1972 Miami Dolphins season
In 2007, the Dolphins went 1–15, becoming the second team since the AFL–NFL merger to have both an undefeated season and a one-win season; the Patriots, who went 16–0 in the 2007 regular season, had accomplished this the previous day.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Background
The Miami Dolphins entered their seventh season in 1972. In the first four seasons, George Wilson served as the head coach, compiling a record of 15-39-2, but was fired in February 1970 and replaced by Don Shula. Despite his poor results as head coach, Wilson acquired many players who contributed to the Dolphins' success in the early 1970s. For instance, the Dolphins' 1967 draft picks included quarterback Bob Griese and punter Larry Seiple, the 1968 draft added fullback Larry Csonka and running back Jim Kiick, and defensive end Bill Stanfill and running back Mercury Morris were drafted in 1969.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Background
The Dolphins also signed an important undrafted player in 1968, defensive tackle Manny Fernandez. Wilson traded for linebacker Nick Buoniconti and guard Larry Little in 1969, and for wide receiver Paul Warfield in 1970, less than a month before being fired. Mostly because of the acquisitions that he had made during his tenure as head coach, Wilson would initially be resentful of the Dolphins' success in first few years after being fired, believing that he had been fired prematurely and that Shula had inherited a "ready-made team." However, tensions between Wilson and Shula disappeared after the team won Super Bowl VII, and Wilson congratulated Shula and invited him to play at his golf course.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Background
Among the first moves Shula made as head coach was assembling a coaching staff. By April 20, 1970, he had hired Bill Arnsparger as defensive coordinator, Monte Clark as offensive line coach, Mike Scarry as defensive line coach, Howard Schnellenberger as offensive coordinator, and Carl Taseff as offensive backs coach, while defensive backs coach Tom Keane, a holdover from the Wilson era, remained on the coaching staff. All of these key members of the coaching staff would be retained through the 1972 season.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Background
In the 1970 draft, the Dolphins added players such as tight end Jim Mandich, cornerback Tim Foley, and safety Jake Scott. Future Hall of Fame center Jim Langer, who went undrafted, was signed, while guard Bob Kuechenberg was acquired during free agency. The 1970 team was greatly improved from the previous season, posting a 10–4 record and reaching the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, but losing to the Oakland Raiders 21-14 in their postseason debut. Notable additions to the team via the 1971 draft included defensive end Vern Den Herder and wide receiver Otto Stowe. Before the season, one important trade saw the Dolphins acquire linebacker Bob Matheson. After posting a 10-3-1 regular season record in 1971, the Dolphins advanced much further in the postseason, reaching Super Bowl VI. However, they suffered an embarrassing 24-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 1: at Kansas City Chiefs
The Dolphins' 1972 regular season began with a road match against the Kansas City Chiefs – the first regular season game ever played at Arrowhead Stadium. Previously, the two teams met in Kansas City during the Divisional Round of the 1971–72 playoffs, which saw the Dolphins defeat the Chiefs in the longest game in NFL history. Miami held Kansas City scoreless until the third quarter in this game. During the Chiefs first possession, running back Ed Podolak fumbled the football, which was recovered by Miami safety Dick Anderson. The turnover led to a 57-yard, seven play drive, capped by a 14-yard touchdown pass from Bob Griese to Marlin Briscoe. With 4:12 remaining in the first quarter, the Chiefs attempted to score a field goal, but Dolphins defensive back Lloyd Mumphord blocked Jan Stenerud's kick.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 1: at Kansas City Chiefs
Late in the second quarter, the Dolphins scored twice within a span of 37 seconds – a 47-yard field goal by Garo Yepremian and then a 2-yard run from Larry Csonka following an interception by Jake Scott. After possessing a halftime lead of 17–0, Miami scored again in the third quarter with another field goal by Yepremian. Later in the third quarter, the Chiefs got on the board with a 40-yard field goal by Jan Stenerud. In the fourth quarter, Kansas City scored again with a touchdown pass from Len Dawson to Willie Frazier. However, the Chiefs were unable to gain additional points thereafter, resulting in the Dolphins winning 20–10.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 2: vs. Houston Oilers
In week 2, the Dolphins played against the Houston Oilers at the Orange Bowl. A newly installed Poly-Turf field and intermittent rains led to slippery conditions. Less than two minutes into the game, Oilers running back Hoyle Granger fumbled at the Houston 14-yard line, while Dolphins defensive end Bill Stanfill recovered the ball and returned it to the Houston 1-yard line. Miami running back Jim Kiick then scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run. Only a few minutes later, Houston quarterback Dan Pastorini muffed the ball in punt formation at the Houston 30-yard line and lost possession.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 2: vs. Houston Oilers
The Dolphins scored again four plays later, capped by a Mercury Morris 2-yard rush, though Garo Yepremian's extra point attempt was blocked, his first miss after 75 consecutive successful attempts. After regaining possession, Miami engineered another four play scoring drive, which included a 30-yard pass from Bob Griese to Paul Warfield and ended with a Larry Csonka 4-yard rush. The Dolphins led 20–0 at halftime. Of note, Pastorini completed just three out of ten passes in the first half for a dismal -10 yards.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 2: vs. Houston Oilers
Miami increased their lead further to 27-0 less than six minutes into the third quarter, the end result of a 76-yard, nine play drive capped off by a 2-yard rush by Griese. Houston then finally scored after Pastorini threw a touchdown pass to Charlie Joiner for 82 yards. However, Skip Butler missed the extra point attempt. On the Dolphins next possession, Morris fumbled and defensive tackle Ron Billingsley of the Oilers recovered. Three plays later, a Willie Rodgers 1-yard rush cut Miami's lead to 27–13. The Dolphins would score again, though, in the fourth quarter after a 14 play drive that lasted almost seven minutes and concluded with a 6-yard pass from Griese to Kiick. Miami effectively sealed the game on Houston's next possession when cornerback Tim Foley intercepted Pastorini. The Dolphins won 34–13.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 3: at Minnesota Vikings
The Dolphins traveled to Metropolitan Stadium in Minnesota for a match against the Vikings in week 9. Miami trailed Minnesota for much of the game. In the first quarter, the Vikings scored a touchdown via a 56-yard pass from quarterback Fran Tarkenton to wide receiver John Gilliam. With no further scoring in the first or second quarters, the Vikings led 7–0 at halftime. As Tarkenton attempted another pass to Gilliam early in the third quarter, cornerback Tim Foley intercepted and returned the ball to Minnesota's 37-yard line. Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremian kicked a 51-yard field goal and later a 42-yard field goal with 5:23 left in the third quarter after Miami re-gained possession. The Vikings then executed an 80-yard, 13-play drive which consumed all time remaining in the third quarter.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 3: at Minnesota Vikings
As the fourth quarter started, Minnesota scored a touchdown via a 1-yard run by running back Bill Brown, with the score being 14–6. After the Dolphins re-gained possession, Vikings linebacker Roy Winston intercepted Bob Griese. However, the No-Name Defense stopped Minnesota's subsequent drive with two sacks on Tarkenton. Miami's next drive, which included a 22-yard double reverse pass from wide receiver Marlin Briscoe to tight end Jim Mandich, ended with a 51-yard field goal by Yepremian. The Dolphins defense then stalled the Vikings next drive and took possession at the Miami 41-yard line.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 3: at Minnesota Vikings
After 39 seconds, 6 plays, and a penalty for roughing the passer, Miami scored a touchdown – a 3-yard pass from Grise to Mandich. The Dolphins thus took a 16–14 lead. With one minute and twenty-eight seconds left, the Vikings attempted to reach field goal range. With little time left, Tarkenton threw a Hail Mary pass at the Minnesota 28-yard line, but was intercepted by Dolphins defensive back Lloyd Mumphord. Miami won by a score of 16–14, sacking Tarkenton five times, and improved to 3–0.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 4: at New York Jets
The Dolphins then traveled to Shea Stadium in New York to face the Jets in week 3. In the game's opening drive, New York moved the ball 65 yards for a touchdown. Although running back Cliff McClain fumbled, Jets guard Randy Rasmussen recovered the ball in the end zone. New York maintained their 7–0 lead until about one minute into the second quarter, when a 16-yard touchdown pass from Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese to wide receiver Howard Twilley and an extra point by Garo Yepremian tied the game. Another touchdown via a 6-yard rush by Miami running back Jim Kiick allowed the Dolphins to take a 14–7 lead with 2:30 left in the second quarter. Neither team scored again before halftime.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 4: at New York Jets
A 27-yard field goal by Yepremian in the third quarter increased Miami's lead to 10 points. During New York's subsequent drive, Jets quarterback Joe Namath completed a pass to tight end Jerome Barkum, who took the ball for 52 yards until being tackled at the Miami 1-yard line by Dolphins safety Jake Scott. However, three failed attempts at entering the end zone and two penalties against the Jets forced them to settle for an 18-yard Bobby Howfield field goal, cutting the deficit against the Dolphins to 17–10.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 4: at New York Jets
Early in the fourth quarter, Miami orchestrated a 60-yard, 8 play drive that included a 23-yard pass from Griese to wide receiver Paul Warfield, while a significant pass interference penalty against Steve Tannen of the Jets moved the ball to New York's 4-yard line. Eventually, the Dolphins scored with a 3-yard rush by Kiick. Later in the fourth quarter, Miami fumbled a punt, allowing New York to begin their next drive at the Dolphins 20-yard line. Five plays later, the Jets scored a touchdown via a 1-yard rush by Emerson Boozer, cutting Miami's lead to 24–17. However, a 43-yard field goal by Yepremian allowed the Dolphins to win with a score of 27–17.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 5: vs. San Diego Chargers
In the fifth week, Miami returned home to host the San Diego Chargers. The Dolphins scored first on a 37-yard field goal by Garo Yepremian, though the Chargers would respond with a 12-yard field goal by Dennis Partee to tie the game at 3–3 to end the first quarter. In the second quarter, Miami scored a touchdown when safety Dick Anderson recovered a fumble and ran 35 yards to the end zone. The Dolphins then scored another touchdown in the second quarter via an 18-yard pass from quarterback Earl Morrall to wide receiver Howard Twilley, ending the first half with Miami leading 17–3.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 5: vs. San Diego Chargers
Miami also scored a touchdown in the third quarter. A 19-yard touchdown pass from Morrall to wide receiver Paul Warfield increased the Dolphins lead to 24–3. San Diego cut the deficit to 24–10 after a 3-yard touchdown pass from quarterback John Hadl to running back Cid Edwards. However, the Chargers could not complete a comeback. Miami's win-loss record improved to 5–0.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 5: vs. San Diego Chargers
The game is noted for an injury to Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese. Early in the first quarter, Chargers defensive tackle Ron East and defensive end Deacon Jones sacked Griese. He suffered a serious ankle injury and would not play again for the remainder of the regular season. Griese was replaced by 38-year old Morrall before returning in the AFC championship game.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 6: vs. Buffalo Bills
The Dolphins remained at home during week 6 for a game against the intradivisional rival Buffalo Bills. Miami scored a touchdown on the opening drive, capped off by a 5-yard run by Mercury Morris. After regaining possession later in the first quarter, the Dolphins managed to reach the Bills 7-yard line. However, four failed attempts at reaching the end zone gave the Bills possession again. Then, in the second quarter, Dolphins running back Jim Kiick fumbled the ball, recovered by Alvin Wyatt of the Bills. This ultimately set up a 35-yard field goal by Buffalo's John Leypoldt.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 6: vs. Buffalo Bills
Shortly after, Bills linebacker Ken Lee intercepted a pass from Earl Morrall and returned it for a touchdown. Late in the second quarter, Morrall attempted to throw a lateral pass, but fumbled and Buffalo defensive tackle Don Croft secured the ball. Leypoldt then kicked a 34-yard field goal, allowing the Bills to lead 13–7 at halftime.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 6: vs. Buffalo Bills
Dolphins tackle Manny Fernandez strip-sacked Bills quarterback Dennis Shaw at the Buffalo 10-yard line on the first play of the third quarter. Miami fullback Larry Csonka then ran 10 yards into the end zone, allowing the Dolphins to take a 14–13 lead. A few minutes after this transpired, Dolphins cornerback Curtis Johnson blocked a punt by Spike Jones of the Bills. After the Dolphins were penalized four times on that drive (a loss of 33 yards), Garo Yepremian kicked a 54-yard field goal, the longest in franchise history until Pete Stoyanovich's 59-yard field goal in 1989.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 6: vs. Buffalo Bills
The fourth quarter began with a 45-yard field goal by Leypoldt, cutting Miami's lead to 17–16. With 9:18 remaining in the final period, the Dolphins scored again with a 15-yard run by Morris, amassing 106 rushing yards in the game. Later, the Bills capped off a touchdown-scoring drive with a 6-yard pass from quarterback Mike Taliaferro to fullback Jim Braxton. However, with only about one minute remaining by then, the Dolphins won the game by a score of 24–23.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 7: at Baltimore Colts
The Dolphins then traveled to Memorial Stadium in Baltimore for a match against the Colts on October 29. Miami scored in the first quarter on an 80-yard drive that included a 20-yard pass from quarterback Earl Morrall to wide receiver Howard Twilley, a 32-yard rush by running back Larry Csonka, a 19-yard rush by running back Mercury Morris, and finally a 1-yard rush by Csonka for a touchdown. Garo Yepremian's extra point allowed the Dolphins to take a 7–0 lead.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 7: at Baltimore Colts
Dolphins cornerback Curtis Johnson blocked a punt by David Lee of the Colts and recovered the football at Baltimore's 22-yard line. A few plays later, at 3rd and 15 on Baltimore's 27-yard line, Morrall threw the ball to wide receiver Marlin Briscoe, who then threw a pass to wide receiver Paul Warfield at the 1-yard line. Csonka then ran 1-yard for a touchdown, but defensive tackle Jim Bailey blocked Yepremian's extra point attempt.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 7: at Baltimore Colts
Later in the second quarter, Dolphins defensive back Lloyd Mumphord blocked Boris Shlapak's field goal attempt. The second quarter then ended after Yepremian kicked a 24-yard field goal. The Dolphins led 16-0 after the first half. The game's final score occurred in the third quarter. Bruce Laird of the Colts was returning a punt but fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Hubert Ginn of the Dolphins at Baltimore's 20 yard line. After a few more plays, Morris scored a 7-yard rushing touchdown, followed by a Yepremian extra point. Miami won the game with a score of 23-0 and improved to 7–0 at the halfway point of the regular season.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 8: at Buffalo Bills
For week 8, the Dolphins traveled to War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo to take on the Bills on November 5. A Garo Yepremian 33-yard field goal allowed Miami to take an early 3–0 lead. The Bills then overtook the Dolphins on a drive capped off by quarterback Dennis Shaw throwing a 13-yard pass to running back Randy Jackson, although John Leypoldt's extra point attempt would be blocked. Buffalo now led Miami by a score of 6–3.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 8: at Buffalo Bills
However, the Dolphins reclaimed the lead on a possession culminating in a 22-yard run by running back Mercury Morris, followed by an extra point by Yepremian. Miami increased their lead further early in the second quarter with a pair of Yepremian field goals from 17 yards and 16 yards. Shortly thereafter, Dolphins quarterback Earl Morrall was intercepted by Bills safety Tony Greene and returned for a touchdown, narrowing Miami's lead to 16–13. This would be the final score of the first half, as Miami halted another scoring attempt by Buffalo when cornerback Tim Foley intercepted Shaw at Miami's 20-yard line.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 8: at Buffalo Bills
Miami increased their lead again in the third quarter with a 7-yard pass from Morrall to tight end Marv Fleming. The antecedent drive included several long runs and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Bills. Later in the third quarter, Leypoldt kicked a 28-yard field goal, cutting their deficit to 23–16 at the end of the period. However, in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins put together another scoring drive that included a 26-yard pass from Morrall to Morris and then 4-yard rush by Morris for the touchdown. With neither team able to accumulate more points after that drive, the game ended as a 30-16 win for the Dolphins. Of note, Morris surpassed 100 rushing yards in a game for only the second time in his professional football career.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 9: vs. New England Patriots
Following their win against the Buffalo Bills, the Dolphins hosted the New England Patriots at the Orange Bowl for Week 9. Miami annihilated New England both offensively and defensively. On the third play of the game, Dolphins safety Dick Anderson intercepted Patriots quarterback Jim Plunkett at New England's 26-yard line. Anderson returned the ball to the New England 4-yard line before fumbling. Although it appeared that the Patriots may have recovered the fumble, the officiating crew ruled that they did not. Dolphins running back Mercury Morris then scored a touchdown on a 4-yard rush. On just the fifth offensive play for the Dolphins, Morris again scored a 4-yard rushing touchdown. Miami scored on every possession they had during the first half, leading the Patriots 31–0 at intermission.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 9: vs. New England Patriots
In the third quarter, Morrall threw a 16-yard pass to Marlin Briscoe, increasing the Dolphins lead to 38–0. By the beginning of the fourth quarter, with little doubt about which team would win, Dolphins quarterback Jim Del Gazio replaced Morrall. Del Gazio threw two touchdown passes in the final quarter – a 51-yard pass to Briscoe and a 39-yard pass to Jim Mandich. The Dolphins did not allow the Patriots to score throughout the game.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 9: vs. New England Patriots
The final score of 52–0 in favor of Miami remains the most lopsided win for either team in the history of the Dolphins–Patriots rivalry. Miami totaled 482 yards, far higher than New England's 169 yards. Morrall passed for 162 yards, while Del Gazio passed for 145. The Dolphins defense limited the Patriots to just 77 net passing yards and 92 rushing yards, including four sacks against Plunkett for a loss of 40 yards. Morris, the leading rusher of the game, accumulated 90 rushing yards and 35 receiving yards; he scored 3 rushing touchdowns. With the victory, the Dolphins improved to 9–0. Don Shula became the 9th head coach in NFL history to win at least 100 regular season games, but the first to do so in only 10 seasons.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 10 vs. New York Jets
The Dolphins then returned home in week 10 for their second matchup against the Jets. Near the beginning of the first quarter, Dolphins safety Dick Anderson intercepted Jets quarterback Joe Namath's first pass of that game. After seven more plays, Miami scored on a 9-yard pass from quarterback Earl Morrall to wide receiver Howard Twilley. New York responded with an 80-yard drive that included several short passes from Namath, before eventually ending with a 1-yard rushing touchdown by fullback John Riggins.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 10 vs. New York Jets
In the game's second quarter, Morrall fumbled on a lateral pass, with the ball being recovered by cornerback Earlie Thomas of the Jets at the Dolphins 38-yard line. Within a few plays, the Jets scored another touchdown via a 28-yard pass from Namath to wide receiver Rich Caster. New York increased their lead on Miami to 17–7 after Bobby Howfield kicked a 33-yard field goal. However, the Dolphins cut the Jets lead to 17–14 just before halftime on a drive that ended with a 1-yard run by running back Mercury Morris.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 10 vs. New York Jets
Early in the third quarter, Morrall rushed for 31 yards for a touchdown. Miami then led New York by 21–17. The Jets reclaimed the lead later in the third quarter on a drive that ended with a 4-yard pass from Namath to tight end Wayne Stewart. However, in the game's final quarter, Anderson landed on the ball after Jets running back Cliff McClain fumbled it at New York's 27-yard line. On the fourth play after the fumble, Morris managed to run 14 yards to the end zone. Miami would ultimately win the game by a score of 28–24 and improve to 10–0. With the victory, the Dolphins also clinched the AFC East title.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 11 vs. St. Louis Cardinals
The Dolphins remained at home at the Orange Bowl in Week 11 for a Monday Night Football game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Dolphins safety Dick Anderson intercepted St. Louis quarterback Gary Cuozzo's first pass of the game at the Cardinal's 29-yard line. On the sixth play following the interception, Dolphins running back Jim Kiick reached the end zone on a 2-yard run. Miami led St. Louis 7–0 following the first quarter. Both teams scored a field goal in the second quarter, from 49-yards and 25-yards by Jim Bakken of the Cardinals and Garo Yepremian of the Dolphins, respectively. At half time, Miami led St. Louis by a score of 10–3.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 11 vs. St. Louis Cardinals
The Dolphins would widen their lead by two touchdowns in the third quarter. First, Miami scored on a 37-yard pass from quarterback Earl Morrall to wide receiver Otto Stowe. Later in the quarter, Dolphins cornerback Lloyd Mumphord intercepted Cardinals quarterback Jim Hart and returned the ball for a touchdown. Miami now led by 24–3 after the third quarter. St. Louis finally responded again in the fourth quarter via a 2-yard rush by running back Leon Burns. However, the Dolphins then scored another touchdown on a drive capped off by a 27-yard pass from Morrall to Stowe. Miami won the game by a score of 31–10.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 12 at New England Patriots
In Week 12, the Dolphins traveled to Schaefer Stadium for their second matchup of the season against the Patriots. The only score in the first quarter was 36-yard field goal by Miami's Garo Yepremian. The Dolphins increased their lead further in the second quarter, with a 10-yard field goal by Yepremian and a 1-yard rush by running back Jim Kiick on a drive that spanned 89 yards. New England responded late in the second quarter via a 36-yard pass from quarterback Jim Plunkett to wide receiver Tom Reynolds. The Dolphins led by a score of 13–7 at halftime.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 12 at New England Patriots
Early in the third quarter, Miami defensive Vern Den Herder intercepted a pass by Plunkett and reached New England's 11-yard line before the play ended. The Dolphins soon scored another touchdown when quarterback Earl Morrall threw a 3-yard pass to tight end Jim Mandich. Later in the third quarter, Yepremian kicked a 18-yard field goal. Dolphins linebacker Doug Swift intercepted Plunkett on New England's next possession. On the fifth play following the interception, Miami scored on a 14-yard pass from Morrall to wide receiver Marlin Briscoe.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 12 at New England Patriots
Miami added another touchdown early in the fourth quarter via an 8-yard rush by running back Hubert Ginn. At this point, the Dolphins led by 37–7. The Patriots scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, the first being an 8-yard pass from quarterback Brian Dowling to running back John Tarver and the second being a 1-yard rush by Dowling. The game ended with a 37–21 victory for the Dolphins.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 12 at New England Patriots
With the win, the Dolphins became only the third team in NFL history to win at least 12 consecutive games, after the 1934 Chicago Bears and 1969 Minnesota Vikings. Also of note, running back Larry Csonka surpassed 1,000 rushing yards on the season during this game.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Urban legend
There is an urban legend that every season, whenever the last remaining undefeated NFL team loses its first game, all the surviving members of the 1972 Miami Dolphins open bottles of champagne in celebration. Coach Don Shula tried to play down the myth by saying that two players, Dick Anderson and Nick Buoniconti, who live near each other, sometimes have a toast together. However, in a college football broadcast on ABC following the loss of an undefeated team, Bob Griese commented that he called former Dolphins, and they had Diet Cokes together.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Urban legend
The NFL capitalized on the legend during a commercial that aired during Super Bowl LIII commemorating the 100th year of the NFL. The commercial featured "44 of the greatest NFL athletes" at a formal dinner event with the attendees dressed in black tie. Cacophony breaks out, and three members of the 1972 Dolphins, Larry Little, Paul Warfield, Larry Csonka, are shown casually sitting at a table together uniquely dressed in aqua-colored formal coats, and all three are drinking champagne, laughing at the chaos happening around them.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, The perfect season
The 1972 Miami Dolphins were the first team to execute a perfect regular season in the post-merger NFL. They are the only team in NFL history to go undefeated and untied in the regular season and postseason.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, The perfect season
After their loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl VI (Miami's only loss during calendar year 1972), Don Shula had vowed to not only reach the Super Bowl again but to win it. He forced the team to watch film of the loss twice while at training camp. Shula would later go on to say:


