1972 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Game 5 proved to be one of the more memorable postseason contests in baseball history. After rain delayed the start of the game for 90 minutes, Pittsburgh took an early 2–0 lead with second-inning RBIs from Richie Hebner and Dave Cash. The Reds got one back in the third on an RBI double by Pete Rose. But Pittsburgh inched further ahead with another run-scoring hit from Cash in the fourth. César Gerónimo cut the Pirates' lead to 3–2 with a homer in the fifth. The Pirates held onto their 1-run margin until a dramatic bottom of the ninth.


1972 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
With the defending World Series champion Pirates three outs away from returning to defend their title, Reds catcher Johnny Bench homered off Pittsburgh closer Dave Giusti to tie the game. Tony Pérez singled and was replaced by pinch-runner George Foster. Denis Menke followed with another single as Foster moved to second base. With the count 2-0 on Geronimo, Giusti was replaced with Game 2 starter Bob Moose. Geronimo's fly ball out advanced Foster to third base, but Moose induced shortstop Darrell Chaney to pop out as Foster stayed at third.


1972 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Just when it looked like Moose may wiggle out of a tough two-on, no out situation, he uncorked a wild pitch to pinch-hitter Hal McRae scoring Foster with the winning run, as the hometown fans and the Reds players celebrated a return to the World Series to face the Oakland A's. It was only the second time a postseason series ended on a wild pitch, the other being the 1927 World Series in which the Pirates lost to the Yankees in a four-game sweep.


1972 National Soccer League season
The 1972 National Soccer League season was the forty-ninth season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season began in late April and concluded in October with the Canadian Open Cup final. Toronto Croatia successfully defended their regular season title for the third consecutive season with an undefeated regular season streak. Toronto would also defeat the Serbian White Eagles for the NSL Cup. The Croatians would secure a treble by winning the Open Canada Cup against Vancouver Columbus. In the playoffs Toronto Italia defeated the Serbian White Eagles for the NSL Championship.


1972 National Soccer League season, Overview
The ownership of the National Soccer League (NSL) were in discussions with the British Columbia Premier League with the intention of forming a western division, but the project failed to materialize. The membership in the NSL increased to 15 clubs with the return of Toronto Italia, and the acceptance of the Hamilton Italo-Canadians. The return of Toronto Italia further intensified the rivalry between the NSL and the Toronto Metros of the North American Soccer League as the Italian diaspora played a decisive factor in the potential increase in match attendance. Another point of contention between the Metros and the NSL was a dispute stemming from a potential player raid on the NSL's youth division. The Hamilton club was granted a NSL franchise, and had credentials in the Inter-City Soccer League.


1972 National Soccer League season, Overview
The league became once more centered in Southern Ontario as it lost its presence in Northern Ontario with the departure of Sudbury City. The NSL began to experience an increase in match attendance since their initial decrease and stagnation in the mid 1960s.


1972 National Soccer League season, Canadian Open Cup
The Canadian Open Cup was a tournament organized by the National Soccer League in 1971 where the NSL champion would face the Challenge Trophy winners to determine the best team throughout the country. Toronto Croatia were the NSL representative for the second consecutive year while their opponents were the British Columbia Premier League champions Vancouver Columbus. New Westminster Blues were the 1972 Challenge Trophy winners, but declined the invitation which allowed Vancouver Columbus to compete for the title.


1972 National Society of Film Critics Awards
The 7th National Society of Film Critics Awards, given on 29 December 1972, honored the best filmmaking of 1972.


1972 National Society of Film Critics Awards
The member critics voting were Hollis Alpert of World, Gary Arnold of The Washington Post, Vincent Canby of The New York Times, Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times, Jay Cocks of Time, Judith Crist of New York, David Denby of The Atlantic, Bernard Drew of the Gannett News Service, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, Joseph Gelmis of Newsday, Penelope Gilliatt of The New Yorker, Roger Greenspun of The New York Times, Molly Haskell of The Village Voice, Pauline Kael of The New Yorker, Michael Korda of Glamour, Arthur Knight of Saturday Review, Thomas Meehan of Saturday Review, William S. Pechter of Commentary, Andrew Sarris of The Village Voice, Richard Schickel of Life, Bruce Williamson of Playboy, and Paul D. Zimmerman of Newsweek.


1972 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Picture
2. The Godfather (28 points) 3. Cries and Whispers (25 points) 4. The Emigrants (13 points) 5. The Sorrow and the Pity (9 points)


1972 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Director
2. Francis Ford Coppola – The Godfather (25 points) 3. Ingmar Bergman – Cries and Whispers (24 points) 4. Jan Troell – The Emigrants (9 points)


1972 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Actor
2. Marlon Brando – The Godfather (21 points) 3. Peter O'Toole – The Ruling Class (13 points) 4. Alec McCowen – Travels with My Aunt (9 points)


1972 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Actress
2. Harriet Andersson – Cries and Whispers (23 points) 3. Bulle Ogier – La Salamandre and L'amour fou (20 points) 4. Janet Suzman – A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (16 points) 5. Liza Minnelli – Cabaret (9 points)


1972 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Supporting Actor (tie)
3. Robert Duvall – The Godfather (14 points) 4. Barry Foster – Frenzy (13 points)


1972 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Supporting Actress
2. Ida Lupino – Junior Bonner (11 points) 2. Susan Tyrrell – Fat City (11 points) 4. Cybill Shepherd – The Heartbreak Kid (10 points) 5. Harriet Andersson – Cries and Whispers (9 points)


1972 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Screenplay
2. Luis Buñuel and Jean-Claude Carrière – The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (20 points) 3. John Berger and Alain Tanner – La Salamandre (11 points) 4. Jan Troell and Bengt Forslund – The Emigrants (9 points) 4. Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo – The Godfather (9 points)


1972 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Cinematography
2. Vilmos Zsigmond – Images (25 points) 3. Gordon Willis – The Godfather (22 points) 4. Geoffrey Unsworth – Cabaret (11 points)


1972 Navy Midshipmen football team
The 1972 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach Rick Forzano.


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
The 1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. The team was coached by Bob Devaney, in his eleventh and final season with the Huskers, and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
Nebraska, national champions in 1970 and 1971, entered the season top-ranked in the polls, with a 23-game winning streak and a 32-game unbeaten streak.


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Roster
Alward, Tom #63 (So.) LGAnderson, Bill #97 (So.) MGAnderson, Dan #67 (Jr.) RGAnderson, Frosty #89 (Jr.) SEAustin, Al #78 (Jr.) RTBahe, Ritch #24 (So.) WBBell, John #66 (Jr.) MGBeran, Mike #62 (Sr.) RGBlahak, Joe #27 (Sr.) LCBBorg, Randy #19 (Jr.) RCBBranch, Jim #51 (Sr.) LBButts, Randy #36 (Jr.) IBCarstens, Jim #47 (Sr.) FBColeman, Ron #9 (So.) TECostanzo, Rich #77 (So.) RTCrenshaw, Marvin #70 (So.) RTDamkroger, Maury #46 (Jr.) FBDavis, Tony #26 (So.) IBDeNell, Jake #6 (So.) RCBDixon, Gary #22 (Sr.) IBDoak, Mark #71 (So.) LTDrinkwalter, Bob #92 (So.) RGDuda, Rich #50 (So.) CDumler, Doug #54 (Sr.) CDutton, John #90 (Jr.) DTFischer, Pat #33 (Jr.) LCBFuller, Bruce #5 (So.) LCBGarson, Glen #39 (Jr.) WBGlover, Rich #79 (Sr.) MGGoeller, Dave #28 (Jr.) IBHarper, Willie #81 (Sr.) DEHegener, Stan #64 (So.) RGHenrichs, Dennis #75 (So.) LT


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Roster
Heydorff, Mark #2 (Jr.) SHill, Jeff #8 (So.) SEHumm, Dave #12 (So.) QBHumm, Tom #32 (So.) WBHunter, Ken #78 (So.) MGHyland, John #58 (Sr.) DEJanssen, Bill #55 (Sr.) DTJenkins, Brad #87 (So.) SEJohnson, Ardell #29 (So.) RCBJohnson, Monte #37 (Sr.) DTJones, Chuck #35 (So.) LCBKinsel, John #53 (Sr.) CKnudsen, Tom #73 (Jr.) MGKyros, George #18 (So.) SLackovic, Tim #80 (So.) SELeonardi, Chad #61 (So.) LGList, Jerry #85 (Sr.) TELoewenstein, Ron #4 (So.) MONLongwell, Brent #86 (Jr.) TELuck, Terry #11 (So.) QBLynch, Dan #96 (So.) DTManstedt, Steve #82 (Jr.) DEMason, Dave #25 (Sr.) MONMazon, Frank #31 (So.) RCBMcGuire, Tim #93 (So.) LGMcKinley, Kim #65 (So.) DTMeyer, Bob #98 (So.) DEMills, George #69 (So.) DTMoran, Jeff #30 (So.) WBMushinskie, Larry #88 (So.) TENelson, Bob #57 (So.) LBNorrie, Rod #94 (So.) DTO'Connell, John #34 (Jr.) SOffner, Mike #95 (So.) DE


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Roster
O'Holleran, Mike #38 (So.) FBOlds, Bill #44 (Sr.) FBOsborne, Mike #99 (So.) DTPate, Tom #68 (So.) DEPeterson, Matt #7 (So.) SEPitts, John #56 (Sr.) LBPotter, Dana #10 (So.) QBPowell, Ralph #41 (Jr.) FBRedding, Dave #91 (So.) DERevelle, Bob #84 (So.) SERighetti, Phil #74 (Sr.) LTRodgers, Johnny #20 (Sr.) WBRogers, Terry #40 (So.)


