This Day in Sports History: February 1
Sports in February include the NBA and NHL seasons, Super Bowl, NBA All-Star game, and college basketball tournaments. We also have spring training for the MLB, NASCAR’s Daytona 500, Formula…
Sports in February include the NBA and NHL seasons, Super Bowl, 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. 1 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. 1 included:
- 1913: Jim Thorpe signed to play baseball with the New York Giants.
- 1948: Johnny Palmer set a 36-hole PGA Tour scoring record with round scores of 62-64 in the Tucson Open.
- 1954: Tennis player Mervyn Rose won his first Grand Slam title.
- 1959: Brooklyn Robin baseball player Zack Wheat gets into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
- 1959: Golfer Willie Goggin won the Senior PGA Championship by one stroke.
- 1965: Tennis player Roy Emerson won his third straight Australian title.
- 1965: Boxer Floyd Patterson beat George Chuvalo on a unanimous decision in 12 rounds. It was a non-title matchup.
- 1968: Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi stepped down from the coaching role.
- 1969: Driver Richard Petty won the Motor Trend 500.
- 1970: New York Rangers goaltender Terry Sawchuk got his 447th and final victory of his career.
- 1976: In the 62nd Rose Bowl, No. 11 UCLA beat No. 1 Ohio State, 23-10.
- 1981: In the 31st NBA All-Star Game, the East beat the West, 123-120, and the MVP was Boston Celtics point guard Nate Archibald.
- 1992: Hockey defenseman Denis Potvin No. 5 was retired. It was the first number to be retired by the New York Islanders.
- 1995: Utah Jazz guard John Stockton passed Magic Johnson's all-time NBA assists mark of 9,221, as the Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets 129-88.
- 1997: Hockey defenseman Ray Bourque became the Boston Bruins all-time scoring leader with 1,341 points.
- 2004: Tennis player Roger Federer won his first Australian title.
- 2004: The New England Patriots beat the Carolina Panthers, 32-29, to win Super Bowl XXXVIII. The MVP of the game was Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
- 2005: Arsenal's record of 33 straight games of being unbeaten at home comes to an end.
- 2009: Tennis player Rafael Nadal won his first Australian title.
- 2009: The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals, 27-23, and won Super Bowl XLIII. The MVP of the game was Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes.
- 2014: Quarterback Peyton Manning became the all-time record-holder for MVP trophies.
- 2025: Anthony Davis gets traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Dončić.
Three athletes who stood out on Feb. 1 were John Stockton, Ray Bourque, and Peyton Manning.
Stockton spent his entire 19-year career (1984–2003) with the Utah Jazz. He is the NBA's all-time leader in assists (15,806) and steals (3,265). Bourque was the face of the Boston Bruins for 21 seasons before winning his only Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2001. Manning is celebrated for his record five MVP awards, two Super Bowl championships (XLI, 50), and 18-season Hall of Fame career with the Colts and Broncos.
