Today in MLB History April 16th

1928: Braves' pitcher Charlie Robertson has his glove removed from the game by umpire Moran after the Brooklyn Robins complain the ball is acting strangely. The Boston hurler still manages to win, 3-2.

1929: Cleveland outfielder Earl Averill becomes the first A.L. player to hit a home run in his first major league time at bat when he blasts an 0-and-2 pitch off Detroit's Earl Whitehillin the Indians' 5-4, 11-inning victory.....The Yankees become first team to wear digits on uniforms. Numbers are assigned based on the order in the lineup thus Earle Combs wore #1, Mark Koenig #2, Babe Ruth #3, Lou Gehrig #4, Bob Meusel #5, Tony Lazzeri #6, Leo Durocher #7, Johnny Grabowski #8, Benny Bengough #9, and Bill Dickey #10 (#’s 8-10 are all catchers ) rounding out the starting line-up.

1935: Babe Ruth's N.L. debut draws 25,000 to Braves Field. The Babe's two-hit debut includes a 430-foot home run off Carl Hubbell, as Boston beats New York 4-2. The Babe's contract includes a share in the team's profits.

1938: The Cardinals deal a declining Dizzy Dean to the Cubs for pitchers Curt Davis and Clyde Shoun and $200,000.

1940: A baseball game was televised for the first time, by WGN-TV. It was an exhibition game at Wrigley Field with Jack Brickhouse doing the play-by-play. The White Sox defeated the Cubs, 4-1.

1940: Working in 47-degree weather, Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians throws an Opening Day no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox, winning 1-0 at Comiskey Park. It's the first Opening Day no-hitter since Leon Red Ames pitched one for the Giants in 1909.

1948: The White Sox beat the Cubs 4-1 in an exhibition game at Wrigley Field with Jack Brickhouse at the WGN-TV mike. This is the first telecast in Chicago history.

1961: Beginning his historic home run chase of the Babe, Roger Maris finally connects for his first round tripper in the twelfth game of the season. The fifth-inning solo shot is off Tiger pitcher Paul Fovtack

1972: In Chicago, 22-year-old rookie Burt Hooton of the Cubs no-hits the Phillies 4-0. It is Hooton's fourth major league game over two seasons. He has allowed just eight hits in 30 innings with his knuckle-curve.

1977: Regulations force Oakland pitcher Vida Blue to discard his old, discolored lucky cap because it is no longer identical in color, trim and style to those of his teammates.

1978: Bob Forsch of the St. Louis Cardinals no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-0. Less than a year later, Bob's brother, Ken, of the Houston Astros pitched a no-hitter against Atlanta. They are the only brothers to throw no-hitters.

1983: Padres first baseman Steve Garvey plays in his 1,118th consecutive game, breaking Billy Williams' N.L. record. Garvey goes 2-for-4 in an 8-5 Padres loss at Los Angeles.

1984: Dave Kingman of the Oakland A's hit three home runs, including a grand slam, in his first three at-bats. He drove in a total of eight runs in a 9-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

1989: Kelly Gruber becomes the first member of the Blue Jays to hit for the cycle as Toronto beats Kansas City 15-8.

1997: Extending their losing streak to 12 with a 4-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies, the Cubs set the record for worst start in league history surpassing the overall National League record of 0-11 established by the Detroit Wolverines in 1884.

1999: Beating the Padres, 6-4, Colorado skipper Jim Leyland becomes the 45th manager to win a 1,000 games.

2000: Indian starter Chuck Finley, who was already the only pitcher to strike out four batters in one inning twice, does it for the third time as the southpaw strikes out Tom Evans, Royce Clayton, Chad Curtis (who takes first on a passed ball) and Rafael Palmeiro in the third inning; Finley beats the Rangers 2-1 with the help of back-to-back ninth-inning homers from Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome.