1971–72 The Floridians season
The Floridians edged out the Carolina Cougars for the final playoff spot by one game, with their 116–115 overtime victory proving key to clinching the spot, as their record was 35–45 and the Cougars record was at 33–49, with the Floridians not only having two more games to play than the Cougars but only needing to win once more to officially clinch, which they did four days later versus the Memphis Pros, 118–107. The team's biggest winning streak all season was 4, with their first half record being 19–23.


1971–72 The Floridians season
They went 17–25 in the second half of the season, with a season high six game losing streak in that half. They finished 8th in points scored, at 112.8 per game and 8th in points allowed at 114.3 per game. In the Semifinals, they were swept by the Virginia Squires. After the season, the team was disbanded, due to attendance not improving despite trying to appeal to the region. Pro basketball would not return to the area until 1988 with the Miami Heat, who have worn throwback jerseys of the team on occasion as part of "Hardwood Classics Nights", doing so for the first time during the 2005–06 season.


1971–72 The Floridians season, Awards and honors
1972 ABA All-Star Game selections (game played on January 29, 1972)


1971–72 Toronto Maple Leafs season
The 1971–72 Toronto Maple Leafs season was Toronto's 55th season of operation in the National Hockey League (NHL). It was also the fortieth anniversary season of the opening of Maple Leaf Gardens. The Maple Leafs finished fourth, and qualified for the playoffs, losing in the first round to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins.


1971–72 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Offseason
In June, team president Stafford Smythe and vice-president Harold Ballard were arrested for theft and fraud involving funds of Maple Leaf Gardens. They were charged jointly on the theft of $146,000 of funds and securities and Smythe was further charged for defrauding Maple Leaf Gardens of $249,000.


1971–72 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Regular season
On October 13, just after the start of the season, Smythe died of complications from a bleeding ulcer. The Leaf's home opener, scheduled for that night was postponed, only the second postponement in Maple Leaf Gardens history.


1971–72 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Transactions
The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 1971-72 season.


1971–72 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Draft picks
Toronto's draft picks at the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec.


1971–72 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season
The 1971–72 season saw Tottenham Hotspur compete in the First Division where they finished 6th in the table. It was also the season where they won the UEFA Cup for the first time beating Wolverhampton Wanderers in an all English final over two legs. In the FA Cup they reach the sixth round where they went away to Leeds United at Elland Road to lose 2–1. In the League Cup they reached the Semi–final where they were knocked out by Chelsea.


1971–72 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


1971–72 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team
The 1970–71 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 1970–71 NCAA College Division men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by third year head coach Tim Tift and played their home games at Crawford Hall. They were invited to the 1972 NCAA College Division Basketball Tournament where they lost to Southern Colorado in the regional semifinals and UC Riverside in the regional 3rd place game. The anteaters finished the season with an overall record of 16–12.


1971–72 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team, Previous Season
The 1970–71 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team finished the season with a record of 16–12 under second year head coach Tim Tift and were not invited to a post season tournament.


1971–72 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team
The 1971–72 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team won the National Collegiate Championship on March 25, 1972, in the Los Angeles Sports Arena with an 81–76 victory over Florida State. It was the sixth consecutive championship (and eighth in nine years) under John Wooden, in his 25th year as head coach at UCLA. This was the final year that the national championship game was played on Saturday.


1971–72 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team
The 1971–72 Bruins had an undefeated record of 30–0,  winning by an average margin of over thirty points. They won all 26 games in the regular season (fourteen in Pac-8  play), then four in the NCAA tournament. This was the 45th consecutive victory in a winning streak that reached 88 games, an NCAA record.


1971–72 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team, Season summary
Sophomore Bill Walton lived up to his advance billing, leading the Bruins to a 30–0 record and the National Championship while averaging a double-double (21.1 PPG, 15.5 RPG). Greg Lee and Henry Bibby formed a solid back court, and forwards Keith Wilkes and Larry Farmer were double-digit scorers. Walton's backup, Swen Nater, could have been a star at other schools and went on to a lengthy pro career.


1971–72 UEFA Cup
The 1971–72 UEFA Cup was the inaugural year of the UEFA Cup (now known as the UEFA Europa League), which effectively replaced the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.


1971–72 UEFA Cup
It was won by English side Tottenham Hotspur over their countrymen Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–2 on aggregate after a two-legged final.


1971–72 UEFA Cup
The tournament was open to the highest-placed European teams that had not qualified for the European Cup or UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. It commenced on 14 September 1971 and concluded on 17 May 1972.


1971–72 UEFA Cup
A total of 64 football clubs entered the first round draw.


1971–72 UEFA Cup
The tournament's top scorer was Ludwig Bründl of Eintracht Braunschweig with ten goals.


1971–72 UEFA Cup, First round
Teams from the same nation could not be drawn against one another.


1971–72 UEFA Cup, First round, Summary
First legs were played on 14–16 September 1971 (except one match which was played on 22 September). Second legs were played on 29–30 September 1971 (except one match which was played on 6 October).


1971–72 UEFA Cup, First round, Summary
1 Vllaznia withdrew after Austrian immigration officials declined to issue visas for their team to enter the country. 2 This match was played in Reykjavík. 3 Chemie Halle withdrew after the first leg following the Hotel 't Silveren Seepaerd fire.


1971–72 UEFA Cup, First round, Matches
Vllaznia withdrew after Austrian immigration officials declined to issue visas for their team to enter the country; Rapid Wien were awarded a walkover.


1971–72 UEFA Cup, First round, Matches
2–2 on aggregate; Vitória de Setúbal won on away goals.


1971–72 UEFA Cup, First round, Matches
Chemie Halle withdrew after the first leg following the Hotel 't Silveren Seepaerd fire. PSV were awarded a walkover.


1971–72 UEFA Cup, Second round
Teams from the same nation could not be drawn against one another.


1971–72 UEFA Cup, Second round, Summary
First legs were played on 19–21 October 1971. Second legs were played on 2–4 November 1971.


1971–72 UEFA Cup, Second round, Summary
1 After the final whistle in the first leg, Panionios fans invaded the pitch and attacked Ferencváros players, match officials and Hungarian police. Panionios were ejected from the competition. 2 This match was played in 's-Hertogenbosch.


1971–72 UEFA Cup, Second round, Matches
After the final whistle in the first leg, Panionios fans invaded the pitch and attacked Ferencváros players, match officials and Hungarian police. Panionios were ejected from the competition. Ferencváros were awarded a walkover.


1971–72 UEFA Cup, Third round
Teams from the same nation could not be drawn against one another.


1971–72 UEFA Cup, Third round, Summary
First legs were played on 23–24 November 1971. Second legs were played on 8 and 15 December 1971.


1971–72 UEFA Cup, Quarter-finals, Summary
First legs were played on 23 February, 7 and 9 March 1972. Second legs were played on 7, 21 and 22 March 1972.


1971–72 UEFA Cup, Semi-finals, Summary
First legs were played on 5 April 1972. Second legs were played on 19 April 1972.


1971–72 UEFA Cup, Final, Summary
First leg was played on 3 May 1972. Second leg was played on 17 May 1972.


1971–72 United States network television schedule
The following is the 1971–72 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1971 through August 1972. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1970–71 season. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football. This season would be the first time the prime time schedule would be shortened to three hours (with the exception of Sunday and Tuesday), giving the 7:30 p.m. slot back to local stations, as implemented in the Prime Time Access Rule.


1971–72 United States network television schedule
Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.


1971–72 United States network television schedule
The Public Broadcasting Service was in operation, but the schedule was set by each local station.


1971–72 United States network television schedule, Sunday
Note: 60 Minutes aired at 6:00-7:00 pm on CBS from January to June 1972.


1971–72 United States network television schedule, Tuesday
Note: The NBC 1972 summer series Ponderosa consisted of reruns of Bonanza episodes from the 1967-1970 period. More recent reruns of Bonanza also aired that summer under the show's original name in its regular Sunday evening time slot. NBC Action Playhouse consisted of reruns from Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, with new introductions by Peter Marshall.


1971–72 United States network television schedule, Wednesday
Note: The ABC 1972 summer series ABC Comedy Hour Presents the Kopykats consisted of reruns of ABC Comedy Hour from earlier in the year.


1971–72 United States network television schedule, By network, NBC
Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.


1971–72 United States network television schedule (daytime)
The 1971–72 daytime network television schedule for the three major English-language commercial broadcast networks in the United States covers the weekday and weekend daytime hours from September 1971 to August 1972.


1971–72 United States network television schedule (daytime), Schedule, Saturday
In the News aired after all of CBS' Saturday morning shows except The Bugs Bunny Show, You Are There, and CBS Children's Film Festival.


1971–72 United States network television schedule (daytime), Sources
Castleman & Podrazik, The TV Schedule Book, McGraw-Hill Paperbacks, 1984


1971–72 United States network television schedule (late night)
These are the late night Monday-Friday schedules on all three networks for each calendar season beginning September 1971. All times are Eastern/Pacific.


1971–72 United States network television schedule (late night)
Talk/Variety shows are highlighted in yellow, Local News & Programs are highlighted in white.


1971–72 Utah Stars season
The 1971–72 Utah Stars season was the 2nd season of the Stars in Utah and 5th overall in the American Basketball Association. The Stars went 31–11 in the first half of the season, while going 29–13 in the second half of the season, with a ten-game winning streak near the end of the season. Their biggest losing streak was three, which happened four times during the season. They finished 3rd in points scored at 117.8 per game, and 4th in points allowed at 112.0 per game. The Stars swept the Dallas Chaparrals in the Semifinals but lost to the Indiana Pacers in seven games, denying them a repeat ABA Finals appearance.


1971–72 Utah Stars season, Awards and honors
1972 ABA All-Star Game selections (game played on January 29, 1972)


1971–72 Vancouver Canucks season
The 1971–72 Vancouver Canucks season was the Canucks' second season in the NHL. They finished 7th, last, in the East Division. Hal Laycoe, the team's first head coach, was fired after the season concluded and replaced by Vic Stasiuk.


1971–72 Vancouver Canucks season, Regular season
The Canucks opened the season at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 8, 1971. They lost the game 3–2, though Jocelyn Guevremont, the team's first draft choice in the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft, scored his first goal. In their game against the Minnesota North Stars on October 20, the Canucks were shutout for the first time, losing 7–0. One week later the Canucks played the Maple Leafs and drew them 0–0, the first time the team had a shutout of their own; Dunc Wilson was in net for the Canucks, while Bernie Parent was in for the Maple Leafs.


