1973 IX FIBA International Christmas Tournament
The 1973 IX FIBA International Christmas Tournament "Trofeo Raimundo Saporta" was the 9th edition of the FIBA International Christmas Tournament. It took place at Sports City of Real Madrid Pavilion, Madrid, Spain, on 24, 25 and 26 December 1973 with the participations of Real Madrid (champions of the 1972–73 Liga Española de Baloncesto), Puerto Rico, Juventud Schweppes (semifinalists of the 1972–73 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup) and Obras Sanitarias.


1973 Ice Hockey World Championships
The 1973 Ice Hockey World Championships were the 40th Ice Hockey World Championships and the 51st European Championships of ice hockey. The tournament took place in the Soviet Union from 31 March to 15 April and the games were played at the Palace of Sports of the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow.


1973 Ice Hockey World Championships
Six teams took part in the main tournament, with each team playing each other twice. The Soviet Union took back their world title and became World Champions for the twelfth time.


1973 Ice Hockey World Championships, World Championship Group B (Austria)
Played in Graz, 22 to 31 March. The Austrian team was coached by Father David Bauer who had established the Canada men's national ice hockey team.


1973 Ice Hockey World Championships, World Championship Group B (Austria)
East Germany was promoted to Group A, both Switzerland and Italy were relegated to group C.  Rating Austria, Japan and Switzerland against each other head to head, they each had two points, Austria had a goal differential of +2, Japan +1, and Switzerland -3.


1973 Ice Hockey World Championships, World Championship Group C (Netherlands)
Played in Geleen, Rotterdam, Nijmegen, Utrecht, Tilburg and The Hague, from 9 to 18 March.


1973 Ice Hockey World Championships, Ranking and statistics, European championships final standings
The final standings of the European championships according to IIHF:


1973 Icelandic Cup
The 1973 Icelandic Cup was the 14th edition of the National Football Cup.


1973 Icelandic Cup
It took place between 13 June 1973 and 13 September 1973, with the final played at Laugardalsvöllur in Reykjavik. The cup was important, as winners qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (if a club won both the league and the cup, the defeated finalists would take their place in the Cup Winners' Cup).


1973 Icelandic Cup
Clubs from the 1. Deild entered in the last 16, with clubs from lower tiers entering in the three preliminary rounds. Teams played one-legged matches. In case of a draw, the match was replayed at the opposition's ground.


1973 Icelandic Cup
Fram Reykjavik won their second Icelandic Cup, beating ÍBK Keflavík in the final. The club therefore qualified for Europe.


1973 Idaho Vandals football team
The 1973 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. The Vandals were led by fourth-year head coach Don Robbins and were members of the Big Sky Conference, then in Division II. They played their home games at new Idaho Stadium, an unlit outdoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.


1973 Idaho Vandals football team, Season
With quarterbacks Rick Seefried, Dave Comstock, and Dennis Ballock running the veer offense, the Vandals were 4–7 overall and 3–2 in the Big Sky.


1973 Idaho Vandals football team, Season
In the Battle of the Palouse, Idaho suffered a sixth straight loss to neighbor Washington State of the Pac-8, falling 51–24 at Martin Stadium in Pullman on September 29.


1973 Idaho Vandals football team, Season
In their third game with new rival Boise State and first in Moscow, the Vandals fell at home 47–24 on September 15;  this was the only outdoor meeting in Moscow in the series. The Broncos went on to win the first of three consecutive conference championships. Idaho did not schedule Northern Arizona until 1975 and both played only five games in conference.


1973 Idaho Vandals football team, Season
At the conclusion of the season, Robbins' contract was not renewed. He was succeeded by Ed Troxel, a Vandal assistant coach since 1967 and also the head coach of the track team.


1973 Idaho Vandals football team, Division I
Through 1977, the Big Sky was a Division II conference for football, except for Division I member Idaho, which moved down to I-AA in 1978. Idaho maintained its upper division status in the NCAA by playing Division I non-conference opponents (and was ineligible for the Division II postseason).


1973 Idaho Vandals football team, All-conference
Four Vandals were selected to the Big Sky all-conference team: tight end Bill Kashetta, defensive tackle Lloyd Grimsrud, cornerback Randy Hall and safety Bucky Bruns. Three were named to the second team (honorable mention): running back Mark Fredback, wide receiver Tim Coles, and offensive tackle Bob Van Duyne.


1973 Idaho Vandals football team, NFL Draft
Two Vandal seniors were selected in the 1974 NFL Draft, which lasted seventeen rounds (442 selections).


1973 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
The 1973 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois in the 1973 Big Ten Conference football season. In their third year under head coach Bob Blackman, the Illini compiled a 5–6 record and finished in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Big Ten Conference.


1973 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Jeff Hollenbach with 916 passing yards, running back George Uremovich with 519 rushing yards, and wide receiver Garvin Roberson with 416 receiving yards. Halfback Eddie Jenkins and defensive end Octavus Morgan were selected as the team's most valuable players.


1973 Indian Open
The 1973 Indian Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts in New Delhi, India. It was the inaugural edition of the event and was held from 15 October through 20 October 1973. The tournament was part of the Group B tier of the Grand Prix tennis circuit. Vijay Amritraj won the singles title.


1973 Indian Open, Finals, Singles
Vijay Amritraj defeated  Mal Anderson 6–4, 5–7, 8–9, 6–3, 11–9


1973 Indian Open, Finals, Doubles
Jim McManus /  Raúl Ramírez defeated  Anand Amritraj /  Vijay Amritraj 6–2, 6–4


1973 Indian Rajya Sabha elections
Rajya Sabha elections were held on various dates in 1973, to elect members of the Rajya Sabha, Indian Parliament's upper chamber.


1973 Indian Rajya Sabha elections, Elections, Members elected
The following members are elected in the elections held in 1973. They are members for the term 1973-1979 and retire in year 1979, except in case of the resignation or death before the term. The list is incomplete.


1973 Indian Rajya Sabha elections, Bye-elections
The following bye elections were held in the year 1973.


1973 Indiana Hoosiers football team
The 1973 Indiana Hoosiers football team represented the Indiana Hoosiers in the 1973 Big Ten Conference football season. The Hoosiers played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. The team was coached by Lee Corso, in his first year as head coach of the Hoosiers.


1973 Indianapolis 500
The 57th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Wednesday, May 30, 1973. The race was held over three days due to rain and suffered two major accidents. Three competitors - two drivers and one pit crew member - died during the month as a result of accidents, and another driver was critically injured. After 133 laps (332+1⁄2 mi (535.1 km)), rain halted the race, and Gordon Johncock was declared the winner, the first of his two Indy triumphs (1973, 1982).


1973 Indianapolis 500
Going into the month, the mood was bright and excitement was high for record speeds. Competitors, media, and fans were eagerly anticipating the possibility of breaking the elusive and daunting 200 mph (321.9 km/h) barrier during time trials. The month took a tragic turn, however, when driver Art Pollard died in a crash during a practice session on May 12, 1973. Later that same day, Johnny Rutherford set a new track record during time trials. His best lap at 199.071 mph (320.4 km/h) fell just short of breaking the highly sought-after speed barrier. Despite Rutherford's headlines on pole day, the mood meanwhile around the garage area was becoming anxious and uncertain. Fears were growing about rising speeds and safety. Inclement weather was also interfering.


1973 Indianapolis 500
The race was scheduled for Monday May 28, but was aborted due to a major accident at the start. Driver David "Salt" Walther was critically injured and numerous spectators in the track boxes and first few rows of the Paddock grandstands with burns, required hospitalization, some in critical condition; with the blast of heat felt as much as 100 yards away. Although it doesn't show up on the TV broadcasts and films, the fireball actually was a somewhat bluish flame, from eyewitness accounts.


1973 Indianapolis 500
Also, rain mercifully washed out the day during the red flag period, as two vertical stanchions of the outside catchfence were broken and needed to be repaired before any racing could resume. Rain also washed out any chance to hold the race on Tuesday May 29 as well.


1973 Indianapolis 500
Only a fraction of the typical Indy crowd arrived to watch the race by the time it was run on Wednesday May 30; and in fact since schools were closed in Speedway and within a few miles around west Indianapolis due to traffic, many hundreds of schoolkids and parents were bussed in to fill the grandstands for free.


1973 Indianapolis 500
The Wednesday race suffered two separate fatal accidents. The first involved driver David "Swede" Savage; the second, Graham McRae pit crew member Armando Teran, STP teammate to Savage when he stepped out into the pit lane and was hit by a safety truck going in the wrong direction. Both occurred at lap 59 of the race. Owing to the tragic circumstances, relentless weather problems, rain-shortened finish, and overall glum mood during the month, the 1973 race is widely considered the worst year for the running of the Indianapolis 500. In contemporary accounts, the race had been called "jinxed" by Dan Gurney, Chris Economaki, and Jim McKay. Statistically, it was the track's deadliest month of May since 1937. Even almost a half-century later, .


1973 Indianapolis 500
National media opinions, as well as those from team owners and crew, were highly critical in the aftermath of the race, focusing namely on inadequate safety measures. The circumstances led to sweeping rule changes by USAC, some made effective for the Domino's Pizza 500 at Pocono Raceway four weeks later. Numerous safety improvements were made to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track itself that were completed for 1974.


