Events in Sport
- 1926 NFL rules college students ineligible until college classes graduates
- 1926 St Louis Browns acquire catcher Wally Schang from NY Yankees
- 1932 1st Olympic dog sled race at Lake Placid, New York (demonstration sport)
- 1936 IVWinter Olympic Games open in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
- 1947 Compton & Arthur Morris both complete dual tons in same Test Cricket
Donald Bradman
- 1953 Ian Craig makes Test Cricket debut at 17 yrs 239 days, youngest Aussie
Event of Interest
1958 Ted Williams signs with Red Sox for $135,000, making him highest paid
Ted Williams
- 1958 21 dead in air crash in Munich; 7 of those are from the Manchester United football team
Boxing Title Fight
1967 Muhammad Ali TKOs Ernie Terrell in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
Muhammad Ali
- 1968 X Winter Olympic Games opens in Grenoble, France
- 1970 NBA expands to 18 teams with Buffalo, Cleveland, Houston & Portland
- 1971 1st time a golf ball is hit on Moon (by Alan Shepard)
- 1974 3rd time Rangers shut-out Islanders 6-0
- 1977 4th time Rangers shut-out Islanders 4-0
- 1983 NFL Pro Bowl: NFC beats AFC 20-19
- 1986 NJ Devil Peter McNab becomes 42nd NHLer to score 350 goals
Event of Interest
1990 Brett Hull becomes 1st son of NHL 50 goal scorer (Bobby) to score 50
Brett Hull
Boxing Title Fight
1993 Riddick Bowe TKOs Michael Dokes in 1 for heavyweight boxing title
Riddick Bowe
Event of Interest
1995 Darryl Strawberry suspended from baseball for 60 days
Darryl Strawberry
- 1995 Greg Blewett scores his 2nd century in his 2nd Test Cricket
- 1998 Twins trade Chuck Knoblauch to NY Yankees for $3M & 4 minor leaguers
- 1999 NFL Pro Bowl: AFC beats NFC 23-10
- 2000 NFL Pro Bowl: NFC beats AFC 51-31
- 2000 50th NHL All-Star Game: World beats North America 9-4 at Toronto, Ontario
- 2005 Super Bowl XXXIX, Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville: New England Patriots beat Philadelphia Eagles, 24-21; MVP: Deion Branch, New England, WR
Event of Interest
2011 Super Bowl XLV, Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas: Green Bay Packers beat Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-25; MVP: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay, QB
Aaron Rodgers
- 2018 Brazilian jockey Jorge Ricardo equals world record number of victories for a jockey - 12,844 in Rio de Janeiro
Birthdays in Sport
- 1895 George Herman (Babe) Ruth, American Baseball Hall of Fame slugger, born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1948)
- 1903 John Dunning, cricketer (NZ medium-fast bowler of 30's)
- 1910 George H Poyser, English soccer player/manager (Brentford)
- 1911 A W "Dooley" Briscoe, cricketer (batted in 2 Tests for South Africa 30's)
- 1914 Forrest Towns, American athlete (Olympic gold 110m hurdles 1936), born in Fitzgerald, Georgia (d. 1991)
- 1919 Lindsay Tuckett, cricketer (son of Len, 9 Tests for South Africa 1947-49)
- 1921 Bob Scott [Robert], Rugby player (All Black, 1946-54), born in Wellington, New Zealand (d. 2012)
- 1924 Billy Wright, English soccer player
- 1927 Smokey Burgess, baseball catcher (Pittsburgh Pirates)
- 1929 Sixten Jernberg, Swedish skier (Olympic gold 1956/60/64), (d. 2012)
- 1931 Fred Trueman, England cricket fast bowler (England 67 Tests, 307 wickets), born in Stainton, England (d. 2006)
- 1940 Jimmy Tarbuck, English comic/golfer
- 1947 Charles Hickcox, American 200m/400m medley swimmer (Olympic-3 gold-1968)
- 1949 Manuel Orantes, tennis champ (US Open-1975)
- 1949 Richie Zisk, American retired baseball player and pro scout (Chicago Cubs), born in Brooklyn, New York
- 1950 Rich Glover, American NFL player, born in Bayonne, New Jersey
- 1951 Marco Antônio, Brazilian footballer
- 1952 Richard Charsworth, Australian women field hockey head coach (Olympics 1996)
- 1953 Susie Hutchison, Flintridge California, equestrian show jumper (Olymp-96)
- 1955 Eric Money, American NBA player, born in Detroit, Michigan
- 1958 Bill Dawley, baseball player
- 1958 Kelly Leadbetter, LPGA golfer (1986 Hennessy French Open), born in Phoenix, Arizona
- 1958 Mark Hamilton, sprint kayak Olympics 1996), born in Louisville, Kentucky
- 1958 Simon Baker, Australian speed walker, (Olympics-84, 88, 96)
- 1961 Bill Lester, American racecar driver
- 1963 David Capel, cricketer (England all-rounder in 15 Tests 1987-90)
- 1963 Mike Hough, NHL left wing (Florida Panthers), born in Montreal, Quebec
- 1966 Alex Antonitsch, Austrian tennis star
- 1966 Tom Tupa, NFL punter/quarterback (Cleveland Browns, NE Patriots)
- 1967 Bennie Dekker, Dutch soccer player (NEC/AZ/De Graafschap)
- 1967 Mike Evans, WLAF defensive tackle (Amsterdam Admirals)