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Roster
MONRunty, Steve #13 (Jr.) QBRutan, Bob #15 (So.) QBRuud, Tom #45 (So.) LBSanger, Rich #43 (Jr.) P/PKSchmit, Bob #23 (Jr.) LBSeeton, Jim #16 (So.) SSloey, Bill #42 (Sr.) LBStarkebaum, John #48 (So.) MONStinner, John #3 (Jr.) LBStrong, Jon #49 (Jr.) LBThornton, Bob #17 (Jr.) SWestbrook, Don #21 (So.) IBWhite, Daryl #72 (Jr.) LTWieser, Steve #83 (So.) DEWolfe, Bob #76 (Jr.) LGYaralian, Zaven #1 (Jr.) RCBYoung, Vic #52 (So.) CZanrosso, Dennis #59 (Jr.) C


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, UCLA
Unranked UCLA, sporting their new wishbone offense led by junior college transfer Mark Harmon, handed #1 Nebraska its first loss in 33 games, and broke Nebraska's 23-game winning streak, both at that time active NCAA records. The Cornhuskers were upset in Los Angeles after suffering four fumbles and giving up two interceptions, though the game was not decided until UCLA's Efren Herrera kicked a field goal to break the tie with just 22 seconds remaining. The upset loss dropped Nebraska from first to tenth in the AP Poll rankings.


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Texas A&M
Due to a stadium expansion completed over the summer, Nebraska's home opener drew record attendance with slightly more than 76,000 spectators. Nebraska recovered from the loss to UCLA with a dominant 37–7 victory over Texas A&M, whose sole touchdown came late in the 4th quarter against Cornhusker reserves.


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Army
Nebraska entirely stomped Army, with the Cornhusker reserves taking over in the 3rd quarter behind a very comfortable lead, and the Black Knights' lone score to prevent the shutout came on a 10-yard pass reception with just 35 seconds left to play.


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Minnesota
For the third straight week, Nebraska dominated the game in every way, shutting out Minnesota while piling up 542 yards of offense.


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Missouri
Nebraska was not affected by the week off, and thoroughly pounded Missouri 62-0. Although the scoreboard and statistics might suggest Missouri was out of their league against Nebraska, the Tigers went on after this painful shutout to upset Notre Dame and Colorado in their next two games.


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Kansas
The shutouts and domination continued, as Nebraska scored at will against Kansas in Lawrence, and held the Jayhawks to just 63 total yards of offense and only 4 1st downs.


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma State
Nebraska tied a 1937 NCAA record of 4 straight shutouts, and although Oklahoma State was not as easy to push around as the previous three opponents, the Cornhuskers still had little trouble getting the win.


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Colorado
Colorado attempted to put some more challenge into the event than Nebraska had been seeing in recent games, and was even able to draw back from a 0-19 deficit to get within 9 by halftime and end Nebraska's shutout streak, but it was all Cornhusker points the rest of the way. Still, the Blackshirts mourned the end of their touchdown-free stretch at 17 quarters.


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Iowa State
Iowa State pretty much ended any Nebraska hopes for another national title, as the Cornhuskers gave up two interceptions and six fumbles to help the Cyclones stay in the game. Nebraska came back from behind to pull ahead 20-17 in the 4th, and padded the lead with a field goal when the clock was down to just 1:03, but Iowa State stormed back down the field to score again with 0:23 remaining, and would have won the game outright if the subsequent PAT had not failed and ended the game tied at 23.


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Kansas State
Nebraska put up Coach Devaney's 100th career win as the Cornhuskers easily trampled Kansas State in Lincoln and had reserves in the game for playing time while cruising behind a comfortable 38-0 lead even prior to the half. The Wildcats finally put up a touchdown with just over 6 minutes remaining to play.


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma
It looked like Nebraska's day on Thanksgiving in Devaney's final home game as head coach. They led at the half and were up 14–0 in the 3rd, but underdog Oklahoma scored seventeen unanswered points for the win; Nebraska's three-year home winning streak, which began in September 1969, ended at 23 games.


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Notre Dame
Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers was shifted from WB to IB for the 1973 Orange Bowl, and flashed brilliance as he ran for three touchdowns, caught a touchdown pass, and also threw a fifth touchdown. The Cornhuskers scored with ease and often against the stunned Fighting Irish, who were unable to put any points up of their own until the 4th quarter. This was head coach Bob Devaney's final game, a third straight Orange Bowl victory, and second straight Orange Bowl rout.


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, 1972 Team Players in the NFL
The 1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers seniors selected in the 1973 NFL Draft:


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, 1972 Team Players in the NFL
The 1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers juniors selected in the following year's 1974 NFL Draft:


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, 1972 Team Players in the NFL
The 1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers sophomores selected in the 1975 NFL Draft:


1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, 1972 Team Players in the NFL, NFL and Pro Players
The following is a list of 1972 Nebraska playerswho joined a professional team as draftees or free agents.


1972 Nevada Wolf Pack football team
The 1972 Nevada Wolf Pack football team represented the University of Nevada, Reno during the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. Nevada competed as an independent. The Wolf Pack were led by fourth-year head coach Jerry Scattini and played their home games at Mackay Stadium.


1972 New Caledonian legislative election
Legislative elections were held in New Caledonia on 10 September 1972. They had originally been scheduled for July, but were postponed by the French government. Anti -autonomist parties won 18 of the 35 seats, with the previously dominant Caledonian Union reduced from the 22 seats it won in 1967 to only 12.


1972 New Caledonian legislative election, Background
Prior to the elections, the Caledonian Union (UC) held 12 seats in the 35-member Territorial Assembly, the Caledonian Liberal Movement (a breakaway from the UC) seven, the Democratic Union five, the Multi-Racial Union four, the Democratic and Social Agreement four, the Association of French Caledonians and Loyalists one, the Civic Union one and the Caledonian Popular Movement one.


1972 New Caledonian legislative election, Campaign
Nine parties contested the elections, with eleven lists running in the South constituency covering Nouméa.


1972 New Caledonian legislative election, Results
Pro -autonomy parties (the Caledonian Union and Multi-Racial Union) won seventeen seats, with anti-autonomist parties (the Democratic and Social Agreement, the Caledonian Liberal Movement, Democratic Union, Caledonian Popular Movement and AICLO) winning eighteen.


1972 New Caledonian legislative election, Aftermath
Although anti-autonomist parties won a one-seat majority, by early 1973 autonomist parties held 20 of the 35 seats following the defection of three members, including Fredy Gosse.


1972 New Caledonian legislative election, Aftermath
Georges Chatenay resigned from the Assembly in March 1974 and was replaced by Joseph Tidjine. Gosse resigned in May 1974 and was replaced by Evenor de Greslan.


1972 New England Patriots season
The 1972 New England Patriots season was the franchise's third season in the National Football League and 13th overall. The Patriots ended the season with a record of three wins and eleven losses and finished last in the AFC East Division. The Patriots continued their period of futility as they slumped to another horrendous record of 3–11, and missed the playoffs for the ninth straight season. After being embarrassed 31–7 in their home opener against Cincinnati, the Patriots would win their next two games against Atlanta and Washington.


1972 New England Patriots season
However, the Patriots would continue their mid-season misery, as they would lose nine consecutive games to slide to 2–10 before winning their first (and only) road game against the New Orleans Saints. New England went winless against AFC opponents. Besides their embarrassing home-opening loss, the Patriots had plenty of other bad moments during the season. One good example was a 52–0 thrashing given to them by the powerful Miami Dolphins. The loss went down as the worst loss in Patriots history and the most points ever allowed in a game in franchise history.


1972 New England Patriots season
Although they won three games, the 1972 Patriots had the second-worst point differential (minus-254) of any team in a 14-game NFL season, ahead of only the expansion 1976 Buccaneers. The 1972 Patriots had the franchise’s worst point differential until the 1990 team was outscored by 265 points (181–446) in a 1–15 season. They lost eight of their fourteen games by three touchdowns or more, and their first two wins were by a single point. Pro Football Reference argues that the 1970 and 1972 Patriots were, owing to the tough schedule of the 1990 team, the weakest Patriot teams ever, and rivalled only by the 1991 Colts and 2009 Rams as the weakest team by an established franchise since the NFL–AFL merger.


1972 New Hampshire Wildcats football team
The 1972 New Hampshire Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Hampshire as a member of the Yankee Conference during the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. In its first year under head coach Bill Bowes, the team compiled a 4–5 record (2–3 against conference opponents) and finished fourth out of six teams in the Yankee Conference.


1972 New Hampshire gubernatorial election
The 1972 New Hampshire gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1972.


1972 New Hampshire gubernatorial election
Incumbent Republican Governor Walter R. Peterson Jr. was defeated for renomination in the Republican primary.


1972 New Hampshire gubernatorial election
Republican nominee Meldrim Thomson Jr. defeated Democratic nominee Roger J. Crowley with 41.38% of the vote.


1972 New Mexico Lobos football team
The 1972 New Mexico Lobos football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Mexico in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. In their fifth season under head coach Rudy Feldman, the Lobos compiled a 3–8 record (2–4 against WAC opponents) and were outscored by a total of 327 to 208.


1972 New Mexico Lobos football team
John Urban and George Oakes were the team captains. The team's statistical leaders included Bruce Boone with 540 passing yards, Fred Henry with 977 rushing yards and 36 points, and Ken Smith with 382 receiving yards.


1972 New Mexico State Aggies football team
The 1972 New Mexico State Aggies football team was an American football team that represented New Mexico State University in the Missouri Valley Conference during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. In their fifth year under head coach Jim Wood, the Aggies compiled a 2–9 record. The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces, New Mexico.


1972 New Orleans Saints season
The  1972 New Orleans Saints season was the team's sixth as a member of the National Football League (NFL). They failed to improve on their previous season’s output of 4–8–2, winning only two games. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.


1972 New Orleans Saints season
The Saints suffered through their second 2–11–1 season in three years, tying with the Philadelphia Eagles for the second worst record in the league, only surpassed by the Houston Oilers’ 1–13. It would be their worst until they went 2–12 in 1975.


1972 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1972 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the London Gazette of 31 December 1971 to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1972.


1972 New Year Honours
At this time honours for Australians were awarded both in the United Kingdom honours, on the advice of the premiers of Australian states, and also in a separate Australia honours list.


1972 New Year Honours
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged by honour, with classes (Knight, Knight Grand Cross, etc.) and then divisions (Military, Civil, etc.) as appropriate.