1973 Indianapolis 500
Off the track, the Speedway had completed construction of its first VIP Suites outside of turn two. Following in the footsteps of Ontario Motor Speedway, Indianapolis becomes the second major racing facility to feature luxury boxes.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race schedule
In 1971, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect, moving Memorial Day from the fixed date of May 30 to the final Monday in May. For 1971 and 1972, the race was held on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. The Speedway still maintained a policy of not racing on Sunday, and for 1973, the race was scheduled for the Monday Memorial Day holiday itself. The change was made after requests from spectators, many complaining that it was inconvenient to the many people who had to work on Saturdays.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race schedule
The 500 Festival Committee had a desire to move their annual parade downtown to Saturday afternoon. Previously it had been held at night during the week. For 1973, the parade was held Saturday, the public driver's meeting was scheduled for Sunday, and the race was scheduled for Monday. A decision was made that starting in 1974, the race would ultimately move to Sunday.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race schedule
* Includes days where trackactivity was significantlylimited due to rain


1973 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Practice
Just one year prior, USAC began allowing bolt-on wings. The increased downforce increased lap speeds nearly 30 mph (48 km/h) in just three years. The dramatic rise went from 170 mph (274 km/h) in 1970, to flirting with the 200 mph (320 km/h) barrier for 1973. During Goodyear tire tests in late March, Gordon Johncock set an unofficial track record of 199.4 mph (320.9 km/h). Experts and officials agree that the safety features in the cars were not prepared for the speeds attained.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Practice
In addition, engine development with the turbocharged version of the venerable I-4 Offenhauser had resulted in horsepower readings in high-boost qualifying trim in excess of 1,100 hp (820 kW). According to Mario Andretti, this was sufficient to induce rear wheelspin on the 1⁄8 mi (200 m) "short chutes" between turns 1 and 2 and turns 3 and 4—an unnerving sensation for even the bravest, most skilled and experienced of drivers.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Practice
The track opened on Saturday April 28 with Gary Bettenhausen earning the honor of first driver on the track. Rain and winds plagued practice during the first week, while drivers started creeping up the speed chart. On Monday April 30, chief steward Harlan Fengler lifted the 180 mph (290 km/h) speed limit and speeds climbed quickly. Gordon Johncock set an unofficial lap of over 190 mph (310 km/h) to set the early pace. Johnny Rutherford was another member of the "190 mph club" with several laps in the mid-190 mph range. On May 5, Swede Savage upped the speed chart to 197.802 mph (318.331 km/h), inching closer to the elusive 200 mph (320 km/h) mark.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Practice
On Sunday May 6, three drivers left the grounds to race in the NASCAR Winston 500 at Talladega. A huge crash, described as the worst crash in the history of NASCAR, put Bobby Allison and Gordon Johncock out of that race. Dick Simon, however, escaped the incident, with Simon coming home 7th. All three returned to qualify at Indy.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Practice
Rain and high winds kept speeds down in the second week of practice. Mario Andretti turned a lap of 192.967 mph (310.550 km/h) on Thursday May 10. The final day of practice before pole day was Friday May 11. From April 28—May 11, there were only three accidents reported in practice that involved wall contact, none of which caused serious injuries.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Practice
By the eve of pole day, no drivers had eclipsed the 200 mph (320 km/h) barrier according to published reports, but conditions were favorable for pole day, and anticipation was high.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Pole Day – Saturday May 12 – Death of Art Pollard
Pole day dawned sunny with high temperatures in the 70 °F (21 °C). Brief showers caused officials to turn on the yellow light a few times during the day, but they did not significantly affect the proceedings. An enormous crowd estimated at 250,000 arrived, anticipating the first ever 200 mph lap at Indy. Practice opened promptly at 9:00 a.m., but was quickly marred by the crash of Art Pollard. At 9:37 a.m., Pollard hit the outside wall in turn 1, spun to the inside, then flipped over, coming to a rest in turn two with flames and heavy damage. Pollard's injuries were reported to include pulmonary damage due to flame inhalation, third degree burns on both hands, face and neck, a fractured right arm, a fractured leg, and a severe spinal injury. He was pronounced dead at Methodist Hospital approximately one hour and three minutes after the crash.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Pole Day – Saturday May 12 – Death of Art Pollard
Despite the crash, time trials began on time at 11 a.m. Peter Revson was the first driver in the field, with a fast run of 192.606 mph (309.969 km/h). The next car out, Gary Bettenhausen, upped the mark to 195.599 mph (314.786 km/h), just short of the existing track record.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Pole Day – Saturday May 12 – Death of Art Pollard
At 12:29 p.m., Swede Savage took to the track, and was the first to set records. His first lap of 197.152 mph (317.285 km/h) set a one-lap record, and his four-lap speed of 196.582 mph (316.368 km/h) was also a record. The result put him tentatively on the pole.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Pole Day – Saturday May 12 – Death of Art Pollard
At 1:37 p.m., Johnny Rutherford took to the track, and electrified the crowd into a frenzy. His third lap of 199.071 mph (320.374 km/h) was just 0.21 seconds shy of the elusive 200 mph (320 km/h) barrier. his four-lap average of 198.413 mph (319.315 km/h) secured the pole position.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Pole Day – Saturday May 12 – Death of Art Pollard
Defending race winner Mark Donohue squeezed onto the front row with a run of 197.413 mph (317.705 km/h). In the final hour, Bobby Unser was the last driver of the day with a shot at history. He came close to Rutherford, but his four-lap average of 198.183 mph (318.945 km/h) was good enough only for second starting position.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Pole Day – Saturday May 12 – Death of Art Pollard
At the end of the day, the field was filled to 24 cars. A. J. Foyt (188.927 mph [304.049 km/h]) and Sam Posey (187.921 mph [302.430 km/h]) were the two slowest. Foyt, who was over 192 mph (309 km/h) during the week, waved off once, and had to settle for a slow run.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Second day – Sunday May 13
A fairly busy second day of time trials saw six cars added to the field without incident. John Martin (194.384 mph [312.831 km/h]) was the fastest of the day. Posey and Foyt were still the two slowest cars in the field.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Third Day – Saturday May 19
Rain kept cars off the track for most of the day. Lightning, hail, and a tornado warning, emptied the grandstands at 3 p.m. In the final ten minutes, two cars (Tom Bigelow and Sammy Sessions) made it out on the track for qualifying attempts, but neither were successful. Bigelow spun on his warm up lap, and Sessions waved off.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Bump Day – Sunday May 20
With three spots left open in the field, the final day of time trials was expected to be busy, but saw only moderate action. Sammy Sessions was the first car out, and completed his run, slightly slower than his run a day earlier. After a down period in the mid-afternoon, the field was filled to 33 cars at 5:37 p.m. Tom Bigelow was on the bubble.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Bump Day – Sunday May 20
With 15 minutes left in the day. Jim McElreath bumped out Tom Bigelow. Sam Posey was now on the bubble. Next out was Jim Hurtubise, but he was 4 mph (6.4 km/h) too slow. With one minute left before the 6 o'clock gun, George Snider got in a Foyt backup car. A fast run of 190.355 mph (306.347 km/h) bumped Posey, and the field was set.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Rain delay, Monday May 28 – Salt Walther crash
On race day, a crowd estimated at 350,000 waited as morning rain delayed the proceedings for four hours and four minutes from its original scheduled time of 11:00 a.m. Tony Hulman gave the command to start engines just after 3:00 p.m., and the field pulled away for the pace laps. Bob Harkey's car did not fire, and his crew wheeled the car back to the pits. It was discovered earlier in the day that the engine had failed, and rather than withdraw (and give their starting spot to Tom Bigelow, the first alternate), the crew gridded the car as normal. They worked on the car briefly to give the impression that the engine failed when the starting command was given.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Rain delay, Monday May 28 – Salt Walther crash
At the start, race starter Pat Vidan erroneously threw the green flag a lap early, triggering an 11-car accident on the main stretch approximately 200 yards past the start/finish line, which halted the race immediately. As the green flag fell, Steve Krisiloff's car developed ignition problems and slowed on the front straightaway, falling back to parallel with the fifth row by the time he crossed the start/finish line. This caused the rest of the field behind Krisiloff to shuffle towards the outside to avoid the slowing car.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Rain delay, Monday May 28 – Salt Walther crash
Seconds later in the sixth row, just past the start/finish line, Salt Walther tangled wheels with Jerry Grant, climbed over Grant's left-front wheel, overturned in the air and slammed into the catch fence. The car cut a 70 ft (21 m) chunk out of the fence on impact, breaking two 4 inch steel stanchions before being thrown back onto the track by the reinforcing cables positioned behind the fence.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Rain delay, Monday May 28 – Salt Walther crash
The impact ripped open Walther's both fuel tanks, sending 75 gallons of flaming methanol into the grandstand in a massive pale blue fireball (not apparent on TV or film footage) and dousing many spectators; with the blast of heat felt at least 100 yards away in the Paddock grandstand and Track Boxes, per eyewitness accounts. Eleven grandstand spectators were injured, and nine required hospitalization. As the front of Walther's car dug into the fence, the nose was also sheared off and Walther's legs were exposed.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Rain delay, Monday May 28 – Salt Walther crash
The car landed back on the racing surface upside-down, and spun wildly down the main stretch, spraying burning fuel in all directions. The spinning car was hit by at least two other cars, and a total of at least ten other cars became involved in the crash, including: Wally Dallenbach, Mike Hiss, Lee Kunzman, John Martin, David Hobbs, Mike Mosley, Jim McElreath and Dick Simon. Several cars were damaged extensively, and debris and burning fuel now littered the track. Kunzman later recalled that he thought he had been blinded by hitting the burning fuel until his car stopped and he flipped up his visor, as the intense heat had crinkled it so severely, he could not see where he was going.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Rain delay, Monday May 28 – Salt Walther crash
Walther's car came to rest upside-down near the pit exit. Walther suffered severe burns and injuries to his hands. Meanwhile, Bobby Unser had grabbed the race lead going into turn one, ahead of pole-sitter Johnny Rutherford. The race was immediately red-flagged, and the start was negated. The cars that had avoided the wreck parked at the head of the front stretch, and were eventually wheeled back to the pits. Safety crews attended to the crash scene, aided injured spectators, and also started repairing the catch fence and stanchions.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Rain delay, Monday May 28 – Salt Walther crash
The other drivers involved in the crash suffered only minor injuries (one report listed John Martin, Mike Hiss and Lee Kunzman as being treated for minor injuries at the track field hospital and released); Walther was transported to Methodist Hospital and remained hospitalized for months thereafter. Before all the cleanup and the repairs to the catchfence and two broken stanchions completed, rain mercifully began to fall again. The rest of the day was washed out, and officials rescheduled the start for 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, causing the crowd to gasp when PA announcer Tom Carnegie announced the earlier start time.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Rain delay, Tuesday May 29
On Tuesday May 29, the scheduled start time of the race was 9:00 a.m. At dawn, the skies were reported as clear, but soon after, rain fell in the morning hours, delaying any attempt to start until 10:15 a.m. Attendance was visibly down from Monday and estimated at approximately 175,000–200,000.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Rain delay, Tuesday May 29
Officials announced that the race would restart from scratch, and the single lap driven by some of the cars on Monday would not count in the scoring. Cars were gridded in their original starting positions, without Walther, who was credited with 33rd place. All cars involved in Monday's crash were allowed to make repairs, and Bob Harkey's team installed a new engine. Therefore, Tuesday's race start had 32 of the 33 race entrants ready.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Rain delay, Tuesday May 29
A heated pre-race meeting was held with the drivers and officials, and the subject of the crash and the speed of the pace car at the start was the focus. Drivers were complaining that the pace of the start (80 mph (130 km/h)) was too slow, and pointed to the ragged start of 1972 as well as reason to increase the pace car speed to 100 mph (160 km/h).


