Today's events in sports history

February 11, 2022
Today in
Sports History
1878 - The first U.S. bicycle club, Boston Bicycle Club, was formed.

1922 - The Toronto St. Patricks and the Ottawa Senators recorded the first tie game in NHL history.

1957 - The NHL Players Association was formed in New York City. Ted Lindsay (Detroit Red Wings) was elected as president.

1966 - Willie Mays became the highest paid player in baseball. He signed a two-year contract with the San Francisco Giants for $130,000 a year.

1968 - The new 20,000 seat Madison Square Garden officially opened in New York. This was the fourth Garden.

1971 - Jean Beliveau (Montreal Canadiens) scored his 500th career goal.

1973 - The Philadelphia 76ers lost their 20th game of a twenty-game losing streak.

1984 - Wayne Gretzky set an NHL record when he scored his 11th short handed goal of the season.

1986 - The single "Superbowl Shuffle" by the Chicago Bears Shufflin' Crew was certified gold by the RIAA.

1990 - In Tokyo, Japan, James "Buster" Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in the tenth round to win the heavyweight championship.

2003 - Mike Modano (Dallas Stars) became only the second American-born NHL player to play in 1,000 games with the same team. All of Modano's games had come with the Minnesota North Stars and Dallas Stars. Brian Leetch (New York Rangers) was the first American-born player to play in 1,000 NHL games.

 

February 12, 2022
Today in
Sports History
1878 - Frederick W. Thayer patented the baseball catcher�s mask.

1879 - The first artificial ice rink opened in North America. It was at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY.

1880 - The National Croquet League was organized in Philadelphia, PA.

1982 - Wayne Gretzky tied the NHL record for points in a season when he got his 153rd point.

1987 - Bill Fitch became the fifth coach in NBA history to get 700 career wins.

1989 - Wayne Gretzky got his 45th career hat trick and achieved a 40+ goal season for the 10th time in his career.

1993 - The San Jose Sharks lost their 17th straight game to tie an NHL record.

1997 - Kevin Johnson reached 1,000 career steals.

2002 - Baseball owners approved the sale of the Florida Marlins and Montreal Expos.

 

February 13, 2022
Today in
Sports History
1920 - The National Negro Baseball League was organized.

1923 - "The Renaissance," the first black pro basketball team, was organized.

1937 - The NFL's Boston Redskins moved to Washington.

1953 - The Philadelphia Athletics changed the name of Shibe Park to Connie Mack Stadium. The change was in honor of their longtime owner and manager.

1965 - Sixteen-year-old Peggy Fleming won the ladies senior figure skating title at Lake Placid, NY.

1973 - Frank Mahovlich (Montreal Canadiens) scored his 1,000th career point in the NHL.

1977 - Julius "Dr. J" Erving played in his first NBA All-Star Game. He was voted MVP with 30-points and 12-rebounds.

1982 - Bryan Trottier (New York Islanders) scored five goals against the Philadelphia Flyers.

1983 - Marvin Gaye sang the U.S. national anthem at the NBA All-Star game.

1983 - The World Boxing Council became the first to cut matches from 15 to 12 rounds.

1990 - Bryan Trottier (New York Islanders) scored his 500th career goal in the NHL.

2002 - Bill Simpson filed a defamation suit against NASCAR for blaming a seat belt made by Simpson Performance Products for the death of Dale Earnhardt a year before. Simpson said that all he wanted was an apology, but when NASCAR refused he filed the suit.

2008 - Roger Clemens denied having taken performance-enhancing drugs in testimony before Congress.

 

February 14, 2022
Today in
Sports History
1934 - The NHL held its first All-Star Game as a benefit for injured NHL star Ace Bailey. Toronto played against a team of All-Stars from the seven other teams in the league.

1966 - Rick Mount of Lebanon, IN, became the first high school, male athlete to be pictured on the cover of "Sports Illustrated".

1966 - Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers set a National Basketball Association record when he reached a career high of 20,884 points after seven NBA seasons.

1966 - CBS bought the rights to the NFL's 1966 and 1967 Championship Games for $2 million per game.

1977 - Al Hill (Philadelphia Flyers) scored five points, 2 goals and 3 assists, in his first NHL game.

