Breaking the barrier...
April 15th is now officially known as "Jackie Robinson Day" throughout baseball for it was on that date in 1947 that Jack Roosevelt Robinson made his debut as the first black player in the game...
A crowd of 25,623 looked on at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn as Robinson made his debut at first base against the Boston Braves going hitless in 3 at bats. Before he retired on January 5, 1957, rather than play for the rival Giants, a team he was traded to, he would accomplish the following in his 10 short years in baseball:
- 6 World Series appearances (including a winning one in 1955)...
- 6 All-Star Game appearances (4 as a second baseman, one as a third baseman and one as an outfielder)...
- A Rookie of the Year Award in 1947...
- A National League MVP Award in 1949...
- Induction into Baseball's Hall of Fame in 1962...
In additional to the racial slurs, death threats, hate mail and discrimination he would be subjected to when he played, Jackie Robinson's family life would be marked by tragedy as well. Eldest son, Jackie Jr. who had a history of drug abuse was killed in an automobile accident in 1971 while working as a counselor for Daytop Village. The diabetes that plagued Jackie would leave Robinson virtually blind and contribute to severe heart problems. It would eventually take his life on October 24, 1972...
Jackie Roosevelt Robinson is buried in Cypress Hills Cemetery in his beloved Brooklyn close by what was originally called the Interborough Parkway, now called the Jackie Robinson Parkway...
April 14 Memories...
1828] The 1st edition of Noah Webster's "American Dictionary of the English Language is published...
1865] President Abraham Lincoln is shot and mortally wounded by actor John Wilkes Booth while attending the comedy "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. He would die from his wounds the following day...
1894] The 1st public showing of Edison's kinetoscope (moving pictures) is held...
1902] James Cash Penney (J.C. Penney) opens his 1st retail store (The Golden Rule Store) in Kemmerer WY...
1910] President William Howard Taft throws out the 1st ball for the Washington Senators-Philadelphia A's game in Washington and a tradition is born...
1912] The Titanic, on its maiden voyage hits an iceberg and begins to sink. 1,517 would lose their lives but more than 700 survive...
1925] WGN becomes the 1st radio station to broadcast a regular season major league baseball game and "The Cubs win, the Cubs win, the Cubs win" 8-2 over the Pirates...
1939] John Steinbeck publishes "The Grapes of Wrath"...
1955] Elston Howard becomes the Yankees 1st black player...
1955] Fats Domino releases "Ain't That A Shame"...
1956] Ampex Corporation demonstrates the 1st commercial magnetic tape recorder for sound and picture...
1959] The Fleetwoods are #1 with "Come Softly To Me"...
1965] Millie Small sings "My Boy Lollipop" on this night on "Shindig"...
1969] The 1st major league baseball game is played in Canada (in Montreal)...
1974] MFSB (featuring the Three Degrees) is #1 with TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia), the theme song of "Soul Train"...
1988] The Devils beat the Islanders 6-5 and take the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs 4 games to 2...
1980] Blondie is #1 with "Call Me", the single of the year in 1980 in Billboard Magazine..
2002] Tiger Woods becomes only the 3rd player to win back-to-back Masters titles...
2003] Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit falls to U.S. led forces with unexpectedly light resistance...
[To ensure accuracy of years and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Happy Birthday To...
1935] Loretta Lynn...
1941] Julie Christie...
1941] Pete Rose...
1945] Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple...
1960] Brad Garrett ("Everybody Loves Raymond")...
1966] Future Baseball Hall of Famer Greg Maddux...
1968] Anthony Michael Hall...
[Today is the 104th day of 2006 with 261 days remaining in the year and 45 until Memorial Day]...
Saturday, April 15, 2006...
April 15 Memories...
1817] The 1st American school for the deaf opens in Hartford, Connecticut...
1865] Andrew Johnson becomes the 17th President of the U.S. after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln who dies from his wounds on this day...
1892] The General Electric Company is organized...