1973 Indianapolis 500, Rain delay, Tuesday May 29
The command to fire engines was given a shortly after 10 o'clock, and the field of 32 pulled away for the warm-up laps. On the second parade lap, a light rain began to fall, and the track was red-flagged. The cars were halted on the main stretch to wait out the shower. Rain continued to fall most of the day. Many fans headed for the exits, and crews wheeled the cars back to the garage area yet again. During the delay, a pick-up soccer game broke out on the pit lane. At 1:48 p.m., the race was postponed until Wednesday.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Rain delay, Wednesday May 30
On Wednesday, morning rain threatened to wash out the race for an unprecedented third day in a row. The start time was once again slated for 9:00 a.m., but again the participants and spectators had to wait. Estimates put the Wednesday attendance as low as 20,000, 35,000, or 50–60,000, and rain check tickets were no longer asked for at the gate. However, at least one estimate put the total attendance at 125,000 once the race got going.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Rain delay, Wednesday May 30
In addition since schools were closed on the west side of Indianapolis and in the town of Speedway due to traffic jams, school busloads of kids and parents were offered free rides to the Speedway to help fill the grandstands. After over two days of rainy revelry, the infield was overwhelmed with mud and garbage. Uncharacteristic of the normally well–groomed Speedway, the grandstands and bathrooms were littered with trash, walkways and grass parking lots were flooded. The infamous Snake Pit was described as a "bog." The health department overseeing the race even threatened to keep the race from running at all if it was rained out again on Wednesday, due to the deteriorating conditions of the infield.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Rain delay, Wednesday May 30
The mood around the garage area was glum. Crews were exhausted, and drivers were apprehensive. It was now the longest rain delay in Indy 500 history to-date. Johnny Rutherford later quipped that if a poll had been taken around the garage area, the consensus would have been to leave and move on to the next race, The Rex Mays 150, at The Milwaukee Mile. Media had already nicknamed the race the "72 Hours of Indianapolis", a play on the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The cars had sat mostly idle for the past nine days (except for the traditional Carburetion Day practice), raising separate concerns about potential mechanical and handling problems.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Rain delay, Wednesday May 30
The delays at Indianapolis were beginning to have cascade effects on the schedule. Owing to the delay, USAC elected to postpone the next race of the season, The Rex Mays 150, at The Milwaukee Mile from June 3 to June 10.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Rain delay, Wednesday May 30
Around midday, the sun finally came out for a few hours, and the track surface dried enough for a race start at 2:10 p.m.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Start
On the pace lap, the car of David Hobbs' Penske McLaren Offy began smoking heavily. He pitted, and later rejoined the race.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Start
The first 58 laps were run with only two brief cautions, for minor incidents. However, there was considerable attrition. Bobby Unser took the lead at the start, and led the first 39 laps. Bobby Allison blew his engine at the completion of the first lap, Peter Revson brushed the wall in turn four on lap 3, and Mario Andretti broke a piston on lap 4, driving for Parnelli Jones's no. 11 car.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Start
The first yellow light came out on lap 17 when Bob Harkey's engine seized. It spilled oil, causing him to spin out and stall on the backstretch. 1972 winner Mark Donohue' #66 Penske McLaren Offy was the only one of the leaders that chose to pit during the yellow. Bobby Unser continued to lead, with Gordon Johncock running second, and Johnny Rutherford third. A. J. Foyt coasted to a stop in the pits after 37 laps with a broken rod bolt. Bobby Unser made his first pit stop on lap 40, briefly handing the lead to Johncock. Unser's pit stop dragged on for almost 45 seconds, and Swede Savage took over third.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Start
Johncock led laps 40–42, then made a pit stop. The lead was assumed by Swede Savage on lap 43, with Al Unser now second. Joe Leonard brought out the yellow for two minutes when he spun on lap 45 in the north chute between turns 3 and 4. Savage and Al Unser battled closely for several laps, with the lapped car of Roger McCluskey also in the mix. Unser was able to get by McCluskey on the backstretch on lap 53. He then made a slingshot pass around Savage for the lead going into turn one on lap 54.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Start
On lap 55, Johnny Rutherford was given the black flag and went to the pits to check for leaking fluid. At the same time, Mark Donohue's car slowed and he went to the pits (and later dropped out) with a bad piston in what was his final 500.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Start
By lap 57, only 22 cars of the starting field of 33 were on track.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Swede Savage crash and death of Armando Teran
On the 57th lap, Swede Savage made a pit stop. His car was filled with 70 US gal (260 L) of methanol and fitted with a new right rear tire. On lap 59, Savage was in 2nd place, a few seconds behind race leader Al Unser. As Unser committed to a lap 59 pit stop ahead of him, Savage lost control of his car as he exited turn four. The car twitched back and forth, and then slid across to the inside of the track at nearly top speed. It hit the angled inside wall nearly head-on.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Swede Savage crash and death of Armando Teran
The force of the impact, with the car carrying a full load of fuel in both tanks, caused the car to explode in a plume of flame. The force of the fuel exploding was so great that some structural rivets were blown rearward out of the car. The engine and transaxle tumbled end-over-end to the pit lane entrance while Savage, still strapped in his seat, was thrown back across the circuit. Savage came to rest adjacent to the outer retaining wall, fully conscious and completely exposed while he sat in a pool of flaming methanol fuel. The other cars on the track quickly stopped in turn four, as the track was completely blocked with debris and fire. A red flag stopped the race at 3:05 p.m..


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Swede Savage crash and death of Armando Teran
Track and safety crews immediately descended onto the crash scene to aid Savage. One fire truck, driven by fire/safety truck driver Jerry Flake, was signaled to head to the scene by Cleon Reynolds, the Chief of the Speedway Fire Department. Flake was stationed at the south end of the pits, and had to traverse the pit lane 'against traffic' to reach the Savage crash as quickly as possible.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Swede Savage crash and death of Armando Teran
Driving a safety vehicle against the flow of racing and pit traffic was permissible in the USAC safety rules of 1973, and Reynolds' hand signal to Flake specifically instructed him to do exactly this. Flake reported "laying on the horn" and slow progress through the pit lane as people were in the way.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Swede Savage crash and death of Armando Teran
As Flake began speeding toward Savage's crash via the pit lane, numerous pit crew members from several teams moved to cross pit lane, toward the grass infield at trackside. Among those who did was George Bignotti, chief mechanic for Gordon Johncock, and 22-year-old Armando Teran, pit board man for Graham McRae. "I had just crossed the lane", Bignotti begins.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Swede Savage crash and death of Armando Teran
Flake, driving northbound in pit lane at high speed, describes what he saw: "All of a sudden things cleared up on the pit road and I had a clear shot all the way up to Savage's car which I could see burning. Then out of nowhere, a guy was in front of me..."


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Swede Savage crash and death of Armando Teran
Flake's truck struck Teran, his body tossed about 50 ft (15 m), an impact violent enough to knock him out of his shoes. As Bignotti relays it, "I heard the car coming, and — whap — it hit him". The incident was easily seen by thousands of spectators, as it occurred on the pit lane at the start/finish line. Teran suffered crushed ribs and a broken skull, and although he lived through the initial impact, he died shortly afterward after being transported to Methodist Hospital.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Swede Savage crash and death of Armando Teran
It was erroneously reported by media that Flake was at fault in the Teran collision because of driving against racing traffic; in 1973, safety trucks were permitted by USAC to drive in the opposite direction of the racing cars as Flake had done. The following year, USAC specifically prohibited safety trucks from driving in the opposite direction. For Teran's part, there was no rule forbidding him from leaving the pit wall, as a team's pit board, or "chalkboard" man, either. [ WARNING: There are several gruesome YouTube videos showing Teran tumbling and the massive dent in the front of the safety truck.]


