1892 - The FIRST OFFICIAL BASKETBALL GAME was played at a YMCA training school in Springfield, Massachusetts. The players used peach baskets . . . without cutting out the bottom. The game had to be stopped after every basket so someone could climb a ladder and get the ball.
1952 - Texan Patricia McCormick became the FIRST PROFESSIONAL FEMALE BULLFIGHTER to compete in Mexico. She defeated two bulls. (--Insert your own Ellen DeGeneres or k.d. lang joke here.)
1961 - JOHN F. KENNEDY was sworn in as the 35th president of the United States. His inaugural speech included the famous quote, "Ask not what your country can do for you . . . ask what you can do for your country." JFK loved to nail random side-action, ya know . . . just LOVED it.
1973 - JERRY LEE LEWIS agreed to make his first appearance at the "Grand Ole Opry". The Opry accepted him on two conditions . . . 1.) That he perform only country songs and 2.) That he not use any profanity. He violated BOTH requests. Jerry Lee Lewis loved to nail his 13-year-old cousin, ya know . . . just LOVED it.
1981 - RONALD REAGAN was sworn in as the 40th president of the United States. Minutes later, Iran released the 52 American hostages it had held for 444 days.
1982 - OZZY OSBOURNE bit the head off a BAT that some fan threw on stage during a concert in Des Moines, Iowa. Ozzy had to be hospitalized for rabies.
1986 - Finally, the United States observed the MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. federal holiday for the first time!!!
1989 - GEORGE BUSH [THE ELDER] was sworn in as the 41st president of the United States.
1989 - SUPERSTAR LORENZO LAMAS married his third wife, Kathleen Kinmont on his 31st birthday. For some reason, she let SUPERSTAR LORENZO LAMAS get away four years later.
1990 - ROSEANNE married TOM ARNOLD . . . four days after divorcing her first husband. She and Tom split up four years later.
1993 - The amazing AUDREY HEPBURN died of colon cancer at the age of 64.
1993 - BILLY CLINTON was inaugurated as the 42nd U.S. president. Like his hero JFK, Billy Clinton LOVES to nail random side-action . . . just LOVES IT.
1994 - SHANNON FAULKNER became the first female to attend classes at The Citadel, following a long, drawn-out legal battle for the right to enroll. She quit A WEEK LATER because she was a big baby who couldn't handle the isolation and stress LIKE A MAN. (--She's a high school teacher now.)
2005 - GEORGE W. BUSH was inaugurated for his second term.
2009 - BARACK OBAMA was inaugurated as America's first black president . . . and to HARRY REID'S great relief, he didn't have a lick of "negro dialect."
(--You can preview Friday's Back in the Day events here.)