1972 New Year Honours, United Kingdom and Commonwealth, Royal Victorian Order, Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO)
At this time the two lowest classes of the Royal Victorian Order were "Member (fourth class)" and "Member (fifth class)", both with post-nominal letters MVO. "Member (fourth class)" was renamed "Lieutenant" (LVO) from the 1985 New Year Honours onwards.


1972 New Year Honours (New Zealand)
The 1972 New Year Honours in New Zealand were appointments by Elizabeth II on the advice of the New Zealand government to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. The awards celebrated the passing of 1971 and the beginning of 1972, and were announced on 1 January 1972.


1972 New Year Honours (New Zealand)
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour.


1972 New York City Marathon
The 1972 New York City Marathon was the 3rd edition of the New York City Marathon and took place in New York City on 3 September.


1972 New York City Marathon
A total of 187 marathon runners finished the race, including 185 men and two women.


1972 New York Cosmos season
The 1972 New York Cosmos season was the second season for the New York Cosmos in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. In the Cosmos' second year of existence, the club finished 1st in the Northern Division and 1st in the overall league table. In the playoffs, the Cosmos defeated the Dallas Tornado in the semifinal and the St. Louis Stars in the final, winning their first league championship and completing the first double by a club in the national era.


1972 New York Cosmos season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


1972 New York Cosmos season, Results, Regular season
Pld = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, D = Draws, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points6 points for a win, 3 points for a draw, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each goal scored (up to three per game).


1972 New York Film Critics Circle Awards
The 38th New York Film Critics Circle Awards, announced on 3 January 1973, honored the best filmmaking of 1972.


1972 New York Giants season
The 1972 New York Giants season was the franchise's 48th season in the National Football League (NFL). The Giants had an 8–6 record and finished in third place in the National Football Conference East Division, three games behind the Washington Redskins.


1972 New York Giants season
The Giants had two first-round selections in the 1972 NFL Draft, and chose Eldridge Small and Larry Jacobson with the 17th and 24th overall picks, respectively. Before the season, New York traded their starting quarterback, Fran Tarkenton, to the Minnesota Vikings for a package of players and draft picks that included quarterback Norm Snead, who led the league in pass completion average in 1972. The Giants lost twice to open the season, but went on a four-game winning streak afterwards.


1972 New York Giants season
In their 11th game, the Giants defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 62–10, setting the franchise record for the most points scored in a game; it was also an Eagles record for the most points allowed. The victory put the team at 7–4 and in contention for a playoff berth. Two losses ended their postseason chances, but New York beat the Dallas Cowboys in the final game of the season to finish with eight wins in fourteen games. Halfback Ron Johnson scored nine touchdowns on running plays to top the NFL, and his 1,182 rushing yards broke the Giants' single-season record. This was the last winning season for the Giants until 1981.


1972 New York Jets season
The 1972 New York Jets season was the 13th season for the team and the third in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 6–8 record from 1971 under legendary head coach Weeb Ewbank. The Jets star quarterback Joe Namath was healthy for a full season for the first time in three years but the rest of the squad was decimated by injuries and, after a strong start, the Jets finished with a record of 7–7.


1972 New York Jets season
During the 1972 preseason, a squad composed of the Jets’ rookies defeated the Long Island Chiefs of the Seaboard Football League 29–3. (In 1974, the Houston Oilers rookie squad played a preseason game vs the minor league San Antonio Toros)


1972 New York Jets season
Namath threw for 496 yards and six touchdowns (on just 15 of 28 passes) in a 44–34 victory over the Baltimore Colts in Broadway Joe’s first appearance at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium in week two, but the next week, the Jets were humbled 26–20 by the Houston Oilers, the Oilers' only victory of 1972 and their last before embarking on an 18-game losing streak.


1972 New York Jets season
They Jets were eliminated from playoff contention in the season’s thirteenth week, a Monday Night Game with the Raiders in which a battered and bruised Namath threw for 403 yards and nearly pulled off the upset. After the game Raiders coach John Madden went into the Jets locker room and shook Namath’s hand out of respect; it was the only time in his coaching career Madden ever did that. Eliminated from postseason play, the Jets’ coaches decided Namath would sit out the final game of the season to make sure no serious injuries were incurred prior to the 1973 season.


1972 New York Jets season, Offseason, Game summaries, Week 2: at Baltimore Colts
The rivalry between Joe Namath and Johnny Unitas had never resulted in both quarterbacks meeting for a full game until this meeting. Namath and Unitas exploded to a combined 872 passing yards. Namath threw for 496 yards and six touchdowns despite only 15 completions in 28 attempts. Unitas scored twice but was sacked six times. Don McCauley also scored twice for the Colts as the Jets won 44–34.


1972 New York Mets season
The 1972 New York Mets season was the 11th regular season for the Mets, who played home games at Shea Stadium. Led by manager Yogi Berra, the team had an 83–73 record and finished in third place in the National League's Eastern Division.


1972 New York Mets season, Offseason, Death of Gil Hodges
On April 2, 1972, Gil Hodges and his coaches Rube Walker, Joe Pignatano and Eddie Yost, were in West Palm Beach, Florida. As they were returning to their motel after a round of golf, Hodges suddenly collapsed, falling backward and cracking his head open. Hodges was dead of a heart attack, two days short of his forty-eighth birthday. The Mets wore a black-armband on the left sleeves of their uniform jerseys during the 1972 season in honor of Hodges.


1972 New York Mets season, Offseason, A new man in charge
On April 6, the Mets announced their new manager, Yogi Berra. The announcement of Berra's appointment was accompanied by another; the Mets had traded outfielder Ken Singleton, infielder Tim Foli, and first baseman-outfielder Mike Jorgensen to the Montreal Expos for hard-hitting star outfielder Rusty Staub. In Staub, the Mets had  a bona fide smacker, a .311-hitting, 97-RBI man the year before with Montreal. Also joining the club this year was John Milner, a left-handed, power-hitting, first baseman-outfielder.


1972 New York Mets season, Regular season, Season summary, "Say Hey" is back in New York
On May 11, the Mets added another "new" face to the team. In a move seasoned with sentiment more than anything else, they acquired Willie Mays form the San Francisco Giants for pitcher Charlie Williams and cash.


1972 New York Mets season, Regular season, Season summary, "Say Hey" is back in New York
The acquisition of Mays had been a longtime dream of that old New York Giants fan, Mrs. Joan Payson. With Willie no longer pulling the weight of his large contract, Giants owner Horace Stoneham made him available, and Mrs. Payson could not resist.


1972 New York Mets season, Regular season, Season summary, "Say Hey" is back in New York
He was, of course, no longer the fabled Willie Mays, the greatest player since Joe DiMaggio, and some said, maybe the greatest ever, which gave him value as a drawing card. He was 41 years old, slowed down considerably in the field and at the plate, no longer possessing that cannon of an arm. He was, in truth, something of a liability now in center and it was more prudent to play him at first base.


1972 New York Mets season, Regular season, Season summary, A sizzling start, then they fizzled
The club got off to a sizzling start in 1972, playing better than .700 ball through early June, peaking at 25-7 (.781) on May 21, leading the Pirates by 6 games. But soon after, a series of disabling injuries to Staub, Bud Harrelson, Jerry Grote, and Cleon Jones brought the team up short and dropped them into their third consecutive third-place finish, 13.5 behind Pittsburgh.


1972 New York Mets season, Regular season, Season summary, A sizzling start, then they fizzled
Despite a promising start, the season ending on a highly disappointing note. Jim Fregosi, who suffered a broken thumb in spring training, never got on track and continued the third-base jinx with a .232 batting average. Ken Boswell hit just .211 and the club was ready to give up on him. John Milner flashed some power with 17 homers but batted only .238. Tommie Agee, unhappy at being displaced in center by Mays now and then, batted .227, and the club already had his ticket punched. Staub, limited to just 66 games because of a broken hand, hit .293 and was sorely missed. Mays batted a respectable .267, but his fielding deficiencies were now glaring.


1972 New York Mets season, Regular season, Season summary, A sizzling start, then they fizzled
Tom Seaver was 21–12, Jim McAndrew 11–8, Jerry Koosman 11–12, while Rookie of the Year Jon Matlack was 15–10. Gary Gentry slumped to 7–10, leaving his employers disenchanted. Tug McGraw continued as the bullpen ace, with 8 wins and 27 saves.


1972 New York Mets season, Regular season, Season summary, Witnessing history
On September 30, Matlack made the trivia lists when he served up a double to Pittsburgh legend Roberto Clemente. It was the Pirate great's 3,000th and last big-league hit. On New Year's Eve, Clemente lost his life when the plane on which he was taking food and medical supplies to earthquake-smashed Managua, Nicaragua, crashed into the ocean soon after taking off from San Juan, Puerto Rico.


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


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


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


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


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


1972 New York Yankees season
The 1972 New York Yankees season was the 70th season for the Yankees in New York, and the 72nd season overall. The team finished with a record of 79–76, finishing 6½ games behind the Detroit Tigers. New York was managed by Ralph Houk. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium.


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


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


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


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


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


1972 New York state election, Background
Judges John F. Scileppi, Francis Bergan, and James Gibson would reach the constitutional age limit of 70 years at the end of the year.


1972 New York state election, Background
The 1972 New York state election was held on November 7, 1972, to elect three judges of the New York Court of Appeals, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate. Despite efforts by Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller and others, no woman was designated by any party for the Court of Appeals. Family Judge Nanette Dembitz was fourth placed in the vote of the Democratic State Committee, and challenged the party designees.


1972 New York state election, Nominations, Democratic primary
The Democratic State Committee met on April 3, and designated Appellate Justices  Lawrence H. Cooke and M. Henry Martuscello; and Supreme Court Justice Bernard S. Meyer for the Court of Appeals. On April 14, Family Court Judge Nanette Dembitz announced her challenge to the designees,. and a primary was held on June 20.


1972 New York state election, Nominations, Other parties
The Republican State Committee met on April 3 at Albany, New York, and designated Appellate Justice Dominick L. Gabrielli, Supreme Court Justice Sol Wachler and lawyer Hugh R. Jones, President of the New York State Bar Association, for the Court of Appeals.