1972 Miami Dolphins season, The perfect season
I think that's when we all came together for what was going happen for the next two years. What I stressed in the locker room was that we wanted to make sure this wouldn’t happen again. Our goal was not to go to the Super Bowl but to win it.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, The perfect season
An enduring controversy is based on the argument that the 1972 Dolphins played a soft schedule not possible under the current scheduling formula. Prior to the implementation of position scheduling in 1978, opponents were set by the NFL on a rotating basis. The Dolphins’ 1972 regular-season opponents posted an aggregate winning percentage of .397, and only two had winning records for that season (both the Kansas City Chiefs and New York Giants finished 8–6). However, this does not constitute any record; the 1975 Minnesota Vikings, who began 10–0 and finished 12–2, played 14 opponents with an average winning percentage of .332, and nine of their games were against teams 4–10 or worse.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, The perfect season
The Dolphins were beneficiaries of a weak AFC East that saw the Colts lapse from a perennial contender into a three-year stretch in which they would win only 11 games; a Bills team yet to find its legs with O. J. Simpson and the return of coach Lou Saban; a dysfunctional Patriots organization that had little to no talent to surround former No. 1 overall draft choice Jim Plunkett; and a Jets squad with a porous defense, offsetting the benefits of Joe Namath remaining healthy throughout the season and an emerging John Riggins in the running game.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, The perfect season
Miami also caught a scheduling break by facing an Oilers team that was in the midst of back-to-back 1–13 seasons, a Chargers team beginning a run of four consecutive seasons in the AFC West cellar, and a Cardinals team that appeared to lack direction by rotating its starting quarterbacks instead of giving the job full-time to Jim Hart. The Dolphins also caught the Vikings in the midst of a massive transformation following the return of Fran Tarkenton, missing the playoffs for the only time between 1968 and 1978, finishing 7–7.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, The perfect season
The NFL's rules at the time forced the undefeated Dolphins (14–0) to play the Steelers (11–3) in Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship Game. Subsequent rule changes have since changed the playoff structure so that this would never happen again. Since the 1975 season, teams that have won their division and have had a superior record than their opponent (as was the case with the 1972 Dolphins when they faced the Steelers) would play their postseason games at home.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, The perfect season
The 1972 Dolphins consisted mostly of the same core of players that it possessed from 1970 through 1974 and was the most dominant NFL team during that stretch. In those five seasons, the Dolphins reached the playoffs all five years, won three AFC Championships, two Super Bowls and went undefeated and untied while winning the Super Bowl in 1972. They posted a record of 65–15–1, and were also the fastest franchise to win a Super Bowl after franchise inception and joining the NFL (seven years after starting in the AFL, three years after becoming a member of the NFL).