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Finish
Savage was taken to the hospital with third degree burns and flame inhalation, but was in stable condition. One hour and eleven minutes after the accident, the debris was cleaned up, and the race was resumed. After witnessing the Savage crash, a disconsolate George Snider decided to climb out of his car for the day, and turned it over to A. J. Foyt, his car owner. Foyt himself had already dropped out on lap 37, and was standing by in case he was needed for relief.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Finish
The race restarted with Al Unser leading, and attrition continued to take a toll on the field. On lap 73, Jimmy Caruthers blew his engine, and a connecting rod flew out, punctured, and violently blew his right front tire on the main stretch. He was able to maintain control of the car, and coasted around to the pit area. Al Unser's day ended with a blown engine on lap 75, and Gordon Johncock, another of Savage's Patrick Racing/STP teammates, assumed the lead.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Finish
In quick succession, seven cars dropped out between laps 91 and 101, including Bobby Unser, A. J. Foyt (in George Snider's car), and Dick Simon. The race finally reached the halfway point, and became official upon the completion of lap 101. By this time, only eleven cars were still running, just two on the lead lap. Gordon Johncock was leading and Bill Vukovich II had climbed all the way up to second position. Track officials began assembling victory lane, as dark skies were looming, evening was soon approaching, and they did not expect the race to go the full distance.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Finish
Jerry Karl, after about two hours of repairs in the pits, rejoined the race running over 100 laps down. He was able to move up to 26th place.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Finish
On the 129th lap a light rain began to fall, and the yellow light came on with Gordon Johncock leading. Only eleven cars were still on the track. After 133 laps, at about 5:30 p.m., the rain started to fall much harder, forcing the race to be stopped by red flag. Although officials had not yet decided to call the race, it was obvious to most teams that the race was over and Johncock's Patrick Racing crew began to celebrate, along with a post-race winner's interview with a mostly despondent co-owner Andy Granatelli. A short time later, officials declared the race complete, with Johncock the winner. Johncock led the most laps with a total of 64.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Finish
The 1973 race was the shortest "500" on record at the time (332.5 mi [535.1 km]), with the exception of the 1916 race, which was actually scheduled for 300 mi (480 km). Three years later, the 1976 race was halted at an even shorter distance of 255 mi (410 km), just past the halfway point when the race became official on lap 101.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Race running, Finish
The traditional victory banquet was canceled, and the victory celebration was fairly brief and muted. Johncock left the track soon after the race to visit Savage at the hospital, along with team owner Pat Patrick. Johncock and Patrick, and a few other crew members ended the day with a "victory dinner" which consisted of fast food hamburgers at the Burger Chef just east of the Speedway on Georgetown Road.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Aftermath
The race and its safety concerns caused immediate uproar among racing owners, crew, and track owners. Two days after the race, team owner Andy Granatelli (whose car, driven by Johncock, won the race), declared that he would withdraw from USAC racing in 1974 unless changes were made. On June 2, Dr. Joseph Mattioli, owner of Pocono International Raceway, was calling for USAC to make changes "(restricting) speeds of the race car so that we can once again have auto races that are competitive, exciting, and relatively safe" for the next 500-mile race on the USAC schedule in early July.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Aftermath
USAC acted quickly. On the evening of June 2, 1973, the weekend after the race, USAC held an unscheduled meeting, revising rules. The large rear wings used in 1972–73 were cut back in size from 64 to 55 in (160 to 140 cm), fuel tank capacity was drastically reduced from 75 to 40 US gal (280 to 150 L) with the single tank mandated to be placed in the left sidepod, and the allowable fuel to be consumed in a 500-mile race was reduced from 375 to 340 US gal (1,420 to 1,290 L).


1973 Indianapolis 500, Aftermath
Those changes were designed to slow the cars down. USAC also created a rule specifically disallowing the pit sign carrier from leaving his post as Teran did, for the duration of a race. (The pit signs have been replaced by two-way radio communication, and after 2013 were prohibited during the race.) All of these rule changes were effective as of the Domino's Pizza 500 at Pocono Raceway to be held on July 1, 1973. USAC also delayed the Rex Mays 150 race in Milwaukee one week, to June 9–10, because of the lengthy delay in running the Indianapolis 500 race.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Aftermath
On July 2, 33 days after his on track injury, Swede Savage died in the hospital from complications arising from his injuries and treatment. The true cause of his death remains a point of dispute. It had been widely reported that Savage's death was caused kidney failure, while others have said that Savage died from lung failure due to flame inhalation. Dr. Steve Olvey, Savage's attending physician (and later CART's director of medical affairs), claimed in his book Rapid Response that the real cause of death was complications related to contaminated plasma.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Aftermath
Olvey claimed that Savage contracted hepatitis B from a transfusion, causing his liver to fail. According to Savage's father, the percentage of oxygen they were giving Swede just prior to his death, due to the damage to his lungs from the flames inhaled from the accident, was such that there was no way he could have survived, even if he had not contracted hepatitis B. Lung failure was repeated as the cause of death by Savage's daughter Angela in a May 2015 interview.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Aftermath
At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, several safety changes were made for the 1974 race. The angled inside wall at the northwest corner of the track (which had also played a role in the Dave MacDonald/Eddie Sachs double-fatality in 1964) was removed, and the pit entrance was widened. Retaining walls were heightened and catch fences were improved around the track. A flag stand for the race starter and other officials was built over the outside wall of the track directly above the start-finish line (previously the starter was positioned down at the inside wall of the track itself).


1973 Indianapolis 500, Aftermath
In addition, some spectator areas were moved back away from the track, and all of the rows of Track Box seats along the front stretch were removed. Starter Pat Vidan, who erroneously threw the green flag a lap early, was fired, and replaced by Shim Malone; and Chief Steward Harlan Fengler was also fired. There was not another on-track fatality at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway until 1982 in which Gordon Smiley died in qualifying. Gordon Johncock also won that race.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Aftermath
In 1994 at the inaugural Brickyard 400 it was noted by many first time NASCAR stock car race attendees that the rule of safety vehicles going the wrong way was not a speedway rule, as unlike USAC across all series they sanction, NASCAR shamefully did not ban the practice.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Aftermath
As of 2019, Savage's death in 1973 is the last fatality at the Speedway that occurred as a result of a crash during the race itself. It would not be until the death of Peter Lenz at the 2010 MotoGP race weekend that a fatality occurred during an actual race at the Speedway again.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Sid Collins served as chief announcer and Fred Agabashian served as "driver expert", replacing Len Sutton. Fred Agabashian returned after a six-year absence. The race was held over three days, and the network covered activities live on all three days.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
This would be Mike Ahern's final race with the network crew. For 1973, the turn two reporting location was moved to the new VIP Suites, which had just been constructed. Bob Forbes served as wireless roving reporter, concentrating on the garage area.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
At the conclusion of the race, Lou Palmer reported from victory lane.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
Chief Announcer: Sid CollinsDriver expert: Fred AgabashianStatistician: John DeCampHistorian: Donald Davidson


1973 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
Turn 1: Mike AhernTurn 2: Howdy BellBackstretch: Doug ZinkTurn 3: Ron CarrellTurn 4: Jim Shelton


1973 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Television
The race was carried in the United States on ABC Sports on a same-day tape delay basis. The race was scheduled to air on Monday May 28 at 9 p.m. EDT for a two-hour same-day tape delay broadcast. However, the race suffered the crash of Salt Walther and rain prevented it from being restarted. The network showed a brief clip of Walther's crash, then filled the rest of the timeslot with a movie instead. On Tuesday May 29, the race was to be rescheduled for 9 a.m., but it was again rained out as well. On Wednesday May 30, the race was finally held, and ABC planned to air the broadcast in primetime on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. EDT. The broadcast featured a rebroadcast of Monday's aborted attempt at a start, as well as the conclusion on Wednesday.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Television
Analyst Jackie Stewart was to be the color commentator, but was only able to be at the grounds on Monday and Tuesday as he left the Speedway Wednesday for Formula One commitments at the 1973 Monaco Grand Prix. Chris Economaki substituted for Stewart in the booth on Wednesday. On Wednesday, Chris Schenkel rode and reported from inside the pace car.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Television
Because of the long delay after Swede Savage's accident, some of the later portions of the race were still being edited as the beginning of the race was being broadcast.


1973 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Television
The race was billed on ABC as "Goodyear Presents the Indianapolis 500 Race".


1973 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Television
The broadcast re-aired on ESPN Classic for the first time on August 12, 2011. The broadcast was slightly edited from the original airing, as a scene in the immediate aftermath of Armando Teran's fatal accident was omitted (but is still available on YouTube). The broadcast was shown again on ESPN Classic on May 30, 2013 (the 40th anniversary).


1973 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Television
Host: Chris SchenkelAnnouncer: Jim McKayColor: Jackie Stewart (Mon. & Tues.)Color: Chris Economaki (Wed.)


1973 Indianapolis 500, Documentary films
Several documentary films were also produced discussing the 1973 Indianapolis 500. These include:


1973 Indianapolis 500, Documentary films
The 200 MPH Barrier, narrated by Ralph Camargo, Dynamic Films (for Ashland Oil)


1973 Indianapolis 500, Documentary films
Catastrophe (1977), narrated by William Conrad (the 1973 Indianapolis 500 is one of the film's subjects)


1973 Indianapolis 500, Documentary films
Fire and Rain, for the STP-sponsored Patrick Racing teams (Johncock, McRae, Savage), Allend'or Productions


1973 Indianapolis 500, Documentary films
The Indianapolis 500: The 70s, narrated by Tom Carnegie (1973 was featured including interviews by the drivers who were there)


1973 Individual Ice Speedway World Championship
The 1973 Individual Ice Speedway World Championship was the eighth edition of the World Championship.


1973 Individual Ice Speedway World Championship
The winner was Gabdrakhman Kadyrov of the Soviet Union for the sixth time.


1973 Individual Long Track World Championship
The 1973 Individual Long Track World Championship was the third edition of the FIM speedway Individual Long Track World Championship. The event was held on 20 September 1973 in Oslo, Norway.


1973 Individual Long Track World Championship
The defending champion Ivan Mauger failed to qualify for the semi-final round after being eliminated in a qualifying round. The world title was won by Ole Olsen of Denmark.


1973 Individual Speedway World Championship
The 1973 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 28th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.


1973 Individual Speedway World Championship
The 1973 World Final was won by Polish rider Jerzy Szczakiel following a run-off in with defending champion Ivan Mauger after both riders had finished on 13 points. On the second lap of the run-off, Mauger fell in turn 3 after trying a risky passing move leaving Szczakiel to win easily. Another Polish rider, Zenon Plech finished third. Rank outsider Szczakiel, who had finished last with no points scored in his only other World Final appearance in Sweden in 1971, rode the meeting of his life and was only beaten in his final two rides before defeating Mauger in the run-off.


1973 Individual Speedway World Championship
The final, held at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów, Poland, is believed to have been held in front of the largest crowd in world speedway history, estimated to be around 130,000, though some reports put the size of the crowd as anywhere from 90,000 to 120,000. The previous record for a final was 95,000 during the 1938 Individual Speedway World Championship at Wembley.


1973 Individual Speedway World Championship, Format changes
The format of the Championship changed for the 1973 event. This time the Polish riders were allowed five places in the World Final to be held in Poland. All other nations had to go through the European Final route to provide the remaining 11 riders for the World Final.


