1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Winston 500 - The starting field of 50 was expanded to 60 by track management, and it proved controversial in the subsequent 500, as early in the race Ramo Stott blew his engine on the backstretch and two separate packs of cars hit the oil and crashed; Wendell Scott's car was blasted by several other cars and Scott suffered serious injuries; Buddy Baker and Cale Yarborough were eliminated;, and when they got out of their cars they had to dodge additional crashing cars.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Bobby Allison ripped the track for the enormity of the field - "They (filled the field) all right, all over the backstretch." David Pearson lost the lead draft (Baker saying Pearson fouled out the spark plugs on his Mercury and got them replaced under the lengthy yellow), and with all legitimate challengers eliminated he led 111 laps to an easy win, his fifth of the season and fifth in his consecutive starts.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Music City USA 420 - The Nashville Fairgrounds track had come under fire for banking up its corners to 35 degrees, and following driver complaints plus collapsing asphalt in Turn One from the previous season management lowered the banking to roughly 20 degrees. Cale Yarborough led all but four laps to an easy win, only his second of the season.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
World 600 - Buddy Baker and Richard Petty combined to lead 354 laps. Petty slid into the wall in Three and finished a distant 13th. Baker led the final sixteen laps and beat Pearson for the win, his first of the season and first since the end of the 1972 season.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Mason-Dixon 500 - Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough led 175 laps between them but could do nothing about Pearson as he led all but three of the last 241 laps to yet another win.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Alamo 500 - The financially troubled Texas World Speedway hosted another Petty-Baker showdown as Buddy led 168 laps; the lead changed back and forth between the two before Baker lost power in the final 30 laps and finished a distant sixth behind Petty, who posted only his third superspeedway win in the last two seasons. Rookie Darrell Waltrip finished second. The track was unable to host its annual November 500-miler later that season.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Tuborg 400 - Bobby Allison ended his season-long winless streak when Richard Petty hit a barrier at the Riverside road course and Cale Yarborough blew his engine. Allison led 85 laps to Petty's 57 and Cale's eleven for his first win since the 1972 American 500. Finishing third was Benny Parsons, and largely unnoticed was that Parsons was clawing into contention for the season championship.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Motor State 400 - Once again Buddy Baker grabbed the lead at will, leading 119 laps, and once again it would not be enough as David Pearson led the last 23 laps for the fifth win for the Wood Brothers team (and Pearson's fourth, third with the #21) at Michigan International Speedway; but it was the combination's first Michigan win since Roger Penske took control of the speedway after the final collapse of Larry LoPatin's raceway empire. Finishing fifth was Ron Keselowski, whose nephew Brad would race for Penske in coming years.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 - NASCAR mandated restrictor plates for all tracks beginning at Daytona after nearly two seasons running carburator sleeves. Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough swept the front row in their Chevrolets and battled for the lead in the first 65 laps before Cale crashed out, but from there David Pearson and February's 500 champ Petty took over; Allison fell out with engine failure and Pearson beat Petty for his second straight Firecracker win and eighth win of the season, his highest win total since 1969.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Volunteer 500 - Lost amid the season's other drama was that Benny Parsons was in the thick of the points race despite not winning a race. That part of his ledger was checked off at Bristol amid brutal heat and humidity; John A. Utsman had to drive relief for Parsons as the combination led 320 laps. Early contenders Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough crashed out while battling for the lead at Lap 331, leaving the #72 of Parsons and Utsman alone; runner-up L.D. Ottinger finished seven laps down.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Northern 300 - Bobby Allison qualified on pole. The Sunday race at Trenton Speedway was rained out, first postponed to August 5, and later cancelled entirely, as the race promoter did not believe they had time to properly promote the race.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Dixie 500 - David Pearson's superspeedway roll continued as he broke out of a tight duel with Cale Yarborough and led the final 165 laps for the win at Atlanta. Richard Petty won the pole but blew his engine and hit the guardrail after 72 laps, while Bobby Isaac led 29 laps but crashed himself after 52 laps. Also falling out was Buddy Baker with a broken axle, his sixth failure to finish a race so far in 1973.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Talladega 500 - Tragedy blackened the fifth running of Talladega's summer 500-miler. Early in the race sophomore Larry Smith hit the wall in Turn One and did not survive what appeared to be a harmless crash. The race, held amid heavy Alabama heat, was a ferocious affair; the lead changed 64 times, a motorsports record for the time, among fourteen drivers. Bobby Allison won the pole while Donnie Allison for almost the first time all year had a strong run in the DiGard Racing Chevrolet.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Both crashed on Lap 156 when Donnie blew his engine and the wreck swept up Bobby. Buddy Baker roared from 21st to the lead but even more dramatic was that Dick Brooks, driving the Crawford brothers Plymouth in a last-minute deal and starting 24th, roared through the field; he stormed to the lead when Baker broke a steering line and Pearson slowed, stealing the win in the biggest NASCAR upset in years. A bigger story developed as well; Bobby Isaac parked Bud Moore's Ford and said he was quitting racing (Coo Coo Marlin got into the #15 and finished the race).


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Nashville 420 - Buddy Baker ended months of frustration at Nashville's Fairgrounds speedway. He took the lead from pole-sitter Cale Yarborough with 160 laps to go and beating Richard Petty by four laps. Cale faltered and finished 23 laps down in 14th. Bobby Allison blew another engine and finished 22nd.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Southern 500 - What was expected to be another David Pearson big track triumph after he won the pole instead became a runaway by Cale Yarborough as Cale led 277 laps for a runaway win. Finishing fifth was Benny Parsons, quietly surging to the points lead, while finishing eighth was rookie Darrell Waltrip, now driving the Bud Moore Ford.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Capital City 500 - Richard Petty lead 429 laps to his first win since June, beating Cale Yarborough by two laps and pole-sitter Bobby Allison by three. Benny Parsons finished fourth, his eleventh top-five finish of the season to go with the mid-summer Bristol win; the consistency kept boosting him in the points race.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Delaware 500 - Parsons grabbed another top five (finishing fourth after leading seven laps; they were his first laps led since winning at Bristol in July) while David Pearson grabbed another win, his tenth of the season. Bobby Allison and Buddy Baker led 134 laps between them and finished behind Pearson in the top three, the only other cars on the lead lap.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Wilkes 400 - A year after their vicious showdown in the same race, Bobby Allison got a measure of revenge on Richard Petty and he swept to the win on the final lap, only his second of the season. The two led 383 laps between them. Cale Yarborough led eight laps and finished third at team manager Junior Johnson's home track.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Old Dominion 500 - A late yellow allowed Richard Petty to close up on Cale Yarborough and grab the win in the final 48 laps. Cale had led 366 laps to Petty's 108. Bobby Allison and Buddy Baker endured another frustrating day as they finished over 24 laps down but still together in the top four.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
National 500 - Mounting frustration in several quarters spilled into an ugly weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Charlie Glotzbach appeared to win the pole in Hoss Ellington's Chevrolet but NASCAR ruled he ran with an illegal sliding restrictor plate and Glotzbach had to start 34th; he later crashed with David Pearson 46 laps into the race and the two drivers nearly came to blows exiting their cars. Harry Hyde clashed with inspectors the entire week and finally parked Buddy Baker's Dodge 228 laps in and was officially disqualified.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Cale Yarborough led 257 laps and Richard Petty led 52 as the track paid $100 per lap led; with Cale the winner third-place Bobby Allison filed a protest demanding a re-inspection of the top two finishers. The inspection process on Cale's Chevrolet - owned by track president Richard Howard and wrenched by Junior Johnson - lasted an unusually long number of hours and NASCAR finally issued a statement that the results of the inspection of Cale's car would be sent to NASCAR headquarters for additional study.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
A furious Allison promptly filed a lawsuit against NASCAR but the suit was withdrawn after a closed-door meeting between Allison and Bill France Jr. of NASCAR, and the inspection process was changed at the next race. Robert Yates, the head engine builder for Junior at the time, stated some thirty years later to racing writer Tom Jensen (in his book CHEATING: An Inside Look At The Bad Things Good NASCAR Winston Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed) that the engine was indeed illegal. Petty stated at the time that only three of his engine's eight cylinders were checked, and that they were of varying sizes that averaged out to the NASCAR-mandated limit of 431 CID.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
American 500 - Amid the controversy Benny Parsons led the points race despite only one win. Prerace inspections all weekend were noticeably tougher than usual; Cale Yarborough had to requalify on the second day of qualifying and ran faster than on pole day; he started 18th. None of it could stop David Pearson from leading 396 laps to Cale's 85.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Race recaps
Parsons crashed hard into the lapped car of Johnny Barnes and the crash ripped out the right side of his Chevrolet; he felt his title hopes were over but his crew and other crews worked to rebuild the car to run enough laps to win the title; Parsons 28th, some 182 laps down, and won the title after Richard Petty broke a cam and finished 35th, Petty's eighth engine-related failure of the 1973 season.


1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 1973 Winston Cup Championship, Manufacturers' Championship
Manufacturers would receive points for the highest placing driver with each manufacturer, from 9 points for a win, down to 1 point for a 6th-place finish. Points would be reduced if the highest placing driver placed lower than the corresponding manufacturer placing, or could be reduced by a penalty sanction.


