1973 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

Alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

* Alpine Skiing World Cup ** Men's overall season champion: Gustav Thöni, Italy ** Women's overall season champion: Annemarie Pröll, Austria

American football

* January 14 −

Super Bowl VII Super Bowl VII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

: the Miami Dolphins (AFC) won 14–7 over the Washington Redskins (NFC) to complete the only perfect (unbeaten and untied) season in the history of the NFL ** Location:

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a mem ...

** Attendance: 90,182 ** MVP: Jake Scott, FS (Miami) * Rose Bowl (1972 season): ** The Southern California Trojans won 42–17 over the Ohio State Buckeyes to win college football national championship *

O. J. Simpson Orenthal James Simpson (born July 9, 1947), nicknamed "Juice", is an American former football running back, actor, and broadcaster who played for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Once a popular figure ...

becomes the first player in

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a single season.

Association football

* Brazil – Palmeiras wins the Campeonato Brasileiro * England – FA Cup –

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

wins 1–0 over Leeds United * 1 January 1973, Edinburgh, Scotland, Edinburgh Derby between Hearts and Hibernian played at Tynecastle ends in a 7–0 victory for Hibernian. * Philadelphia Atoms defeat Toronto Metros to win the North American Soccer League championship in their inaugural season.

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

* Victorian Football League **

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

wins the 77th VFL Premiership defeating

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

16.20 (116) to 12.14 (86) in the Grand Final. ** Brownlow Medal awarded to Keith Greig ( North Melbourne) * South Australian National Football League: ** 1 September: South Adelaide kick only 1.4 (10) against Sturt's 14.24 (108) in the rain at

Unley Oval Unley Oval (also known as Wigan Oval under a naming rights agreement), is a multi-use stadium in Unley, an inner southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is used for lower-grade South Australian Grade Cricket League matches, but its ma ...

, with the Panthers’ sole goal being the first score of the match after five minutes. It was the lowest score in the SA(N)FL between 1914 and 2003. ** 29 September: Glenelg 21.11 (137) defeat North Adelaide 19.16 (130) for their second SANFL premiership in what is often regarded as the great-ever SANFL Grand Final *

Western Australian National Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...

** 29 September: Subiaco break the longest premiership drought in WANFL history, beating West Perth 10.12 (72) to 6.4 (40) for their first premiership since 1924.

Bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...

1973 Bandy World Championship The 1973 Bandy World Championship was the eighth Bandy World Championship and was contested between four men's bandy playing nations. The championship was played in Moscow and Krasnogorsk (Soviet Union) on February 17–24, 1973. The Soviet Union ...

is held in the Soviet Union and won by .

Baseball

* 18 January – Orlando Cepeda signs with the Boston Red Sox, making him the first player signed by a team ''specifically to be a'' designated hitter. * The American League uses the designated hitter rule for the first time. Ron Blomberg is the first player to bat as a DH. * World Series –

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

won 4 games to 3 over the New York Mets

Basketball

* NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship – ** UCLA wins 87–66 over Memphis State. Bill Walton of UCLA scored 44 points in the Championship game. *

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

– **

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

won 4 games to 1 over the Los Angeles Lakers *

ABA Finals The American Basketball Association (ABA) Finals were the championship series of the ABA, a professional basketball league, in which two teams played each other for the title. The ABA was formed in the fall of 1967, and the first ABA Finals were ...

– **

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

defeat

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...

, 4 games to 3

Boxing

* 22 January –

George Foreman George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister and author. In boxing, he was nicknamed "Big George" and competed between 1967 and 1997. He is a two-time world heavyweight champio ...

beats

Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011), nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. He was known for his strength, durability, formidable left hand, and relentless pressure fi ...

by a knockout in two rounds to lift the world's Heavyweight championship from Frazier. It is HBO Boxing's first telecast.