1971–72 Vancouver Canucks season, Regular season
During his tour of Canada, Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin and his entourage watched the Canucks play the Montreal Canadiens on October 22. They stayed for the first two periods and saw Montreal score four goals en route to winning the game 6–0. Frank Mahovlich recorded a hat trick for the Canadiens, while Ken Dryden earned the shutout.


1971–72 Vancouver Canucks season, Regular season
With the season concluded, Hal Laycoe was fired as head coach of the team. He was appointed vice-president of player development and scouting, and Vic Stasiuk was named the new coach.


1971–72 Vancouver Canucks season, Player statistics, Skaters
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty Minutes


1971–72 Vancouver Canucks season, Player statistics, Skaters
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Vancouver. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only.


1971–72 Vancouver Canucks season, Player statistics, Skaters
*Denotes player traded by Vancouver midway through the season. Stats reflect time with Canucks only.


1971–72 Vancouver Canucks season, Player statistics, Goaltenders
Note: GP = Games Played; Min = Minutes; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against Average


1971–72 Vancouver Canucks season, Transactions
The Canucks were involved in the following transactions during the 1971–72 season.


1971–72 Vancouver Canucks season, Draft picks
Vancouver's picks at the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft, held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.


1971–72 VfL Bochum season
The 1971–72 VfL Bochum season was the 34th season in club history.


1971–72 Virginia Squires season
The 1971–72 Virginia Squires season was the second season of the Virginia Squires in the American Basketball Association. This was the debut season of future Hall of Famer Julius Erving. In the first half of the season, the Squires were 26–16, with a season-high five-game losing streak and one five-game winning streak in that half. In the second half, they went 19–23. The Squires finished 2nd in points scored at 118.9 per game, but 9th in points allowed at 118.0 per game.


1971–72 Virginia Squires season
Just before the season ended, Charlie Scott left the team and joined the NBA's Phoenix Suns, completing a trade with the Boston Celtics (who held his original draft rights) for Paul Silas. Scott set the all-time ABA individual single-season scoring record by averaging 34.6 points per game. In the playoffs, the Squires swept the Floridians (with Game 2 even being broadcast on CBS), but the Squires lost to the New York Nets in the Division Finals. After the season, the Squires stopped playing in Roanoke, electing to focus on Norfolk, Hampton, and Richmond only.


1971–72 Virginia Squires season, Awards and honors
1972 ABA All-Star Game selections (game played on January 29, 1972)


1971–72 WCHL season
The 1971–72 WCHL season was the sixth season of the Western Canada Hockey League. Twelve teams completed a 68-game season, with the Edmonton Oil Kings winning their second consecutive President's Cup.


1971–72 WCHL season, Regular season, Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes


1971–72 WCHL season, All-Star game
The 1971–72 WCHL All-Star Game was held in Vancouver, British Columbia, with the East Division All-Stars defeating the West Division All-Stars 4–2 before a crowd of 5,783.


1971–72 WIHL season
1971–72 was the 25th season of the Western International Hockey League.


1971–72 WIHL season, Playoffs
The Cranbrook Royals successfully protested against their loss in the 5th game in the series, resulting in the game being awarded to Cranbrook.


1971–72 WIHL season, Playoffs
In the "best of 7" final series, the Spokane Jets defeated Nelson Maple Leafs 4 games to 1 (5-3, 5-4, 5-2, 2-3, 5-4). The Spokane Jets advanced to the 1971-72 Western Canada Allan Cup Playoffs.


1971–72 Washington Huskies men's basketball team
The 1971–72 Washington Huskies men's basketball team represented the University of Washington for the 1971–72 NCAA college basketball season. Led by first-year head coach Marv Harshman, the Huskies were members of the Pacific-8 Conference and played their home games on campus at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, Washington.


1971–72 Washington Huskies men's basketball team
The Huskies were 20–6 overall in the regular season and 10–4 in conference play, second in the standings; it was Washington's best season in nineteen years. The 25-team NCAA Tournament included only one Pac-8 team, champion UCLA. The Huskies did not play in the 16-team National Invitation Tournament (NIT) because the Pac-8 did not allow it. This rule was changed after this season and USC played in the NIT in 1973.


1971–72 Washington Huskies men's basketball team
Previous head coach Tex Winter left in May 1971 to become head coach of the NBA's San Diego Rockets, who moved to Houston the next month. Harshman was hired in June, and led the Huskies for fourteen seasons. He was previously the head coach at rival Washington State for thirteen years, preceded by thirteen years at his alma mater, Pacific Lutheran.


1971–72 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team
The 1971–72 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team represented Washington State University for the 1971–72 college basketball season. Led by first-year head coach Bob Greenwood, the Cougars were members of the Pacific-8 Conference and played their home games on campus at Bohler Gymnasium in Pullman, Washington.


1971–72 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team
The Cougars were 11–15 overall in the regular season and 3–11 in conference play, seventh in the standings.


1971–72 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team
Hired in July to succeed Marv Harshman, Greenwood resigned in mid-March, after just one season. Assistant coach Dale Brown became the head coach at LSU a week later, and freshman coach Homer Drew went with him to Baton Rouge.


1971–72 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team
George Raveling, an assistant at Maryland under Lefty Driesell, was hired by WSU athletic director Ray Nagel a few weeks later in April, and led the Cougar program for eleven years.


1971–72 Weber State Wildcats men's basketball team
The 1971–72 Weber State Wildcats men's basketball team represented Weber State College during the 1971–72 NCAA University Division basketball season. Members of the Big Sky Conference, the Wildcats were led by first-year head coach Gene Visscher and played their home games on campus at Wildcat Gym in Ogden, Utah. They were 17–9 in the regular season and 10–4 in conference play.


1971–72 Weber State Wildcats men's basketball team
The conference tournament was four years away, and for the fifth consecutive season, Weber State won the Big Sky title and played in the 25-team NCAA Tournament. In the West regional, the Wildcats defeated #12 Hawaii 91–64 in the first round in Pocatello, Idaho, and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in Provo. Weber fell to eventual champion UCLA by 32 points, then dropped the third place game to San Francisco.


1971–72 Weber State Wildcats men's basketball team
Senior forward Bob Davis was named to the all-conference team; senior forward Jon Knoble and junior guard Brady Small were on the second team.


1971–72 Welsh Cup
The 1971–72 FAW Welsh Cup is the 85th season of the annual knockout tournament for competitive football teams in Wales.


1971–72 Welsh Cup, Fifth round
Ten winners from the Fourth round and six new clubs.


1971–72 West Ham United F.C. season
In the 1971–72 season West Ham United played in the First Division of English football, finishing 14th.


1971–72 West Ham United F.C. season, Season summary
The highlight of West Ham's season came in reaching the semi-finals of the League Cup. After beating title challengers Leeds United and Liverpool, they faced Stoke City in the last four. West Ham won the first leg 2–1 away, but were beaten 1–0 at Upton Park, with Geoff Hurst having a late penalty saved by his England international team-mate Gordon Banks three minutes from the end.


1971–72 West Ham United F.C. season, Season summary
The teams then drew 0–0 after extra time in a replay at Hillsborough, and the tie was eventually decided when Stoke won a dramatic second replay 3–2 at Old Trafford, seven weeks after the sides had first met. The game was memorable for Bobby Moore having a stint in goal after West Ham's goalkeeper Bobby Ferguson went off injured, and saving a penalty from Stoke's Mike Bernard, only for Bernard to score from the rebound.


1971–72 West Ham United F.C. season, Season summary
West Ham's form suffered after the League Cup defeat, and they won just four more League matches before the end of the season. In the FA Cup, they struggled past non-League Hereford United in a replay, but were then eliminated by relegation-threatened Huddersfield Town in the fifth round.


1971–72 West Ham United F.C. season, Season summary
This season was the last as West Ham players for club stalwarts Hurst and Harry Redknapp.


1971–72 West Midlands (Regional) League
The 1971–72 West Midlands (Regional) League season was the 72nd in the history of the West Midlands (Regional) League, an English association football competition for semi-professional and amateur teams based in the West Midlands county, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and southern Staffordshire.


1971–72 West Midlands (Regional) League, Premier Division
The Premier Division featured 17 clubs which competed in the division last season, along with two new clubs:


1971–72 Western Football League
The 1971–72 season was the 70th in the history of the Western Football League.


1971–72 Western Football League
The champions for the third time in their history, and the second season in succession, were Bideford.


1971–72 Western Football League, Final table
The league was reduced from eighteen clubs to fourteen after Andover joined the Southern League, and Bath City Reserves, Bristol City Colts and Plymouth City all left. No new clubs joined.


1971–72 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team
The 1971–72 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by new coach Jim Richards and All-Ohio Valley Conference player Jerry Dunn. WKU finished in a three-way tie for the OVC championship. No conference tournament was held, so a playoff was scheduled to determine which team would go on to the NCAA tournament. The Hilltoppers lost in the playoff to Morehead State.


1971–72 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team
The 1971–1972 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team represented University of Wisconsin–Madison. The head coach was John Powless, coaching his fourth season with the Badgers. The team played their home games at the UW Fieldhouse in Madison, Wisconsin and was a member of the Big Ten Conference.


1971–72 Yale Bulldogs men's basketball team
The 1971–72 Yale Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Yale University during the 1971–72 men's college basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by 15th year head coach Joe Vancisin, played their home games at John J. Lee Amphitheater of the Payne Whitney Gymnasium and were members of the Ivy League. They finished the season 7–17, 5–9 in Ivy League play to finish in sixth place.


1971–72 Yorkshire Cup
The 1971–72 Yorkshire Cup was the sixty-fourth occasion on which the RFL Yorkshire Cup competition had been held.


1971–72 Yorkshire Cup
Hull Kingston Rovers won the trophy by beating Castleford by the score of 11-7. The match was played at Belle Vue, in the City of Wakefield, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 5,536 and receipts were £1,589. The attendance was a Yorkshire Cup final record, the lowest ever, a record which would never be beaten. This is the second time in four seasons that Castleford, (who have never won the trophy, to date) finished as runner-up.


1971–72 Yorkshire Cup, Competition and results, Round 1
Involved  either 6 or 7 matches (with one or two byes) and either 14 or 15 Clubs


1971–72 Yorkshire Cup, Competition and results, Final, Teams and Scorers
Scoring - Try = three (3) points - Goal = two (2) points - Drop goal = two (2) points


1971–72 Yorkshire Cup, Notes and comments
1 * Leeds did not take part this season due to a dispute with the Yorkshire County Committee.