1973 NBA All-Star Game
The 1973 NBA All-Star Game was played at Chicago Stadium in Chicago on January 23, 1973.


1973 NBA Finals
The 1973 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1972–73 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and the culmination of that season's playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks defeated the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1. The series was an exact reversal of the prior year, with the Lakers winning Game 1 and the Knicks taking the next four games. Knicks center Willis Reed was named as the NBA Finals MVP.


1973 NBA Finals, Background, Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers entered the 1973 NBA Playoffs as co-favorites in the West with the Milwaukee Bucks, but both teams faced inspired opponents in the first round. The Chicago Bulls gave the Lakers all they could handle before the Lakers came from behind in Game 7 to take the series. The Lakers next faced the Golden State Warriors for the Western Conference Championship (the Warriors had upset the Bucks in six games). In Game 1, the Lakers won by 2, and in Game 2 the Lakers won by 10. In Game 3 at Oakland, the Lakers routed the Warriors 126-70, but the Warriors won Game 4 to send the series back to Los Angeles. In the Forum, the Lakers took Game 5 and advanced to their fifth NBA Finals series in six seasons.


1973 NBA Finals, Background, New York Knicks
One year after their NBA Finals loss, the Knicks were back in the playoffs. For some of the Knicks, including Jerry Lucas and Earl Monroe, this was probably their last shot at an NBA title. In the first round they paired against the Baltimore Bullets. The Knicks won Game's 1 and 2 in New York, but lost Game 3 at Baltimore (in that game, the Bullets used a strange lineup of two centers and three guards). New York would take Games 4 and 5 Walt Frazier averaging 20 points per game in this series.


1973 NBA Finals, Background, New York Knicks
In the Conference Finals, the Knicks faced the 68-14 Boston Celtics, who not only had the league's best record but also, to that point, the third-best won-lost record in NBA history. The Celtics routed New York, 134-108, Game 1 at the Boston Garden, but the Knicks returned the favor with a 129-96 rout in Game 2 at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks then beat the Celtics in Game 3 in Boston, and took a 3-1 series lead with a double overtime Easter Sunday win back in New York.


1973 NBA Finals, Background, New York Knicks
Boston came back with two critical wins, winning 98-97 in Boston on two Paul Silas free throws, then regaining the home-court advantage with a 110-100 win New York in Game 6. For Game 7, however, the Celtics were without their star John Havlicek, who was nursing an elbow injury. In that Game 7, played in Boston, the Celtics unbeaten record in seventh games played in Boston Garden was snapped when New York won easily, 94-78.


1973 NBA Finals, Series summary
After losing the first game, the Knicks reeled off four straight wins to reclaim the NBA title. This is the Knicks' most recent NBA Championship to date. New York would not make it back to the NBA Finals until 1994.


1973 NBA Finals, Series summary
This would also be the last Finals appearance of the decade for the Lakers. Their next appearance would be in 1980, which would be the first of nine Finals appearances in 12 years for the Franchise.


1973 NBA Finals, Series summary
This was the only NBA Championship for Jerry Lucas and Earl Monroe.


1973 NBA Finals, Series summary
Game 5 of the series was Wilt Chamberlain's last game played in the NBA. Chamberlain scored the last points of the game, and of his career, on an uncontested fast break dunk with one second remaining.


1973 NBA Finals, Series summary
ABC televised its last NBA Finals, until 2003. This is, to date, the last time a New York/Los Angeles NBA Finals of any combination has taken place, as well as the fifth-to-last championship series contested by both cities in any sport (the 1981 World Series is the last such matchup in the 20th century, and the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals is the latest).


1973 NBA draft
The 1973 NBA draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24 and May 5, 1973, before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip. The Philadelphia 76ers won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Portland Trail Blazers were awarded the second pick.


1973 NBA draft
The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. Prior to the draft, the Baltimore Bullets relocated to Landover, Maryland, and became the Capital Bullets. The Philadelphia 76ers were awarded an extra first-round draft pick as compensation when the Seattle SuperSonics signed John Brisker. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated.


1973 NBA draft
Before the draft, 11 college underclassmen were declared eligible for selection under the "hardship" rule. These players had applied and gave evidence of financial hardship to the league, which granted them the right to start earning their living by starting their professional careers earlier. The draft consisted of 20 rounds comprising the selection of 211 players.


1973 NBA draft
This was the last NBA draft to last until any number of rounds, or until teams run out of prospects; from the next year's draft until the 1984 draft they were fixed to 10 rounds.


1973 NBA draft, Draft selections and draftee career notes
Doug Collins from Illinois State University was selected first overall by the Philadelphia 76ers. Jim Brewer from the University of Minnesota was second, taken by the Cleveland Cavaliers with a pick obtained from the Blazers in a trade. Ernie DiGregorio, from Providence College, was selected third by the Buffalo Braves, and went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award. George McGinnis, selected by the 76ers with the 22nd pick, is the only player from the 1973 draft who was selected to both the All-NBA Team and the All-Star Game.


1973 NBA draft, Draft selections and draftee career notes
Collins, 5th pick Kermit Washington, and 50th pick Larry Kenon, are the only other players from this draft who were selected to an All-Star Game. Collins's achievements include four All-Star Game selections. After retiring as a player, he went on to coach the Chicago Bulls, the Detroit Pistons and the Washington Wizards. Brewer was a member of the 1982 NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. He later played basketball in Europe, earning the 1983 Euroleague championship with the Ford Cantù. McGinnis had already played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) prior to the draft.


1973 NBA draft, Draft selections and draftee career notes
He left college after his sophomore year in 1971 to play with the Indiana Pacers for four seasons. He later played in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers, the team that drafted him, after the ABA–NBA merger in 1976. He had one ABA Most Valuable Player Award, three ABA All-Star Game selections, three NBA All-Star Game selections, three All-ABA Team selections and two All-NBA Team selections. Kenon initially opted to play in the ABA, spending three seasons there before joining the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs when both leagues merged. He was selected to three ABA All-Star Games and two NBA All-Star Games.


1973 NBA draft, Draft selections and draftee career notes
Mike D'Antoni, the 20th pick, only played four seasons in the NBA and ABA before he moved to Italy with the Olimpia Milano. He played there for thirteen seasons and won five Italian league titles and two Euroleague titles. After retiring as a player, he coached Olimpia Milano and Benetton Treviso, leading the latter to two Italian league titles. He then returned to the NBA and coached three NBA teams. He won the Coach of the Year Award in 2005 with the Phoenix Suns and in 2017 with the Houston Rockets.


1973 NBA draft, Draft selections and draftee career notes
M. L. Carr, the 76th pick, earned two NBA championships with the Boston Celtics in 1981 and 1984 as a player. Carr later became the Celtics' head coach for two seasons in the 1990s. Two other players drafted also went on to have coaching careers in the NBA: 21st pick Allan Bristow and 66th pick George Karl.


1973 NBA draft, Draft selections and draftee career notes
In the fifth round, the Los Angeles Lakers selected Krešimir Ćosić from Brigham Young University with the 84th pick. However, he opted to return to Yugoslavia after his college career. Ćosić had a successful career in Europe, winning numerous league and club titles, as well as six gold medals with the Yugoslavian national team. For his achievements, he has been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame. He has also been inducted by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) to the FIBA Hall of Fame.


1973 NBA draft, Draft selections and draftee career notes
The Atlanta Hawks used the 79th pick to draft Dave Winfield, who starred at both baseball and basketball at the University of Minnesota. He was also drafted in three other major sport leagues; Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL) and the ABA. He chose baseball and played 22 seasons in MLB.


1973 NBA draft, Other picks
The following list includes other draft picks who have appeared in at least one NBA game.


1973 NBA draft, Notes
^ 1: NBA commissioner Walter Kennedy originally awarded Seattle SuperSonics's fourth overall pick in the first round to the Philadelphia 76ers in compensation for John Brisker, who signed with the Sonics despite being on Philadelphia's negotiation list. However, the federal court invalidated Kennedy's decision, ruling that only the NBA Board of Governors had the power to do so. Subsequently, the Board decided to award the 76ers with an extra first-round draft pick and the Sonics' second-round pick as compensations. The Sonics maintained possession of the fourth pick. In addition, the date of the draft, which was originally scheduled for April 16, was postponed to April 24. ^ 2: Mike D'Antoni was born in the United States, but he has represented the Italian national team.


1973 NBA playoffs
The 1973 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1972–73 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. The Knicks won their second (and most recent) NBA title. Willis Reed became the first player to be named NBA Finals MVP twice.


1973 NBA playoffs
The playoff format was modified, as only the divisional champions qualified automatically; two wild-cards were also added from each conference. Once qualification was determined, the four qualifiers were seeded 1–4 based on record; divisional position no longer mattered. The #1 seed then played #4, and #2 played #3. Because of this new format, New York, the Atlantic Division runner-up, had home-court advantage versus the Baltimore Bullets, the Central Division champion, since the Knicks had the better regular-season record. The Bullets had home-court advantage in the 1972 playoffs versus the Knicks and in the 1971 playoffs versus Philadelphia, even though their record was worse than New York's and Philadelphia's were those seasons, because they had won their division, while the Knicks and Sixers were runners-up.


1973 NBA playoffs
This was the second straight time (and third in the last 4 years) that the Lakers and Knicks met in the Finals; the Lakers–Knicks rivalry ended with two titles won by the Knicks and one by the Lakers.


