This Day in Sports History: February 2
Sports in February include the NBA and NHL seasons, the Super Bowl, the NBA All-Star game, and college basketball tournaments. We also have spring training for the MLB, NASCAR’s Daytona…
Sports in February include the NBA and NHL seasons, the Super Bowl, the NBA All-Star game, and college basketball tournaments. We also have spring training for the MLB, NASCAR's Daytona 500, Formula E, some PGA Tour events, and the Winter Olympics. Over the years, Feb. 2 has witnessed many notable moments and stories involving sporting legends. Here are some of them.
Unforgettable Games and Remarkable Records
Great moments in sports history from Feb. 2 included:
- 1892: The longest boxing match under modern rules happened between Harry Sharpe and Frank Crosby. The fight went 77 rounds.
- 1926: Daphne Akhurst Cozens retained his Australasian Championship title.
- 1954: Rio Grande College basketball forward Bevo Francis scored an NCAA record of 113 points against Hillsdale College.
- 1959: Vince Lombardi signed a five-year contract to coach the Green Bay Packers.
- 1968: Basketball player Wilt Chamberlain did a rare double-triple-double of 22 points, 25 rebounds, and 21 assists in a 76ers win.
- 1970: Louisiana State basketball player Pete Maravich became the first to score 3,000 college basketball points.
- 1972: Lefty Gomez, Ross Youngs, and William Harridge got into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
- 1975: Figure skater Dorothy Hamill won the United States Figure Skating Championship.
- 1977: Toronto Maple Leafs Ian Turnbull scored five goals in a game. That was an NHL record for a defenseman.
- 1980: Boxer Salvador Sánchez took down Danny “Little Red” Lopez and got the WBC world featherweight champion title. Sánchez got a 13-round technical knockout.
- 1987: Kansas City Royals pitcher Dennis Leonard, who won 20 games in a season three times during his career, retired from baseball.
- 1992: Kieren Perkins swam a world record time of 14:32.40 in the 1,500m freestyle short course.
- 1997: Coach Scotty Bowman became the first coach in NHL history to win 1,000 games.
- 2003: In the 53rd NHL All-Star Game, the West beat the East 6-5. Danny Heatley was named MVP.
- 2012: Hockey player Sam Gagner became the first player to score eight points in one game for the Edmonton Oilers against the Chicago Blackhawks.
- 2014: The Seattle Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos, 42-8, and won Super Bowl XLVIII. Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith was named Super Bowl MVP.
- 2020: Novak Djokovic beat Dominic Thiem at the Australian Open and got a record-extending eighth title at Melbourne Park.
- 2020: The Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers, 31-20, and won Super Bowl LIV. The MVP of the game was Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Three athletes who stood out on Feb. 2 were Wilt Chamberlain, Scotty Bowman, and Patrick Mahomes.
Chamberlain was a 7'1" force, a four-time MVP, a two-time champion, and the all-time leading rebounder (23,924) over a 14-year career. Bowman's 30-season coaching career made him a legend, with his nine championships as a coach second only to Red Auerbach in major professional North American sports. Mahomes is famous for his incredible arm strength, no-look passes, and three Super Bowl wins (LIV, LVII, LVIII). He is a three-time Super Bowl MVP and two-time NFL MVP.