1912] The Titanic sinks at 2:27 a.m. in the North Atlantic. 1,517 are lost at sea but more than 700 survive...
1934] Dagwood and Blondie Bumstead welcome a baby boy to their comic strip. His name is Alexander...
1947] Jackie Robinson becomes baseball's 1st black player (see opening feature)...
1955] Ray Kroc starts McDonald's...
1959] Cuban leader Fidel Castro begins a U.S. goodwill tour (question: Did anyone get goodwill from this tour ?)...
1965] In a call made famous by Johnny Most ("Havlicek Stole The Ball") the Celtics win the Eastern Division championship over Philadelphia when John Havlicek steals an in-bound pass as time runs out...
1966] Buffalo Springfield performs for the 1st time as the opening act for the Byrds in San Bernadino, CA...
1967] Richard Speck is found quilty of murdering 8 student nurses...
1968] The longest 1-0 game in baseball history is a 24-inning game between the Astros and Mets with Houston winning in 6 hours and 6 minutes...
1982] Billy Joel is seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident on Long Island. Joel will be hospitalized for a month...
1985] Marvelous Marvin Hagler retains his world middleweight title in a great battle with Thomas ("Hitman") Hearns that ends in a TKO in round 3...
1986] The U.S. launches an air raid against Libya in response to the bombing of a disco in Berlin on April 5. Libya says 37 die, mostly civilians...
1990] Legendary actress Greta Garbo dies at 84...
1997] Jackie Robinson's #42 is retired 50 years after becoming the first black player in baseball...
2001] Punk rocker Joey Ramone dies at 49...
2003] Umpire Laz Diaz is attacked by a fan during a Kansas City-Chicago game (the fan is later sentenced to 6 months in jail and to being forced to watch the rest of the Royals' baseball season)...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Happy Birthday To...
1922] Michael Ansara...
1933] Roy Clark...
1942] Allan Clarke of the Hollies...
1944] Dave Edmunds...
1966] Samantha Fox...
[Today is the 105th day of 2006 with 260 days remaining in the year and 44 days until Memorial Day]...
Sunday, April 16, 2006...
April 16 Memories...
1789] President-elect George Washington leaves Mount Vernon, VA for his inauguration in New York City (yes New York City, the 1st capital of our country)...
1900] The 1st book of postage stamps is issued in books of 12, 24 and 48, two-cent stamps...
1940] Bob Feller pitches the 1st and only opening day no-hitter, as the Indians beat the White Sox 1-0 in Chicago...
1947] The Zoomar lens, invented by Dr. Frank Back is demonstrated in New York City as the 1st lens to exhibit zooming effects (leading to the Aretha song, "Who's Zooming who ?")...
1952] Sugar Ray Robinson comes off the canvas to KO Rocky Graziano to win the middleweight championship...
1962] Walter Cronkite succeeds Douglas Edwards as anchor of the CBS Evening News ("and that's the way it is, April 16th, 1962")...
1965] The Hollies make their American debut on a Murray the K show at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater...
1972] Apollo 16 blasts off on a voyage to the moon. It's the 5th manned moon landing...
1977] The ban on women attending West Point is lifted...
1996] Britain's Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah (Fergie) announce their intention of getting a divorce...
1999] Wayne Gretzky announces his retirement from the Rangers and the NHL after a 21-year career...
2003] Michael Jordan plays his last NBA game (really !) as his Washington Wizards end their season with (what else ?) a loss to Philadelphia...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Happy Birthday To...
1920] Barry Nelson...
1927] Edie Adams...
1935] Bobby Vinton...
1947] Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul Jabbar...
1954] Ellen Barkin...
1965] Martin Lawrence...
[Today is the 106th day of 2006 with 259 days remaining and 43 days until Memorial Day]...
Monday, April 17, 2006...
April 17 Memories...
1524] Giovanni da Verrazano reaches present day New York harbor (and demands that a bridge be named after him)...
1704] John Campbell publishes what will eventually become the 1st successfull American newspaper. It is known as the Boston "News-Letter"...