1973 Individual Speedway World Championship, Second Round, British/Commonwealth Final
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


1973 Individual Speedway World Championship, Second Round, Nordic Final
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


1973 Individual Speedway World Championship, Third Round, British/Commonwealth/Nordic Final
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


1973 Individual Speedway World Championship, Third Round, Continental Final
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


1973 Individual Speedway World Championship, Fourth Round, European Final
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


1973 Individual Speedway World Championship, World Final, Final Controversy
The Final was surrounded by controversy, with decisions made by Georg Traunspurger, the referee assigned to the meeting by the FIM, seeming to favour the Polish riders. One of his decisions was to have 2nd reserve Andrzej Wyglenda of Poland race in Heat 16 in front of 1st reserve Tommy Jansson of Sweden (after Bernt Persson of Sweden was unable to ride), making it four Polish riders in the race. In the race, second placed Edward Jancarz, who led for the first three laps, seemed to let Zenon Plech take the lead in the final turn, allowing Plech, who had more points at that stage of the meeting, to collect another three points for the win.


1973 Individual Speedway World Championship, World Final, Final Controversy
His most controversial decision was to exclude Soviet rider Grigory Khlinovsky from heat 19. Khlinovsky had attempted to pass on the inside of Zenon Plech for the lead going into the back straight of the last lap. As he was passed by the Russian, Plech lost control of his bike and fell. Despite protests from riders and the Soviet officials Khlinovskywas excluded and England's Peter Collins, who was in 3rd place at the time of the crash, was awarded the heat win, Plech, who didn't actually finish the race, was awarded 2nd.


1973 Individual Speedway World Championship, World Final, Final Controversy
The result of the two points he gained for second place allowed Plech to finish a clear third in the championship. Had Khlinovsky been the winner of the heat, he would have ended on 13 points, which would have put him in the run-off for the title with Szczakiel and Mauger.


1973 Individual Speedway World Championship, World Final, Final Controversy
British television commentator Dave Lanning called the ruling "The craziest piece of speedway regulations in the history of World Championship racing", before adding that "It seems to me that the authorities here in Katowice are making up the rules to suit themselves to get their boys a world title."


1973 Individual Speedway World Championship, World Final, Final result
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


1973 Intercontinental Cup
The 1973 Intercontinental Cup was an association football match played on 28 November 1973 between Juventus, runners-up of the 1972–73 European Cup, and Independiente, winners of the 1973 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. It was Juventus' first appearance into the competition and Independiente's fourth appearance after the defeats against Internazionale in 1964 and 1965 and against Ajax in 1972.


1973 Intercontinental Cup
Despite initially refusing to participate in the competition, Juventus replaced Ajax as representative UEFA team in the competition after Ajax as the European champions declined to contest a possible meeting in South America officially for financial reasons. The Cup was played in a single match instead of a two-legged final as happened in the previous and following years until 1979.


1973 Intercontinental Cup, Background
Independiente was the 1973 Copa Libertadores title holder after beating Chilean club Colo-Colo with a goal in extra time. The Intercontinental Cup was a long longing for the club so they had lost the previous final v Dutch team Ajax –led by Johan Cruyff, most of its players would were part of the Netherlands national team that showed the revolutionary tactical theory (called the "total Football") at the 1974 FIFA World Cup – just one year before and had the opportunity to take revenge of that defeat.


1973 Intercontinental Cup, Background
Nevertheless, the Dutch club refused to play the 1973 edition alleging they didn't want to suffer the "rough game" of the Argentine team again. Therefore, the runner-up of 1972–73 European Cup, Juventus, took Ajax's place to contest the competition. The Italian club refused to come to Buenos Aires, putting as a condition to play a unique match at Rome. Independiente executives accepted it, scheduling the match for November 28, 1973.


1973 Intercontinental Cup, Background
José Pastoriza, who had been the captain and leader of the Copa Libertadores winning team, did not play the match because he was transferred to AS Monaco short before the final in Rome.


1973 Intercontinental Cup, Match, Summary
During the match, dominated by the Italian team, the Bianconeri had several opportunities to take the lead with two shots on the cross, a penalty kick, drawn by Cuccureddu, ended up over the bar and a shot in the last minutes of the race, which was blocked by the goalkeeper Santoro in daring action. Ten minutes from the end, an own goal by Gentile in a Bochini's shot, the only significant offensive action made by Independiente in the match, was decisive for the victory of the Diablos Rojos ("Red Devils").


1973 Intercontinental Cup, Aftermath
It was the first Intercontinental Cup won by Independiente (and the third won by an Argentine club after Racing and Estudiantes de La Plata success in 1967 and 1968 respectively). The victory was largely celebrated by Independiente fans due to the importance given to that competition in Argentina.


1973 Intercontinental Cup, Aftermath
The victory was also the breakthrough of 19-year old Ricardo Bochini as a raising star. Bochini would continue and finish his career always playing for Independiente, becoming one of the greatest idols in the history of the club. On the other hand, the other keyplayer of the match, Daniel Bertoni, would then win the first FIFA World Cup with Argentina in 1978, also scoring the third goal v Netherlands in the final.


1973 Intercontinental Cup, In their own words
The following phrases are extracted from an interview to Ricardo Bochini, Daniel Bertoni and Francisco Sá, three of Independiente players that won the Cup in 1973:


1973 Intercontinental Cup, In their own words
It was a very important match in my career. The goal gave me the opportunity to be famous, not only for Independiente but for all people related with football in Argentina. It was because the match was aired by the RAI for several countries in the world.


1973 Intercontinental Cup, In their own words
Nobody trusted us because nobody believed we could win the cup in a single match series. When we crowned champions, the only people supporting the team were the Fragata Libertad crew that were in Italy. They were our only supporters in the stadium


1973 Intercontinental Cup, In their own words
The Juventus players were very fast and strong, they had 3 or 4 players in the Italy national team and another in Brazil. Despite we had won the Copa Libertadores some months earlier, we were not in a good level and therefore it was very hard to win the match


1973 Intercontinental Cup, In their own words
To achieve a victory in an only match and playing as visitor, the team had no low points. On the other hand, Bochini and Bertoni, were champions of the world at a very early age


1973 Intercontinental Cup, In their own words
If we had played Ajax instead of Juventus, the match would have been so much complicated because Ajax was the best team in the world


1973 Intercontinental Cup, The lost video
Although the match was broadcast by Canal 7 in Argentina, it is believed that the video containing the images of the match could have been erased or stolen during the military dictatorship that governed from 1976. As those images were lost, the interest of Independiente fans and journalist in the match was increasing as years were by.


1973 Intercontinental Cup, The lost video
On the basis on some Independiente members (with then president of the institution Javier Cantero among them) initiative, the search for the video started. After some contacts with RAI (the Italian broadcasting company that had aired the match in 1973), they provided a copy of the film to musical producer (and Independiente fan) Mariano Asch, putting as condition it had to be returned after being used in Argentina.


1973 Intercontinental Cup, The lost video
In 2009, the 3-minute long copy of the video was aired for the first time during a celebration in Teatro Roma of Avellaneda held to commemorate the 35th. anniversary of the victory. Independiente legend Ricardo Bochini (who scored the goal at the final in 1973) was the star guest attending the event.


1973 Intercontinental Cup, The lost video
Watching the video was a huge surprise for me because I didn't know (the video) existed. I loved it because I didn't remember how the goal had been exactly. I did remember the goal had come from a wall-pass with (Daniel) Bertoni. To relive that experience was like completing the history of that match


1973 Intercontinental Cup (baseball)
The 1973 Intercontinental Cup was the inaugural edition of the long-running international baseball tournament. It was held in Italy.


1973 Intercontinental Cup (baseball)
Bruno Beneck, president of the Italian baseball federation (FIBS) was dissatisfied with the Latin American predominance of the worldwide governing body for the sport of baseball, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF, which was called FIBA at the time). Beneck formed a splinter group called FEMBA, which organized the 1973 tournament.


1973 Intercontinental Cup (baseball)
The two groups merged back together in 1976 and continued to play the series.


1973 Intercontinental Cup (baseball), Notes
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1973 Intercontinental Cup (baseball), Notes
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1973 International Seven-a-side Tournament
The 1973 International Seven-a-side tournament was the first rugby sevens tournament to feature national representative teams, predating the first official Rugby World Cup Sevens by twenty years. Held in Scotland as part of the Scottish Rugby Union's centenary celebrations, the tournament featured players from all eight of the members of the IRB. Although not sanctioned by the IRB as an official world cup the winners, England, were hailed by the press as the world seven-a-side champions.


1973 International Seven-a-side Tournament, Background
1973 was the centenary year of the Scottish Rugby Union ("SRU") and as part of the centenary celebrations the SRU decided to hold an international Rugby sevens tournament. The president of the SRU at the time, A.W. Wilson, later wrote of the decision to hold a sevens tournament, "It seemed most appropriate to us, in our Centenary Year, that we should pay some regard to a part of the game which has proved exhilarating and entertaining to us. One might say, a part of the heritage of Scotland and, of course, especially the Borders. An international Seven-a-side Tournament was the answer. All the countries taking part were and are thrilled at this prospect."


1973 International Seven-a-side Tournament, Background
The tournament was not advertised as a world cup but rather was styled "The International Seven-a-side tournament". It was held on 7 April 1973 in Edinburgh, and all the International Rugby Football Board countries were represented, with the exception of South Africa. There was, however, South African representation in the form of several players in the eighth side in the tournament, the President's VII.


1973 International Seven-a-side Tournament, Background
As in 1883 when the Scots invented Rugby Sevens, the tournament was to lead a trend. However, even though sevens had been established for 90 years, even the event program recognised its contemporary status by the inclusion in the inside front cover of an advertisement for Peter Scott Knitwear, featuring a man and woman in sweaters, looking amazed and accompanied by the caption: "International Seven-a-sides. What next?". The programme for the event also sported the new coat of arms of the SRU that was granted by the Lord Lyon King of Arms on 28 February 1973, for the centenary season. The coat of arms is still in use today, but in the main the SRU use the commercial thistle logo on jerseys and stationary. The coat of arms has the motto "Non Sine Gloria", meaning "Not Without Glory".


