final two months, finishing five games behind Cincinnati. 
2012 At Comerica Park, the Tigers win their second American League pennant in seven years when they beat the punchless Yankees, 8-1, to complete a four-game sweep. The contest marks the first time the Bronx Bombers have failed to win a game in a best-of-seven series since they dropped four straight to the Reds in the 1976 Fall Classic.
2013 The Cardinals advance to their second World Series in three seasons, routing the Dodgers, 9-0, in Game 6 of the NLCS. Behind the timely hitting of Carlos Beltran and the strong pitching performance of rookie right-hander Michael Wacha, St. Louis beats Clayton Kershaw (16-9, 1.83) for the fourth time this season, including a pair of victories in this round of the postseason.
20 Fact(s) Found