This Day in Sports History: August 15

The history of sports is both vast and rich, thanks to the existence of so many different ones and the longevity associated with them. With so much history to cull through, Athlon Sports wanted to offer the opportunity to look back and see what memorable things happened or milestones were reached on a specific date.

With that in mind, August 15 is a day in which Vince Lombardi's Packers first took the field and the 600-home run club welcomed a new member.

1959: The Green Bay Packers took the field for the first time under new head coach Vince Lombardi, losing to the Chicago Bears 19-16 in a preseason game at Milwaukee County Stadium.

1970: Patricia Palinkas became the first woman to play professional football, holding for extra points and field goals for the Atlantic Coast Football League’s Orlando Panthers in a game against the Bridgeport Jets.

1989: San Francisco Giants pitcher Dave Dravecky broke his arm throwing a pitch to Montreal Expos left fielder Tim Raines at Olympic Stadium. He had undergone surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his pitching arm 10 months earlier, and its deterioration forced him to retire and ultimately have it amputated.

1999: Jeff Gordon won the Frontier at the Glen at New York's Watkins Glen International.

2011: Minnesota Twins designated hitter Jim Thome hit his 600th home run off of Detroit Tigers pitcher Daniel Schlereth in a 9-6 win a Comerica Park.

2012: Seattle Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez threw 12 strikeouts and a perfect game in a 1-0 victory against the Tampa Bay Rays at Safeco Field.

— Written by Aaron Tallent, who is part of the Athlon Contributor Network. Tallent is a writer whose articles have appeared in The Sweet Science, FOX Sports' Outkick the Coverage, Liberty Island and The Washington Post. Follow him on Twitter at @AaronTallent.