April 15 in Tigers and mlb history:
1911: White Sox and Tigers play season opener in a heavy snowstorm.
http://www.baseballhistorycomesalive.com/?p=9833
1933: Lynwood 'Schoolboy' Rowe, standout pitcher for the Tigers, makes his big league debut.
1947: 28-year-old Jackie Robinson makes a historic debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African-American to play major league baseball in the 20th century. Robinson goes 0 for 3 in his debut, but scores the deciding run in a 5 - 3 victory over the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field. He handles 11 chances at first base, a new position for him. Coach Clyde Sukeforth, interim manager and the man credited with first scouting Robinson, guides the Dodgers to two victories before stepping down. Robinson is the first black player to appear in the majors since 1884.
1954: Hank Aaron collects the first hit of his major league career. The Milwaukee Braves' rookie goes 2 for 5 in a win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
1957: U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower officially opens the season by tossing out the first ball at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. The ball is the 10 millionth Spalding baseball to be used in major league play.
1957: The Detroit Tigers released Bob Kennedy.
1958: Major League Baseball comes to California as the transplanted Giants and Dodgers play the first game on the Pacific Coast.
1972: Reggie Jackson sports a mustache as the Oakland Athletics top the Minnesota Twins, 4 - 3, in 11 innings. Jackson is the first major league player with facial hair since Frenchy Bordagaray in 1936. Jackson starts a trend with Oakland, as owner Charlie Finley eventually encourages all of his players to grow mustaches.
1976: The New York Yankees defeat the Minnesota Twins, 11 - 4, in the first game at the newly-renovated Yankee Stadium. Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, and the widows of Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth take part in pre-game ceremonies at the Stadium, which had been closed for the 1974 and 1975 seasons.
1977: Hank Aaron becomes the first player to have his uniform number retired by two teams. The Atlanta Braves retire his No. 44 during a pre-game ceremony. The Milwaukee Brewers had previously retired Aaron's number.
1983: Detroit Tigers pitcher Milt Wilcox is one out away from a perfect game when pinch-hitter Jerry Hairston singles, and Wilcox settles for a 6 - 0 one-hitter over the Chicago White Sox. This is only the third time in major league history a perfect game bid has been stopped with one out to go.
1993: Sparky Anderson earns his 2,000th victory as a manager as the Detroit Tigers rally to beat the Oakland Athletics, 3 - 2.
1997: The 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's breaking the color barrier in major league baseball is celebrated before 54,047 at Shea Stadium during a game between the Mets and the Dodgers. U.S. President Bill Clinton and Jackie's widow, Rachel Robinson, both speak during the 35-minute presentation, but the surprise of the evening occurs when acting Commissioner Bud Selig announces that Robinson's number 42 will be retired in perpetuity for every team.
1999: The Detroit Tigers selected Rob Sasser off waivers from the Texas Rangers.
2004: Fifty-seven years after the historic event, major league baseball begins the tradition of Jackie Robinson Day, an annual celebration marking the day the color line was broken. At big league parks across the country there are ceremonies honoring the ground-breaking Brooklyn Dodgers second baseman, including Commissioner Bud Selig joining his widow, Rachel Robinson, for a Shea Stadium tribute.
2004: The Detroit Tigers signed Eric Owens as a free agent.
2009: Every player in Major League Baseball wears number 42 today, in honor of the anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color line. The practice will be repeated in future years.
2011: Jim Leyland savors his 1,500th win as a manager when the Tigers defeat the Athletics, 8 - 4, with a wild 10th inning. Oakland is cruising to a 1 - 0 victory after a solid start by Brandon McCarthy when Miguel Cabrera homers off Brian Fuentes to tie the game in the 9th. In the 10th, the A's commit three errors and the Tigers score 7 runs, two on a bases-loaded double by Brennan Boesch that breaks the tie. The A's then rally for 3 runs on their own in the bottom of the frame, but it is not enough to cancel Detroit's outburst. Leyland is the 19th manager in history to reach the 1,500-win milestone.
Tigers players birthdays:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Joe_Hoover
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hoovejo01.shtml
Joe Hoover 1943-1945.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Eddie_Mayo
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mayoed01.shtml
Eddie Mayo 1944-1948.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Woodie_Fryman
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/frymawo01.shtml
Woodie Fryman 1972-1974.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sharodi01.shtml
Dick Sharon 1973-1974.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/barera01.shtml
Ray Bare 1975-1977.
Tigers players who passed away:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/barera01.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bertore01.shtml
Reno Bertoia 1953-1958, 1961-1962.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Bobo_Osborne
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/osborbo02.shtml
Bobo Osborne 1957-1959, 1961-1962.
from Baseball Reference
