February 1978 in Sports History

Events in Sport

  • Feb 5 28th NBA All-Star Game, Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Ga: East beats West, 133-125; MVP: Randy Smith, SD Clippers, G
  • Feb 5 Fred Newman makes 88 consecutive basketball free throws blindfolded

Sports History

Feb 11 25th hat trick in NY Islander history, Denis Potvin's 2nd

  • Feb 14 In girls' HS basketball, Chicago Latin beats Harvard St George
  • Feb 15 England all out 64 for 1st loss to NZ in cricket (Geoffrey Boycott captain)
  • Feb 18 1st Iron Man Triathlon (swim, bike ride, marathon) held, Kona, Hawaii

Daytona 500

Feb 19 20th Daytona 500: Bobby Allison takes lead with 11 laps remaining; lowest starting position (33rd) for winner until 2007

  • Feb 24 Kevin Porter, NJ, sets NBA record with 29 assists in a game

Cricket History

Feb 25 England cricket all-rounder Ian Botham scores first Test century, 103 v New Zealand in Christchurch


Birthdays in Sport

  • Feb 2 Annabel Ellwood, Canberra Australia, tennis star (1995 Futures NC)
  • Feb 2 Barry Ferguson, Scottish football player
  • Feb 5 Brian Russell, American football player, born in Scotland, United Kingdom
  • Feb 7 Daniel Van Buyten, Belgian footballer
  • Feb 8 Christa Williams, American softball pitcher (Olympic gold 1996), born in Houston, Texas
  • Feb 9 Airton Daré, Brazilian racing driver
  • Feb 12 Brett Hodgson, Australian rugby league footballer, born in Liverpool, Australia
  • Feb 14 Darius Songaila, Lithuanian basketball player, born in Marijampolė, Lithuania
  • Feb 14 Laurie Schwoy, American soccer forward (Olympics 1996)
  • Feb 14 Richard Hamilton, American basketball player, born in Coatesville, Pennsylvania
  • Feb 16 Tia Hellebaut, Belgian athlete
  • Feb 16 Wasim Jaffer, Indian Cricketer
  • Feb 18 Josip Šimunić, Croatian footballer, born in Canberra, Australia
  • Feb 19 Michalis Konstantinou, Greek-Cypriot footballer
  • Feb 20 Andrea Moody, Abbotsford BC, 4X100 swimmer (Olympics 1996)
  • Feb 23 Karolina Rantamaki, Finnish ice hockey left wing (Finland, Olympics 1998), born in Espoo, Finland
  • Feb 26 Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye, Senegalese footballer, born in Dakar, Senegal
  • Feb 26 Marc Hynes, British racing driver, born in Guildford, United Kingdom
  • Feb 27 James Beattie, English footballer, born in Lancaster, England
  • Feb 28 Benjamin Raich, Austrian alpine ski racer, born in Innsbruck, Austria
  • Feb 28 Jamaal Tinsley, American basketball player, born in Brooklyn, New York
  • Feb 28 Mariano Zabaleta, Argentine tennis player, born in Tandil, Argentina

Deaths in Sport

  • Feb 9 Costante Girardengo, Italian cyclist (b. 1893)
  • Feb 14 Paul Governali, American professional football player (b. 1921)