21 September in Sports History

In this edition of the Sports Break, we cover the top events in sports history along with the players and athletes that were a part of them on September 21. As a bonus, we place the jersey number worn at the time with the athlete as well.

Sports history is made every day of the year. We will preserve at least a small sampling from some great athletes every day based on the uniform number they wore.

17 - 21 - 7 - 20 - 10 - 32 - 37 - 45 - 31

September 21, 1906 - New York Highlanders 1st baseman Hal Chase had 22 put-outs to tie MLB record in a 6-3 win over Chicago White Sox at South Side Park

September 21, 1934 - St Louis Cardinals pitching Dean brothers shut-out Brooklyn Dodgers in a doubleheader. Dizzy Dean (Number 17), in a 13-0 rout and sibling Paul Dean (NUmber 21), presented a 3-0 no-hitter. The Dean brothers would help the Cardinals claim the World Series that season with performances like these.

September 21, 1956 - New York Yankees set dubious MLB record, stranding 20 on base. Yanks Number 7, Mickey Mantle hit a 500' plus homer but rival Boston Red Sox win 13-9 at Fenway Park

September 21, 1969 - New York Jet Steve O'Neal, Number 20 punted a ball 98 yards against Denver Broncos

September 21, 1970 - Oakland Athletic's Number 17, Vida Blue threw a no-hit gem against the Minnesota Twins, providing a 6-0 A's victory

September 21, 1973 - Nate Archibald, who wore Number 10 that season, signed 7 yr contract with NBA KC Kings for $450,000. The man they called Tiny Archibald stood 6'-1" tall, short on the courts but a giant in basketball history.

September 21, 1980 - LA Ram Johnnie Johnson, Number 20 scored on a 99 yard interception

September 21, 1981 - Philadelphia Phillies lefthander Steve Carlton, Number 32 struck out a NL record 3,118th when he sat down Andre Dawson of the Expos

September 21, 1986 - New Orleans Saints Mel Gray, Number 37 returned kickoff 101 yards for a touchdown

September 21, 1986 - San Diego Padre Jimmy Jones, Number 45 pitched 1-hitter in his major league debut

September 21, 1997 - Mike Piazza, Number 31 became the 2nd to hit a home run out of Dodger Stadium

September 21, 1997 - New York Yankee Number 45, Cecil Fielder hit his 300th HR 

A Very Special thanks to information obtained from the following brilliant internet sites: On This Day Sports, the Sports Reference's family of website databases & Stathead.com.

Banner photo is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons of the Hal Chase, of the Chicago White Sox, published in 1914 by the Bain News Service..