1972 New York state election, Nominations, Other parties
The Liberal State Committee met on April 3, and designated Democrats M. Henry Martuscello and Bernard S. Meyer; and Republican Sol Wachtler for the Court of Appeals. Martuscello lost the Democratic nomination in the primary, and ran on the Liberal ticket only.


1972 New York state election, Nominations, Other parties
The Conservative State Committee met on April 4, and designated Republicans Dominick L. Gabrielli and Hugh R. Jones, and Democrat Lawrence H. Cooke for the Court of Appeals.


1972 New York state election, Nominations, Other parties
The designees of the Republican, Liberal and Conservative parties were not challenged in primaries.


1972 New Zealand Grand Prix
The 1972 New Zealand Grand Prix was a race held at the Pukekohe Park Raceway on 8 January 1972. The race had 20 starters.


1972 New Zealand Grand Prix
It was the 18th New Zealand Grand Prix, and doubled as the first round of the 1972 Tasman Series. Australian Frank Gardner won his first NZGP in his McLaren Formula 5000 ahead of British Grand Prix motorcycle racing champion Mike Hailwood. The first New Zealand driver to finish was Robbie Francevic in the McLaren Formula 5000 who came in 9th place.


1972 New Zealand Grand Prix
The race saw the death of Bryan Faloon who died after an accident on the back straight with Graeme Lawrence in the closing laps of the race.


1972 New Zealand National Party leadership election
The New Zealand National Party leadership election was held to determine the leadership of the New Zealand National Party. The election was won by Karori MP Jack Marshall.


1972 New Zealand National Party leadership election, Background
Despite seeming likely that National would go on to lose the 1969 election, it won an unexpected fourth term. Prime Minister Keith Holyoake believed Finance Minister Robert Muldoon was mostly to thank for the victory after his strong promotions of National's economic record and plans during the election campaign. As such, there was much press speculation that Muldoon rather than Jack Marshall might go on to succeed Holyoake as National's leader. Despite winning in 1969, National was embarrassed in 1970 from a huge by-election defeat triggering the media to speculate when Holyoake would retire. By this stage even Marshall, his long-serving loyal deputy, was also in private encouraging him to retire. However it was not until early 1972 that Holyoake finally did step down as leader.


1972 New Zealand National Party leadership election, Candidates, Jack Marshall
Marshall had been the deputy leader of National since 1957. By 1972 Holyoake increasingly relied on him to do a bulk of the government workload. He served as Deputy Prime Minister, Attorney-General, Minister of Justice and later Minister of Customs, Minister of Immigration and Minister of Labour as well. Many thought that after fifteen years as deputy to Holyoake, Marshall had earned his chance to lead the National Party, despite criticisms that he was too old and in too poor health (Marshall had suffered a near fatal heart attack in Tehran several years earlier).


1972 New Zealand National Party leadership election, Candidates, Robert Muldoon
Muldoon was a high-profile member of the National Party. He had served as Minister of Finance under Holyoake since 1967. Unlike the more reserved personalities of Holyoake and Marshall he was a popular figure with the public and adapted well to the new media of television coverage that other politicians, notably Holyoake, struggled with. As a result, he was largely credited with National's shock win in 1969. Muldoon's supporters in caucus tried to discourage him from standing for the leadership saying that not only was Marshall sure to win, but that National would likely lose the impending election so he should wait until after the election, but Muldoon ignored their advice and challenged anyway.


1972 New Zealand National Party leadership election, Result
The election was conducted through a members ballot by National's parliamentary caucus. The following table gives the ballot results:


1972 New Zealand National Party leadership election, Aftermath
Marshall reshuffled cabinet in an attempt to project National as having a new look and direction. However both press and public alike continued to view National as a government twelve years old, despite Marshall's changes. Muldoon was elected unopposed as deputy leader and was utilised by Marshall in advertising campaigns alongside himself in acknowledgement of Muldoon's popularity. Despite this, National went on to lose, as many had anticipated, the 1972 election in a landslide and Marshall became Leader of the Opposition.


1972 New Zealand National Soccer League
The 1972 New Zealand National Soccer League was the third season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football.


1972 New Zealand National Soccer League, Promotion and relegation
Western Suburbs FC finished last in the 1971 league, and joined the winners of the Northern, Central, and Southern leagues — Takapuna City (North Shore), Waterside (Wellington), and New Brighton (Christchurch) respectively — in a play-off series to decide the team which would be granted entry to the national league. Teams all played each other in home and away ties, as a result of which New Brighton gained entry to the league.


1972 New Zealand National Soccer League, Promotion and relegation
There were two further changes to the league from the previous year; Dunedin Suburbs disbanded as a team, their place being taken by the Caversham side who had been instrumental in this short-lived union, and Mount Albert-Ponsonby also renamed themselves - briefly - as Auckland City.


1972 New Zealand National Soccer League, Team performance
A very close finish to the season saw three teams at the top finish within one point of each other. Again it was Auckland teams plus Christchurch United who dominated the table, with Mount Wellington finishing strongly to pip Blockhouse Bay to the title. The Mount's win was largely the work of coach Ken Armstrong, and was underpinned by an excellent home record, with eight wins and one solitary loss. Blockhouse Bay's Ian Ormond was by far the league's top scorer, his 22 goals being one more than the entire Auckland City tally. A final match scoreless draw against Gisborne City was to cost them the league. They led the table at that point, but Mount Wellington won its two outstanding matches to take the trophy.


1972 New Zealand National Soccer League, Team performance
Christchurch United and Eastern Suburbs both held the lead at different points of the season, but a poor finish to the season for Suburbs saw them drop to fourth. Gisborne City's mid-table finish was the result of good home form but poor away form. Gisborne's season saw the arrival of a man who would have a big influence on New Zealand football, Kevin Fallon, who played his first game in the league mid-season.


1972 New Zealand National Soccer League, Team performance
The two Wellingtonian teams, Stop Out and Wellington City again struggled, neither of them looking like title contenders, but improving on their previous league seasons. Caversham started brightly with five wins in its first seven games, but that's where their form ran out, and they managed just three points in the rest of the season. They were safe from relegation, however, since the bottom two clubs both had far worse seasons. New Brighton only managed one win all season, and only survived in the league through Auckland City's worse goal record.


1972 New Zealand Open
The 1972 New Zealand Open, also known as Benson and Hedges Open for sponsorship reasons, was a combined men's and women's professional tennis tournament held at the Stanley Street Courts in Auckland, New Zealand. It was an independent event, i.e. not part of the 1972 Grand Prix or 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit. The tournament was played on outdoor grass courts and was held from 7 December through 12 December 1971. Ray Ruffels and Kerry Melville won the singles titles.


1972 New Zealand Open, Finals, Women's Doubles
Rosie Casals /  Billie Jean King defeated  Judy Dalton /  Françoise Dürr 7–6, 4–6, 7–5


1972 New Zealand eight
The 1972 New Zealand eight was a team of Olympic gold medallists in rowing from New Zealand, having previously won the 1971 European Rowing Championships. At the time, the eight was regarded as the blue ribbon class of rowing, and the sport still had amateur-status in New Zealand, unlike many other nations competing in rowing. After a disappointing Olympic performance at the 1968 Summer Olympics by the New Zealand eight, national selectors Rusty Robertson, Don Rowlands, and Fred Strachan were tasked with assembling a new crew. Robertson was also the team's coach.


1972 New Zealand eight
The next time a New Zealand eight competed was at the 1970 World Rowing Championships, where they came third. The team was once again significantly changed for the next rowing season, with the 1971 edition of the European Rowing Championships and other international regattas beforehand seen as the ultimate test for the 1972 Summer Olympics. The team put up an impressive performance, beat the highly favoured East German eight, and became European champion; at the time the win was regarded to hold world championship status.


1972 New Zealand eight
No further changes were made to the team, not even their seating position, for the 1972 season. Despite a shoe-string budget, financial constraints, and all rowers working part-time, the 1971 success was repeated and the team won Olympic gold in Munich. The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Avery Brundage, was a zealous advocate of amateurism; he was so impressed by the New Zealand performance that he insisted on handing out the gold medals himself. During the medal ceremony, much to almost everybody's surprise, "God Defend New Zealand" was played instead of the national anthem, "God Save the Queen". It was the impetus for a campaign to make "God Defend New Zealand" the New Zealand anthem, and in 1977 it was gazetted as having equal status to the traditional anthem.


1972 New Zealand eight
The team won some significant awards and recognition for its successes. The rules of the "Sportsman of the Year Award" had to be changed so that a team could win the supreme award; this was awarded after their European championship win. Brundage also awarded the Taher Pacha Trophy to the team for distinction in amateur sport in 1971. After the Olympic success, the team was again awarded "Sportsman of the Year"; the first time a back-to-back award had been handed out. Rowlands, their manager, was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1973 New Year Honours. Over time, coach Robertson, manager Rowlands, and then the team as a whole were inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame.


1972 New Zealand eight, Background
There were expectations for the New Zealand eight to win a medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, but the team came fourth and this was regarded as a failure. The situation was the opposite for the other New Zealand boat in Mexico. The coxed four was technically a spare, the crew had travelled to be available as a reserve for the eight team. The coxed four won an unexpected gold medal.


1972 New Zealand eight, Background
Getting the amateur rowers to Mexico had required a massive fund-raising exercise and the New Zealand rowing association was in no position to send rowers to any international regattas in 1969, but targeted the 1970 World Rowing Championships in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. At the time, the eight was seen as the most important boat class, and three from the Mexico eight trained for the 1970 world championships: Wybo Veldman, John Hunter, and Gil Cawood. Most of the crew of the 1968 coxed four made another four members: Warren Cole, Dick Joyce, Dudley Storey, and cox Simon Dickie.


1972 New Zealand eight, Background
The team was complemented by experienced sculler Murray Watkinson and a young Gary Robertson. Ross Collinge from the Mexico coxed four had attended the trials but missed selection. After having won both its heat and the semifinal in Canada (beating the Soviet Union and West Germany in the latter), the boat came third. East Germany dominated, and the Soviet Union was a mere 0.2 seconds ahead the New Zealand boat. The team did not gel, and Watkinson's selection became regarded as a mistake; as a single sculler, he had become used to "doing his thing in his own time".