1973 NBA playoffs
This was the Lakers' last appearance in the Finals until 1980; It was New York's last appearance until 1994.


1973 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Boston Celtics vs. (4) Atlanta Hawks
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning four of the first five meetings.


1973 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (2) New York Knicks vs. (3) Baltimore Bullets
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning three of the previous four meetings.


1973 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (1) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (4) Golden State Warriors
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bucks winning the first two meetings.


1973 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Chicago Bulls
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first three meetings.


1973 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Finals, (1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) New York Knicks
This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with both teams splitting the first eight meetings.


1973 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Golden State Warriors
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning two of the first three meetings.


1973 NBA playoffs, NBA Finals: (W2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (E2) New York Knicks
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning three of the first four meetings.


1973 NC State Wolfpack football team
The 1973 NC State Wolfpack football team represented North Carolina State University during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. The Wolfpack were led by second-year head coach Lou Holtz and played their home games at Carter Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina. They competed as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, winning the conference with a perfect 6–0 record. The Wolfpack were invited to the 1973 Liberty Bowl, where they defeated Kansas.


1973 NCAA College Division Baseball Tournament
The 1973 NCAA College Division Baseball Tournament decided the champion of baseball at the NCAA College Division level for the 1973 season. This was the sixth such tournament for the College Division, having separated from the University Division in 1957. The UC Irvine Anteaters won the championship by defeating the Ithaca Bombers.


1973 NCAA College Division Basketball Tournament
The 1973 NCAA College Division Basketball Tournament involved 42 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA College Division basketball as a culmination of the 1972-73 NCAA College Division men's basketball season. It was won by Kentucky Wesleyan College and Kentucky Wesleyan's Mike Williams was the Most Outstanding Player.


1973 NCAA College Division Basketball Tournament
This was the last College Division basketball tournament. Effective with the next school year of 1973–74, the NCAA adopted the three-division setup that exists to this day. The top-level University Division was renamed Division I, while the College Division was split in two. College Division members that wished to award athletic scholarships were placed in Division II, while those that chose to remain non-scholarship were placed in Division III.


1973 NCAA College Division football rankings
The 1973 NCAA College Division football rankings are from the United Press International poll of College Division head coaches and from the Associated Press poll of sportswriters and broadcasters. The 1973 NCAA Division II football season was the 16th year UPI published a Coaches Poll and it was the 14th year for the Associated Press. Both polls used the term "College Division" in 1973, but many of the referenced publications continued to use the "Small College" terminology.


1973 NCAA College Division football rankings
Instead of using the polls to crown a national champion, 1973 was the first year for the Division II playoffs. The final UPI poll was released before the playoffs, and the final AP poll was released after the playoffs.


1973 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The 1973 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships were the 35th annual cross country meet to determine the team and individual national champions of NCAA Division I men's collegiate cross country running in the United States. Held on November 19, it was hosted by Washington State University at Hangman Valley Golf Course, near Spokane, Washington.


1973 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The distance for this race was 6 miles (9.66 km), and the approximate average elevation was 1,900 feet (580 m) above sea level. The temperature during the race was 38 °F (3 °C).


1973 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The team national championship was won by the Oregon Ducks, their second title.


1973 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The individual championship was won by Oregon's Steve Prefontaine, with a time of 28:14.80. This was Prefontaine's third individual title in four years. Along with Gerry Lindgren (1966, 1967, and 1969) and Henry Rono (1976, 1977, and 1979), both from Washington State, Prefontaine is one of only three Division I collegiate runners with three individual titles.


1973 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
Washington State hosted the championship again four years later in 1977, also at Hangman Valley, south of the city.


1973 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, Qualification
All Division I members were eligible to qualify for the meet. In total, 22 teams and 210 individual runners contested this championship. This was the first championship after the NCAA rebranded the former University Division as Division I in 1973. On a related note, the inaugural NCAA Men's Division III Cross Country Championship was held this year at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois.


1973 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The 1973 NCAA Division I tournament championship game was played at Franklin Field in Philadelphia in front of 5,965 fans. The undefeated Maryland Terrapins, led by coach Bud Beardmore and Hall of Fame midfielder Frank Urso defeated Johns Hopkins 10 to 9 in two overtimes, with Urso scoring the winning goal 1:18 into the second overtime.


1973 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
The top eight teams in the season-ending lacrosse coaches poll were selected to play in the 1973 tournament.


1973 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
Johns Hopkins defeated Virginia 12-9 and Maryland beat Washington and Lee 18-5 to reach the national championship game. The win represented Maryland's eighth overall men's lacrosse National Title, but first under the newly instituted NCAA lacrosse tournament format. Bud Beardmore was named USILA Coach of the Year.


1973 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
Prior to the Hopkins overtime win, the Terrapins closest game was a five-goal victory against UMBC. Maryland had beaten Hopkins 17 to 4 in the regular season about a month prior to the finals. In the Terps' ten games, they averaged 17 goals per game and held opponents to 6 goals per game.


1973 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
Johns Hopkins used a possession game to counter the Terrapins' top rated offense, which resulted in over fifteen minutes of limited-shooting possessions by the Blue Jays in the first half. Maryland countered with patient and mistake-free defensive play to offset the stall tactic though Frank Urso was able to get free to score three goals. Hopkins held the ball for the first 10:45 of the game, with the first shot of the game not being taken until over eight minutes had passed. Hopkins' tactics worked initially as the Blue Jays took a 5-2 lead at halftime.


1973 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
Maryland overcame Johns Hopkins' possession game in the second half, outscoring the Jays 8-4 in the second half, with the winning goal coming in the second overtime for the 10-9 victory. Urso scored the game-winner taking a solo run at goal and converting a 15-yard bounce shot. Since this was not a sudden-death overtime period, Maryland held for the final three minutes to win the contest.


1973 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
The Terps had encountered little resistance on their way to the title as they downed Brown 16-4 and Washington and Lee 18-7 in the first two rounds. Johns Hopkins had disposed of Army 11-5 and the defending national champion Virginia 12-9.


1973 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
Washington and Lee goalie Skeet Chadwick had 52 saves in two tournament games. Washington and Lee, a recent addition to the top tier of teams, beat Navy in a three overtime marathon 13-12 in the first round.


1973 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament outstanding players
Jack Thomas, Johns Hopkins, 14 pts (3g, 11a), leading tournament scorer


1973 NCAA Division I Soccer Tournament
The 1973 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament was the fifteenth organized men's college soccer tournament by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, to determine the top Division I college soccer team in the United States. The Saint Louis Billikens won their tenth national title by defeating the UCLA Bruins for the second consecutive year in the championship game, 2–1 after one overtime period. The final match was played on January 4, 1974, in Miami, Florida, at the Miami Orange Bowl for the third straight year.


1973 NCAA Division I Soccer Tournament
Starting in 1973, the NCAA changed its classification system and the former University Division became Division I. At the same time, the College Division split into Division II and Division III.


1973 NCAA Division I football rankings
Two human polls comprised the 1973 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll.


1973 NCAA Division I football rankings, Final Coaches' poll
This was the last season in which the final UPI Coaches Poll was released prior to the bowl games, in early December. Alabama received 21 of the 34 first-place votes; Oklahoma received nine, Ohio State two, Notre Dame one, and Michigan one.


1973 NCAA Division I football season
The 1973 NCAA Division I football season was the first for the NCAA's current three-division structure. Effective with the 1973–74 academic year, schools formerly in the NCAA "University Division" were classified as Division I (later subdivided for football only in 1978 (I-A and I-AA) and renamed in 2006 into today's Division I FBS and FCS). Schools in the former "College Division" were classified into Division II, which allowed fewer athletic scholarships than Division I, and Division III, in which athletic scholarships were prohibited.


1973 NCAA Division I football season
In its inaugural season, Division I had two NCAA-recognized national champions, and they faced each other at year's end in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Eve. The New Orleans game matched two unbeaten teams, the Alabama Crimson Tide (11–0), ranked No. 1 by AP and UPI, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10–0), ranked No. 3 by AP and No. 4 by UPI.


1973 NCAA Division I football season
While both wire services ranked Alabama first at the end of the regular season, the final AP poll was after the bowl games. By agreement with the American Football Coaches' Association, however, UPI bestowed its championship before the postseason bowl games, and Alabama was crowned champion by UPI on December 4. UPI ranked Notre Dame fourth: one coach had given the Irish a first place vote, compared to 21 for Alabama. (In the next season, the final coaches' poll was after the bowls.)


1973 NCAA Division I football season
In a game where the lead changed six times, Notre Dame won by a single point, 24–23, to claim the AP national championship. During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for major college football teams that would become Division I-A in 1978. The NCAA Football Guide, however, did note an "unofficial national champion" based on the top ranked teams in the "wire service" (AP and UPI) polls. The "writers' poll" by Associated Press (AP) was the most popular, followed by the "coaches' poll" by United Press International) (UPI).


1973 NCAA Division I football season
In 1973, the UPI issued its final poll before the bowls, but the AP Trophy was withheld until the postseason was completed. The AP poll in 1973 consisted of the votes of as many as 63 sportswriters and broadcasters, though not all of them voted in every poll. UPI's voting was made by 34 coaches. Those who cast votes would give their opinion of the ten best teams. Under a point system of 20 points for first place, 19 for second, etc., the "overall" ranking was determined.


