This Day in Sports History: February 14
Sports in February include the NBA and NHL seasons. The Super Bowl, the NBA All-Star game, and college basketball tournaments also happen. We also have spring training for the MLB,…
Sports in February include the NBA and NHL seasons. The Super Bowl, the NBA All-Star game, and college basketball tournaments also happen. 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. 14 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. 14 included:
- 1896: George Lohmann takes a hat trick for England vs. South Africa. It was an 8-7 inning, their lowest ever.
- 1928: Speed skater Clas Thunberg won his second gold medal of the Games and fifth career title.
- 1936: Maribel Vinson wins the U.S. Female Figure Skating Championship.
- 1951: Sugar Ray Robinson defeats Jake LaMotta and takes the middleweight title.
- 1965: Fred Lorenzen won the seventh Daytona 500.
- 1966: Wilt Chamberlain broke the NBA career scoring record at 20,884 points.
- 1971: In the 13th Daytona 500, Richard Petty wins his third Great American Race and goes on to win the inaugural Winston Cup title.
- 1973: Muhammad Ali beat heavyweight boxing champion Joe Bugner by a unanimous points decision in 12 rounds.
- 1980: Cross-country skier Nikolay Zimyatov won the first of three gold medals at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics.
- 1982: In the 24th Daytona 500, Bobby Allison wins with a margin of victory over Cale Yarborough. It was an impressive 23 seconds faster, almost more than half a lap.
- 1988: Golfer Gary Player won the Senior PGA Championship.
- 1992: Sprinter Andre Cason ran a world record time of 6.41 seconds in the 60-meter distance.
- 1993: In the 35th Daytona 500, Dale Jarrett, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, wins from Dale Earnhardt and Geoff Bodine.
- 1994: In the second ESPY Awards, Barry Bonds and Julie Krone won Athlete of the Year.
- 1999: In the 41st Daytona 500, Jeff Gordon wins. It's the first Daytona 500 pole sitter to win the race since Bill Elliott in 1987.
- 2010: The 59th NBA All-Star Game took place at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where the East defeated the West 141-139. Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade was named MVP.
- 2016: The NBA All-Star Game took place at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, where the West defeated the East 196-173. Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder was named MVP.
- 2017: Usain Bolt and Simone Biles won the Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year awards at the Laureus World Sports Awards.
- 2018: Snowboarder Shaun White won an unprecedented third Olympic halfpipe gold medal.
- 2019: Basketball player Russell Westbrook scored a triple-double for the 11th straight game.
Three athletes who stood out on Feb. 14 were Sugar Ray Robinson, Russell Westbrook, and Shaun White.
Robinson is widely considered the greatest pound-for-pound boxer in history, known for his 1940s–1950s dominance in the welterweight and middleweight divisions. Westbrook is a legendary 17-year NBA veteran, widely renowned as one of the most explosive and athletic point guards in basketball history. White is famous for winning three Olympic gold medals in halfpipe (2006, 2010, 2018), securing a record 15 X Games gold medals, and pushing technical innovation in snowboarding.
