Today In Sports History 4/15

Our past has shaped present by many things in history including sports, here is how sports marked our history.

Baseball

• 1876 – First game of the Alleghenies professional baseball in Pittsburgh, playing at Union Park.
• 1909 – New York Giants’ Red Ames second no-hitter, loses in 13th inning on a 7-hitter to Brooklyn Dodgers.
• 1910 – William Howard Taft is first US President to throw out a first ball at a baseball game.
• 1911 – Walter Johnson pitches a record tying four strike-outs in an inning.
• 1915 – New York Giants pitcher Rube Marquard no-hits Brooklyn Dodgers, 2-0.
• 1947 – Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball’s color line (first black in modern major league baseball).
• 1954 – Baltimore Orioles’ first game in Baltimore; they beat Chicago White Sox 3-1.
• 1954 – New York Yankees dedicate a plaque to Edward Barrow.
• 1958 – First Major League baseball game in California, San Francisco Giants beat Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-0.
• 1968 – The Houston Astros defeat the New York Mets in 24 innings (6 hours, 6 minutes), 1-0, making it the longest scoreless game in Major League Baseball history.
• 1976 – Yankee Stadium reopens, New York Yankees beat Minnesota Twins after trailing 4-0.
• 1977 – First baseball game at Montréal’s Olympic Stadium, Quebec, Canada.
• 1994 – Cleveland Indians lose first game at Jacobs Field, Kansas City Royals wins 2-1.
• 1997 – Baseball honors Jackie Robinson by retiring #42 for all teams.
• 2005 – The first major league game in Washington D.C. since September 30, 1971 is played between the Washington Nationals and the Arizona Diamondbacks at RFK Stadium. President George W. Bush throws out the first ceremonial pitch. The Nationals win, 5-3.
• 2005 – Ben Sheets signs a $38.5 million, four-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers American professional baseball team. It is the richest deal in Brewers’ history.

Basketball

• 1991 – Magic Johnson sets NBA record for career assists with 9,898.
• 1991 – Sacramento Kings set NBA record, losing 35th consecutive game on road.

Football

• 1965 – NFL changes penalty flag from white to bright gold.

Golf

• 1956 – Marlene Bauer wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf Open.
• 1973 – Second Colgate Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Mickey Wright.
• 1979 – 43rd Golf Masters Championship: Fuzzy Zoeller wins, shooting a 280.
• 1984 – 48th Golf Masters Championship: Ben Crenshaw wins, shooting a 277.
• 1984 – Ayako Okamoto wins LPGA J&B Scotch Pro-Am Golf Tournament.

Hockey 

• 1925 – NHL’s New York Americans (formerly Hamilton Tigers) play first game, lose 3-1.
• 1937 – NHL Stanley Cup: Detroit Red Wings beat New York Rangers, three games to 2.
• 1952 – Stanley Cup: Detroit Red Wings sweep Montreal Canadians in four games.
• 1992 – New York Islanders’ Al Arbour coaches the most NHL games (1,438).

Olympics

• 1896 – Games of the I Olympiad close at Athens, Greece.

Soccer

• 1989 – At the Sheffield Soccer Stadium in England, 96 Liverpool fans are crushed to death.