1971–72 Yorkshire Cup, Notes and comments
2 * Bramley and Hull Kingston Rovers proceeded to the second round, whereas Dewsbury did not, however I am unable to find any record of these teams for the  first round. Can anyone help


1971–72 Yorkshire Cup, Notes and comments
3 * Belle Vue is the home ground of Wakefield Trinity with a capacity of approximately 12,500. The record attendance was 37,906 on the 21 March 1936 in the Challenge Cup semi-final between Leeds and Huddersfield


1971–72 Yorkshire Cup, Notes and comments, General information for those unfamiliar
The Rugby League Yorkshire Cup competition was a knock-out competition between (mainly professional) rugby league clubs from  the  county of Yorkshire. The actual area was at times increased to encompass other teams from  outside the  county such as Newcastle, Mansfield, Coventry, and even London (in the form of Acton & Willesden).


1971–72 Yorkshire Cup, Notes and comments, General information for those unfamiliar
The Rugby League season always (until the onset of "Summer Rugby" in 1996) ran from around August-time through to around May-time and this competition always took place early in the season, in the Autumn, with the final taking place in (or just before) December (The only exception to this was when disruption of the fixture list was caused during, and immediately after, the two World Wars)


1971–72 Yorkshire Football League
The 1971–72 Yorkshire Football League was the 46th season in the history of the Yorkshire Football League, a football competition in England.


1971–72 Yorkshire Football League, Division One
Division One featured 12 clubs which competed in the previous season, along with four new clubs, promoted from Division Two:


1971–72 Yorkshire Football League, Division Two
Division Two featured nine clubs which competed in the previous season, along with six new clubs.


1971–72 Yorkshire Football League, Division Three
Division Three featured ten clubs which competed in the previous season, along with four new clubs:


1971–72 Yugoslav Cup
The 1971–72 Yugoslav Cup was the 25th season of the top football knockout competition in SFR Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav Cup (Serbo-Croatian: Kup Jugoslavije), also known as the "Marshal Tito Cup" (Kup Maršala Tita), since its establishment in 1946.


1971–72 Yugoslav Cup, Round of 16
In the following tables winning teams are marked in bold; teams from outside top level are marked in italic script.


1971–72 Yugoslav First Basketball League
The 1971–72 Yugoslav First Basketball League season was the 28th season of the Yugoslav First Basketball League, the highest professional basketball league in SFR Yugoslavia.


1971–72 Yugoslav First Basketball League, Notable events, Early pacesetters: Zvezda, Jugoplastika, and Lokomotiva
The season began in early November 1971 with Crvena zvezda, defending champion Jugoplastika, Lokomotiva, and Olimpija tipped as main title contenders by the observers.


1971–72 Yugoslav First Basketball League, Notable events, Early pacesetters: Zvezda, Jugoplastika, and Lokomotiva
Olimpija fell out of the title contention almost immediately, recording several losses in their first few games of the season while Crvena zvezda and Lokomotiva jumped to the top of the standings early on. Jugoplastika also kept pace with the standings leaders while Borac Čačak, finding success behind Radmilo Mišović's scoring exploits, and Radnički Belgrade became the early season's surprise packages.


1971–72 Yugoslav First Basketball League, Notable events, Early pacesetters: Zvezda, Jugoplastika, and Lokomotiva
In week 4 of the season, Crvena zvezda and Jugoplastika played a hard-fought game in Belgrade's Hala sportova with Zvezda coming out on top 98–86. In addition to highly competitive basketball and Zoran Slavnić's exceptional performance, the game is also remembered for the bench-clearing brawl that occurred with four minutes to go in the contest after Jugoplastika's point guard Rato Tvrdić punched Zvezda's shooting guard Duci Simonović.


1971–72 Yugoslav First Basketball League, Notable events, Zadar vs Zvezda on Catholic Christmas 1971
On Saturday, 25 December 1971, as part of the season's week 8, KK Zadar and Crvena zvezda played on KK Zadar's home court at Jazine — a tense and incident-filled contest remembered for the extremely hostile atmosphere with nationalist and sectarian overtones directed towards the visiting team by the home fans. Scheduled to be played on Catholic Christmas — a holiday not officially celebrated in communist SFR Yugoslavia — the game featured tensions even before tip off as the visiting Crvena zvezda players and personnel had to be escorted by police from the moment of their arrival in Zadar.


1971–72 Yugoslav First Basketball League, Notable events, Zadar vs Zvezda on Catholic Christmas 1971
As the teams entered the Jazine court before the game, the hosts decided to power off the arena lights while the only light in the hall was provided from the thousands of candles given out to the gathered spectators. Following the tip off, Zadar fans began throwing the said candles onto the court, continuing to do so throughout the game while the referees — brothers Janko and Petar Kavčić from Ljubljana — didn't stop the contest out of fear of enraging the crowd even more. Among the verbal abuse hurled at Zvezda players were hate speech chants "Srbe na vrbe". With five minutes to go in the close game, Zadar's best player and leading scorer Josip Gjergja twisted his ankle after stepping on one of the candles littering the court and had to leave the contest. Zvezda ended up winning 60–61.


1971–72 Yugoslav First Basketball League, Notable events, Zadar vs Zvezda on Catholic Christmas 1971
As soon as the game ended, Zvezda players were surrounded by police mid-court as the angry Zadar fans tried to physically accost the visiting team. Shortly, even the army had to be called in as re-enforcement in order to escort the visiting team out of the arena. In the chaos and confusion while the Zvezda players were surrounded by army recruits out on the court, a young Zadar fan got in-between two of the soldiers guarding Zvezda players and stabbed Zvezda's shooting guard Ivan Sarjanović in the upper thigh with a compass.


1971–72 Yugoslav First Basketball League, Classification, One-game playoff for the championship: Crvena Zvezda vs Jugoplastika: 75-70 OT
Due to Crvena Zvezda and Jugoplastika being tied for the top spot with identical 17-5 records at the end of the season, the champion was decided in a one-game playoff between the two teams since, as stipulated by the Yugoslav Basketball Federation (KSJ) regulations, points difference wasn't legitimate criteria to determine a league champion in case of a tie at the top. The regulations further stated that the deciding game's venue had to be neutral and mutually agreed upon between the two teams. Crvena Zvezda requested Sarajevo while Jugoplastika wanted Ljubljana. Due to the teams' inability to agree, the venue was decided by coin toss that was won by Jugoplastika.


1971–72 Yugoslav First Basketball League, Classification, One-game playoff for the championship: Crvena Zvezda vs Jugoplastika: 75-70 OT
Accordingly, the game ended up being played in Ljubljana's Hala Tivoli on Thursday, 27 April 1972. In a close game (Jugoplastika was up by four 35–39 at halftime), Zvezda's playmaker Zoran Slavnić hit a shot within final thirty seconds for a 67–67 tie at the end of regulation. Zvezda ended up winning 75-70 largely behind Zoran Lazarević's 12 points, all of which he scored towards the end of regulation and in overtime.


1971–72 Yugoslav First League
The 1971–72 Yugoslav First League season was the 26th season of the First Federal League of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatian: Prva savezna liga Jugoslavije), the top level association football competition of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946. A total of 18 teams competed in the league, with the previous season's runners-up Željezničar Sarajevo winning the title.


1971–72 Yugoslav Ice Hockey League season
The 1971–72 Yugoslav Ice Hockey League season was the 30th season of the Yugoslav Ice Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in Yugoslavia. Six teams participated in the league, and Olimpija have won the championship.


1971–72 ice hockey Bundesliga season
The 1971–72 Ice hockey Bundesliga season was the 14th season of the Ice hockey Bundesliga, the top level of ice hockey in Germany. Nine teams participated in the league, and Düsseldorfer EG won the championship.


1971–72 in Belgian football
The 1971–72 season was the 69th season of competitive football in Belgium. RSC Anderlechtois won their 15th Division I title and made the double by beating Standard Club Liégeois in the Belgian Cup final (1-0). Standard Club Liégeois reached the quarter-finals of the 1971–72 European Champion Clubs' Cup and K Lierse SK the quarter-finals of the first ever UEFA Cup. The Belgium national football team qualified for the first time for the European Championship finals, by finishing first of their group and by beating Italy in the second qualifying round. Belgium was subsequently chosen to host the finals, of which they finished 3rd. For the first time, a Belgian Women's First Division championship was played (with three leagues at the top level), won by Astrio Begijnendijk.


1971–72 in Belgian football, Overview
Belgium finished the first UEFA Euro 1972 qualifying round by losing to Scotland and drawing against Portugal, though their good start (4 wins) was enough to secure the first place in Group 5 with 9 points (2 points ahead of Portugal). Belgium thus qualified for the second qualifying round, to be played against Group 6 winners, Italy, on a home and away basis. The first game ended in a goalless draw, and Belgium qualified for the finals by beating Italy in the second game (2-1).


1971–72 in Belgian football, Overview
For the first time in their history, Belgium would take part in the European Championship finals. Belgium was even chosen to host the finals (two semi-finals, a game for third-place and the final). They lost however in the semifinals to West Germany (1-2) at the Bosuilstadion in Antwerp, but won the game for the third-place against Hungary (2-1). The final was won by West Germany against Soviet Union (3-0). Belgium also started their qualifying campaign for the 1974 FIFA World Cup with two wins over Iceland.


1971–72 in Belgian football, Overview
At the end of the season, KSV Waregem and KSK Beveren were relegated to Division II, to be replaced by K Berchem Sport and K Beringen FC from Division II. The bottom 2 clubs in Division II (K Waterschei SV Thor Genk and R.C.S. Verviétois) were relegated to Division III, to be replaced by KSC Lokeren and KFC Winterslag (after winning a play-off game 2-1 against VV Patro Eisden) from Division III. The bottom club of each Division III league (K Willebroekse SV, RE Mouscron, KSC Maccabi Voetbal Antwerp and Wavre Sports) were relegated to Promotion, to be replaced by R Jet de Bruxelles, R Stade Waremmien FC, KVV Looi Sport Tessenderlo and Kortrijk Sport from Promotion..


1971–72 in Belgian football, European competitions
Standard Club Liégeois beat Linfield FC of Northern Ireland in the first round of the 1971–72 European Champion Clubs' Cup (won 2-0 at home, 3-2 away), and CSKA Moscow in the second round (lost 0-1 away, won 2-0 at home). In the quarter-finals, Standard lost to FC Internazionale on away goals (lost 0-1 away, won 2-1 at home).


