THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY: 2/17

1923 – Cy Denneny of the Ottawa Senators becomes the NHL’s all-time leading scorer by netting his 143^rd career goal.

1924 – American swimmer Johnny Weissmuller sets a world record in the 100 yard freestyle at 52.4 seconds.

1927 – The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Americans 4-1 in the first game that Toronto played under the Maple Leaf name. They were previously known as the “St. Patricks.”

1941 – Joe Louis retains his heavyweight title with a second round knockout of Gus Dorazio in their bout in Philadelphia.

1943 – Joe Dimaggio enlists in the US Army.

1964 – White Sox shortstop Luke Appling is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1968 – The Basketball Hall of Fame opens in Springfield, Massachusetts.

1974 – Richard Petty wins his second straight, and fifth overall, Daytona 500. He’s the first driver to win back-to-back Daytona 500s.

1974 – 49 people die in a stampede for seats at a soccer match in Cario, Egypt.

1994 – San Antonio Spurs center David Robinson records the fourth quadruple-double in NBA history, scoring 34 points to go along with 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 blocks.

1998 – The US Women’s hockey team wins the sport’s first ever gold medal, defeating Canada 3-1.

1999 – Australian swimmer Susie O’Neill breaks the longest held record in swimming, with a time of 2:05.37 in the 200 meter butterfly. The time broke Mary Meagher’s mark of 2:05.61 set in 1988.