This Day in Sports History: February 13
Sports in February are all about the ultimate bowl game in football, the NBA All-Star Game, various winter sports, the Winter Olympics, and a few stories from legends of the game. The Super Bowl has only fallen on this day once and that was three years ago when the Rams beat the Bengals. Four NBA All-Star games took place and some Australian Tennis Open matches, along with some Olympic Gold. Let’s take a closer look at these and other moments in sports.
The Stars of the NBA and The Super Bowl
Feb. 13th witnessed great moments from legends of both the NBA and the NFL:
- 1977: The 27th NBA All-Star Game took place at MECCA Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the West defeated the East 125-124. The MVP was Julius Erving, a legend of the Philadelphia 76ers.
- 1983: The 33rd NBA All-Star Game took place at The Forum in Inglewood, California, where the East defeated the West 132-123 and the MVP was once again the great Julius Erving. A fun fact about Erving’s All-Star game history is that he was selected as an All-Star in all 16 seasons of his NBA career.
- 1994: The 44th NBA All-Star Game took place at the Target Centre in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the East defeated the West 127-118. The MVP was Scottie Pippen, who, of course, was a key part of the Chicago Bulls dynasty in the ’90s.
- 2000: The 49th NBA All-Star Game took place at the Oakland Arena in Oakland, California, where the West defeated the East 137-127. The All-Star Game MVP trophy was shared by Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs and Shaquille O’Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers, which was only the third time in All-Star Game history that the MVP trophy was jointly awarded.
- 2022: The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in Super Bowl LVI. It was the Rams’ second Super Bowl win in franchise history and the MVP was Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp.
Tennis, Boxing & Winter Sport Records
Feb. 13th has also seen some remarkable individual achievements in the field of tennis, boxing and winter sports.
- 1932: Jack Crawford retained his Australian Open tennis title. He went on to win the tournament four times.
- 1937: Maribel Vinson wins her ninth U.S. figure skating championship.
- 1952: Rocky Marciano knocks out Italian heavyweight boxer Gino Buonvino in the second round at Rhode Island Auditorium in Providence for his 40th straight win.
- 1976: American Dorothy Hamill wins the free skate to clinch the women’s figure skating gold medal at the Innsbruck Winter Olympics.
- 1977: Eric Heiden is the first American to win the world speed skating championship.
The theme of this day is definitely dynasties, not just team ones, but individual ones as well. Jack Crawford won the Australian Open four times in a short span. Each of Pippen, Duncan, and O’Neal’s teams dominated the league from 1990 to 2010. During that span, the Bulls, Spurs, and Lakers combined for 15 of the 21 NBA titles, including eight in a row from 1996 to 2003.