1790] Benjamin Franklin dies in Philadelphia at 84 (many living comics have died in Philadelphia)...
1860] New Yorkers learn of a new law requiring fire escapes to be provided for tenement buildings (hey the building I grew up in in Brooklyn had a fire escape and that wasn't a "tenement")...
1875] The game "snooker" is invented by Sir Neville Chamberlain (didn't he have anything better to do ?)...
1937] Daffy Duck debuts in "Porky's Duck Hunt"...
1947] Jackie Robinson gets his 1st hit, a bunt single...
1953] Mickey Mantle hits that famous 565 foot home run in Washington (which is the start of measuring home runs in games)...
1960] Eddie Cochran dies in Bath, England from injuries sustained in a car crash that seriously wounds Gene Vincent...
1963] Paul Hornung of Green Bay and Alex Karras of Detroit are suspended from the NFL for a full season for betting on NFL games...
1964] Ford unveils its new Mustang...
1965] The Beach Boys release "Help Me Rhonda"...
1967] "The Joey Bishop Show" debuts on ABC-TV with Regis Philbin as the announcer (the show would run through 1969 with its last show on December 26th)...
1970] The astronauts of Apollo 13 return to Earth safely after an on-board accident with an oxygen tank...
1970] Johnny Cash performs at the White House at the invitation of President Richard M. Nixon (Cash sings "A Boy Named Sue")...
1972] The Boston Marathon allows women for the 1st time in its 76-year history...
1993] 2 former L.A. police officers are convicted of violating the civil rights of beaten motorist Rodney King. 2 other officers are acquitted...
1996] Erik and Lyle Menendez are sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of their parents...
1998] Linda McCartney dies at 56...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Happy Birthday To...
1934] Rock promoter and label head Don Kirshner...
1961] Boomer Esiason...
1972] Jennifer Garner...
1974] "Posh Spice" Victoria Adams Beckham...
[Today is the 107th day of 2006 with 258 days remaining in the year and 42 days until Memorial Day]...
Tuesday, April 18, 2006...
April 18 Memories...
1775] Paul Revere and William Dawes set out on their ride from Charlestown to Lexington, Massachusetts to warn American colonists that "the british are coming"...
1846] The telegraph ticker is patented by R.E. House (and all along you thought his name was probably dash or dot, c'mon admit it)...
1895] New York State passes an act that establishes free public baths (signed for the 1st appearance at the bath house: Cher, Bette Midler, Elton John and Barry Manilow)...
1906] San Francisco is devastated by an earth quake (the original toll was announced as 700 but there may have been 3 to 4 times the number of fatalities)...
1923] John Philip Sousa's band plays the national anthem as Yankee Stadium opens in the Bronx (the Yankees beat the Red Sox 4-1)...
1924] Simon and Shuster, Inc. publishes the 1st "Crossword Puzzle Book"...
1934] The 1st laundromat opens (in Fort Worth, TX)...
1939] Gene Autry records "Back in the Saddle Again"...
1945] American war correspondent Ernie Pyle is killed by Japanese gunfire off Okinawa (Pyle was 44)...
1949] The republic of Ireland is established...
1954] Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser seizes power in Egypt...
1955] Albert Einstein dies in Princeton, NJ at 76...
1956] Actress Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco walk down the aisle...
1960] The Mutual Broadcasting System is sold to the 3M Company of Minnesota for $1.25 million...
1962] Red Auerbach's Celtics win a then-record 4th straight NBA title by beating the Lakers in Game 7 of their playoffs...
1981] Yes announces their break-up after 13 years...
1983] The U.S. Embassy in Beirut is blown up by a suicide car bomber killing 62 including 17 Americans...
1994] Former President Richard M. Nixon suffers a stroke at his home in Park Ridge, NJ and will die 4 days later...
2002] Police arrest actor Robert Blake in the shooting death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley one year earlier (Blake would be acquitted of the killing)...
