**On This Day in Sports History: October 26**
**1907**
Jim Thorpe makes his Carlisle (Pa.) debut, dazzling a crowd of 22,800 in a 26-6 victory over No. 4 Penn at Philadelphia’s Franklin Field. Thorpe rushes, returns kicks, and handles all the kicking duties, putting on a one-man show.
**1951**
Joe Louis loses his final fight, an eighth-round TKO to Rocky Marciano at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Marciano knocks Louis down with a left hook in the eighth round. Louis gets to one knee at the count of three and takes an eight-count before rising. Marciano ends the fight with a right that sends Louis through the ropes onto the ring apron. Louis finishes his career with a record of 66-3, including 52 knockouts.
**1968**
Brooks Dawson of Texas-El Paso completes 17 of 24 passes for 304 yards in the final 10:21 of the fourth quarter, leading the Miners to a 31-25 victory over Brigham Young.
Also in 1968, boxer George Foreman wins the gold medal in the heavyweight division at the Mexico Olympic Games by defeating Ionas Chepulis of the Soviet Union.
**1970**
Muhammad Ali returns to the ring after a 2½-year layoff due to his refusal to be drafted into the United States Army. Fighting in Atlanta, Ali opens a cut over Jerry Quarry’s left eye with a right hand in the third round, causing the fight to be stopped before the start of the fourth round.
**1980**
The St. Louis Cardinals sack Baltimore quarterback Bert Jones 12 times in a 17-10 victory.
**1982**
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Steve Carlton becomes the first to win four Cy Young awards.
**1990**
Wayne Gretzky becomes the NHL’s first player to reach the 2,000-point plateau when he helps set up a goal by Tomas Sandstrom at 14:32 of the first period in the Los Angeles Kings’ game at Winnipeg.
**2000**
The New York Yankees become the first team in more than 25 years to win three straight World Series championships, beating the New York Mets 4-2. The Yankees match the Oakland Athletics’ three consecutive titles from 1972-74, claiming their fourth title in five years.
**2002**
Volponi, a 43-1 long shot, finds room along the rail and blows past fading Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner War Emblem to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic by 6½ lengths, finishing ahead of Medaglia d’Oro.
**2006**
Ryan Miller stops 29 shots as the Buffalo Sabres defeat the New York Islanders 3-0, earning their 10th straight win. The victory ties the best start in NHL history, matching the 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs.
**2012**
The NHL cancels all games through the end of November due to a labor dispute between owners and players.
In college football, McKoy scores five touchdowns in a game, breaking the rushing record previously held by Dante Brown of Marietta College. Brown had rushed for 441 yards on October 5, 1996, against Baldwin-Wallace.
**2014**
Serena Williams wins the WTA Tour Finals for the third straight year and fifth time overall, defeating Simona Halep 6-3, 6-0. Williams joins Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf as the only players to have won five titles in the season-ending championship.
Also in 2014, Ben Roethlisberger throws for 522 yards and six touchdowns, completing 40 of 49 passes in Pittsburgh’s 51-34 win over Indianapolis. He becomes the first player in NFL history with two 500-yard passing games; his previous was 503 yards against Green Bay on December 20, 2009.
Abby Wambach scores four goals as the World Cup-bound United States women’s soccer team defeats Costa Rica 6-0 to claim its fifth CONCACAF Women’s Championship title.
**2018**
In the longest World Series game by both innings and time, the LA Dodgers beat the Boston Red Sox 3-2 in the 18th inning. The marathon game lasted 7 hours and 20 minutes in Game 3 at Dodger Stadium, ending with a walk-off home run by Max Muncy.
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