1973 NCAA Division I football season, December
Elsewhere, Bluebonnet Bowl-bound Tulane defeated Orange Bowl-bound LSU 14–0 to end a 25–year winless drought in the Battle for the Rag in the final meeting at Tulane Stadium, leaving both the Green Wave and Bayou Bengals 9–2. Also, the 4–7 Navy Midshipmen trounced the Army Cadets 51–0. As for the Cadets, they completed one of their worst season in their football program history, when they completed a season with an imperfect 0–10 record.


1973 NCAA Division I football season, December
In the final regular season poll, the top six schools were unbeaten. 1.Alabama (11–0) 2 . 2.Notre Dame (10–0) 3.Oklahoma (10–0–1) 4.Ohio State (9–0–1) 5.Michigan (10–0–1) and 6.Penn State (11–0). The other major college unbeaten, Miami (Ohio) (10–0–0), was No. 15. Oklahoma, however, was on probation for having used an ineligible player (Kerry Jackson) in three 1972 games, and was ineligible to play in a bowl game. No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Notre Dame accepted invitations to play in the Sugar Bowl.


1973 NCAA Division I football season, Bowl games, Major bowls
Alabama and Notre Dame had never met in a college football game before their encounter in the Sugar Bowl, which was played on New Year's Eve at Tulane Stadium, with kickoff at 7:15 pm CST. Two legendary coaches, Bear Bryant and Ara Parseghian brought their teams to New Orleans, and the game was a thriller. The Irish scored first, but missed the extra point. After Alabama took a 7–6 lead, freshman Al Hunter returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, and a two-point conversion put Notre Dame up 14–7.


1973 NCAA Division I football season, Bowl games, Major bowls
Alabama went ahead 17–14 in the third, but a fumble on their own 12-yard line gave the Irish a chance to make it 21–17. In the fourth quarter, Bama got back the lead on a trick play, as quarterback Richard Todd handed off to running back, Mike Stock, who then fired a touchdown pass back to Todd; but Bill Davis, who had made 51 of 53 extra point attempts in his career, was wide right, and the score stayed 23–21. In the final minutes, Notre Dame's Bob Thomas (who had missed the earlier point after try) kicked a 19-yard field goal that gave the team the 24–23 win. Asked whether Notre Dame would be voted No. 1, Coach Parseghian replied, "Certainly. What was the final score?"


1973 NCAA Division I football season, Bowl games, Major bowls
The final AP writers' poll was split. Notre Dame received a majority of the first place votes, 33 out of 60, followed by No. 2 Ohio State (11 votes) and No. 3 Oklahoma (16 votes, but fewer points overall). The fourth spot (held by Notre Dame in the final UPI poll) went to Alabama. UPI, who crowned Alabama as national champion at the end of the regular season, would begin holding the coaches' poll after the bowl games beginning with the 1974 season.


1973 NCAA Division I football season, Heisman Trophy
Running back John Cappelletti had the third best year in Penn State  history when he gained 1,117 yards rushing in 1972. As a senior in 1973, he had the second best year in school history rushing for 1,522 yards. In his two-year running career, he gained 100 yards in the thirteen games and had a career total of 2,639 yards and twenty-nine touchdowns for an average of 120 yards per game and 5.1 yards per carry. Cappelletti's acceptance speech on December 13 at the Heisman Dinner (with new Vice President Gerald Ford next to him on the dais) was considered the most moving ever given at these ceremonies, as he honored his 11-year-old brother Joey, a victim of leukemia.


1973 NCAA Division II Soccer Championship
The 1973 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship was the second annual tournament held by the NCAA to determine the top men's Division II college soccer program in the United States. It was also the first to be branded as the "Division II" tournament, following the NCAA splitting its former College Division to create Divisions II and III. However, this tournament continued to feature D-III schools, as the NCAA did not establish a separate D-III championship until 1974.


1973 NCAA Division II Soccer Championship
Missouri–Saint Louis defeated Cal State Fullerton in the final match, 3–0, to win their first national title. The final was played in Springfield, Massachusetts at Springfield College on December 8, 1973.


1973 NCAA Division II football season
The 1973 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level. The season began in September and concluded with the Division II Championship on December 15 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California. This was the first season for Division II (and Division III) football, which were formerly in the College Division in 1972 and prior.


1973 NCAA Division II football season
Louisiana Tech won their first Division II championship, defeating Western Kentucky 34–0 in the Camellia Bowl championship game.


1973 NCAA Division II football season, Conference summaries
Big Sky Conference – Boise StateEastern Football Conference – Central Connecticut StateFar Western Football Conference – UC Davis and Cal State ChicoGreat Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – NorthwoodGulf South Conference – Troy StateLone Star Conference – Abilene ChristianMid-Eastern Athletic Conference – North Carolina CentralMissouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Southeast Missouri StateNorth Central Conference – North Dakota State and South DakotaOhio Valley Conference – Western KentuckyNorthern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota State–MoorheadSouthern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Division II) – Bethune-CookmanSouthland Conference – Louisiana TechSouthwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling and Jackson StateYankee Conference – Connecticut


1973 NCAA Division II football season, Postseason
The 1973 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the first single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The inaugural edition had only eight teams; of the four quarterfinal games, three were played on campus and a fourth was in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the final edition of the Boardwalk Bowl. The semifinals were held at the Grantland Rice Bowl in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the Pioneer Bowl in Wichita Falls, Texas.


1973 NCAA Division II football season, Postseason
The championship game was the Camellia Bowl, held at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California. The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs defeated the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 34–0 to win their first national title.


1973 NCAA Division II football season, Rankings
United Press International (UPI) and the Associated Press (AP) continued to rank teams in their College Division or "small college" polls, which had started in 1958 and 1960, respectively. In 1973, UPI published their final poll at the end of the regular season, while the AP waited until postseason games had been completed. Both wire services named the Tennessee State Tigers as the number one team; Tennessee State did not compete in the playoffs "because five of its starters would not be eligible to play." The players in question had sat out their freshmen year ("redshirt") and then played four seasons; under NCAA rules at the time, such players were not eligible for postseason play as fifth-year seniors. During the regular season, the Tigers were undefeated (10–0) and had outscored their opponents 333–87.


1973 NCAA Division II football season, Rankings
Record includes NAIA Division I playoff games Record includes NCAA Division II playoff games Record includes NCAA Division III playoff games


1973 NCAA Division III football season
The 1973 NCAA Division III football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division III level, began in August 1973, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship in December 1973 at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama. This was the first season for Division III (and Division II) football, which were formerly in the College Division in 1972 and prior.


1973 NCAA Division III football season
Wittenberg won their first Division III championship, defeating Juniata in the championship game by a final score of 41−0.


1973 NCAA Division III football season, Postseason
The 1973 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the first single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The inaugural edition had only four teams (in comparison with the 32 teams competing as of 2014). The championship game was held at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama. The Wittenberg Tigers defeated the Juniata College Eagles, 41−0, to win their first national title.


1973 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships
The 1973 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships were contested March 9−10, 1973 at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan at the ninth annual NCAA-sanctioned track meet to determine the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate indoor track and field events in the United States.


1973 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships
Manhattan topped the team standings, the Jaspers' first indoor team title (and only NCAA championship in any sport).


1973 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, Qualification
Unlike other NCAA-sponsored sports, there were not separate University Division and College Division championships for indoor track and field until 1985. As such, all athletes and teams from University and College Division programs were eligible to compete.


1973 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
The consensus 1973 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of four major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Associated Press, the USBWA, The United Press International and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.


1973 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
The 1973 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament was the fourth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's college volleyball. The tournament took place at Peterson Gym on the campus of San Diego State University in San Diego, California. Like the previous year, the format of this championship consisted of a preliminary, four-team round robin to determine seeding for a subsequent single-elimination tournament. The round-robin seeding games were played on Friday, May 25th at Peterson Gym on the San Diego State campus. The semi-final and championship matches were held at the San Diego Sports Arena on Saturday, May 26th.


1973 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
Over 8,000 fans attended the championship match which, at the time, was the largest crowd ever to witness a volleyball match in the United States.


1973 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
San Diego State defeated Long Beach State, 3–1 (11–15, 15–13, 15–8, 15–6), in the championship match to win their first national title. San Diego State's Duncan McFarland was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.


1973 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament, Qualification
Until the creation of the NCAA Men's Division III Volleyball Championship in 2012, there was only a single national championship for men's volleyball. As such, all NCAA men's volleyball programs (whether from the University Division, or the College Division) were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.


1973 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The 1973 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the fifth annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's college water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, California during December 1973.


1973 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
California defeated UC Irvine in the final, 8–4, to win their first national title.


1973 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The leading scorer for the tournament was Bruce Kocsis from USC (8 goals). The award for Most Outstanding Player was not given out this year, but an All-Tournament Team was named.


1973 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, Qualification
Since there has only ever been one single national championship for water polo, all NCAA men's water polo programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 8 teams were invited to contest this championship.


1973 NCAA Skiing Championships
The 1973 NCAA Skiing Championships were contested at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl in Hancock, Vermont at the twentieth annual NCAA-sanctioned ski tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate alpine, cross country skiing, and ski jumping in the United States.