2002] Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl dies at the age of 87...
2003] Scott Peterson is arrested in the death of his wife, Laci, who was 8 months pregnant when she vanished on Christmas eve in 2002 (Peterson is later convicted and sentenced to death)...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Happy Birthday To...
1922] Barbara Hale (Della Street on "Perry Mason")...
1934] James ("The Virginian") Drury...
1946] Hayley Mills...
1947] James Woods...
1956] Eric Roberts...
1963] Jane Leeves (Daphne on "Frasier")...
1963] Conan O'Brien...
[Today is the 108th day of 2006 with 257 days remaining in the year and 41 days until Memorial Day]...
Wednesday, April 19, 2006...
April 19 Memories...
1689] Residents of Boston get rid of their Governor, Edmund Andros (where was Whitey Bulger on this date ?)...
1775] The American Revolutionary War begins with the battles of Lexington and Concord...
1892] The prototype of the 1st commercially successful American automobile is completed in Springfield, Massachusetts by Charles E. Duryea and his brother Frank...
1897] The 1st Boston Marathon is run from Ashland to Copley Square (same route) with 15 runners. John J. McDermott of New York is the winner in 2 hours, 55 minutes and 10 seconds...
1933] The U.S. goes off the gold standard...
1943] Tens of thousands of Jewish people living in the Warsaw Ghetto begin an uprising against Nazi forces...
1951] General Douglas MacArthur bids farewell to Congress with his famous line: "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away"...
1958] The San Francisco Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers play the 1st major league baseball game on the West Coast...
1960} Baseball uniforms begin displaying player's names on their backs on away uniforms (except for the Yankees who still don't do it)...
1981] The longest pro baseball game ever played between Pawtucket and Rochester is suspended after 32 innings, 8 hours and 7 minutes with the score tied 2-2 at 4:07 a.m. 2 months later Pawtucket wins in the 33rd inning (future major league players, Wade Boggs of Pawtucket and Cal Ripken, Jr of Rochester played in the game)...
1986] Patti Smith releases "Because the Night"...
1987] The Islanders beat the Capitals 3-2 in 4 overtimes to win their opening round playoff series in 7 games...
1989] A white female jogger in New York's Central Park is brutally beaten and raped. Five black and Hispanic teenagers are convicted and sent to prison but the convictions are overturned in 2003 after a serial rapist confessed and DNA tied him to the crime...
1993] A 51-day seige at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, TX ends when fire destroys the compound after federal agents break in. Dozens including sect leader David Koresh, are killed...
1994] When asked "boxers or briefs ?" on MTV, President Bill Clinton replies "briefs" (a little too much information, Mr. President)...
1995] The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City is destroyed by a bomb, it's the worst bombing on U.S. territory with 168 killed including 19 children, 500 are injured. Timothy McVeigh was found quilty of the bombing on June 2, 1997 and was eventually executed...
2001] The Mel Brooks musical "The Producers" opens on Broadway...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Happy Birthday To...
1925] Hugh O'Brian ("Wyatt Earp")...
1937] ("Father Knows Best") Elinor Donahue...
1944] Mark "Flo" Volman (Turtles, Flo and Eddie)...
1946] Tim Curry...
1968] Ashley Judd...
1979] Kate Hudson...
[Today is the 109th day of 2006 with 256 days remaining in the year and 40 days until Memorial Day]...
Thursday, April 20, 2006...
April 20 Memories...
1865] Safety matches are 1st advertised...
1902] Scientists Marie and Pierre Curie isolate the radioactive element radium...
1912] Fenway Park opens with the Red Sox beating the Highlanders (who will be renamed "the Yankees") 7-6. Boston mayor John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald throws out the 1st ball. For the 100th anniversary in 2012, grandson of Fitzgerald, Teddy Kennedy will throw out the 1st ball...
1916] Wrigley Field opens in Chicago with the Cubs beating Cincinnati 7-6 ("Cubs win, Cubs win, Cubs win")...