1973 International Seven-a-side Tournament, Participating nations
The eight teams were divided into two pools of four as follows with each team playing each other within their pool once. The winners of each Pool went through to contest the final:


1973 International Seven-a-side Tournament, Squads
The eight teams were divided into two pools of four as follows:Source: The primary source for the squads below is the Official programme for the tournament. Wherever it is known that the players who played on the day differ from the programme details, this takes precedence, and is noted.


1973 International Seven-a-side Tournament, Summary
The teams put forward by the various nations featured many names with test-status fifteen-aside careers. The Scottish side had a number of sevens specialists, many from the Gala club that itself had for a number of years previous had an excellent run of form. The three Browns, all unrelated, Frame and Gill all from the Gala club joined a former Galalean in Stan Davidson and Colin Telfer, as the main Scottish side. Another Gala player, Nairn MacEwan, was on the bench for the President's VII. In the group stages, the tournament had a huge upset when a star-studded Welsh team including Gareth Edwards, Gerald Davies, Phil Bennett, and JPR Williams were beaten by an England side that included a number of Loughborough Colleges students.


1973 International Seven-a-side Tournament, Summary
The groups were dominated by Ireland and England who both emerged with a perfect 3 wins out of 3. The final was an extremely close affair and Ireland missed out on the title by the smallest of rugby margins. In injury time, Ireland were leading 18-16 and were in the England 22. Fergus Slattery needed only to hold on to the ball to preserve this lead but instead let loose an errant pass, which was intercepted and the England full international winger, Keith Fielding, was able to run in the long try. The England side was a strong one, with all players to be full internationals. Loughborough Colleges' Fran Cotton was the captain and in the final both Keith Fielding and Andy Ripley scored. Mike Gibson, of Ireland, was selected the tournament's outstanding player.


1973 International Seven-a-side Tournament, Status of tournament
The tournament was held twenty years before the first official world cup, yet in a number of quarters was referred to as a world championship. The SRU itself did not advertise it as a world cup but rather it was styled "The International Seven-a-side tournament". Additionally, it was not officially endorsed by the International Rugby Football Board as anything other than an international tournament.


1973 International Seven-a-side Tournament, Status of tournament
However, elements of the press referred to it variously as bestowing the World Sevens Crown or conferring the status of world sevens' champions or World Seven-a-side Champions, and even modern press reports, in the era of the fully sanctioned World Cup, have referred to the competition in comparable terms to modern World Cups.


1973 Intertoto Cup
In the 1973 Intertoto Cup no knock-out rounds were contested, and therefore no winner was declared.


1973 Intertoto Cup, Group stage
The teams were divided into ten groups of four teams each.


1973 Iowa Hawkeyes football team
The 1973 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 1973 Big Ten Conference football season. This was Frank Lauterbur's third and final season as head coach. It was the first season after Iowa Stadium was renamed to Kinnick Stadium.


1973 Iowa State Cyclones football team
The 1973 Iowa State Cyclones football team represented Iowa State University in the Big Eight Conference during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. In their first year under head coach Earle Bruce, the Cyclones compiled a 4–7 record (2–5 against conference opponents), tied for sixth place in the conference, and outscored opponents by a combined total of 245 to 236. They played their home games at Clyde Williams Field in Ames, Iowa.


1973 Ipswich Borough Council election
The 1973 Ipswich Borough Council election was the first election to the new Ipswich Borough Council which had been established by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales. It took place as part of the 1973 United Kingdom local elections.


1973 Ipswich Borough Council election
There were 14 wards returning between 2 and 5 councillors each.


1973 Irish Greyhound Derby
The 1973 Irish Greyhound Derby took place during July and August with the final being held at Shelbourne Park in Dublin on 28 August 1973.


1973 Irish Greyhound Derby
The Irish Derby winner's prize was doubled to £10,000 by sponsors P.J.Carroll and Co. The winner Bashful Man won £10,000 and was trained by Ger McKenna, owned by Deirdre Hynes and bred by Nancy Dirrane.


1973 Irish Greyhound Derby, Competition Report
In the first round, a leading bitch called Romping To Work won her race in a very fast time of 29.05, she would go on to win the Oaks later that year. Bashful Man recorded a win in 29.13 and Kilmac Chieftain in 29.23. Ante-post favourite Shara Dee who had won the English Derby consolation won in 29.55 and the Cesarewitch and recent TV Trophy winner Ritas Choice recovered from encountering trouble in running to finish second behind Moordyk Ringo.


1973 Irish Greyhound Derby, Competition Report
English hope Black Banjo took up the mantle of the new competition favourite following a second round victory in a heat that included both Ritas Choice and Bashful Man. Shara Dee and China Sea remained unbeaten.


1973 Irish Greyhound Derby, Competition Report
Bashful Man produced 29.01 victory in the quarter-finals propelling Ger McKenna's charge to the new favourite. Both Romping To Work and Shara Dee were eliminated but Ritas Choice won.


1973 Irish Greyhound Derby, Competition Report
In the first semi-final Bashful Man recorded 29.15 when beating Ritas Choice and Kal's Daisy before Black Banjo wrapped up the second semi-final from Heavy Sleeper and Itsawitch in 29.58.


1973 Irish Greyhound Derby, Competition Report
The final turned out to be one of the most memorable of all time because Bashful Man became the first greyhound to break 29 seconds in a final. He took a rails course at the first bend and overtook fast starter Kal's Daisy, before drawing clear of the field and winning in a time of 28.82, just two spots off the track record set by 1972 finalist Ballykilty.


1973 Irish general election
The 1973 Irish general election was held on 28 February 1973. The newly elected 144 members of the 20th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 4 March when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed.


1973 Irish general election
The general election took place in 42 parliamentary constituencies throughout Ireland for 144 seats in the lower house of parliament, Dáil Éireann.


1973 Irish general election, Campaign
By the time the general election was called in 1973, Fianna Fáil had been in power for almost sixteen consecutive years. During that time the party had seen three different leaders: Éamon de Valera, Seán Lemass, and since 1966, Jack Lynch. As a result of this, much of the electorate believed it was time for a change of government. Lynch had hoped to dissolve the Dáil in December 1972; however, events did not permit this, and the election was eventually called for February 1973.


1973 Irish general election, Campaign
While Fine Gael and the Labour Party had pursued individual opposition policies since 1957, they now realised that the only way to oust Fianna Fáil would be to join forces. Not long after the general election was called, both parties agreed to a pre-election pact to fight the election together on the issues that united them. The National Coalition, as it was known, offered the electorate the first credible alternative government in many years.


1973 Irish general election, Campaign
While Fianna Fáil actually increased its percentage of the vote, it lost seats. The increase in the percentage was remarkable considering the party had been in power for so long, and also because of the "Arms Crisis". A clever use of transfers between the National Coalition parties in the single transferable vote system enabled a change of government to take place.


1973 Irish general election, Campaign
Coverage of the general election by the national broadcaster, Radio Telefís Éireann, also saw a unique event. Jack Lynch, in an interview with Brian Farrell on the programme, became the first Taoiseach to concede defeat live on Irish television. Although the full result was not yet known, Lynch was certain that the transfers between candidates would result in Fianna Fáil losing the general election.


1973 Irish general election, Court case
The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, approved in a referendum in December 1972 and signed into law in January 1973, had reduced the voting age from 21 to 18. However, the electoral register would not be updated until 15 April, five weeks after the election date. A 20-year-old student, represented by Seán MacBride, asked the High Court to postpone the election to vindicate his right to vote. He lost his case, although he was awarded his costs due to its "public importance".


1973 Irish general election, First-time TDs
The following 22 TDs were elected for the first time:


1973 Irish presidential election
The 1973 Irish presidential election was held on 30 May 1973. The outgoing president Éamon de Valera was ineligible for re-election after serving two terms in office. Former Tánaiste Erskine H. Childers, nominated by Fianna Fáil, was elected as president of Ireland, defeating Fine Gael deputy leader, Tom O'Higgins, who had come within 1% of defeating Éamon de Valera in the 1966 presidential election.


1973 Irish presidential election, Nomination process
Under Article 12 of the Constitution of Ireland, a candidate for president could be nominated by:


1973 Irish presidential election, Nomination process
On 25 April, the Minister for Local Government made the order for the presidential election, with noon on 8 May as the date for nominations, and 30 May as the date of polling.


1973 Irish presidential election, Campaign
O'Higgins was approved as the Fine Gael candidate on 31 January. Childers was approved as the Fianna Fáil candidate on 6 April. George Colley was director of elections for Childers. O'Higgins was the early favourite to win, with odds of 1/2, against 6/4 for Childers.


1973 Isle of Ely by-election
The Isle of Ely by-election, 1973 was a parliamentary by-election held on 26 July 1973 for the British House of Commons constituency of Isle of Ely.


1973 Isle of Ely by-election
The by-election took place during the 1970s Liberal Party revival. This seat and Ripon were gained on the same day, the third and fourth Liberal gains during the Parliament. This was the first time since 1899 that the Liberal Party had made two by-election gains on the same day, when it won both seats in a two-member constituency at the Oldham by-election. The last time the party had gained two seats, in different constituencies on the same day, was on 2 June 1896, at the Frome and the Wick Burghs by-elections.


1973 Isle of Ely by-election, Previous MP
The seat had become vacant on the death of the constituency's Member of Parliament (MP), Major Sir Harry Legge-Bourke KBE (16 May 1914 – 21 May 1973). Legge-Bourke, a Conservative, had gained the seat from the Liberal Party in the 1945 general election.


1973 Isle of Ely by-election, Candidates
Three candidates were nominated. The list below is set out in descending order of the number of votes received at the by-election.


1973 Isle of Ely by-election, Candidates
The Liberal Party candidate was Clement Freud. He was the grandson of Sigmund Freud and a well-known writer and broadcaster.


1973 Isle of Ely by-election, Candidates
Freud won the by-election, in a seat which his party had not contested in the 1970 general election. He retained the constituency until it was renamed in 1983, with most of the territory incorporated into the constituency of North East Cambridgeshire. Freud retained that seat until he was defeated in the 1987 general election.


