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Sports in February include the NBA and NHL seasons, Super Bowl, NBA All-Star game, college basketball tournaments, spring training for the MLB, NASCAR’s Daytona 500, Formula E, some PGA Tour Events and the Winter Olympics. Over the years, Feb. 24 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. 24 included:
- 1932: Malcolm Campbell sets the world land speed record with a speed of 253.96 mph, driving his famous Blue Bird car at Daytona Beach, Florida.
- 1952: Norway goes 1-2 in the men’s ski jumping event at the Oslo Winter Olympics, with Arnfinn Bergmann winning gold ahead of teammate Torbjorn Falkanger.
- 1960: Austria goes 1-2 in the men’s slalom at the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics. Ernst Hintersteer wins gold ahead of teammate Hias Leitner.
- 1963: In the fifth Daytona 500, driver Tiny Lund won on four pit stops.
- 1968: Gary Unger began NHL consecutive games record of 914 games.
- 1974: Speed skater Atje Keulen-Deelstra became Women’s Allround World Champion and it was her third consecutive title.
- 1978: Kevin Porter of the New Jersey Nets sets an NBA record with 29 assists in a game.
- 1980: The USA ice hockey team clinches the gold medal with a 4-2 win over Finland at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics. The win came after the 4-3 “Miracle on Ice” victory against the Soviet Union.
- 1982: The Boston Celtics begin an 18-game winning streak.
- 1982: Wayne Gretzky scores an NHL-record 78th goal of the season. At the end of the season, The Great One would end up with 92 goals.
- 1987: Los Angeles Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scores his 36,000th point in a 97-93 win over the Suns in Phoenix.
- 1988: Finnish ski jumper Matti Nykanen wins his third gold medal at the Calgary Winter Olympics, as part of the winning large hill team. He was the normal and large hill individual champion.
- 1989: Panamanian boxing legend Roberto Duran wins fourth world title in different weight divisions when he beats Iran Barkley in a 12-round split decision in Atlantic City. The 37-year-old Duran won the WBC middleweight title.
- 2002: Canada beat the United States 5-2, and won the men’s ice hockey Olympic gold medal at Salt Lake City.
- 2013: In the 55th Daytona 500, Jimmie Johnson won the second Great American race.
- 2020: A memorial service for Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Kobe died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, CA, on January 26th, 2020. Four other people died in the crash, including his daughter Gigi Bryant.
- 2024: Brian Ortega won against Yair Rodríguez at UFC Fight Night 237.
Three athletes who stood out on Feb. 24 were Gary Unger, Kevin Porter, and Matti Nykanen.
Unger starred for the St. Louis Blues in the 1970s, scoring over 30 goals in eight consecutive seasons, and was a 7-time NHL All-Star. Porter is an elite playmaker who led the league in assists four times, notably becoming the first player to record over 1,000 assists in a single season. Nykanen was famous for his five Olympic medals (four gold) and dominant performances in the 1980s.
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