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Television coverage
Fans in the Miami area could not view the team's home games on television, as 1972 was the final year in which all NFL home games were blacked out on local television even if the stadium had sold out. To view the team's home games, Dolphins fans in the Miami-Dade area would have to attend home games in person or travel to outside markets such as Orlando and Jacksonville to watch the games on television.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Television coverage
Super Bowl VII was the first game to be televised in the market of origin under new rules that would come into effect the following season requiring games to be sold out within 72 hours of kickoff time to be aired in the market of origin (these blackout rules were lifted in 2015). As all Super Bowls (except Super Bowl I) have sold out, none have been blacked out since.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, Television coverage
President Richard Nixon, many of his White House staff, and members of Congress were angered by the blackout rules, as they could not watch the home games of the Dolphins’ eventual Super Bowl opponent, the Redskins, even though all games at RFK Stadium had been sold out since 1966.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, 2013 White House visit
Four decades later, on August 20, 2013, the team was invited by President Barack Obama to visit the White House. Obama noted that the team "never got their White House visit." Asked why the team had not been invited by President Richard Nixon in 1973, Larry Csonka stated that he did not feel neglected as it had not been a regular occurrence at the time.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, 2013 White House visit
However, MSNBC reported that this was a deliberate snub by Nixon, who was a Redskins fan, even though Nixon owned a vacation home in nearby Key Biscayne, Florida and telephoned Shula only hours after the Dolphins defeated the Colts in the 1971 AFC Championship game to suggest a play for Miami to use in Super Bowl VI (a down-and-out pass to Warfield that was broken up by Cowboys safety Cornell Green). Obama had previously invited the 1985 Bears to the White House, as their original visit had been canceled because of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.


1972 Miami Dolphins season, 2013 White House visit
Obama, a Chicago resident and Bears fan, had called the 1985 Bears the greatest team ever, but during the Dolphins' visit, he called his own words into question, also noting that the 1985 Bears' only defeat came at the hands of the Dolphins. Bob Kuechenberg, Jim Langer, and Manny Fernandez all refused to attend because of their political differences with the Obama administration.


1972 Miami Gatos season
The 1972 Miami Gatos season was the first and only season of the new team, and the club's sixth season in professional soccer. It is also the first ever incarnation of the club's new name. Previously, they were known as the Washington Darts. This year, the team finished in fourth place in the Southern Division. They did not make the North American Soccer League playoffs. At the end of the year the club folded the team, relocated to a new stadium, rebranded themselves, and fielded a new team for the 1973 season called the Miami Toros.


1972 Miami Gatos season, Competitions, NASL regular season
W = Wins, L = Losses, T= Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PT= point system


1972 Miami Gatos season, Competitions, NASL regular season
6 points for a win, 3 points for a tie,0 points for a loss,1 point for each goal scored up to three per game.


1972 Miami Hurricanes football team
The 1972 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami as an independent during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. Led by second-year head coach Fran Curci, the Hurricanes played their home games at the Miami Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. Miami finished the season with a record of 5–6.