1971–72 in Belgian football, European competitions
K Beerschot VAV beat Anorthosis Famagusta FC of Cyprus in the first round of the 1971–72 European Cup Winners' Cup (won 7-0 at home, 1-0 away) but they lost in the second round to Dynamo Berlin of East Germany (lost both legs 1-3).


1971–72 in Belgian football, European competitions
The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was taken over by UEFA at the start of the season, and was renamed UEFA Cup. The 3 Belgian clubs who qualified for the 1971–72 UEFA Cup were RFC Brugeois, RSC Anderlechtois and K Lierse SK. In the first round, K Lierse SK surprisingly beat the last Inter-Cities Fairs Cup winner Leeds United AFC (lost 0-2 at home, won 4-0 away), but RFC Brugeois lost to FK Željezničar Sarajevo (lost 0-3 away, won 3-1 at home) and RSC Anderlechtois lost to Bologna FC 1909 (drew 1-1 away, lost 0-2 at home).


1971–72 in Belgian football, European competitions
In the second round, K Lierse SK confirmed their good form by eliminating Rosenborg BK of Norway on away goals (lost 1-4 away, won 3-0 at home), then PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands in the third round (lost 0-1 away, won 4-0 at home). They were only stopped in the quarter-finals by Milan AC (lost 0-2 away, drew 1-1 at home).


1971–72 in English field hockey
The 1971–72 English Hockey League season took place from September 1971 until April 1972.


1971–72 in English field hockey
The principal event was the inaugural Men's Cup (National Clubs Championship) which was won by Hounslow.


1971–72 in English field hockey
The vast majority of the season consisted of regional leagues. The first National League tournament (The National Inter League Championship) would not be introduced until September 1975.


1971–72 in English football
The 1971–72 season was the 92nd season of competitive football in England.


1971–72 in English football, Honours
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition


1971–72 in English football, FA Cup
Leeds United won the FA Cup for the first time in their history by beating the previous year's winners, Arsenal, 1–0 in the final at Wembley. Allan Clarke scored the winning goal.


1971–72 in English football, FA Cup
1971–72 marked the centenary of the FA Cup. Non -League club Hereford United of the Southern League provided one of the shocks of the season by knocking out Newcastle United 2–1 after extra time in the 3rd Round Replay.


1971–72 in English football, League Cup
Stoke City won the 1972 Football League Cup Final to claim the only major trophy in their history.


1971–72 in English football, Football League, First Division
Brian Clough, 37, won the first major trophy of his managerial career by guiding Derby County to their first league championship. They overcame Leeds United, Liverpool and Manchester City to win a four-horse race, with only a single point separating them.


1971–72 in English football, Football League, First Division
It was so close that when Manchester City won their last game of the season – against Derby on 22 April 1972 – they were top of the league by a point but had no chance of being champions, as Derby and Liverpool both had games in hand, were still to play each other, and both boasted a superior goal average to City's.


1971–72 in English football, Football League, First Division
Although Derby beat Liverpool to pass Manchester City at the top of the table, Liverpool (two points back) and Leeds (one point back) each still had a game left. Leeds, who had won the FA Cup for the first time of their history, could have completed the double by avoiding defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers, but instead lost 2–1. Liverpool could also have overtaken Derby by defeating Arsenal, but could muster only a 0–0 draw. This assured Derby the title by a single point.


1971–72 in English football, Football League, First Division
There were bribery allegations from The Sun newspaper regarding Leeds's manager Don Revie, who stood accused of attempting to bribe Wolves on the final day of the season. Their captain Billy Bremner won a high court battle to clear his name of the allegations, with evidence provided by the Wolves striker Derek Dougan.


1971–72 in English football, Football League, First Division
Stoke City won the League Cup, their first major trophy.


1971–72 in English football, Football League, First Division
Nottingham Forest and Huddersfield Town lost their First Division status. 1971–72 was Huddersfield's last season in the top flight until 2017, and within a few seasons they fell into the Fourth Division.


1971–72 in English football, Football League, Second Division
Norwich City won the Second Division and were promoted along with Birmingham City. This marked the first time that Norwich City reached the top flight in their history, less than 70 years after the club was founded. Charlton Athletic and Watford were relegated.


1971–72 in English football, Football League, Third Division
Aston Villa ended their two-year spell in the Third Division by gaining promotion as champions, and by the end of the decade would be firmly re-established as a First Division club. Brighton & Hove Albion followed Villa into the Second Division. Mansfield Town, Barnsley, Torquay United and Bradford City were relegated.


1971–72 in English football, Football League, Fourth Division
Grimsby Town, Southend United, Brentford and Scunthorpe United were promoted from the Fourth Division. Barrow were voted out of the Football League and replaced by Hereford United, who a short time earlier had achieved a shock FA Cup victory over Newcastle United.


1971–72 in English football, Football League, Fourth Division
Ernie Tagg sacked himself as manager of Crewe Alexandra because he felt that a younger manager should take charge of the club.


1971–72 in English football, European competitions
The 1972 UEFA Cup Final was the final of the first ever UEFA Cup and was contested by two English teams, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs won 2–1 in the first leg at the Molineux on 3 May. The second leg, played on 17 May at White Hart Lane, ended 1–1. The 3–2 aggregate win by Tottenham Hotspur gave them the second European trophy in their history


1971–72 in English football, Diary of the season
8 July 1971: Bill Shankly signs a three-year contract as Liverpool manager which will keep him in charge until the end of the 1973–74 season.


1971–72 in English football, Diary of the season
7 August 1971: The 1971 FA Charity Shield is held, but without reigning League and Cup winners Arsenal, who are on a pre-season tour abroad. The Shield was won by Second Division champions Leicester City, who beat 1971 FA Cup Final runners-up Liverpool with a Steve Whitworth goal; Arsenal were beaten 1–0 by Feyenoord.


1971–72 in English football, Diary of the season
20 August 1971: Manchester United beat Arsenal 3–1 in a "home" tie, played at Anfield in Liverpool as a result of a ban from hosting their first two home games in Manchester, the second would be held at the Victoria Ground in Stoke-on-Trent.


1971–72 in English football, Diary of the season
6 November 1971: The Manchester derby at Maine Road ends in a 3–3 thriller, with debutant 17-year-old winger Sammy McIlroy on the scoresheet for United.


1971–72 in English football, Diary of the season
27 November 1971: Alan Woodward scores four of the seven Sheffield United put past Ipswich Town without reply, while elsewhere, George Best is the hat-trick hero as Manchester United beat Southampton 5–2, and Wolverhampton Wanderers beat West Bromwich Albion 3–2 in the Black Country derby.


1971–72 in English football, Diary of the season
15 December 1971: John Ritchie's goal and a penalty save from Gordon Banks gives Stoke City a replay in the Football League Cup semi-final against West Ham United.


1971–72 in English football, Diary of the season
31 December 1971: At the end of the year, Manchester United are top of the First Division, three points ahead of Manchester City and four ahead of Leeds United. West Bromwich Albion and Nottingham Forest occupy the relegation places.


1971–72 in English football, Diary of the season
29 January 1972: In the second League Cup semi-final replay, at Old Trafford, Stoke overcome a West Ham side forced to make Bobby Moore their stand-in goalkeeper, putting them through to the League Cup Final for the first time.


1971–72 in English football, Diary of the season
19 February 1972: Leeds United thrash Manchester United 5–1 at Elland Road and are two points behind Manchester City at the top of the table. Manchester United have now lost five League matches in a row.


1971–72 in English football, Diary of the season
4 March 1972: Leeds United beat Southampton 7–0 and will overtake Manchester City at the top of the table if they win their two games in hand. Manchester United are beaten for the sixth consecutive match in the League when they lose 2–0 to Tottenham Hotspur.


1971–72 in English football, Diary of the season
8 March 1972: Rodney Marsh moves from Queens Park Rangers to Manchester City for £200,000.


1971–72 in English football, Diary of the season
31 March 1972: Brian Clough dismisses reports that he is to be Noel Cantwell's successor as Coventry City manager.


1971–72 in English football, Diary of the season
Meanwhile, on the pitch, in the First Division, Leeds' failure to beat West Ham sees them miss the opportunity to top the table, victory for Millwall allows them to ascend to the summit of the Second Division ahead of Norwich City and Birmingham City, Third Division table-toppers Aston Villa pull away from AFC Bournemouth, and Grimsby Town move into second in the bottom tier (behind rivals Scunthorpe United) with a win over Reading, becoming the first League side to score 50 this season.


1971–72 in English football, Diary of the season
1 April 1972: Derby County beat Leeds United 2–0 and take over at the top of the First Division.


1971–72 in English football, Diary of the season
26 April 1972: Derby County win the Texaco Cup by beating Airdrieonians 2–1 on aggregate. Crystal Palace's 2–0 win over Stoke City relegates both Nottingham Forest and Huddersfield Town from the First Division.


1971–72 in English football, Diary of the season
1 May 1972: Derby County, in their last League game of the season, beat Liverpool 1–0. Leeds United beat Chelsea 2–0 and will win the title if they can beat Wolverhampton Wanderers in their final fixture.


1971–72 in English football, Diary of the season
6 May 1972: Leeds United win the FA Cup for the first time in their history by beating Arsenal 1–0 in the final at Wembley, with Allan Clarke heading the only goal in the second half.


1971–72 in English football, Diary of the season
8 May 1972: Derby County win the League Championship as neither Leeds United nor Liverpool manage to win their final league games. Leeds would have overtaken Derby on goal average had they drawn with Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux, but lose 2-1, while Liverpool draw 0-0 with Arsenal at Highbury.


1971–72 in English football, Diary of the season
11 May 1972: The First Division season ends when Tottenham Hotspur beat Arsenal 2–0 in the North London derby at Highbury.


1971–72 in English football, National team
England were eliminated from the 1972 European Championships in the quarter-finals after losing 3–1 on aggregate over two legs (1–3 at Wembley and 0–0 in West Berlin) to West Germany, who went on to win the tournament.


1971–72 in Scottish football
The 1971–72 season was the 99th season of competitive football in Scotland and the 75th season of Scottish league football.


1971–72 snooker season
The 1971–72 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between March 1971 and April 1972. The following table outlines the results for the season's events.


1971–74 French nuclear tests
France carried out a series of 24 nuclear tests from 1971–1974 These tests followed the 1966–70 French nuclear tests series and preceded the 1975–78 French nuclear tests.


