Events in Sport
- 1968-10-15 MLB American League expansion draft: Kansas City Royals pick Baltimore Orioles pitcher Roger Nelson & Seattle Pilots pick California Angels infielder Don Mincher 1st as they choose 30 players each
- 1969-04-01 Seattle Pilots trade little-known minor league outfielder Lou Piniella to KC Royals for 2 prospects; hits .282 with 11 HRs & 68 RBI to win AL Rookie of the Year; becomes leading MLB manager
- 1972-07-14 Plate umpire and catcher in a game are brothers; Bill Haller is umpire and Tom Haller is Detroit Tigers catcher; Kansas City Royals win, 1-0
Ted Williams Last Game
1972-10-04 Future Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams manages his final game as his Texas Rangers lose on the road to KC Royals, 4-0 in the last game played at Municipal Stadium; Williams later replaced by Whitey Herzog
- 1973-04-10 Kansas City Royals open their new park, Royals Stadium with 12-1 rout of the Texas Rangers; attendance 39,476
- 1973-04-27 KC Royals pitcher Steve Busby no-hits Detroit Tigers, 3-0
Sports History
1973-05-15 California Angel Nolan Ryan's 1st no-hitter beats KC Royals, 3-0
Sports History
1973-08-02 Future Baseball Hall of Fame 3rd baseman George Brett gets his 1st MLB hit on debut for the Kansas City Royals in 3-1 win over Chicago White Sox
- 1974-06-19 KC Royals pitcher Steve Busby throws his 2nd career no-hitter; beats Milwaukee Brewers, 2-0
- 1976-10-14 MLB American League Championship: New York Yankees beat Kansas City Royals, 3 games to 2
- 1977-05-14 KC Royals Jim Colborn no-hits Texas Rangers, 6-0
- 1977-06-03 Baltimore Orioles pull their 6th triple play (9-6-4-6-6 vs KC Royals)
Sports History
1977-06-16 Ron Guidry's 1st complete game, 7-0 over KC Royals
- 1977-10-06 Yankees win AL pennant by rallying for 3 runs in 9th to beat KC Royals 5-3 in 5th & deciding playoff game
- 1977-10-09 MLB American League Championship: New York Yankees beat Kansas City Royals, 3 games to 2
- 1978-10-07 MLB American League Championship: New York Yankees beat Kansas City Royals, 3 games to 1
- 1980-08-18 KC Royals' George Brett, batting avg reach .400
- 1980-08-19 Kansas City Royals' George Brett hitting streak ends at 30 games
- 1980-10-10 MLB American League Championship: Kansas City Royals beat New York Yankees, 3 games to 0
- 1981-08-31 MLB Kansas City Royals fire manager Jim Frey, replace him with Dick Howser
- 1983-12-15 MLB suspends 3 Kansas City Royals players - Willie Wilson, Willie Aikens, and Jerry Martin - due to cocaine usage
Sports History
1984-07-23 KC Royals Dan Quisenberry gets his 200th career save
- 1985-10-16 KC Royals & St Louis Cardinals win their league championships
- 1985-10-16 MLB American League Championship: Kansas City Royals beat Toronto Blue Jays, 4 games to 3
- 1985-10-27 Baseball World Series: KC Royals rout St Louis Cardinals, 11-0 at Royals Stadium for 4 games to 3 series win; MVP: KC pitcher Bret Saberhagen
- 1986-05-25 KC Royal George Brett gets his 2,000th hit
Contract of Interest
1986-06-21 1985 Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson, signs 3-year contract to play baseball with the Kansas City Royals
- 1986-07-18 MLB Kansas City Royals announce that manager Dick Howser, 50, has a brain tumor
- 1987-02-02 KC Royal pitcher Dennis Leonard (3X 20 game winner), retires
- 1987-02-23 Baseball World Series winning manager (1985) Dick Howser retires from Kansas City Royals role due to brain tumor
- 1987-04-11 Yankees score 12 runs in 7th inning vs KC Royals
- 1987-07-02 KC Royals outfielder Jim Eisenreich hits 1st HR since 1982, in MLB comeback process, retired 1984 (Tourette syndrome)
Baseball Record
1987-08-03 Detroit Tigers ace Jack Morris ties AL record with 5 wild pitches in a 4-2, 10 innings loss v Kansas City Royals
- 1988-07-04 After a poor start to the season Kansas City Royals release Dan Quisenberry (record 5-time AL saves leader)
