Events edit
- 1910 - At Boundary Field, William Howard Taft becomes the first U.S. President to throw out a ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day.
- 1917 - Chicago White Sox pitcher Ed Cicotte hurls an 11 - 0 no-hitter against the St. Louis Browns.
- 1925 - The Cleveland Indians open the season with a 21 - 14 victory over the St. Louis Browns, scoring 12 runs in the eighth inning on five Brown errors, and setting a Major League record for the most runs scored by one club on Opening Day.
- 1925 - Future Hall of Famers Lefty Grove and Mickey Cochrane of the Philadelphia Athletics make their Major League debuts.
- 1931 - At Braves Field, Brooklyn Robins pitcher Jack Quinn, forty-seven years old, becomes the oldest pitcher to start an Opening Day game, losing to the Boston Braves 7 - 4.
- 1955 - Elston Howard becomes the first African American player in New York Yankees history.
- 1960 - Philadelphia Phillies manager Eddie Sawyer resigns just one day into the new season.
- 1969 - The expansion Montreal Expos host their first game in Canada, marking the first time a regular season major league game is played outside of the United States.
- 1999 - Jose Canseco became the 28th player in Major League history to reach the 400 home run plateau.
- 2004 - New York Yankees pitcher Kevin Brown wins his 200th game.
Births edit
- 1863 - Parson Nicholson, infielder (d. 1917)
- 1881 - Jack Bracken, pitcher (d. 1954)
- 1886 - Herman Young, infielder (d. 1966)
- 1890 - Dick Redding, Negro League pitcher (d. 1948)
- 1898 - Jess Doyle, pitcher (d. 1961)
- 1913 - Jack Radtke, infielder (d. 2006)
- 1916 - Johnny Hutchings, pitcher (d. 1963)
- 1917 - Marvin Miller, union official
- 1927 - Don Mueller, outfielder; All-Star
- 1928 - Herb Adams, outfielder
- 1931 - Kal Segrist, infielder
- 1935 - Lefty Hayden, pitcher (d. 2003)
- 1935 - Marty Keough, outfielder
- 1941 - Pete Rose, infielder, manager; All-Star
- 1944 - Frank Bertaina, pitcher
- 1947 - Joe Lahoud, outfielder
- 1953 - Mark Bomback, pitcher
- 1954 - Craig Mitchell, pitcher
- 1954 - Casey Parsons, outfielder
- 1955 - Chris Welsh, pitcher
- 1956 - Bobby Sprowl, pitcher
- 1960 - Paul Hodgson, outfielder
- 1961 - Jay Aldrich, pitcher
- 1966 - David Justice, outfielder; All-Star
- 1966 - Greg Maddux, pitcher; All-Star
- 1966 - Greg Myers, catcher
- 1967 - Mike Trombley, pitcher
- 1968 - Jesse Levis, catcher
- 1969 - Brad Ausmus, catcher; All-Star
- 1969 - Brad Pennington, pitcher
- 1970 - Steve Avery, pitcher; All-Star
- 1971 - Carlos Pérez, pitcher; All-Star
- 1971 - Gregg Zaun, catcher
- 1972 - Roberto Mejía, infielder
- 1976 - Kyle Farnsworth, pitcher
- 1976 - Paul Hoover, catcher
- 1980 - John Van Benschoten, pitcher
- 1982 - Josh Whitesell, infielder
- 1983 - Jeff Fiorentino, outfielder
- 1983 - Adam Russell, pitcher
Deaths edit
- 1891 - Frank Bell, catcher (b. 1863)
- 1911 - Addie Joss, pitcher; Hall of Famer (b. 1880)
- 1922 - Cap Anson, infielder, manager; Hall of Famer (b. 1852)
- 1926 - Eddie Fusselback, catcher (b. 1856)
- 1930 - Frank Kitson, pitcher (b. 1869)
- 1937 - Ned Hanlon, outfielder, manager (b. 1857)
- 1951 - Danny Moeller, outfielder (b. 1885)
- 1953 - Roy Patterson, pitcher (b. 1876)
- 1958 - John Freeman, outfielder (b. 1901)
- 1958 - Red Smyth, outfielder (b. 1893)
- 1961 - Cy Falkenberg, pitcher (b. 1880)
- 1963 - Earl Kunz, pitcher (b. 1899)
- 1964 - Enos Kirkpatrick, infielder (b. 1884)
- 1968 - Al Benton, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1911)
- 1970 - Ed Crowley, infielder (b. 1906)
- 1978 - Joe Gordon, infielder, manager; All-Star; Hall of Famer (b. 1915)
- 1978 - Bill Leinhauser, outfielder (b. 1893)
- 1988 - Ralph Winegarner, pitcher (b. 1909)
- 1989 - Carr Smith, outfielder (b. 1901)
- 1993 - Jim McDonnell, catcher (b. 1922)
- 1997 - Gus Dugas, outfielder (b. 1907)
- 2000 - Bob Barthelson, pitcher (b. 1924)
- 2003 - Al Epperly, pitcher (b. 1918)
- 2008 - Tommy Holmes, outfielder, manager; All-Star (b. 1917)