TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY - FEBRUARY 12TH

1876 - Al Spalding opens his sporting good shop.

1908 - NY to Paris auto race (via Alaska & Siberia) begins in NYC 

George Schuster wins after 88 days behind the wheel.

1918 - Dominic DiMaggio, baseball outfielder (Boston Red Sox) is born.
1926 - Joe Garagiola, St Louis Mo, sportscaster/host (Today Show) is born.
1934 - Bill Russell, Monroe La, NBAer (NBA-Boston Celtics, Oly-gold-56) is born.

1937 - Cleveland (now St Louis) Rams granted an NFL franchise.

1958 - Celtic Bill Russell grabs 41 rebounds to beat Syracuse 119-101.
1961 - Celtic Bill Russell grabs 40 rebounds to beat Warriors 136-125.

1982 - Wayne Gretzky scores 153rd point of season, tieing NHL record.

1984 - Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean skate "Bolero" at Olympics.

1989 - Gretzky sets 2 records, his 45th hat trick & 10th 40+ goal season.

2000 - Tom Landry, American football coach (b. 1924) dies.