1973 NCAA Skiing Championships
Defending champion Colorado, coached by alumnus Bill Marolt, captured their fourth, and second consecutive, national championship, finishing 4.04 points ahead of Wyoming in the team standings.


1973 NCAA Skiing Championships
These were the first NCAA championships in which Denver did not finish in either first (fourteen titles) or second (five times).


1973 NCAA Skiing Championships
Repeat champions were Colorado's Vidar Nilsgard (jumping) and Kim Kendall (skimeister) of New Hampshire,


1973 NCAA Skiing Championships, Venue
This year's championships were held March 7–10 in Vermont at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl in Hancock. Middlebury College, located in nearby Middlebury, served as hosts.


1973 NCAA Skiing Championships, Venue
The twentieth edition, these were the second NCAA championships hosted by Middlebury (1961), third in Vermont (Northfield, 1955), and seventh in the East, all in New England.


1973 NCAA University Division Baseball Tournament
The 1973 NCAA University Division Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 1973 NCAA University Division baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, a double-elimination tournament in its twenty-seventh year.


1973 NCAA University Division Baseball Tournament
Eight regional districts sent representatives to the College World Series with preliminary rounds within each district serving to determine each representative. These events would later become known as regionals. Each district had its own format for selecting teams, resulting in 32 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament.


1973 NCAA University Division Baseball Tournament
The twenty-seventh tournament's champion was Southern California, led by head coach Rod Dedeaux, and Dave Winfield of Minnesota. was the Most Outstanding Player. He was the starting pitcher in two games, tossing 17⅓ innings, allowing nine hits, one earned run, and striking out 29. In addition, Winfield batted .467 in the Series.


1973 NCAA University Division Baseball Tournament
USC became the first team to win four consecutive College World Series and was undefeated (5–0) in the double-elimination format. The final game drew 12,050, the sixth highest to date, and attendance for the fourteen-game Series was 65,356, a new record by nearly seven thousand.


1973 NCAA University Division Baseball Tournament, Tournament
The opening rounds of the tournament were played across eight district sites across the country, each consisting of between three and six teams. The winners of each District advanced to the College World Series.


1973 NCAA University Division Baseball Tournament, College World Series, The Minnesota vs. USC semi final game
Recalled each year as perhaps the most amazing game in CWS history, Minnesota faced a USC team that featured future major leaguers Rich Dauer, Fred Lynn, and Roy Smalley. Dave Winfield was the starting pitcher for Minnesota. In his first game vs. Oklahoma, he struck out 14 in shutting out the Sooners, 1-0. In the semi final vs. defending champion USC, Winfield had struck out 15 through 8 innings, allowing only an infield single as Minnesota built a 7-0 lead. USC's Rich Dauer said "In my whole career, even facing the big boys in the majors, I have never seen anything like that," When Dave let go of the ball, it was three feet in front of your face and it seemed like it was going 110 miles an hour."


1973 NCAA University Division Baseball Tournament, College World Series, The Minnesota vs. USC semi final game
In the ninth inning, USC opened with a base hit but the next batter grounded into what appeared to be a double play. Television replays indicated the batter was out at first base, but the umpire called him safe and Minnesota coach Dick Siebert was thrown out of the game arguing the call. Two more singles and a key error by the first baseman led to three runs and Winfield was relieved and went to left field. Two relievers allowed five more runs and USC won the game 8–7. "I have played in a lot of memorable big games during my career," Winfield said. "World Series games, league championship games, all-star games, all kinds. But I will never forget that game against USC. Never."