1972 New Zealand eight, Background
The officials at the time were Rusty Robertson as coach, Don Rowlands as manager, fund-raiser and organiser, and Fred Strachan as strategist. The coach was the uncle of the youngest crew member, Gary Robertson. Robertson had been appointed coach in 1967 and it was then that the national training centre relocated from Auckland to Christchurch, under great controversy. Kerrs Reach on Christchurch's Avon River was more convenient to reach for Dunedin-based Strachan than Auckland, and coach Robertson embarked on a daily drive from Oamaru—a 500 kilometres (310 mi) return journey–after work whenever there was a training day.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1971 European Rowing Championships
The 1971 European Rowing Championships were seen as an important stepping stone in the preparation for the 1972 Olympic Games at Munich. The intention was to select a crew and then make minimal changes prior to Munich. At the time, both the World Rowing Championships and the Summer Olympic Games were held at four-year intervals, and the annual European Rowing Championships in the in-between years were regarded as having quasi-world championship status. Rowing officials decided Watkinson would revert to single sculls, and for Storey to return to the coxed four. Cawood was no longer available.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1971 European Rowing Championships
The three were replaced by three developing rowers—Lindsay Wilson, Joe Earl, and Trevor Coker—and they were teamed with the other young rower, Gary Robertson, to form the bow of the boat. The biggest selection surprise was Earl, as he had just turned 18. Although coached by Strachan at St. Andrew's College in Christchurch and known to all but one of the selectors, Earl himself doubted that he would have been chosen ahead of more experienced oarsmen. The experienced rowers chosen for the stern—Cole, Veldman, Joyce, and Hunter—were kept from the 1970 crew.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1971 European Rowing Championships
The day before the team was to assemble in Christchurch for their first training, Cole pulled out for family reasons. Tony Hurt from Auckland was chosen to replace him. Joyce was the initial stroke, but this did not work out. He was replaced by Hurt who, although from a sculling background and, at 183 centimetres (6 ft 0 in) and 83 kilograms (13.1 st) small for a rower, worked out well for the team. Veldman called him "a brilliant stroke". On Sunday afternoon, the four stern rowers and their bow counterparts would race each other in coxless fours. Dickie recalls that the experienced rowers in the stern had a slight edge, but they did not win every time, and there was great rivalry.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1971 European Rowing Championships
The crew arrived in Europe to find that both their new four and eight Italian Donoratico boats were unsatisfactory. Joyce applied his engineering skills and moved all seats backwards, and that improved the boats' performances. Regattas were rowed in Duisburg and Klagenfurt, and the New Zealanders set new course records at both venues. At the European Rowing Championships, held at the Danish Lake Bagsværd north of Copenhagen, the favoured East Germans, but also the West Germans, also set new course records in their heat, only to be bettered by the New Zealanders in their heat.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1971 European Rowing Championships
In the semi-final, New Zealand faced the Soviet Union, the team that had narrowly beaten them for second place at the 1970 World Championships. Both New Zealand and East Germany won their semi-finals in convincing style. The East Germans were the favourites, being the incumbent European and World champions, and they had not been beaten in five years since they came together in age-group competitions. They were full-time athletes, nominally employed by the Police. Veldman described them as being like clones, as their rowers were well matched in height and arm length.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1971 European Rowing Championships
There were also rumours of doping, something that would not be confirmed in its full effect across all sports until 1993. The race strategy for the Danish final, where the New Zealand eight would meet the favourites East Germany for the first time, was simple: sprint for the first 500 metres and then somehow hang on to win. Joyce later explained that they all knew that if the East Germans would get in front, they would never get past them again. Throughout the race, the New Zealanders were always ahead. They won with a time of 5:33.92, closely followed by East Germany in 5:34.32, and the Soviet Union in 5:39.74 well back.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1971 European Rowing Championships
Rowlands saw Thomas Keller, the president of the international rowing organisation FISA, shed tears of delight. Avery Brundage, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), awarded the team the Taher Pacha Trophy (also known as the Mohammed Taher Trophy) for distinction in amateur sport. In November 1971, the team won the "Sportsman of the Year Award"; it is now known as the "Supreme Award" at the Halberg Awards. The rules had to be altered so that the award could be given to a team. It was the first time that the award was won for rowing.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1972 Summer Olympics
For the next rowing season, Strachan became manager in place of Rowlands. Trials were held in March 1972 in Wanganui, the traditional location for national trials, with the Whanganui River offering good rowing opportunities. Whilst there was an expectation that the crew would stay together, Gary Robertson was personally uncertain of his place and believed that Storey would take his seat. Cole tried to get back into the team but was unsuccessful. Ultimately the team remained unchanged from the previous season.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1972 Summer Olympics
One of Strachan's first tasks was to unite the rowing fraternity at their annual general meeting behind the plan to send an eight to the Olympics. He was given support, but it was mostly left to the team and their organisers to raise the approximately $25,000 needed for the seven weeks in Europe. To keep costs down, Strachan organised for the rowers to stay in the Bavarian town of Lenggries, about an hour's drive away from the Munich regatta course. Whilst there were no dedicated rowing facilities in Lenggries, the Sylvenstein Reservoir provided good training opportunities. Beyond that, the locals were brilliant hosts and many friendships formed at the time.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1972 Summer Olympics
The team management had again ordered a shell from Donoratico, and they delivered them two boats; one built exactly as ordered, but a second that the manufacturer thought would finally address all the teams' desires. In addition, they had a Karlisch shell built by Empacher available to them, but it was not well liked. The team preferred the second Donoratico but their coach thought the Karlisch was superior. Again, Joyce was asked to use his engineering skills to make some modifications. A day after he had finished, one of the seats in the Donoratico collapsed and left that boat unusable. From then on, the Karlisch was used.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1972 Summer Olympics
The first regatta in Germany was a warm-up event at the Olympic rowing course. The New Zealanders, still using their Donoratico, were beaten by the American team. At the next regatta in Hanover, the Americans were beaten by a two–second margin, and the next day the New Zealanders beat the Australian team (second at the 1968 Olympics). A few days out from the Olympics, Earl received news that his father had died on his way to Munich.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1972 Summer Olympics
Whilst doctors had advised against travel due to a weak heart, his parents went nonetheless and his father died when they were in Italy. Earl still went ahead with the competition, and Strachan remarked later that "he still performed". The funeral had to wait until the rowers had returned to New Zealand.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1972 Summer Olympics
When the Olympic racing started, the New Zealanders won their heat comfortably. There was a false start caused by one of the officials, for which the New Zealanders received an official apology – unlike the other crews, they had not heard the recall bell and started racing in earnest. In the real heat, they eased off after the first 1000 metres but still won by 11 seconds. The semi-final was more of a challenge, with a long delay due to wind that was affecting different lanes with varying intensity.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1972 Summer Olympics
The West German crew, the 1968 Olympic champions, had a more sheltered lane and overtook the New Zealand crew at half-way point when the boat was hit by a gust of wind. Robertson, the coach, was livid about the conditions they had to row in, and he decided to knock the other teams' confidence through some mind games. It was announced to the media that the New Zealanders would do some 500 metre sprints on the regatta course. It worked, and between 50 and 60 people with stop watches turned up to measure the performance. Robertson explained his strategy in his usual straightforward manner:


1972 New Zealand eight, 1972 Summer Olympics
We're bloody good and they [the opposition] had better know they [the New Zealand eight] are bloody good, because it's too late for them to do anything about it.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1972 Summer Olympics
The rowers themselves played their own game. Their apartment in the Olympic Village was near the entrance and other teams had to walk past. The New Zealanders were on a one-can-of-beer-a-day ration and timed drinking those when others teams went past, stacking the empties, and—in typical New Zealand fashion—they went around the village barefoot. The German media soon wrote about the partying New Zealanders, and this evoked a discussion in West Germany how it could be possible for those larrikins to "beat our boys?"


1972 New Zealand eight, 1972 Summer Olympics
The final was rowed on 2 September; an hour earlier, the New Zealand coxless four had won silver. The New Zealand eight dominated its race to the extent that the interesting part was who would take silver and bronze. Four countries battled for the lower medals: East Germany, West Germany, the USA and the Soviet Union. In the end, it came to a photo finish, with the United States declared silver medallist, 0.06 seconds ahead of East Germany. For the New Zealanders, everybody was in sync.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1972 Summer Olympics
Veldman later commented that he had had harder races at club level; it was like having "created a big flywheel". Some of the team later said that their 1971 gold medal win was the "finer display" of their skill. The outgoing IOC president, Brundage, was not scheduled to present the medals but insisted on doing so. And the most memorable moment was yet to come – the crew standing on the victory dais overcome with emotion and "bawling like babies" is one of New Zealand's most memorable sporting moments.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1972 Summer Olympics
The occasion was made more poignant by "God Defend New Zealand" being played rather than the traditional "God Save the Queen". This was not yet the New Zealand anthem and it thus contravened Olympic rules. The New Zealand Olympic liaison officer, Hans Lennarz, is credited with having organised this, and it contributed to the emotion of the occasion. Collinge was the only one who knew that the new anthem would be played, as he had by chance been in the main stadium when the German army band rehearsed it, but he had chosen not to tell anyone about it.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1972 Summer Olympics
It is often reported that this was the first time that "God Defend New Zealand" was played at the Olympics, even by the book written about the new anthem, but this is incorrect. For reasons unknown, both anthems had been performed 20 years earlier—one after the other—in Helsinki at the medal ceremony for Yvette Williams' victory in the 1952 long jump.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1972 Summer Olympics
The two rowing medals won in Munich made up a large part of the New Zealand team's medal haul. There was only one other medal won in Munich across the 14 sports in which the country competed with 89 athletes, and that was an athletics bronze by Rod Dixon in the men's 1500 metres. It was the last time an Olympic rowing race was won in a wooden boat.