1934] Shirley Temple debuts in "Stand Up And Cheer"...
1939] Ted Williams makes his debut with the Red Sox at the age of 20...
1959] "Desilu Playhouse" on CBS-TV presents a 2-part show titled "The Untouchables" which becomes a regular series...
1961] FM Stereo broadcasting is approved by the FCC...
1963] Rick Nelson and Kris Harmon say "I Do"...
1964] "Viva Las Vegas", the Elvis movie premieres...
1972] The manned lunar module from Apollo 16 lands on the moon...
1977] Woody Allen's film "Annie Hall" premieres...
1980] The 1st Cubans sail to the U.S. as part of the massive Mariel boatlift that reaches Florida...
1988] The Stealth bomber is officially unveiled ("there it went")...
1989] Scientists announce the successful testing of high-definition TV (and we're just getting it now ?)...
1992] Madonna signs a deal with Time Warner to set up a multimedia company (the deal makes Madonna the highest paid woman in pop music)...
1999] 12 students and 1 teacher are killed at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO when 2 teenagers open fire before killing themselves...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Happy Birthday To...
1924] Nina Foch...
1937] George ("Sulu" of "Star Trek") Takei...
1939] Johnny Tillotson...
1941] Ryan O'Neal...
1949] Jessica Lange...
[Today is the 110th day of 2006 with 255 days left in the year and 39 days until Memorial Day]...
Friday, April 21, 2006...
April 21 Memories...
1865] Abraham Lincoln's funeral train leaves Washington, D.C...
1918] German ace fighter Baron von Richthofen ("The Red Baron") is shot down and killed during World War I...
1956] Leonard Ross, age 10, becomes the youngest prizewinner on the "Big Surprise", winning $100,000...
1956] Elvis Presley has his 1st #1 hit when "Heartbreak Hotel" goes to #1 in Billboard...
1960] Dick Clark testifies before a congressional committee investigating payola. He will be forced to divest himself of record properties he has a financial interest in...
1965] The Beach Boys sing "Do You Wanna Dance" on ABC-TV's "Shindig!...
1977] Natalie Cole and John Denver are guests on Frank Sinatra's ABC-TV special "Sinatra and Friends"...
1977] "Annie" opens on Broadway...
1980] When Rosie Ruiz crosses the finish line 1st at the Boston Marathon sweatless, officials get suspicious. Rosie who took the "T" at least part of the way is disqualified...
1986] A vault in Chicago's Lexington Hotel that was linked to Al Capone is opened on live TV and except for some empty beer bottles, the vault is empty (the special was hosted by who else ? Geraldo Rivera)...
1992] Robert Alton Harris becomes the 1st person executed by the state of California in 25 years as he's put to death in the gas chamber for the 1978 murder of 2 teenage boys...
1995] The Boston Celtics play their last game at Boston Garden, their home since 1946 (the Garden will be razed and replaced by the Fleet Center next door with a piece of the parquet floor from the old Garden used on the new floor)...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Happy Birthday To...
1926] Britain's Queen Elizabeth II...
1932] Elaine May...
1935] Charles Grodin...
1947] Iggy Pop...
1949] Patti LuPone...
1951] Tony Danza...
1958] Andie MacDowell...
[Today is the 111th day of 2006 with 254 days remaining in the year and 38 days until Memorial Day]...
Saturday, April 22, 2006...
April 22 Memories...
1864] Congress authorizes the use of the phrase "In God We Trust" on U.S. coins...
1876] The 1st official National League game is played with the Boston Red Stockings beating the Philadelphia Athletics 6-5...
1915] The New York Yankees wear pinstripes and use their bat in top hat logo for the 1st time...
1952] An atomic test conducted in Nevada is the 1st nuclear explosion shown on live network television...
1954] Syracuse Nationals owner Danny Biasone invents the 24-second clock which debuts in the NBA on this day...
1954] The U.S. Senate Army-McCarthy televised hearings start...
