1972 United States presidential election in Texas
McGovern's only county wins came from the south Texas region along the U.S.-Mexico border and Cottle County in the northern part of the state, though even his performances here were underwhelming.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas
In fact, in the oldest extant Democratic stronghold in the entire United States, Nixon became the solitary Republican since Theodore Roosevelt carried the county in 1904 to win La Salle County, the only Republican since Herbert Hoover in 1928 to carry Hidalgo County, the only Republican since Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 to win Dimmit County, one of only two Republicans since the county was founded in 1911 (following Eisenhower in 1956) to carry Jim Wells County and the only Republican apart from Eisenhower's two victories there to win Wilacy County since it was created in 1921.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas
This is also the last election at which Zavala County has voted Republican, though that county did so even in 1960. Duval County, however, gave McGovern over 85 percent of the vote, which was the highest percentage of votes he received in any county nationally. 1972 was the third successive election when Duval proved the most Democratic county in the nation.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas
Taking the region of South Texas to include all the above-mentioned counties (La Salle, Hidalgo, Dimmit, Jim Wells, Wilacy, Zavala, & Duval) as well as Maverick, Frio, Webb, Zapata, Jim Hogg, Starr, Brooks, Cameron, Kenedy, Kleberg, Nueces, and San Patricio, Nixon is to date the only Republican or non-Democrat to win a majority of said counties since Texas achieved statehood in 1848.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas
Nixon had previously narrowly lost Texas to John F. Kennedy in 1960 and had lost it narrowly again to Hubert Humphrey in 1968. However, as with the rest of the country in 1972, with the exception of Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., Texas voted for the Republican ticket of incumbent Nixon and Agnew.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas
As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the best Republican election performance in Texas, as well as the last time every single county in the Texas Triangle was won by the Republican candidate.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas, McGovern campaign
In the national race, McGovern was constantly portrayed throughout the election campaign as being a left-wing extremist because of his support for busing and civil rights, plus his opposition to the Vietnam War, support for granting amnesty to draft dodgers. and support for a thousand-dollar giveaway to each American as a solution to poverty. McGovern was also viewed as inconsistent following the replacement of his first running mate, Thomas Eagleton, while many Republican campaigners believed McGovern would legalize abortion and illicit drugs if he were elected – despite the fact that his ultimate running mate Sargent Shriver was firmly pro-life.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas, McGovern campaign
McGovern's Texas campaign was managed by Bill Clinton. Senator Lloyd Bentsen had originally been asked to manage the Texas campaign, but declined.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas, McGovern campaign
While those working on the campaign expected McGovern to lose in Texas, they aimed to decrease his margin of defeat.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas, McGovern campaign
McGovern's campaign received little support from Democratic statewide officeholders. Additionally, Dolph Briscoe, the Democratic nominee in the coinciding 1972 Texas gubernatorial election refused to make any campaign appearances alongside McGovern. One of the few statewide office holders to support McGovern's campaign was Texas Land Commissioner Bob Armstrong. Lloyd Bentsen also endorsed McGovern.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas, McGovern campaign
Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson would occasionally observe the Texas campaign operation.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas, McGovern campaign
In addition to manager Bill Clinton, a future United States president, and his then-girlfriend (and future wife) Hillary, a future Democratic Party presidential nominee herself, there were a number of individuals who worked on McGovern's Texas campaign effort who would later achieve individual notability.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas, McGovern campaign, Role of the Clintons
Bill Clinton, and his then-girlfriend (and future wife) Hillary (both Yale Law School students at the time) had both moved to Austin to work on the Texas McGovern campaign. Bill had originally planned to begin working as a southern states coordinator for the McGovern campaign during the summer of 1971. However, he postponed those plans in order to spend that summer with Hillary, who had taken a summer job in California. The following summer, Bill took a job as the state manager of McGovern's campaign in Texas. He asked Hillary if she would be interested in joining him there. In her memoir Living History, Hillary recalled, "Bill asked if I wanted to go too. I did, but only if I had a specific job."


1972 United States presidential election in Texas, McGovern campaign, Role of the Clintons
Hillary was tasked with registering black and Hispanic voters in South Texas on behalf of the Democratic National Committee. With the 1972 election being the first in which 18 year-olds were able to vote, the task of voter registration was much greater than in other years. In addition to registering voters, as a law student, Clinton was utilized as a legal resource.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas, McGovern campaign, Role of the Clintons
Hillary worked alongside Sara Ehrman, with whom she bonded. She also bonded with Betsey Wright while working on the campaign, with whom she frequently would travel to Barton Springs.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas, McGovern campaign, Role of the Clintons
Bill, meanwhile, worked closely with Eddie Bernice Johnson. He also worked with Ron Kirk (future mayor of Dallas), Ann Richards (future governor of Texas). He additionally worked with Steven Spielberg who, at the time, was a little-known television producer. He traveled frequently across the state to organize events and to hang posters in county courthouses. He spent considerable time in Dallas, where he had an office in the campaign's local headquarters on Lemmon Avenue.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas, McGovern campaign, Role of the Clintons
The Clintons worked with Garry Mauro, a University of Texas Law School student, on the campaign. Mauro would go on to later serve as Texas Land Commissioner, and would head Bill's 1992 campaign in Texas. They also worked alongside future Austin advertising executives Roy Spence and Judy Trabulsi, who would both go on to work on Bill Clinton's presidential campaigns. Spence would also work as a media adviser to Hillary in her 2008 presidential campaign, while Trablusi supported the candidacy of Barack Obama. Both worked in support of her 2016 presidential campaign.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas, McGovern campaign, Role of the Clintons
While working in Texas, the Clintons also networked with some donors that would later contribute to their own campaigns for political office, such as Bernard Rapoport.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas, McGovern campaign, Role of the Clintons
Occasionally, Bill would receive phone calls from former president Lyndon B. Johnson, who would inquire about the campaign effort and offer advice.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas, McGovern campaign, Role of the Clintons
Both Clintons were absent from attending their fall classes that term in order to work for the campaign. However, they both managed to ace their finals.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas, Nixon campaign
Incumbent president Richard Nixon emphasized on a good economy and his successes in foreign affairs, such as coming near to ending American involvement in the Vietnam War and establishing relations with China.


1972 United States presidential election in Texas, Nixon campaign
Nixon had the support of former Democratic Texas governor John Connally, who headed the group Democrats for Nixon.


1972 United States presidential election in Utah
The 1972 United States presidential election in Utah took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election. Voters chose four representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1972 United States presidential election in Utah
Utah overwhelmingly voted for incumbent President Richard Nixon (R-California) with over 67 percent of the popular vote, beating Democratic South Dakota Senator George McGovern with a margin of over forty percent, carrying every county in the state. Nixon carried every county with over sixty percent of the vote except for Carbon County, which had typically been the most Democratic area of the state. U.S. Representative John G. Schmitz (R-California) of the American Independent Party received 5.97 percent of the popular vote, and his results in Utah proved to be his third strongest state in the 1972 election after Idaho and Alaska.


1972 United States presidential election in Vermont
The 1972 United States presidential election in Vermont  took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election which was held throughout all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Voters chose three representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1972 United States presidential election in Vermont
Vermont voted for incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon of California and his running mate Vice President Spiro Agnew of Maryland, defeating Democratic Senator George McGovern of South Dakota and his running mate U.S. Ambassador Sargent Shriver of Maryland.


1972 United States presidential election in Vermont
Nixon took 62.66% of the vote to McGovern's 36.47%, a margin of 26.20%. Coming in a distant third was the People's Party candidate famed pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock, who took 0.54% in Vermont on the Liberty Union ballot line.