1972 New Zealand eight, 1972 Summer Olympics
Whilst the previous year, the New Zealanders had left Denmark the day after the competition, this time they stayed on as their competition had been held in the first week of the Olympics. This provided the opportunity to get to know other rowers on a social basis, and the East Germans invited the other medallists to a garden party at their apartment in the Olympic Village. Dickie, a "larger-than-life personality", was the life of the party and organised drinking games for the three teams.


1972 New Zealand eight, Aftermath
The team would never row competitively together after Munich, but they would again win the "Sportsman of the Year Award"; it was the first time that the award had been won twice in a row. Hurt retired from competitive rowing, and the others were broken up for different boats. New Zealand did not enter an eight at the 1973 European Rowing Championships in Moscow, but had a coxed four (which included Robertson and Earl) and a coxless pair (including Veldman, who returned with a silver medal). An eight was next compiled for the 1974 World Rowing Championships in Lucerne, Switzerland.


1972 New Zealand eight, Aftermath
Four of the 1971–72 team were included: Hurt, Wilson, Coker, and Earl. The boat won a bronze medal, beaten by the United States and Great Britain. Hurt's recollection of the race is that they were the last boat out, as they weren't ready and still trying to straighten the boat. They never settled properly and thus couldn't catch the leading teams.


1972 New Zealand eight, Aftermath
Subsequent to the 1972 Olympics, a campaign started to make "God Defend New Zealand" the national anthem. It was gazetted as the country's second national anthem on 21 November 1977, on equal standing with "God Save the Queen".


1972 New Zealand eight, Aftermath
Rowlands, the manager for the 1972 team, was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1973 New Year Honours for services to rowing. In 1990, the team was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame. The citation reads in part:


1972 New Zealand eight, Aftermath
Their win, their manner in achieving it and their laid-bare emotion on the victory dais when God Defend New Zealand was played at their Olympic victory ceremony was a seminal moment in New Zealand sport, one of those moments which for years later people can recall as if it was yesterday.


1972 New Zealand eight, Aftermath
Their coach, Rusty Robertson, and their manager, Don Rowlands, were also inducted into the Hall of Fame.


1972 New Zealand eight, Aftermath
The original intention was to sell the New Zealand boats in Europe before leaving for home, but the historical significance of the Karlisch hull was recognised and the boat returned to New Zealand. It was used by the Auckland Rowing Club as a training boat for many years. In 1996, the Karlisch was bought by the Stevenson family and donated to the New Zealand Maritime Museum. After the boat was owned by the museum, the team members went out for a row on Waitematā Harbour. Only Coker was missing—he had died in 1981 from a brain tumour—but his son took his place.


1972 New Zealand eight, Aftermath
The eight surviving members of the 1972 team carried the Commonwealth Games flag into Mount Smart Stadium at the opening ceremony of the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland. When the 2007 World Rowing Championships were again held in Munich, Chris Nilsson—who in 1972 had been a member of the coxed four but was by then a rowing coach—arranged for the New Zealand team to stay at Lenggries once more, rekindling old friendships.


1972 New Zealand eight, Aftermath
In 1980, the German publishing house Rowohlt Verlag published a book of lists—Rowohlts Bunte Liste—modelled on the 1977 American bestseller The Book of Lists. The German sports journalist Karl-Heinrich von Groddeck, himself a rower at three Olympic Games, was asked to compile a list of the ten best coxed eight crews of all times. He put the Deutschland-Achter of 1960, with which he himself won an Olympic gold medal, in second place, but put the 1972 New Zealand eight in top spot. In 2008, New Zealand sports journalist Joseph Romanos picked the 1972 gold medal win as New Zealand's best ever team performance at the Olympic Games.


1972 New Zealand eight, Individuals
The table below shows the individuals who were involved in the 1971 and 1972 campaigns either as athletes or officials. Two of the officials and two of the rowers have since died. The most recent to die was Dickie in December 2017 amidst the team organising a reunion in conjunction with the next Halberg Awards presentation.


1972 New Zealand gallantry awards
The 1972 New Zealand gallantry awards were announced via two Special Honours Lists dated 7 March and 27 July 1972, and recognised five New Zealand military personnel for gallant and distinguished service during operations in Vietnam.


1972 New Zealand general election
The New Zealand general election of 1972 was held on 25 November to elect MPs to the 37th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Labour Party, led by Norman Kirk, defeated the governing National Party.


1972 New Zealand general election, Background
The National Party had been in office since the 1960 election, when it had defeated the ruling Labour Party, led by Walter Nash. The Second Labour Government was the shortest-lasting of all New Zealand governments to that day; in contrast, the Second National Government, led for the majority of its tenure by Keith Holyoake, would be re-elected three times. National's policies were focused around stability and a "steady as she goes" approach, but Holyoake's Government was increasingly perceived as tired and worn-out. In February 1972, Holyoake stood aside and was replaced by his deputy, Jack Marshall, who took steps to reinvigorate the party.


1972 New Zealand general election, Background
Meanwhile, Norman Kirk had been at the helm of Labour since 1965. In this time, he had been modernising and updating the Labour Party, but narrowly lost the 1969 election. Kirk slimmed and dressed to improve his image, and visited several overseas Labour parties to broaden his knowledge. He activated a "spokesman" or shadow cabinet system to spread the responsibility, but it was difficult to avoid one composed largely of Auckland and Christchurch members. Despite the improvements, commentators speculated whether National would pull off another cliffhanger victory. Economic recession and voter fatigue had hurt National at the polls. Labour's slogan was "It's Time – Time for a change, time for Labour", which expertly captured the national mood.


1972 New Zealand general election, Background
A deciding election issue was the proposed raising of the levels of lakes Manapouri and Te Anau as part of the construction of the Manapouri Power Station to supply the aluminium smelter in Bluff with electricity. National wanted to proceed with the work but Labour pledged to keep the lake levels as they are. It became a deciding issue, with four National incumbents from Otago and Southland losing their electorates (Awarua, Invercargill, Otago Central, and Oamaru).


1972 New Zealand general election, Background, MPs retiring in 1972
Nine National MPs and one Labour MP intended to retire at the end of the 36th Parliament.


1972 New Zealand general election, Background, 1972 electoral redistribution
Since the 1969 election, the number of electorates in the South Island was fixed at 25, with continued faster population growth in the North Island leading to an increase in the number of general electorates. Including the four Māori electorates, there had been 80 electorates since the 1902 election. This increased to 84 electorates through the 1969 election. The 1972 electoral redistribution saw three additional general seats created for the North Island, bringing the total number of electorates to 87.


1972 New Zealand general election, Background, 1972 electoral redistribution
Together with increased urbanisation in Christchurch and Nelson, the changes proved very disruptive to existing electorates. Only two South Island electorates were not altered by the redistribution (Clutha and Lyttelton). Only eight of the North Island electorates were not altered (Franklin, Gisborne, Hobson, Island Bay, Miramar, North Shore, Tamaki, and Wairarapa).


1972 New Zealand general election, Background, 1972 electoral redistribution
In the South Island, three electorates were abolished (Buller, Westland, and Selwyn), and three electorates were newly created (Rakaia, Tasman, and West Coast). In the North Island, five electorates were abolished (Hauraki, Marsden, Otaki, Waimarino, and Waitomo), two electorates were recreated (Coromandel and Otahuhu), and six electorates were newly created (East Coast Bays, Hamilton East, Kapiti, King Country, Ruahine, and Whangarei).


1972 New Zealand general election, Election day
The date for the 1972 elections was 25 November, a Saturday. 1,583,256 people were registered to vote. There was a turnout of 89.1%, slightly higher than the previous election and considerably higher than the following one. The number of electorates being contested was 87.


1972 New Zealand general election, Results
The 1972 election saw the Labour Party defeat the governing National Party, winning 55 seats to National's 32. Labour was therefore able to form its first government since 1960, with Norman Kirk becoming Prime Minister. The second National government thus gave way to the third Labour government. No minor parties managed to gain seats, and no independents were elected. There were 1,583,256 electors on the roll, with 1,401,152 (88.50%) voting.


1972 New Zealand general election, Results, Votes summary
The table below shows the results of the 1972 general election:


1972 New Zealand rugby league season
The 1972 New Zealand rugby league season was the 65th season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand.


1972 New Zealand rugby league season, International competitions
New Zealand toured Australia, losing the series 0–2. The team was coached by Lory Blanchard. They then headed to Great Britain and France for the World Cup. The Kiwis lost to Great Britain, Australia and France. The World Cup team was coached by Des Barchard and managed by Trevor Wellsmore and consisted of: Mocky Brereton, Bill Burgoyne, Roy Christian, Tony Coll, Warren Collicoat, Graeme Cooksley, Murray Eade, Doug Gailey, Peter Gurnick, Don Mann, Mita Mohi, John O'Sullivan, Phillip Orchard, Bob Paul, Brian Tracey, Rodney Walker, John Whittaker, Dennis Williams and John Wilson.


1972 New Zealand rugby league season, International competitions
Auckland lost to Queensland 18–17. Canterbury lost to the Western Suburbs Magpies.


1972 New Zealand rugby league season, International competitions
New Zealand Māori defeated Pakeha 18–13. Māori included Roy Christian.


1972 New Zealand rugby league season, International competitions
John Whittaker won the New Zealand Rugby League's player of the year award.


1972 New Zealand rugby league season, National competitions, Rugby League Cup
West Coast again held the Rugby League Cup at the end of the season.


1972 New Zealand rugby league season, National competitions, Inter-district competition
Auckland won the Rothmans trophy, beating Waikato 20-11, Wellington 41-13 and drawing with Canterbury 16-all.


1972 New Zealand rugby league season, National competitions, Inter-district competition
Auckland included Warren Collicoat, Dave Sorensen, Ray Williams and Ken Stirling. John Whittaker played for Wellington.


1972 New Zealand rugby league season, Club competitions, Auckland
Ponsonby won the Auckland Rugby League's Fox Memorial Trophy, defeating Ellerslie 14-12 in the grand final. They completed "the treble" by also winning the Stormont Shield and Roope Rooster in the same season. Ellerslie won the Rukutai Shield, Otahuhu won the Kiwi Shield, Richmond won the Sharman Cup and Mount Roskill won the Norton Cup.