Canadian football

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

–

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

win 22–18 over the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

* Vanier Cup –

St. Mary's Huskies The Saint Mary's Huskies are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their primary home turf is Huskies Stadium located in the centre of the University's campus. In September 2 ...

win 14–6 over the McGill Redmen

Cycling

* Tour de France – Luis Ocaña of Spain * UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race – Felice Gimondi, of Italy

Dogsled racing

* Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion – ** Dick Wilmarth won with lead dog: ''Hotfoot''

Field hockey

* Men's World Cup in Amstelveen, Netherlands won by the Netherlands

Figure skating

* World Figure Skating Championships – ** Men's champion: Ondrej Nepela, Czechoslovakia ** Ladies' champion: Karen Magnussen, Canada ** Pair skating champions: Irina Rodnina &

Alexander Zaitsev Alexander Zaytsev may refer to: *Alexander Zaytsev (artist), Alexander Dmitryevich Zaytsev (1903–1982), Russian painter and art educator *Alexander Zaytsev (pilot), Alexander Andreyevich Zaytsev (1911–1965), Soviet aircraft pilot and Hero of the ...

, Soviet Union ** Ice dancing champions: Lyudmila Pakhomova & Alexandr Gorshkov, Soviet Union

Golf

Men's professional *

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...

– Tommy Aaron * U.S. Open – Johnny Miller – Miller's final round of 63 was a new major championship record which has been equaled several times since, it wasn't until

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

when that record was broken by

Branden Grace Branden John Grace (born 20 May 1988) is a professional golfer from South Africa who currently plays for LIV Golf. He formerly played on the European Tour, the PGA Tour, and the Sunshine Tour. In 2012, he became the first player in the histor ...

at The Open Championship when he shot a 62. * British Open – Tom Weiskopf * PGA Championship –

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

* PGA Tour money leader –

– $308,362 *

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

– United States won 19–13 over Great Britain & Ireland in team golf. Men's amateur * British Amateur – Dick Siderowf * U.S. Amateur – Craig Stadler Women's professional * LPGA Championship – Mary Mills * U.S. Women's Open –

Susie Berning Susie Maxwell Berning (born July 22, 1941) is a retired American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1964 and won four major championships and eleven LPGA Tour victories in all. She also competed under her maiden name S ...

* LPGA Tour money leader – Kathy Whitworth – $82,864

Harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...

* United States Pacing Triple Crown races – *# Cane Pace –

Smog Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words ''smoke'' and '' fog'' to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odor. The word was then inte ...

*# Little Brown Jug – Melvin's Woe *# Messenger Stakes –

Valiant Bret Valiant may refer to: People * James Valiant (1884–1917), English cricketer * The Valiant Brothers, a professional wrestling tag team of storyline brothers ** Jerry Valiant, a ring name of professional wrestler John Hill (1941-2010) ** Jimmy ...

* United States Trotting Triple Crown races – *# Hambletonian – Flirth *# Yonkers Trot – Tamerlane *# Kentucky Futurity – Arnie Almahurst *

Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship :''for winners of the Inter Dominion see: Inter Dominion Pacing Championship and Inter Dominion Trotting Championship'' The Inter Dominion is a harness racing competition that has been contested since 1936 in Australia and New Zealand. It is of ...

– ** Pacers:

Hondo Grattan Hondo Grattan was a Standardbred pacer from Bathurst, New South Wales known as the "Bathurst Bulldog". He won the Inter Dominion Pacing Championship in both 1973 and 1974, becoming the first horse to successfully defend an Inter Dominion title ...

** Trotters: Precocious

Horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

* Secretariat, ridden by jockey Ron Turcotte, becomes the first horse in 25 years to win all three United States Triple Crown Races Steeplechases * Cheltenham Gold Cup –

The Dikler ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

* Grand National – Red Rum Flat races * Australia – Melbourne Cup –

Gala Supreme Gala Supreme (1969−1994) was an Australian thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1973 Melbourne Cup. Racing career Having run second in the Caulfield Cup The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held un ...

* Canada – Queen's Plate – Royal Chocolate * France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe – Rheingold * Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes –

Weavers' Hall Weavers' Hall (foaled 1970) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and sire bast known for his upset win in the 1973 Irish Derby. Bred, owned and trained by Seamus McGrath he won one minor race from four starts in 1972. In 1973 he finished second ...

