1947: MLB’s color barrier was broken. Jackie Robinson took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and became the first Black player to appear in a regular season Major League Baseball game. Robinson would go on to win the Rookie of the Year Award that season.
1958: Major League Baseball comes to the Golden State. The relocated Dodgers and Giants played the first big league game in California. San Francisco owned the day with an 8–0 victory over Los Angeles.
1989: A horrible day for soccer. During a match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in Sheffield, England, a crowd crush occurred at Hillsborough Stadium. Ninety-six people died and 766 were injured.
Happy birthday today to . . . Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Fame shooting guard Michael Cooper, who’s 70. Edmonton Oilers Hall of Fame defenseman Kevin Lowe is 67. Former San Diego Chargers receiver Anthony Miller is 61. Ex-Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jeromy Burnitz is 57. Former Atlanta Thrashers winger Ilya Kovalchuk is 43, and ex-New York Jets defensive back Antonio Cromartie is 42.