THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY: 9/23

1845 – The Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York is formed, making it the first baseball team in history.

1908 – Fred Merkle of the Giants fails to touch second base in the ninth inning of a tie game against the Cubs, causing the third out and disallowing the winning run. The Cubs win the replay of the game, capturing the NL pennant.

1952 – Rocky Marciano KOs world heavyweight champion Jersey Joe Walcott to in the title in a bout at Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia.

1961 – Cubs great Ernie Banks’ streak of 717 consecutive games comes to an end.

1979 – Lou Brock of the St. Louis Cardinals steals his 938th and final base of his career. 

1984 – Joe Montana, then with the 49ers, misses his first start in 49 games. 

1988 – Jose Canseco becomes the first player in MLB history to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in a season.

2001 – Barry Bonds hits his 66^th home run of the season, tying Sammy Sosa for the second most homers in a single season.

2018 – Saints quarterback Drew Brees sets an NFL record by completing the 6,300^th pass of his career, passing Brett Favre for the most all-time.

2022 – Albert Pujols hits his #699 and #700 career homeruns, becoming the fourth player in history to reach that mark.

2022 – Roger Federer plays in his final professional tennis match.