THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY: 4/15

1896 – The first modern Olympic games come to a close in Athens, Greece. The USA wins the most gold medals with 11. 

1910 – William Howard Taft becomes the first president to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game.

1927 – Babe Ruth hits his first home run of the season. He would go on to hit a record 60 dingers on the year.

1947 – Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers becomes the first African-American to play in a Major League Baseball game.

1954 – The Baltimore Orioles play in the franchise’s first ever game, defeating the White Sox 3-1.

1958 – The San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers play in the first MLB game to take place on the west coast. The Game was held at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

1965 – The NFL changes the color of its penalty flag from white to bright gold.

1985 – In what many consider the most exciting three rounds in the history of boxing, Marvin Hagler retains the middleweight title by defeating Tommy Hearns at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

1989 – In Sheffield, England, 96 people are killed at Hillsborough Stadium during a soccer match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. Most of the people are crushed when a barrier collapsed on an overcrowded section behind one of the goals.

1991 – Magic Johnson sets an NBA record for career assists with 9,898.

1993 – Andre Dawson, then with the Red Sox, becomes the 25th player in MLB history to hit 400 career home runs.

1997 – Major League Baseball honors Jackie Robinson by retiring the jersey #42 for all teams.

2000 – The Cleveland Browns draft Penn State defensive end Courtney Brown with the #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

2000 – Cal Ripken Jr. becomes the 24th player in MLB history to record 3,000 career hits.

2013 – Three people are killed and 183 are injured after two bombs explode near the finish line at the Boston Marathon.

2019 – The Los Angeles Clippers set an NBA record by coming back from a 31 point deficit to defeat the Golden State Warriors 135-131 in game two of their post-season series.