- 1989-07-11 60th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 5-3 at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim All star MVP: Bo Jackson (KC Royals)
- 1989-11-17 Bret Saberhagen signs record $2,966,667 per year KC Royal contract
- 1989-12-11 Mark Davis signs record $3.25 million per year KC Royals contract
- 1990-07-25 KC Royal George Brett hits for the cycle
- 1991-03-19 KC Royals announce they are putting Bo Jackson on waivers
- 1992-09-30 KC Royal George Brett gets 4 hits to become 18th to get 3,000 hits
- 1993-05-13 KC Royal George Brett hits his 300th HR
- 1993-07-02 Royals Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri is renamed Kauffman Stadium shortly before the death of MLB Kansas City Royals team owner Ewing Kauffman
- 1995-04-29 KC Royal John Nonely is 70th to HR on his 1st at bat
- 1995-07-21 KC Royals set club-record of 22 singles in 15 innings
- 1995-10-01 Cleveland Indians end MLB season at 100-44 to set record 30 game margin over 2nd place Kansas City Royals in AL Central final standings
- 1997-04-29 KC Royal Chili Davis is 75th to hit 300 HRs
- 1997-11-20 Last original Florida Marlin, Jeff Conine, traded to KC Royals
Baseball Record
2001-04-02 New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens becomes American League all-time strikeout leader, recording his 3,509th K in a 7-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals; Walter Johnson previous record 3,508 Ks
- 2003-04-05 The Kansas City Royals become the first MLB team to begin the season 5-0 after losing 100 games the previous year, beating the Cleveland Indians, 2 - 1
- 2014-10-15 MLB American League Championship: Kansas City Royals beat Baltimore Orioles, 4 games to 0
- 2014-10-29 Baseball World Series: San Francisco beats Kansas City Royals, 3-2 in Game 7 at Kauffman Field, KC to win Giants' 3rd title in 5 years; MVP: SF starter Madison Bumgarner
- 2015-10-28 Longest ever 1st game of Baseball World Series (5 hours, 9 minutes); Kansas City Royals beat New York Mets, 5-4; also joint longest by innings (14)
- 2015-11-01 Baseball World Series: KC Royals win first title since 1985; rally in 9th and break away in 12th to beat NY Mets, 7-2 in Game 5 in NYC; MVP: Royals catcher Salvador Perez
- 2017-09-19 New MLB record for most home runs in a season, no. 5,694 hit by Alex Gordon of the Kansas City Royals
- 2021-09-20 Kansas City Royals' Salvador Perez hits his 46th home run to break Hall of Famer Johnny Bench's MLB record for most in a season by a catcher, in Royals 7-2 win in Cleveland
- 2022-06-21 MLB Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani has career high 8 RBI in 11-inning 12-11 loss to Kansas City Royals in Anaheim, California
- 2022-06-22 MLB Los Angeles Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani strikes out career high 13 batters, retires 23 of last 24 batters faced in 5-0 win over Kansas City Royals in Anaheim, California
Birthdays in Sport
- 1920-09-22 Bob Lemon, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (MLB All-Star 1948–54; World Series 1948; no-hitter 1948; Cleveland Indians) and manager (KC Royals, Chicago White Sox; World Series NY Yankees 1978), born in San Bernardino, California (d. 2000)
- 1923-12-08 Joe Burke, American baseball executive (president KC Royals 1981-92), born in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 1992)
- 1931-05-26 Jim Frey, American MLB manager (Kansas City Royals, American League C'ship 1980; Chicago Cubs), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2020)
- 1937-05-14 Dick Howser, American baseball shortstop (MLB All Star All-Star 1961, 61²; KC A's) and manager (World Series 1977, 78 NY Yankees; KC Royals 1985), born in Miami, Florida (d. 1987)
- 1939-03-06 Cookie Rojas, Cuban baseball second baseman (5 × MLB All-Star; Philadelphia Phillies, Kansas City Royals) and manager (California Angels, Florida Marlins), born in Havana, Cuba
