Today is Friday, February 3, 2023

Today in
Sports History

1876 - Albert Spalding and his brother started a sporting goods store. They manufactured the first official baseball, tennis ball, basketball, golf ball and football.

1912 - In the U.S., professional football set some new rules. The field was shortened to 100 yards, touchdowns were to be worth six points instead of five, four downs would be allowed instead of three and the kickoff was moved from midfield to the 40 yard line.

1944 - Syd Howe (Detroit Red Wings) scored six goals in a 12-6 win over the New York Rangers.

1951 - Dick Button won the U.S. figure skating title for the sixth time.

1972 - The first Winter Olympics in Asia were held at Sapporo, Japan.

1979 - The Minnesota Twins traded Rod Carew to California for four players.

1984 - At Madison Square Garden in New York City Carl Lewis beat his own world record in the long jump by 9-1/4 inches.

1990 - Darryl Strawberry (New York Mets) voluntarily entered an Alcohol rehab center.

1998 - Dino Ciccarelli (Florida Panthers) became the 9th NHL player to score 600 career goals.

2001 - The XFL debuted. The Las Vegas Outlaws beat the New York/New Jersey Hitman 19-0 and the Orlando Rage beat the Chicago Enforcers 33-29.

2002 - The New England Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI 20-17 over the Los Angeles Rams. It was the first Super Bowl win for the Patriots. The game ended with a last second field goal. Britney Spears performed the national anthem.


Sports Quote

We're going to turn this team around 360 degrees. - Jason Kidd, upon his drafting to the Dallas Mavericks