This Day in Tim Wakefield History

A happy 41st birthday today to one of baseball's best citizens, one Timothy Stephen Wakefield. My buddy Adam in Maine sent me a great email today about the esteemed Mr. Wakefield, and other events in history on this date, and like many of Adam's emails, always gives me a good laugh.

I thought I would share it with all of you.

1776
Members of the Continental Congress begin attaching their signatures to the Declaration of Independence.

1907
Hall of Famer Walter Johnson makes his major league debut with the Washington Senators.

1945
President Harry S. Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee conclude the Potsdam conference.

1966
Guided by the Southern Cross, retired Boston Red Sox slugger Ted Williams and two other men journey to Melbourne, Fla., to attend the birth of Timothy Stephen Wakefield, who is given Williams' initials.

1979
New York Yankees catcher Thurman Munson, who couldn't catch the knuckleball, dies in a crash of his private plane in Canton, Ohio.

2000
Despite Wakefield's vociferous protests, Republicans nominate Texas Gov. George W. Bush for president and Dick Cheney for vice president at the party's convention in Philadelphia.

2007
On his 41st birthday, Wakefield becomes the first (and last) pitcher to strike out 28 batters in a 9-inning major league game. The Red Sox lose 1-0 to the Baltimore Orioles when catcher Doug Mirabelli permits four passed balls in one inning, allowing the game's only run to score.

Happy Birthday, Wake.