February 17, 1968: Peggy Fleming wins the Gold Medal in the ladies' figure skating competition at the Winter Olympics, in Grenoble, in the French Alps.
It marked a comeback for American figure skating following the death of the entire team in a plane crash en route to a European competition in 1961.
It was the only Gold Medal at these Games for any American competitor. The other major star of the Games was Jean-Claude Killy, who won 3 Gold Medals in skiing for his home country, on home soil -- or home snow, if you prefer.
Fleming, because she represented them, and Killy, because he was seen as a heartthrob, both became heroes to American teenage girls. Their status was boosted by the fact that this was the 1st Olympics broadcast on American television in color, with Fleming's dark hair and green dress standing out against the white ice.
It also helped that Killy's English was good, allowing him to be interviewed by ABC's reporters. Over the next few years, both Fleming and Killy became regulars on ABC Wide World of Sports.
Left to right: Fleming, Killy, and Marielle Goitschel,
Gold Medalist in women's slalom for France, 2008
on the 40th Anniversary of the Grenoble Winter Olympics.
Goitschel also won the giant slalom at Innsbruck, Austria in 1964.
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February 17, 1968 was a Saturday. Baseball and football were out of season. There were 4 games played in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 134-111, in only the 2nd game they'd ever played at the new Madison Square Garden.
* The Cincinnati Royals beat the Baltimore Bullets, 117-115 at the Cincinnati Gardens. Oscar Robertson had 24 points, 16 assists and 14 rebounds. In defeat, Earl "the Pearl" Monroe scored 44.
* The Boston Celtics beat the St. Louis Hawks, 113-99 at the Kiel Auditorium.
* And the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 135-134 in double overtime at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Wilt Chamberlain scored 32 points, Hal Greer 29, and Chet Walker 24. In defeat, Jerry West scored 49, Elgin Baylor 28, and Tom Hawkins 24.
There were 4 games in the new American Basketball Association:
* The Pittsburgh Pipers beat the New Orleans Buccaneers, 129-121 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. This turned out to be a preview of the 1st ABA Finals, which the Pipers also won.
* The Indiana Pacers beat the Houston Mavericks, 115-99 at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum (now the Corteva Coliseum) in Indianapolis.
* The Dallas Chaparrals beat the Anaheim Amigos, 107-100 at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas.
* The Denver Rockets beat the Kentucky Colonels, 116-106 at the Denver Auditorium Arena. Darel Carrier scored 40 points.
There were 5 games in the NHL:
* The New York Rangers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-3 at the Montreal Forum.
* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Detroit Red Wings, 7-4 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.
* The Oakland Seals beat the Boston Bruins, 3-1 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.
* The St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota North Stars played to a tie, 2-2 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.
* And the Philadelphia Flyers and the Los Angeles Kings were not scheduled.
And in English soccer, North London team Arsenal traveled to Wales, and beat Swansea Town, 1-0 at the Vetch Field, in the 4th Round of the FA Cup.
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