Feb 18, 2022 5 min read

ON THIS DATE

Feb. 19

1952 – Washington High School wins its 21st consecutive basketball game and finishes the regular season undefeated by beating Trinity 86-32. John Riser scores 24 points for Wash High.

1966 – Trinity wins its first section basketball championship by defeating Washington 44-36 to bag the Section 5 title. Joe Lynch scores 18 points for the Hillers.

1966 – Joe Paterno is hired as the 14th head football coach at Penn State, one day after Rip Engle retired as the Nittany Lions’ coach.

1971 – Fred Sams scores 28 points as Wash High beats host Peters Township 111-39 to win the Section 12-B basketball title.

1980 – Michael Seibert of Washington and Judy Blumberg finish seventh in the ice dancing competition at the Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, N.Y.

1973 – Hayden Buckley, an assistant at West Virginia, is named head football coach and athletic director at Waynesburg College.

1977 – California State’s Bill DePaoli remains undefeated by decisioning defending champion Pete Morelli of Clarion 6-4 in the 118-pound final at the Pennsyvania Conference wrestling tournament.

1977 – Norm Nixon scores 29 points and Duquesne upsets 15th-ranked Detroit 95-88 in double overtime at the Civic Arena. Detroit, coached by Dick Vitale, has its record drop to 22-2.

1985 – Undefeated Washington (21-0) extends its basketball winning streak to 48 games and clinches the Section 18-AA-A title with an 85-49 victory over visiting Bentworth. Tony Ellis scores 20 points for the Prexies.

1992 – The Pittsburgh Penguins acquire Rick Tocchet, Kjell Samuelsson, Ken Wregget and a draft pick from the Philadelphia Flyers for Mark Recchi, Brian Benning and a draft pick. The Penguins also trade Paul Coffey to the Los Angeles Kings for Brian Benning, Jeff Chychrun and a first-round draft choice.

1994 – West Greene heavyweight Dude Bennington decisions Southmoreland’s Jason Hawse 8-5 in the match’s final bout to give the Pioneers a 27-24 victory in the WPIAL Class AA Team Tournament championship at Charleroi.

1996 – Avella pulls off the biggest upset so far in the WPIAL boys basketball playoffs, defeating Cornell 70-60 in a Class A first-round game at Trinity High School. Rich Tranquill and Shaun Sweder each score 18 points for the Eagles.

2000 – Beth-Center’s Malissa Mort becomes the first female wrestler to advance to the WPIAL Championships with a 7-6 decision over Brownsville’s Brian Gildea in the 125-pound consolation finals of the Section 3 and 4 tournament at West Greene High School.

Feb. 20

1887 – The International Association, the first minor league baseball association, is organized in Pittsburgh.

1959 – Woody Gordon scores 21 points and Washington defeats Rostraver 68-58 in the first round of the WPIAL Class A basketball playoffs at the Pitt Field House.

1970 – Mark Bellich scores 24 points and California wins the Section 15-B title with a 67-59 win over Beth-Center.

1970 – Bob Clites scores 29 points as Mapletown High School wins the Section 20-B basketball title for the second consecutive year by beating Albert Gallatin, 68-46.

1972 – Larry Brown of the Denver Rockets set ABA records for assists in a game (23), half (18) and quarter (10) during a 146-123 win over the Pittsburgh Condors at Denver.

1973 – Skip Patterson makes two free throws with four seconds remaining to give Canon-McMillan a 53-51 victory over visiting Sto-Rox and clinch the Big Macs’ first section basketball championship.

1974 – Key falls by Angelo Marino (98 pounds) and Dale Deliere (185) spark Canon-McMillan to a 29-24 upset of undefeated Carlynton, the WPIAL’s top-ranked wrestling team.

1980 – Ray Natili scores 30 points, Rick Cain has 13 and Imamculate Conception wins its first basketball championship when it defeats Washington 69-56 in a one-game playoff for the Section 9-AA title at the Trinity gym. It is the fourth meeting between the Comets and Little Presidents and each game is played on a different court in the city.

1980 – Rob McClanahan scores two goals and Dave Christian assists on three scores as the United States hockey team defeats West Germany 4-2 at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. The win advances the U.S. to the medal round against the Soviet Union.

1988 – Pitt edges Georgetown 70-65 in a Big East game at the Civic Arena that is ended with four seconds remaining and after a brawl that is started when the Hoyas’ Perry McDonald forearms Jerome Lane in the back of the head following a missed free throw.

1988 – Waynesburg Collegte’s basketball team ends the regular season with a 107-98 win over visiting Pitt-Bradford. After losing their opener, the Yellow Jackets win 27 straight regular-season games.

1991 – Canon-McMillan and Bentworth win WPIAL team wrestling championships. Canon-McMillan beats Connellsville in the Class AAA final, 26-21. Bentworth edges rival Chartiers-Houston, 34-30, to win the Class AA title.

1990 – Jefferson-Morgan wins its second straight WPIAL Class AA wrestling team championship with a 29-24 victory over West Allegheny. Heavyweight Chris D’Antonio clinches the victory with a 15-2 major decision over Mike Hayes.

1991 – Myron Brown scores 46 points, including a game-winning basket with seven seconds left in the third overtime, as Slippery Rock edges California 115-113 at Hamer Hall.

2004 – Vanessa Davison scores a game-high 20 points and Washington’s girls basketball team defeats Shady Side Academy 63-49 in the WPIAL Class AA quarterfinals at Ringgold.

2007 – Peters Township hires Nick Milchovich as its head football coach. Milchovich was formerly the head coach at Charleroi.

2010 – Craig Wolcott scores Peters Township’s final six points, including a go-ahead basket, as the Indians upset seventh-seeded Butler in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs at Chartiers Valley.

2011 – Twenty-year-old Trevor Bayne becomes the youngest driver to win the Daytona 500.