1972 United States presidential election in Vermont
Vermont historically was a bastion of liberal Northeastern Republicanism, and by 1972 the Green Mountain State had gone Republican in every presidential election since the founding of the Republican Party, except in the Democratic landslide of 1964, when the GOP had nominated staunch conservative Barry Goldwater.


1972 United States presidential election in Vermont
Richard Nixon was seen as a mainstream moderate Republican, and while winning nationally in a massive 49-state landslide, he easily held onto Vermont's three electoral votes. The only state McGovern carried was neighboring Massachusetts, along with the District of Columbia.


1972 United States presidential election in Vermont
As Nixon won a historic landslide nationally, Vermont weighed in as about 2% more Republican than the nation.


1972 United States presidential election in Vermont
Nixon won every county in Vermont, and broke 60% in every county except for Chittenden County,  the most populous county, home to the state's largest city, Burlington. Though the state wouldn't vote for another Democratic presidential candidate until 1992, no subsequent Republican who won the state was able to match Nixon's 62% vote share.


1972 United States presidential election in Vermont
Richard Nixon had previously won the Green Mountain State against John F. Kennedy in 1960 and then again against Hubert Humphrey in 1968.


1972 United States presidential election in Virginia
The 1972 United States presidential election in Virginia took place on November 7, 1972. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were part of the 1972 United States presidential election. Virginia voters chose 12 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president of the United States. This was also the first presidential election after the passage of the Twenty-sixth Amendment, which decreased the voting age from 21 to 18.


1972 United States presidential election in Virginia
Virginia was won by incumbent United States President Richard Nixon of California with 67.84% of the vote, against South Dakota Senator George McGovern of the Democratic Party. Nixon also won the national election with 60.67% of the vote.


1972 United States presidential election in Virginia
In strict accordance with national trends, McGovern carried just one county or independent city in Virginia – however, that county, Charles City County, saw McGovern receive over 67% of the vote, and was his fourth-strongest county in the country. As of the 2020 presidential election, this constitutes the last occasion the Republican Party has carried Brunswick County, Greensville County, Surry County, Sussex County, and the cities of Charlottesville, Norfolk, Petersburg, Portsmouth and Richmond.


1972 United States presidential election in Virginia
However, Nixon did not win all of the electoral votes in Virginia because one of his pledged electors, Roger MacBride, instead cast his vote for Libertarian candidate John Hospers and his running mate, Tonie Nathan. Although Hospers was not on the ballot in Virginia, MacBride's vote was the first electoral vote ever cast for a female candidate (Nathan); MacBride was subsequently nominated as the Libertarian candidate for President in the next election.


1972 United States presidential election in Washington (state)
The 1972 United States presidential election in Washington took place on November 7, 1972 as part of the 1972 United States presidential election.


1972 United States presidential election in Washington (state)
Washington voted for the Republican incumbent, Richard Nixon, over the Democratic challenger, South Dakota Senator George McGovern. Nixon took 56.92% of the vote to McGovern's 38.64%, a margin of 18.28%, which still made the state 4.87% more Democratic than the nation at-large.


1972 United States presidential election in Washington (state)
Nixon won every county except heavily unionized Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties, in the process being the first Republican to carry Wahkiakum County (another heavily unionized timber county), Kitsap County and Snohomish County since Herbert Hoover in 1928.


1972 United States presidential election in West Virginia
The 1972 United States presidential election in West Virginia took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election. West Virginia voters chose six representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1972 United States presidential election in West Virginia
West Virginia was won by incumbent President Richard Nixon (R–California), with 63.61% of the popular vote, against George McGovern (D–South Dakota), with 36.39% of the popular vote. Nixon won every county in the state except for Logan County, which McGovern won 51.3%-48.7%.


1972 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
The 1972 United States presidential election in Wisconsin was held on November 7, 1972 as part of the 1972 United States presidential election. Incumbent President Richard Nixon won the state of Wisconsin with 53.40 percent of the vote, carrying the state's 11 electoral votes, although Wisconsin was the fifth most Democratic state during the election, voting 13.48 points more Democratic than the nation as a whole. In no other election since the emergence of the Republican Party has Wisconsin voted so much more Democratic than the country as a whole.


1972 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
McGovern won seven counties (out of 131 county-equivalents including three in Alaska that he won nationally) receiving as usual his highest vote in almost wholly Native American Menominee County where he won 62.3 percent of the vote. McGovern and Shriver also achieved clear majorities in Milwaukee, Dane, Ashland, Douglas and Portage Counties, and Rusk County by 1.1 points. Nixon won Manitowoc County by one hundred and ten votes, achieved pluralities in Pepin, Chippewa and Forest Counties, and won majorities in the remaining seventy-eight – the largest being in Waupaca County where Nixon won by forty-two percentage points.


1972 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
Nixon became the first Republican since Warren G. Harding in 1920 to win Iron County, and was the last Republican until Donald Trump in 2016 to win Pepin and Kenosha Counties, and remains the last Republican to claim Bayfield County.


1972 United States presidential election in Wyoming
The 1972 United States presidential election in Wyoming took place on November 7, 1972. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were part of the 1972 United States presidential election. State voters chose three electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1972 United States presidential election in Wyoming
Wyoming was won by the Republican nominees, incumbent President Richard Nixon of California and his running mate Vice President Spiro Agnew of Maryland. Nixon and Agnew defeated the Democratic nominees, Senator George McGovern of South Dakota and his running mate U.S. Ambassador Sargent Shriver of Maryland.


1972 United States presidential election in Wyoming
Nixon carried Wyoming with 69.01 percent of the vote to McGovern's 30.47 percent, a victory margin of 38.54 points. In a state that would reflect McGovern's national results, the Democratic nominee did not win a single county in Wyoming, making Nixon the first Republican to carry Sweetwater County and to carry all Wyoming’s counties since Warren G. Harding in 1920.


1972 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia
The 1972 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Washington, D.C. voters chose 3 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Spiro Agnew, against Democratic challenger and Senator George McGovern from South Dakota and his running mate, former United States Ambassador to France Sargent Shriver.


1972 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia
McGovern won D.C. by an overwhelming margin, receiving 78.10% of the vote. Along with Massachusetts, the District of Columbia was the only political district with electoral votes in the country that voted for George McGovern in the general election. This is the only time in history that a Republican presidential nominee has received more than 20% of the vote in D.C. and, in turn, the only time that the Democratic margin of victory was less than 60%. This was also the first presidential election where the Democratic candidate did not earn at least 80% of the vote, with Jimmy Carter repeating that feat in 1980 due to a strong third party showing.


1972 Uruguayan Primera División, Overview
It was contested by 12 teams, and Nacional won the championship.


1972 Utah State Aggies football team
The 1972 Utah State Aggies football team represented Utah State University in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Chuck Mills, the team played its home games at Romney Stadium in Logan, Utah. Competing as an NCAA University Division independent, the team compiled an 8–3 record and finished the season ranked number 17 in the Coaches Poll. This was the last time Utah State finished ranked in either the Coaches Poll or AP Poll until the 2012 season.


1972 Utah Utes football team
The 1972 Utah Utes football team was an American football team that represented the University of Utah during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. Head coach Bill Meek led the team to a 5–2 mark in the WAC and 6–5 overall.


1972 Utah gubernatorial election
The 1972 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1972. Democratic incumbent Cal Rampton defeated Republican nominee Nicholas L. Strike with 69.68% of the vote.


1972 Utah gubernatorial election, Campaign
It is suggested that Rampton, as a moderate Democrat, was acceptable enough to Utah's Republican Party that in both the 1968 and 1972 elections, they put forward only token candidates. By October 1972, Rampton was seen as very likely to win, with his election appearing "assured" according to The New York Times.


