This day in sports history: Fordham featured in first football TV broadcast, Brett Favre surpasses Dan Marino
Sports history from Sept 30 over the years
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On a day in late September and in the final game of the regular season, New York Yankees great Babe Ruth would set what many believed was the most unbreakable record in all of baseball history.
His 60th home run of the season.
Ruth, 32 at the time, was just one homer away from topping his previous record of 59 set in 1921.
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On Sept. 30, 1927, Washington Senators lefty Tom Zachary walked Ruth in the first inning. He singled in the fourth and sixth and the odds of him hitting No. 60 seemed unlikely. But in the eighth inning, Ruth came up to the plate and knocked one out to right field.
Babe Ruth displays the famous follow-through as he clouts his record 60th homer of the 1927 season against the Washington Senators at Yankee Stadium on September 30. Tom Zachary was the pitcher and catching is Muddy Ruel. (Getty Images)
"Sixty! Count ‘em, 60!," Ruth reportedly shouted after the game, via the National Baseball Hall of Fame. "Let’s see some other (player) match that."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On Sept. 26, 1961, Yankees outfielder Roger Maris would tie Ruth’s record and just five days later when he hit the record-breaking 61st homer in a game against the Boston Red Sox.
At the time, Maris’ record was marred by controversy with some wanting to uphold Ruth’s record, which was set during a 154-game season. Maris set the record after the American League expanded its schedule to 162 games.
FORDHAM MAKES PRIMETIME
Fordham vs. Waynesburg football game at Randall's Island. (NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)
On Sept. 30, 1939, Fordham University played in the first ever televised football game.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It was the Rams’ season opener against Waynesburg, a game Fordham was easily expected to win. In front of a crowd of around 9,000, Fordham claimed victory with a 34-7.
According to the NCAA website, an estimated 500 to 5,000 people tuned in to watch the broadcast. While it wasn’t the first sporting event ever broadcast, it was a first for football. The NFL was broadcast by NBC later that year.
ELITE COMPANY
Green Bay Packers QB Brett Favre (4) victorious, lifting Greg Jennings (85) after touchdown and breaking Dan Marino's touchdown pass record during game vs Minnesota Vikings, Minneapolis, MN 9/30/2007. (John Biever/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre surpassed Dan Marino’s record for career touchdown passes when on Sept. 30, 2007 in a win over the Minnesota Vikings, he threw No. 421.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The milestone came in the first quarter of the game when Favre connected with Grant Jennings on a 16-yard pass.
"I loved holding the touchdown record for the past 13 years," Marino said in a taped message that played out in the stadium. "But if someone was going to break it, I'm glad it was someone like you, who has always competed at the highest level and always played to win."
Favre is fourth on the all time list with 508 and is preceded by Peyton Manning (539), Drew Brees (571), and Tom Brady (649).
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Associated Press contributed to this report.