1972 Miami Redskins football team
The 1972 Miami Redskins football team was an American football team that represented Miami University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. In their fourth season under head coach Bill Mallory, Miami compiled a 7–3 record (2–3 against MAC opponents), finished in a tie for fourth place in the MAC, and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 207 to 117. The team's defense allowed only 11.7 points per game, which ranked 12th among 128 NCAA University Division football teams.


1972 Miami Redskins football team
The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Steve Williams with 676 passing yards, tailback Bob Hitchens with 1,370 rushing yards, and John Viher with 414 receiving yards.


1972 Miami Redskins football team
Hitchens won the Miami most valuable player award and the MAC Offensive Player of the Year award. Mike Poff and Bob Williams were the team captains.


1972 Michigan State Spartans football team
The 1972 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1972 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 19th season under head coach Duffy Daugherty, the Spartans compiled a 5–5–1 overall record (5–2–1 against Big Ten opponents) and finished in fourth place in the Big Ten Conference.


1972 Michigan State Spartans football team
Five Spartans were selected by either the Associated Press (AP) or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1972 All-Big Ten Conference football team: tight end Billy Joe Dupree (AP-2, UPI-1); offensive guard Joe DeLamielleure (AP-1, UPI-1); linebacker Gail Clark (AP-1, UPI-1); and defensive backs Bill Simpson (AP-1, UPI-1) and Brad Van Pelt (AP-1, UPI-1).


1972 Michigan State Spartans football team
On November 3, 1972, Duffy Daugherty announced that he would resign as Michigan State's head football coach at the end of the 1972 season. In 19 years as the head coach, he compiled a 109–69–5 record and won two Big Ten championships. Denny Stolz, who had been the Spartans' defensive coordinator for two years, was hired in December 1972 to replace Daugherty.


1972 Michigan State Spartans football team, Game summaries, Michigan
On October 14, 1972, Michigan State lost to Michigan, 10–0, in front of a crowd of 103,735 at Michigan Stadium. The game was Michigan's first shutout victory over Michigan State since 1947. Michigan scored on a 22-yard field goal by Mike Lantry in the second quarter and a 58-yard touchdown run by Gil Chapman in the fourth quarter. The Wolverines totaled 334 rushing yards, including 107 by Ed Shuttlesworth, 81 by Chuck Heater, and 64 by Dennis Franklin. The Spartans had a 24-yard touchdown run called back due to a clipping penalty, and their only other scoring threat ended when a hit from Dave Brown forced the Spartans' ball carrier to fumble into the end zone.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1972 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1972 Big Ten Conference football season. In their fourth season under head coach Bo Schembechler, the Wolverines compiled a 10–1 record, outscored opponents 264–57, and were ranked sixth in both final polls (Coaches and AP). Offensive guard Tom Coyle and defensive back Randy Logan were the team captains.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team
Michigan won its first ten games with four conference shutouts (Northwestern, Michigan State, Minnesota, Iowa), and was ranked third in the AP Poll prior to its 14–11 road loss to rival Ohio State in late November.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team
Two Wolverines were consensus first-team All-Americans – senior team captain Randy Logan and offensive tackle Paul Seymour. Schembecher won the first Big Ten Football Coach of the Year Award based on a poll of news media covering the conference.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Preseason
The 1971 team compiled an 11–1 record, outscored opponents 421 to 83, won the Big Ten Conference championship, and was ranked #4 in the final Coaches Poll and #6 in the final AP Poll. The Wolverines lost 13 starters from the 1971 team, including Mike Taylor, a consensus All-American linebacker, Reggie McKenzie, a consensus All-American at offensive guard, Billy Taylor, who set Michigan's career rushing record with 3,072 yards, and defensive back Thom Darden.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Preseason
On offense, the Wolverines' priorities going into the 1972 season included the development of a passing game, as Tom Slade, Larry Cipa and Kevin Casey had combined for less than 700 passing yards in 1971. Shortly before the season opener, coach Schembechler announced that sophomore Dennis Franklin would be the starting quarterback.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Preseason
With the loss of Billy Taylor, the Wolverines lacked a power running attack, and another priority was the development of a speed and quickness attack led by Gil Chapman and Harry Banks. The highlight of the spring game was a 60-yard pass play from Franklin to Chapman. Schembechler was quoted as saying of Chapman, "He's the fastest player I've ever had at Michigan." Alan "Cowboy" Walker, who gained 403 yards in 1971, had been expected to be the Wolverines' lead tailback, but he quit the team before the season started.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Preseason
Two days before the season opener, former Michigan head coach Harry Kipke died at age 73.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Northwestern
On September 16, Michigan opened its 1972 season with a 7–0 victory over Northwestern before a crowd of 71,757 at Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines had been favored by 21 points, and their seven-point tally was the fewest scored by a Michigan team since 1967.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Northwestern
Michigan's seven points were scored on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Dennis Franklin to Bo Rather and an extra point kick by Mike Lantry. Michigan's touchdown was set up by an interception by Michigan linebacker Craig Mutch which he returned 18 yards to Northwestern's 31-yard line. Coach Schembechler called Mutch's interception the "key play of the game." Ed Shuttlesworth led Michigan's ground game with 75 yards on 17 carries. Northwestern's Jim Trimble rushed for 103 yards on 20 carries. The game featured two firsts in Michigan football history.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Northwestern
First, Dennis Franklin, starting his first game, became the first African-American quarterback to play for Michigan; Franklin completed four of nine passes for 60 yards and a touchdown. Second, the game was the first played in front of a sexually integrated Michigan Marching Band. Prior to 1972, the band had been an all-male unit. The 1972 band included six female musicians and a female twirler.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, at UCLA
On September 23, #11 Michigan defeated #6 UCLA, 26–9, in front of a crowd of 57,129 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. UCLA was led by quarterback Mark Harmon, a junior college transfer and the son of Michigan legend Tom Harmon, and had opened the season two weeks earlier with a late night home upset of #1 Nebraska, halting the Huskers' unbeaten streak at 32 games.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, at UCLA
Michigan rushed for 381 yards, including 115 yards and two touchdowns by Ed Shuttlesworth, 78 yards and a touchdown by Harry Banks, 75 yards by Dennis Franklin, and 26 yards and a touchdown by Clint Haslerig. Mike Lantry successfully converted two of four extra point kicks.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Tulane
On September 30, Michigan defeated Tulane, 41–7, in front of a crowd of 84,162 at Michigan Stadium. Michigan rushed for 298 yards, including 151 yards and three touchdowns by Ed Shuttlesworth, 51 yards by Chuck Heater, and 17 yards and a touchdown by Bob Thornbladh. Three Michigan quarterbacks also completed five of 12 passes for 50 yards. In addition, Gil Chapman returned a punt 49 yards and Randy Logan returned an interception 32 yards for touchdowns. Chapman returned seven punts in all for 90 yards. On defense, Michigan held Tulane to 56 rushing yards. Tulane did not score until the fourth quarter against Michigan's second- and third-string players.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Navy
On October 7, Michigan defeated Navy, 35–7, in front of a crowd of 81,131 at Michigan Stadium. Quarterback Dennis Franklin ran six yards around the left end for the first touchdown in the second quarter. Michigan scored 28 points in the third quarter. The quarter began with Navy's Ike Owens fumbling the opening kickoff after being hit by defensive end Mark Jacoby. Franklin then threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Bo Rather. Four minutes later, Dave Brown scored on an 83-yard punt return for touchdown, tying a Michigan school record.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Navy
Chuck Heater scored next on a 13-yard run around left end on an option pitchout from Franklin. Michigan scored its fourth touchdown of the third quarter on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Franklin to Paul Seal. Mike Lantry successfully converted five of five extra points. Michigan led 35-0 at the end of the third quarter, but Navy scored a late touchdown on a short pass.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Michigan State
On October 14, Michigan defeated Michigan State, 10–0, in front of a crowd of 103,735 at Michigan Stadium. The game was Michigan's first shutout victory over Michigan since 1947. Michigan scored on a 22-yard field goal by Mike Lantry in the second quarter and a 58-yard touchdown run by Gil Chapman in the fourth quarter. The Wolverines totaled 334 rushing yards, including 107 by Ed Shuttlesworth, 81 by Chuck Heater, and 64 by Dennis Franklin. The Spartans had a 24-yard touchdown run called back due to a clipping penalty, and their only other scoring threat ended when a hit from Dave Brown forced the Spartans' ball carrier to fumble into the end zone.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, at Illinois
On October 20, Michigan defeated Illinois, 31–7, in front of a crowd of 64,290 for the homecoming game at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. The victory was Michigan's sixth in a row against Illinois. Sophomore tailback Chuck Heater led Michigan's rushing attack with 155 yards on 29 carries with touchdown runs in the first and second quarters. Quarterback Dennis Franklin completed seven of 12 passes for 105 yards, but he also had three turnovers – a fumble on the first play from scrimmage and two interceptions.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, at Illinois
Ed Shuttlesworth contributed 70 rushing yards on 12 carries with a touchdown in the second quarter. Mike Lantry added a 31-yard field goal in the second quarter, and Michigan led 24-0 at halftime. Illinois scored late in the third quarter on an 18-yard run by George Uremovich, and Gil Chapman responded with a 73-yard kickoff return after the Illini touchdown.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Minnesota
On October 28, 1972, Michigan defeated Minnesota, 42–0, in front of a crowd of 84,190 at Michigan Stadium. Michigan's 42 points were its highest total of the season. Fullback Ed Shuttlesworth rushed for 86 yards on 19 carries and scored Michigan's first four touchdowns. Quarterback Dennis Franklin completed five of eight passes for 94 yards, rushed for 58 yards and scored a touchdown. Placekicker Mike Lantry converted all six extra points.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, at Indiana
On November 4, Michigan defeated Indiana, 21–7, in front of a crowd of 41,336 on "a dull, overcast day" at Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana. Michigan's offense fumbled five times, playing without the team's leading rusher, Ed Shuttlesworth. Adding to the offensive woes, Dennis Franklin completed only two of 14 passes for 27 yards. Franklin ran nine yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, but Indiana tied the game at 7–7 early in the fourth quarter.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, at Indiana
Later in the fourth quarter, Michigan regained the lead on a 12-yard touchdown run by Franklin and then extended the lead on a 10-yard touchdown run by Chuck Heater. Bob Thornbladh, playing for the injured Shuttlesworth at fullback, was Michigan's leading rusher with 97 yards on 25 carries. Franklin totaled 85 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Mike Lantry kicked three extra points but missed a field goal attempt. After the game, coach Schembechler praised the defense, but called it "the poorest offensive game of the year."


