The NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for October 15, 2026, is number 752. This daily challenge continues to test sports knowledge across various leagues and eras, requiring players to find the common thread between 16 different terms.
If you are looking for a nudge in the right direction without seeing the full solution yet, these hints will help you narrow down the groups.
Connections: Sports Edition Hints for October 15
The categories today range from general gameplay actions to specific historical achievements in professional baseball.
- Yellow Category: Relates to the act of moving the ball or puck to a teammate to set up a play.
- Green Category: Focuses on the physical locations on a field or court where points are officially recorded.
- Blue Category: Features four surnames of Major League Baseball pitchers who achieved one of the rarest feats in the sport’s history.
- Purple Category: These four words all precede a specific piece of equipment used for safety or specialized roles in sports.
Stronger Hints
In the Blue group, look for names associated with New York teams or historical milestones from 1956, 1988, 1999, and 2012. For the Purple group, think about the word “mask” and how it is applied differently in basketball, hockey, and baseball.
SPOILER WARNING: The full answers and category groups for puzzle #752 follow below.
Connections: Sports Edition Answers for October 15, #752
Yellow: Deliver the Ball to a Teammate
- DISH
- DISTRIBUTE
- GIVE
- PASS
These terms are frequently used by commentators in basketball and soccer to describe playmaking and ball movement.
Green: Places Where One Scores
- END ZONE
- GOAL
- HOOP
- PLATE
Each of these represents the specific destination required to register a point or “run” across football, hockey/soccer, basketball, and baseball.
Blue: MLB Pitchers to Throw a Perfect Game
- BROWNING
- CAIN
- CONE
- LARSEN
This category highlights pitchers who retired every single batter they faced without a hit, walk, or error. The group includes Tom Browning (Cincinnati Reds, 1988), Matt Cain (San Francisco Giants, 2012), David Cone (New York Yankees, 1999), and Don Larsen, who famously threw the only perfect game in World Series history for the Yankees in 1956.
Purple: ____ Mask
- CATCHER’S
- FACE
- GOALIE
- PROTECTIVE
The word “mask” fits after each of these. In a sports context, a “protective mask” often refers to the clear facial guards worn by NBA players like Rip Hamilton or Joel Embiid to protect the face following a fracture or surgery.
