Today is Thursday, April 18, 2024

Today in
Sports History

1923 - Yankee Stadium opened in the Bronx, NY. The Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 4-1. John Phillip Sousa's band played the National Anthem. (Yankee Stadium I)

1938 - U.S. President Roosevelt threw out the first ball preceding the season opener between the Washington Senators and the Philadelphia Athletics.

1956 - Ed Rommel became the first umpire to wear glasses during a major league baseball game. The game was between the New York Yankees and the Washington Senators.

1962 - Bill Russell (Boston Celtics) scored 30 points and got 40 rebounds in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers. It was the fourth straight NBA title for the Celtics.

1966 - Bill Russell became the first player-coach for the Boston Celtics.

1977 - Eddie Murray hit his first career home run.

1982 - The Atlanta Braves set a National League record when they won their eleventh straight game from the start of the season.

1985 - Tulane University abolished its 72-year-old basketball program. The reason was charges of fixed games, drug abuse, and payments to players.

1987 - Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia Phillies) hit his 500th career home run.

1987 - The New York Islanders beat the Washington Capitals, 3-2, 68 minutes and 47 seconds into overtime. It was the sixth longest game in NHL history.

1995 - Joe Montana retired from the NFL.

1999 - Wayne Gretzky (New York Rangers) played his final game in the NHL. During the game Gretzky got his 2,857th NHL point. He retired as the NHL's all-time leading scorer and holder of 61 individual records.

2002 - Peter Forsberg (Colorado Avalanche) returned to hockey in Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals against the Los Angeles Kings. Forsberg had not played since May 10, 2001, when he had his spleen removed in an emergency operation.

2005 - It was announced the NFL's "Monday Night Football" would leave ABC in 2006 for a new home with ESPN. "Monday Night Football" had been on ABC since 1970.


Sports Quote

We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time. - Vince Lombardi