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This list shows notable sports-related deaths, events, and notable outcomes that occurred in October of 2005. Deaths
30 – Al López 28 – Bob Broeg 23 – Harry Dalton 25 – Wellington Mara 18 – Bill King 18 – Johnny Haynes 15 – Al Widmar 15 – Jason Collier 9 – Tom Cheek 2 – Pat Kelly
Ongoing events 2005 in NASCAR 2005–06 FA Premiership 2005–06 in English football 2005–06 in Scottish football 2005 in Swedish football 2005–06 in Ligue 1 2005–06 Hyundai A-League (Australia) 2005–06 UEFA Champions League 2005 NFL season 2005 CFL season 2005–06 NHL season 2005–06 Heineken Cup 2005–06 NBA season 21 October-6 November: Cricket: New Zealand tour of South Africa 25 October-12 November: Cricket: Sri Lanka tour of India
31 October 2005 (Monday) MLB: A day after he was offered a $4.5 million, 3-year contract extension, Theo Epstein resigns as the general manager of the Boston Red Sox, only one year after he built the team that won the 2004 World Series. NFL Monday Night Football: Pittsburgh Steelers 20, Baltimore Ravens 19: In only the fifth Halloween game in the history of MNF, Jeff Reed's 37-yard field goal with 1:37 left gives the Steelers the win over their divisional rivals. Cricket: India (303 for 4, Dhoni 183 not out; Muralitharan 2–46) beat Sri Lanka (298 for 4, Sangakkara 138 not out, Jayawardene 71; Agarkar 2–62) by six wickets at Jaipur in the third ODI of the seven-match series to take a 3–0 lead. Dhoni's 183 not out is the sixth-highest score of all time in ODIs, the highest by a number three batsman, the highest by a batsman in a chasing side in a 50-over game, and the highest by a wicket-keeper. (ODI Career Highest Individual Scores from Cricinfo), (Cricinfo bulletin)
30 October 2005 (Sunday) Soccer: MLS Cup 2005 Playoffs: Conference semifinals Chicago Fire 4, D.C. United 0 Game 2's score is also the series' final aggregate. The Fire stun over 20,000 raucous fans at RFK Stadium to knock out the defending MLS Cup champions. Iván Guerrero scores two for Chicago, both in the first half, including a highlight reel-making, one-timer blast in the fifth minute of stoppage time from outside the box, eliciting a loud "Oh my!" from ESPN2's Rob Stone that Dick Enberg would have been proud of. In the 55th minute, the United's Christian Gómez is sent off for spitting on the Fire's C.J. Brown after the two tangle while fighting for the ball. The Fire will take on the New England Revolution in next Sunday's Eastern Conference Final. Major League Baseball: Al López, who led two American League teams – the Cleveland Indians in 1954 and the Chicago White Sox in 1959 – to pennants, died of a heart attack at the age of 97. NASCAR 2005 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup: Carl Edwards wins the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. NASCAR.com NFL Week 8 Dallas Cowboys 34, Arizona Cardinals 13: Rookie Marion Barber rushes for 127 yards and two touchdowns for the Cowboys, who win their 14th straight home game against Arizona. Chicago Bears 19, Detroit Lions 13 (OT): Charles Tillman returns an interception of Jeff Garcia 22 yards for the winning score. Houston Texans 19, Cleveland Browns 16: Two key sacks by Gary Walker and 177 return yards from Jerome Mathis help the Texans get their first win of the season. Cincinnati Bengals 21, Green Bay Packers 14: Brett Favre throws five interceptions as the Packers fall to 1–6. St. Louis Rams 24, Jacksonville Jaguars 21: Steven Jackson runs for 179 yards and catches a touchdown pass for the Rams. Carolina Panthers 38, Minnesota Vikings 13: Jake Delhomme throws for 341 yards — 201 of them to Steve Smith — and three touchdowns for Carolina, which has won four straight games. The Vikings lost quarterback Daunte Culpepper for the season with a knee injury. Oakland Raiders 34, Tennessee Titans 25: Kerry Collins throws three touchdowns and Warren Sapp records 2.5 