- 1940-10-01 John Schuerholz Jr., American Baseball HOF executive (GM Kansas City Royals, World Series 1985; GM Atlanta Braves World Series 1995), born in Baltimore, Maryland
- 1944-10-11 Mike Fiore, American baseball player (Kansas City Royals), born in Brooklyn, New York
- 1946-10-08 Paul Splittorff, American MLB pitcher and broadcaster (KC Royals), born in Evansville, Indiana (d. 2011)
- 1947-07-06 Lance Clemons, American baseball player (Kansas City Royals), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1949-09-29 Steve Busby, American MLB baseball pitcher, 1972-80, 2X All-Star (Kansas City Royals), born in Burbank, California
- 1949-10-04 John Wathan, American baseball catcher and manager (Kansas City Royals), born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- 1951-05-18 Jim Sundberg, American baseball player (Kansas City Royals), born in Galesburg, Illinois
- 1953-01-17 Mark Littell, American MLB pitcher, 1973-82 (Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals), writer, and inventor, born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri (d. 2022)
George Brett (70 years old)
1953-05-15 American Baseball Hall of Fame 3rd baseman (13 x MLB All Star; World Series 1985; AL MVP 1980; KC Royals), born in Glen Dale, West Virginia
- 1955-08-19 (Edgar) "Ned" Yost, American MLB baseball catcher, 1980-85 and manager, 2003-2019 (Minnesota Twins; Kansas City Royals - World Series win, 2015), born in Eureka, California
- 1959-04-18 Jim Eisenreich, American MLB outfielder (Tourette syndrome, Florida Marlins WS 1997), born in St. Cloud, Minnesota
- 1961-10-19 Tim Belcher, Sparta Ohio, baseball pitcher (Detroit Tigers, KC Royals)
- 1962-01-07 Jeff Montgomery, American baseball pitcher, 1987-99, 3X All-Star; AL saves leader, 1993 (Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals), born in Wellston, Ohio
- 1962-03-26 Kevin Seitzer, American baseball infielder who was MLB All-Star 1987 KC Royals, 1995 Milwaukee Brewers; and coach World Series 2021 Atlanta Braves, born in Springfield, Illinois
- 1962-08-14 Mark Gubicza, American baseball pitcher (KC Royals), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Bo Jackson (61 years old)
1962-11-30 American College Football Hallf of Fame running back (Heisman Trophy 1985, Auburn; Pro Bowl 1990, LA Raiders) and baseball outfielder (MLB All Star 1989, KC Royals), born in Bessemer, Alabama
- 1964-04-11 Bret Saberhagen, American baseball pitcher (World Series MVP 1985 Kansas City Royals; Cy Young Award 1985, 89; 3 x MLB All Star), born in Chicago Heights, Illinois
- 1964-11-10 Keith Lockhart, American baseball infielder (KC Royals), born in Whittier, California
- 1965-01-06 José DeJesús, American baseball pitcher (Kansas City Royals), born in Brooklyn, New York
- 1965-06-17 Mike Magnante, American baseball pitcher (KC Royals), born in Glendale, California
- 1965-09-02 Doug Linton, pitcher (KC Royals), born in Santa Ana, California
- 1967-02-26 David Howard, American baseball infielder (KC Royals), born in Sarasota, Florida
- 1967-12-06 Kevin Appier, American MLB baseball pitcher, 1989-94 (Kansas City Royals, and three others), born in Lancaster, California
- 1968-01-27 Rusty Meacham, American baseball pitcher (KC Royals, Seattle Mariners), born in Stuart, Florida
- 1968-07-27 Tom Goodwin [Thomas Jones], American MLB player (1994-1997 KC Royals), born in Fresno, California
- 1968-10-13 Julio Valera, Puerto Rican MLB pitcher (KC Royals), born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
- 1968-11-08 Jose Offerman, Dominican infielder (KC Royals), born in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic
- 1968-11-16 Chris Haney, American baseball pitcher (KC Royals), born in Baltimore, Maryland
- 1969-03-28 Craig Paquette, infielder (KC Royals), born in Long Beach, California