- 1967 Randy Hilliard, NFL defensive back (Denver Broncos-Super Bowl 32)
- 1968 Imtiaz Abbasi, UAE cricket wicket-keeper (World Cup 1996)
- 1968 Malika Mahfoud, Copenhagen Denmark, golfer (Gippsland Ladies Amateur)
- 1968 Richard Newbill, WLAF linebacker (London Monarchs)
- 1968 Adolfo Valencia, Colombian footballer
- 1969 Anna Acker-Macosko, Marshfield WI, LPGA golfer (1995 Gold Coast Tour)
- 1969 Bob Wickman, Green Bay WI, pitcher (Chicago White Sox, NY Yankees)
- 1969 Greg Patrick, WLAF safety (Frankfurt Galaxy)
- 1969 James Jones, NFL defensive tackle (Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens)
- 1969 Kurt Abbott, American baseball player (Florida Marlins)
- 1969 Rajindra Dhanraj, Trinidad cricket leg-spinner (WI 1994-95)
- 1969 Tim Sherwood, English footballer and manager, born in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire
- 1970 Jeff Rouse, American 50m/100m backstroke swimmer (Olymp-gold/silver-92, 96)
- 1970 Mark Hutton, Adelaide Australia, pitcher (NY Yankees)
- 1970 Per Frandsen, Danish footballer
- 1971 Brad Hogg, cricketer (WA chinaman all-rounder, Australia v India 1996)
- 1971 Carlos Rogers, NBA forward/center (Toronto Raptors)
- 1971 Lance Bade, US double trap (Olympic bronze 1996), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
- 1971 Mana Endo, tennis star (1996 3rd round Aust Open), born in Hiroshima, Japan
- 1971 Peter Tchernyshev, dance skater (& Naomi Lang), born in St Petersburg, Russia
- 1972 David Binn, NFL safety (San Diego Chargers)
- 1972 Mark Labbrook, Australian 200m/400m runner (Olympics 1996)
- 1972 Shawn Respert, NBA guard (Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors)
- 1973 Arie Obdam, Dutch soccer player (FC Volendam)
- 1973 Fred Miller, tackle (St Louis Rams)
- 1973 Lulama Masikazana, cricket wicket-keeper (Kwazulu for E Province)
- 1974 Nathan Davis, American NFL defensive linemen (Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys), born in Hartford, Connecticut
- 1974 Olaf Lindenbergh, soccer player (Ajax, De Graafschap)
- 1975 Chad Allen, baseball outfielder (Olympic bronze 1996), born in Dallas, Texas
- 1975 Leo Insam, hockey defenseman (Team Italy 1998)
- 1976 Kim Zmeskal, US gymnast (Olympic-92), born in Houston, Texas
- 1976 Tanja Frieden, Swiss snowboarder
- 1976 Colin Teo, Singaporean Grand Prix driver
- 1977 Jason Euell, English-born footballer
- 1981 Ty Warren, National Football League defensive lineman
- 1983 Brodie Croyle, American football player
- 1983 S Sreesanth, Indian cricketer
- 1983 Jamie Whincup, Australian racing driver
- 1984 Darren Bent, English footballer
- 1985 Yang Yu, Chinese swimmer
- 1985 Joji Kato, Japanese speed skater
- 1985 Kris Humphries, American basketball player
- 1986 Brendan Taylor, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1989 Craig Cathcart, Irish footballer
Deaths in Sport
- 1927 Sam Maguire, Irish Republican and Gaelic footballer (b. 1879)
- 1958 David Pegg, English footballer (b. 1935)
- 1958 Tommy Taylor, English footballer (b. 1932)
- 1958 Geoff Bent, English footballer (b. 1932)
- 1958 Roger Byrne, English footballer (b. 1929)
- 1958 Mark Jones, English footballer (b. 1933)
- 1958 Frank Swift, English footballer and journalist (b. 1913)
- 1958 Walter Crickmer, English football club secretary and manager
- 1964 W L Cornford, England cricket wicket-keeper (4 Tests v NZ 1930), dies
Arthur Ashe
1993 Arthur Ashe, American tennis player (3 Grand Slam singles titles), dies of aids related pneumonia at 49
Arthur Ashe
- 2007 Lew Burdette, American baseball player (b. 1926)
- 2007 Willye White, American athlete (b. 1939)
- 2008 Tony Rolt, English racing driver (b. 1918)
- 2014 Ralph Kiner, HR hitter (Pittsburgh Pirates) and sportscaster (NY Mets), dies at 91
- 2015 Norm Drucker, American basketball referee, dies at 94
- 2017 Joost can der Westhuizen, South African rugby player, dies of motor neurone disease at 45
February in History
I'm Not Gay Insists 'Fruit-Flavoured, Mincing' Liberace
Entertainer Liberace died on this day, going to his grave insisting he was not gay. But his death from AIDS told a different story . . .
February 4, 1987
Soccer Star Dodges TV Trap
How did a 'This Is Your Life' surprise for footballer Danny Blanchflower backfire so badly and end with the Tottenham Hotspur star storming off the set?
February 6, 1961
2,000-year-old Glass Treasure Shattered by a Drunk
One of the British Museum's treasured pieces of Roman antiquity was shattered on this day by a drunken visitor.
February 7, 1845
Earthquakes and a Book Rock London
In the 18th Century, Englishmen went into a panic when London, of all places, was hit by earthquakes. But was there a stronger force than Mother Nature at work?
February 8, 1750