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game
The 1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game was the final of the 1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament and determined the national champion for the 1972–73 season. The game was held at the St. Louis Arena in St. Louis, Missouri, on March 26, 1973.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game
The UCLA Bruins of the Pacific-8 Conference, who were seeking their seventh consecutive championship, were matched against the Memphis State Tigers (now known as the Memphis Tigers), who were playing in the national title game for the first time. The Bruins won 87–66 behind a 44-point effort by Bill Walton, who scored on 21 of his 22 field goal attempts.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Background, UCLA
The Bruins were coached by John Wooden, who was in his 25th season with the team. UCLA entered the 1972–73 season as the six-time defending national champions, and the Bruins were coming off of an undefeated 30–0 season in 1971–72. Five players on UCLA's roster later played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Center Bill Walton was the Bruins' top scorer and rebounder, averaging 20.4 points and 16.9 rebounds. Forward Jamaal Wilkes added 14.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, while forward Larry Farmer and guard Larry Hollyfield also averaged more than 10 points per game. Other players included centers Ralph Drollinger and Swen Nater, forwards Dave Meyers and Vince Carson, and guards Tommy Curtis, Greg Lee, and Pete Trgovich.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Background, UCLA
The preseason Associated Press (AP) Poll ranked the Bruins as the number one team in the country. UCLA's first game was on November 25, 1972, against Wisconsin; the Bruins won by a 41-point margin. In each of their first six non-conference games, all of which were held at Pauley Pavilion, they won by double digits; during this stretch, Pittsburgh was the only team to lose against UCLA by less than 20 points. An 85–72 victory over Drake improved the Bruins to 7–0, before Illinois became the first team to keep the final score within 10 points, as UCLA claimed a 71–64 win in their game on December 30.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Background, UCLA
The Bruins' first game in 1973 was their Pacific-8 Conference opener at home against Oregon, which they won 64–38 to move to 9–0 on the season. Three conference victories followed, before UCLA prevailed in four consecutive non-conference matchups to run their record to 16–0. The first two non-conference wins were over teams ranked in the top 10 at the time of the games; 10th-ranked San Francisco fell 92–64 on January 19, while number nine Providence was defeated by 24 points. On January 27, UCLA posted an 82–63 victory over Notre Dame.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Background, UCLA
It was the school's 61st straight win in men's basketball, breaking an NCAA record that had been held by San Francisco. The Bruins returned to conference play with a 79–56 win at 20th-ranked USC, and the team continued its winning streak into March; a triumph over California improved its record to 24–0. On March 3, Stanford played the Bruins at Pauley Pavilion and held them to a season-low 51 points. In their closest game of the season, UCLA managed a 51–45 win. The Bruins then won their regular season finale against USC to finish at a perfect 26–0; with a 14–0 mark in Pacific-8 games; they won the conference championship. UCLA maintained its number one ranking in the AP Poll for the entire season.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Background, UCLA
UCLA received an invitation to the 1973 NCAA Tournament and was placed in the West region. In their first game of the tournament, the Bruins faced Arizona State, winning 98–81 to advance to the regional final against San Francisco. There, they won by a 15-point margin to earn a berth in the Final Four. Indiana was UCLA's opponent in that round, and the Bruins jumped out to a 40–22 lead at halftime. Although the Hoosiers went on a 17–0 scoring run in the second half and pulled within two points of the Bruins multiple times, UCLA won 70–59 to reach the title game. The team shot 58.5% from the field, as Walton had 14 points and Wilkes added 13.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Background, Memphis State
Gene Bartow was the coach of Memphis State, having been hired by the university for the 1970–71 season. The Tigers' leading scorer was guard Larry Finch, who averaged 24.0 points per game on 44.5% shooting. Future NBA player Larry Kenon, a forward, also averaged more than 20 points per game, on 52.5% shooting, and led Memphis State in rebounding with 16.7 per game. Center Ronnie Robinson had 13.5 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. Other regulars included center Wes Westfall, forwards Ken Andrews and Billy Buford, and guards Bill Cook, Bill Laurie and Doug McKinnie.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Background, Memphis State
Memphis State began the season ranked 11th in the country, but the team lost three of its first five games. Following a season-opening win over Missouri Western, LSU defeated the Tigers 94–81 on December 5, 1972. A visit to fifth-ranked Marquette resulted in a three-point defeat, and an 80–79 loss to Texas left the Tigers with a 2–3 record. They evened their record at 3–3 on December 16, with an 80–51 victory over Navy.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Background, Memphis State
That was the start of an extended winning steak; after wins against Arkansas, Cornell, and UC Santa Barbara, the Tigers traveled to Vanderbilt for a meeting with a top-10 opponent. With a 74–71 road victory, Memphis State extended its streak to five games before the start of Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Background, Memphis State
Drake was Memphis State's first opponent in MVC competition. The Tigers were taken to double overtime by Drake, but earned a 97–92 victory. Subsequent wins against Bradley, Saint Louis, Louisville, and New Mexico State improved the Tigers to 5–0 in the conference. They were followed by the team's second contests of the season against Drake and Bradley, both of which they won; at this point the club's winning streak had reached 14 games. By late January, the Tigers had returned to being ranked in the AP Poll; in the February 6 ranking, Memphis State was listed at number 15.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Background, Memphis State
In the Tigers' next game, on February 8, Louisville ended their winning streak by an 83–69 margin. Afterwards, the Tigers won their next five games, all against MVC opponents, before losing to Saint Louis, 70–56, in their regular season finale. The Tigers finished in first place in the MVC with a 12–2 mark in conference play, and were 21–5 overall. Their final national ranking was 12th.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Background, Memphis State
Like UCLA, the Tigers received a bye in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. They defeated South Carolina in the Midwest regional semifinals by 14 points. Memphis State then posted a 20-point win over Kansas State to gain their Final Four spot. In the national semifinals, Providence opposed the Tigers and took a double-digit advantage before one of their leading players, Marvin Barnes, was forced to leave the game due to a knee injury. After trailing at halftime by nine points, the Tigers rallied to win, 98–85, and secure their place in the national championship game. Kenon led Memphis State with 28 points, while Robinson had 24 and Finch added 21. It was the school's first trip to an NCAA Tournament final, having never made it past the first round in three previous appearances.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
The game was held on March 26 at the St. Louis Arena in St. Louis, Missouri, before a crowd of 19,301 fans. It was preceded by a contest between Indiana and Providence for third place. Behind a pair of 21-point efforts by Steve Downing and John Ritter, Indiana prevailed by 18 points, 97–79. The championship game was televised by NBC, which purchased the broadcasting rights to the 1973 NCAA Tournament for less than $1.2 million. Curt Gowdy provided play-by-play commentary for NBC, and Tom Hawkins worked alongside him as an analyst.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
Having been held on Saturdays in previous years, the 1973 title game was moved to Monday. It was the first basketball national championship game to appear in prime time, and received a 20.5 Nielsen rating; an estimated 39 million people watched the broadcast, the most ever for an NCAA Tournament game at the time. The telecast garnered a 36.0 rating in the Los Angeles market.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
Memphis State began the game in a man-to-man defense, in which Kenon was the primary defender covering Walton, playing behind him. The team's plan was to force Walton to play away from the basket, but his ability to use his strength to gain positioning rendered the strategy largely ineffective. Walton played a key role early on for the Bruins; of the team's first 10 points, he had six of them. Kenon led the Tigers in the first six minutes of the game, converting each of his first four field goal attempts.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
However, the Tigers' taller players were in the process of accumulating personal fouls. Kenon committed three fouls in the first 6:43 and was forced to the bench for an extended period. At this point, he had been responsible for 8 of Memphis State's 12 points. The Bruins built a lead as the first half progressed, taking a nine-point advantage at one time. Finch then helped the Tigers get back into the game with a stretch of eight consecutive points. Memphis State began utilizing a zone defense, and Kenon returned to the game; he was still positioned behind Walton defensively.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
The Tigers were helped by an accumulation of fouls by Walton, who picked up his third and came out of the game with 4:14 remaining in the first half as the Bruins retained a six-point lead. After his departure, the Tigers' offensive players found greater success, scoring eight of the next 10 points. After the first half, the teams were tied, 39–39.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
Finch opened the second half scoring for Memphis State with two free throws, which gave the Tigers the lead. Walton responded for the Bruins with three field goals in a row. UCLA frequently sought to take advantage of a size advantage Walton held over shorter Memphis State defenders by having Lee throw lob passes to him. Much of Walton's offense came from these lobs, which often led to tip-ins. His scoring, which primarily came from near the basket, also resulted from layups and short jumpers, including bank and hook shots.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
The Tigers further varied their defense against him, at times putting a defender in front of Walton or covering him with two players, but were unable to keep him in check. Walton continued to be the focal point of the Bruins' attack, scoring all but 4 of their first 18 points in the half. Although the teams were tied 45–45 at one time, UCLA gradually gained control of the game as the second half progressed. The Bruins were up by four points with under 13 minutes left in the game when Walton drove to the basket for a shot attempt.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
Westfall fouled Walton, but was unable to prevent his shot from falling. His foul was ruled intentional, giving Walton two free throws that he made to extend UCLA's advantage to eight points with 12:24 remaining. Eight minutes into the second half, the lead had increased to 57–47. With 9:27 left, and the Bruins up 61–55, Walton committed his fourth foul. Instead of pulling him from the game, Wooden elected to leave him on the court and the Bruins subsequently extended their lead to 10.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
With under eight minutes on the clock, and the Tigers' deficit at 65–57, Walton recorded three quick baskets to push the gap to 12 points. For the rest of the game, Memphis State never trailed by less than nine points. Having been up by 11 points 14 minutes into the second half, UCLA pulled away in the final minutes of the contest, scoring 14 of the last 18 points. Walton was forced to come out of the game with 2:50 remaining due to an ankle injury, but by this time the Bruins had a 15-point advantage. The Tigers' Finch helped him off the court, and Walton received a standing ovation from the crowd. The Bruins won by an 87–66 margin to clinch the school's seventh NCAA title in a row and its ninth in a 10-year span.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Statistical summary
The Bruins scored on 40 of their 62 field goal attempts, for a percentage of 64.5%. Walton contributed 44 points on 21-of-22 shooting from the field. His effort broke the record for the most points in an NCAA Tournament championship game, topping the 42 points that had been scored by Gail Goodrich in 1965. Four further shots by Walton that went into the hoop were ruled out by officials because of an NCAA regulation that banned dunking; these were not included in his official statistics, and were recorded as offensive goaltending violations.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Statistical summary
In addition, he added a game-high 13 rebounds and two assists, along with seven blocks. Wilkes tallied 16 points; he joined Walton as the only Bruins players to finish with at least 10 points. Hollyfield had eight points and nine assists, and Lee topped both teams with a 14-assist performance. The Bruins' victory extended multiple winning streaks for the team. It was their 75th consecutive win overall; in the NCAA Tournament, they had a 36-game streak after their defeat of the Tigers.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Statistical summary
Memphis State made 42.1% of its field goal attempts, shooting 24-of-57. Finch converted on nine of his 21 shots and 11 of his 13 free throw attempts, scoring 29 points to lead the Tigers. Kenon added 20 points, and had eight rebounds and three assists, both team-high totals. The Tigers committed nine fewer turnovers than the Bruins, but were outrebounded 40–21, and their 11 assists were 15 fewer than UCLA compiled.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Aftermath and legacy
With Walton still on their roster as a senior for the 1973–74 season, the Bruins extended their winning streak to a record 88 games before a 71–70 loss to Notre Dame. Despite that defeat and a two-game losing streak later in the season, UCLA qualified for the NCAA Tournament and made it to the Final Four. There, North Carolina State defeated the Bruins in a game that ended in double overtime, leaving UCLA without an NCAA title for the first time since 1965–66. The following season, which was Wooden's last as UCLA's coach, the Bruins again reached the NCAA Tournament and won the championship game over Kentucky.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Aftermath and legacy
Memphis State finished 19–11 in 1973–74 and did not receive an NCAA Tournament invitation. That was Bartow's last season with the Tigers. After one year at Illinois, he succeeded Wooden at UCLA and his 1975–76 team reached the Final Four. That season, Memphis State returned to the NCAA Tournament; it took another nine years for the Tigers to make another trip to the national semifinals. Having played against UCLA in the Final Four, the 2007–08 Tigers participated in the 2008 NCAA Division I championship game, losing to Kansas in overtime.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Aftermath and legacy
Walton's 44 points remains the most ever scored in an NCAA men's national championship game. In 2016, Bryce Miller of The San Diego Union-Tribune said that he had given "arguably the single greatest performance in NCAA history." Sports Illustrated writer Kelli Anderson listed his 1973 title game effort as one of the 10 greatest accomplishments in college sports. The magazine named it one of the "100 Greatest Moments in Sports History".


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Aftermath and legacy
Bartow remarked after the game, "We couldn't contain Walton." He added that he had "never seen a player so dominating". Walton later said that he recalled his missed field goal attempt, which he rebounded and scored from. Wooden reportedly told him, "Walton, I used to think you were a good player ... until you missed that one shot."


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament
The 1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA University Division (now Division I, created later in 1973) college basketball. It began on Saturday, March 10, and ended with the championship game on Monday, March 26, in St. Louis, Missouri. A total of 29 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament
Led by longtime head coach John Wooden, the UCLA Bruins won their seventh consecutive national title with an 87–66 victory in the final game over Memphis State, coached by Gene Bartow, a future head coach at UCLA. Junior center Bill Walton of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament
This was the first year that the championship game was held on a Monday night, with Saturday semifinals. Previously, the championship game was on Saturday, with the semifinals on either Thursday or Friday. Also, this was the first year matchups in the semifinals rotated; previously, it was East vs. Mideast and West vs. Midwest every year.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament, Tournament notes
The UCLA – Memphis State championship game made USA Today′s list of the greatest NCAA tournament games of all time at #18. Bill Walton set a championship game record, hitting 21 of 22 shots and scoring 44 points.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament, Tournament notes
This tournament marked the first appearance of Bob Knight as coach of Indiana University.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament, Tournament notes
The participation for this tournament, as well as the previous tournament, for Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) was vacated on August 5, 1973, when the NCAA Committee on Infractions ruled the university guilty of over 100 violations, including impermissible benefits and doctoring high school transcripts of players.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament, Tournament notes
USL's program was shut down for the 1973–74 and 1974–75 seasons, all other Ragin Cajun' athletic programs were placed on three years' probation and banned from postseason participation, and the university was stripped of voting rights at the NCAA convention until 1977 (the NCAA originally planned to expel USL from the organization, but that sanction was downgraded in January 1974).