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Week 9: at Iowa
On November 11, Michigan defeated Iowa, 31–0, in front of a crowd of 43,176 at the recently renamed Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. Quarterback Dennis Franklin completed six of 11 passes for 107 yards and threw touchdown passes covering 15 yards to Paul Seal and 37 yards to Gil Chapman. Franklin also rushed for 37 yards and a touchdown. Bob Thornbladh, playing in place of injured Ed Shuttlesworth at fullback, rushed for 98 yards and scored a touchdown. Mike Lantry added a 30-yard field goal and four extra points. With Ohio State losing to Michigan State on the same afternoon, the victory over Iowa gave undefeated Michigan sole possession of first place in the Big Ten Conference standings.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Week 10: Purdue
On November 18, Michigan defeated Purdue, 9–6, in front of a crowd of 88,423 at Michigan Stadium. Purdue featured College Football Hall of Famers Dave Butz and Otis Armstrong, quarterback Gary Danielson, and receiver Darryl Stingley. Purdue took a 3–0 lead at halftime. Michigan scored a touchdown on its opening drive of the third quarter (an 11-yard pass from Dennis Franklin to Paul Seal), but Mike Lantry missed the extra point kick. At the end of the third quarter, Purdue kicked its second field goal to tie the game at 6–6.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Week 10: Purdue
With three minutes left in the game, the score remained a tie with Purdue having possession. At that point, Michigan's wolfman and co-captain Randy Logan intercepted a Danielson pass at Michigan's 40-yard line. From there, Dennis Franklin scrambled 19 yards to Purdue's 41-yard line. Tailback Chuck Heater advanced the ball to the Purdue 19-yard line with a 22-yard run. On fourth down, with 64 seconds left in the game, Mike Lantry, a Vietnam veteran who had earlier missed an extra point kick and squibbed a kickoff, kicked a 30-yard field goal to put Michigan in the lead. Purdue's defense held Michigan to 100 rushing yards, including 35 yards for Heater and 34 yards for Bob Thornbladh. Dennis Franklin completed 10 of 15 passes for 143 yards.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Ohio State
On November 25, Michigan, ranked #3 in the AP Poll, lost 14–11 at #9 Ohio State in front of a crowd of 87,040 at Ohio Stadium. The game is one of the classic matches in The Ten Year War between head coaches Schembechler and Woody Hayes. Michigan had defeated Ohio State the prior year by a 10–7 score.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Ohio State
Mike Lantry missed on 44-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter, but made a 35-yarder in the second quarter. Ohio State took the lead later in the quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by Champ Henson. Shortly before halftime, Michigan drove the ball to the Ohio State one-yard line, but the Ohio State held on three rushes inside the one-yard line, and Dennis Franklin then fumbled on fourth down at the two-yard line.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Ohio State
Ohio State extended its lead to 14–3 on a 30-yard touchdown run by Archie Griffin in the third quarter. Later in the third quarter, Ed Shuttlesworth scored with a one-yard run on fourth down. Dennis Franklin completed a pass to Clint Haslerig for a two-point conversion, cutting Ohio State's lead to three points. In a memorable goal-line stand in the fourth quarter, Michigan running back Harry Banks crossed the goal line on a second effort, but the officials ruled the play had been whistled dead inside the one-yard line.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Ohio State
Coach Schembechler opted not to kick a field goal that would have tied the game and sent the Wolverines to the 1973 Rose Bowl. Instead, Schembechler called for a quarterback sneak on fourth down, and Randy Gradishar stopped Franklin short of the goal line. The Buckeyes' fans rushed onto the field  and tore down the goal posts with 13 seconds remaining.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Ohio State
Franklin completed 13 of 23 passes for 160 yards and also rushed for 30 yards. Michigan's defense held Ohio State to one pass completion, and the Wolverines out-gained the Buckeyes with 344 yards of total offense to 179 for Ohio State. However, Michigan's inability to score on two drives inside the Ohio State five-yard line gave the victory to the Buckeyes.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Post-season
Prior to the 1975 season, the Big Ten and Pac-8 conferences allowed only one postseason participant each, for the Rose Bowl. With a 10–1 record in 1972, Michigan did not play in a bowl game, despite its top ten ranking (#8 AP, #6 UPI) at the end of the regular season.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Post-season
Two Michigan players, defensive back Randy Logan and offensive tackle Paul Seymour, were consensus first-team selections for the 1972 College Football All-America Team. In addition, 11 Michigan players received honors on the 1972 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Seymour (AP-1, UPI-1), Logan (AP-1, UPI-1), offensive guard Tom Coyle (AP-1, UPI-1), defensive lineman Fred Grambau (AP-1, UPI-1), defensive back Dave Brown, (AP-2, UPI-1), defensive end Clint Spearman (UPI-1), fullback Ed Shuttlesworth (UPI-1), quarterback Dennis Franklin (AP-2, UPI-2), linebacker Tom Kee (AP-2, UPI-2), offensive tackle Jim Coode (UPI-2), and center Bill Hart (AP-2).


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Post-season
At the Michigan football bust in Detroit on December 4, Randy Logan was presented with the Lewis B. Hyde Memorial Award as the most valuable player on the 1972 team, based on the vote of his teammates.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Post-season
On December 11, Michigan's defensive coordinator Jim Young was hired as the head coach for the University of Arizona Wildcats football team. Offensive line coach Larry Smith and graduate assistant Mike Hankwitz also left the Michigan staff in December 1972 to join Young in Arizona. Four weeks later, Michigan hired Jack Harbaugh as its defensive backs coach, beginning a long connection between the Harbaugh family and the Michigan football program.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Post-season
On January 3, 1973, the Associated Press released its final rankings for the 1972 season. Undefeated USC received all fifty first-place votes, with Michigan ranked sixth and Ohio State ninth.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Post-season
On January 24, 1973, Schembecher was announced as the winner of the first Big Ten Football Coach of the Year Award. The award was based on a poll of news media covering the conference. Three days later, Michigan athletic director Don Canham announced that Schembechler, who had compiled a 38-6 record in his first four seasons at Michigan, had been granted a new five-year contract.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Season summary, Post-season, NFL Draft
In the 1973 NFL Draft, the following Michigan players were selected:


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Players, Offensive letter winners
The following players won varsity letters for their participation on the team's offensive unit. Players who were starters in at least half of the team's games are shown with their names in bold.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Players, Defensive letter winners
The following players won varsity letters for their participation on the team's defensive unit. Players who were starters in at least half of the team's games are shown with their names in bold.


1972 Michigan Wolverines football team, Players, Others
The following players did not win varsity letters, but participated as backups or as members of the junior varsity (JV) or all freshman (AF) teams.


1972 Milan–San Remo
The 1972 Milan–San Remo was the 63rd edition of the Milan–San Remo cycle race and was held on 18 March 1972. The race started in Milan and finished in San Remo. The race was won by Eddy Merckx of the Molteni team.


1972 Miller High Life 500
The 1972 Miller High Life 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on March 5, 1972, at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California.


1972 Miller High Life 500, Race report
Two hundred laps took place on a paved track spanning 2.500 miles (4.023 km); the race was resolved in three hours and fifty-six minutes. With a purse larger than the previous month's Daytona 500, 113 cars were waiting in line to compete in three qualifying sessions to fill the 51-car grid. An unprecedented number of teams failed to qualify for the race.


1972 Miller High Life 500, Race report
Given the economic outlook of that era, it was amazing that 113 cars would try to earn a spot on the racing grid (with only a 45% chance of actually qualifying for the race). All of the drivers who qualified were born in the United States. Clem Proctor won the 100-lap Sportsman race that was held the day before this race in a 1963 Thunderbird.


1972 Miller High Life 500, Race report
The 1971 winner George Follmer withdrew after his owner had a dispute with the way NASCAR was inspecting the cars, seems like only two cars (Follmer's and Sonny Easley's) were being checked with templates as both were 1968 models and everything else was older. This would be the first of five consecutive races where the pole winner won the race, only time in NASCAR this has happened.


1972 Miller High Life 500, Race report
Foyt was ridiculously faster than my Chevy down the straights.


1972 Miller High Life 500, Race report
A. J. Foyt defeated Bobby Allison by 4.2 seconds in front of nearly 69,000 live spectators. This victory would be as equally impressive as his wins at the 1964 Firecracker 400 and the 1972 Daytona 500. The pole position was achieved by the race winner qualifying at a speed of 153.217 miles per hour (246.579 km/h). Four cautions slowed the race for 31 laps and the average racing speed was 127.082 miles per hour (204.519 km/h). Jim Vandiver would earn the last-place finish due to an engine issue on the very first lap of the race.


1972 Miller High Life 500, Race report
Country music legend Marty Robbins would compete in this race in a 1972 Dodge Charger vehicle; he started in 22nd and ended in 8th place. After the race, Robbins was named as the "Sportsman of the Race." The winner's purse for the 1972 Miller High Life 500 was $31,695 ($193,725.29 when adjusted for inflation).


