February 9, 1979: Britain's 1st £1 Million Footballer

February 9, 1979: Trevor Francis becomes Britain's 1st £1 million footballer when he is transferred from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest, doubling the British record transfer fee set when West Bromwich Albion signed David Mills the previous month.

Born on February 19, 1954 in Plymouth, Devon, in England's West Country, Trevor John Francis was signed as a forward by Birmingham City when he was just 15. In 1978, during the English Football League's off-season, he came to America to play for the Detroit Express of the North American Soccer League. At a time when England's national team was at a low point -- it did not qualify for the 1974 and 1978 World Cups, or for Euro 76 -- individual stars like Francis, Kevin Keegan and Malcom Macdonald became more hyped than ever.

Francis helped Forest, defending Football League Champions, win the European Cup (the tournament now known as the UEFA Champions League) the next 2 seasons. He later won trophies with Sheffield Wednesday, Sampdoria of Genoa in Italy, and Rangers of Glasgow in Scotland. He also played for England in the 1982 World Cup.

He was less successful as a manager, notably leading Wednesday to the Final of both the League Cup and the FA Cup in 1993, but losing both Finals to Arsenal. Critics of his later work as a studio analyst for the sport have suggested that, while he may have had a million-pound foot, he may also have a sixpence head.

UPDATE: Trevor Francis died on July 24, 2023, of a heart attack, at his home in Marbella, on the Spanish Riviera. He was 69 years old.

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February 9, 1979 was a Friday. This was also the day the film The Warriors premiered. I have a separate entry for that event. And Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, known for her roles in martial arts films, was born on this day.

Baseball and football were out of season. There were 9 games played in the NBA:

* The Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers, 112-101 at the Boston Garden.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the San Diego Clippers, 117-106 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Houston Rockets beat the New Orleans Jazz, 106-99 at the Superdome in New Orleans. Moses Malone had 33 points, and a whopping 37 rebounds.

* The Kansas City Kings beat the Chicago Bulls, 124-114 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 118-116 in overtime at the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena, or "The MECCA." Since 2014, it has been named the UW-Panther Arena.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Phoenix Suns, 105-102 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 106-103 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Golden State Warriors, 106-104 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the San Antonio Spurs, 125-106 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. Despite the defeat, the Spurs' George Gervin led all scorers with 34 points.

The NHL was in its All-Star Break. There were 2 games played in the World Hockey Association. The Cincinnati Stingers beat the Winnipeg Jets, 4-0 at the Riverfront Coliseum (now the Heritage Bank Center) in Cincinnati. And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Quebec Nordiques, 3-0 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.