1972
1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1972nd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 972nd  year of the 2nd millennium, the 72nd  year of the 20th century, and the  3rd   year of the 1970s decade.


1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar time [the legal time scale], its duration was 31622401.141 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or Ephemeris Time), which is slightly shorter than 1908).


1972 (album)
1972 is the fourth album by indie folk musician Josh Rouse. It was released on Rykodisc on August 26, 2003.


1972 1. divisjon
The 1972 1. divisjon was the 28th completed season of top division football in Norway.


1972 1. divisjon, Overview
It was contested by 12 teams, and Viking FK won the championship, their second league title.


1972 1000 km Buenos Aires
The 1972 Buenos Aires 1000 Kilometers was the opening round of the 1972 World Championship for Makes season. It took place at the Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Argentina, on January 10, 1972. This would be the last time that the World Championship ran in a South American country.


1972 1000 km Buenos Aires
Grand tourer class cars did not participate in this event.


1972 1000 km Buenos Aires, Official results
Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of the winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).


1972 2. divisjon
The 1972 2. divisjon was a Norwegian second-tier football league season.


1972 2. divisjon
The league was contested by 35 teams, divided into a total of four groups; A and B (non-Northern Norwegian teams) and two district groups which contained teams from Northern Norway: district IX–X and district XI. The winners of group A and B were promoted to the 1973 1. divisjon, while the winners of the district groups qualified for the Northern Norwegian final. The second placed teams in group A and B met the winner of the district IX–X in a qualification round where the winner was promoted to 1. divisjon. The winner of district XI was not eligible for promotion. The bottom team in group A and B were relegated to the 3. divisjon. The to second last teams in group A and B met in a qualification round where the losing team was relegated to the 3. divisjon.


1972 2. divisjon, Overview, Summary
Start won group A with 24 points. Frigg won group B with 29 points. Both teams promoted to the 1973 1. divisjon. Raufoss won the qualification play-offs and was also promoted.


1972 2. divisjon, Promotion play-offs, Results
Raufoss won the qualification round and won promotion to the 1. divisjon.


1972 2. divisjon, Relegation play-offs, Results, Replay
Bryne won the qualification round and remained in the 2. divisjon. Brummunddal was relegated to the 3. divisjon.


1972 2. divisjon, Northern Norwegian Final
A Northern Norwegian Final was played between the winners of the two district groups, Mo and Stein.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 40th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 10 and 11 June 1972. It was the ninth round of the 1972 World Championship for Makes.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans
This year's marked the start of a new era with revised Sports-Prototype regulations putting a 3-litre limit on engine size. There was also a significant change to the track with the construction of the new technical section subsequently named the Porsche Curves bypassing the dangerous Maison Blanche corner, which had been the site of many serious accidents in the past.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans
Having already won the Manufacturers’ Championship Ferrari chose not to contest the race. Matra were strong favourites for the outright win after not running the other races to focus on its Le Mans preparation. Once the challenge from Alfa Romeo and Lola had dissipated overnight, Matra were able to ease off to secure a popular 1–2 victory for the home country – France's first since 1950. Henri Pescarolo and Graham Hill were the winners, with a healthy 11-lap margin over teammates François Cevert and Howden Ganley.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans
However the victory was tarnished by the death of veteran Formula One racer Jo Bonnier who died when his Lola prototype collided with a Ferrari GT and flew over the barriers into the trees on the Sunday morning.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Regulations
Once again, the CSI (Commission Sportive Internationale - the FIA’s regulations body) overhauled its FIA Appendix J, redefining its motorsport categories. The former Group 6 Prototypes and Group 5 Sports categories were combined into a new, third-generation, Group 5 Sports-Prototype class with a 3-litre engine limit (or 2142cc if turbo-powered, using the x1.4 equivalency) with a minimum weight of 650 kg (1,433 lb 0.08 oz). There was also no minimum production required. Not for the last time, the FIA’s idea was to encourage manufacturers to build, develop and use engines based around the current Formula One 3.0-litre standard.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Regulations
Recognising the growing interest in touring car racing, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) opened the entry list to Group 2 Special Touring Cars, alongside the Group 4 Special GTs and the new Group 5. Entries for the Group 2 and 4 categories had a 2-litre minimum but no upper limit on engine size. They also revamped the minimum distance and speed requirements. No longer a set lap-time to qualify, all cars had to be within 140% of an average of the three best practice laps put up. Also the sliding scale of target distances was discarded. Now cars had to achieve at least 70% of its class winner to be classified. Therefore the Index of Performance, now redundant, was discontinued. Also, the Index of Thermal Efficiency now only applied to Group 2 and 4.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Regulations
But the biggest change was to the track layout, with a new series of curves being built between Arnage and the Ford chicane bypassing the dangerously fast Maison Blanche section. Financed by Porsche, it therefore became known as the “Porsche curves”. The Ford chicane was also redesigned with a second chicane added just up the track to allow a dedicated pit-lane entrance lane to be built. This allowed cars to decelerate off the racing line and off the main track, greatly increasing safety.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Regulations
Although the modifications only added 71 m (232 ft 11.28 in) to the overall track length, there was a noticeable change in lap times and average speed slowing the prototypes' speeds by 30 km/h (18 mph). The circuit still had cars using full throttle for over 65% of the lap however.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Regulations
Prizemoney this year included FF80000 (£6400) for outright victory, and half that to the respective winners of the GT category and Index of Thermal Efficiency.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
With the new regulations there were 91 applications, and this led to a solid 66 arriving for practice and for the first time for a few years a full grid of 55 cars took the start.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
In a major surprise, after winning every round in the Championship to date, and dominating the timing in the Test Weekend in March, Ferrari withdrew its works team less than a fortnight before the race. Having just secured the World Championship title, it claimed the engines on the Group 5 312 PB  were only good for the 1000 km races, and not 24 hours. This did not sound convincing however, since they had achieved a 1–2 victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Alfa Romeo had voiced the same concern about their engines’ durability but still showed up to Le Mans. John Wyer also chose not to bring his team's Gulf-Mirages because their Weslake V12 engines were not ready and under-prepared.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Although everyone had been outclassed by the Porsche 917s in 1971, Alfa Romeo had proven the most competitive, even getting three wins that season. For 1972 they had developed the latest iteration of the Tipo 33, the open-top T33/3. Designer Carlo Chiti used a tubular chassis rather than a full monocoque making them narrower and 50 kg lighter. The 3-litre V8 developed 445 bhp. The team picked up a number of ex-Porsche drivers for the three cars entered: Vic Elford/Helmut Marko, Rolf Stommelen/”Nanni” Galli and Nino Vaccarella/Andrea de Adamich.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Matra, like Jaguar in the 1950s, chose to concentrate its efforts for the prestige of a Le Mans victory. The latest version of the 660, the MS660C had been over a second slower than Ickx's Ferrari at the test weekend. But a new model, the MS670 was entered for the race. The 3-litre V12 was detuned for the race down to 450 bhp, pushing it to 310 kp/h (195 mph) on the Mulsanne Straight. With the French media stirring up a patriotic fervour, team director Gérard Ducarouge took no chances and bought 4 cars and 60 crew. Aerodynamic long-tail versions were prepared for Jean-Pierre Beltoise/Chris Amon and François Cevert/Howden Ganley while Henri Pescarolo/Graham Hill (back at Le Mans for the first time since 1966) had a short-tail version. The fourth car was the reliable 660C, given to Jean-Pierre Jabouille/ David Hobbs.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Porsche was now focussing its efforts on its 917 Can-Am project. However, Reinhold Joest got considerable factory assistance with his 908 LH entry, and sponsored by ATE. The three-year old car had been owned by Jo Siffert who had been killed less than a year ago, and was loaned from the Schlumpf Collection who held it in tribute to their countryman. It was refitted by Porsche with a new 3-litre engine capable of 360 bhp. Other customer teams brought Porsche Group 5 cars: the Spanish Escuderia Montjuich had a 908/03, André Wicky’s Swiss team had one of several 908/02s as well as an older 907.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Jo Bonnier, Lola’s European agent, convinced Eric Broadley to develop a 3-litre version of its successful T210. Designed by Patrick Head and John Barnard, the new T280 used the Cosworth DFV engine. It was very fast and had easily won the four-hour race at the Test Weekend. With works-support, Bonnier entered two cars: one for himself and 1971 winner Gijs van Lennep (released from Mirage for the race) and the other for Gérard Larrousse/Hughes de Fierlandt. Sponsored by Swiss cheese, they were this year’s art-cars painted up with gruyere cheese-holes. There were also a pair of privateer entries.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
After a positive first run at Le Mans the previous year, Brit Alain de Cadenet decided to build his own car to race. He employed Brabham designer Gordon Murray to build a car around the Cosworth DFV (developing 390 bhp) and Brabham BT33 suspension. The lightest of the 3-litre prototypes, De Cadenet got sponsorship from Duckhams Oil and the car was just ready in time for the race. Guy Ligier, keen to progress his JS-2 GT racecar, approached Citroën about getting a Maserati engine – whom they had bought out three years previously. They obliged and three 3-litre V6 JS-2s were present. Because insufficient numbers had been produced it had to run in the Group 5 category.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Ferrari had not released its Group 5 car to its customer teams yet, but had been able to homologate the 365 GTB/4 “Daytona” as a GT car, and nine of those cars were entered by the Ferrari agents of six different countries. These comprised Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team (NART), Jacques Swaters’ Ecurie Francorchamps, Georges Filipinetti's Swiss team, Colonel Ronnie Hoare's Maranello Concessionaires from London and Charles Pozzi’s Paris-based team.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Chevrolet had five entries this year to take on the Ferrari challenge. The French teams of Henri Greder (once again with Marie-Claude Beaumont as his co-driver) and the Ecurie Léopard returned. American John Greenwood also brought a pair of specially lightened Corvettes that proved to be very fast, reaching 330 kp/h (210 mph) on the Mulsanne Straight. They ran on standard BF Goodrich radial road-tyres. Their competitor, Goodyear tyres, had run successfully with the Florida-based English Racing Team winning the GT division at Daytona and Sebring. They asked NART if they could use an entry to get to Le Mans, who agreed as long as the car displayed the Ferrari motif on the side of the car.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
A new manufacturer for Le Mans was the Italian De Tomaso company. The newly homologated Pantera had a Ford 5.3-litre V8, pushing out 330 bhp was less powerful than the Ferrari and Chevrolet competition. Four cars were entered and the Spanish Escuderia Montjuich ones had strong works support.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
In the smaller GT-category, there were seven Porsche 911s from privateer teams. This year NART ran a Dino 246 on behalf of Ferrari to contest the 2.5-litre class. Once again, NART offered its junior car to winners of the Trofeo Chinetti - a competition for young drivers.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
The European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) was proving popular with manufacturers and spectators. When the ACO opened the entry list to Group 2 cars, the Ford-Germany works team calculated that their pace in winning the Spa 24 Hours could get them into the top-10 overall at Le Mans. Three cars were prepared: the Capri RS2600 was refitted with a 2.9-litre V6 that could put out almost 300 bhp. Its drivers were all Le Mans debutants: current ETCC champion Dieter Glemser with Alex Soler-Roig, Jochen Mass/Hans-Joachim Stuck and Birrell/Bourgoignie.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Their opposition in the ETCC was the Schnitzer Motorsport team running a BMW 2800 CS. Although BMW had recently head-hunted Jochen Neerpasch from Ford-Germany to set up BMW Motorsport, this was essentially a privateer effort for the company's first post-war entry. Despite the BMW's 3-litre engine putting out 340 bhp, the car was 250 kg heavier. The other entry was a British entry of an ex-rally Datsun 240Z.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Practice
Ferrari was fastest in the test weekend in March with a 3:40.4, but they were a no-show for race-week. On the damp first night of practice on Wednesday, it was Stommelen in the Alfa Romeo and Larrousse in the Bonnier-Lola who set the pace. The session was cut short though by a serious accident when an advertising hoarding blew onto the track. The Thompson/Heinz Corvette was damaged but the next lap the 2-litre GRAC sports-prototype crashed and burst into flames. Driver Lionel Noghès (grandson of Antony Noghès, founder of the Monaco GP), received serious burns to his face.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Practice
Matra went all out on Thursday and salvaged French pride with a 1-2-3 qualification for Cevert (3:42.2), Pescarolo and Beltoise. Stommelen (3:47.9) and Bonnier were next then Elford's and Vaccarella's Alfas in sixth and seventh. The fourth Matra of Jabouille headed Larrousse with the Joest Porsche (4:03.3) and de Cadenet's Duckhams performing impressively for the cars’ age and youth respectively.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Practice
Fastest GT was Migault in his Ferrari in 20th (4:21.7), and the best Touring Car was the Capri of Mass/Stuck in 30th (4:25.9). As if to prove a point, the Capris were right among the Daytonas, faster than most of the Corvettes, Panteras and Porsche 911s. Three of the Panteras blew their engines, traced to a faulty batch of pistons from the US. Fastest in the small GT class was the Kremer 911 which did manage an identical time to the Capri (despite reserve driver Bolanos rolling the car in practice). Last on the grid were the young NART drivers in the Dino (4:53.9), getting in when several faster cars were withdrawn.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
For the first time a French President was the honorary starter. In front of Georges Pompidou and a large partisan crowd, Matra started with all four of their French drivers. Pescarolo took the lead from Cevert on the first lap but things started going wrong straight away. On the second lap, Beltoise's engine expired on the front straight and then Bonnier cut through to take the lead on the third lap. During a short rain-shower, Bonnier's teammate de Fierlandt put in some quick laps to take the lead.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
But the Lolas’ smaller fuel-tanks meant they had to pit earlier, and more often, than the other prototypes. After that, it was the Alfa Romeos’ chance to take up the challenge as first Elford, then Stommelen moved up the order. In the GT class, Migault's French Ferrari had the lead until a jammed gearbox sidelined it, whereupon the sister car of Ballot-Léna/Andruet took over. Three of the Panteras had already retired due to the dodgy pistons – the remaining one of Claude Dubois being the only one that had not used a new American engine.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
At 6.20pm, the Jabouille/Hobbs Matra 660 ran out of fuel within reach of the pits. Someone had accidentally flicked it across to the reserve tank, which dropped them down to 12th and 5 laps down. After four hours, the two Matra 670s were being pursued by Larrousse in the Lola. Stommelen had been delayed by a fuel-pump change but the Alfas still ran fourth, fifth and seventh split by Joest's Porsche. Weigel's 908/02 was eighth followed by the Duckhams and the charging Matra 660. The Pozzi Ferrari led GT in 12th and the Glemser/Soler-Roig Capri was 15th.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
Another short shower wet the track and de Fierlandt put his car in the sandbank at the Mulsanne corner. He then burnt out an already weakened clutch trying to extricate himself. The Bonnier/van Lennep Lola had also been delayed by gear selection issues and when Bonnier had a tyre blowout at the Mulsanne kink at 320 kp/h (200 mph).