1972 New Zealand rugby league season, Club competitions, Auckland
Bill Harford (Te Atatu)	won the Lipscombe Cup, Murray Eade (Ellerslie) won the Rothville Trophy, Peter Gurnick (Otahuhu) and Len Hall (Ellerslie) won the Bert Humphries Memorial while Hall also won the Tetley Trophy. Bruce Rowe (Ellerslie) won the Painter Rosebowl Trophy and Don Mann (Ponsonby) won the Hyland Memorial Cup.


1972 New Zealand rugby league season, Club competitions, Canterbury
Papanui won the Canterbury Rugby League's Pat Smith Challenge Trophy, defeating Marist-Western Suburbs 27-9. Marist-Western Suburbs had won the Massetti Cup while Hornby won the Gore Cup.


1972 New Zealand rugby league season, Club competitions, Canterbury
Papanui also regained the Thacker Shield for Canterbury after the West Coast clubs had held it for eight years. They defeated Waro-Rakau 22-0.


1972 New Zealand rugby league season, Club competitions, Canterbury
Mita Mohi (Marist-Western) and Ivan Reuben (Kaiapoi) shared the D.V. Syme Rosebowl while Phil Brown (Marist-Western) won the A.G.Bailey Challenge Cup (tries) and Michael O'Donnell (Marist-Western) and Trevor Williams (Hornby) shared the Turner and Le Brun Cup. Rodney Walker played for Papanui.


1972 New Zealand rugby league season, Club competitions, Canterbury
The Canterbury Rugby League had been granted use of a field on Hagley Park for the first time in years.


1972 Newfoundland general election
The 1972 Newfoundland general election was held on 24 March 1972 to elect members of the 36th General Assembly of Newfoundland. It was won by the Progressive Conservative party. In the district of Labrador South, the election was a virtual tie between two candidates and had to be declared void. In a subsequent by-election, the seat was taken by a member of the Labrador Party.


1972 Newport County Borough Council election
The 1972 Newport County Borough Council election was held on Thursday 4 May 1972 to elect councillors to the Newport County Borough Council in Newport, Monmouthshire. It took place on the same day as other district and county borough council elections in England and Wales.


1972 Newport County Borough Council election
These were the final elections to the county borough council, which would be replaced on 1 April 1974. The previous all-council election took place in May 1971.


1972 Newport County Borough Council election
The 1972 election saw the Labour Party make major gains.


1972 Newport County Borough Council election, Background
Newport County Borough was created in 1891 and abolished for 22 years from 1974, following local government reorganisation enacted by the Local Government Act 1972.


1972 Newport County Borough Council election, Background
Each of the county borough's electoral divisions was represented by three councillors, who stood down in turn for re-election, hence would each sit for a three year term. The council also consisted of 13 aldermen, who were elected by the councillors.


1972 Newport County Borough Council election, Overview of the result
At this election Labour won nine of the 14 available seats from the Conservative Party and won a further seat held by a Ratepayer councillor. They increased their majority on the Council to 26.


1972 Newport County Borough Council election, Overview of the result
The composition of the Council following the election was 39 Labour members, 12 Conservatives and one Ratepayer.


1972 Newport County Borough Council election, Ward results
Contests for one of the seats took place in 12 wards, though in Allt-yr-yn two seats were contested.


1972 Nicaragua earthquake
The 1972 Nicaragua earthquake occurred at 12:29:44 a.m. local time (06:29:44 UTC) on December 23 near Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. It had a moment magnitude of 6.3 and a maximum MSK intensity of IX (Destructive). The epicenter was 28 kilometers northeast of the city centre and a depth of about 10 kilometers. The earthquake caused widespread casualties among Managua's residents: 4,000–11,000 were killed, 20,000 were injured and over 300,000 were left homeless.


1972 Nicaragua earthquake, Tectonic setting
Managua, which lies on the southern shore of Lake Xolotlán, near the western coast of Nicaragua, is situated within an active volcanic zone known as the Central American Volcanic Chain. The city has a long history of volcanic and seismic activity which arise from the relative movements of two crustal plates which intersect near the southwestern border of Central America. The Cocos plate, located east of the East Pacific Rise, is moving northeastward and is slowly being submerged under the Caribbean Plate.


1972 Nicaragua earthquake, Tectonic setting
The zone of dipping is initiated at the surface of the Middle America Trench, which extends 4 to 5 kilometers deep along the Pacific Coast from Mexico to Costa Rica. But rather than a simple crustal movement between the two plates the earthquake was believed to have been caused by a shallow adjustment to geological pressure at the south western corner of the Caribbean plate.


1972 Nicaragua earthquake, Damage
The earthquake severely damaged 27 square kilometres (10 sq mi) and destroyed 13 square kilometres (5.0 sq mi) in the city centre. The majority of the buildings in the central business district sustained significant structural damage including a 19-story building, one 15-story building, approximately 5 buildings that were 7 to 9 stories tall and more than 25 buildings that were from 3 to 6 stories tall. Much of the damage arose from seismic ground movement which occurred within 10–15 seconds of the main shock. The majority of the factories and smaller buildings were severely damaged.


1972 Nicaragua earthquake, Damage
Many of the houses and small shops were over 40 years old and constructed using a local method called taquezal (or talquezal), in which the timber framed walls are filled with stone and finished with plaster, covered by roofs of unmortared clay tile. The design is very susceptible to earthquake damage. An estimated 53,000 homes in the city were damaged. The water and electrical power networks were severely damaged and more than a week after the earthquake only 10% of the city had any working water service.


1972 Nicaragua earthquake, Surface faulting
One of the most significant geological effects of the 1972 Nicaragua earthquake quake was surface faulting. Examination of the fault lines indicated a lateral motion moving in a northeasterly direction and aftershock data has revealed at least one of the faults extends from the surface to a depth of 8 to 10 kilometers beneath the city of Managua.


1972 Nicaragua earthquake, Aftershocks
Within an hour after the main shock, two aftershocks, one of magnitude 5.0 and the other 5.2, occurred at 1:18 a.m. and 1:20 a.m.


1972 Nicaragua earthquake, Response
Two-thirds of Managua's 1,000,000 residents were displaced and faced food shortage and disease, and dry-season winds worsened the problem with fires created by the disaster. Because of the damaging effects of the earthquake, many of the emergency services in the city were operating at a seriously lower level than normal. The earthquake destroyed all the fire-fighting equipment available, and fires were prevalent in some areas for several days. All four main hospitals, which before the disaster had 1,650 beds, were unserviceable.


1972 Nicaragua earthquake, Response
The Nicaraguan government appealed for aid, and the government accepted aid from countries like the United States and Mexico and some 25 other countries, worth millions of dollars. Despite this and the magnitude of the devastation, the aid was not distributed well and the ruling Liberal-Conservative Junta, led by President Anastasio Somoza Debayle, was the target of criticism and was accused of stockpiling foreign aid which never reached the victims of the earthquake. It was because of these reports that the Puerto Rican baseball star Roberto Clemente chose to personally accompany the fourth of a number of relief flights he had organized. That flight crashed on December 31, 1972, killing Clemente among others.


1972 Nicaragua earthquake, Response
Another difficulty was that much of the material aid donated was inappropriate for the needs of the affected Nicaraguans, including such items as winter clothes (Managua's climate is tropical) and frozen TV dinners.


1972 Nicaragua earthquake, Response
It was later claimed that Somoza and his associates had used foreign aid for their own gain. Opposition to the regime, which had begun to surface before the earthquake, increased quickly among the lower classes and even among members of the upper and middle classes fed up with Somoza's corruption. This grew into a revolt that became the Nicaraguan Revolution, in which Somoza was overthrown in 1979.


1972 Nicaragua earthquake, Response
Because of the extent of the damage, the faulty underground terrain, the misappropriation of aid, and the subsequent revolution and 11-year civil war, much of the city centre remained ruined for almost 20 years. Reconstruction only began in earnest in the 1990s.


1972 Nicaragua earthquake, Aftermath
The earthquake changed the face of Managua during its decades of recovery. The city center is no longer clearly defined, as buildings have been constructed away from the city center. During the massive evacuations, the displaced residents set up camp around water resources and areas that remained somewhat unaffected. Although Managua remains Central America's second largest capital and metropolitan area, the bulk of its residents reside in barrios or neighborhoods that are of considerable distance from the city center. Today, in place of the large buildings that used to exist in the center, the government set up the "Plaza de la Fe" (Faith Square) in honor of Pope John Paul II.


1972 Nicaraguan Constitutional Assembly election
Constitutional Assembly elections were held in Nicaragua on 6 February 1972.


1972 Nice International Championships
The 1972 Nice International Championships, was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Nice Lawn Tennis Club in Nice, France that was part of Group D of the 1972 Grand Prix circuit. It was the second edition of the tournament and was held from 17 April until 23 April 1972. Ilie Năstase won the title.


1972 Nice International Championships, Finals, Doubles
Jan Kodeš /  Stan Smith defeated  Frew McMillan /  Ilie Năstase 6–3, 6–3, 7–5


1972 Nicholls State Colonels football team
The 1972 Nicholls State Colonels football team represented Nicholls State University as a member of the Gulf South Conference (GSC) during the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. Led by first-year head coach Gary Kinchen, the Colonels compiled an overall record of 3–8 with a mark of 1–5 in conference play, tying seventh place in the GSC. Nicholls State played their home games at Colonel Stadium in Thibodaux, Louisiana.


1972 Nippon Professional Baseball season
The 1972 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 23rd season of operation of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).


1972 Niuean general election
General elections were held in Niue on 18 March 1972. Only five of the eleven constituencies were contested, with the candidates in the other six constituencies elected unopposed.


1972 Niuean general election, Aftermath
Following the elections, Robert Rex was re-elected as Leader of Government Business and formed an Executive Council of four members.


1972 Niuean general election, Aftermath
Shortly after the elections concluded, a Select Committee for Constitutional Development was established to look at issues including land laws and the future relationship with New Zealand. This led to a referendum on self-governance in 1974.


1972 Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers Conference
The Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers Conference was held in Georgetown, Guyana from 8 August to 12 August 1972.


