1909 – Before an Opening Day crowd of 30,000 at New York, Red Ames pitches a no-hitter for nine innings against the Brooklyn Superbas, surrenders a hit with one out in the tenth, then loses the game 3-0 in the 13th. The Giants outfield has no putouts.
1918 – The A.L. season opens with Babe Ruth pitching a four-hit 7-1 victory over the A’s. Red Sox manager Ed Barrow will start Ruth’s conversion to slugger by working him into 72 games in the outfield and first base.
1947 – Jackie Robinson goes hitless in three trips in his debut but handles 11 chances at first base, a new position for him, in a 5-3 Brooklyn win over the Boston Braves. Coach Clyde Sukeforth, interim manager and the man credited with first scouting Robinson, guides the team to two wins before stepping down.
1954 – Clint Courtney of the Orioles hits the first major league home run in Memorial Stadium. The Birds draw an Opening Day record crowd of 46,354 in a 3-1 afternoon win against the White Sox.
1958 – The San Francisco Giants defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first major league game played at Seals Stadium, with Ruben Gomez pitching an 8-0 shutout. Giants shortstop Daryl Spencer hits the first home run. The Giants set an attendance record for Seals Stadium by drawing 23,192 fans.
1966 – Bob Gibson’s 9-2 win at Forbes Field is the 18th straight for St. Louis in Pittsburgh. St. Louis ties the major league record (set by the Dodgers against the Phillies in 1945-46) for consecutive road wins against one club.
1968 – Three records are smashed when the Astros score an unearned run in the 24th inning to squeeze by the Mets 1-0 after six hours and six minutes. It sets the mark as the longest N.L. game played to completion, the longest major league night game, and the first 23 innings are the longest major league scoreless game. The game ties the A.L.’s longest complete game (A’s 4, Red Sox 1 in 24 innings on September 1, 1906).
1972 – Reggie Jackson sports a mustache as the A’s top the Twins 4-3 in 11 innings. Jackson is reported to be the first major league player with facial hair since Wally Schang in 1914.
1976 – Newly remodeled Yankee Stadium is jammed with 52,613 fans for Opening Day ceremonies. The 1923 Yankee team is honored, and Bob Shawkey, winner of the 1923 Stadium opener, throws out the first ball. The Yankees beat the Twins 11-4 on 14 hits, but the only home runs are two hit by Minnesota’s Dan Ford.
1983 – Detroit pitcher Milt Wilcox is one out away from a perfect game when pinch hitter Jerry Hairston singles, and Wilcox settles for a 6-0 one-hitter over the White Sox. This is only the third time in major league history a perfect bid has been stopped with one out to go.
1987 – Juan Nieves throws the first no-hitter in Brewers history, winning 7-0 against Baltimore. Milwaukee runs its record to 9-0.
1993 – Andre Dawson became the 25th player to hit 400 home runs as the Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 4-3.
1993 – Sparky Anderson got his 2,000th victory as a manager in the Detroit Tigers’ 3-2 win over the Oakland Athletics.
1997 – The 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s breaking the color barrier in baseball is celebrated before 54,047 at Shea Stadium during a game between the Mets and the Dodgers. President Bill Clinton and Jackie’s widow, Rachel Robinson, both speak during the 35-minute presentation, but the surprise of the evening occurs when acting commissioner Bud Selig announces that the number 42 will be retired in perpetuity for every team. On the field, the Mets beat the Dodgers 5-0.
1998 – The first-ever American League-National League doubleheader ends up a good day for New York. The Yankees are forced to come to Shea Stadium after a beam falls into the stands at Yankee Stadium on April 13. The Yankees earn their first victory in Queens in 22 years as they defeat the Angels 6-3. Former Mets star Darryl Strawberry, the all-time home run leader at Shea, adds to his total with a shot into the left field bleachers. In the regularly-scheduled night game, the Mets beat the Cubs 2-1. The Yankees, who played at Shea in 1974-75 while Yankee Stadium was renovated, are the winner in the attendance department (40,743 to 16,012).
2000 – In the 2,800th game of his career, Baltimore Orioles infielder Cal Ripken, Jr. lines a base hit off Minnesota Twins pitcher Hector Carrasco to become the 24th major leaguer to reach the 3,000 career hit milestone. The single also makes Ripken only the seventh player to get 3,000 hits and 400 home runs in major league history.
2004 – Fifty-seven years after the historic event, major league baseball begins the tradition of Jackie Robinson Day, an annual celebration marking the day the color line was broken. At big league parks across the country there are ceremonies honoring the ground-breaking Brooklyn Dodgers second baseman, including Commissioner Bud Selig joining his widow, Rachel Robinson, for a Shea Stadium tribute.
2008 – José López makes history by hitting three sacrifice flies in a 11 – 6 Mariners win over Kansas City. He is the 12th player in major league history to accomplish that feat.
2022 – Jackie Robinson Day is celebrated across North America on the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color line in Major League Baseball. In New York, NY, the city temporarily renames part of 42nd Street and Broadway “Jackie Robinson Way” and installs a large marker in a ceremony attended by a number of Hall of Famers and other former players, and the Empire State Building is illuminated in the colors of the Brooklyn Dodgers with a rotating 42 in Jackie’s honor. The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inaugurates an exhibition dedicated to Robinson, with a special emphasis on the 1946 season he spent with the Montreal Royals of the International League and on other trailblazing Black Canadian teams and players, while tributes are held around the major leagues, including the now traditional wearing of his iconic uniform number by all players.
