Sports history is made every day of the year. We will preserve at least a small sampling from some great athletes every day based on the uniform number they wore.
3 - 42 - 17 - 10 - 24 - 15
April 15, 1911 - 4 Ks in one inning? We all know that a side is retired in baseball once the team in the field has registered three outs. That is what makes this story all the more amazing. Washington Senators legendary pitcher, Walter Johnson threw a record tying 4 strike outs in one inning! How can a person fan 4 batters in one inning you might ask? The Baseball Almanac has the answer:
"A batter with two strikes on him takes a swing at strike three; however, the catcher does not field the ball cleanly, and instead of tagging the runner out, the runner reaches. The strikeout is recorded, but not the out."
April 15, 1927 - Babe Ruth, Number 3 cracks his first of a record setting 60 Home Runs on the 1927 season off of a pitch by Philadelphia A's pitcher Howard Ehmke in 1st inning. New York used the HR to poer to a 6-3 win over Philadelphia.
April 15, 1947 - Jackie Robinson, Number 42 of the Brooklyn Dodgers takes live action and became the fisrt African-american to play in a Major League Ball game.
The website of NBA.com offers these nuggets of history for the day.
April 15, 1965 - The legendary Number 17, John Havlicek’s steal might be the most famous play in NBA history. It came with five seconds left and the Boston Celtics clinging to a precarious 110-109 lead over the 76ers in Game 7 of the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals. As Philadelphia’s Number 15, Hal Greer got set to inbound the ball from the baseline under his own basket, Havlicek peeked over his shoulder. Anticipating a lob pass, Havlicek tipped the ball to teammate Number 24, Sam Jones, who dribbled out the clock as the fans at Boston Garden — and Celtics broadcaster Johnny Most — went into a frenzy. “Havlicek stole the ball! It’s all over! It’s all over!” bellowed Most as the Celtics won en route to their seventh of eight consecutive NBA titles.
Here are a couple of items from the Vintage Hockey Jerseys website
April 15, 1952 - the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-0 with Number 10, Metro Prystai scoring twice and adding an assist to earn first star honors.
