Buoyed by Billick’s pep talk, Terps rout UNC in basketball
FEB. 20, 2001: Buoyed by a pregame pep talk by Brian Billick, coach of the Super Bowl champion Ravens, the slumping Maryland men’s basketball team routs North Carolina State, 95-66, at Cole Field House. Juan Dixon (30 points) hits 11 of his 12 shots from the field.
FEB. 20, 1972: Dealt by the Orioles to Los Angeles in an offseason trade, Frank Robinson, 36, signs a $140,000 contract with the Dodgers.
FEB. 17, 1959: Jockey Bobby Corle, 23, who suffered a broken leg three months ago, rides four winners at Bowie Race Course — including three in a row.
FEB. 22, 1955: Art Donovan is honored as the Colts Lineman of 1954 by 600 football fans at the Lord Baltimore Hotel. “Fatso” receives a $4,000 bond, a diamond-studded watch, a key to the city from Mayor Tommy D’Alesandro and a life-sized caricature of himself.
Feb. 23, 1949: In a 68-46 basketball win over Johns Hopkins at Homewood, Loyola College’s Jim Lacy scores 21 points, giving him 1,999 for his career. He’ll finish with 2,199 — the first player in NCAA history to top the 2,000 mark.
FEB. 22, 1941: Paul McNeil, Maryland’s star light heavyweight wrestler, wins his 36th consecutive bout in the Terps’ 21-11 win over Duke at College Park. A senior, McNeil will finish his college career undefeated (44-0).
FEB. 20, 1938: Harry Jeffra, Baltimore’s world bantamweight boxing champ, loses his title to Sixto Escobar of Puerto Rico in a 15-round decision in San Juan.
FEB. 17, 1931: Ed Ronkin scores 14 points and All-American Bosey Berger adds six as Maryland defeats St. John’s, of Annapolis, 32-27, in basketball at College Park. The Terps go on to win the Southern Conference, defeating Kentucky and first-year coach Adolph Rupp in the final.
Birthday
FEB. 21, 1945: Tom Shopay, the Orioles’ gritty utility outfielder who hit .257 in1971 and helped Baltimore reach the World Series.