In 1986: The United States Football League officially folded. Having played the first two seasons in the spring during the NFL offseason, the USFL made a catastrophic mistake by trying to compete head-to-head with the NFL in Fall of 1985. They then brought an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, but was only awarded one dollar in damages. Useless Knowledge to Take Into Your Weekend: The Pittsburgh Maulers were the only team to ever sell out a USFL game. Pittsburghers basically showed up to throw batteries at former Steeler and then-current Birmingham Stallions’ quarterback Cliff Stoudt. (thisistheusfl.com)
In 1982: In one of the strangest accomplishments in baseball history, Joel Youngblood played in two games for two different teams on the same day; and even collected a hit in each game. Also, both hits were off Hall of Fame pitchers. Playing for the Mets in the afternoon game in Chicago, he hit a single off Ferguson Jenkins, but was traded to the Expos during the game. He immediately flew to Philadelphia for a night game, arrived in time to pinch hit, and stroked another single off Steve Carlton. (baseballlibrary.com)
In 1983: While throwing in the outfield between innings of a game at Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium, Dave Winfield of the New York Yankees accidentally clipped a seagull with a baseball, killing it. The 12-time All-Star, Hall of Famer and member of the 3,000 hit club was arrested and charged with animal cruelty. He was forced to post a $500 bond, but the charges were dropped the next day. (baseballlibrary.com)
In 1985: On the same day, White Sox pitcher Tom Seaver won his 300th career game in New York against the Yankees; while Angels second baseman Rod Carew collected his 3,000th hit against the Twins in Anaheim. Carew was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1991, and Seaver received the highest-ever percentage of first-place ballots (98.2) in 1992. (baseball-almanac.com)