TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY - APRIL 9TH

1898 - [Earl] Curly Lambeau, Green Bay Wisconsin, NFL coach (GB Packers) is born.

1912 - First exhibition baseball game at Fenway Park (Red Sox vs Harvard).
1913 - Brooklyn Dodger's Ebbets Field opens, Phillies win 1-0.
1925 - Babe Ruth rushed to hospital.

1941 - PGA establishes Golf Hall of Fame.
1945 - NFL requires players to wear long stockings.

1947 - Baseball suspends Brooklyn Dodger Leo Durocher for 1 year.

1957 - Severiano Ballesteros, Spain, golfer (British Open 1979, 84, 88) is born.

1965 - First game at Astrodome, Houston beats Yankees 2-1 in

exhibition as Mickey Mantle hits 1st indoor homerun.

1969 - Chicago Cub Billy Williams hits 4 consecutive doubles beat Phillies 11-3.

1971 - Jacques Villeneuve, French-Canadian race car driver is born.

1974 - Padres owner Ray Kroc, addresses fans "Ladies & gentlemen, I suffer

with you I've never seen such stupid baseball playing in my life".

1978 - Denver's David Thompson scores 73 points & San Antonio's George Gervin

scores 63 points in separate NBA games (33 in 1 quarter).

1981 - LA Dodgers Fernando Valenzuela's 1st start, beats Astros 2-0.

1985 - White Sox pitcher Tom Seaver starts a record 15th opening day game.
1987 - For 3rd time, Wayne Gretzky, scores 7 points (1 goal, 6 assists) in a

Stanley Cup game and passes Jean Beliveau as all time playoff scoring champ.

1989 - Rickey Henderson steals his 800th career base in NY's 4-3 loss to Clev.

1992 - Florida drops rape charges against NY Mets Gooden, Boston & Coleman.

1993 - Colorado Rockies 1st home game & 1st victory, 11-4 over Mont Expos.

1997 - Cleveland Indians closer Jose Mesa found guilty of rape.
1997 - Major League Soccer announces Miami & Chicago expansion.

2001 - Willie Stargell, American baseball player (b. 1940) dies.

2006 - Billy Hitchcock, American baseball player, coach, and official (b. 1916) dies.
2012 - Mark Lenzi, American Olympic Diver, dies from hypertension at 43.