Sports Fact of the Day 2/21/2007

Ash Wednesday
2/21/1979:
A bench-clearing brawl featuring rival enforcers Nick Fotiu of the Rangers and Steve Durbano of the Blues enlivens a 7-3 New York win over St. Louis at Madison Square Garden. The two protagonists square off in a brutal, stick-swinging melee in the third period that spills off the ice and into the corridor leading to the locker rooms. After Fotiu and Durbano are finally separated, it takes ushers, police, linesmen and the rival coaches to quell numerous other skirmishes. When order is finally restored, Fotiu and Durbano are ejected and the Rangers win easily despite a hat trick by Brian Sutter of the Blues.

Birthdays:
Tom Yawkey b. 1903
Jack Ramsay b. 1925
Alan Trammell b. 1958
Brian Rolston b. 1973
Steve Francis b. 1978