A Brief History On May 1, 1884, catcher Moses Fleetwood Walker signed up to play for the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association, a professional baseball league considered a “major league” in existence from 1882 to 1891 and was a rival to the National League. Walker, a black African-American became the first (openly) major league baseball player of African descent over 60 years before Jackie Robinson broke the “color line” in 1947. Digging Deeper The reason why we note the word, “openly,” above, is because at least one other African-American played major league baseball before even Walker (William Edward…
Author: Major Dan
Major Dan
Major Daniel Zar is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.
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A Brief History On April 30, 1517, oddly enough the day before May Day, riots in London, England broke out known as Evil May Day (alternatively, Ill May Day). English apprentices and businessmen had grown afraid of losing their jobs or business to foreigners coming from Continental Europe and setting up shop in London, taking jobs and business away from English workers and owners. Digging Deeper Resentment against foreigners has reared its ugly head again and again over the years in England and recently in the United States and other European countries as well. Xenophobia is apparently nothing new and…
A Brief History On April 28, 1944, an Allied training mission in preparation for the upcoming D-Day invasion of France went from bad to worse, resulting in a bizarre exercise defeat that was kept secret (kind of) from the public for years. (Typical government modus operandi!) Digging Deeper Exercise Tiger as the operation was called began on April 22, 1944 with drills moving men and equipment preparing to embark on invasion shipping. On April 26 the embarkation was complete and the “invasion” fleet of 9 LST landing ships escorted by 2 destroyers, 3 torpedo boats and 4 gunboats sailed for the…
A Brief History On April 27, 1805, the United States Marine Corps conducted one of their first famous missions, one immortalized in the Marines’ Hymn, by taking the Tripolitan city of Derna and raising the American flag, the first time the Flag of the United States was raised on foreign soil. Digging Deeper The First Barbary War, also known as The Barbary Coast War or the Tripolitanian War, was fought by the United States against the North African states of Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, collectively known as “The Barbary States,” the last three on the list being associate with…
A Brief History On April 23, 1516, the region of Bavaria, a region world famous for their wonderful beer, signed on to the Reinheitsgebot, the laws in German and former Holy Roman Empire districts that regulate the ingredients and purity of beer. Digging Deeper Although versions of this law were made as early as 1487, the 1516 Bavarian version signed in Ingolstadt is the most famous and influential of the Reinheitsgebot (meaning “purity order”) and was campaigned by Bavaria for adoption across Germany as the various German states unified in the 19th Century. The law allows for only water, hops…