Three decades ago today, Kenny Rogers, the Texas Rangers pitcher, made history by pitching Major League Baseball’s 14th Perfect Game. This remarkable feat also marked the first and only Perfect Game in the Texas Rangers franchise history and was the last No-Hitter pitched for the Rangers at the time of writing. Despite not being widely recognized as one of the all-time great pitchers, Rogers had a commendable career that spanned well into his 30s. He began the 2008 season as the oldest player in the American League. His other accomplishments are worth noting. (1994)

Rogers’ Perfect Game came five years and five seasons after his debut. He soon appeared on ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ and CBS’s ‘Late Show with David Letterman’ on August 1, 1994. Throughout his career, he played for five teams, including winning the 1996 World Series with the Yankees and playing in another for the Detroit Tigers.

On June 18th, 2006, Rogers won his 200th game. However, it was his fielding skills that truly cemented his legacy. He is second all-time in pickoffs with 93 in his career and won five Golden Gloves due to this success. Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane stated that Rogers “was the best fielding pitcher” he ever saw. “It’s like having an extra infielder.” In his final season, he was honored with a Fielding Bible Award in 2008 as the top fielding pitcher in MLB.

Other significant events that took place on this day include:

  • The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing due process and equal protection under the law to former slaves, was declared effective (1868).
  • The city of Miami, Florida was incorporated (1896).
  • Australian Ian Thorpe became the first swimmer to win six gold medals at a single World Championships (2001).
  • Nine coal miners were rescued after 77 hours trapped underground in the flooded Quecreek Mine in Pennsylvania (2002).
  • The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) officially ended its 30-year armed campaign to win the independence of Northern Ireland and began the full decommissioning of its weapons under international supervision, saying they would pursue exclusively peaceful means to its ends (2005).

On this day 131 years ago, the Vizcaya Bridge in Spain was completed. This bridge is the world’s oldest transporter bridge and connects the towns of Portugalete and Las Arenas. It uses a 6-car gondola suspended on steel cables to transport people and vehicles across the water without disrupting maritime traffic.

Additionally, 85 years ago today, fragments found during the Sutton Hoo ship burial were identified as part of a kingly helmet. The helmet was believed to have belonged to King Rædwald of East Anglia and was buried around 625. It is considered one of the most spectacular archaeological discoveries ever made.

Also, on this day 202 years ago, Peru declared its independence from Spain and became a republic. Today, a rural school teacher and union leader is set to be sworn in as Peru’s new president.

Lastly, Happy 79th Birthday to Jim Davis, whose Garfield cartoon is one of the world’s most widely syndicated comic strips. Since 1978, the sarcastic feline has been grinning from pages and was eventually joined by other Davis newspaper notables such as Tumbleweeds, Gnorm Gnat, and Mr. Potato Head. Garfield was inspired by Davis’s childhood memories of growing up on a small farm in Indiana with 25 cats. (1945)

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Source: Good News Network