Jan 1: On this day in 1959, Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba

With long-time dictator Fulgencio Batista fleeing Cuba in the early morning hours, Fidel Castro and his band of rebels rode victoriously into the city of Havana on Jan. 1, 1959, forever altering the history of the country, the lives of its people and the course of the sport that had been ingrained in the island's culture for almost a century.

By the end of 1961, Castro had banned professional baseball in Cuba, a situation which continues to this day, almost five decades later.