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Happy birthday to Damon Buford, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1939 – In front of a record crowd of 23,864 fans at Ruppert Stadium in Newark, NJ, Lou Gehrig plays his last game in a Yankee uniform when he participates in an exhibition contest against the Kansas City Blues, the team’s American Association farm club. The “Iron Horse”, playing only three innings and batting eighth, grounds out weakly to second base in his only at-bat,
and other stories as well.
Today in baseball history:
- 1880 Worcester Ruby Legs pitcher Lee Richmond throws the first perfect game in MLB history in a 1-0 win over the Cleveland Blues at the Agricultural County Fair Grounds in Worcester
- 1928 – Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees collects 14 total bases with two triples and two home runs in a 15-7 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
- 1970 – Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis no-hits the San Diego Padres, 2-0. Ellis receives all his support on two home runs by Willie Stargell. Ellis will later claim that he was suffering from the after-effects of his previous night’s LSD trip while pitching this gem.
- 1975 – Oakland Athletics outfielder Billy Williams hits his 400th career home run.
- 1990 MLB Oakland A’s outfielder Rickey Henderson becomes the second to steal 900 bases.
- 1990 Orioles Cal Ripken plays in his 1,308th consecutive game to move past Everett Scott into second place on the all-time list.
- 2010 – Derek Jeter homers twice and Jorge Posada hits a grand slam in New York’s 9-3 win over Houston.
Cubs Birthdays: Hunter Bigge, Aaron Civale, Sean Newcomb, Dallas Beeler, Damon Buford*, Bob Thorpe, Jack Cusick, Otto Knabe, John Stedronsky. Also notable: Bill Foster HOF.
Today in history:
- 1923 – Harry Houdini frees himself from a straight jacket while suspended upside down, 40 feet (12 m) above ground in NYC.
- 1930 – German boxer Max Schmeling beats Jack Sharkey by disqualification in 4 rounds in NYC for vacant NBA, NYSAC, The Ring and lineal heavyweight titles; first time title won on a foul.
- 1931 – Al Capone is indicted on 5,000 counts of prohibition violations and perjury.
- 1979 – Kevin St Onge throws a playing card a record 185 ft-1 inch; record broken in 1992.
- 1981 – Larry Holmes TKOs Leon Spinks in 3 for WBC heavyweight boxing title.
- 1987 – US President Ronald Reagan challenges Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down” the Berlin wall.
- 2008 – Patrick Kane receives the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year.
Today in music history:
- 1909 – “Shine On, Harvest Moon” by Ada Jones & Billy Murray hits #1.
- 1965 – Queen Elizabeth’s Birthday Honours List names The Beatles as MBEs (Members of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire); dozens of past winners return medals in protest.
- 1966 – Dave Clark Five sets record as they appear for 12th time on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
- 1970 – Rocker and blues singer Janis Joplin debuts in Kentucky.
- 1990 – Mariah Carey‘s self-titled debut album is released.
- 1993 – “Three Little Pigs” by Green Jelly hits #17.
- 2008 – Coldplay release their 4th studio album ” Viva la Vida or Death” (winner of 3 Grammys).
*pictured.