1972 Miller High Life 500, Race report
Drivers that retired from NASCAR after this race were: Cliff Garner, Ron Gautsche, Les Loeser, and Don White. The drivers who commenced their NASCAR Cup Series careers during this race were: Carl Adams, Bill Butts, former USAC Championship Car series driver George Follmer, and Jim Whitt. Follmer would eventually go back to USAC Championship Car racing for its 1974 season.


1972 Miller High Life 500, Race report
Notable crew chiefs who actively participated in the race were Richard Elder, Junie Donvaley, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, and Tom Vandiver.


1972 Miller High Life 500, Race report, Qualifying
Failed to qualify: Pat Fay (#99), Bill Shirey (#74), Perry Cottingham (#73), Dale Lee (#65), Tru Cheek (#62), Don Graham (#57W), Ken Shoemaker (#56), Jerry Barnett (#55), John Fairchild (#50), Sam Stanley (#47W), Bill Seifert (#45), D.K. Ulrich (#40), George Wiltshire (#39), Jimmy Insolo (#38), Joe Frasson (#78), Marion Collins (#78W), Dick May (#84), Richard Childress (#96), Harry Jefferson (#94), Larry Smith (#92), Verlin Eaker (#91), Richard D. Brown (#91), Bill Dennis (#90), Clint Hutchins (#89W), Les Covey (#89), Mike Saint (#88W), Ron Keselowski (#88), Allen Jennings (#86), Dan Geiger (#85), Harry Schilling (#84W), Don Tarr (#37), Frank Burnett (#36), Ed Negre (#8), Bob England (#8W), Steve Pfeifer (#08), Ivan Baldwin (#07), Charlie Glotzbach (#6), Jerry Oliver (#6W), Neil Castles (#06), Doc Faustina (#5), John Sears (#4), Emiliano Zapata (#04), Tommy Gale (#03), Johnny Steele (#2), Frank James (#00W), John Lyons (#9), Phillip Pedlar (#11W), Larry Esau (#12W), Bub Strickler (#35), Gene Riniker (#34W), Wendell Scott (#34), Glenn Francis (#33), Johnny Halford (#32), Carl Joiner (#26), Chuck Hetrick (#25W), Jabe Thomas (#25), Jim Gilliam (#24W), Nels Miller (#21W), Paul Dorrity (#15), Arnie Krueger (#14W), Willie McNeal (#14), Bobby Mausgrover (#00)


1972 Milwaukee Brewers season
The 1972 Milwaukee Brewers season involved the Brewers' finishing sixth in the American League East with a record of 65 wins and 91 losses. Because of the move of the Washington Senators to Texas, the Brewers shifted from the AL West to the AL East.


1972 Milwaukee Brewers season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1972 Milwaukee Brewers season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1972 Milwaukee Brewers season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1972 Milwaukee Brewers season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1972 Milwaukee Brewers season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings Pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1972 Milwaukee Brewers season, Farm system
The Brewers' farm system consisted of four minor league affiliates in 1972. The Evansville Triplets won the American Association championship, and the Danville Warriors won the Midwest League championship.


1972 Milwaukee Panthers football team
The 1972 Milwaukee Panthers football team represented the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. The Panthers offense scored 150 points while the defense allowed 103 points.


1972 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team
The 1972 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 1972 Big Ten Conference football season. In their first year under head coach Cal Stoll, the Golden Gophers compiled a 4–7 record and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 304 to 185.


1972 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team
Fullback John King received the team's Most Valuable Player award. King was also named All-Big Ten first team. Defensive back Tim Alderson was named All-Big Ten second team. Offensive lineman Doug Kingsriter was named Academic All-Big Ten.


1972 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team
Total attendance for the season was 221,553, which averaged to 36,925. The season high for attendance was against Iowa.


1972 Minnesota Twins season
The 1972 Minnesota Twins finished 77–77, third in the American League West.


1972 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season
On May 12, in a twenty-two inning match which concluded a day later, Danny Thompson went 0 for 10 with a sacrifice bunt, dropping his batting average 39 points over one game. He and César Tovar set a team record with their eleven plate appearances.


1972 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season
After a slow start, manager Bill Rigney was replaced by Frank Quilici in early July.


1972 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season
On July 9, Rich Reese hit his third pinch-hit grand slam home run, tying a major league record in doing so.


1972 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season
Rothsay, Minnesota, native Dave Goltz made his major league debut on July 18 – he is the first Minnesotan drafted by the Minnesota Twins to make the big league club. He gave up one hit in 3⅔ innings.


1972 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season
Only one Twin made the All-Star Game: second baseman Rod Carew.


1972 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season
On July 31, pitcher Bert Blyleven gave up two inside-the-park home runs, both to the Chicago White Sox Dick Allen. When this next occurs in the major leagues (October 4, 1986), Blyleven is again on the mound. But the feat is accomplished this time by his Minnesota teammate Greg Gagne.


1972 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season
When César Tovar hit for the cycle on September 19, he finished with a game-ending home run. The only other player to do that in history was Ken Boyer (1961). In later years, and after such a hit became known as a "walk-off home run", the feat was duplicated by George Brett (1979), Dwight Evans (1984), and Carlos González (2010). Tovar is just the second Twin to hit for the cycle, after Rod Carew in 1970; eight more Twins will do so by 2009.


1972 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season
Carew won his second AL batting title with a .318 average. Bobby Darwin showed potential as a hitter with 22 HR and 80 RBI, but that did not make up for age and injuries taking their toll on other players. (Those numbers were also suppressed by his Twins-record 145 strikeouts.) Harmon Killebrew hit 26 HR (4th in the league) but drove in only 75 runs. Tony Oliva's bad knees limited him to only 10 games. César Tovar led the team with 86 runs scored. Four pitchers had double digit wins: Bert Blyleven (17–17), Dick Woodson (14–14), Jim Perry (13–16), and Jim Kaat (10–2). Kaat also won his 11th Gold Glove Award.


1972 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season
797,901 fans attended Twins games, the seventh highest total in the American League. It was almost half the number of fans that had attended just a few seasons earlier.


1972 Minnesota Twins season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1972 Minnesota Twins season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1972 Minnesota Twins season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1972 Minnesota Twins season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1972 Minnesota Twins season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1972 Minnesota Vikings season
The 1972 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 12th in the National Football League. It marked the return of Fran Tarkenton to the Vikings after he had been traded to the New York Giants in 1967. In return, Minnesota sent three players to the Giants (Norm Snead, Bob Grim and Vince Clements), plus first- and second-round draft picks. Tarkenton's return also resulted in Gary Cuozzo, who had been with the team since 1968, being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in a deal that sent wide receiver John Gilliam to the Vikings along with second- and fourth-round draft picks in 1973. Cardinals coach Bob Hollway was familiar with Cuozzo, having served as Minnesota's defensive coordinator under Bud Grant prior to leaving for St. Louis in 1971.


1972 Minnesota Vikings season
The Vikings finished with a record of seven wins and seven losses, 4 games worse than their 11–3 record from 1971. This would be one of only two times during the 1970s in which the Vikings failed to reach the playoffs, as they would win the NFC Central six straight years from 1973–1978 before posting a 7–9 record in 1979.


1972 Minnesota Vikings season
The Vikings started the season with just one win in their first four games, including a surprising 19-17 loss to the lightly-regarded Cardinals in week four, when Gary Cuozzo bested his former team as Vikings kicker Fred Cox hit the upright on a potential game-winning field goal. The team recovered from their slow start, winning five of their next six to sit at 6–4. However, the Vikings would lose three of their final four games to finish the season at an even 7–7.


1972 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 3: vs. Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins traveled to Metropolitan Stadium in Minnesota for a match against the Vikings in week 9. Miami trailed Minnesota for much of the game. In the first quarter, the Vikings scored a touchdown via a 56-yard pass from quarterback Fran Tarkenton to wide receiver John Gilliam. With no further scoring in the first or second quarters, the Vikings led 7–0 at halftime. As Tarkenton attempted another pass to Gilliam early in the third quarter, cornerback Tim Foley intercepted and returned the ball to Minnesota's 37-yard line. Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremian kicked a 51-yard field goal and later a 42-yard field goal with 5:23 left in the third quarter after Miami re-gained possession. The Vikings then executed an 80-yard, 13-play drive which consumed all time remaining in the third quarter.


1972 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 3: vs. Miami Dolphins
As the fourth quarter started, Minnesota scored a touchdown via a 1-yard run by running back Bill Brown, with the score being 14–6. After the Dolphins re-gained possession, Vikings linebacker Roy Winston intercepted Bob Griese. However, the No-Name Defense stopped Minnesota's subsequent drive with two sacks on Tarkenton. Miami's next drive, which included a 22-yard double reverse pass from wide receiver Marlin Briscoe to tight end Jim Mandich, ended with a 51-yard field goal by Yepremian. The Dolphins defense then stalled the Vikings next drive and took possession at the Miami 41-yard line.


1972 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 3: vs. Miami Dolphins
After 39 seconds, 6 plays, and a penalty for roughing the passer, Miami scored a touchdown – a 3-yard pass from Grise to Mandich. The Dolphins thus took a 16–14 lead. With one minute and twenty-eight seconds left, the Vikings attempted to reach field goal range. With little time left, Tarkenton threw a Hail Mary pass at the Minnesota 28-yard line, but was intercepted by Dolphins defensive back Lloyd Mumphord. Miami won by a score of 16–14, sacking Tarkenton five times, and improved to 3–0.


1972 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 11: at Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh came into the game 5–0 at home for the season, while Minnesota was riding a four-game win streak. It was quite windy in the stadium at gametime, as the ball blew off the tee twice during the opening kickoff. Once it was kicked, the Vikings began with a good return to their own 45-yard line, but went three-and-out. They got the ball back quickly on the Steelers' opening drive, as John Fuqua fumbled the ball on a bad exchange, recovered by Carl Eller at the Pittsburgh 20.


