April 19 in Tigers and mlb history:
1927: The Tigers begin broadcasting their home games on WWJ with Ty Tyson as announcer.
1937: Detroit purchases aging slugger Babe Herman from the Reds.
1940: The Detroit Tigers purchased Scat Metha from the Chicago White Sox.
1945: Future Hall of Famer Joe Cronin of the Boston Red Sox breaks his leg running the bases. The injury will influence him to retire as a major league player. Cronin will continue to serve the Red Sox as their manager.
1949: The New York Yankees unveil a granite monument to Babe Ruth. Monument Park, located in the deep center field region of Yankee Stadium, also includes monuments for Lou Gehrig and Miller Huggins.
1960: The Tigers and Indians set a record for longest Opening Day ever?15 innings, with Detroit triumphing, 4-2.
1965: At a cost of $20K, the original Astrodome ceiling is painted because the sun's glare makes fielding fly balls hazardous. This will cause the grass to die and spur the introduction of artificial turf next season.
1971: Legendary broadcaster Russ Hodges dies from a heart attack in Mill Valley, California, at the age of 61. Hodges announced the Giants games in New York and San Francisco for 22 seasons, after working for four other teams. Hodges was best known for his famed "The Giants win the pennant!" call of Bobby Thomson's home run in 1951. Hodges will be the fourth recipient of the Ford Frick Award, posthumously, in 1980.
1973: The Detroit Tigers traded Charlie Sands to the California Angels for Mike Strahler.
1978: The Detroit Tigers signed Mark DeJohn as a free agent.
1982: The Detroit Tigers released Ron Mathis.
1984: The Detroit Tigers suffer their first loss of the season after nine consecutive wins. The Tigers fall to the Kansas City Royals and rookie Bret Saberhagen, who earns his first major league victory.
2001: The Detroit Tigers returned Jermaine Clark (earlier draft pick) to the Seattle Mariners.
2013: Boston's game against the Royals at Fenway Park is postponed as the city is in lockdown while a massive police chase takes place to find the second of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings.
2016: The Detroit Tigers signed Humberto Quintero as a free agent.
Tigers players birthdays:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/shortch01.shtml
Chick Shorten 1919-1921.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/devivbe01.shtml
Bernie DeViveiros 1927.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wyattjo02.shtml
John Wyatt 1968.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/whitese01.shtml
Sean Whiteside 1995.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/murrahe01.shtml
Heath Murray 2001.
Tigers players who passed away:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Tommy_Bridges
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bridgto01.shtml
http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/f8cf51bc
Tommy Bridges 1930-1943, 1945-1946, coach 1946, scout 1958-1960.
from Baseball Reference