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1973 tournament:


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
Regional Semifinals, 3rd Place Games, and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
National Semifinals, 3rd Place Game, and Championship (Final Four and Championship)


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
The city of St. Louis became the 12th host city, and the St. Louis Arena became the thirteenth host venue, of the Final Four. The arena, home to the St. Louis Blues of the NHL and, at the time, the St. Louis Billikens basketball team, was the first of five straight venues to host the Final Four for the first time, and it was the first time the tournament was held in the city of St. Louis as well. Besides the St. Louis Arena, only one other venue made its debut in the tournament.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
For the second straight year, the tournament opened a new city in the state of Tennessee; this time, it was the capital city of Nashville. Memorial Gym on the campus of Vanderbilt University would go on to host the tournament four times overall before tournament games in the city were moved to the downtown Bridgestone Arena in 2000. Additionally, only one venue saw its final games in the 1972 Tournament, with William & Mary Hall ending its usage in the tournament. The tournament has come back to the state of Virginia twice since, both times being at the Richmond Coliseum in the capital city of Richmond.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament, Aftermath
The 1973 NC State Wolfpack team averaged 93 ppg, led the nation in win margin (21.8 ppg), and posted a 27–0 record, but was ineligible for postseason play because of NCAA probation. David Thompson, a two-time national Player of the Year, and All-America Tom Burleson, led NC State to a 30–1 record the following season, losing only to seven-time defending champion UCLA. The Wolfpack avenged its only loss during the two-year period by defeating UCLA in the 1974 Final Four and winning the title.


1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament, Aftermath
Gene Bartow, the Memphis State coach, would be John Wooden's successor at UCLA after the 1974–1975 season.


1973 NCAA University Division Golf Championship
The 1973 NCAA University Division Golf Championship was the 35th annual NCAA-sanctioned golf tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate golf at the University Division level in the United States.


1973 NCAA University Division Golf Championship
The tournament was held at the Stillwater Country Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma.


1973 NCAA University Division Golf Championship
Florida won the team championship, the Gators' second NCAA title.


1973 NCAA University Division Golf Championship
Future Masters champion Ben Crenshaw, from Texas, won his third consecutive individual title. Crenshaw is one of only two players, alongside Phil Mickelson (1989, 1990, and 1992), to win three NCAA individual championships.


1973 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 1973 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1972–73 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, the 26th such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 15 and 17, 1973, and concluded with Wisconsin defeating Denver 4-2. All games were played at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.


1973 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
After the tournament Denver's participation was vacated as a result of NCAA recruiting violations.


1973 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
Four teams qualified for the tournament, two each from the eastern and western regions. The ECAC tournament champion and the two WCHA tournament co-champions received automatic bids into the tournament. An at-large bid was offered to a second eastern team based upon both their ECAC tournament finish as well as their regular season record.


1973 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The ECAC champion was seeded as the top eastern team while the WCHA co-champion with the better regular season record was given the top western seed. The second eastern seed was slotted to play the top western seed and vice versa. All games were played at the Boston Garden. All matches were single-game eliminations with the semifinal winners advancing to the national championship game and the losers playing in a consolation game.


1973 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Tournament bracket
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)Note: † Denver's participation was later vacated due to NCAA violations


1973 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, All-Tournament Team
* Most Outstanding Player(s)† Recognition of Denver's D: Bruce Affleck and F: Peter McNab was vacated when Denver's participation in tournament was vacated


1973 NCAA University Division Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 1973 NCAA University Division Outdoor Track and Field Championships were contested June 5−9 at the 51st annual NCAA-sanctioned track meet to determine the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate University Division outdoor track and field events in the United States.


1973 NCAA University Division Outdoor Track and Field Championships
This year's outdoor meet was hosted by Louisiana State University at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium in Baton Rouge.


1973 NCAA University Division Outdoor Track and Field Championships
UCLA once again topped team standings, winning their third consecutive, and fifth overall, team national title.


1973 NCAA University Division Swimming and Diving Championships
The 1973 NCAA University Division Swimming and Diving Championships were contested in March 1973 at the University of Tennessee Student Aquatic Center at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee at the 50th annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of University Division men's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States.


1973 NCAA University Division Swimming and Diving Championships
Indiana again topped the team standings, the Hoosiers' sixth consecutive and sixth overall title.


1973 NCAA University Division Tennis Championships
The 1973 NCAA University Division Tennis Championships were the 28th annual tournaments to determine the national champions of NCAA University Division men's singles, doubles, and team collegiate tennis in the United States. This was the final year before the NCAA changed the name of its University Division to its present-day moniker, Division I.


1973 NCAA University Division Tennis Championships
Stanford, the previous year's runners-up, captured the team championship, the Indians' first such title. Stanford finished five points ahead of USC in the final team standings (33–28).


1973 NCAA University Division Tennis Championships, Host site
This year's tournaments were contested at the Lenz Tennis Center at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey.


1973 NCAA University Division Tennis Championships, Team scoring
Until 1977, the men's team championship was determined by points awarded based on individual performances in the singles and doubles events.


1973 NCAA University Division Wrestling Championships
The 1973 NCAA University Division Wrestling Championships were the 43rd NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships to be held. The University of Washington in Seattle, Washington hosted the tournament at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.


1973 NCAA University Division Wrestling Championships
Iowa State was took home the team championship with 85 points and two individual champions.


1973 NCAA University Division Wrestling Championships
Greg Strobel of Oregon State was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler and Chris Taylor of Iowa State received the Gorriaran Award.


1973 NCAA University Division baseball rankings
The following poll makes up the 1973 NCAA University Division baseball rankings. Collegiate Baseball Newspaper published its first human poll of the top 20 teams in college baseball in 1957, and expanded to rank the top 30 teams in 1961.


1973 NCAA University Division baseball rankings, Collegiate Baseball
Currently, only the final poll from the 1973 season is available.


1973 NCAA University Division baseball season
The 1973 NCAA University Division baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began in the spring of 1973. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1973 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the twenty seventh time in 1973, consisted of one team from each of eight geographical districts and was held in Omaha, Nebraska at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as a double-elimination tournament. Southern California claimed the championship for the fourth year in a row, en route to five consecutive titles.


1973 NCAA University Division baseball season, Conference winners
This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1973 season. Each of the eight geographical districts chose, by various methods, the team that would represent them in the NCAA Tournament. 13 teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference championship while 19 teams earned at-large selections.


1973 NCAA University Division baseball season, College World Series
The 1973 season marked the twenty seventh NCAA Baseball Tournament, which culminated with the eight team College World Series. The College World Series was held in Omaha, Nebraska. The eight teams played a double-elimination format, with Southern California claiming their ninth championship, and fourth in a row, with a 4–3 win over Arizona State in the final.


1973 NFL Draft
The 1973 National Football League draft was held January 30–31, 1973, at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York.


1973 NFL season
The 1973 NFL season was the 54th regular season of the National Football League. The season was highlighted by O. J. Simpson becoming the first player to rush for 2,000 yards in one season.


1973 NFL season
The season ended with Super Bowl VIII when the Miami Dolphins repeated as league champions by defeating the Minnesota Vikings 24–7 at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas. The Pro Bowl took place on January 20, 1974, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri; the AFC beat the NFC 15–13.


1973 NFL season, Draft
The 1973 NFL Draft was held from January 30 to 31, 1973 at New York City's Americana Hotel. With the first pick, the Houston Oilers selected defensive end John Matuszak from the University of Tampa.


1973 NFL season, Major rule changes, Jersey numbering system
The system would later be modified throughout the years to increase the available numbers to different positions due to increasing team rosters and teams retiring numbers (see also National Football League uniform numbers § Post-1973 changes ).


1973 NFL season, Major rule changes, Television Blackout rules
Through December 1972, all NFL home games (including championship games and Super Bowls) were blacked-out on television in each team's respective city. The first exception was Super Bowl VII in Los Angeles in January 1973; the league changed their policy to black out home games only if tickets had not sold out. This expanded the league's television presence in teams' home cities on gameday.


1973 NFL season, Major rule changes, Television Blackout rules
The policy was put into effect when, in 1972, the Washington Redskins made the playoffs for only the second time in 27 seasons. Because all home games were blacked-out, politicians — including devout football fan President Richard Nixon — were not able to watch their home team win. NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle refused to lift the blackout, despite a plea from Attorney General Richard Kleindienst, who then suggested that the U.S. Congress re-evaluate the NFL's antitrust exemption. Rozelle agreed to lift the blackout for Super Bowl VII on an "experimental basis," but Congress intervened before the 1973 season anyway, passing Public Law 93-107; it eliminated the blackout of games in the home market so long as the game was sold out by 72 hours before kickoff.


1973 NFL season, Major rule changes, Television Blackout rules
With the new rule, the NFL recorded over one million no-shows by ticketholders to regular season games in 1973.


1973 NFL season, Division races
Starting in 1970, and until 2002, there were three divisions (Eastern, Central and Western) in each conference. The winners of each division, and a fourth “wild card” team based on the best non-division winner, qualified for the playoffs. The tiebreaker rules were changed to start with head-to-head competition, followed by division records, records against common opponents, and records in conference play.


1973 NFL season, Stadium changes
The Buffalo Bills moved from their original home at War Memorial Stadium and played their first season at Rich Stadium.


1973 NFL season, Stadium changes
From October 7, the New York Giants moved from Yankee Stadium to the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut, where they would play the rest of 1973 and all of 1974. The Giants were forced out of Yankee Stadium after it closed to be renovated to a baseball-only venue. Also, a new Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey was already under construction by 1973, but it would not open until 1976.


