1. In 1845, the first professional baseball team - the New York Knickerbockers - played their first game against a team from Brooklyn. This marked the beginning of organized baseball in the United States.

2. On October 10, 1904, the New York City Subway system was officially opened to the public. It was the first underground railway system in North America and remains one of the busiest and most iconic transportation systems in the world.

3. In 1927, the legendary jazz musician Duke Ellington made his debut at the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York. The Cotton Club was one of the premier venues for jazz music in the early 20th century and played a key role in the development of the genre.

4. On this day in 1973, the New York Knicks acquired superstar forward Earl Monroe in a trade with the Baltimore Bullets. Monroe would go on to help lead the Knicks to their second NBA championship in 1973.

5. In 2001, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani declared October 10 "Pavarotti Day," in honor of the legendary tenor Luciano Pavarotti. Pavarotti had recently performed a concert to raise money for the victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York City.