Historically Speaking: 4-10-09

Day Two of the Masters, and you can find out some stuff about it here. You can also find out some historical stuff about the tourney, along with other miscellaneous debris, after the jump.

* Today in 1947 Jackie Robinson became the first professional black baseball player as he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers.

* Since the Masters is underway, we'll look at gents who've captured the title on this day: Sam Snead won it in 1949 with a 282; Cary Middlecoff earned himself a jacket in 1955 with a 279; Arnold Palmer did it in 1960 with a 282, and I'm pretty sure he's playing in this year's, which is amazing; the following year Gary Player shot a 280; a young Stallion by the name of Tom Watson nailed a 276 in 1977; 11 years later Sandy Lyle won a jacket with a 281; and in 1994, Jose M. Olazabal earned a victory with a 279.

* It was 1953 when the Minneapolis Lakers defeated the New York Knickerbockers, four games to one, for the National Basketball Association championship.

* A few new Major League Baseball stadiums opened today as well: In 1962, the city of Los Angeles debuted Dodgers Stadium, and the home team fell to the Reds, 6-3; in 1971 the Philadelphia Phillies christened Veteran's Stadium with a 4-1 victory over Montreal; and today in 1973, a little club called the Kansas City Royals opened its new baseball park, Royals Stadium, with a 12-1 win over the Texas Rangers. Nearly 40,000 fans braved the 39-degree weather.

* In the year 2000, Ken Griffey, Jr. became the youngest MLBer to crank his 400th long ball. He was 30 years, 141 days old.

And your Sports Illustrated quote of the day came from the mouth of...



...one-time Miami Dolphin defensive back Tim Foley, who, in 1981, was asked which of his NFL memories were his favorite. His response: "Waking up from all of my operations."