Feb 7, 2022 3 min read

ON THIS DATE

Feb. 8

1936 – The first NFL draft is held at the Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia. The first player selected – by the Philadelphia Eagles – is Heisman Trophy winner Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago. He never plays a down in the NFL.

1958 – Bob Bowser’s two free throws with one second remaining in the second overtime gives Washington & Jefferson an 80-79 victory at Grove City. Larry Romboski scores 36 points for the Presidents.

1961 – Waynesburg College ends a 17-game basketball losing streak by defeating visiting California State 91-63. Ernie Chadderton scores 24 points to pace the Yellow Jackets. Art Artis leads Cal State with 22 points.

1963 – Waynesburg High School’s wrestling team defeats McGuffey 49-3 for its school-record 49th consecutive victory. The Radiers had a 48-match winning streak snapped by Canonsburg in 1959.

1965 – Tony Paesano resigns after five seasons as Canon-McMillan’s head football coach. Paesano had a 19-25-2 record.

1966 – Pittsburgh is granted an NHL franchise.

1968 – Bob Timmons, under pressure and struggling through a fourth straight losing season, resigns as Pitt’s basketball coach.

1989 – Waynesburg’s wrestling team defeats McGuffey, 44-15, giving the Raiders their first undefeated regular season since 1963.

1992 – Canon-McMillan wins four of the last six bouts, including a fall by heavyweight Lee Simpson, to defeat host Trinity 33-25 and win the Section 4-AAA wrestling title. The Big Macs extend their winning streak to 36 matches over two seasons.

1994 – Former Washington & Jefferson College player Buddy Jeannette, who won five championships in 11-year professional career, is elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

1995 – California University’s Brent Kincaid sets school and PSAC records by making 12 three-point field goals, and scores 39 points, in the Vulcans’ 126-99 victory over Slippery Rock at Hamer Hall. It wasn’t the only conference record set by the Vulcans in the game. Point guard Candice Pickens breaks the 21-year-old PSAC record for assists in a game with 21.

1997 – Scotty Bowman becomes the first NHL coach to win 1,000 games as Detroit beats Pittsburgh 6-5 on Brendan Shanahan’s overtime goal. Bowman, the coach of six Stanley Cup champion teams, is 1,000-452-255 in regular-season games and 162-101 in the playoffs.

2003 – Mario Lemieux becomes the 10th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 career assists. He has four in Pittsburgh’ 5-2 victory in Boston.

2008 – Jon Kennedy scores 15 points, grabs 13 rebounds and has three assists and six blocked shots as Bentworth defeats Sewickley Academy 74-68 in overtime in the first round of the WPIAL Class A basketball playoffs. Bentworth overcomes a 35-point performance by SA’s Tom Droney.