1979 - Twenty-year-old rookie, Don Maloney (New York Rangers) scored his first goal in the National Hockey League. It came on his first NHL shot.

1988 - Bobby Allison became the oldest driver to win NASCAR's Daytona 500.

1989 - Mike Tyson and Robin Givens were divorced.

1990 - Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) ended his 46-game scoring streak. The streak was the second-longest in NHL history.

2002 - Greco Roman wrestler Rulon Gardner was stranded 17 hours outside in temperatures that reached 25 below zero. When he was found his body temperature was 88 and his feet were frozen. On March 28, 2002, Gardner had the middle two toes on his right foot amputated due to frostbite.

2003 - A Florida judge issued a warrant for the arrest of Jose Canseco. Canseco had violated his probation that stemmed from a nightclub brawl in 2001. On March 17, he was sentenced to two years of house arrest and three years of probation.

2004 - Sean Burke (Philadelphia Flyers) got his 300th win. Burke was the 20th goalie to reach the milestone.

 

February 15, 2022
Today in
Sports History
1946 - Edith Houghton, at age 33, was signed as a baseball scout by the Philadelphia Phillies becoming the first female scout in the major leagues.

1953 - The first American to win the women�s world figure skating championship was 17-year-old Tenley Albright.

1962 - CBS-TV bought the exclusive rights to college football games from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for a figure of $10,200,000.

1965 - NFL teams pledged not to sign college seniors until they had completed all of their games, including bowl games.

1974 - Phil Esposito (Boston Bruins) scored his 1,000th NHL point.

1975 - Yvan Cournoyer (Montreal Canadiens) scored five goals and two assists against the Chicago Black Hawks.

1980 - Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) tied an NHL record with seven assists in a game against the Washington Capitals. Gretzky also set a rookie record of 96 points.

1996 - The NCAA football rules committee voted to require a tiebreaker in all NCAA football games.

1998 - Dale Earnhardt won NASCAR's Daytona 500 for the first time. The win occurred on his 20th attempt.

 

February 16, 2022
Today in
Sports History
1962 - Jimmy Bostwick defeated his brother, Pete, to win the U.S. Open Court-Tennis championships for the third time.

1969 - Alex Delvecchio (Detroit Red Wings) scored his 1,000th NHL point.

1970 - Joe Frazier began his reign as the undefeated heavyweight world champion when he knocked out Jimmy Ellis in five rounds. He lost the title on January 22, 1973, when he lost for the first time in his professional career to George Foreman.

1972 - Los Angeles Laker Wilt Chamberlain topped the 30,000-point mark in his career during a game against the Phoenix Suns. He was the first NBA player to reach 30,000 points.

1989 - Roger Clemens (Boston Red Sox) signed a three year contract worth $7,500,000.

1992 - The Los Angeles Lakers officially retired Magic Johnson's #32 jersey. Johnson was the fifth Laker player to have his jersey retired. The other players were Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

1992 - Michel Goulet (Chicago Black Hawks) became the 17th player to score 500 career goals.

1997 - Jeff Gordon became the youngest driver to win the Daytona 500.

1997 - Mitch Richmond (Sacramento Kings) scored his 15,000th career point in a game against the Golden State Warriors.

1999 - O.J. Simpson's 1968 Heisman Trophy was sold for $230,000. A court judgment ordered the trophy to be sold to help settle a $33.5 million civil judgment against Simpson for the deaths of his ex-wife and her friend.

2004 - The Pittsburgh Penguins lost their NHL-record 12th consecutive home game.

2004 - Baseball commissioner Bud Selig approved the swap of Alex Rodriguez (Texas Rangers) and Alfonso Soriano (New York Yankees). The Rangers would also get a minor league player in the deal.

2005 - The NHL announced the cancellation of the 2004-2005 season due to a labor dispute. It was the first time a major sports league in North America lost an entire season to a labor dispute.

 

February 17, 2022
Today in
Sports History
1924 - Swimmer Johnny Weissmuller set a world record in the 100-yard freestyle. He did it with a time of 57-2/5 seconds in Miami, FL.

1943 - Joe DiMaggio (New York Yankees) joined the U.S. Army as a voluntary inductee.

1962 - Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia Warriors) scored 67 points against St. Louis.

