Events in Sports History on February 5

  • 1921 Yankees purchase 20 acres in Bronx for Yankee Stadium

Campbell's Blue Bird Record

1931 Malcolm Campbell sets world land speed record speed of 246.08 mph driving his famous Blue Bird car at Daytona Beach, Florida

  • 1932 American speed skater Jack Shea wins the 1,500m at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics; clinches sprint double after also taking out the 500m
  • 1942 Braves get Tommy Holmes from Yanks for Buddy Hassett and Gene Moore

LaMotta vs. Robinson

1943 Jake LaMotta defeats future multi-weight world boxing champion Sugar Ray Robinson by unanimous points decision in Detroit in the 2nd of their 6 meetings; his only win of their rivalry; Robinson’s first loss in his first 40 pro bouts

  • 1945 Big Racket becomes fastest race horse at 69t.6 kph (440 yd/20.8 s)
  • 1948 18-year-old Dick Button becomes first American men's figure skating Olympic gold medallist at the St. Moritz Winter Games; first to complete a double axel in competition; retains title in 1952
  • 1948 Gretchen Fraser becomes 1st US woman Olympic ski slalom champion
  • 1949 Huaso sets official world equestrian high-jump record, 2.47 m, Chic
  • 1956 Finland goes 1-2 in the ski jumping at the Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics; Antti Hyvärinen takes gold ahead of teammate Aulis Kallakorpi
  • 1956 NY Mayor Robert Wagner & Bkln Boro President Frank Cashmore sponsor a bill to create a $30M Brooklyn Sports Center Authority to build
  • 1956 VII Winter Olympic Games close in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
  • 1958 Test cricket debut of outstanding West Indian spin bowler Lance Gibbs, 2nd Test v Pakistan in Port-of-Spain
  • 1959 Australia regain the Ashes with a 10 wicket victory at Adelaide
  • 1968 Skater Kees Verkerk wins olympic gold in the 1500m
  • 1969 Vince Lombardi, becomes part owner, vice-president, general manager, and head coach of NFL Washington Redskins
  • 1970 1st Test Cricket ton of Barry Richards, 126, 164 balls, 20 fours 1 six
  • 1970 Test Cricket debut of John Traicos, South Africa v Australia, Durban
  • 1972 Bob Douglas is 1st African American elected to Basketball Hall of Fame
  • 1972 German speed skater Erhard Keller wins his 2nd consecutive Olympic 500m gold medal at the Sapporo Winter Games after taking out the event in Grenoble (1968)
  • 1974 Mats Wermelin, Sweden, scores all points in 272-0 basketball win
  • 1976 Last day of Test cricket for West Indian spin bowler Lance Gibbs & Australian opening batsman Ian Redpath, 6th Test in Melbourne

Sugar Ray Leonard's Debut

1977 Future 5-division world boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard makes his professional debut with a 6-round unanimous decision over Luis Vega at Baltimore’s Civic Center

  • 1978 28th NBA All-Star Game, Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Ga: East beats West, 133-125; MVP: Randy Smith, SD Clippers, G
  • 1978 Fred Newman makes 88 consecutive basketball free throws blindfolded
  • 1980 32nd NHL All-Star Game, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit: Wales Conference beats Campbell Conference, 6-3; MVP: Reggie Leach, Philadelphia Flyers, RW
  • 1989 Kareem Abdul-Jabar becomes 1st NBA player to score 38,000 points

Stern Kisses Marshall

1991 Howard Stern kisses NY Giant Leonard Marshall's ass over bet, Stern lost claiming the Giants would lose the Super Bowl

  • 1991 LA King Dave Taylor becomes 29th NHler to score 1000 points
  • 1992 Last day of Test Cricket cricket for Dilip Vengsarkar
  • 1992 Mike Whitney career-best 7-27 at WACA in Test Cricket win v India
  • 1995 NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: AFC beats NFC, 41-13; MVP: Marshall Faulk, Indianapolis Colts, RB, HI
  • 1998 Author Tom Clancy confirms he signed agreement to purchase Minnesota Vikings for slightly more than $200 million, an NFL franchise record

Kerrigan, Harding Interview

1998 Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding talk on FOX (Taped Dec 22nd)

  • 2006 Super Bowl XL, Ford Field, Detroit, MI: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Seattle Seahawks, 21-10; MVP: Hines Ward, Pittsburgh, WR

Pro Football Hall of Fame

2011 Ed Sabol, co-founder of NFL Films, elected for enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Super Bowl XLVI

2012 Super Bowl XLVI, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN: New York Giants beat New England Patriots, 21-17; MVP: Eli Manning, New York, QB

Super Bowl LI

2017 Super Bowl LI, NRG Stadium, Houston, TX: New England Patriots defeat Atlanta Falcons, 34-28; MVP: Tom Brady, New England, QB

  • 2022 NHL All Star Game, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada: Metropolitan All Stars win four-team, 3-on-3 tournament; MVP: Claude Giroux LW Philadelphia Flyers
  • 2022 Six days before his 50th birthday, 11-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater wins his 8th Pipeline title beating 22-year old Hawaiian Seth Moniz in the final
  • 2023 NFL Pro Bowl Games, Las Vegas, Nevada: NFC beats AFC, 35-33 in new format; skills competitions & 3 x non-contact 7-on-7 flag football games rather than actual tackle football game