THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY - MARCH 1ST

1914 - Harry Caray, baseball announcer  (d. 1998) is born.

1926 - Pete Rozelle, NFL commissioner (1960-89) is born.

1941 - Elmer Layden becomes first NFL commissioner.
1942 - Baseball decides that players in the military can't play when on furlough.
1949 - Joe Louis retires as Heavyweight boxing champ.

1949 - The Browns, owners of Sportsman's Park, move to evict the Cardinals.
1953 - Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Sarasota Golf Open.

1954 - Ted Williams fractures collarbone in first game of spring training 

after flying 39 combat missions without injury in Korean War.

1969 - NY Yankees' Mickey Mantle retires.
1972 - Wilt Chamberlain is first NBA player to score 30,000 points.
1973 - Robyn Smith becomes first female jockey to win a major race.

1988 - Wayne Gretzky passes Gordie Howe with his record 1,050th NHL assist.
1993 - George Steinbenner is reinstated as owner of the NY Yankees.
1993 - New expansion NHL team, owned by Disney, is named the Mighty Ducks.
1996 - Lenny Wilkens, winningest coach in NBA, coaches his 1,000th victory.