July 30, 1952: The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Opens

July 30, 1952: The Chesapeake Bay Bridge opens, connecting mainland Maryland with the State's Eastern Shore. At the time, it was the world's longest continuous over-water steel structure.

This bridge should not be confused with the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, which opened in Virginia in 1964. Both of these conveyances replaced ferry boat systems.

Stretching 4.3 miles, it carries U.S. Routes 50 and 301 from the State capital of Annapolis to Stevensville. It cuts down the travel time from the capital; Baltimore, the State's largest city; and Washington, D.C., the national capital, to the resort towns of Ocean City, Maryland and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

In 1967, a few months after his death, the bridge was officially renamed the Governor William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge. Lane served as Governor of Maryland from 1947 to 1951, and was instrumental in getting the bill for the bridge's construction passed. Nevertheless, as with the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, most locals still refer to it as "The Bay Bridge."

In 1973, to relieve traffic congestion, a second span was added. The original span carries eastbound traffic, and the newer span carries westbound traffic. There has been consideration of a 3rd span at the bridge's location, or possibly a new bridge elsewhere over the Bay.

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July 30, 1952 was a Wednesday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 7-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Lou Kretlow pitched a shutout, allowing only 2 hits: A double by Phil Rizzuto in the 3rd inning, and a single to Joe Collins in the 6th. For the South Siders, Jim Rivera hit a home run.

* A doubleheader was split at the Polo Grounds. The New York Giants won the opener, 10-6. They did this without Willie Mays, who was serving in the Korean War. Alvin Dark and Dusty Rhodes hit home runs, and rookie Hoyt Wilhelm was the winning pitcher, with 6 innings of relief of Jim Hearn. The Chicago Cubs won the nightcap, 6-2.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3 at Ebbets Field. Carl Furillo singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Joe Black was the winning pitcher, in relief of Carl Erskine. Roy Campanella hit a home run. Jackie Robinson pinch-hit for Rocky Bridges, stayed in the game, and went 0-for-2.

* The Boston Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1 at Braves Field in Boston. The Cardinals' run came on a home run by Stan Musial. This would be the Braves' last season in Boston. The next season, they moved to Milwaukee.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-3 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-4 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Dick Brodowski outpitched Bob Feller. The BoSox did this without Ted Williams, who was also serving in the Korean War.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-3 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in Detroit.

* And the Washington Senators beat the St. Louis Browns, 6-2 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. In 1954, the Browns became the Baltimore Orioles, and that would be the beginning of the end of the Senators. The Orioles would benefit from the Bay Bridge much more than did the Senators, although the Washington Nationals now do.

April 15, 1964: The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Opens

April 15, 1964: The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel opens, carrying U.S. Route 13 over, and under, the Chesapeake Bay, connecting Cape Charles, on the Delmarva Peninsula ("Del-mar-va": Delaware, Maryland and Virginia), with the resort city of Virginia Beach.

It is 17.6 miles long, and replaced a ferry service that had been operating since the 1930s. The company sold their ferry boats to the Delaware Bay Authority, which introduced the Cape May-Lewes Ferry service between New Jersey and Delaware.

Theoretically, the span saves people trying to get from the Northeast to the Hampton Roads area, including Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Virginia's 2 largest cities, 95 miles and an hour and a half of driving.

But this is misleading: For most of its run, from Falls Township, Pennsylvania between Trenton and Philadelphia, and Fayetteville, North Carolina, Route 13 is only 2 lanes, 1 in each direction. From 1964 to 1999, this included the Bridge-Tunnel. A 2nd span, carrying southbound traffic over 2 lanes, opened in 1999, leaving the original span to carry northbound traffic over 2 lanes.

In 1987, the span, often abbreviated to the CBBT, was officially named the Lucius J. Kellam Jr. Tunnel. Kellam (1911-1995) was the first Chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission, who got it built.

As of April 15, 2022, there have been 3 incidents involving ships crashing into the bridge, forcing temporary closures for repairs, in 1967, 1970 and 1972; and 16 incidents involving cars going off the bridge and into the water, including 1 death in 2017 and another in 2020.

There is a plan to build an additional span, to make it 4 lanes in each direction. This plan states that it is not expected to be completed before 2040.

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April 15, 1964 was a Wednesday. This was still early in the baseball season. The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox wouldn't open until the next day, against each other. Five games were played:

* The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The game was tied 1-1 going to the bottom of the 8th, when Tony González hit a 3-run home run, making Jim Bunning a winner over Tracy Stallard.

Two days later, the Mets opened Shea Stadium. They went on to a horrible season. The Phillies went on to a great season, until the end, when a 10-game losing streak cost them the Pennant. In other words, the Phillies went 92-70, and their fans ended up feeling worse than those of the Mets, who finished 53-109.

* The Washington Senators beat the Los Angeles Angels, 6-4 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. It was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-4 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Bill Virdon drew a bases-loaded walk to win it in the bottom of the 12th inning. Roberto Clement and Willie Stargell each went 2-for-6. Ernie Banks went 2-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Bob Gibson outpitched Don Drysdale.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Milwaukee Braves, 10-8 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The Giants scored all 10 runs in the 3rd inning, including a home run by Willie Mays. The Braves got home runs by Eddie Mathews and Bob Bailey, while Hank Aaron went 2-for-3 with 2 walks.

The NBA Playoffs were between the Division Finals and the Finals. The Boston Celtics would beat the San Francisco Warriors in 5 games. The Stanley Cup Finals were underway, between Games 2 and 3, tied 1-1. The Toronto Maple Leafs would beat the Detroit Red Wings in 7 games.