Throughout history, many memorable events have taken place during sporting events. For centuries, athletes have created the prestige that follows their name. They’ve become “stars” and have broken, and created, records. For this week, April 25 to May 1, here are some historical sports moments.
April 25, 1950
Chuck Cooper was selected in the second round draft pick to play basketball for the Boston Celtics. Cooper was the first African-American to be selected for the draft, as well as the first African-American to play in the NBA.
April 26, 1931
During a baseball game, Lou Gehrig hit the ball out of the park. The call was rescinded to a mere double hit because he apparently passed Lyn Larry on the base path. Though seemingly miniscule, later this call came back to haunt him as he tied with teammate Babe Ruth for possession of the home run title that season. Each player had ended the season with 46 homeruns. Had his hit counted for what it was, he would have maintained sole possession of the honor that season.
April 27, 1947
Babe Ruth day was held at Yankee Stadium this day, as well as many other ballparks throughout the United States and Japan. Though suffering from terminal throat cancer, Ruth gave an extremely emotional speech during the day’s events in New York.
April 27, 1956
Heavyweight champion, Rocky Marciano, retired from boxing. Marciano was the only heavyweight title-winner to retire with an undefeated record, at 49-0.
April 28, 1992
An American League record was set by the Milwaukee Brewers for the most hits in a nine-inning game. 31 hits were made, ending the game with a 22-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
April 29, 1986
Boston Red Sox pitcher, Roger “Rocket” Clemens created a major league record by striking out 20 batters in their game versus the Seattle Mariners. Boston won the game by a score of 3-1.
April 30, 1946
The birth date of gold medallist, Bob Schollander. He won four gold medals for swimming in the 1964 Olympics in Charlotte, NC.
May 1, 1991
Rickey Henderson of the Oakland A’s broke Lou Brock’s major league record for stolen bases. Henderson had his 939th stolen base on this day.
Information retrieved from www.hickoksports.com
