April 16 in Tigers and mlb history:
1895: The name "Tigers" was given to Detroit's baseball team for the first time by the Detroit Free Press.
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1913: Ty Cobb has a modern day holdout.
http://deadspin.com/100-years-ago-ty...dout-473661349
1929: The New York Yankees are the first team in major league baseball to permanently feature numbers on the backs of their uniforms. The numbers correspond to each player's position in the batting order. The numbers also allow fans and broadcasters to identify the players more easily.
1935: Babe Ruth, at age 40, has a sensational National League debut with the Boston Braves as he hits a single and home run off New York Giants legend Carl Hubbell.
1940: Working in 47-degree weather, Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians hurls the first and only Opening Day no-hitter in major league history. Feller outduels Eddie Smith of the Chicago White Sox in winning a 1 - 0 decision at Comiskey Park. During one at-bat, White Sox star Luke Appling fouls off 15 straight pitches, but fails to get a hit.
1940: On Opening Day at Griffith Stadium, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt throws the ceremonial first pitch as Boston Red Sox pitcher Lefty Grove shuts outs the Washington Senators, 1 - 0.
1945: The Boston Red Sox give tryouts to three Negro League players: Sam Jethroe, Jackie Robinson, and Marvin Williams. The three players work out at Fenway Park, but none are signed to contracts. Later this year, Robinson will sign a minor league contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1946: The world champion Tigers raise the flag at Briggs (Tiger) Stadium. Hank Greenberg homers in what will be last Opening Day as a Tiger. Reigning AL MVP Hal Newhouser strikes out 8 as the Tigers beat the Browns 2-1.
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1961: Beginning his historic chase of Babe Ruth's 60 home run season-record, Roger Maris connects for his first homer in the twelfth game of the season for the Yankees. The 5th-inning solo shot is off Detroit Tigers pitcher Paul Foytack.
1966: Tigers break a 5-5 tie with Washington in the bottom of the 8th inning with an Al Kaline home run and Gates Brown RBI single to win 7-5 and improve to 5-0.
1968: Willie Horton hits 2 doubles, and the Tigers score 8 runs in the 4th inning to pound the defending AL champion Red Sox 9-2.
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1983: Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Steve Garvey appears in his 1,118th straight National League game, breaking the mark held by Billy Williams.
1987: Hall of Fame umpire Jocko Conlan dies in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the age of 89. Conlan served as an American League arbiter from 1941 to 1965 after a brief major league playing career with the Chicago White Sox. He also umpired in five World Series. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1974.
1992: The Tigers beat the Indians 13-4. Rob Deer homered twice in the road win for Detroit. Mickey Tettleton also homered while Milt Cuyler doubled twice and tripled.
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1992: The Detroit Tigers released Steve Ontiveros.
1996: Cecil Fielder hits three home runs at SkyDome. The Tigers tie an American League record by grounding into 6 double plays, but win 13-8.
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1997: The Cubs' 12th straight loss to open the season breaks a National League record set by the Detroit Wolverines, who started 0-11 in 1884.
1997: The Detroit Tigers released Vince Coleman.
1999: The Detroit Tigers traded Apostol Garcia (minors), Richard Roberts (minors) and Robinson Checo to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Dave Mlicki and Mel Rojas.
2006: Chris Shelton of the Detroit Tigers becomes the first player in American League history to hit eight home runs in his team's first 12 games.
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2016: Jarrod Saltalamacchia hits his 2nd game-winning home run in 3 games and the Tigers beat the astros 5 - 3.
2018: Cold, wind, snow and sleet continue to wreak havoc with the major league schedule, as three more postponements today bring the total to 24 since the start of the season. Boston's annual Patriots Day late-morning game is a victim of the elements today, and even the Blue Jays, in spite of playing in a dome, have to re-schedule a game because falling ice from the nearby CN Tower damages the roof at the Rogers Centre, potentially endangering fans.
Tigers players birthdays:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fordge01.shtml
Gene Ford 1905.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Dutch_Leonard_(leonadu01)
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/leonadu01.shtml
Dutch Leonard 1919-1921, 1924-1925.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/taylobr01.shtml
Bruce Taylor 1977-1979.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/vinafe01.shtml
Fernando Vina 2004.
Tigers players who passed away:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/e/easonma01.shtml
Mal Eason 1903.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Hank_Riebe
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/riebeha01.shtml
Hank Riebe 1942, 1947-1949.
Baseball Reference