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Night
As night fell and the track dried, Bonnier and van Lennep were putting in quick times to catch up and set the fastest lap of the race with a 3:46.9. At quarter-distance still had the two Matras swapping the lead (89 laps) with a comfortable 3-lap margin over the three Alfa Romeos. Sixth was Joest (84 laps) The Ferraris had a strong hold on GT as the Corvette engines failed; Pozzi leading NART (both 77 laps) while the three Capris were running like clockwork (76 laps).


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Night
But during the night first Vaccarella then Elford had clutch problems and each lost half an hour as new ones were fitted. So, by half time, at 4am, the Matras were running 1-2-3. The 670s still exchanging the lead at pit stops (178 laps) and the 660 recovering well, having just overtaken the Alfas (running Stommelen, Elford then Vaccarella - all 171 laps). Seventh was Joest's longtail Porsche (167) with the hard-charging Lola back up to eighth, 15 laps behind the leaders. With Weigel's Porsche ninth (161) and the Duckhams tenth (155 laps) the field was now very strung out. Things were still the same in GT – Pozzi and NART Ferraris on 154 laps, while Mass and Stuck (151) had stolen a 3-lap lead over the team cars in Group 2.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Morning
Right through the night the two leading Matras stayed on the same lap, exchanging places based on pit strategy. A misty dawn broke up the routine, as the Alfa Romeos fell away with their engine issues. The Lola lost over an hour with brake problems and Weigel's Porsche also had clutch problems. Although the BMW had retired with a broken engine there were also cracks in the Capri team too – Mass/Stuck stopped on the Mulsanne Straight with a broken conrod and Glemser's car needed a differential change.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Morning
In the early morning, Bonnier (after being again delayed) was running very fast and had got his Lola back up to eighth. Then at 8.25am, he came up to the Filipinetti Ferrari GTB4 of Florian Vetsch on the straight with 2 slight kinks in it between Mulsanne and Indianapolis, with thick forest on either side. The Ferrari kept its line and, deciding to force an overtake before the curve, his Lola hit the Ferrari at speed and flew 100 metres over the barriers into the trees.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Morning
Fellow driver Vic Elford described Bonnier's Lola as "spinning to the air like a helicopter". Critically injured, Jo Bonnier died soon afterward. He was a veteran of 13 Le Mans and chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association. Vic Elford, coming upon Vetsch's car on fire, immediately stopped to rescue the driver who had already escaped with burned hands. By coincidence it was right beside a broadcasting television camera. Shaken by the accident, Elford then pulled into the pits to be substituted by Marko, only for them to retire soon after when the replacement clutch packed up. Ninety minutes later the Alfa of Stommelen/Galli also retired with a broken differential, leaving the last Alfa Romeo running in fourth.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Morning
It started raining again at 10.30am. The Weigel 907 hit the barrier at the Dunlop Curve while running 7th. Cevert and Ganley lost time in the pits fixing wet electrics. Then just before noon, as the rain got heavier, Ganley was going slowly down the Mulsanne Straight when he was hit from behind by the Corvette of Marie-Claude Beaumont. He made it to the pits to get the rear-end repaired (taking nine minutes), but the Corvette was too badly damaged to continue. This allowed the Pescarolo/Hill car to build a secure lead over Cevert/Ganley and Jabouille/Hobbs, with the Joest Porsche well back in fourth. De Cadenet's Duckhams was doing very well in fifth until a slow brakepad change and bodywork repair dropped behind it the remaining Alfa Romeo.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Finish and post-race
The rain returned with two hours to go and created havoc. Cevert, de Adamich and Craft were on slick tyres and all aquaplaned off the track approaching the waterlogged Esses. The Duckhams had the heaviest damage and fell to 12th before getting back on the track for the final lap. As a final twist, the third-placed Jabouille/Hobbs Matra 660 was stopped by gearbox problems with less than 90 minutes remaining, and the Spanish Porsche running 8th was stopped by a wheel-bearing failure in the final minutes.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Finish and post-race
In the end, the Matra 670 of Pescarolo and Hill took the chequered flag with a comfortable margin of eleven laps over their teammates Cevert and Ganley. This was the first victory of a French car since the Rosier's Talbot-Lago victory in 1950. It also made Graham Hill the first and, to date, only driver to win the Triple Crown of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Indianapolis 500 and the Formula One World Championship. Although aware of the bad accident, Hill was only told of Bonnier's death after the race and was deeply affected. They were former teammates, close friends and had been the “senior statesmen” of the Formula One grid in the early 1970s.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Finish and post-race
Nine laps further back in third was the unheralded Porsche 908LH driven by Reinhold Joest, Mario Casoni and Michel Weber. It was then a close flurry for the minor places: The sole remaining Alfa Romeo, of Vaccarella and de Adamich finished just a lap ahead of the French Ferrari of Ballot-Léna/Andruet. Charles Pozzi's car was first GT home and also won the Index of Thermal Efficiency doing about 6.75 mpg. A late-race spin for the NART Ferrari cost it time to repair, finishing two laps further back.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Finish and post-race
In a strong performance, five of the nine Ferraris finished, with Mike Parkes’ Filipinetti car just overhauling the Belgian car in the last hour. All the other GT manufacturers had bad races with a number of engine problems. Chevrolet, De Tomaso and Porsche only had a single finisher each. Three months after the race, Porsche unveiled its new 911 customer model: the 2.7-litre Carrera RS to even up the competition in Group 4.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Finish and post-race
The advent of the Group 2 Touring Cars was successful, with two of the Ford Capris finishing, in 10th and 11th. René Ligonnet's private entry Lola T290, coming home in 14th became the first Lola to finish at Le Mans.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Official results, Finishers
Results taken from Quentin Spurring's book, officially licensed by the ACO Class Winners are in Bold text.