1972 Uxbridge by-election
The Uxbridge by-election was held on 7 December 1972 after Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Charles Curran had died on 16 September of the same year. The seat was retained by the Conservatives by Michael Shersby. Shersby would hold the seat until his sudden death just days after the 1997 general election.


1972 Uxbridge by-election, Candidates
The by-election was contested by seven candidates, with each of the three major parliamentary parties offering candidates, three others coming from extra-parliamentary right-wing groups and a final candidate who was effectively an independent.


1972 Uxbridge by-election, Candidates
John Clifton was the candidate for the far-right National Front. He was the party's organiser for South-West London and was also close to the local branch of the Monday Club.


1972 Uxbridge by-election, Candidates
Dennis Herbert Harmston ran for the Union Movement, a far-right pro-European unity party led by Oswald Mosley. Known as "Big Dan", Harmston, who worked in the management of Smithfield Market, was a long-term supporter of Mosley. He later became known as a supporter of Enoch Powell, leading the Smithfield porters in a pro-Powell march following the Rivers of Blood speech.


1972 Uxbridge by-election, Candidates
Another fringe rightist party, the National Independence Party, also stood with Clare Macdonald as their candidate. Macdonald had been a member of the National Front but had switched allegiance when former Front leader John O'Brien was forced out of the group.


1972 Uxbridge by-election, Candidates
Michael Shersby was the candidate for the Conservative Party. He had worked in industry for a number of years with the sugar company Tate & Lyle whilst also serving as a Conservative member of Westminster City Council.


1972 Uxbridge by-election, Candidates
Reginald Simmerson ran under the title "Democratic Conservative against the Common Market". Simmerson was a regular by-election candidate who campaigned against British membership of the European Community. Following his death in 1998 the Anti- Common Market League established a prize in his memory.


1972 Uxbridge by-election, Candidates
Ian Stuart was the candidate for the Liberal Party. A cargo-handler by profession and the chairman of the Joint Shop Stewards Liaison Committee, he was educated at Lewes Old Grammar School.


1972 Uxbridge by-election, Candidates
Manuela Sykes was chosen as the candidate for the Labour Party. Sykes had been a long-standing member of the Liberal Party and had been a candidate for them in a number of parliamentary elections before defecting to Labour. She too served as a member of Westminster Council.


1972 Uxbridge by-election, Results
The Conservatives retained the seat, albeit with a reduced majority and vote share. However the by-election was more noted for the comparatively high share won by the National Front in what was their "first dramatic by-election result". The party had campaigned at unprecedented levels, bringing in as any as 100 canvassers to get their message out to voters.


1972 VFA season
The 1972 Victorian Football Association season was the 91st season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the twelfth season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won by the Oakleigh Football Club, after it defeated Dandenong in the Grand Final on 24 September by 44 points; it was Oakleigh's sixth and final Division 1 premiership. The Division 2 premiership was won by Geelong West, which went undefeated through the season with an overall record of 20–0, becoming the first team since North Melbourne in 1918 to complete a perfect season; overall, it was the club's third Division 2 premiership.


1972 VFA season, Division 1
The Division 1 home-and-away season was played over 18 rounds; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system. The finals were played at the St Kilda Cricket Ground.


1972 VFA season, Division 2
The Division 2 home-and-away season was played over eighteen rounds; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system; all finals were played on Sundays at Toorak Park.


1972 VFA season, Notable events, Geelong West's perfect season
Geelong West won all twenty games it played during the 1972 season, becoming the third team to complete a perfect season in Association history. It was the first time the feat had been achieved since North Melbourne in 1918, and the last time it was achieved until Port Melbourne in 2011. Geelong West entered the season after being relegated from Division 1 at the end of 1971, although it was not disgraced during that season, as its win-loss record of 6–12 was at the time the best ever for a wooden-spooner. Geelong West's Thirds team was also unbeaten during the 1972 season.


1972 VFA season, Notable events, Geelong West's perfect season
Geelong West's unbeaten record hides the fact that it was very evenly matched with runners-up Caulfield; three of Geelong West's four wins against Caulfield, including both finals, were by a goal or less:


1972 VFA season, Notable events, Lightning premiership
In 1972, the Association established a post-season lightning premiership, contested by the twelve teams which did not reach the finals (six from each division). Matches were played as curtain-raisers to senior finals matches on Sundays, and were played at half the length of a normal match over two periods of play. The format of the competition was knock-out, and was arranged such that the Division 1 teams competed separately to the Division 2 teams up to the semi-final stage; then, the semi-final stage was contested by three Division 1 teams and one Division 2 team. The post-season lightning premiership was contested from 1972 until 1979.


1972 VFL Grand Final
The 1972 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Richmond Football Club and Carlton Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 7 October 1972. It was the 76th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1972 VFL season. The match, attended by 112,393 spectators, was won by Carlton by a margin of 27 points, marking that club's 11th premiership victory.


1972 VFL Grand Final, Background
At the conclusion of the regular home-and-away season, Carlton had finished first on the ladder with 18 wins, 3 losses and a draw. Richmond had finished second with 18 wins and 4 losses.


1972 VFL Grand Final, Background
In the finals series leading up to the Grand Final, Richmond defeated Collingwood by 44 points in the Qualifying Final before meeting Carlton in the Second Semi Final. This game resulted in a draw, with both teams scoring 8.13 (61). In the Second Semi Final Replay, Richmond won comfortably by 41 points, sending them straight through to the Grand Final. Carlton then beat St Kilda by 16 points to match up with Richmond once again in the premiership decider.


1972 VFL Grand Final, Background
Richmond went into the Grand Final as the clear favourites. Even though Carlton finished on top of the ladder, they had lost twice to Richmond during the regular season, and then were thrashed in the Second Semi Final replay. The statistics lent further weight to Richmond's favouritism; Carlton had not beaten the Tigers in a final since 1920.


1972 VFL Grand Final, Background
As Richmond coach Tom Hafey recalled: "We were expected to kill [Carlton] in the grand final."


1972 VFL Grand Final, Match summary
The 1972 Grand Final was played under dull skies but on a superb MCG surface. Carlton made eight positional changes to its team, the most notable was that of captain-coach John Nicholls, who put himself in the forward pocket, and gave first ruck responsibilities to Peter "Percy" Jones.


1972 VFL Grand Final, Match summary
Less than two minutes into the game, Trevor Keogh opened the scoring for Carlton before goals to Barry Richardson and Neil Balme put Richmond in front. But then Carlton kicked the next four goals – two of them to Nicholls – and would never again relinquish the lead. At quarter time, Carlton led by 18 points, having kicked 8.4 (52), a record first-quarter score for a Grand Final, to 5.4 (34). Some thirteen goals had been scored, and it wouldn't end there.


1972 VFL Grand Final, Match summary
As good as Carlton had played in the first quarter, they were even better in the second. Although Kevin Morris opened the scoring within 30 seconds to cut the margin to 12 points, the Blues responded by kicking four goals in four minutes. By the 23-minute mark of the quarter, the Blues had kicked eight goals to reach 100 points. At the main break, Carlton led by 45 points, 18.6 (114) to 10.9 (69). Richmond had still managed to score five goals for the quarter, but Carlton were unstoppable, kicking a record ten goals for the quarter. The only worry was on the injury front; David McKay had had his jaw broken in two places by Balme, and Vin Waite had been stretchered off with a broken ankle.


1972 VFL Grand Final, Match summary
And when Syd Jackson kicked truly at the 30-minute mark of the third quarter, the Blues had broken the record for the highest score in a Grand Final with still over a quarter to play. At the last change, Carlton held a 54-point lead, 25.9 (159) to 15.15 (105).