1972 Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers Conference
It was attended by delegations from 59 Non-Aligned Movement member countries, 12 delegations of observers and 8 guests. The Royal Government of National Union of Cambodia was recognized as the sole legitimate representative of Cambodia and to the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Viet Nam was admitted as a full member. Delegates from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Lao staged a protest walk-out to convey dissatisfaction with this decision. China's renewed interest in the movement was tied with growing need for support against the USSR, and returning the favor for admission to the United Nations, with votes mostly coming from non-aligned nations.


1972 Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers Conference
The conference adopted an Action Programme for Economic Co-operation called the "Georgetown Declaration". The meeting included a call for resolution in the Middle East and the withdrawal of Israel from Arab territories. Also, a proposal was endorsed for a meeting of non-aligned ministers prior to any United Nations General Assembly meetings in order to "coordinate their positions" as well as establish annual meetings of heads of state.


1972 Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers Conference, Commemorative statue
During the conference, a monument to the four founders of the Non-Aligned Movement - President Nasser of Egypt, President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Jawaharlal Nehru of India and President Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia - was erected in Company Path Garden and was unveiled by the then President, Arthur Chung. Each bust was sculpted in the home country of their likeness, and the quartz base from the Mazaruni area, and decorated with jasper from Orinduik Falls.


1972 North American Soccer League season
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1972. This was the 5th season of the NASL.


1972 North American Soccer League season, Overview
Eight teams took part in the league with the New York Cosmos winning the championship.


1972 North American Soccer League season, Changes from previous season, Rules changes
The league changed its offside rule during the season on June 26. They created a "Blue Line" which was an offside line across the field, 35 yards from the goal line. Thereafter, no player could be offside unless he had crossed the 35-yard line. This made the NASL unique in the soccer world; the league received temporary approval for the change from FIFA on an experimental basis only. The league also switched the playoff format to single-match elimination contests rather than series.


1972 North American Soccer League season, Regular season
W = Wins, L = Losses, T= Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PT= point system


1972 North American Soccer League season, Regular season
6 points for a win,3 points for a tie,0 points for a loss,1 point for each goal scored up to three per game.


1972 North American Soccer League season, Playoffs
All playoff games in all rounds including the NASL Final were single game elimination match ups.


1972 North Carolina Tar Heels football team
The 1972 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the North Carolina Tar Heels of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. The team won its second consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship, going 6–0 in conference play, and played in the 1972 Sun Bowl, defeating Texas Tech by a score of 32–28. The Tar Heels ended the year ranked 12th in the AP Poll with an 11–1 record—the lone loss coming at Ohio State in their fourth game. This was the first of only four seasons where North Carolina was able to win 11 games.


1972 North Carolina gubernatorial election
The 1972 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1972. Republican nominee James Holshouser defeated Democratic nominee Skipper Bowles with 51% of the vote. Holshouser thus became the first Republican elected governor of the state in the 20th century.


1972 North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election
The 1972 North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1972. Democratic nominee Jim Hunt defeated Republican nominee John A. Walker with 56.69% of the vote.


1972 North Dakota Fighting Sioux football team
The 1972 North Dakota Fighting Sioux football team, also known as the Nodaks, was an American football team that represented the University of North Dakota in the North Central Conference (NCC) during the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. In its fifth year under head coach Jerry Olson, the team compiled a 10–1 record (6–1 against NCC opponents), tied for the NCC championship, defeated Cal Poly in the Camellia Bowl, and outscored opponents by a total of 423 to 161. The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Grand Forks, North Dakota.


1972 North Dakota State Bison football team
The 1972 North Dakota State Bison football team was an American football team that represented North Dakota State University during the 1972 NCAA College Division football season as a member of the North Central Conference. In their seventh year under head coach Ron Erhardt, the team compiled a 8–2 record.


1972 North Dakota gubernatorial election
The 1972 North Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1972. Democratic nominee Arthur A. Link defeated Republican nominee Richard F. Larsen with 51.04% of the vote.


1972 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
The 1972 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was part of the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. The season had no official bounds, but cyclones tend to form between April and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean. There are two main seas in the North Indian Ocean—the Bay of Bengal to the east of the Indian subcontinent and the Arabian Sea to the west of India.


1972 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
The official Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre in this basin is the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) releases unofficial advisories. An average of five tropical cyclones form in the North Indian Ocean every season with peaks in May and November. Cyclones occurring between the meridians 45°E and 100°E are included in the season by the IMD.


1972 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Cyclone Nine (09B)
This storm was formed on 7 September, possibly due to a storm's remnant from the West Pacific Ocean. it gradually intensified to a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm by 9 September. The storm made landfall at Ichhapuram in Andhra Pradesh on 10 September. Due to the storm, 100 people and 8000 cattle were perished. Puri in Odisha recorded gust winds up to 185 kmph. Heavy damages to agricultural crops took place at Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. Nearly 2 lakh people were affected by the storm. Ganjam District in Odisha was the worst affected by the storm. It was one of the most intense cyclones to hit India in the month of September.


1972 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Cyclone Ten (10B)
This cyclone was formed on 20 September and intensified to a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm despite being present over the upwelled waters due to Cyclone 09B. It made landfall at Gopalpur in Odisha on 22 September and dissipated by the next day. Wind gusts of up to 140 kmph were recorded at the time of landfall. Despite severe damage to crops and houses, no deaths due to the storm were reported.


1972 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Cyclone Fourteen (14B)
This cyclone was formed on 15 November and gradually intensified to a Severe Cyclonic Storm. After making an erratic loop, the storm made landfall at Sriharikota on 22 November. The lowest pressure was 983 hPa and wind gusts of up to 165 kmph were measured by the ship ATAF. 80 people were reportedly killed due to the storm. Several trees were uprooted and thousands of people were rendered homeless.


1972 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Cyclone Sixteen (16B)
This storm has killed 80 people and 150 cattle. 30,000 people were rendered homeless. Cuddalore recorded gust winds up to 150 kmph at the time of landfall. Total damages in Indian Rupees were estimated to be 40 crores. The cyclone is visible on The Blue Marble photo taken by Apollo 17.


1972 North Korean local elections
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Jamc2 (talk | contribs) at 13:35, 17 June 2020 (+Category:December 1972 events in Asia; ±Category:1972 elections in Asia using HotCat). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


1972 North Korean local elections
Elections to provincial, city, county and district people's assemblies were held in North Korea on December 12, 1972.


1972 North Korean local elections
In the elections, 3,185 provincial people's assembly deputies, and 24,784 city, county and district people's assembly deputies were elected.


1972 North Korean local elections
Voter turnout was reported as 100%, with candidates receiving a 100% approval rate.


1972 North Korean local elections
The elections were held synchronously with the election to the fifth Supreme People's Assembly.


1972 North Korean parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in North Korea on 12 December 1972. Only one candidate was presented in each constituency, all of which were selected by the Workers' Party of Korea, although some ran under the banner of other parties or state organisations to give the illusion of democracy. Voter turnout was reported to be 100%, with 100% voting in favour of the candidates presented.


1972 North Korean parliamentary election
In the first session, between 25 and 28 December 1972, the SPA approved a new constitution, put into force a presidential system, with Kim Il-sung elected as president. Main topics were "The Adoptation of the Socialist Construction and of the Presidential System" and "Let Us Further Strengthen the Socialist System of Our Country".


1972 North Korean parliamentary election
The election were held synchronously with the elections to the provincial, city and county people's assemblies.


1972 Northeast Louisiana Indians football team
The 1972 Northeast Louisiana Indians football team was an American football team that represented Northeast Louisiana University (now known as the University of Louisiana at Monroe) as an independent during the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. In their first year under head coach Ollie Keller, the team compiled a 3–7 record.


1972 Northern 300
The 1972 Northern 300 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on July 16, 1972, at Trenton Speedway in Trenton, New Jersey.


1972 Northern 300, Background
The first race at the Fairgrounds was held on September 24, 1900, but there was no further racing there until 1907. Regular racing began in 1912 and continued until 1941. A new 1 mile dirt oval was opened in 1946. In 1957 the track was paved. It operated in that configuration until 1968 when the track was expanded to 1.5 miles (2.41 km) and a "kidney bean" shape with a 20° right-hand dogleg on the back stretch and a wider turn 3 & 4 complex than turns 1 & 2. The track closed in 1980 and the Fairgrounds itself closed 3 years later. The former site of the speedway is now occupied by the Grounds for Sculpture, a UPS shipping facility, and the housing development known as "Hamilton Lakes".


1972 Northern 300, Summary
Bobby Allison defeated Bobby Isaac by 1.4 seconds after two hours and fifty-seven seconds of racing. There were nine lead changes and five cautions for 21 laps. Notable crew chiefs at the race were Steve Gray, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Vic Ballard, Lee Gordon, and Herb Nab.


1972 Northern 300, Summary
Twenty thousand people attended this live event to witness average speeds of 114.03 miles per hour (183.51 km/h). Isaac qualified for the pole position with an impressive speed of 133.126 miles per hour (214.246 km/h) on a paved oval track spanning 1.500 miles (2.414 km). A.J. Cox received the last-place finish due to overheating while Bill Shirey was disqualified for entering pit road in reverse; he was involved in the first caution of the day, having spun on John Sears' oil and went to pit lane for repairs in the opposite direction of traffic flow. The other drivers in the top ten were: Richard Petty, Fred Lorenzen, Cecil Gordon, James Hylton, Larry Smith, Benny Parsons, Raymond Williams, and Walter Ballard.


1972 Northern 300, Summary
While the complete purse of this racing event was an impressive $35,675 ($220,719.55 when adjusted for inflation), the race winner actually received only $7,900 of that prize money ($48,876.93 when adjusted for inflation).


1972 Northern 300, Summary
The Plymouth Superbirds and Dodge Chargers that competed in this race were equipped with special wings to demonstrate their status as muscle cars. A 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle would become the make and model to win this racing event; defeating a 1972 Dodge Charger in the process.


1972 Northern 300, Summary
Bob Greenley would compete in his only NASCAR Cup Series race here along with Fred Drake.