1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, Official results, Statistics
Taken from Quentin Spurring's book, officially licensed by the ACO


1972 ABA All-Star Game
The fifth American Basketball Association All-Star Game was played January 29, 1972 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky before an audience at 15,738. Joe Mullaney of the Kentucky Colonels coached the East, with LaDell Andersen of the Utah Stars coached the West.


1972 ABA All-Star Game
Jim McDaniels scored 18 of his 24 points in the East's 45 point fourth quarter. Dan Issel of the Kentucky Colonels was named MVP.


1972 ABA Playoffs
The 1972 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1971–1972 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion Indiana Pacers defeating the Eastern Division champion New York Nets, four games to two in the 1972 ABA Finals.


1972 ABA Playoffs, Notable events
The Kentucky Colonels, despite finishing the season with the best record in the history of the ABA (68-16, .810), winning 8 of 11 regular season games against the New York Nets and finishing 24 games ahead of the Nets in the regular season standings, lost their first round series to the Nets.


1972 ABA Playoffs, Notable events
The Floridians played their final game on April 6, 1972, losing at home in their Eastern Division semifinal series to the Virginia Squires 115-106. The Squires swept the series 4 games to none behind rookie Julius Erving who grabbed at least seventeen rebounds in three of those four games. On June 13, 1972, the league bought the Floridians and disbanded the team.


1972 ABA Playoffs, Notable events
The Indiana Pacers became the first team to win a second ABA championship.


1972 ABA Playoffs, Notable events
Freddie Lewis of the Pacers was the Most Valuable Player of the ABA playoffs.


1972 ABA Playoffs, Notable events
This was the first season in which two future NBA teams met for the ABA Championship. This only happened one other time in the league's history, during its final year in 1976 when the Denver Nuggets edged past the Colonels 4-3 to meet the Nets in the ABA championship series.


1972 ABA Playoffs, Notable events
Five of the seven playoff series ended in final games in which the home team lost.


1972 ABA Playoffs, Western Division
(1) Utah Stars vs. (3) Dallas Chaparrals:Stars win series 4-0


1972 ABA Playoffs, Western Division
(2) Indiana Pacers vs. (4) Denver Rockets:Pacers win series 4-3


1972 ABA Playoffs, Western Division
(1) Utah Stars vs. (2) Indiana Pacers:Pacers win series 4-3


1972 ABA Playoffs, Eastern Division
(1) Kentucky Colonels vs. (3) New York Nets:Nets win series 4-2


1972 ABA Playoffs, Eastern Division
(2) Virginia Squires vs. (4) The Floridians:Squires win series 4-0


1972 ABA Playoffs, Eastern Division
(1) Virginia Squires vs. (3) New York Nets:Nets win series 4-3


1972 ABA Playoffs, ABA Finals
(2) Indiana Pacers VS. (3) New York Nets:Pacers win series 4-2


1972 ABC Championship for Women
The 1972 Asian Basketball Confederation Championship for Women were held in Taipei, Republic of China.


1972 ABC Under-18 Championship
The 1972 ABC Under-18 Championship was the second edition of the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC)'s junior championship. The games were held at Manila, Philippines from December 10–December 20, 1972.


1972 ABC Under-18 Championship
The Philippines were able to retain the championship by sweeping all of their assignments, blasting Taiwan, 95-62, in the final day.


1972 ABC Under-18 Championship for Women
The 1972 ABC Under-18 Championship for Women was the second edition of the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC)'s junior championship. The games were held at Manila, Philippines from December 10–December 20, 1972.


1972 ABC Under-18 Championship for Women
South Korea were able to retain the championship by sweeping all of their assignments, blasting Taiwan, 85-59, in the final day.


1972 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1972 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the Greensboro Coliseum from March 9–11. North Carolina defeated Maryland, 73–64, to win the championship. Bob McAdoo of North Carolina was named the tournament MVP. With the departure of South Carolina, the ACC was left with seven members, so the top seed received a bye into the semifinals from 1972 through and including 1979.


1972 AFC Asian Cup
The 1972 AFC Asian Cup was the 5th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), that was hosted in Thailand (originally in Israel). The finals were held in Thailand between 7 May and 19 May 1972. It was won by Iran.


1972 AFC Asian Cup qualification
Qualification for the 1972 AFC Asian Cup finals held in Thailand.


1972 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Zones
Brunei Burma* Hong Kong Indonesia Khmer Republic Laos* Malaysia Singapore* Thailand South Vietnam*


1972 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Central Zone
Group allocation matches where winners were divided into separate groups


1972 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Western Zone
Group allocation matches where winners were divided into separate groups


1972 AFC Asian Cup squads
Squads for the 1972 AFC Asian Cup played in Thailand.


1972 AFC Youth Championship
The AFC Youth Championship 1972 was held in Bangkok, Thailand.


1972 AMA Motocross National Championship season
The 1972 AMA Motocross Championship season was the 1st AMA Motocross National Championship season.


1972 AMA Motocross National Championship season, Summary
1972 marked the inaugural year for the AMA Motocross National Championship. Brad Lackey dominated the 500cc class ahead of Gary Jones and Wyman Priddy. In 1972, after the season-ending 500cc race on September 2, American riders competing for the AMA national championship continued to accumulate points counting towards the national championship while they competed in the 1972 Trans-AMA motocross series which began on October 1 and hosted visiting European riders from the Motocross World Championship.


1972 AMA Motocross National Championship season, Summary
Jones claimed the 250cc championship ahead of his Yamaha teammate, Jimmy Weinert.


1972 ARFU Asian Rugby Championship
The 1972 ARFU Asian Rugby Championship was the 3rd edition of the tournament, and it was played in Hong Kong.


1972 ARFU Asian Rugby Championship
The seven teams were divided in two pools, with the final between the winner of each pool. Japan won the tournament.


1972 ATP Buenos Aires – Singles
Karl Meiler defeated Guillermo Vilas 6–7, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 to win the 1972 ATP Buenos Aires singles competition. Željko Franulović was the champion but did not defend his title.


1972 African Cup of Champions Clubs
The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1972 was the 8th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region (Africa), the African Cup of Champions Clubs. It determined that year's club champion of association football in Africa.


1972 African Cup of Champions Clubs
The tournament was played by 26 teams and used a knock-out format with ties played home and away. Hafia FC from Guinea won the final, becoming CAF club champion for the first time and the first Guinean team to win the trophy.


1972 African Cup of Champions Clubs, Second round
1 After the match had finished 2-0 to Djoliba AC, leaving the aggregate level at 2-2, AS Forces Armées (Dakar) refused to take part in the penalty shootout to protest the officiating; they were ejected from the competition and banned from CAF competitions for three years.


1972 African Cup of Champions Clubs, Semi-Finals
1 TP Mazembe refused to play the 2nd leg contesting the eligibility of the referees assigned by CAF; CAF awarded the 2nd leg 2–0 by forfeit to Hafia FC.


1972 African Cup of Champions Clubs, Top scorers
The top scorers from the 1972 African Cup of Champions Clubs are as follows:


1972 African Cup of Nations
The 1972 African Cup of Nations was the eighth edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa (CAF). It was hosted by Cameroon, in the cities of Yaoundé and Douala. Just like in 1970, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four. The People's Republic of the Congo won its first championship, beating Mali in the final 3−2.


1972 African Cup of Nations, Venues
The competition was played in two venues in Yaoundé and Douala.


1972 African Cup of Nations qualification
This page details the process of qualifying for the 1972 African Cup of Nations.


1972 African Cup of Nations squads
Below is a list of squads used in the 1972 African Cup of Nations.


1972 Air Canada Silver Broom
The 1972 Air Canada Silver Broom was held at the Olympic Eisstadion in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany from March 19–21, 1972. The 1972 Air Canada Silver Broom was the site of the infamous incident that led to the Curse of LaBonte.


1972 Air Canada Silver Broom, Teams
Skip : Alex F. TorranceThird: Alex A. TorranceSecond: Robert KirklandLead: Jimmy Waddell


1972 Air Canada Silver Broom, Teams
Fourth: Peter Attinger, Jr.Third: Bernhard AttingerSkip: Peter Attinger, Sr.*Lead: Ernst Bosshard


1972 Air Canada Silver Broom, Teams
Skip : Kjell OscariusThird: Tom SchaefferSecond: Bengt OscariusLead: Claes-Göran "Boa" Carlman


1972 Air Canada Silver Broom, The Curse of LaBonte
The 1972 Air Canada Silver Broom saw the incident which led to the Curse of LaBonte. In the finals, Canada under Meleschuk was playing the Americans under LaBonte, and Canada was down by two points in the final end. Meleschuck had the hammer and tried to hit out an American stone on the button so that Canada could take two and tie the game. The rock succeeded in knocking out the American stone, but rolled so that it came to be very close to another American rock biting the 8-foot.


1972 Air Canada Silver Broom, The Curse of LaBonte
US third Frank Aasand saw that the American rock was still second shot and jumped in the air to celebrate. LaBonte also followed suit, but slipped and kicked the Canadian stone while Canadian third Dave Romano was still investigating the shot. It was decided that Canada got two points in the 10th end, forcing an extra end in which Canada stole a point and won.


1972 Air Canada Silver Broom, The Curse of LaBonte
It was said that LaBonte placed a curse on Canada, which did not win a world championship until 1980.


1972 Air Force Falcons football team
The 1972 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season as an Independent. They were led by fifteenth–year head coach Ben Martin and played their home games at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Falcons outscored their opponents 303–183 and finished with a record of 6 wins and 4 losses (6–4).


1972 Air Force Falcons football team
This was first season for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, which matched the three academies annually. Previously, Air Force played Navy in even years and Army in odd years. The Falcons lost both games, and Army beat Navy in December to take the first title.