1967 - Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia Warriors) scored the first of an NBA record 35 consecutive goals without a miss.

1968 - The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opened in Springfield, MA.

1979 - Jerry Sloan became the first player for the Chicago Bulls to have his number retired. He wore #4.

2003 - Emmitt Smith (Dallas Cowboys) and owner Jerry Jones agreed that releasing Smith from the team was a "win-win situation." The formal announcement was made on February 27.

 

February 18, 2022
Today in
Sports History
1918 - Georges Vezina (Montreal Canadiens) recorded the first shutout in NHL history. The event came in the third month of the NHL's first season.

1932 - Sonja Henie won her 6th world women�s figure skating title in Montreal, Canada.

1965 - Frank Gifford announced his retirement from football for a career in broadcasting.

1983 - The Indiana Pacers began a 28 game road losing streak.

1984 - Bill Bradley had his New York Knickerbocker number 24 retired at Madison Square Garden.

1984 - The 4,000,000th NBA point was scored.

1984 - Reed Larson (Detroit Red Wings) became the highest scoring American-born player in NHL history. He passed Tom Williams when he got his 432nd point.

1995 - John Stockton (Utah Jazz) became the first player to register 10,000 assists.

1995 - Deion Sanders was a guest on "Saturday Night Live."

1996 - Frankie Fredericks of Namibia became the first man to run 200 meters under 20 seconds indoors. He set the record at 19.92 seconds.

2001 - NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, Sr., was killed in a crash during the Daytona 500 race.

 

February 19, 2022
Today in
Sports History
1935 - Lou Gehrig signed a contract with the New York Yankees for $30,000.

1942 - The New York Yankees announced that they would admit 5,000 uniformed servicemen free to each of their home ball games during the coming season.

1946 - Danny Gardella became the first major league player to go to the Mexican League.

1965 - The NFL began using six officials during games.

1977 - Rod Gilbert (New York Rangers) scored his 1,000th point.

1996 - Charles Barkley (Phoenix Suns) got his 10,000th career rebound. He became only the 10th NBA player to reach 20,000 points and 10,000 rebounds in a career.

1996 - Patrick Roy (Colorado Avalanche) became the second youngest NHL goaltender and 12th overall to reach 300 career victories.

 

February 20, 2022
Today in
Sports History
1887 - The first minor league baseball association was organized in Pittsburgh.

1929 - The Boston Red Sox announced that they would begin playing games on Sunday.

1930 - Clint Benedict (Montreal Maroons) became the first goalie to wear a mask in the NHL. Benedict wore the mask temporarily during an injury.

1943 - Phil Wrigley and Branch Rickey chartered the All-American Girls Softball League.

1952 - Emmett L. Ashford became the first black umpire in organized baseball. He was authorized to be a substitute in the Southwestern International League.

1958 - Racing jockey Eddie Arcaro got win number 4,000, as he rode the winner at Santa Anita race track in Southern California.

1971 - Phil Esposito (Boston Bruins) became the quickest NHL player to reach 50 goals in a season.

1974 - Gordie Howe came out of retirement to play for the Houston Aeros with his two sons.

1993 - The New York Islanders retired Billy Smith's #31.

1993 - The Florida Marlins opened their first spring training camp.

1997 - Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants) signed a contract worth $22.9 million over 2 years.

2000 - Garth Brooks began training with the New York Mets.

2002 - ESPN and the Liberty Bowl signed a contract that extended through 2008.

2004 - Defenseman Sergei Zubov (Dallas Stars) posted his 600th point.

 

February 21, 2022
Today in
Sports History
1904 - The National Ski Association was formed in Ishpeming, MI.

1968 - An agreement between baseball players and club owners increased the minimum salary for major league players to $10,000 a year.

1970 - Bobby Hull (Chicago Blackhawks) scored his 500th career point.

1971 - Ruth Jensen won $60,000 in the Sears Women's World Classic.

1973 - The Chicago Blackhawks played their 262nd game without being shut out.

1974 - Tom Seaver signed a contract with the New York Mets worth $172,000 a year.

1985 - A NBA attendance record was set when 44,970 people watched a game between Atlanta and Detroit.

