On February 27 in years past, a Boston Celtics legend set an NBA record, along with some iconic Olympic moments and two notable cricket milestones. Let’s take a closer look at these and other significant events.
Celtics Records and Free Throws
This day brought up more Boston basketball statistics and a long free throw streak:
- 1959: Boston Celtic Bob Cousy sets an NBA record with 28 assists, as the Celtics score 173 points against the Minneapolis Lakers.
- 1982: Dan Issel of the Denver Nuggets hits on his 63rd consecutive free throw.
Olympic Games
This day had some hockey, skating, and a world record moment:
- 1960: The United States Olympic Ice Hockey Team beats the USSR 3-2, en route to a gold medal.
- 1960: Veikko Hakulinen of Finland wins his third career Olympic cross-country gold medal as part of Finland's 4 x 10k relay team at Squaw Valley, California.
- 1984: Carl Lewis jumps an indoor, world record distance of 8.675 meters.
- 1988: Bonnie Blair of the United States wins the Olympic 500-meter speed skating in a record of 39.1 seconds.
- 1988: Katarina Witt (GDR) wins second consecutive Olympic figure skating.
- 1994: XVII Winter Olympic Games close in Lillehammer, Norway.
Baseball and Cricket Moments
This day featured one of baseball's first games played, along with some notable cricket debuts:
- 1925: Test Cricket debut of Clarrie Grimmett, who took 5-45 and 6-37 vs. England.
- 1937: Australian cricketer Don Bradman scores 169 in the fifth Test match vs. England in 223 minutes, ensuring Australia wins the Ashes 3-2.
- 1963: Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees signs a baseball contract worth 100,000 dollars.
Looking back on Feb. 27th, there are some great historical moments in baseball, like when Mickey Mantle signed a contract that would be worth nearly $1 million today. Carl Lewis, considered one of the greatest athletes of all time, made yet another mark at the Olympics. He is famous for winning nine Olympic gold medals and 10 World Championship medals, including eight golds. He was also named World Athlete of the Century by the IAAF.
Celtics legend Bob Cousy's single-game assist record ranks fifth on the all-time list. Scott Skiles holds the top spot with 30 assists in a game. It's also not every day that a team scores 173 points in a game. Boston's 173 points rank sixth all-time, with the top spot belonging to the 1983-84 Detroit Pistons, who scored 186 points.
