The Pittsburgh Pirates retire Roberto Clemente’s uniform number 21 in a moving pre-game ceremony before 51,695 fans at Three Rivers Stadium. The 38-year-old Clemente died in a plane crash the previous New Year’s Eve. The Pirates then beat St. Louis‚ 7 – 5‚ with a 9th-inning rally.
At Baltimore‚ Dave McNally fires a three-hitter as the Orioles roll over the Brewers‚ 10 – 0. Don Baylor has three doubles‚ a homer‚ and 4 RBIs‚ while Brooks Robinson bangs two homers for 4 RBIs.
Richard Nixon becomes the first president to throw the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day in a contest held outside of Washington, D.C. The Commander in Chief does the honors before Nolan Ryan and the Angels beat the Royals at Anaheim Stadium, 3-2.
At the Oakland Coliseum, Tony Oliva becomes the first designated hitter ever to homer. The Twins DH’s first inning two-run round-tripper off future Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter helps to defeat the A’s, 8-3.
On April 6, 1973, Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees becomes the first designated hitter in major league history. In his first plate appearance, Blomberg walks with the bases loaded. He will end up with one hit in three at-bats as the Yankees lose to the Boston Red Sox, 15-5.
On April 6, 1972, the first general strike in the history of the major leagues officially begins with the cancellation of Opening Day games in both leagues. The strike will be settled seven days later when the players and owners come to agreement on pension fund payments. The two sides agree not to make up the 86 missed games.
Before 39‚712 chilled fans in Pittsburgh‚ the Pirates win their Opener‚ 4 – 2‚ over the Phils. Dock Ellis is the winner‚ laying down 3 sacrifice bunts‚ and getting help with 4 Phillie errors.
Before 41‚121 at Chicago‚ Billy Williams clubs a 10th-inning homer off Bob Gibson to give the Cubs a 2 – 1 win over the Cards. Joe Torre’s homer‚ off Fergie Jenkins‚ is the only Cardinal score.
At Fenway Park‚ the Red Sox take their second straight Opener against the Yankees‚ winning 3 – 1. Boston’s Ray Culp allows 5 hits in 9 innings in winning over Stan Bahnsen‚ who gives up 2 runs in 7 innings. Reggie Smith has 3 hits and his throw to the plate in the 8th gets the last out.
At Houston‚ Claude Osteen allows 4 hits and rookie Bill Buckner’s homer accounts for all the scoring as the Dodgers beat the Astros‚ 2 – 0. Don Wilson takes the loss. Osteen was 6-0 last year against Houston.
Enjoy our free trial and start listening to games, interviews and shows! Ruth, Mantle, Aaron, and Seaver!