- 1969-08-22 Hipolito Pichardo, Dominican MLB pitcher. 1902-2002 (Kansas City Royals, and 2 other teams), born in Jicomé, Dominican Republic
- 1969-12-18 Joe Randa, infielder (KC Royals), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- 1970-09-22 Mike Matheny, American MLB player (Milwaukee Brewers) and manager (Kansas City Royals), born in Columbus, Ohio
- 1970-11-24 Jason Jacome, pitcher (KC Royals), born in Tulsa, Oklahoma
- 1971-06-25 Michael Tucker, American baseball outfielder (KC Royals), born in South Boston, Virginia
- 1971-08-10 Sal Fasano, American MLB catcher (KC Royals), born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1973-01-19 Chris Stynes, American baseball infielder (KC Royals), born in Queens, New York
- 1973-07-22 Mike Sweeney, American baseball first baseman, catcher, DH (MLB All-Star 2000, 01, 02, 03, 05; Kansas City Royals), born in Orange, California
- 1973-11-05 Johnny Damon, American professional baseball outfielder (Kansas City Royals), born in Fort Riley, Kansas
- 1974-09-30 Jeremy Giambi, American MLB baseball player, 1998-2003 (Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, and two other teams), born in San Jose, California (d. 2022)
- 1976-03-23 Joel Peralta, Dominican MLB baseball relief pitcher, 2005-16 (Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, and six other teams), born in Bonao, Dominican Republic
- 1977-05-02 Luke Hudson, American MLB baseball pitcher, 2002-07 (Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals), born in Fountain Valley, California
- 1978-03-01 Ken Harvey, American baseball first baseman (MLB All Star 2004; KC Royals), born in Los Angeles, California
- 1979-04-08 Jeremy Guthrie, American MLB baseball pitcher, 2004-17 (Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, and 3 other teams), born in Roseburg, Oregon
- 1980-07-07 John Buck, American MLB baseball catchrr, 2004-14 (Kansas City Royals, and six other teams), born in Kemmerer, Wyoming
- 1981-07-19 Jimmy Gobble, American baseball player (Kansas City Royals), born in Bristol, Tennessee
- 1983-04-19 Alberto Callaspo, Venezuelan baseball player (Kansas City Royals), born in Maracay, Venezuela
- 1984-05-18 Joakim Soria, Mexican baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 2008, 10; Kansas City Royals), born in Monclova, Mexico
- 1986-04-18 Billy Butler, American baseball first baseman (MLB All-Star & Silver Slugger Award 2012; Kansas City Royals), born in Orange Park, Florida
- 1991-06-03 Yordano Ventura, Dominican MLB pitcher (Kansas City Royals), born in Samaná, Dominican Republic (d. 2017)
Deaths in Sport
- 1987-06-17 Dick Howser, American baseball shortstop (MLB All Star All-Star 1961, 61²; KC A's) and manager (World Series 1977, 78 NY Yankees; KC Royals 1985), dies of brain cancer at 51
- 1992-05-12 Joe Burke, American baseball executive (president KC Royals 1981-92), dies from lymphatic cancer at 68
- 1993-08-01 Ewing Kaufman, founder/owner (KC Royals), dies of lung cancer at 76
- 2000-01-11 Bob Lemon, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (MLB All-Star 1948–54; World Series 1948; no-hitter 1948, White Sox; Cleveland Indians) and manager (KC Royals, Chicago White Sox; World Series NY Yankees 1978), dies at 79
- 2011-05-25 Paul Splittorff, American MLB pitcher and broadcaster (KC Royals), dies of oral cancer at 64
- 2017-01-22 Yordano Ventura, Dominican MLB pitcher (Kansas City Royals), dies in a car crash at 25
- 2020-04-12 Jim Frey, American MLB manager (Kansas City Royals, American League C'ship 1980; Chicago Cubs), dies at 88
- 2022-02-09 Jeremy Giambi, American MLB baseball player, 1998-2003 (Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, and two other teams), takes his own life at 47
- 2022-09-05 Mark Littell, American MLB pitcher, 1973-82 (Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals), writer, and inventor, dies following heart surgery at 69