This Day in History for August 11 – Watts Riots Begin and More

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history:

1929 – Babe Ruth becomes the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio (More info)

1934 – The first civilian prisoners arrive at the Federal prison on Alcatraz Island (More info)

1965 – Following the arrest of a young black motorist, the predominately black neighborhood of Watts in Los Angeles erupts in riots that last six days and left 34 dead (More info)

1973 – The nostalgic coming-of-age film 'American Graffiti' debuts (More info)

1994 – Professional baseball players go on strike, starting the longest work stoppage in league history and resulting in the cancellation of that year's World Series (More info)