On February 27, 2006, baseball pioneer Effa Manley became the
first woman elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Manley, who
died in 1981, was co-owner of the Newark (New Jersey) Eagles,
a Negro League powerhouse, and a huge advocate for Black
ballplayers and civil rights causes.

Photo of Effa in a Newark Eagles ball cap while being
instructed on how to hold a bat by one of her players.

On February 27, 1827, a group of masked and costumed
students danced through the streets of New Orleans,
Louisiana, marking the beginning of the city’s famous
Mardi Gras celebrations.

Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday", reflecting the
practice of the last night of consuming rich, fatty foods
in preparation for the fasting season of Lent.

ROSS SIMPSON

Johnny served four years in the Air Force.

Cash enlisted in the Air Force on July 7, 1950,
shortly after the start of the Korean War. After
basic training at Lackland Air Force Base and
technical training at Brooks Air Force Base,
both in San Antonio, Texas, he was assigned
to the 12th Radio Squadron Mobile of the U.S.
Air Force Security Service at Landsberg, West       
Germany.

The Man in Black.

Born to poor cotton farmers in Kingsland, Arkansas,
country singer – songwriter Johnny Cash rose to
fame during the mid-1950s in the burgeoning
rockabilly scene in Memphis, Tennessee.

Cash is one of the best-selling music artists of all
time, having sold more than 90 million records
worldwide. His genre-spanning music embraced
country, rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk, and
gospel sounds.

His crossover appeal earned him the rare honor of
being inducted into the Country Music, Rock and
Roll, and Gospel Music Halls of Fame.

Young Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, knocked
out opponent Sonny Liston for his first world title in boxing
on this day in history, Feb. 25, 1964.

According to History.com, twenty-two-year-old Clay achieved
the unthinkable by dethroning Liston, who was then the world
heavyweight boxing champion.

Ali beat the steep odds by winning the fight in a seventh-round
technical knockout.

The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson’s controversial film about
the last 44 hours of Jesus of Nazareth’s life, opened in theaters
across the U.S.on February 25, 2004. Not coincidentally, the day
was Ash Wednesday, the start of the Catholic season of Lent.

Star Jim Caviezel (left) and director Mel Gibson.