February’s lasting history; How shortest month of year made boundless impacts in pro sports

February has held historical importance to the sport of football as the Superbowl is held in February, however, did you know it was not always like this? According to a poll of North Harford students, 82% did not.

     The last game of the NFL season was formerly held on the last Sunday of January, however, this changed in 2001 after the terrorist attacks of September 11th when all television schedules were delayed a week, this pushed the NFL’s championship game to the first Sunday of February, where it would continue to be played to this day. 

     Football is not the only sport to hold historical importance to February however, Baseball is another sport whose history has been shaped by the second month of the year. Yankee legend Babe Ruth is widely regarded as one of the best players in the history of baseball by current and past players alike. On February 26th, 1935 however, the Yankees released Ruth where he would go to the Boston Braves. This release made waves among the MLB as many viewed the aging legend as a valuable piece to the Yankees team even years after his prime, the baseball hall of fame regarded Ruth as “the biggest star in baseball in 1934 even as his career wound down.”

     The Braves signed Ruth to a three-year deal where he would sign on to become their assistant manager, second vice president, and star player. However, Bill McKechnie, then Braves manager, remarked that “he wouldn’t be worth a plugged nickel to us if he didn’t get into that uniform and go up there to bat. There has never been a ball club that could stand two managers and there never will be. I’m the manager until the club asks me to step down or I think it right to step down myself.” This move led to Ruth’s worst season of his career where he would ultimately hang up his cleats and call it quits.

     February held importance to the sport of basketball as well as February 1st, 1967 being the birthdate of the American Basketball Association, which produced four teams that would go on to become implemented into the NBA. The teams include the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York (now Brooklyn) Nets, and San Antonio Spurs.   

      Basketball was changed in February of 1984 when David J. Stern officially took over as the NBA’s fourth Commissioner, replacing the retired Larry O’Brien, who had served as Commissioner since 1975. Stern served as the league’s first General Counsel and later as Executive VP of Legal & Business Affairs before becoming the commissioner. Stern would go on to be one of the league’s most controversial hires through his implementation of the dress code, microfiber basketballs, and the age limit, as well as his poor treatment of the Chris Paul trade veto. None of these controversies held more importance than his biggest scandal, however, when he reportedly paid a referee to officiate in favor of the Los Angeles Lakers in hopes that they would reach a sudden-death playoff game and boost the NBA’s television ratings. Senior Aaron Huth stated, “Everyone wants to see the Lakers, it’s a bigger fanbase and at the end of the day, the NBA is a business.” When asked about the situation, Huth also claimed “Was it rigged? Probably. Seeing the Kings win would have been nice.”

     Even sports such as golf have held deep historical meaning to February. On the first of February, 2022, Edward Lee of the Baltimore Sun published an article stating that a monument is being built during the month at Carroll Park in Baltimore, Maryland, to commemorate the history of Black Golfers.