1973 Isle of Ely by-election, Candidates
The Conservative candidate was J. B. Stevens, who had contested Birmingham Stechford in the 1970 general election. Stevens again lost to Clement Freud, in Ely, at the February 1974 general election.


1973 Isle of Man TT
The 1973 Isle of Man TT was a road racing event for motorcycles held in the Isle of Man on the 37-mile Snaefell Mountain Course. It was the fifth round of the 1973 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season (now known as MotoGP). The Australian rider Jack Findlay won the Senior (500 cc) event held on 8 June 1973.


1973 Israeli legislative election
Legislative elections were held in Israel on 31 December 1973. Voter turnout was 78.6%. The election was postponed for two months because of the Yom Kippur War.


1973 Israeli legislative election, Parliament factions
The table below lists the parliamentary factions represented in the 7th Knesset.


1973 Israeli legislative election, Aftermath
Golda Meir of the Alignment formed the sixteenth government on 10 March 1974, including the National Religious Party and the Independent Liberals in her coalition, with 22 ministers. Meir resigned on 11 April 1974 after the Agranat Commission had published its interim report on the Yom Kippur War.


1973 Israeli legislative election, Aftermath
The Alignment's Yitzhak Rabin formed the seventeenth government on 3 June 1974, including Ratz, the Independent Liberals, Progress and Development and the Arab List for Bedouins and Villagers. The new government had 19 ministers. The National Religious Party joined the coalition on 30 October and Ratz left on the 6 November, by which time there were 21 ministers.


1973 Israeli legislative election, Aftermath
The government resigned on 22 December 1976, after ministers of the National Religious Party were sacked because the party had abstained from voting on a motion of no confidence, which had been brought by Agudat Yisrael over a breach of the Sabbath on an Israeli Air Force base.


1973 Israeli legislative election, Aftermath
During the Knesset term there were several defections from parties; In 1975 Aryeh Eliav left the Alignment and merged with Ratz to form Ya'ad - Civil Rights Movement. The new party broke up the following year when Eliav and Marcia Freedman left to set up the Independent Socialist Faction, whilst Shulamit Aloni and Boaz Moav returned to Ratz. In 1975 Benjamin Halevi left Likud to sit as an independent, whilst Shmuel Tamir and Akiva Nof left Likud to form the Free Centre the following year. In 1977 Hillel Seidel defected from the Independent Liberals to Likud, whilst Mordechai Ben-Porat broke away from the Alignment and sat as an independent.


1973 Israeli legislative election, Aftermath
In February 1974 Progress and Development and the Arab List for Bedouins and Villagers merged into the Alignment (with which they were already associated), but both later broke away and then formed the United Arab List in 1977. In the build-up to the 1977 elections the Religious Torah Front broke up into Agudat Yisrael (three seats) and Poalei Agudat Yisrael in March 1977. On 10 April Mapam broke away from the Alignment, but rejoined it two days later.


1973 Israeli presidential election
An election for President of Israel was held in the Knesset on 10 April 1973. Ephraim Katzir was elected to the position in a secret ballot. Katzir's first term began on the day of the election. It would be characterized by the Yom Kippur War that took place later in that year. He would hold this position until 1978, when Yitzhak Navon would be elected as the new President.


1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon
The 1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon (known as Operation Spring of Youth, Hebrew: מבצע אביב נעורים, Mivtsa Aviv Ne'urim) took place on the night of April 9 and early morning of April 10, 1973, when Israeli army special forces units attacked several Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) targets in Beirut and Sidon, Lebanon. The operation is generally considered to have been part of Operation Wrath of God, Israel's retaliation for the Munich massacre at the Summer Olympics in 1972.


1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon
The Israeli troops arrived at the Lebanese beaches on speedboats launched from missile boats offshore. Mossad agents awaited the forces on the beaches with cars rented the previous day, and then drove them to their targets and later back to the beaches for extraction.


1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon
During the operation, three of the highest-level PLO leaders, surprised at home, were killed, along with other PLO members. Several Lebanese security people and civilian neighbors were also killed, as were two of the Israeli soldiers.


1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon, Background
In February 1973, Ehud Barak, the then commander of the elite Sayeret Matkal unit, obtained photographs and precise information on the whereabouts of three senior PLO leaders:


1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon, Background
The men lived in a pair of seven-story buildings in the fashionable neighborhood of Verdun in West Beirut. These buildings were residential housing for both British and Italian families along with Arab families. One building housed Al-Najjar, and a building across the street housed Adwan and Nasser.


1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon, Background
Barak and his team immediately began planning an operation to kill them. The final  plan was to land operatives from navy ships on the Lebanese coast who would infiltrate into Lebanon disguised as tourists. Some of the commandos were to be disguised as women (Barak was disguised as a brunette woman). Before the mission, the forces  trained using similar apartments in northern Tel Aviv. They also practiced cross-dressing and walking around disguised as lovers.


1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon, The operation
On April 9, 1973, Israeli Navy missile boats departed from Haifa naval base, carrying the commandos and Zodiac speedboats on board. When the missile boats reached the shores of Beirut, the Zodiacs were lowered into the water. To avoid being heard, they turned the motors off when they were a few hundred meters from land and rowed the rest of the way in. The commandos came ashore where Mossad agents were waiting for them with three cars. The agents drove them to their targets.


1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon, The operation
Three Sayeret Matkal commando teams entered the buildings and planted explosive fuses at the apartment doors of their targets, while a backup team led by Barak remained outside and stood guard to repel PLO reinforcements or Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF) Gendarmerie units. When the fuses exploded, the commandos stormed the apartments, gunned down the three targets, and seized whatever documents they could find. Kamal Nasser, a Christian, was according to Palestinian reports, shot in front of his family, with his bullet wounds tracing the sign of the cross.


1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon, The operation
Al-Najjar's wife was killed during the melee, as was an elderly Italian woman responding to the commotion. At the same time, the backup team engaged in a firefight with a few dozen Lebanese ISF gendarmes and PLO reinforcements. Two Lebanese policemen were killed. The responding forces were beaten back, and Mossad cars were used to extract the commandos. While driving to the beach, they encountered a Lebanese Army armoured personnel carrier (APC) as it scanned the shore. They were not confronted and continued on to the beach, where the commandos and drivers abandoned the cars and returned to the missile boats in Zodiacs.


1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon, The operation
At the same time, 14 Israeli commandos, mainly Sayeret Tzanhanim paratroopers, raided a multi-story building that housed militants of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The team was disguised as civilians and led by Amnon Lipkin-Shahak. The Israeli team met strong resistance early on from nearly 100 militants guarding it, and engaged in a close-quarters battle. Teams of PFLP gunmen on the building's upper floors repeatedly attempted to take the elevator to the ground floor and join the battle, but each team was wiped out by commandos waiting near the doors. The team managed to place a large explosive charge inside the building and detonate it, causing part of the building to collapse. Lipkin-Shahak then requested an air evacuation. The commandos were extracted by Israeli Air Force helicopters. Two Israeli soldiers and dozens of PFLP fighters were killed during the fighting.


1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon, The operation
Two secondary forces attacked the Fatah headquarters for Gaza operations and a Fatah workshop in south Beirut. A third force of Shayetet 13 naval commandos landed in north Beirut and destroyed a small Fatah explosives workshop, while another paratroop unit raided and destroyed the PLO's main garage, located just south of Sidon.


1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon, Reactions in Lebanon
The Israeli operation sharply polarized public opinion in Lebanon. The Muslim Prime Minister Saeb Salam tendered to the resignation of the cabinet. 250 000 people, 10 per cent of the Lebanese population, turned out for the funeral in Beirut of the slain PLO leaders and further tens of thousands attended demonstrations in other parts of the country. The opponents of the armed Palestinian presence, chiefly the army command and president Franjiyya, tried but failed to use the opportunity to restrict Palestinian freedom of movement. Two weeks of fighting between the army and Palestinian groups ended in stalemate. In the end, Franjiyya had to admit that the Lebanese army was unable to defend the Palestinian refugee camps and he therefore reluctantly allowed the PLO to bring in heavier weapons and build fortifications.


1973 Italian Athletics Championships
The 1973 Italian Athletics Championships was the 63rd edition of the Italian Athletics Championships and were held in Rome (track & field events).


1973 Italian Athletics Indoor Championships
1973 Italian Athletics Indoor Championships was the 4th edition of the Italian Athletics Indoor Championships and were held in Genoa.


1973 Italian Grand Prix
The 1973 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 9 September 1973. It was race 13 of 15 in both the 1973 World Championship of Drivers and the 1973 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.


1973 Italian Grand Prix
The 55-lap race was won from pole position by Ronnie Peterson, driving a Lotus-Ford, with teammate Emerson Fittipaldi second and Peter Revson third in a McLaren-Ford. Jackie Stewart suffered a puncture early in the race which dropped him to 20th, but charged through the field to finish fourth, which was enough to secure his third Drivers' Championship.


1973 Italian Grand Prix
Stewart's Tyrrell teammate François Cevert finished fifth, scoring what would turn out to be the final points of his Formula One career. Carlos Reutemann completed the top six in his Brabham.


1973 Italian Grand Prix
The race also saw Jacky Ickx's last drive for Ferrari, the Belgian returning to the team for its home race having left after the British Grand Prix. Ickx qualified 14th and finished eighth, a lap down on Peterson.


1973 Italian Open (tennis)
The 1973 Italian Open was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament that was played by men on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. The men's and women's tournament were part of the 1973 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix. It was the 30th edition of the tournament and was held from 2 June through 10 June 1973. The singles titles were won by Ilie Năstase and Evonne Goolagong.


1973 Italian Open (tennis), Finals, Men's doubles
John Newcombe /  Tom Okker defeated  Ross Case /  Geoff Masters 6–3, 6–2, 6–4


1973 Italian Open (tennis), Finals, Women's doubles
Virginia Wade /  Olga Morozova defeated  Renáta Tomanová /  Martina Navratilova 3–6, 6–2, 7–5


1973 Italian regional elections
Regional elections were held in some regions of Italy during 1973. These included:


1973 Italy rugby union tour of Rhodesia and South Africa
The1973 Italy rugby union tour of South Africa and Rhodesia was a series of matches played between June and 1973 in South Africa and Rhodesia by Italy national rugby union team.


