February 1981 - February 26, 1981 (Thursday)

February 26, 1981 (Thursday)

• Joey Coyle, and unemployed longshoreman in Philadelphia, was driving behind an armored car when its doors opened and two bags of money fell out. Coyle retrieved the bags and found that he was in possession of more than $1,200,000 in cash. Over the next six days, he spent or gave away an estimated $196,000 before being caught by the FBI. He was later acquitted of theft, and his story was the basis for the 1993 film Money for Nothing.
• A new record for penalty minutes in a National Hockey League game was set when the Boston Bruins hosted the Minnesota North Stars. The first fight, between Boston's Steve Kasper and the Stars' Greg Smith, broke out seven seconds into the game. Eventually seven Minnesota and five Boston players were ejected, Stars' coach Glen Sonmor fought with a fan, and 406 minutes were assessed. The Bruins won, 5-1. The record stood for 23 years until broken on March 5, 2004, in the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators, with 419 minutes assessed.