1956] Elvis Presley makes his Las Vegas debut at the Frontier Hotel...
1966] The Troggs release "Wild Thing"...
1968] Herb Alpert debuts "This Guy's in Love with You" on his self-titled CBS-TV special...
1969] John Lennon legally changes his middle name from Winston to Ono...
1970] Tom Seaver of the Mets ties the single game strike record with 19 against San Diego at Shea Stadium...
1970] The 1st "Earth Day" is observed...
1976] Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady" becomes the 1st single to sell over 2 million copies...
1976] Barbara Walters becomes the 1st female nightly news anchor...
1978] John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd make their 1st appearnce as The Blues Brothers on "Saturday Night Live"...
1990] Over 750,000 witness an "Earth Day" concert starring Hall & Oates, Ben E. King and the B-52's in Central Park...
1994] Richard Milhous Nixon dies at 81, after suffering a stroke 4 days earlier...
2000] In a pre-dawn raid, armed immigration agents seize Elian Gonzalez from his relatives' home in Miami (the 6-year old boy is reunited with his father at Andrews Air Force Base before being flown to Cuba where he now resides)...
2004] NFL player Pat Tillman who traded a career in the NFL for life as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan, is killed by friendly fire at the age of 27...
2005] Zacarias Moussaoui pleads guilty to conspiring with hijackers in the 911 plot to attack American buildings and citizens (unfortunately we have to see his smirking face in a courtroom every day now as 911 is relived in agonizing detail)...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Happy Birthday To...
1923] Aaron Spelling...
1926] Charlotte ("Facts of Life") Rae...
1932] "Seinfeld's" Estelle Harris (George's mother)...
1936] Glen Campbell...
1937] Jack Nicholson...
1950] Peter Frampton...
1951] Paul (Squeeze) Carrack...
[Today is the 112th day of 2006 with 253 days remaining in the year and 37 days until Memorial Day]...
Sunday, April 23, 2006...
April 23 Memories...
1789] President-elect George Washington and his wife move into the 1st executive mansion, the Franklin House in New York City...
1896] The Vitascope system for projecting movies onto a screen is demonstrated in New York City...
1900] The word "hillbilly" is 1st used in print in an article in the New York Journal (it was spelled "Hill-Billie")...
1908] President Theodore Roosevelt signs an act creating the U.S. Army Reserve...
1950] Led by George Mikan, the Minneapolis Lakers win the 1st NBA championship over Syracuse in 6 games...
1954] Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hits the 1st of his record 755 home runs against the St. Louis Cardinals...
1963] Jan & Dean record "Surf City"...
1964] Ken Johnson of Houston throws the 1st no-hitter for a loss (to Cincinnati on 2 errors)...
1971] The Rolling Stones release their "Sticky Fingers" LP...
1975] Pete Ham of Badfinger hangs himself in his London garage at the age of 27...
1985] Coca-Cola changes its 99-year old secret formula but "New Coke" bombs and they go back to the original Coke...
1987] An apartment complex in Bridgeport, CT collapses and 28 construction workers are killed...
1988] A U.S. federal law takes effect banning smoking on flights under 2 hours...
1989] Kareem Abdul-Jabbar plays his final NBA game for the Lakers...
1995] Howard Cosell dies at 77...
1998] James Earl Ray who at first confessed to killing Martin Luther King and then said he was framed, dies at age 70...
2003] Global health officials warn travelers to avoid Beijing and Toronto because of an outbreak of SARS...
2004] President George W. Bush eases Reagan-era sanctions against Libya in return for Moammar Gadhafi's giving up WMD...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Happy Birthday To...
1921] Janet Blair...
1928] Shirley Temple Black...
1939] Lee Majors...
1954] Michael Moore (did you get your card from W ?)...
1960] Valerie Bertinelli...
1967] ("CSI:NY") Melina Kanakaredes...
[Today is the 113th day of 2006 with 252 days remaining in the year and 36 days until Memorial Day]
Happy Holidays everyone...