1986 - Rollie Fingers refused to shave off his mustache to comply with the policy of the Cincinnati Reds.

1986 - Jimmy Connors was fined $20,000 and was suspended from tennis for ten weeks after he threw a fit while playing against Ivan Lendl.

1996 - The Philadelphia 76ers had their worst offensive performance in over 40 years. They only managed to score 57 points against Miami.

 

February 22, 2022
Today in
Sports History
1860 - Organized baseball�s first game was played in San Francisco, CA.

1962 - Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia Warriors) attempted 34 free throws in a game against St. Louis.

1969 - Barbara Jo Rubin became the first woman to win a U.S. thoroughbred horse race.

1980 - The U.S. beat the U.S.S.R. 4-3 in Olympic hockey en route to a gold medal.

1985 - George Gervin (San Antonio Spurs) scored his 25,000th career point.

1992 - Don Nelson (Golden State) won his 700th games as a coach.

1993 - Glenn Anderson (Toronto Maple Leafs) became the 36th NHL player to score 1,000 points.

1995 - The NFL and CBS Radio agreed to a new four-year contract for an annual 53-game package of games.

 

February 23, 2022
Today in
Sports History
1874 - Walter Winfield patented a game called "sphairistike." More widely known as lawn tennis.

1894 - Ottawa refused to travel to Toronto to play in the first Stanley Cup game. The Cup was awarded to the Montreal AAA.

1957 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the NFL operations did fall within coverage of antitrust laws.

1967 - Jim Ryun set a record in the half-mile run when ran it in 1:48.3.

1968 - Wilt Chamberlain, of the Philadelphia 76ers, became the first player to score 25,000 career points in the NBA.

1983 - Herschel Walker signed a $5 million 3-year contract with the USFL's New Jersey Generals.

1987 - Nate McMillan (Seattle Supersonics) set an NBA record when he had 25 assists against the Los Angeles Clippers.

1991 - North Carolina became the first NCAA team to win 1,500 games.

1997 - Patrick Ewing (New York) entered the top twenty list of all-time scorers in NBA history.

1999 - Garth Brooks attended spring training camp with the San Diego Padres as a non-roster player. The Padres Foundation agreed to contribute to the Touch 'Em All Foundation in lieu of a salary to Brooks.

2000 - Robby Knieval made a successful motorcycle jump of 200 feet over an oncoming train.

 

February 24, 2022
Today in
Sports History
1932 - Malcolm Campbell set a Daytona speed record when he went 253.96 mph.

1937 - Lou Gehrig did a screen test for the role of Tarzan. Johnny Weissmuller eventually got the part.

1980 - Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) became the first player in NHL history to score 100 points in a season before the age of 20.

1980 - In Lake Placid, NY, the U.S. hockey team defeated Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games.

1982 - Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) scored his 77th goal of the season to break the NHL record of 76 held by Phil Esposito. Gretzky ended up with 92 goals for the season and 212 points. He was the first player to finish a season with more than 200 points.

1987 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, of the Los Angeles Lakers, got his first three-point shot in the NBA.

1993 - Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings) scored his 1,000th career point.

 

February 25, 2022
Today in
Sports History
1940 - The New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens played in the first hockey game to be televised in the U.S. The game was aired on W2WBS in New York with one camera in a fixed position. The Rangers beat the Canadiens 6-2.

1941 - The Boston Bruins set an NHL record after going 23 games unbeaten. Their record during the stretch was 15-0-8.

1951 - The first Pan American Games opened in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

1957 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that baseball was the only professional sport exempt from antitrust laws.

1964 - Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) became heavyweight-boxing champion in an upset victory over Sonny Liston.

1978 - O.J. Simpson was a guest on "Saturday Night Live."

1981 - The Boston Bruins and the Minnesota North Stars set a record for most penalties in a game. There were 84 penalties that totaled 392 minutes.

1989 - Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, fired head coach Tom Landry after a 29-year career.

1995 - Major league baseball announced that regular season games would be played in Hawaii for the first time.

2002 - Jayson Williams, the former NBA star, surrendered to New Jersey police. He was charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Costas Christofi. Christofi was killed by a shotgun that was recklessly handled by Williams. Williams was released on $250,000 bail.

