Portrait of Sami Salo

Birthday profile

Sami Salo

Sami Salo, Finnish ice hockey player

Born
September 2, 1974
Age in 2026
52
Zodiac sign
Virgo
Birth year
1974

About Sami Salo

Sami Sakari Salo (born 2 September 1974) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player who was a defenceman in the National Hockey League (NHL). He began his professional career with TPS of the SM-liiga before being selected by the Ottawa Senators with their last pick in the 1996 NHL entry draft. He joined the Senators in 1998–99 and was selected to the NHL All-Rookie Team. In the 2002 off-season, he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks with whom he recorded three 30-point campaigns. Prior to the 2012–13 NHL season he signed with the Lightning as a free agent. Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Salo played overseas with Frölunda HC of the Swedish Elite League and helped the club capture the Le Mat Trophy as league champions. Internationally, Salo has competed for Finland, appearing in two World Championships, three Winter Olympics and one World Cup. He won silver medals at the 2001 World Championships and the 2006 Winter Olympics, as well as a bronze medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Throughout his career, Salo became infamous for being injury-prone, having suffered over 40 career injuries. Despite his injuries, he was known as a two-way defenceman with a powerful slapshot.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Sami Salo was born

Sami Salo was born in 1974. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1974

  • #1 song"The Way We Were" – Barbra Streisand
  • Top movieThe Godfather Part II
  • Top TV showAll in the Family
  • Best-selling bookJaws – Peter Benchley

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentHank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth's all-time home run record (715)
  • Top headlinePresident Nixon resigns from office
  • Technology milestoneUniversal Product Code (UPC barcode) scanned for the first time
  • Defining fadStreaking
  • Notable inventionPost-it Note bookmark prototype
  • World population4.01 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderRichard Nixon / Gerald Ford
  • Sports championOakland Athletics (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population213.9M

1974 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Sami Salo's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19742026
Gas$0.53$3.45/gal
Average home$25,200$435,000
Average income$14,200$67,500
Minimum wage$2.00$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$1.87$11.95
Postage stamp$0.10$0.73
Population213.9M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, NHL. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.