Day Sports History

Feb. 9 1912—The U.S. Tennis Association amends the rules for the men’s singles championship play. The defending champion is required to play through the tournament instead of waiting for the tournament to produce a challenger.

1940—Joe Louis beats Arturo Godoy with a split decision to defend his world heavyweight title at Madison Square Garden.

1966—The NHL doubles in size—from six to 12 teams—when the Owners-Governors award franchises to Los Angeles, MinneapolisSt. Paul, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and St. Louis.

1986—Detroit’s Isiah Thomas scores 30 points and hands out 10 assists to lead the East to a 139-132 win in the All-Star Game in Dallas.

1988—Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins scores a record six points— three goals and three assists—to lead the Wales Conference to a 6-5 victory over the Campbell Conference in the NHL All-Star game.

1991—Terry Norris knocks down Sugar Ray Leonard twice and beats him up over 12 rounds in Leonard’s Madison Square Garden debut and final fight. Norris wins a unanimous decision.

1992—Magic Johnson, playing for the first time since announcing his retirement on Nov. 7, scores a game-high 25 points and hands out nine assists to lead the West to a 153-113 win over the East in the NBA All-Star Game at the Orlando Arena.

1997—Glen Rice breaks two scoring records in an MVP performance and Michael Jordan has the first triple-double in NBA All-Star game history. The East rallies to beat the West, 132-120. Rice, who finishes with 26 points, sets records with 20 in the third quarter and 24 in the second half.