* English Triple Crown Races: *#

2,000 Guineas Stakes The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...

– Mon Fils *# The Derby –

Morston Morston is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 86 in 42 households at the 2001 census. The population remained less than 100 at the 2011 Census and was included in the civ ...

*# St. Leger Stakes – Peleid * United States Triple Crown Races: *#

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

– Secretariat *# Preakness Stakes – Secretariat *#

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

– Secretariat

Ice hockey

* Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins * Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player:

Bobby Clarke Robert Earle Clarke (born August 13, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played his entire 15-year National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Philadelphia Flyers and is currently an executive with the team. Popular ...

– Philadelphia Flyers *

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

– Montreal Canadiens defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4 games to 2 * World Hockey Association ** AVCO Cup – New England Whalers defeat the Winnipeg Jets 4 games to 1 for first league championship. *

World Hockey Championship The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annua ...

– ** Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden * NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship – University of Wisconsin–Madison Badgers defeat University of Denver Pioneers 4–2 in Boston

Lacrosse

* NCAA Division I Men's Championship – University of Maryland Terrapins defeated Johns Hopkins University Bluejays 10–9 in 2 overtimes.

Motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

Radiosport Radiosport (or radio sport) is formal competition among amateur radio operators in any of three amateur radio activities, ARDF, DXing, and Contesting. The Friendship Radiosport Games is an international multi-sport event that includes all thre ...

* Seventh Amateur Radio Direction Finding European Championship held in Komló, Hungary. * First ARRL 10 Meter Contest held in December.

Rugby league

Captain Morgan Trophy The Captain Morgan Trophy was a knock-out trophy introduced by the Rugby League for season 1973-74. It was scrapped after only one season. Background The Captain Morgan Trophy was a knock-out trophy introduced by the Rugby League supposedly inten ...

1973 New Zealand rugby league season The 1973 New Zealand rugby league season was the 66th season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand. International competitions New Zealand did not play any Tests after France cancelled their planned tour of New Zealand. The T ...

1973 NSWRFL season The 1973 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the sixty-sixth season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Twelve district clubs from across the city, including six foundation clubs, competed for the J.J. Giltinan Shi ...

1972–73 Northern Rugby Football League season The 1972–73 Northern Rugby Football League season was the 78th season of rugby league football played in England. It would also be the last season whereby the British championship was decided by a play-off system until Super League III in 1998. ...

1973–74 Northern Rugby Football League season The 1973–74 Rugby Football League season was the 79th season of Rugby league, rugby league football. Season summary 1973-1974 saw two division rugby re-introduced. The Championship playoffs were done away with and the league leaders were decla ...

Rugby union

* 79th Five Nations Championship series is a five-way tie with all teams winning two matches each

Snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...

* World Snooker Championship – Ray Reardon beats Eddie Charlton 38–32

Swimming

* The first FINA World Championships held in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

, Yugoslavia

Tennis

* Grand Slam in tennis men's results: *#

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

–

John Newcombe John David Newcombe AO OBE (born 23 May 1944) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He is one of the few men to have attained a world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles. At the majors, he won seven singles titles, a fo ...

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

– Ilie Năstase *#

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

– Jan Kodeš *# US Open –

* Grand Slam in tennis women's results: *#

– Margaret Court *#

–

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was a member of the victorious United States ...

*# US Open – Margaret Court *

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

– Australia wins 5–0 over the United States in world tennis. * Men and women players receive equal prize money at the US Open * 20 September – In the famed Battle of the sexes at Houston's Astrodome – Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in 3straight sets.

Water polo

1973 FINA Men's World Water Polo Championship Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

held in Belgrade and won by Hungary

General sporting events

* Second

All-Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (AN ...

held in Lagos, Nigeria * Seventh Summer Universiade held in Moscow, Soviet Union

Awards

* Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year –

, National Football League *

Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year The first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press (AP) in 1931. At a time when women in sports were not given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award ...

–

, Tennis

References

{{Sports by year 1951 – 2000 Sports by year