1901 - The first American League game is played
After playing the 1900 season as a minor league circuit, three different rainouts make Chicago the host of the first major league game in American League history.
A crowd of 10,000 pile in to South Side Park to see Roy Patterson earn the win in an 8-2 Chicago White Sox victory over the Cleveland Blues.
1945 - Happy Chandler voted commissioner
Major league owners vote unanimously to elect Albert "Happy" Chandler as the second commissioner of baseball. The former governor of Kentucky succeeded Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who had died the year prior.
Chandler oversaw a few major events during his tenure, including the breaking of the color barrier in 1947, when Jackie Robinson debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers after receiving Chandler's blessing. He also suspended Dodgers manager Leo Durocher for the season that same year for his association with gamblers.
He resigned from the position in 1951 in the face of insufficient support for re-election. Chandler regained his position as Governor of Kentucky from 1955 to 1959.
Chandler was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1982 and died of a heart attack in 1991, at age 92.
1965 - Casey Stengel wins his 3,000th as manager
The New York Mets beat the San Francisco Giants 7-6, giving Casey Stengel his 3,000th win as a manager.
Stengel, most famous for winning ten pennants and seven World Series titles in 12 years with the New York Yankees, closed his career with the cross-town rival Mets.
In addition to his wins in the majors, Stengel's record included time with the Toledo Mud Hens, three with the Oakland Oaks, and one-year stints with the Worcester Panthers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Kansas City Blues.
Stengel was forced to retire midway through the 1965 season at age-76, after breaking his hip in a fall. He was elected to the Hall of Fame the next season after the "Casey Stengel Rule" was created to allow him to be inducted immediately because of his age.
In addition to his managing career, Stengel is also remembered for a handful of choice quotations, including the following two gems:
"Being with a woman all night never hurt no professional baseball player. It's staying up all night looking for a woman that does him in."
"The secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided."
Birthdays
1967 - Omar Vizquel
1972 - Chipper Jones
1977 - Carlos Beltran
1987 - Wellington Castro
