A Brief History On April 9, 1965, the Houston Astrodome hosted an exhibition baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros, the 1st indoor MLB baseball game! Digging Deeper In Houston, Texas, the Harris County Domed Stadium, the original name for the Astrodome, was completed for the 1965 National League Baseball season. The Houston major league team had been known as The Houston Colt .45’s, but the name was changed to reflect their new stadium, the first such indoor facility for baseball and football in the world. The ballgame was attended by President Lyndon Johnson and Governor…
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 8, 1975, slugger Frank Robinson became the first African-American major league baseball manager when he managed the Cleveland Indians opening day game. Today we present a list of 10 notable African-American firsts. Digging Deeper 10. Oprah Winfrey, 2003. According to Forbes Magazine, Oprah became the first African-American billionaire. Her power goes well beyond her money, as she has tremendous influence on (mostly women) Americans of all varieties. 9. Hattie McDaniel, 1939. Hattie won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar (Academy Award) for her role in Gone With The Wind, making her the first African-American Oscar winner. …
A Brief History On April 8, 1952, President Truman ordered the Federal government to take control of the nation’s largest steel mills to prevent a strike that would interrupt steel production. Digging Deeper At the time, the US was involved in the Korean War, making Truman a “wartime” president. As such, Truman claimed his authority as Commander in Chief of the nation’s military allowed him to seize steel production for military purposes. The case went to the US Supreme Court, and the court ruled against Truman, saying that the separation of powers part of the constitution had been violated. The…
On April 7, 1945, the Japanese Navy sent the most powerful (along with her sister ship, the Musashi) battleship ever built on a one way suicide mission. The incredible amount of man-hours, money, and physical resources that went into that ship are staggering, yet the mighty Yamato never made a difference during its short life. This incident was not the only mistake Japan made during the war, so here are 10 of them. Digging Deeper 10. Underestimating the Soviets. Although the war was already lost, the few days of fighting between Soviet and Japanese forces were a vivid example of…
A Brief History On April 7, 1945, the biggest and most heavily armed battleship created by man was sunk without ever fighting another battleship! Digging Deeper The Japanese battleship Yamato was the first of a two ship class (Musashi was the second) of battleships designed to survive hits by the guns of British and American battleships, and to sink them with her giant guns. The 9 main guns of the Yamato fired 2,800 pound projectiles that were 18.1 inches in diameter, the biggest guns ever placed on a ship. By contrast, the German Bismarck had 8 X 15 inch guns,…