1972 VFL Grand Final, Match summary
Exactly 50 goals were kicked in the game, with the teams compiling a combined score of 50.27 (327). This was, at the time, the highest scoring game in VFL history, Grand Final or otherwise, and has been bettered only seven times since. Carlton's score of 28.9 (177) remains the highest in Grand Final history, and Richmond's 22.18 (150) remains the highest losing score in a Grand Final. Richmond's score was the tenth highest score of the season: only in 1924, 1937, 1940, 1954, 1962, 1976 and 2001 have other teams lost matches with scores among the ten highest of a season.


1972 VFL Grand Final, Match summary
Carlton vice-captain Robert Walls was unanimously rated best on ground, kicking six goals and directly assisting in seven others. Ruckman Peter "Percy" Jones played arguably his finest game for Carlton, while Alex Jesaulenko kicked seven goals and John Nicholls bagged six. Richmond had eleven individual goal-kickers, with Neil Balme kicking five.


1972 VFL Grand Final, Match summary
Carlton's opening term score of 8.4 (52) and second term score of 10.2 (62) set the records for the best first and second quarter scores in Grand Final history (Hawthorn would later equal the first quarter score in the 1989 VFL Grand Final).


1972 VFL Grand Final, Epilogue
The 1972 premiership victory was John Nicholls' finest moment, cementing his place in football history as one of the great strategists. After being mocked by opponents and berated by critics following Carlton's thrashing in the Second Semi Final, Nicholls knew that the only way to beat Richmond was to outscore them. In another tactical move, Nicholls decided not to implement the planned game changes in the Preliminary final against St Kilda, thus keeping Richmond in the dark about his intentions.


1972 VFL Grand Final, Epilogue
Instead, he trusted his players to beat the Saints playing their orthodox game, and also credited his senior players for understanding and executing the plan. On the day Nicholls launched the plan by loading the forward line with his best players and instructing the team to play a fast, direct game that would not allow Richmond to settle. Nicholls was also aware that in the 25 games that both Richmond and Carlton had played in 1972 leading up to the Grand Final, Richmond had conceded nearly 500 more points than Carlton.


1972 VFL Grand Final, Epilogue
The unsuspecting Tigers fielded the same six defenders that had held Carlton to nine goals in the Second Semi Final replay two weeks earlier. Nicholls put himself in the forward pocket against Ray Boyanich and made him pay for loose play by kicking six goals, three of them in the first quarter. Afterwards Nicholls said it was the easiest physical game he had played in.


1972 VFL Grand Final, Epilogue
Full -back Dick Clay described the loss as "surreal", Francis Bourke as "almost eerie".


1972 VFL Grand Final, Epilogue
If this was Nicholls' finest moment, it was also the worst day of Richmond coach Tom Hafey's career.


1972 VFL Grand Final, Epilogue
Several days after the match, chief football writer for The Age Percy Beames wrote that losing the Semi Final replay was the best thing that could have happened to Carlton. He reasoned that:


1972 VFL Grand Final, Epilogue
[ Carlton] would have gone into the Grand Final under-conditioned, and would not have learned the lessons that brought the Tigers undone [... In addition,] Carlton would have been lulled into the belief that its best chance of winning the premiership rested in retaining its players in the same positions they occupied throughout the season. Until then, the Blues had argued that it was because of this that they had finished on top of the ladder. No one believed this after the Richmond thrashing -- least of all Nicholls.


1972 VFL Grand Final, Epilogue
This was the first of two consecutive Grand Finals to be contested between these teams. In the 1973 VFL Grand Final the fortunes were reversed, with Richmond running out winners by a margin of 30 points.


1972 VFL season
The 1972 Victorian Football League season was the 76th season of the elite Australian rules football competition.


1972 VFL season, Premiership season
In 1972, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man. A player could be substituted for any reason; however, once substituted, a player could not return to the field of play under any circumstances.


1972 VFL season, Premiership season
Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 22 rounds; matches 12 to 22 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 11.


1972 VFL season, Premiership season
Once the 22 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1972 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the McIntyre "Final Five" system.


1972 VFL season, Grand final
Carlton defeated Richmond 28.9 (177) to 22.18 (150), in front of a crowd of 112393 people. (For an explanation of scoring see Australian rules football).


1972 VIII FIBA International Christmas Tournament
The 1972 VIII FIBA International Christmas Tournament "Trofeo Raimundo Saporta" was the 8th edition of the FIBA International Christmas Tournament. It took place at Sports City of Real Madrid Pavilion, Madrid, Spain, on 24, 25 and 26 December 1972 with the participations of Real Madrid (champions of the 1971–72 Liga Española de Baloncesto), Palmeiras, Virginia Cavaliers and Estudiantes Monteverde.


1972 Vanderbilt Commodores football team
The 1972 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. The Commodores were led by head coach Bill Pace in his sixth season and finished the season with a record of three wins and eight losses (3–8 overall, 0–6 in the SEC).


1972 Venezuelan Primera División season
The 1972 season of the Venezuelan Primera División, the top category of Venezuelan football, was played by 9 teams. The national champions were Deportivo Italia.


1972 Vermont Catamounts football team
The 1972 Vermont Catamounts football team was an American football team that represented  the University of Vermont in the Yankee Conference during the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. In their first year under head coach Carl Falivene, the team compiled a 4–5 record.


1972 Vermont gubernatorial election
The 1972 Vermont gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1972. The incumbent Republican Gov. Deane C. Davis was not a candidate for re-election to another term as Governor of Vermont. The Democratic nominee, Thomas P. Salmon, defeated the Republican nominee, Luther F. Hackett, to become his successor. Future U.S. senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders ran as a member of the Liberty Union Party.


1972 Villanova Wildcats football team
The 1972 Villanova Wildcats football team represented the Villanova University during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. The head coach was Lou Ferry, coaching his third season with the Wildcats. The team played their home games at Villanova Stadium in Villanova, Pennsylvania.


1972 Vincentian general election
General elections were held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 7 April 1972. The result was a tie between the People's Political Party and the Saint Vincent Labour Party, which both won six seats. Despite being a former member of the SVLP (which had received a majority of the public vote), the sole independent MP James Fitz-Allen Mitchell formed a government with the PPP. Voter turnout was 75.6%.


1972 Virginia Cavaliers football team
The 1972 Virginia Cavaliers football team represented the University of Virginia during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. The Cavaliers were led by second-year head coach Don Lawrence and played their home games at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia. They competed as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, finishing tied for last.


1972 Virginia Slims Championships
The 1972 Virgin Slims Championships were the first season-ending championships of the Virginia Slims Circuit (a precursor to the WTA Tour), the annual tennis tournament for the best female tennis players in singles on the 1972 Virginia Slims circuit. The singles-only tournament was played on outdoor clay courts and was held from October 9 through October 15, 1972, at the Boca Raton Hotel & Club in Boca Raton, United States. Fourth-seeded Chris Evert won the title but had to return the first place prize money of $25,000 as she was not yet 18 years old and therefore was classified as an amateur.


1972 Virginia Slims Championships – Singles
Fourth-seeded Chris Evert became the first champion of the season-ending Virginia Slims Championships tennis tournament, defeating Kerry Melville in the final 7–5, 6–4.


1972 Virginia Slims Masters
The 1972 Virginia Slims Masters was a women's singles tennis tournament played on outdoor clay court at the Bartlett Park Tennis Center in St. Petersburg, Florida in the United States. The event was part of the 1972 WT Woman's Pro Tour. It was the second edition of the tournament and was held from April 11 through April 16, 1972. Second-seeded Nancy Gunter won the singles title and earned $3,400 first-prize money.


