Today in Sports History: September 11th
(Rose singles off Eric Show for his record hit. Photo via Cincinnati.com)
9/11/1915 - Plank wins his 300th
Eddie Plank, playing for the St. Louis Terriers of the Federal League, wins the 300th game of his career, making him the first left-hander to reach the 300-mark. In his career, Plank went 326-194 with a 2.35 ERA and won 20 or more games in eight different seasons. One of the winningest lefties to ever play in the major leagues, Plank won as many as 26 games in a season but was the first player to reach 300 wins without leading the league in wins at least one time.
9/11/1985 - Rose breaks Cobb's hit record
Pete Rose passes Ty Cobb's hit total to become the all-time hits leader in Major League Baseball. Who could have imagined that 25 years later the all-time hit king, the all-time home run king, and the pitcher with the most Cy Young awards would be looking on the outside of the Hall of Fame.
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(Royals players honor 9/11 victims a year later. Photo by Ed Zurga, AP Photos)
9/11/2001 - Planes hit the World Trade Center
The phrase “9/11 changed everything” has been used so many times that it often loses its meaning, particularly when it came out of the mouth of Rudy Giuliani during his presidential campaign. But 9/11 really affected every single thing in this country. TV shows that were set in New York like Friends and Seinfeld went off the air, cartoons ranging from Transformers to Cowboy Bebop were pulled, movies with giant explosions went on hiatus, and anything even remotely unpatriotic or insensitive was shunned or savaged. Even the late night talk shows went off the air.
For one week, all entertainment not coming in the most G-rated of forms came to a complete stop. This included professional and collegial sports. The consensus was that not playing games, while others were mourning and searching for loved ones, was the appropriate action to take. Additionally, fears over air travel and ballpark security had many athletes fearful to return to an open arena with 70,000 spectators.
For about one week, every scheduled sporting event was either postponed or scrapped completely. In baseball’s case, the postponements moved parts of the postseason into November for the first time ever, while in football, the Super Bowl dipped into February for the first time. The Ryder Cup was canceled altogether.
When the sports season did eventually resume, it came with a far greater meaning than before. Many Americans found comfort in being able to escape the malaise of the ground zero excavation coverage. Just being able to watch professional football on Sunday meant the world to many people, who now needed as much entertainment and pick-me-ups in their lives as possible.
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