sacks for the Raiders. New York Giants 36, Washington Redskins 0: Tiki Barber rushes for 206 yards, while the Redskins muster only 125 yards from scrimmage... as a team. San Diego Chargers 28, Kansas City Chiefs 20: The Chargers complete three touchdown passes — one by LaDainian Tomlinson. At Louisiana State University Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Miami Dolphins 21, New Orleans Saints 6: Nick Saban's homecoming to the stadium where he coached LSU from 1999 through 2004, including a shared national title in 2003, was successful, while the Saints' Louisiana homecoming was not as successful. Denver Broncos 49, Philadelphia Eagles 21: Jake Plummer throws four touchdown passes; three come before Donovan McNabb completes his first pass. San Francisco 49ers 15, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10: Ken Dorsey throws for only 40 yards against his old team, but the 49ers win thanks to three takeaways, five sacks and five Joe Nedney field goals. New England Patriots 21, Buffalo Bills 16: Tedy Bruschi makes his emotional comeback to Gillette Stadium, and Corey Dillon scores two touchdowns in the last 8 minutes to bring the Pats back from a 16–7 deficit. Bye Week: Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks. Cricket: South Africa (245 for 6, Gibbs 81, Kemp 30 (19b); Adams 2–40) beat New Zealand (243 for 9, Styris 78, Fleming 54; Ntini 3–37, Shaun Pollock 0–23 (10 ovs)) in the third ODI at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth. The victory leaves South Africa 3–0 up with two matches to play, thus clinching the series victory. (Cricinfo)
29 October 2005 (Saturday) Soccer: MLS Cup 2005 Playoffs: Conference semifinals New England Revolution 3, MetroStars 1 The Revs win the series 3–2 on aggregate. The MetroStars score a second-half goal, but the Revolution score three unanswered goals, the winner from Khano Smith, to take the 2-game set. For the Revolution, it's their third straight trip to the Eastern Conference final. They've lost the previous two visits. F.C. Dallas 2, Colorado Rapids 2 (After regulation) The Rapids take the series by winning a penalty kick shootout 5–4. Dallas' Carlos Ruiz scores both of the team's regulation goals, but he had a chance for a hat trick; in the 112th minute, Ruiz has a penalty kick deflect off the left post. Jeff Cunningham and Ritchie Kotschau score the Rapids' regulation goals. San Jose Earthquakes 1, Los Angeles Galaxy 1 The Galaxy take the series 4–2 on aggregate. Brian Ching scores early for the Quakes, but it's Ned Grabavoy who clinches the 2-game set by tying the game in the 67th minute. The Galaxy will go to Denver for this Saturday's Western Conference Final. Major League Baseball: Paul DePodesta was fired as the general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Cricket: Ireland defeats Kenya to win the 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup. NCAA college football AP Top 25: (1) USC 55, Washington State 13 The Trojans score touchdowns on their first 4 possessions in a romp over the Cougars. (2) Texas 47, Oklahoma State 28 Vince Young leads the Longhorns back from a 28–9 second-quarter deficit to win in Stillwater. (16) Florida 14, (4) Georgia 10 Chris Leak leads his Gators over the D. J. Shockley-less Bulldogs to win the Florida vs. Georgia Football Classic in Jacksonville. This loss is UGA's first of the year and will see them drop in the polls. (5) Alabama 35, Utah State 3 (6) Miami (Florida) 34, North Carolina 16 (7) LSU 56, North Texas 3 (8) UCLA 30, Stanford 27 (OT) Drew Olson leads the Bruins back from 24 points down in the 4th quarter to see them win in overtime. This is the Bruins' 3rd comeback win in 4 games. (10) Florida State 35, Maryland 27 (11) Penn State 33, Purdue 15 (12) Ohio State 45, Minnesota 31 Ted Ginn Jr. runs a kick back for a touchdown and Antonio Pittman gets two rushing touchdowns as the Buckeyes beat the Gophers