1972 Akron Zips football team
The 1972 Akron Zips football team represented Akron University in the 1972 NCAA College Division football season as an independent. The team was led by 12th-year head coach Gordon K. Larson, in his final season. The Zips played their home games at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio, finished the season with a record of 3–4–2, and outscored their opponents 193–148.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
The 1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented the University of Alabama in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 78th overall season and 39th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Bear Bryant, in his 15th year, and played their home games at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished the season with ten wins and two losses (10–2 overall, 7–1 in the SEC), as SEC champions and with a loss to Texas in the Cotton Bowl Classic.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
Alabama opened the season with a non-conference victory over Duke. They then shut out Kentucky in their conference opener, and then easily won their next three games, over Vanderbilt, Georgia and Florida. In a top-ten match-up against rival Tennessee, they scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns en route to a 17–10 victory. Next, the Crimson Tide defeated Southern Miss and Mississippi State to set up a top-ten match-up against LSU.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
With a 35–21 victory over the Tigers, Alabama captured the SEC championship for the 1972 season. The Crimson Tide next defeated Virginia Tech on homecoming and set up another top ten match-up Iron Bowl to close the regular season. Auburn defeated Alabama behind a pair of fourth-quarter blocked-punt returns in a game referred to as simply "Punt Bama Punt". The Crimson Tide then closed their season with a second-consecutive defeat, this time against Texas in the Cotton Bowl Classic.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Duke
Alabama opened the 1972 season ranked as the No. 7 team in the preseason AP Poll as they entered their game against Duke. At Legion Field, the Crimson Tide scored 21 unanswered points in the second half en route to a 35–12 victory over the Blue Devils to open the 1971 season. Alabama opened the game with a 14–0 lead after they scored on their first two possessions, on a pair of touchdown runs of eight-yards by Paul Spivey and one-yard by Joe LaBue. However, Duke was able to make the halftime score 14–12 after they scored on a pair of Robert Albright touchdown passes. The first was from 11-yards to Mark Landon and the second to Mike Bomgardner from eight-yards out.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Duke
After Terry Davis extended the Crimson Tide lead to 21–12 with his two-yard run in the third, Alabama closed the game with a pair of touchdown runs in the fourth quarter. The first was scored by Steve Bisceglia on a 39-yard run and the second by Wilbur Jackson on a 12-yard run. In the game, Alabama outgained the Blue Devils in rushing yards 333 to 156. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Duke to 1–1.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Kentucky
Coming off their bye week, the Crimson Tide retained their No. 7 team in the AP Poll prior to their game against Kentucky. In what was the first meeting against the Wildcats since their victory in 1947, Alabama won 35–0 at Birmingham. The Crimson Tide took a 14–0 lead in the first quarter after Terry Davis threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Wayne Wheeler and then scored himself on a three-yard run. Still up only 14–0 as the teams entered the second half, Alabama extended their lead to 21–0 on a three-yard Steve Bisceglia touchdown run.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Kentucky
The Crimson Tide then closed the game with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns. The first came on a nine-yard Bisceglia run and the second on a 48-yard Gary Rutledge pass to Ralph Stokes that made the final score 35–0. In their previous meeting, Kentucky was led by head coach Bear Bryant, who since that time had moved on and was Alabama's head coach for this game. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Kentucky 25–1–1.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
After their victory over Kentucky, Alabama moved into the No. 6 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Vanderbilt. Behind a 28-point second quarter, the Crimson Tide defeated the Commodores 48–21 in the first Denny Stadium game of the season. After Alabama took a 6–0 lead on a four-yard Wilbur Jackson touchdown run, Vanderbilt responded and took a 7–6 lead on a one-yard Walter Overton later in the first quarter. The Crimson Tide responded with four touchdowns in the second quarter and took a 34–7 halftime lead. The points were scored on runs of three and 16-yards by Ellis Beck, one-yard by Terry Davis and one-yard by Steve Dean.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
In the second half, both teams traded touchdowns in each of the final two quarters. In the third, Gary Rutledge scored on a seven-yard run for Alabama and Steve Burger responded for Vanderbilt with his three-yard run. Finally in the fourth quarter, Rutledge scored on a five-yard run for the Crimson Tide and Stephen Lainhart followed with a 51-yard touchdown pass to Douglas Martin for the Commodores that made the final score 48–21. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Vanderbilt to 29–17–4.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Georgia
After their victory over Vanderbilt, Alabama moved into the No. 4 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Georgia. Playing for the first time since a loss to Georgia in 1965, the Crimson Tide defeated the Bulldogs 25–7 in their first road game of the season. Alabama scored their only points in the first half on a five-yard Wilbur Jackson touchdown run in the first quarter.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Georgia
In the third quarter, Terry Davis first threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Wayne Wheeler and later scored on a one-yard run that made the score 19–0. After Jimmy Poulos scored Georgia's only points with his 17-yard touchdown run in the fourth, Alabama closed the game with a two-yard Steve Bisceglia that made the final score 25–7. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Georgia to 29–19–4.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Florida
After their victory over Georgia, Alabama moved into the No. 3 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Florida. Against the Gators, the Crimson Tide rallied from an early 7–0 deficit and defeated Florida 24–7 at Denny Stadium. Florida took an early 7–0 lead behind a 60-yard Nat Moore touchdown run. However, the Gators were unable to score again as Alabama responded with 24 unanswered points.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Florida
After a 13-yard Paul Spivey touchdown run tied the game 7–7 later in the first, a 31-yard Bill Davis field goal in the second gave the Crimson Tide a 10–7 halftime lead. They then closed the game with a pair of touchdown runs that made the final score 24–7. The first came on a four-yard Terry Davis run in the third and then on a one-yard Ralph Stokes run in the fourth. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Florida to 12–5.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
After their victory over Florida, Alabama retained their No. 3 position and Tennessee moved into the No. 10 position in the AP Poll prior to their game at Neyland Stadium. Against the Volunteers, Alabama scored two touchdowns in the final 2:39 of the game for a 17–10, come-from-behind victory at Knoxville. After a scoreless first quarter, the Crimson Tide took a 3–0 lead into halftime after Bill Davis connected on a 31-yard field goal in the second. Tennessee then took a 7–3 lead on a two-yard Condredge Holloway touchdown run in the third, and extended it to 10–3 with a 36-yard Ricky Townsend field goal in the fourth quarter.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
With 2:39 left in the game, Alabama took possession at the Vols 48-yard line, and three plays later Wilbur Jackson scored on a two-yard run. On the Tennessee possession that ensued, John Mitchell recovered a Holloway fumble at the Vols' 17-yard line. On the next play, Terry Davis gave Alabama a 17–10 lead with his touchdown run with just over one minute left in the game. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Tennessee to 25–23–7.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
After their come-from-behind victory over Tennessee, Alabama moved into the No. 2 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Southern Miss. Although they only led the Golden Eagles 7–3 at halftime, 41 second half points resulted in a 48–11 Alabama victory at Legion Field. In what was a very low scoring first half, the Crimson Tide scored on a two-yard Steve Bisceglia touchdown run and the Golden Eagles on a 32-yard Ricky Palmer field goal for a 7–3 halftime score.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
Alabama then dominated the second half and scored five offensive touchdowns in six total possessions en route to the 48–11 victory. Third quarter touchdowns were scored on runs of 12, 16 and five-yards by Bisceglia, Wilbur Jackson and Paul Spivey. Southern Miss responded with their lone points of the second half early in the fourth when Buddy Palazzo connected with Marshall Veal on a 12-yard touchdown pass. The Crimson Tide then closed the game with touchdowns on a 64-yard Gary Rutledge pass to Wayne Wheeler, a 15-yard Robin Cary interception return and on a 13-yard Robert Farley pass to Pete Pappas for the 48–11 win. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Southern Miss to 13–2–1.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Mississippi State
As they entered their game against Mississippi State, Alabama retained their No. 2 position in the AP Poll. Against the Bulldogs, the Crimson Tide won 58–14 en route to their 25th consecutive victory at Denny Stadium. Alabama took a 17–0 lead in the first quarter behind touchdown runs of 28 and one-yard by Terry Davis and Steve Bisceglia and a 22-yard field goal by Bill Davis. After the Bulldogs responded with a one-yard Wayne Jones touchdown run early in the second, the Crimson Tide extended their lead to 30–6 at halftime behind a 15-yard David McMakin blocked punt return and one-yard Ellis Beck touchdown run.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Mississippi State
In the third, both teams traded touchdowns. Alabama scored first on a 44-yard Davis pass to Wayne Wheeler and State followed with a 47-yard Frank Dowsing punt return that made the score 37–14. The Crimson Tide then closed the game with a trio of fourth quarter touchdowns on a 20-yard Gary Rutledge pass to Wheeler and runs of one and two-yards by Robert Farley and Vern Wilmot. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Mississippi State to 44–10–3.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, LSU
After their victory over Mississippi State, Alabama retained their No. 2 position and LSU was in the No. 6 position in the AP Poll prior to their match-up at Birmingham. Playing in a regionally televised game on ABC, Alabama defeated the previously undefeated Tigers 35–21 at Legion Field and captured the 1972 conference championship. LSU took a 7–0 first quarter lead on a 21-yard Bert Jones touchdown pass to Jimmy LeDoux. Alabama responded with a 25-yard Terry Davis touchdown pass to Wayne Wheeler in the second that tied the game 7–7 at halftime.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, LSU
In the third, the Crimson Tide took a 21–7 lead behind touchdowns scored on a 29-yard Davis pass to Wheeler and on a 25-yard Davis run. LSU then cut the lead to 21–14 on a five-yard Jones pass to Charles Williamson later in the quarter. In the fourth, Alabama scored on touchdown runs of one and 52-yards by Steve Bisceglia and Joe LaBue, and LSU scored on a three-yard Jones run that made the final score 35–21. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against LSU to 22–10–4.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
After their victory over LSU, Alabama retained their No. 2 position prior to their match-up against Virginia Tech at Tuscaloosa. After their 52–13 victory over the Hokies on homecoming at Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide accepted an invitation to play in the Cotton Bowl Classic. Alabama opened with a pair of first quarter touchdowns on runs of 67-yards by Wilbur Jackson and two-yards by Terry Davis. They next extended their lead to 31–0 at halftime behind a 36-yard Bill Davis field goal and touchdown runs of nine-yards by Jackson and two-yards by Randy Billingsley.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
After the Crimson Tide extended their lead on a one-yard Steve Bisceglia touchdown run in the third, the Hokies scored their first points on a five-yard J. B. Barber touchdown run that made the score 38–6. The game concluded after both teams traded touchdowns in the final quarter. After Gary Rutledge scored for Alabama with his one-yard run, Don Strock threw a ten-yard touchdown pass to Craig Valentine. The Crimson Tide then made the final score 52–13 after Robert Farley threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Pete Pappas late in the fourth quarter. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Virginia Tech to 7–0.


1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Auburn
As they entered their annual rivalry game against Auburn, Alabama retained their No. 2 position and the Tigers were in the No. 9 position in the AP Poll prior to their match-up in the Iron Bowl. In what was one of the most memorable games in the history of the rivalry, Auburn won 17–16 after they scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns on blocked punt returns in a game subsequently deemed "Punt Bama Punt".