Events in Sport
- 1899 Stanley Cup, Montreal Arena, Westmount, Quebec: Montreal Victorias beat Winnipeg Victorias, 3-2 to sweep series, 2-0 for CAHL
NHL Record
1919 Cy Denneny of NHL Ottawa Senators scores record 52nd goal
Cy Denneny
- 1922 Kenesaw Mountain Landis resigns his federal judgeship to give full attention to job as Major League Baseball Commissioner
- 1928 Sonja Henie of Norway wins the women’s figure skating gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympic Games; her first of 3 consecutive titles in the event
- 1928 USA 2 beats USA 1 by 0.5s for the 5-man bobsleigh gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Germany 2 takes bronze
- 1928 Johan Grøttumsbråten of Norway wins the Nordic combined gold at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; doubles up with the 18k cross country gold the previous day
- 1928 Norway goes 1-2 in the ski jumping at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics with Alf Andersen taking gold ahead of Sigmund Ruud
- 1936 NHL record 32 points scored, NY Americans (28) & Mont Maroons (24)
- 1943 A syndicate headed by New York lumberman William D Cox buys MLB's Philadelphia Phillies for $850,000; 33 year-old Cox is youngest owner in baseball
- 1944 15-year-old Joe Nuxhall signs a contract to play baseball with the Cincinnati Reds just one day after playing in a high school basketball game; debuts later that year
- 1951 3 City College of NY basketball players admit to accepting bribes
- 1952 Norwegian speed skater Hjalmar Anderson wins his 3rd gold medal of the Oslo Winter Olympics when he claims the 10,000m in Olympic record 16:45.8; also wins gold in 1,500m and 5,000m
- 1960 VIII Winter Olympic Games open in Squaw Valley, California
- 1961 Henk van der Grift becomes world champion skater
- 1962 4th Daytona 500: Race winner Fireball Roberts dominates the event, leading 144 of the 200 laps
- 1967 Softball pitcher Eddie Feigner strikes out 6 straight major leaguers
- 1968 X Winter Olympic Games close in Grenoble, France
- 1968 After winning men's luge singles Olympic gold medal in Innsbruck (1964), Thomas Köhler of Germany teams with Klaus Bonsack to take out the doubles in Grenoble
- 1973 15th Daytona 500: Richard Petty wins his 4th Great American Race by more than 2 laps from Bobby Isaac
- 1977 West Indies cricket fast bowlers Joel Garner (4/130) and (Colin Croft 3/85) debut in drawn 1st Test v Pakistan at Bridgetown, Barbados
- 1978 1st Iron Man Triathlon (swim, bike ride, marathon) held, Kona, Hawaii
- 1979 21st Daytona 500: Richard Petty wins after race leaders Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison collide with each other on final lap; first 500 mile race broadcast from start to finish
- 1980 Soviet figure skater Irina Rodnina wins her 3rd consecutive Olympic pairs title at Lake Placid; gold medals with husband Alexander Zaitsev (1976, 80) and Alexei Ulanov (1972)
- 1980 East German cross country skier Barbara Petzold wins first of 2 gold medals at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics in women's 10k; also takes gold as part of 4 x 5k relay team
Event of Interest
1981 20-year-old Edmonton center Wayne Gretzky becomes first player in NHL history to score 5 career hat-tricks before age 21; scores 5 goals and 2 assists in 9-2 Oilers' home win against St. Louis
Wayne Gretzky
- 1983 Indiana Pacers lose, 121-94 in Milwaukee; begin a 28 NBA game losing streak on the road
- 1983 Right wing Lanny McDonald becomes the first player in NHL franchise Calgary Flames' history to score 50 goals in a season in a 5-1 loss to Buffalo Sabres
- 1984 Finnish cross-country skier Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen wins the 20k gold medal at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics; sweeps all 3 individual events, also winning 5k and 10k events
- 1984 East German figure skater Katarina Witt wins first of 2 consecutive women's singles gold medals at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics; also wins gold in Calgary (1988)
- 1984 Finnish ski jumper Matti Nykänen wins first of 4 career Olympic gold medals in the Large Hill individual event at the Sarajevo Winter Games
- 1986 San Antonio guard Alvin Robertson scores NBA's 2nd quadruple double-20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists & 10 steals in 120-114 win over Phoenix Suns
- 1990 32nd Daytona 500: Derrike Cope wins after Dale Earnhardt shreds right rear tyre on last lap
Event of Interest
1991 Edmonton Oiler goalie Grant Fuhr returns to NHL after season-long suspension for substance abuse & shuts out NJ Devils 4-0
Grant Fuhr
- 1994 Shreveport Pirates join Canadian Football League as 4th US-based team; fold 1995
Event of Interest
1996 First ODI for Kenya national cricket team in Cricket World Cup v India: Sachin Tendulkar scores 127*
Sachin Tendulkar