1972 Virginia Slims Masters, Finals, Doubles
Karen Krantzcke /  Wendy Overton defeated  Judy Tegart /  Françoise Dürr 7–5, 6–4


1972 Virginia Slims of Denver
The 1972 Virginia Slims of Denver, also known as the Virginia Slims Denver International,  was a women's tennis tournament played on hard court at the South High School in Denver, Colorado in the United States that was part of the 1972 WT Pro Tour. It was the inaugural edition of the tournament and was held from August 14 through August 20, 1972. Third-seeded Nancy Richey Gunter won the singles title and earned $6,000 first-prize money.


1972 Virginia Slims of Denver, Finals, Singles
Nancy Richey Gunter defeated  Billie Jean King 1–6, 6–4, 6–4


1972 Virginia Slims of Denver, Finals, Doubles
Françoise Dürr /  Lesley Hunt defeated  Helen Gourlay /  Karen Krantzcke 6–0, 6–3


1972 Virginia Slims of Indianapolis
The 1972 Virginia Slims of Indianapolis  was a women's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum in Indianapolis, Indiana in the United States that was part of the 1972 Virginia Slims Circuit. It was the inaugural edition of the tournament and was held from May 3 through May 6, 1972. The qualifying event for the singles competition took place on May 1 and May 2, 1972 at the Indianapolis Racquet Club. First-seeded Billie Jean King won the singles title and earned $4,000 first-prize money.


1972 Virginia Slims of Indianapolis, Finals, Doubles
Rosemary Casals /  Karen Krantzcke defeated  Judy Dalton /  Françoise Dürr 6–3, 6–2


1972 Virginia Slims of Jacksonville
The 1972 Virginia Slims of Jacksonville  was a women's tennis tournament played on indoor clay courts at the Deerwood Club in Jacksonville, Florida in the United States that was part of the 1972 Women's Tennis Circuit. It was the inaugural edition of the tournament and was held from April 4 through April 9, 1972. Unseeded Marie Neumannová won the singles title and earned $3,400 first-prize money.


1972 Virginia Slims of Jacksonville, Finals, Doubles
Judy Dalton /  Karen Krantzcke defeated  Vicki Berner /  Billie Jean King 7–5, 6–4


1972 Virginia Slims of Newport
The 1972 Virginia Slims of Newport, was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island in the United States that was part of the 1972 Virginia Slims World Championship Series. It was the second edition of the tournament and was held from August 22 through August 26, 1972. Sixth-seeded Margaret Court won the singles title and earned $3,400 first-prize money.


1972 Virginia Slims of Newport, Finals, Doubles
Margaret Court /  Lesley Hunt defeated  Rosemary Casals /  Billie Jean King 6–2, 6–2


1972 Virginia Slims of Oklahoma City
The 1972 Virginia Slims of Oklahoma City was a women's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Frederickson Field House Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in the United States that was part of the 1972 WT Pro Tour. It was the second and last edition of the tournament and was held from February 16 through February 19, 1972. Third-seeded Rosie Casals won the singles title and earned $4,000 first-prize money.


1972 Virginia Slims of Oklahoma City, Finals, Doubles
Rosie Casals /  Billie Jean King defeated  Judy Dalton /  Françoise Dürr 6–7(4–5), 7–6(5–2), 6–2


1972 Virginia Slims of Richmond
The 1972 Virginia Slims of Richmond  was a women's tennis tournament played on indoor clay courts at the Westwood Racquet Club in Richmond, Virginia in the United States that was part of the 1972 Women's Tennis Circuit. It was the second edition of the tournament and was held from March 21 through March 26, 1972. Third-seeded Billie Jean King won the singles title and earned $3,400 first-prize money.


1972 Virginia Slims of Richmond, Finals, Doubles
Rosie Casals /  Billie Jean King defeated  Judy Dalton /  Karen Krantzcke 7–5, 7–6


1972 Virginia Slims of Washington
The 1972 Virginia Slims of Washington  was a women's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Linden Hill Racquet Club in Bethesda, Maryland in the United States that was part of the 1972 Women's Tennis Circuit. It was the inaugural edition of the tournament and was held from February 24 through February 29, 1972. Unseeded Nancy Gunter won the singles title and earned $3,500 first-prize money.


1972 Virginia Slims of Washington, Finals, Doubles
Wendy Overton /  Valerie Ziegenfuss defeated  Judy Tegart /  Françoise Dürr 7–5, 6–2


1972 Virginia Slims of Washington – Singles
Unseeded Nancy Gunter won the singles title of the 1972 Virginia Slims of Washington tennis tournament, defeating second-seeded Chris Evert in the final 7–6(5–1), 6–2. The competition was played on indoor carpet courts at the Linden Hill Racquet Club in Bethesda, Maryland.


1972 Virginia Tech Gobblers football team
The 1972 Virginia Tech Gobblers football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season.


1972 Virginia Tech Gobblers football team, Players
The following players were members of the 1972 football team according to the roster published in the 1973 edition of The Bugle, the Virginia Tech yearbook.


1972 Virginia ballot measures
The 1972 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 7, 1972, the same day as the U.S. Presidential, U.S. Senate, U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were two constitutional referendums  to amend the Virginia State Constitution. All referendums were referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly.


1972 Virginia ballot measures, Question 1
This amendment asked voters to reduce the minimum age for qualified voters of the State from 21 to 18. This amendment was introduced in order to synchronize Virginia State Constitution with the U.S. Constitution following the recent passage of the 26th Amendment in 1971.


1972 Virginia ballot measures, Question 2
This amendment asked voters to extend in the legal definition of "city" to any incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before 12 P.M. on July 1, 1971.


1972 Volta a Catalunya
The 1972 Volta a Catalunya was the 52nd edition of the Volta a Catalunya cycle race and was held from 12 September to 17 September 1972. The race started in Tremp and finished in Badalona. The race was won by Felice Gimondi.


1972 Vuelta a España
The 27th Edition Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 27 April to 14 May 1972. It consisted of 17 stages covering a total of 3,079.3 km (1,913.4 mi), and was won by José Manuel Fuente of the Kas-Kaskol cycling team. Fuente also won the mountains classification while Domingo Perurena won the points classification.


1972 WANFL season
The 1972 WANFL season was the 88th season of the various incarnations of the Western Australian National Football League. It saw East Perth, after five Grand Final losses in six seasons and a frustrating seven since their last premiership in 1959, break the drought against a Claremont team that had achieved its first minor premiership since Johnny Leonard’s days, despite kicking into the wind after winning the toss.


1972 WANFL season
The two clubs established their supremacy from early in the season, and the battle for the last place in the four was won by reigning premiers West Perth despite losing eight of their last ten matches.


1972 WANFL season
1971 preliminary finalists East Fremantle, equal favourites for the premiership with Claremont in the pre-season were affected by form lapses and controversial behaviour by coach Alan Joyce, who in June refused to allow Old Easts players selected in the state team to train there rather than at East Fremantle Oval.


1972 WANFL season
A game behind the Cardinals after eleven matches, the blue and whites could themselves win only thrice, whilst South Fremantle in a rebuilding phase under Mal Atwell and without key players Hassa Mann, Graham Scott and Len Clark lost nine on end but did uncover players like Bruce Monteath who would help them become a WA(N)FL power between 1975 and 1983.


1972 WANFL season
An unfancied but revitalised Perth under captain-coach Barry Cable were the Tigers’ and Royals’ nearest rival but could not win any of seven matches against them, whilst Subiaco, fancied before the season and showing an innovative "Think Subi" campaign but affected by off-field disputes involving the sacking of returning veteran Cam Blakemore, were last or second-last for eight rounds before a five-game winning streak had them theoretically in contention for the four with two rounds to play.


