September 19, 1926: Nuovo Stadio Calcistico San Siro -- San Siro New Football Stadium -- opens in the San Siro section of Milan, Italy, about 3 miles west of the center of town. Unlike most sports stadiums in Europe at the time, it was designed specifically for soccer -- known in Italy as "calcio," not a variation of "football" -- without a running track.
The 1st match is a Milan Derby -- or Derby della Madonnina, as Milan is known as "The Madonna's City" -- and Internazionale Milano defeats Associazione Calcio Milan, 6-3. A full house of 35,000 attends.
A.C. Milan, known as simply Milan for short, and as the Rossoneri for their shirts of red and black stripes, have played their home games there ever since. Inter Milan, or just Inter, known as the Nerazzurri for their shirts of black and blue stripes, began playing home games there in 1947.
Expansions were undertaken in 1935 and 1955. In 1987, a renovation began to prepare the stadium for the 1990 World Cup. A minor renovation was undertaken in 2015-16. Current capacity is 75,817, making it the largest stadium in Italy, as well as the most famous.
The stadium hosted 3 games of the 1934 World Cup, which Italy won, as they did in France in 1938, in large part due to Giuseppe Meazza, the Milan-born Inter striker. He died in 1979. The following year, the stadium was officially renamed Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. But it is still called "The San Siro" around the world, and it has surpassed the Duomo as Milan's most famous building.
Since moving in, both Milan teams have been remarkably successful. AC Milan have won 19 league titles, 16 of them in Italy's Serie A since moving in: 1951, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1962, 1968, 1979, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004, 2011 and 2022. They have won the Coppa Italia 5 times: 1967, 1972, 1973, 1977 and 2003 -- although they've never won "The Double," the league and the cup in the same season. They've won the European Cup/UEFA Champions League 7 times, 2nd only to Real Madrid: 1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003 and 2007.
Inter have also won 19 titles, with both Milan teams tied for 2nd among Italian teams behind Juventus. They've won 14 since moving into the San Siro: 1953, 1954, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1971, 1980, 1989, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2021. They've won the Coppa Italia 8 times, 7 since moving in: 1978, 1982, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2022. (UPDATE: They won it again in 2023.) This means they've won 2
Doubles, in 2006 and 2010. And they've won the European Cup/Champions League 3 times: Back-to-back titles in 1964 and 1965, and in 2010, making them the 1st, and still the only, Italian team to win a "European Treble."
The 1960s was the golden age of Italian soccer, with both Milan teams practicing "catenaccio," meaning "padlock," a supreme defensive strategy. Between them, Milan and "Il Grande Inter" won 4 European Cups, and Inter lost 1 other Final, in 7 seasons.
Milan's fans sit in the Curva Sud, the south end; Inter's in the Curva Nord, the north end. Unlike such other Italian rivalries as Roma-Lazio and Juventus-Torino, this rivalry tends to be mostly talk, and violence is rare.
The San Siro hosted 3 games of UEFA Euro 1980, 6 games of the 1990 World Cup, and 4 Finals of the European Cup: 1965, 1970, 2001 and 2016.
By a coincidence that I, as a fan of theirs, have enjoyed, North London team Arsenal F.C. became the 1st British team to beat each of the hosts at the San Siro, both in Champions League play: Inter in 2003, and AC Milan in 2008.
In 2019, a plan to build a new 70,000-seat stadium next door, to be used by both teams, was put forward, intended to be ready for the 2022-23 season. As of September 19, 2022, construction has not yet begun.
UPDATE: It has been announced that the San Siro will also host the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, which will be divided between Milan and 1956 hosts Cortina d'Ampezzo. In 2023, AC Milan announced plans for a separate stadium, next to their club headquarters in the city's southern suburbs. This would leave the new San Siro, if it is ever built, to be home to Inter only. As of the close of the 2023-24 season, construction had still not begun.
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September 19, 1926 was a Sunday. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Duke Snider was born. So was Inside the Actors Studio host James Lipton.
These baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-3 at League Park in Cleveland. Babe Ruth went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, and 2 RBIs. Lou Gehrig went 4-for-5 with a home run and 4 RBIs. Tris Speaker, also the Indians' manager, went 0-for-3 with a walk.
* The New York Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-5 at the Polo Grounds. Bill Terry went 0-for-4. Frankie Frisch went 1-for-4. Rogers Hornsby, also the Cardinals' manager, went 1-for-3 with 2 walks and an RBI.
The Cardinals went on to beat the Yankees in the World Series. After the season, each having worn out their welcome with team management, Frisch and Hornsby were traded for each other. Hornsby wore out his welcome with the Giants in only 1 year, and was traded again; Frisch became not just a bigger star in St. Louis, but the manager.
* The Brooklyn Robins (as the Dodgers were known while Wilbert Robinson managed them from 1914 to 1931) lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-4 at Ebbets Field. Paul Waner went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs. He was a rookie then, and his brother Lloyd came up the next season. Zack Wheat only appeared as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Washington Senators, 8-7 at Navin Field (later Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Walter Johnson only lasted 6 innings, although he was not the losing pitcher. The Senators scored 3 in the top of the 9th to bail him out. But in the bottom of the 9th, Ty Cobb, also the Tigers' manager, singled home Johnny Neun and Heinie Manush to win it.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* The St. Louis Browns beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 5-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Ken Williams hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th, to score Gene Robertson with the winning run.
* Because professional sports on Sunday was still illegal in the Commonwealths of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, the Boston Braves, who were at home, had the day off, having finished a home series with the Chicago Cubs the day before, and starting a new one with the Cincinnati Reds the next day.
* Likewise, the Philadelphia Phillies had finished one with the Cardinals on Saturday the 18th, and started one with the Pirates on Monday the 20th.
And the NFL season opened, with these 4 games:
* The Chicago Cardinals beat the Columbus Tigers, 14-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* The Chicago Bears beat the Milwaukee Badgers, 10-7 at Borchert Field in Milwaukee.
* The Green Bay Packers beat the Detroit Panthers, 21-0 at City Stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
* And the Duluth Eskimos beat the Kansas City Cowboys, 7-0 at Athletic Park in Duluth, Minnesota.
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