- 1996 38th Daytona 500: Dale Jarrett wins his 2nd Great American race ahead of Dale Earnhardt and Ken Schrader
- 1998 NY Rangers fire head coach Colin Campbell
- 2001 43rd Daytona 500: Michael Waltrip wins tragic race; last lap crash claims life of Dale Earnhardt, prompting sport to implement new safety procedures
Event of Interest
2004 Greg Maddux signs with the Chicago Cubs, the team he began his career with
Greg Maddux
NBA All-Star Game
2007 56th NBA All-Star Game, Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, NV: West beats East, 153-132; MVP: Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers, F
Kobe Bryant
- 2007 49th Daytona 500: Kevin Harvick wins by 0.02s over Mark Martin in the closest finish since the first race at Daytona in 1959
Event of Interest
2008 Laureus World Sports Awards, Marinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia: Sportsman: Roger Federer; Sportswoman: Justine Henin; Team: South African Men's National Rugby Union team
Roger Federer
- 2014 Netherlands sweeps the medals in the men's 1,000m speed skating at the Sochi Winter Olympics; Jorrit Bergsma wins gold ahead of team mates Sven Kramer and Bob de Jong
- 2014 American snowboarder David Wise wins first of 2 consecutive Olympic halfpipe gold medals in Sochi; wins again in Pyeongchang (2018)
NBA All-Star Game
2018 NBA All Star Game, Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA: Team LeBron beats Team Curry, 148-145; MVP: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers, F
LeBron James
- 2018 Frenchman Martin Fourcade wins his 2nd of 3 gold medals at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the 15k mass start biathlon; also wins men's 12.5k pursuit & mixed relay
- 2018 60th Daytona 500: Austin Dillon wins after multi-car wreck sends race into overtime (207 laps) ahead of rookie Darrell Wallace Jr
- 2018 After taking out the men's combined gold medal, Austrian alpine skier Marcel Hirscher wins the giant slalom at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics
- 2019 NHL hockey team Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon agrees to invest $250 million into the Alliance of American Football; named new chairman of the AAF
Event of Interest
2019 Laureus World Sports Awards, Monte-Carlo Sporting, Monaco: Sportsman: Novak Đoković; Sportswoman: Simone Biles; Team: French Men's National Football team
Simone Biles
Novak Đoković
Birthdays in Sport
- 1853 August Belmont Jr, breeder (Man 'O War)/founder (NY Jockey Club)
- 1895 George "The Gipper" Gipp, American football player (Notre Dame), born in Laurium, Michigan (d. 1920)
- 1909 Matti Jarvinen, Finland, javelin thrower (Olympic gold 1932)
- 1926 Len Ford, NFL end (Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers)
- 1927 Fazal Mahmood, Pakistani cricketer (Pakistani medium-pace workhorse 1952-62), born in Lahore, Pakistan (d. 2005)
- 1927 Luis Arroyo, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1928 Jim McElreath, auto racer (1970 Ontario 500)
- 1928 Tom Johnson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1929 Lou Gorman, American baseball executive (general manager Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox), born in Providence, Rhode Island (d. 2011)
- 1931 Bob St. Clair "The Geek", American football player, born in San Francisco, California
- 1933 Sir Bobby Robson, English soccer forward, coach (20 caps; England manager 1982-90), born in Sacriston, County Durham (d. 2009)
- 1937 Jeff Farrell, American swimmer (Olympics 2 gold-1960)
- 1938 Barry Knight, English cricketer (England all-rounder mid-60s)
- 1938 Manny Mota, Dominican baseball outfielder (LA Dodgers), born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- 1939 Dal Maxvill, American baseball player
- 1944 Pat Bowlen, American Pro Football Hall of Fame team owner (Denver Broncos), born in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin (d. 2019)
- 1945 Judy Rankin, American golfer (US Open, Titleholders C'ship 1972 runner-up; 26 LPGA Tour wins), born in St Louis, Missouri
- 1947 Carlos A Lopes, Portuguese marathon runner (Olympic gold 1984)
- 1947 Keith Nelson, New Zealand soccer striker (20 caps; Mount Wellington), born in Renfrew, Scotland (d. 2020)
- 1948 Bruce Francis, Australian cricketer (Australian opener in 3 Tests 1972), born in Mosman, Australia
- 1950 Bruce Kison, American baseball pitcher (World Series 1971, 79), born in Bradenton, Florida (d. 2018)
- 1957 Marita Koch, German 400m sprinter (Olympic gold 1980), born in Wismar, Germany
- 1958 Peter Koech, Kenyan 3K steeplechaser (Olympic silver 1988), born in Kiliburani, Kenya
- 1960 Andy Moog, Canadian NHL goalie (Oilers, Bruins, Olympics-Canada-1988), born in Penticton, Canada
- 1960 Roger Wijesuriya, Sri Lankan cricketer (bowling avg 294 in 4 Tests for Sri Lanka), born in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