1973 Italy rugby union tour of Rhodesia and South Africa
It was the second time that the "Azzurri" toured outside Europe, after a short tour in Madagascar in 1973.


1973 Italy rugby union tour of Rhodesia and South Africa
The experience signed a turn in the story of Italian rugby: before of that, contact with the bigger union members was almost non-existent, and limited only to confrontations with France (between 1952 and 1967).


1973 Italy rugby union tour of Rhodesia and South Africa
The tour was arranged by Italian federation and SARB, that sent coach Amos du Plooy to Italy to prepare the team. It was an historical tour, but the results were very poor: only a victory against the SARF Leopard selection.


1973 Italy rugby union tour of Rhodesia and South Africa
The most important player of the last match, against Transvaal XV, was Rocco Caligiuri: the fly-half (but normally play ad full-back) scored three drops. It was the first time that a player scored three drops in an international match in South Africa. A plate was then put on the wall of Ellis Park Stadium.


1973 Japan Open Tennis Championships
The 1973 Fred Perry Japan Open Tennis Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts and took place in Tokyo, Japan. The tournament was held from 8 October through 14 October 1973. The men's events were part of the 1973 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix circuit and graded as B category whereas the women's competition was a non-tour event. Ken Rosewall won the men's singles title, earning him the $12,000 first prize, while Evonne Goolagong won the women's singles event and received $5,000.


1973 Japan Open Tennis Championships, Finals, Men's Doubles
Mal Anderson /  Ken Rosewall defeated  Colin Dibley /  Allan Stone, 7–5, 7–5


1973 Japan Series
The 1973 Japan Series was the 24th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. It matched the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants against the Pacific League champion Nankai Hawks. The Giants defeated the Hawks in five games to win an NPB-record ninth consecutive Japan Series title.


1973 Japan Soccer League, League tables, JSL First Division
Tanabe Pharmaceuticals was relegated, thereby becoming the first Japanese team to go straight back down one season after promotion.


1973 Japan Soccer League, League tables, JSL Promotion/Relegation Series
Sumitomo, at the time based in Osaka, would move to Kashima, Ibaraki in 1975 and become today's Kashima Antlers.


1973 Japan Soccer League, League tables, JSL Promotion/Relegation Series
Hitachi Ibaraki and Sumitomo promoted, Toyota Industries and Hagoromo Club relegated.


1973 Japan national football team
This page records the details of the Japan national football team in 1973.


1973 Japan rugby union tour of Wales, England and France
The 1973 Japan rugby union tour of England, Wales and France was a series of eleven matches played by the Japan national rugby union team in Wales, England and France in September and October 1973. The Japanese team won only of two of their matches and lost the other nine. Neither Wales nor France awarded full international caps for their games against Japan.


1973 Japan rugby union tour of Wales, England and France, In popular culture
The good-natured and friendly mood of the tour was captured by Max Boyce in the song "Asso Asso Yogoshi" on the album Live at Treorchy.


1973 John Player League
The 1973 John Player League was the fifth competing of what was generally known as the Sunday League. The competition was won for the second consecutive year by Kent County Cricket Club.


1973 KFK competitions (Ukraine)
The 1973 KFK competitions in Ukraine were part of the 1973 Soviet KFK competitions that were conducted in the Soviet Union. It was 10th season of the KFK in Ukraine since its introduction in 1964.


1973 KFK competitions (Ukraine), Promotion
None of KFK teams were promoted to the 1974 Soviet Second League, Zone 6.


1973 KFK competitions (Ukraine), Promotion
However, to the Class B were promoted following teams that did not participate in the KFK competitions:


1973 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France
The 1973 Kangaroo Tour was the thirteenth Kangaroo Tour, and saw the Australian national rugby league team travel to Europe and play nineteen matches against British and French club and representative rugby league teams, in addition to three Test matches against Great Britain and two Tests against the French. It followed the tour of 1967-68 and the next was staged in 1978.


1973 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, The squad's leadership
The team was captain-coached by Graeme Langlands making his third Kangaroo Tour. Managers of the team were Albert Bishop and Charlie Gibson with Alf Richards as the team trainer.


1973 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Touring squad
1973 NSWRFL Premiers Manly-Warringah provided a record 6 players to the Kangaroos.


1973 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain
The Ashes series against Great Britain saw an aggregate crowd of 36,567 attending the Test series


1973 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain, Test Venues
The three Ashes series tests took place at the following venues.


1973 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain, The Ashes series, First Test
In the first rugby league international played at Wembley since 1963, the Lions shocked the then unbeaten Australian's 21-12 in front of just 9,874 fans. The match had been moved to Wembley from the Central Park ground in Wigan at the request of the Australian team management.


1973 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain, The Ashes series, Second Test
The second test at Headingley in Leeds saw the Australian's tie the series at one game all with a 14-6 win in front of the tours largest attendance of 16,674.


1973 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain, The Ashes series, Second Test
Kangaroos captain-coach Graeme Langlands was ruled out of the second test with a broken hand. To replace him at fullback, Langlands selected Manly-Warringah's 19 year old dual premiership winning fullback Graham Eadie to make his test debut (Eadie, known affectionately as "Wombat", would turn 20 the next day). Eadie was also handed the goal kicking duties on the day and despite a very strong wind making conditions tricky for kickers, kicked 5 goals which proved vital in the Kangaroos 14-6 win over the Lions to keep The Ashes series alive.


1973 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain, The Ashes series, Second Test
After conceding 4 tries in the first test loss at Wembley, the Kangaroos kept their line intact with the Lions only scores coming from 3 goals by prop forward Terry Clawson.


1973 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain, The Ashes series, Third Test
The Kangaroos won back The Ashes with a hard fought 15-5 win in trying conditions at Warrington. The pitch at Wilderspool was frozen which suited the Australians who were used to playing on hard grounds at home.


1973 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain, The Ashes series, Third Test
With coach Graeme Langlands still out with a broken hand and looking on from the sidelines, the Kangaroos wrapped up the Ashes with a 15-5 win on the frozen ground at Wilderspool. Man of the match Ken Maddison crossed for two tries while Warrington born Bob Fulton, centre Geoff Starling and hooker Elwyn Walters also crossed for tries. For the Lions, their only score came from a try and goal from Hull Kingston Rovers halfback Roger Millward.


1973 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, France, French Tests, Second Test
Arthur Beetson became the first aboriginal player to captain Australia in a rugby league Test match.


1973 Kansas City Chiefs season
The 1973 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 4th season in the National Football League, the 11th as the Kansas City Chiefs, and the 14th overall. they finished with a 7–5–2 record and missed the playoffs for the second straight year.


1973 Kansas City Chiefs season
The defense kept the club in contention thanks to a nucleus that still included the bulk of the squad's Super Bowl IV starters. Quarterback Mike Livingston started in a 23–13 Opening Day loss against the Los Angeles Rams on September 16, but Len Dawson returned to rally the club for three consecutive wins to get the club off to a 3–1 start for a third consecutive year. The aging Len Dawson made his final start of the year in a 23–14 loss at Buffalo on October 29 and was replaced for the remainder of the year by Livingston, beginning a string of three straight seasons in which both players split time at the position.


1973 Kansas City Chiefs season
Livingston led the club to another three straight wins, putting the team in first place in mid-November with a 6–3–1 record. A 1–2–1 ledger over the season's final month ended the club's post-season aspirations as the team finished the year in a second-place tie with Denver at 7–5–2. Len Dawson became the second Chiefs player in as many years to win the NFL Man of the Year Award. Following Super Bowl VIII, The AFC-NFC Pro Bowl was held at Arrowhead Stadium on January 20 with the AFC claiming a 15–13 win thanks to five field goals from Miami placekicker Garo Yepremian.


1973 Kansas City Royals season
The 1973 Kansas City Royals season was their fifth in Major League Baseball. Jack McKeon replaced the fired Bob Lemon as manager and the Royals finished second in the American League West with a record of 88-74, six games behind the Oakland Athletics. Kansas City's 88 wins were the most in franchise history. Paul Splittorff (20-11) became the first Royals pitcher to win 20 games in a season.


1973 Kansas City Royals season, Regular season
On April 10, the Royals open their new park, Royals Stadium, with a 12–1 rout of the Texas Rangers. The game is attended by 39,464 fans braving 39-degree weather.


1973 Kansas City Royals season, Regular season
On April 16, Steve Busby threw the first no-hitter in Royals history. The Royals beat Detroit by a score of 3–0.


1973 Kansas City Royals season, Regular season
On May 15, in a game against the Royals, Nolan Ryan of the California Angels threw the first no-hitter of his career.


1973 Kansas City Royals season, Regular season
On August 2, George Brett made his major league debut.


1973 Kansas City Royals season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1973 Kansas City Royals season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1973 Kansas City Royals season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1973 Kansas City Royals season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1973 Kansas City Royals season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1973 Kansas Jayhawks football team
The 1973 Kansas Jayhawks football team represented the University of Kansas in the Big Eight Conference during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. In their third season under head coach Don Fambrough, the Jayhawks compiled a 7–4–1 record (4–2–1 against conference opponents), tied for second place in the conference, lost to NC State in the 1973 Liberty Bowl, and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 253 to 220. They played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.


1973 Kansas Jayhawks football team
The team's statistical leaders included David Jaynes with 2,349 passing yards, Delvin Williams with 788 rushing yards and Emmett Edwards with 840 receiving yards. Jaynes set six conference passing records and was named the Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year. Don Goode and John Bryant were the team captains. Quarterback David Jaynes, became the first and as of the 2017 voting, the only Jayhawk to be a Heisman Trophy finalist, finishing in 4th place in the voting receiving 65 first place votes.


1973 Kansas State Wildcats football team
The 1973 Kansas State Wildcats football team represented Kansas State University in the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. The team's head football coach was Vince Gibson. The Wildcats played their home games in KSU Stadium. 1973 saw the wildcats finish with a record of 5–6 overall and a 2–5 record in Big Eight Conference play.