1972 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 11: at Pittsburgh Steelers
The possession led to a 24-yard field goal after Minnesota only gained three yards. The Vikings followed with a low kickoff due to the wind conditions, and Pittsburgh started again from their own 48, but punted without a first down. The Vikings got the game rolling in an unusual way, extending their possession when Ed Marinaro fumbled a catch and teammate John Gilliam ran it across the 50-yard line. Despite a good drive, the Vikings were held scoreless after failing to gain a foot on a fourth down attempt at the 8. The Steelers then punted again, and late in the first quarter got a turnover at the Vikings' 12 when Bill Brown fumbled. Franco Harris scored untouched on the next play.


1972 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 11: at Pittsburgh Steelers
The Vikings continued their miscues in the second quarter, as their possession stalled with penalties and the snap was bobbled on the punt, although punter Mike Eischeid performed a fantastic improvised punt while scrambling. It began raining at this point, and after a Steelers punt, the Vikings drove all the way to the 4-yard line, only to settle for a bobbled field goal attempt for a turnover. The Steelers gave it back on an interception by Charlie West, but a field goal attempt by the Vikings from 50 missed badly. The half ended with the Steelers holding a 7–3 lead despite the Vikings holding a 140–84 edge in total yards.


1972 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 11: at Pittsburgh Steelers
The second half started with a Steelers punt, and then a Vikings punt which the Steelers fumbled at their own 47 after a good return. The Vikings recovered and drove to the 7-yard line but, incredibly, they again bobbled a field goal attempt and again failed to gain any points. On the following Steelers possession, they hit on a big play with a swing pass to Ron Shanklin, which went from their own 39 to the Vikings 19 and set up a field goal.


1972 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 11: at Pittsburgh Steelers
The teams each traded punts twice, until the Vikings neared the goal line again on a 63-yard catch-and-run by John Gilliam. They finally found the end zone with the next play on a swing pass to tight end Stu Voigt, tying the score at 10–10 with about nine minutes left in the fourth quarter.


1972 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 11: at Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers quickly responded with a 61-yard Franco Harris run to the 1-yard line, giving Harris 100-plus rushing yards for the fifth consecutive game. The Steelers scored with a QB sneak by Terry Bradshaw on the following play. The extra point was blocked, and the Steelers led 16–10. They quickly got the ball back, taking Minnesota's punt to the Vikings 39, but were held to a missed field goal attempt. The Vikings then took their last meaningful shot, but failed on fourth down at their own 29. The Steelers then sealed the game with a touchdown catch by Frank Lewis, making the final 23–10.


1972 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team
The 1972 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. After the season, head coach Charles Shira, who had compiled a 16–45–2 record over six seasons, stepped down and focused solely on athletic director duties.


1972 Missouri Southern Lions football team
The 1972 Missouri Southern Lions football team represented Missouri Southern State College during the 1972 NAIA Division II football season, and completed the 6th season of Lion football at the senior college level. The Lions played their home games in Joplin, Missouri. The 1972 team came off a 4–6 record from the prior season. The 1972 team was headed by coach Jim Frazier. The team finished the regular season with an undefeated 10–0 record and made the program's first appearance in the NAIA playoffs. They won their first NAIA Division II Football National Championship with a 21–14 win over Northwestern College.


1972 Missouri Tigers football team
The 1972 Missouri Tigers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Missouri in the Big Eight Conference (Big 8) during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. The team compiled a 6–6 record (3–4 against Big 8 opponents), finished in a tie for fourth place in the Big 8, and was outscored by opponents by a combined total of 311 to 219. Al Onofrio was the head coach for the second of seven seasons. The team played its home games at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri.


1972 Missouri Tigers football team
The team's statistical leaders included Tommy Reamon with 454 rushing yards, John Cherry with 861 passing yards and 1,094 yards of total offense, Jon Bastable with 362 receiving yards, and Greg Hill with 61 points scored.


1972 Missouri gubernatorial election
The 1972 Missouri gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1972, and resulted in a victory for the Republican nominee, incumbent State Auditor of Missouri Kit Bond, over the Democratic nominee, Edward L. Dowd, and Nonpartisan Paul J. Leonard. Joseph P. Teasdale was a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination, before winning the nomination in the 1976 election.


1972 Missouri lieutenant gubernatorial election
The 1972 Missouri lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1972. Republican nominee Bill Phelps narrowly defeated Democratic nominee Jack J. Schramm with 50.14% of the vote.


1972 Mizoram Legislative Assembly election
The first elections to the Mizoram Legislative Assembly were held on 8 April 1972 to elect members of the 30 constituencies in Mizoram, India. After the elections, C. Chhunga was appointed as the first Chief Minister of Mizoram.


1972 Mizoram Legislative Assembly election
Mizoram in Northeast India was, in 1972, a newly created Union Territory, after the passing of the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971. It was assigned a Legislative Assembly of 30 members.


1972 Monaco Grand Prix
The 1972 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on May 14, 1972. It was race 4 of 12 in both the 1972 World Championship of Drivers and the 1972 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The track was substantially modified from 1971, in the interest of safety. The pits were moved to the harbor front, between the chicane and Tabac, and a new chicane was placed near Tabac. Jean-Pierre Beltoise's victory was the only one of his Formula One World Championship career, and the last for BRM.


1972 Mongolian National Championship
The 1972 Mongolian National Championship was the ninth recorded edition of the Mongolian National Championship for football, with the first tournament taking place in 1955 and no tournament held the previous year. It would appear however that championships were contested between 1956 and 1963, as sources note that a team called Aldar won the title on numerous occasions during that time. Nonetheless, the 1971 national championship was won by Khudulmur (literally: Labour or Workers and also romanised as Hödölmör), their third title following victory in the 1964 and 1966 championships.


1972 Montana Grizzlies football team
The 1972 Montana Grizzlies football team was an American football team that represented the University of Montana in the Big Sky Conference during the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. In their sixth year under head coach Jack Swarthout, the team compiled an 3–8 record.


1972 Montana State Bobcats football team
The 1972 Montana State Bobcats football team was an American football team that represented Montana State University in the Big Sky Conference during the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. In their second season under head coach Sonny Holland, the Bobcats compiled an 8–3 record (5–1 against Big Sky opponents) and won the Big Sky championship.


1972 Montana gubernatorial election
The 1972 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Governor of Montana Forrest H. Anderson, who was first elected in 1968, declined to seek re-election. Thomas Lee Judge, the Lieutenant Governor of Montana, won a competitive Democratic primary, and moved on to the general election, where he faced Ed Smith, a rancher and the Republican nominee. Although then-President Richard Nixon won the state in a landslide in that year's presidential election, Judge managed to handily defeat Smith, winning his first of two terms as governor.


1972 Monte Carlo Open
The 1972 Monte Carlo Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Monte Carlo Country Club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France. The tournament was part of the WCT Tour, which was incorporated into the 1972 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix circuit. It was the 66th edition of the event and was held from 27 March through 3 April 1972. Ilie Năstase won the singles title.


1972 Monte Carlo Open, Finals, Doubles
Patrice Beust /  Daniel Contet defeated  Jiří Hřebec /  František Pála 3–6, 6–1, 12–10, 6–2


1972 Montreal Expos season
The 1972 Montreal Expos season was the fourth season in the history of the franchise. The Expos finished in fifth place in the National League East with a record of 70–86, 26½ games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates.


1972 Montreal Expos season, Spring training
The Expos held spring training at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium in West Palm Beach, Florida, a facility they shared with the Atlanta Braves. It was their fourth season at the stadium. The following season, the Expos would move their spring training activities to City Island Ball Park in Daytona Beach, Florida, where they would train through 1980 before returning to West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium for the 1981 through 1997 seasons.