- 1961 Alycia Moulton, American tennis player, born in Sacramento, California
- 1962 Gary Reasons, American NFL linebacker (NY Giants), born in Crowley, Texas
- 1962 Simon Fletcher, American NFL linebacker (Denver Broncos), born in Bay City, Texas
- 1963 John Gesek, American NFL center (Washington Redskins), born in San Francisco, California
- 1963 Rob Andrew, English rugby player, born in Richmond, United Kingdom
- 1964 Kevin Tapani, American baseball pitcher (Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins), born in Des Moines, Iowa
- 1966 Kris King, Canadian NHL left wing (Winnipeg Jets), born in Hornepayne, Canada
- 1966 Phillip De Freitas, English cricket pace bowler (in Dominica England 1986-95), born in Scotts Head, Dominica
- 1967 Colin Jackson, Welsh 100m hurdler (Olympic silver 1988), born in Cardiff, Wales
- 1967 Matt Turner, American baseball pitcher (Florida Marlins), born in Lexington, Kentucky (d. 2019)
- 1967 Roberto Baggio, Italian footballer, (FIFA World Player of the Year 1993), born in Caldogno, Italy
- 1969 Alexander Mogilny, Russian ice hockey player & 1st soviet to defect to NHL (Sabres), born in Khabarovsk, Russia
- 1970 Tyler Green, American baseball pitcher (Philadelphia Phillies), born in Springfield, Ohio
- 1971 George Teague, American NFL safety (Miami Dolphins, Green Bay Packers), born in Oscoda, Michigan
- 1971 Constantin Popa, Romanian-Israeli basketball player, born in Bucharest, Romania
- 1972 Lubomir Rybovic, Slovakian hockey forward (Team Slovakia), born in Spišská Nová Ves, Slovakia
- 1973 Claude Makélélé, French footballer, born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- 1974 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Russian tennis player (French Open 1996, Australian Open 1999), born in Sochi, Russia
- 1974 Jamey Carroll, American baseball player, born in Evansville, Indiana
- 1975 Scott Tucker, American 400m/800m freestyle relay (Olympics 1996), born in Birmingham, Alabama
- 1975 Gary Neville, English footballer, born in Bury, United Kingdom
- 1976 Chanda Rubin, American tennis player (1996 Australian Open doubles), born in Lafayette, Louisiana
- 1976 Jason Podollan, Canadian NHL center (Florida Panthers), born in Vernon, Canada
- 1976 Leilani Munter, American race car driver, born in Rochester, Minnesota
- 1977 Kátia, Brazilian footballer, born in Goiânia, Brazil
- 1977 Chrissie Wellington, British triathlete, born in Bury St Edmunds, United Kingdom
- 1978 Josip Šimunić, Croatian footballer, born in Canberra, Australia
- 1979 Julia Greville, Australian swimmer (Olympics 1996), born in Perth, Australia
- 1980 Alison Rachel Fitch, New Zealand swimmer (Olympics 1996), born in Hamilton, New Zealand
- 1980 Nikolai Antropov, Kazakh ice hockey player, born in Ust'-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan
- 1981 Andrei Kirilenko, Russian basketball player, born in Izhevsk, Russia
- 1981 Ivan Sproule, Irish footballer, born in Castlederg, United Kingdom
- 1981 Alex Rios, American baseball player, born in Coffee County, Alabama
- 1983 Jermaine Jenas, English footballer, born in Nottingham, United Kingdom
- 1983 Jason Maxiell, American basketball player, born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1983 Roberta Vinci, Italian tennis player (5 Grand Slam doubles titles), born in Taranto, Italy
- 1985 Anton Ferdinand, English footballer, born in Peckham, London
- 1986 Marc Torrejón, Spanish footballer, born in Barcelona, Spain
Weddings in Sport
Wedding of Interest
1922 Football player George Halas (27) weds Minnie Bushing
George Halas
Wedding of Interest
1946 MLB baseball player Hank Greenberg (35) weds heiress Caral Gimbel in Sea Island, Georgia
Hank Greenberg
- 1989 Baseball player Steve Garvey weds Candace Thomas while being accused of fathering children by two other women
Deaths in Sport
- 1911 Bill Murdoch, cricketer, dies while watching Aust v South Africa Test
- 1933 James J. Corbett, American boxer (world heavyweight champion 1892-97), dies at 66
- 1975 Nazir Ali, Indian cricket all-rounder (2 Tests; first Indian Test 1932), dies at 68
- 1998 Harry Caray, American Baseball Hall of Fame broadcaster (Chicago Cubs), dies of heart attack complications at 83
- 1998 Robbie James, Welsh footballer (b. 1957)
- 2001 Dale Earnhardt, American auto racer (7 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championships), dies in crash during Daytona 500 at 49
- 2001 Eddie Mathews, American hall of fame third baseman (Milwaukee Brave) who hit 512 home runs, dies at 69
- 2008 Mickey Renaud, Canadian professional ice hockey player (b. 1988)
- 2015 Jerome Kersey, American NBA forward (Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers), dies of a pulmonary embolism at 52
- 2019 T. J. Cunningham, American NFL safety (Seattle Seahawks), dies at 46
