Historical Events
Daytona 500
22nd Daytona 500: Buddy Baker wins ahead of Bobby Allison and Neil Bonnett
- Derrynaflan Hoard of five priceless 8th/9th century liturgical vessels discovered with metal detectors on Derrynaflan Island, County Tipperary - one of Ireland's most exciting archaeological finds [1]
- Sapporo downhill silver medallist Annemarie Moser-Pröll of Austria goes one better with gold at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics
- Swedish cross-country skier Thomas Wassberg earns first of 4 career Olympic gold medals in the 15k at Lake Placid; wins by 0.01s from Finland's Juha Mieto; closest margin of victory ever in Olympic cross-country skiing
Famous Birthdays
- Al Harrington, American basketball player
- Jason Ritter, American actor and producer (Joan of Arcadia, Gravity Falls, Raising Dion), born in Los Angeles, California
- Klemi Saban, Israeli soccer defender (25 caps; Maccabi Netanya), born in Netanya, Israel
- Shanyn MacEachern, Brampton Ontario, gymnast (Olympics 1996)
Famous Deaths
- Graham Sutherland, English artist (official WWII war artist), dies at 76
- Jerry Fielding, American jazz musician and composer (Lively Ones, Hogan's Heroes), dies at 57
About February 17, 1980
Day of the Week: Sunday
How Long Ago? 43 years, 7 months and 7 days
Leap Year: Yes
Generation: Generation X
Chinese Zodiac: Monkey
Star Sign: Aquarius
Music Charts
#1 Song: Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen
#1 Song: Coward of the County - Kenny Rogers
