Sports History On This Day: September 29

September 29, 2022 by Sports History Network

September 29, 1914 – The Boston Braves, a team that was in last place in the 8-team National League standings in mid-July, clinched the NL pennant and it wasn’t even close as they finished 10-1/2 games better than their closest contender, the New York Giants.

Their record over their final 87 games was an astounding 68–19 for a winning percentage of .782. They went on to sweep the Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series and are forever known as the “Miracle Braves.”

To find more great daily sports history make sure to check out the Sports Jersey Dispatch and Pigskin Dispatch.

The 1914 World Series champion Boston Braves — The photo is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons of The 1914 World Series champion Boston Braves Top row, left to right: Bill James, Ted Cather, Charlie Deal, Iron Davis, Ensign Cottrell, Gene Cocreham, Otto Hess, Leslie Mann, Hank Gowdy, Butch Schmidt, Bert Whaling Middle row, left to right: Possum Whitted, Oscar Dugey, Lefty Tyler, Paul Strand, Josh Devore, Larry Gilbert, Red Smith, Herbie Moran Bottom row, left to right: Joe Connolly, Fred Mitchell, Willie Connor, Dick Rudolph, Rabbit Maranville, Dick Crutcher, Jack Martin, Johnny Evers Contributed by W. W. Somers Special thanks to the resources of Newspapers.com and OnThisDay.com for the information obtained.

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An England football flag - Source: Unsplash Three Nations Looking To Break Long-Standing Curses at the 2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup is just around the corner, and the final rounds of qualifiers are now underway to determine which nations will battle it out for the biggest prize the beautiful game has to offer next summer. With 48 teams set to compete, up from the usual 32, a slew of debutants have already purchased their tickets to North America. While reigning champions Argentina and back-to-back beaten European Championship finalists England are already confirmed, at the opposite end of the spectrum, the underdogs are barking. So far, three teams that have never competed at a FIFA World Cup before have already confirmed their participation Stateside next summer. Africa's Cape Verde managed to progress, becoming the smallest nation in history to feature, as they finished ahead of continental heavyweights Cameroon to secure their spot. 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Embed tweet here - https://x.com/bovadaofficial/status/1812591866447020454?s=46&t=Jxc74bqcdlQ9Bjed4TR1Jw There are plenty of reasons why the English are considered formidable. Back-to-back European Championship finals under Gareth Southgate certainly showed that the country that handed the beautiful game to the rest of the world is back to its best. Now, under serial winner Thomas Tuchel and led by the likes of captain Harry Kane and Real Madrid talisman Jude Bellingham, there are bags of quality all over the pitch. Still, if England is to reign supreme next summer, it will have to banish a ghost that has been weighing them down for 60 years. 1966. That was the first and last time the Three Lions lifted the FIFA World Cup, or any silverware for that matter, and in the years since, it has been nothing but pain, especially on the global stage. Penalty shootouts, ghost goals, and controversial red cards. Seemingly, anything that can go wrong for England does go wrong. 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