1972 Montreal Expos season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1972 Montreal Expos season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1972 Montreal Expos season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1972 Montreal Expos season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1972 Montreal Expos season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery
The 1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, sometimes called the Skylight Caper, took place very early in the morning of September 4 of that year. Three armed robbers used a skylight under repair to gain entry to the museum from its roof, tied up the three guards on duty, and left on foot with 18 paintings, including a rare Rembrandt landscape and works by Jan Brueghel the Elder, Corot, Delacroix, Rubens, and Thomas Gainsborough, as well as some figurines and jewellery. One of the Brueghels was returned by the thieves as an initiative to start ransom negotiations. None of the other paintings has ever been recovered and the robbers have never been arrested or even publicly identified, although there is at least one informal suspect.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery
Collectively, the missing paintings have been valued at $11.7 million in 2017 dollars; although their value may have diminished since the theft as scholars have called the attribution of some of the works into question. However, the Rembrandt alone has been valued at $1 million; in 2003 The Globe and Mail estimated it to have appreciated in value to $20 million.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery
The thieves appeared to know what works they were looking for; many of the works had been part of Masterpieces from Montreal, a travelling exhibition that had been to many museums in the U.S. and Canada prior to Expo 67, as well as some other special exhibits put on by the museum in the preceding years. It is not only the largest art theft in Canada but the largest theft in Canadian history.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery
Investigation of the crime proved difficult in the early going, since it occurred over the Labour Day holiday weekend, when many of the museum's officials including its director were vacationing far away from Montreal. It was further complicated by continuing news coverage of the Blue Bird Café fire, Montreal's deadliest arson, three days earlier, dominating the headlines; the next day the killings of Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists at the Olympics in Munich further diminished media coverage. A sting operation conceived after the thieves returned the Brueghel (later reattributed to his students) and mailed photos of the other works to the museum seeking a ransom payment went awry; a later attempt to negotiate their return cost the museum $10,000 with no results.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery
The thieves took advantage of weakened security, resulting from the renovations at the museum, which had left the skylight's alarm disabled. The renovations and the security flaws were themselves a consequence of the museum's tightening finances, which had worsened during the 1960s as many of the wealthy Anglophone community in Montreal that had supported the museum since its founding in 1860 began to leave for Toronto due to increasing concerns over Quebec separatism, especially after terrorist acts by the Front de libération du Québec had led to martial law in the Montreal area two years earlier. Sûreté du Québec, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Interpol continue to investigate the crime. Theories as to who might be responsible have ranged from the Montreal Mafia to Quebec separatists.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Background
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) was established in 1860 as the Art Association of Montreal, to encourage art appreciation in the city. It did not start to exhibit works until the late 1870s and 1880s, when wealthy patrons who had prospered from Canada's industrialization began to donate both cash and works, and it was soon able to build Canada's first space explicitly intended for the exhibition of art. In 1913 it built what is currently its main building, now known as the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion, on Sherbrooke Street in the neighborhood known even today as the Golden Square Mile, because it was home to many of the wealthiest and most successful families in Canada.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Background
These patrons were predominantly of British descent, all members of Montreal's Anglophone elite. At the end of the 1950s, their political and economic domination of the city began to yield to its majority Francophone population, as Quebec separatism began to gain political influence in the province as a whole. Fearing the consequences should the province succeed in seceding, and mindful of the terrorist attacks of the Front de libération du Québec which had led to martial law being declared in the city in 1970, the Anglophone elite began leaving the city over the course of the 1960s.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Background
This slowly deprived the museum of much of its traditional financial support. In 1957, Bill Bantey, a former journalist who was appointed the museum's head of public relations, began reaching out for the first time in its history to Francophones, with some success. But the contributions from newer philanthropists in the city were not as much as their predecessors had been able to give, and public funds from the province only covered 40 percent of the museum's annual budget.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Background
As a result, the museum was having to cut back financially in the early 1970s, going from a strictly private institution to a semi-public nonprofit organization. The museum needed to expand, and it needed to renovate the 1913 William Sutherland Maxwell Beaux-Arts building on Sherbrooke Street. The latter was particularly unsuited to the demands of a late-20th century art museum, with many cramped rooms and corridors. The museum planned to close it in 1973 for a three-year renovation project.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Background, Previous thefts and attempts
On two prior occasions thieves took, or attempted to take, works from the museum.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Background, Previous thefts and attempts
One night in 1933, a person who had hidden in the museum overnight passed 14 paintings, mostly by Canadian artists, to someone else through an open window in the women's lavatory. Later the museum received a ransom note asking $10,000 for the return of the paintings. Three months later, the English-language Montreal Star and the French La Presse each received half of one of the paintings in the mail. A note along with them said if a ransom of 25 percent of the remaining paintings' total value was not paid, they too would be returned in pieces.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Background, Previous thefts and attempts
The paintings were recovered before that could occur when Paul Thouin, a petty criminal, was arrested after burglarizing a rail freight car. During interrogation, he confessed to stealing the paintings and led police to where he had buried them, wrapped in a tarpaulin with newspapers, in a one-metre-deep (3 ft) sandpit near the village of L'Épiphanie a short distance northeast of Montreal. Thouin, who had shot and killed a police officer attempting to apprehend him in a railroad warehouse, was reportedly terrified at the prospect of being returned to prison for what would likely be a very long time. He committed suicide by poisoning himself with a concealed dose of strychnine in the police lockup that night, before he could stand trial.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Background, Previous thefts and attempts
A gang of armed robbers attempted to steal some van Gogh paintings during a special exhibition of the artist's work at the museum in 1960. They were foiled and escaped. They have never been identified.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Background, Labour Day weekend 1972 in Montreal
In Montreal, Labour Day weekend of 1972 began with two major news events, neither of them well-received. On the night of Friday, September 1, four men who had been refused entry to a downtown country-and-western bar for being too intoxicated retaliated by setting the club's steps afire; the ensuing blaze killed 37, making it the deadliest fire in the city in 45 years. On the following evening, the Soviet national hockey team defeated their Canadian counterparts 7–3 in the first game of the Summit Series at the  Montreal Forum.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Background, Labour Day weekend 1972 in Montreal
Canadians, who had expected their team, composed of National Hockey League stars, to overwhelmingly defeat the Soviets, who had only begun competing in international ice hockey a quarter-century earlier, at what Canadians considered their national sport were stunned. Fans in Montreal were eagerly looking ahead to the next game in the series, to be held Monday evening in Toronto.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Background, Labour Day weekend 1972 in Montreal
At the museum, the board president, director, and director of security were all on vacation in either the United States or Mexico for the holiday weekend. Bantey, the public relations director, was the most senior official in charge.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Robbery
Shortly after midnight on the morning of September 4, police believe, a group of three men gathered out in front of the museum on Sherbrooke Street. They went to the museum's west wall, between it and the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul. One of the men, who had the same sort of pick-equipped boots used by utility-company workers to climb telephone poles, went up a tree next to the museum and got high enough in it to gain access to the roof. He was able to find a ladder, and lowered it to the other two, who climbed up.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Robbery
Once the group was on the roof, they went to a skylight that had been covered by a plastic sheet in the course of some ongoing work. They opened the skylight, without setting off any alarm as the plastic sheet had rendered it inoperative, and lowered a 15-metre (49 ft) nylon rope to the museum's second floor. All three slid down.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Robbery
It had taken them almost an hour and a half to gain entry to the museum. Shortly after they did, around 1:30 a.m., one of the three guards on duty was walking to the kitchen to get some tea. He encountered the thieves, their faces covered by ski masks, who fired both barrels of a pump action shotgun into the ceiling to get his attention and made him lie down on the floor. The noise brought the other two guards, who were unable to overpower the thieves, and soon all three guards were taken to a lecture hall where they were bound and gagged.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Robbery
There, one of the robbers, who carried a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun, stood guard while the other two removed paintings, jewellery and figurines from their displays and brought them to the museum's shipping department. The thieves originally seemed to have planned to leave via the same skylight they had come in through, but eventually concluded it would take too much time to put together a system of pulleys to get themselves and the stolen artwork out. After finding that one of the guards had a set of keys to one of the museum's panel trucks, they decided instead to flee that way.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Robbery
However, this alternative also went awry. They chose to exit through one of the museum's side entrances, where an alarm went off as they did so. Leaving half their take behind, they fled on foot down Sherbrooke.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Robbery
Back at the museum, one of the guards worked to free himself. An hour after the robbery ended, around 3 a.m., he succeeded and called Bill Bantey, who told him to call the police. He arrived shortly after the police, along with Ruth Jackson, the museum's curator of decorative arts. After surveying the broken frames, smashed display cases and general disorder the thieves had left, they found that 18 paintings and 38 other pieces had been taken. Collectively they estimated the value of the stolen work at $2 million.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Works stolen
All of the stolen paintings were by European artists from the 17th through 19th centuries:


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Works stolen
Most of the paintings taken were small works around a foot (31 cm) along their longest dimension; the three smallest (the Brueghels and Millet's La barrateuse) were less than 80 square inches (520 cm2), smaller than a standard letter-size piece of paper. The largest was the Courbet, at 287⁄8 by 361⁄8 inches (73.34 by 91.76 cm), with the Gainsborough and Corot's Dreamer close behind. It was possible that when the thieves ran away each of them held a batch of smaller paintings in one hand and a larger one in the other.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Works stolen
The thieves also took 38 pieces of jewellery and figurines. Among the former pieces were an 18th-century gold watch once owned by the wife of Jacques Viger, Montreal's first mayor; a 19th-century French blue enamel latch box set with diamonds and two 17th-century Spanish pendants.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Investigation
Later that morning, Bantey, who had covered the crime beat in Montreal as a journalist prior to his tenure at the museum, held a news conference to discuss the theft. He identified all the stolen works and described how the robbers had entered the museum and taken them. "They did show quite discriminating taste," he told reporters, "though as far as the objects are concerned, they could do with more art and historical training." In their haste to leave, he noted, the thieves had left behind another Rembrandt as well as works by El Greco, Picasso and Tintoretto that they could as easily have taken.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Investigation
The news conference was initially effective in publicizing the theft. It, as well as lists of the stolen paintings, were reported as front-page news in many major newspapers across the U.S. and Canada the next morning. As soon as they learned of the theft, Montreal police had also put out the alert to the crossings along the U.S. border, about 60 kilometres (37 mi) from Montreal, to look out for the thieves and/or the paintings should anyone attempt to take them to New York City, 530 kilometres (330 mi) farther south.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Investigation
However, further publicity that might have drawn attention to the theft and perhaps helped solve it was stymied by news events of September 5. At that year's Summer Olympics in Munich, Palestinian terrorists with Black September took 11 Israeli athletes hostage, eventually killing them along with a German police officer, the following day. Those events were of particular interest in Montreal since the city was preparing to host the next Olympics, and as a result further news about the art theft got less priority in the media. The investigation would continue, however.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Investigation
From interviews with the three guards, police learned that there had been three thieves. The guards saw two of them, describing them as both about 5 feet 6 inches (168 cm) in height. One spoke French and the other English. The guards also reported that the two spoke with a third, also a Francophone, whom they never were able to see.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Investigation
Investigators were immediately struck by the similarity to another recent art theft in the Montreal area. On August 30, another group of three thieves had broken into the summer home of Agnes Meldrum, wife of a Montreal moving-company owner, in Oka, roughly 30 kilometres (20 miles) west of the city. They had all climbed up a 200-metre (600-foot) cliff from a powerboat on Lake of Two Mountains to do so. Witnesses said that while they wore hoods to prevent identification, two spoke French and the other, English. Once inside the home they stole paintings worth $50,000 in total.


1972 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, Investigation, Inside-job theory
The presence of two Francophones and one Anglophone, plus the climbing skills involved, led the chief investigator on the case to believe the thieves involved in both incidents had been local, and possibly the same. That, and their apparent knowledge of the skylight's non-functional alarm, had at first fostered a theory that someone on the inside at the museum had aided the thieves in some way. This is a common phenomenon when museums are robbed; two New York City detectives who specialized in art crime said as much when commenting about the Montreal case later in 1972.