1972 WANFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 7
Perth overcome a wayward start (nine unbroken behinds in the first quarter) in slippery conditions to show they are back as a force after a poor 1971. Rookie Geoff Watt silences Mel Whinnen and the Cardinals fail completely in attack.


1972 WANFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 17
The return of controversial coach Joyce to the playing field at full-forward revitalises East Fremantle’s attack and leaves them merely 1.87 percent shy of fourth position, whilst centre half-back Eddie Donnes decimates West Perth’s forward line.


1972 WANFL season, Finals, First semi-final
Perth overcomes a slow start – not goalling in the initial forty minutes – and West Perth’s greater pace to win well thanks to the Cardinals’ wasteful use of their greater possession.


1972 WANFL season, Finals, Second semi-final
East Perth’s ability to counter Claremont’s anticipated roving superiority ensures they come home for a surprise win in showery and windy conditions. Dick Michalczyk at centre-half-back dominates the Claremont attack and shows the move of Ken McAullay to a flank was justified.


1972 WANFL season, Finals, Preliminary final
Claremont respond to coach Howell’s overhaul due to their outplaying of the Demons’ ruck division.


1972 WANFL season, Finals, Grand Final
Controversy over the possible replacement of Brown by Kevin Murray is overcome in a dour win in strong winds and rain  based around solid teamwork and the strikepower of Gary Bygraves.


1972 WANFL season, Notes
This policy was made illegal in 1973 when a ‘centre diamond’ (later the current centre square) was introduced, within with no team could place more than four players during a centre bounce.


1972 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 1972 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 13th conference playoff in league history. The tournament was played between March 7 and March 11, 1972. All games were played at home team campus sites, including each of the two regional final series. By winning the regional tournaments, both Wisconsin and Denver were invited to participate in the 1972 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.


1972 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Though not official designations, Wisconsin is considered as the East Regional Champion† and Denver as the West Regional Champion‡.


1972 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The top eight teams in the WCHA, according to their final conference standings, were eligible for the tournament and were seeded No. 1 through No. 8. In the first round the first and eighth seeds, the second and seventh seeds, the third and sixth seeds and the fourth and fifth seeds were matched in two-game series where the school that scored the higher number of goals was declared the winner. After the first round the remaining teams were reseeded No. 1 through No. 4 according to their final conference standings and advanced to the second round. In the second round the first and fourth seeds and the second and third seeds competed in an additional two-game, total goal series with the winners of each being declared as co-conference champions.


1972 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format, Conference Standings
Note: GP = Games Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against


1972 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team
The 1972 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team was an American football team that represented Wake Forest University during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. In their first and only season under head coach Tom Harper, the Demon Deacons compiled a 2–9 record and finished in a tie for last place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.


1972 Washington Huskies football team
The 1972 Washington Huskies football team was an American football team that represented the University of Washington during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. In its 16th season under head coach Jim Owens, the team compiled an 8–3 record, finished in a tie for third place in the Pacific-8 Conference, and outscored its opponents by a combined total of 208 to 204.


1972 Washington Huskies football team
Defensive back Bill Cahill and quarterback Sonny Sixkiller were the team captains, and defensive back Calvin Jones was selected as the team's most valuable player.


1972 Washington Huskies football team
A top ten pick in the preseason, the Huskies were undefeated after five games and ranked twelfth in the AP Poll, but Sixkiller suffered ankle and knee injuries early in the Stanford game in mid-October. Quarterbacks Greg Collins, Dennis Fitzpatrick, and Mark Backman then led the offense, with losses at Stanford and #1 USC, followed by consecutive wins over California and Oregon State.


1972 Washington Huskies football team
Sixkiller returned to the lineup for senior day at Husky Stadium on November 11 and Washington beat #8 UCLA, but dropped the Apple Cup to #20 Washington State at Spokane. The Pac-8 did not allow a second bowl team until the 1975 season.


1972 Washington Huskies football team, NFL Draft selections
Six University of Washington Huskies were selected in the 1973 NFL Draft, which lasted seventeen rounds with 442 selections.


1972 Washington Initiative 276
Initiative to the People 276 (or the Public Disclosure Act) was a law approved by the people of Washington in a vote (plebiscite) held in 1972. The law required the state government to establish the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission in order to provide information to the public about campaign fundraising and expenditures  The initiative was passed by the people at the same time as the November 1972 general election, by a margin of 72.02% to 27.98%.


1972 Washington Initiative 276
The law has since been superseded by the Washington Public Records Act. The current law on the subject is codified in the Revised Code (RCW), Chapter 42, Section 56.


1972 Washington Initiative 276, Full title
The official long title of the Public Disclosure Act was


1972 Washington Initiative 276, Full title
An ACT relating to campaign financing, activities of lobbyists, access to public records, and financial affairs of elective officers and candidates; requiring disclosure of sources of campaign contributions, objects of campaign expenditures, and amounts thereof; limiting campaign expenditures; regulating the activities of lobbyists and requiring reports of their expenditures; restricting use of public funds to influence legislative decisions; governing access to public records; specifying the manner in which public agencies will maintain such records; requiring disclosure of elective officials' and candidates' financial interests and activities; establishing a public disclosure commission to administer the act; and providing civil penalties.


1972 Washington Redskins season
The 1972 Washington Redskins season  was the team's 41st, and 36th in Washington, D.C. The Redskins were trying to build on the success of the previous season, in which they had made the postseason for the first time in 26 seasons.


1972 Washington Redskins season
Head coach George Allen, in just his second season with the team, took the Redskins to their first Super Bowl. The team, who had missed the postseason in the entirety of the 1950s and 1960s, won its first postseason game since 1943, and appeared in its first league championship game since 1945.


1972 Washington Redskins season
The NFC champion Redskins would ultimately lose a very close Super Bowl VII, 14–7, to the undefeated Miami Dolphins.


1972 Washington Redskins season
The 1972 season was the first in which the team wore its former logo, which featured a Native American head in profile within a gold circle. With the Washington Senators relocating to Texas in 1971 and the Baltimore Bullets not relocating until the summer of 1973, the 1972 Redskins were at the time the D.C. area's only team playing in one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada.


1972 Washington Star International
The 1972 Washington Star International was a men's tennis tournament that was played on outdoor clay courts at the Washington Tennis Stadium in Washington, D.C.. The event was part of the 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the fourth edition of the tournament and was held  from July 17 through July 23, 1972. Tony Roche won the singles title after surviving a match point in the final against Marty Riessen.


1972 Washington Star International, Finals, Doubles
Tom Okker /  Marty Riessen defeated  John Newcombe /  Tony Roche 3–6, 6–3, 6–2


1972 Washington State Cougars football team
The 1972 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. In their fifth season under head coach Jim Sweeney, the Cougars compiled a 7–4 record (4–3 in the Pac-8, tied for 3rd), and outscored their opponents  274 to 241.


1972 Washington State Cougars football team
The team's statistical leaders included Ty Payne with 1,349 passing yards, Ken Grandberry with 833 rushing yards, and Brock Aynsley with 344 receiving yards.


1972 Washington State Cougars football team
Martin Stadium made its debut in late September and hosted four games; top-ranked USC was played in Seattle (at Husky Stadium), and the Apple Cup was at Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane.


1972 Washington State Cougars football team
Washington State won their first Apple Cup in four years over favored #17 Washington, dealing Husky quarterback Sonny Sixkiller a 27–10 loss in his final collegiate game. The Cougars finished in the top twenty in both major polls; the Pac-8 did not allow a second bowl team until the 1975 season.


