May 26, 1938: Estadio Monumental Opens

May 26, 1938: Estadio Monumental opens in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. It is home to Club Atlético River Plate, one of the most popular and successful soccer teams in South America. The 1st game was an exhibition, or a "friendly" in soccer parlance, against another of South America's biggest teams, from across the actual River Plate: Club Atlético Peñarol of Montevideo, Uruguay. River Plate won, 3-1.

The stadium originally had a horseshoe shape, but was enclosed in 1958, raising capacity to 90,000. Another renovation, peaking capacity at 100,000, was undertaken for the 1978 World Cup, for which "El Monumental" was to host the Final, in which Argentina beat the Netherlands. In 1986, the stadium was renamed Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, for the team's late president, who got the stadium built.

Since moving in, "River" have won 36 Primera División championships, plus the 2 they won before, making them, domestically, Argentina's most successful team, with their Buenos Aires arch-rivals, Boca Juniors, close behind with 35. Boca's stadium, La Bombonera, is 10 miles southeast, also along the River Plate. River have won the Copa Libertadores, South America's continental club championship, 4 times: In 1986, 1996, 2015 and 2018.

They got started with 4 league titles in the 1940s, with a 5-man forward line known as La Máquina, "the Machine": Juan Carlos Muñoz, José Manuel Moreno, Adolfo Pedernera, Ángel Labruna and Félix Loustau. Their stars have also included Alfredo Di Stéfano in the late 1940s, Omar Sivori in the 1950s, Daniel Passarella in the 1970s, Hernán Crespo in the 1990s, Javier Saviola at the turn of the 21st Century, and Gonzalo Higuaín in the 2000s.

 

As of May 26, 2022, renovations are underway redevelop the stadium, to remove the existing athletic track, allowing for the addition of more seats. The current plan is to seat 84,567, more than any stadium on the continent, by the start of the 2024-25 season.

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May 26, 1938 was a Thursday. There were 4 baseball games played that day, all in the American League:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-1 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Charles "Red" Ruffing outpitched Lynwood "Schoolboy" Rowe. Lou Gehrig went 0-for-4. Joe DiMaggio went 1-for-5. Hank Greenberg went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-4 at League Park in Cleveland. Shortstop and manager Joe Cronin went 4-for-5 with an RBI. Jimmie Foxx hit a home run.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* And the Washington Senators beat the St. Louis Browns, 12-10 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.