SANDY KOZEL

James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006)

“Soul Brother #1,”The Godfather of Soul,” “Mr. Dynamite,” “Sex Machine,” “The Minister of the New New Super Heavy Funk.”

These are some of the names by which the world would eventually
know James Joseph Brown, Jr., the revolutionary musical figure
who was born on May 3, 1933. The story Brown himself would
often tell is that he appeared stillborn when he first came into
the world, but that an aunt attending his birth managed to breathe
life into him.

Willie Howard Mays Jr. (92) nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid"
is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball. He is regarded as one of the greatest players ever and ranks
second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-time lists.

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson, at age 28, became the first
African American player in Major League Baseball’s modern
era when he steps onto Ebbets Field in Brooklyn to compete
for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson broke the color barrier
in a sport that had been segregated for more than 50 years.

Exactly 50 years later, in 1997, Robinson’s groundbreaking
career was honored and his uniform number, 42, was retired
from Major League Baseball by Commissioner Bud Selig in
a ceremony attended by over 50,000 fans at New York City’s
Shea Stadium. Robinson’s was the first-ever number retired
by all teams in the league.

Jack Roosevelt Robinson
(January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972)

Opening Day welcomes the new spring baseball season each
year, a uniquely American tradition steeped in history and
fanfare.       

On this day in history, April 14, 1910, President William Howard 
Taft (above) became the first U.S. president to throw out the 
first pitch at a Major League Baseball game.       

William Howard Taft (1857 – 1930)

On this day in 1974 — In the opener in Atlanta, Hank Aaron broke
Babe Ruth’s career record by hitting his 715th home run off Los
Angeles left-hander Al Downing in the fourth inning. The Braves
beat the Dodgers 7-4 before a crowd of nearly 54,000.

Henry “Hank” Louis Aaron (1934 – 2021)

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