1972 Washington State Cougars football team, All-conference
Two Washington State players, both offensive linemen, were named to the all-conference team: senior tackle Bill Moos and sophomore guard Steve Ostermann. On the second team (honorable mention) was linebacker Clyde Warehime. Ostermann returned to the first team in 1973 and 1974.


1972 Washington gubernatorial election
The 1972 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Governor of Washington Daniel J. Evans, who was first elected eight years earlier, and then re-elected in 1968, was eligible for re-election, as Washington does not have gubernatorial term limits.


1972 Washington gubernatorial election
A total of nine candidates filed for the primary on September 19. In the general election, incumbent Republican Governor Evans was challenged by former Governor Albert Rosellini, who ran as a Democrat, and by businessman Vick Gould, who ran with the Taxpayers' Party, a third party of Gould's own creation. Evans and Rosellini received 24.66% and 30.27% of the votes in the primary, respectively. On election day, Evans defeated Rosellini by a comfortable margin of 50.78%-42.82% in a rematch of the 1964 contest.


1972 Waterford Senior Hurling Championship
The 1972 Waterford Senior Hurling Championship was the 72nd staging of the Waterford Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Waterford County Board in 1897. The draw for the opening round fixtures took place on 28 February 1972.


1972 Waterford Senior Hurling Championship
On 10 September 1972, Mount Sion won the championship after a 2-10 to 2-08 defeat of Dunhill in the final. This was their 22nd championship title overall and their first title since 1969.


1972 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election
Legislative Assembly elections were held in the Indian state of West Bengal on March 11, 1972.


1972 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, Background
The election was the 4th assembly election in West Bengal within six years. President's Rule had been introduced soon after the 1971 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election.


1972 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, Contenders
There were two main fronts in the election; the alliance between the Congress(R) and CPI and the alliance led by CPI(M). The Congress(R)-CPI alliance was known as the Progressive Democratic Alliance. The PDA had a seven-point programme. At the time of the election Indira Gandhi's popularity peaked, with the victory in the Bangladesh Liberation War and electoral promises of land reform. The CPI had also gained significant prestige in West Bengal due to the Soviet support to the Bangladeshi cause in the war.


1972 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, Contenders
The CPI(M)-led alliance included the Revolutionary Socialist Party, the Socialist Unity Centre, the Revolutionary Communist Party of India, the Marxist Forward Bloc, the Workers Party of India, the Biplobi Bangla Congress and some independents. Just before the vote there was a seat-sharing arrangement between the CPI(M)-led alliance and the All India Forward Bloc. A minor third front, the West Bengal Democratic Alliance, was led by the Congress (O) and included Sushil Kumar Dhara's Bangla Congress faction, the rebel Samyukta Socialist Party faction and the Indian Awami League.


1972 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, Results
The Congress(R)-CPI alliance won an overwhelming majority in the assembly and formed a new state government, led by Siddhartha Shankar Ray. Several Indian Youth Congress leaders were found among the newly elected legislators. 14 CPI(M) candidates were declared elected, but they refused to participate in the Legislative Assembly during the period of 1972-1977 as they accused that the elections had been rigged.


1972 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, Reception
While there were several killings during the election campaign, electoral violence had declined compared to previous elections in West Bengal.


1972 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, Reception
The elections were marred by accusations of rigging. CPI(M) and its allies refused to accept the election result. The left parties argued that in 172 constituencies the election had not been free and fair, accusing the Congress(R) of letting loose 'semi-fascist terror' in West Bengal. They protested by interrupting the President's speech in the Lok Sabha and in the Rajya Sabha. The Congress(O) also made accusations of rigging. The former Chief Minister Prafulla Chandra Sen on the other hand alleged that the election had been rigged in at least 45 constituencies.


1972 West German federal election
Federal elections were held in West Germany on 19 November 1972 to elect the members of the 7th Bundestag. In the first snap elections since the resumption of democratic elections in 1949, the Social Democratic Party became the largest party in the Bundestag for the first time since 1930, winning 230 of the 496 seats. The coalition with the Free Democratic Party was resumed.


1972 West German federal election, Campaign
The Social-liberal coalition of SPD and FDP had lost its majority after several Bundestag MPs (like former FDP ministers Erich Mende and Heinz Starke or SPD partisan Herbert Hupka) had left their party and become members of the CDU/CSU opposition to protest against Chancellor Willy Brandt's Neue Ostpolitik, especially against the de facto recognition of the Oder-Neisse line by the 1970 Treaty of Warsaw.


1972 West German federal election, Campaign
On 27 April 1972 the opposition had tried to have CDU leader Rainer Barzel elected new chancellor in a motion of no confidence, but Barzel surprisingly missed the majority in the Bundestag by two votes. Rumours that at least one member of CDU/CSU faction had been paid by the East German Stasi intelligence service were confirmed by Markus Wolf, former head of the Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung, in 1997. Nevertheless, the following budget debates revealed that the government's majority was lost and only the upcoming organisation of the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich delayed the arrangement of new elections. On 22 September 1972 Chancellor Brandt deliberately lost a vote of confidence, allowing President Gustav Heinemann to dissolve the Bundestag the next day.


1972 West German federal election, Campaign
In the tense campaign, the CDU/CSU attacked Brandt as being too lenient towards Eastern Europe and having the wrong ideas on the economy. SPD and FDP benefited from the enormous personal popularity of the chancellor, laureate of the 1971 Nobel Peace Prize. He gained the support by numerous celebrities of the West German culture and media scene (e.g. Günter Grass), expressed by the slogan Willy wählen! ("Vote for Willy! ").


1972 West German federal election, Results
Voter turnout was 91.1%, the highest ever since 1949. In 1970 the voting age had been lowered from 21 to 18.


1972 West German federal election, Results
The SPD celebrated their best result ever, representing the largest faction in the German parliament for the first time since the 1930 Reichstag elections. It enabled the party to nominate Annemarie Renger for President of the Bundestag; she was the first Social Democrat and also the first woman to hold this office.


1972 West German federal election, Post-election
On 14 December 1972 the Bundestag MPs of the social-liberal coalition re-elected Willy Brandt chancellor. His Cabinet Brandt II returned to government the next day, again with FDP chairman Walter Scheel as vice-chancellor and foreign minister. Defeated Rainer Barzel resigned as CDU chairman on 9 May 1973; he was succeeded by Helmut Kohl.


1972 West German federal election, Post-election
On 7 May 1974, Brandt would resign in the course of the Guillaume Affair, after one of his personal aides had been unmasked as a Stasi agent. The coalition continued under his party fellow Helmut Schmidt, while Brandt remained SPD chairman until 1987.


1972 West Virginia Mountaineers football team
The 1972 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. It was the Mountaineers' 80th overall season and they competed as an independent. The team was led by head coach Bobby Bowden, in his third year, and played their home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season with a record of 8–4 with a loss against NC State in the Peach Bowl.


1972 West Virginia gubernatorial election
The 1972 West Virginia gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1972, to elect the governor of West Virginia. Incumbent governor Arch A. Moore, Jr. successfully ran for reelection to a second term.


1972 West Virginia gubernatorial election
Both the primaries and general election were held in the aftermath of the Buffalo Creek flood and a movement to abolish strip mining in the state. Democratic nominee Jay Rockefeller campaigned on a proposal to abolish strip mining entirely if elected.


1972 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team
The 1972 Western Kentucky football team represented Western Kentucky University during the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. The team was led by head coach Jimmy Feix and finished second in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC)after winning the conference championship the previous two years. The team roster included future National Football League (NFL) players Virgil Livers, John Bushong, Clarence "Jazz" Jackson, Brad Watson, and Mike McCoy. Andrew Francis, Jackson, McCoy, and Watson were selected to the All-OVC team. The coaching staff included future NFL coach Romeo Crennel.


