April 18 in Tigers and mlb history:
1899: At age 26, John McGraw makes his managerial debut with the Baltimore Orioles of the National League. McGraw leads them to a 5 - 3 victory over the New York Giants, a team he will later manage for more than 30 years.
1905: The Detroit Tigers signed Duff Cooley as a free agent.
1916: Grover Cleveland Alexander of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches his first of 16 shutouts of the season against the Boston Braves.
1923: The debut of Yankee Stadium is a huge success with an announced attendance of 74,217. Bob Shawkey of the Yankees, aided by a three-run home run by Babe Ruth, beats Howard Ehmke and the Red Sox, 4 - 1.
1929: At Yankee Stadium, Babe Ruth hits a home run in his first at-bat since his marriage the day before. As he rounds second base tips his hat to his new bride, Claire Merritt Hodgson.
1939: Announcer Red Barber calls the action in the Brooklyn Dodgers' 7 - 3 loss to the New York Giants, marking the first time a regular-season Brooklyn game is broadcast on the radio.
1946: Jackie Robinson makes his minor league debut for the Montreal Royals, the International League affiliate club of the Brooklyn Dodgers. In becoming the first openly black person to play Organized Baseball in the 20th century, Robinson bangs out a home run and three singles on his way to winning the league batting championship.
1950: At the Polo Grounds, Sam Jethroe becomes the first black to play for the Boston Braves. A former Cleveland Buckeyes star, he goes 2 for 4, including a home run, to lead the Braves to an 11 - 4 beating of the New York Giants. Warren Spahn is the winner. Jethroe will go on to become National League Rookie of the Year after leading the majors in stolen bases.
1950: The first opening night game is held in St. Louis. The Cardinals, behind a complete game by Gerry Staley and home runs from Red Schoendienst and Stan Musial, beat the Pirates, 4 - 2, at Sportsman's Park.
1950: U.S. President Harry Truman throws out two balls at the Washington Senators opener - one left-handed and the other right-handed - then watches the Senators beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 8 - 7. When rain starts falling in the 6th inning, he puts on a raincoat and remains to the end.
1952: Stealing considerable thunder from Brooklyn's victorious home opener, a 7 - 6, 12-inning triumph, Willie Mays makes the catch he'll later call his greatest. The Associated Press reports: "Willie Mays, army-bound centerfielder of the New York Giants, astounded an opening day crowd of 31,032 fans at Ebbets Field with a sensational catch of a drive by Bobby Morgan in the 7th inning." With two out, two on and the Dodgers down by one, "the sophomore star made a diving, sliding catch of a sinking liner near the left centerfield wall that robbed Morgan of a potential triple." Unfortunately for Mays, Ebbets Field's Little League dimensions afford little leeway for such hijinks. "I go and catch the ball in the air," Mays recalls 45 years later. "I'm in the air, like this, parallel. I catch the ball, I hit the fence. Ebbets Field was so short that if you run anywhere you're going to hit a fence. So I catch the fence, knock myself out."
"As he lay motionless," reports the New York Times, "players of both sides rushed to his aid. All, that is, but the three Dodgers on the bases, who continued their wild dash for the plate, only to learn Willie had held on to the ball for the third out." Willie's impression is that the first player to reach his side has a somewhat less altruistic agenda.
"The first guy that I saw - there were two guys - when I open my eyes, was Leo Durocher and Jackie Robinson. And I'm saying to myself, 'Why is Jackie out here?' Jackie came to see if I caught the ball, and Leo came to see about me."
1956: Ed Rommel becomes the first major league umpire to wear glasses during a game as he arbitrates a contest between the Yankees and Senators.
1964: Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers strikes out the side on nine pitches, becoming the first pitcher in major league history to achieve the feat twice.
1964: Tigers beat Angels 3-2 on Norm Cash 3-run home run (2nd) in the 5th inning.
1965: Ray Oyler, one of the game’s worst-hitting regulars ever, plays in his first game.
1968: Al Kaline hits his 305th career homer in his 2000th game. Tigers win their 6th straight a 5 - 0 win over the indians.
1970: Nolan Ryan strikes out 15 batters and pitches a one-hitter as the New York Mets defeat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7 - 0, at Shea Stadium. It is the first shutout of Ryan's career.
1981: The Sporting News publishes a report finding that Ty Cobb's career hit total is 4,189, not 4,191. MLB & the HOF have yet to officially acknowledge the correction. Cobb lost 1 game, 5 at bats, 2 triples, 1 home run, 15 rbi, yet gained 5 stolen bases, when comparing from the 1975 Baseball Encyclopedia which was the complete and official record of MLB.
1981: Tom Seaver of the Cincinnati Reds notches the 3000th strikeout of his Hall of Fame career. Seaver strikes out Keith Hernandez of the St. Louis Cardinals, joining Bob Gibson, Walter Johnson, Gaylord Perry, and Nolan Ryan as members of the exclusive pitching club.
1984: Tigers edge Royals 4 - 3 in 10 innings, now 9-0.
1991: A sellout crowd of 42,191 watches the Chicago White Sox play their first game at New Comiskey Park and sees the home team get crushed by the Detroit Tigers, 16 - 0. Jack McDowell gives up the park's first home run to Cecil Fielder.
1995: Jack Morris, the winningest pitcher of the 1980s, announces his retirement.
2005: The Detroit Tigers selected Adam Peterson off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
2017: Harwell Field, honoring Ernie Harwell, opens at Wayne State University.
Tigers players and owners birthdays:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Frank_Navin
Frank Navin owner 1908-1935.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Sam_Crawford
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/crawfsa01.shtml
http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/11b83a0d
Sam Crawford 1903-1917.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/flynndo01.shtml
Doug Flynn 1985.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/duboibr01.shtml
Brian Dubois 1989-1990.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Rico_Brogna
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brognri01.shtml
Rico Brogna 1992.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Miguel_Cabrera
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cabremi01.shtml
https://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=1744&position=1B/3B
Miguel Cabrera 2008-present.
Tigers players who passed away:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Roscoe_Miller
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/millero01.shtml
Roscoe Miller 1901-1902.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sweenbi03.shtml
Bill Sweeney 1928.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/burnsja02.shtml
Jack Burns 1936.
from Baseball Reference
