This Day in Sports History: February 8
Sports in February include the NBA and NHL seasons, the Super Bowl, and the NBA All-Star game. We also see college basketball tournaments, spring training for the MLB, NASCAR’s Daytona…
Sports in February include the NBA and NHL seasons, the Super Bowl, and the NBA All-Star game. We also see 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. 8 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. 8 included:
- 1896: The Western Conference formed to be the first Western college football season. It was later renamed to the Big 10 Conference.
- 1932: Speed skater Irving Jaffee won the 10,000-meter distance at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics.
- 1936: The first-ever NFL draft happened. With the first pick in the draft, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Jay Berwanger from the University of Chicago.
- 1945: Paul Brown agreed to coach the new American football expansion team in Cleveland.
- 1960: Boston Celtic Bill Russell became the first NBAer with 50 rebounds.
- 1962: Philadelphia Warriors Wilt Chamberlain scored 59 points in a game against the New York Knicks.
- 1967: The Toronto Maple Leafs lost their 10th game in a row. This was the longest losing streak in Leafs history.
- 1970: Hockey player Gordie Howe became the first NHL player to score 750 goals.
- 1972: Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard got into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
- 1975: The New Orleans Jazz ended a 28-game NBA road losing streak.
- 1981: Figure skater Scott Hamilton won the United States male Figure Skating championship.
- 1983: At the 35th NHL All-Star game, Campbell Conference beat Wales Conference 9-3. The MVP was Edmonton Oilers center Wayne Gretzky.
- 1986: Spud Webb beat Dominique Wilkins to win the NBA Slam Dunk contest.
- 1986: Figure skater Debi Thomas won the United States National Figure Skating Championship.
- 1989: Jockey Chris Antley began a record 64-day consecutive winning streak.
- 1998: At the 48th NBA All-Star game, the East beat the West 135-114. The MVP of the game was Chicago Bulls Forward Michael Jordan.
- 2004: At the NFL Pro Bowl, the NFC beat the AFC 55-52. The MVP was St. Louis Rams quarterback Mark Bulger.
- 2014: Justine and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe claimed gold and silver medals in the moguls freestyle skiing event at the Sochi Winter Olympics.
- 2018: Noriaki Kasai became the first athlete in history to participate in eight Winter Olympics.
- 2022: Alpine skier Matthias Mayer retained his Olympic Super-G title. It was his third Olympic gold medal.
Three athletes who stood out on Feb. 8 were Josh Gibson, Spud Webb, and Noriaki Kasai.
Gibson was known as the "Black Babe Ruth." He dominated for the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords, batting over .400 in recorded league play with massive home run totals. Despite his small stature, Webb played 12 seasons (1985–1997) in the NBA, primarily for the Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings, proving that height was not a barrier to high-flying basketball ability. As of 2026, Kasai is recognized for being the oldest Olympic ski jumping medalist (silver, 2014) and the oldest World Cup winner.
