Hey, and welcome back to another edition of this day in Sports history, a member of the Sports History Network.
HostYou can find more podcasts and a whole lot more info@sportshistorynetwork.com.
Hostdot it's October 17, and on this day in 1989, the well worn sports phrase shook up the world took on a literal meaning as the world actually shook prior to a World Series game.
HostIt was the Bay Area series between the Oakland as and the San Francisco Giants.
HostThe A's had won the first two games at home, and the series moved across the Bay Bridge to San Francisco for game three.
HostAt 05:04 p.m.
Hostpacific time, ABCs Al Michaels and Tim McCarver were reviewing video highlights of the first two games when the earthquake hit.
HostHere's the ABC television broadcast from that night.
AnnouncerDave Parker, barely by inches, just misses a home run.
AnnouncerCandy Maldonado with the hesitation, allowing Jose Canseco to score.
AnnouncerAnd he fails to get Dave Parker at second base.
AnnouncerSo the Oakland A's take take a while?
AnnouncerWell, I don't know if we're on the air or not, and I'm not sure I care at this particular moment, but we are.
AnnouncerWell, folks, that's the greatest open in the history of television, bar none.
AnnouncerYes, it certainly did.
AnnouncerWe're still here.
AnnouncerWe are still, as we can tell, on the air.
AnnouncerAnd I guess you are hearing us even though we have no picture and no return audio.
AnnouncerWe will be back, we hope, from San Francisco in just a moment.
HostCB's radio featured Jack Buck, Johnny Bench and John Rooney, and they were in a commercial break when the earthquake struck.
HostBut Buck was able to add a little levity to the situation when they came back on air.
CommentatorThat was wild, wasn't it?
CommentatorWell, it really was, John.
CommentatorAnd still a few aftershocks have happened since that time.
CommentatorThe whole building and right below us, the floor just started shaking.
CommentatorJack Buck standing here right now, and he just figured he'd just go right down below.
CommentatorNo, I picked a spot down below and I just felt sorry for those people that I was coming down on, but I thought I'd be all right.
CommentatorAnd I must say about Johnny Bench, folks, if he moved like that when he was playing, he didn't never hit into a double play.
CommentatorI never saw anybody move that fast in my life.
Host63,000 people were filing into the seats at Candlestick park at the time.
HostSome cheered after the initial quake.
HostOthers were terrified.
HostOne umpire actually ran out from the locker room in his underwear.
HostPlayers in the locker room feared that they might be buried alive the stadium suffered very little damage and there were many who wondered why they just couldnt go ahead and play the game.
HostThe situation outside the stadium, though, was a much different scene.
HostThe Cypress street viaduct collapsed, killing 42 people.
HostBuildings and parking garages crumbled.
HostIn total, 67 people died.
HostBut the World Series game is actually credited with saving hundreds, if not thousands of lives.
HostAnd heres why.
HostWithout a game, thousands more would have been on the freeways heading home from work.
HostInstead, they were either at Candlestick park or had left work early to watch the game in a local bar.
HostCommissioner Faye Vincent, who was in attendance, did not hesitate to call the game off and initially rescheduled it for the 22nd.
HostDelays in restoring transmission links delayed it another five days.
HostSan Francisco's mayor actually wanted to delay the resumption of the series for a month, but Commissioner Vincent said that they could not wait that long and he put several major league cities on notice that they may actually end up hosting the World Series.
HostBut it didn't come to that.
HostOn October 27, game three was played in San Francisco with Oakland winning 13 seven, and they would close out the series the next night for a four game sweep.
HostAnd that was the last time that the A's franchise actually won the World Series.
HostOn this day in 1998, the Temple Owls pulled off one of the biggest upsets in college football.
HostThe Owen six Owls were 36 point underdogs and playing on the road against number 14 Virginia Tech, who were undefeated in their five games so far.
HostBoth of those teams were members of the Big east at this point.
HostTemple had gone winless in their previous 26 league games.
HostAlso, the Owls were a beat up team.
HostBoth first and second string quarterbacks were injured the prior week.
HostThey had eleven guys playing this game that had not even put on a uniform six weeks earlier.
HostFirst year head coach Bobby Wallace said.
HostHe had guys playing positions that they had never practiced before and it sure didn't look like things were going to go well for Temple early on.
HostThe Hokies led 17 nothing midway through the second quarter and they were threatening to punch in another one late in the half when Lamont McGeese fumbled the football and the Owls recovered on their own 1 yd line.
HostTemple went on a quick 99 yard drive to make it a 17 seven game at the half.
HostTemple started to make the Hokie faithful uncomfortable with a long, sustained drive in the third quarter, capped by a Jason McKee 13 yard td run to make it a 1714 game.
HostTemple was playing with their third string quarterback in this one, freshman Devin Scott, but he played more like an All American in the second half, he hooked up with receiver Carlos Johnson for an 80 yard strike.
HostAnd just like that, the Owls led 20 117.
HostThe Hokies fought back for another score to retake the lead, but the Owls had some fight left in them.
HostThey picked off a pair of passes in the second half, and those were their first two interceptions of the year.
HostNow, this was week seven of their schedule, and that's their first two interceptions.
HostDevin Scott led the Owls back down the field and punched one in from a couple of yards out.
HostAnd Temple led again, 28 24 with six minutes left.
HostDown four and needing a touchdown, Tech drove down the field and with 19 seconds left, faced a fourth and goal from the five.
HostBut the Owls defense swarmed to the football and snuffed the run to secure an impressive probable win over the 14th ranked Hokies.
HostIt was the first of only two wins that the Temple Owls would have that season, but the 36 point underdogs had overcome a 17 point deficit to shock the college football world.
HostOn this day in 1968, Sweden's Hans gunner Lillenwald became the first athlete to ever be disqualified from the Olympics for doping.
HostAlright, so he had to be some weightlifter who was doing anabolic steroids, right?
HostMmm, nope.
HostOkay.
HostHe was a sprinter and he was doping to make himself faster.
HostNot a chance.
HostHans Gunner Lilinwal was a pentathlete for the swedish team.
HostPentathlon is an odd bag of five different events.
HostThere's fencing, swimming, equestrian, shooting and running.
HostIt seems that Hans was a little nervous prior to the shooting event and according to him, drank two beers to calm his nerves, even though beer was not on the banned list of substances.
HostLilinwal was disqualified, as were his swedish pentathlete teammates.
HostAnd time now for todays non sports.
HostDid you know the first calculated height of Mount Everest was actually intentionally misreported?
HostWhen Sir Edmund Wall calculated the height to be 29,000ft, he thought that people would think that it was just rounded off and therefore not accurate at all.
HostSo he added 2ft to his total to make it 29,002ft.
HostThat actually turned out to be closer to what most consider the height of Everest to now be at 29,029ft.
HostThat's all I've got for you today.
HostOn the way tomorrow, it's a special edition of this day in sports history.
HostDon't miss it.
HostI'll see you tomorrow.
HostThis has been an original thrive suite production.