2005 - It was announced that the Walt Disney Co. had agreed to sell the Anaheim Mighty Ducks to billionaire Henry Samueli and his wife Susan. Samueli's company was the operator of Arrowhead Pond, the Mighty Ducks' home arena.

 

February 26, 2022
Today in
Sports History
1935 - The New York Yankees released Babe Ruth. Ruth signed with the Boston Braves for $20,000 and a share in the team's profits.

1981 - Edgar F. Kaiser, Jr. purchased the Denver Broncos from Gerald and Allan Phillips.

1985 - Julius Erving (Philadelphia 76ers) became the third on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

1989 - The New York Yankees announced that Tom Seaver would be their new TV sportscaster.

1997 - Philadelphia's "Legion of Doom" line scored 15 points against the Ottawa Senators.

 

February 27, 2022
Today in
Sports History
1908 - Major league baseball adopted a sacrifice fly rule for the first time. It was repealed, reinstated and then changed several times before being permanently accepted in 1954.

1912 - The New York Yankees announced that they would be wearing pinstripes on their uniforms.

1963 - Mickey Mantle signed a contact worth $100,000 with the New York Yankees.

1973 - Dick Allen (Chicago White Sox) signed a contract worth $250,000 a year for three years.

1977 - Stan Mikita (Chicago Blackhawks) scored his 500th goal.

1987 - The NCAA cancelled SMU's (Southern Methodist University) entire 1987 football schedule for gross violations of NCAA rules on athletic corruption.

1996 - The Chicago Bulls reached 50 victories in 56 games to set an NBA record.

2001 - The New Jersey Devils began a streak of 10 consecutive road wins to tie the NHL record.

2002 - The Houston Astros announced that they had struck a deal with Enron to buy back the naming rights of their ballpark for $2.1 million. The ballpark would be called "Astros Field" until a new sponsor came along.

2003 - Emmitt Smith became a free agent for the first time when the Dallas Cowboys released him.

 

February 28, 2022
Today in
Sports History
1931 - The Canadian Rugby Union adopted the forward pass.

1940 - The first televised basketball game was shown. The game featured Fordham University and the University of Pittsburgh from Madison Square Gardens in New York.

1948 - Bud Gartiser set a world record when he cleared the 50-yard low hurdles in 6.8 seconds.

1967 - Wilt Chamberlain set and NBA record with his 35th consecutive field goal.

1987 - Chick Hearn broadcasted his 2,000th consecutive Los Angeles Laker's game.

1988 - Pat Verbeek became the first New Jersey Devil to score 4 goals in a game.

1998 - Mark Messier (Vancouver Canucks) became the fourth NHL player to score 1,600 points.

1999 - Venus and Serena Williams became the first sisters to win WTA Tour events on the same day.

2002 - It was announced that John Madden would be replacing Dennis Miller on "Monday Night Football." Madden signed a four-year $20 million deal with ABC Sports.

 

March 1, 2022
Today in
Sports History
1941 - Elmer Layden was named the first Commissioner of the NFL.

1949 - Joe Louis announced that he was retiring from boxing as world heavyweight boxing champion.

1960 - Gordie Howe was profiled in "LOOK" magazine.

1969 - Mickey Mantle announced his retirement from baseball.

1979 - The NCAA granted ESPN the exclusive rights to telecast collegiate events.

1987 - The Boston Celtics defeated Detroit 112-102 to post win number 2,235.

1988 - Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) got his 1,050th assist to become the NHL's all-time assist leader. Gordie Howe had held the record for 26 years.

1993 - The expansion NHL team owned by Disney was named the Mighty Ducks.

1996 - Lenny Wilkens won his 1,000th game as a coach in the NBA.

1996 - The Dallas Mavericks set a record when they attempted 44 3-point shots in a game against the Vancouver Grizzlies.

1997 - "Bottom Line2" debuted on ESPN2.

2002 - The Vancouver Canucks said that they would bill Ed Belfour (Dallas Stars) for damaging the visiting team's locker room on February 28th. Belfour broke two televisions, a clock and a VCR and damaged the walls of the dressing room after he was pulled during the first period.

2005 - The NHL's board of governors met and emerged fully behind Commissioner Gary Bettman and totally committed to having a season in the fall.