at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. (15) Wisconsin 41, Illinois 24 Freshman running back Brian Calhoun scores four TDs as the Badgers win easily. (17) Texas Tech 28, Baylor 0 Tech scores 22 points in the fourth quarter as what looked to be a defensive struggle quickly turned into a rout. (19) Auburn 27, Mississippi 3 (20) TCU 23, San Diego State 20 (25) Michigan 33, (21) Northwestern 17 (22) Fresno State 27, Hawaii 13 Running back Wendell Mathis rushed for three TDs as the Bulldogs stay undefeated in the WAC. South Carolina 16, (23) Tennessee 15 The Gamecocks snap a 12-game losing streak at Neyland Stadium with a field goal from Josh Brown with 2:45 left in the game. The Vols drop to 3–4 as a result of this game. NFL: The New England Patriots activate linebacker Tedy Bruschi, who suffered a mild stroke in February 2005, from the "physically unable to perform" list, making him eligible to play tomorrow against the Buffalo Bills. (AP/Yahoo!) Horse Racing: Breeders' Cup World Championship at Belmont Park. Winners of the races were: Juvenile Fillies (Two-year-old females): Folklore. Juvenile (Two-year-old males): Stevie Wonderboy. Filly & Mare Turf (Females): Intercontinental. Sprint: Silver Train. Mile: Artie Schiller. Distaff (Older females): Pleasant Home. Turf: Shirocco. Classic: Saint Liam. NTRA Breeders' Cup website
28 October 2005 (Friday) Major League Baseball: In an attempt to cut down the number of home runs being hit there, the Philadelphia Phillies announced that the fences in left field at Citizens Bank Park will be moved back in time for the 2006 season. Phillies web site Cricket: South Africa (201 for 9, Kallis 51, Boucher 40; Mills 4–44, Styris 2–29, Bond 2–42) beat New Zealand (182, Vincent 90; Ntini 3–29, Langeveldt 3–35, Boje 2–26) by 19 runs in the second ODI of the 5-match series. They lead the series 2–0. (Cricinfo) India (123 for 2, Tendulkar 67 not out, Sehwag 38) chase down a low target set by Sri Lanka (122; Pathan 4–37, Harbhajan 2–19, Yadav 2–32) to win the ODI at Mohali and go 2–0 up in the 7-match series. (Cricinfo)
27 October 2005 (Thursday) NCAA College Football AP Top 25 (3) Virginia Tech 30, (13) Boston College 10
26 October 2005 (Wednesday) Major League Baseball 2005 World Series Game 4 Chicago White Sox 1, Houston Astros 0 WP: Freddy García. LP: Brad Lidge. SV: Bobby Jenks. The deciding game of the 2005 World Series was a pitcher's duel, with White Sox starter García allowing four hits and Astors starter Brandon Backe giving up five hits as both pitched seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts apiece, including a stretch where Backe struck out six consecutive batters. The string of scoreless innings was the longest since Game Seven of the 1991 World Series. World Series MVP Jermaine Dye's RBI single in the eighth inning scoring pinch-hitter Willie Harris proved to be the difference. This is the first World Series win for the South Siders since 1917. It was the first 1–0 Series clinching game since Game Six of the 1995 World Series, which saw the Atlanta Braves defeat the Cleveland Indians and the first 1–0 game in any World Series game since Game Five of the 1996 World Series when the New York Yankees beat Atlanta. It is also the third year in a row where the home team (here, the Astros) did not win the deciding game of a World Series. White Sox win series, 4–0. Japan Series: The Chiba Lotte Marines, managed by Bobby Valentine, sweep the Hanshin Tigers in four games, winning Game Four by a 3–2 score. The win gives the former Lotte Orions their first Japan Series title in thirty-one years and makes Valentine the first non-Japanese-born manager to win the Japanese baseball championship. WNBA: Sheryl Swoopes, in an interview with ESPN The Magazine, says that she is a lesbian.
25 October 2005 (Tuesday) Major League Baseball 2005 World Series Game 3 Chicago White Sox 7, Houston Astros 5 (14 innings)