1973 NHL Amateur Draft
The 1973 NHL Amateur Draft was the 11th National Hockey League draft. It was the first to be held on a separate day from other league activities on May 15, 1973, at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, so it would not overshadow the rest of the league meetings. Previously, the league had held the amateur draft in mid-June. It also marks the second time the meeting took place at the Mount Royal Hotel rather than the Queen Elizabeth Hotel. In 1972, when the World Hockey Association was beginning to take form, some teams were more focused on the amateur draft that they stopped paying attention to other issues (mainly the WHA raiding NHL rosters) and were spending their time preparing for the draft.


1973 NHL Amateur Draft
With the WHA having already operated for a full season, NHL teams realized they would have to fight to sign their top picks. This was especially important in a year when the draft was considered extremely deep and the WHA was scheduled to draft players just three days after the NHL.


1973 NHL Amateur Draft
The top pick of the 1973 NHL amateur draft was Ottawa 67's star Denis Potvin who was projected to be the next Bobby Orr. The Montreal Canadiens, the most active team on draft day, re-positioned themselves by trading for several high picks and then offered the New York Islanders all types of packages for the first choice overall as they want to select Potvin for themselves. Islanders general manager Bill Torrey was not interested, however and held on to the top pick. He selected Potvin, who became a big part of the building block for the Islanders hockey dynasty between 1980 and 1983


1973 NHL Amateur Draft
Although the NHL had to compete hard with the WHA to sign these amateur players, they managed to sign all 16 of their first-round draft picks before the rival league could. The NHL-WHA competition was so fierce that the Toronto Maple Leafs offered a staggering, at the time, five-year $600,000 contract for right winger Lanny McDonald of the Medicine Hat Tigers, which kept the No. 4 pick from signing with the WHA's Cleveland Crusaders.


1973 NHL Amateur Draft
Eligible for the draft were all amateur players born before January 1, 1954. The NHL paid a lump sum to the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association to support major junior hockey as a group. Teams could offer a player a contract at any time after the draft without risking re-entry in a future NHL draft.


1973 NHL Amateur Draft, Selections by round
Below are listed the selections in the 1973 NHL amateur draft.


1973 NSWRFL season
The 1973 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the sixty-sixth season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Twelve district clubs from across the city, including six foundation clubs, competed for the J.J. Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between Manly-Warringah and Cronulla-Sutherland. This season also saw the introduction of an Under-23s competition to replace the former “Third Grade” as well as a five-team finals series (rather than the previous four).


1973 NSWRFL season, Season summary
The 1973 NSWRFL season saw the introduction of the metric system to the playing field, and a five-team semi-final series. Twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March until August, resulting in a top five of Manly, Cronulla, St. George, Newtown and Canterbury who went on to battle it out in the finals.


1973 NSWRFL season, Season summary
The 1973 Rothmans Medal was awarded to Cronulla-Sutherland forward Ken Maddison. Rugby League Week awarded their player of the year award to Manly-Warringah's halfback Johnny Mayes.


1973 NSWRFL season, Season summary
The 1973 season also saw the retirement from the League of future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee, Ken Irvine. A legendary speedster who started his career with North Sydney in 1958, Irvine finished his stellar career with two deserved premierships playing for Manly-Warringah. Irvine also finished his career as the highest ever tryscorer in the Sydney premiership (the record still stands as of 2020). He crossed for 171 tries in 176 games for Norths and 41 in 60 games for Manly.


1973 NSWRFL season, Regular season
Bold – Home gameX – ByeOpponent for round listed above margin


1973 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
After Cronulla-Sutherland's 14–4 loss in the major semi-final, Manly-Warringah expected the Sharks would be fired up for the Grand Final. And they were. Ian Heads wrote in the Sunday Telegraph the next day that It was a Grand Final as tough and dirty as any bar-room brawl. Alan Clarkson wrote in the Sun Herald The fare served up in the first half belonged in the Colosseum. The first half was not how the game's administrators would have wished to show-case rugby league, every tackle was loaded with menace and meant to damage. Nevertheless, from the melee Bob Fulton emerged and showed his unrivalled skill. Heads and Clarkson wrote of his "towering genius" and "football brilliance" respectively.


1973 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
Manly's English import Malcolm Reilly, himself never one to take a backward step, was the first victim of the carnage. In the opening minute, Cronulla hooker Ron "Rocky" Turner set his sights on Reilly as the Englishman got an early kick away to take advantage of a strong breeze blowing towards the Bradman Stand (Paddington End). Turner missed Reilly the first time around, but didn't miss him a few minutes later. The Manly lock was left in agony from a badly bruised hip and had to leave the field for painkilling injections.


1973 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
Knowing he probably wouldn't last the first half he then returned to the field and created mayhem despite the injections he received failing to work properly. He set about doing as much physical damage to Cronulla players as he could, but bowed out in the 25th minute and was replaced by reserve forward John Bucknall, who had played in Manly's winning Reserve Grade Grand Final side earlier in the day. Bucknall didn't think he would be needed and actually had a full lunch and soft drink shortly before the first grade game began.


1973 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
After a number of brawls in the first half, referee Keith Page eventually called in all 26 players twice for mass cautions, threatening that any more foul play would result in players being sent off. Despite his warnings the back-alley tactics continued from both teams, and Page didn't send anyone from the field.


1973 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
Then Fulton took over in the 29th and 58th minutes. “Bozo” demonstrated power and pace in both tries. The first came from a brilliant Fred Jones flick pass which saw Fulton split Eric Archer and Steve Rogers just twenty-five metres from the line. Fulton ran around to touch down near the posts and give Graham Eadie an easier shot at conversion which he duly slotted through the posts. Manly took a 5–0 scoreline to the half time break.


1973 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
The second Fulton try came after Eadie took a pass from five-eighth Ian Martin, then looked for Fulton and set him up perfectly. Fulton raced for the Brewongle Stand corner and managed to put the ball down before being bundled into touch by Rogers and replacement fullback Rick Bourke. From out wide Eadie missed the conversion to make it 8–2 after Steve Rogers had previously kicked a penalty goal.


1973 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
Cronulla had to wait a long time before they dented the Manly line. It was in the 70th minute that the crack appeared. Trailing 8–2, the Sharks struck when lock Greg Pierce positioned Rick Bourke for a try (Bourke was flattened by Manly winger Max Brown as he scored, resulting in a broken thumb for Brown). Rogers easily kicked the conversion to reduce the deficit to just one point. Eadie stretched the lead to three points from a penalty kick and then the Sharks rallied and bombarded Manly.


1973 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
Ultimately, the Manly defence of John Mayes, Terry Randall, Peter Peters, Eadie and Fulton were up to the task. It will, however, go down in Sharks folklore that a Tommy Bishop flick pass in the dying moments failed to go to hand with the Manly line wide open. It was a set move Cronulla had successfully played all year, but had adjusted for the Grand Final in anticipation of Manly's familiarity with the standard move. As expected, the Manly defence reacted to snuff out the set play, leaving a gap that Bishop's pass managed to pinpoint. However, in the heat of the moment, Sharks second-rower Ken Maddison also played for the old move, ran the wrong line and the ball went to ground – and with it went the premiership.


1973 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
Man of the Match: Bob Fulton (Manly)Referee: Keith PageAttendance: 52,044


1973 Nantes mid-air collision
The 1973 Nantes mid-air collision occurred when two airliners travelling to London Heathrow airport hit each other over Nantes, France on 5 March 1973. They were an Iberia McDonnell Douglas DC-9 flying from Palma de Mallorca to London and a Spantax Convair 990 from Madrid to London. All 68 people on board the DC-9 were killed. The CV-990 was able to make a successful emergency landing at Cognac – Châteaubernard Air Base.


1973 Nantes mid-air collision, Crash
Iberia flight 504, a scheduled service from Palma de Mallorca, and Spantax flight 400, a charter flight from Madrid, were both traversing France en route to Heathrow airport in London. They were guided by French military Air Traffic Control as the country's civilian air traffic controllers were on strike. The Iberia DC-9 was due to reach the Nantes VOR point at 12:52 at flight level 290 (29,000 feet) and the Spantax Convair CV-990 was scheduled to reach it at 13:00 at the same level.


1973 Nantes mid-air collision, Crash
Both aircraft had received instructions from Marina sector Air Traffic Control at the French Air Force base in Mont-de-Marsan, who asked them to contact Menhir sector ATC at the French Air Force base in Brest. The Spantax aircraft was on the boundary between the sectors and had difficulty hearing Marina ATC, also receiving no reply to two requests to circle to avoid arriving at the Nantes VOR before 13:00 GMT. The crew decided to start the manoeuvre without ATC authorisation and while in cloud collided with the Iberia DC-9 at 12:52 GMT. The DC-9 lost control, exploded, and broke up in mid-air before crashing to the ground.


1973 Nantes mid-air collision, Crash
The CV-990 managed to land at Cognac – Châteaubernard Air Base with damage to its left wing. A survivor, Betty Barrett, later recounted:


1973 Nantes mid-air collision, Crash
My father was sitting in the aisle seat, and I was on the right hand side. And I turned around, and he's very British and very stoic, and I said "daddy do you think we are going to make it?". He said "I rather doubt it darling" and pointed to the other wing.


1973 Nantes mid-air collision, Crash
All 61 passengers and 7 crew of the Iberia flight were killed, including Michael Jeffery, the former manager of The Animals and Jimi Hendrix. 47 of the dead were British citizens. No-one aboard the Spantax flight was harmed.