1972 Western Michigan Broncos football team
The 1972 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1972 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their ninth season under head coach Bill Doolittle, the Broncos compiled a 7–3–1 record (2–2–1 against MAC opponents), finished in third place in the MAC, and outscored their opponents, 229 to 201. The team played its home games at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan.


1972 Western Michigan Broncos football team
The team's statistical leaders included Steve Doolittle with 518 passing yards, Larry Cates with 660 rushing yards, and Bob Gavinski with 290 receiving yards. Defensive tackle Bernard Thomas and tight end Keith Pretty were the team captains. Linebacker Dominic Riggio received the team's most outstanding player award.


1972 Whitbread Awards
The Whitbread Awards (1971–2005), called Costa Book Awards since 2006, are literary awards in the United Kingdom, awarded both for high literary merit but also for works considered enjoyable reading. This page gives details of the awards given in the year 1972.


1972 Wichita State Shockers football team
The 1972 Wichita Shockers football team was an American football team that represented Wichita State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. In its third season under head coach Bob Seaman, the team compiled a 6–5 record (2–4 against conference opponents), finished in sixth place out of eight teams in the MVC and was outscored by a total of 228 to 156. The team played its home games at Cessna Stadium in Wichita, Kansas.


1972 Wichita State Shockers football team
The 1972 season was the Shockers' first with a winning record since 1963. In the seven prior seasons, the program had compiled an 11–57 record and sustained tragedy in the 1970 Wichita State University football team plane crash.


1972 Wichita State Shockers football team
The team's statistical leaders included Tom Owen with 689 passing yards, Don Gilley with 446 rushing yards, Eddie Plopa with 269 receiving yards, and Don Burford and Don Gilley with 24 points each.


1972 Wightman Cup
The 1972 Wightman Cup was the 44th edition of the annual women's team tennis competition between the United States and Great Britain. It was held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London in England in the United Kingdom. A women's tennis pioneer, Edythe Ann (Sullivan) McGoldrick, led the U.S. Wightman Cup tennis team as captain in the cup's 50th year.


1972 William & Mary Indians football team
The 1972 William & Mary Indians football team represented the College of William & Mary as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. Led by Jim Root in his first year as head coach, William & Mary finished the season 5–6 overall and 4–2 in SoCon play to place third.


1972 Wimbledon Championships
The 1972 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament was scheduled to be held from Monday 26 June until Saturday 8 July 1972 but rain on the final Saturday meant that the men's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles finals were played on Sunday 9 July. It was the first time in the tournament's history that finals were played on a Sunday. It was the 86th staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam tennis event of 1972.


1972 Wimbledon Championships
Due to the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) ban on World Championship Tennis (WCT) contract players competing in their tournaments, the reigning men's singles champion John Newcombe was prevented from defending his title. Other players banned from competing included Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall and Arthur Ashe among others. Stan Smith and Billie Jean King won the singles titles.


1972 Wimbledon Championships, Prize money
The total prize money for the 1972 championships was £50,330. The winner of the men's title earned £5,000 while the women's singles champion earned £2,400.


1972 Wimbledon Championships, Champions, Seniors, Men's Singles
Stan Smith defeated  Ilie Năstase, 4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 7–5


1972 Wimbledon Championships, Champions, Seniors, Men's Doubles
Bob Hewitt /  Frew McMillan defeated  Stan Smith /  Erik van Dillen, 6–2, 6–2, 9–7


1972 Wimbledon Championships, Champions, Seniors, Women's Doubles
Billie Jean King /  Betty Stöve defeated  Françoise Dürr /  Judy Dalton, 6–2, 4–6, 6–3


1972 Wimbledon Championships, Champions, Seniors, Mixed Doubles
Ilie Năstase /  Rosie Casals defeated  Kim Warwick /  Evonne Goolagong, 6–4, 6–4


1972 Wimbledon Championships – Boys' Singles
Björn Borg defeated Buster Mottram in the final, 6–3, 4–6, 7–5 to win the Boys' Singles tennis title at the 1972 Wimbledon Championships.


1972 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' Singles
Ilana Kloss defeated Glynis Coles in the final, 6–4, 4–6, 6–4 to win the Girls' Singles tennis title at the 1972 Wimbledon Championships.


1972 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Doubles
Roy Emerson and Rod Laver were prevented from defending their title due to the International Lawn Tennis Federation ban on World Championship Tennis contract players competing in their tournaments.


1972 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Doubles
Bob Hewitt and Frew McMillan defeated Arthur Ashe and Dennis Ralston in the final, 4–6, 9–7, 6–8, 6–4, 6–4 to win the Gentlemen's Doubles title at the 1972 Wimbledon Championships.


1972 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Doubles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


1972 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles
Stan Smith defeated Ilie Năstase in the final, 4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 7–5 to win the Gentlemen's Singles tennis title at the 1972 Wimbledon Championships. It was his only Wimbledon singles title, and his second and final major singles title.


1972 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles
Defending champion John Newcombe was prevented from defending his title due to the International Lawn Tennis Federation ban on World Championship Tennis-contracted players competing in its tournaments.


1972 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


1972 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles Qualifying
Players who neither had high enough rankings nor received wild cards to enter the main draw of the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championships participated in a qualifying tournament held one week before the event. Two players withdrew from the main draw after qualifying had commenced, leading to the two highest ranked players who lost in the final qualifying round to be entered into the main draw as lucky losers.


1972 Wimbledon Championships – Mixed Doubles
Owen Davidson and Billie Jean King were the defending champions, but Davidson did not compete. King partnered with Clark Graebner but lost in the semifinals to Ilie Năstase and Rosie Casals.


1972 Wimbledon Championships – Mixed Doubles
Năstase and Casals defeated Kim Warwick and Evonne Goolagong in the final, 6–4, 6–4 to win the Mixed Doubles tennis title at the 1972 Wimbledon Championships.


1972 Wimbledon Championships – Mixed Doubles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


1972 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Doubles
Rosie Casals and Billie Jean King were the defending champions, but decided not to play together. Casals partnered with Virginia Wade but lost in the semifinals to Judy Dalton and Françoise Dürr.


1972 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Doubles
King and her partner Betty Stöve defeated Dalton and Dürr in the final, 6–2, 4–6, 6–3 to win the Ladies' Doubles tennis title at the 1972 Wimbledon Championships.


1972 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Doubles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


1972 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles
Billie Jean King defeated the defending champion Evonne Goolagong in the final, 6–3, 6–3 to win the Ladies' Singles tennis title at the 1972 Wimbledon Championships.


1972 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


1972 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles Qualifying
Players who neither had high enough rankings nor received wild cards to enter the main draw of the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championships participated in a qualifying tournament held one week before the event.


1972 Wings Tour Bus
The 1972 Wings Tour Bus or WNO 481 is a Bristol double-decker bus built in 1953. Originally used in Essex and Norfolk, it was painted in psychedelic colours and was used by Paul McCartney's band Wings during their 1972 Wings Over Europe Tour in place of a conventional bus. After returning to service, it was subsequently repainted as it was during the tour and put on display outside a rock cafe in Tenerife in the early 1990s, ending up in a garden for many years before being transported back to the UK in 2017 for restoration.


1972 Wings Tour Bus, Service use
The double-decker bus has a Bristol Commercial Vehicles KSW5G chassis, with a body from Eastern Coach Works. It was built in 1953, registered with the DVLA in November 1953, and originally had a closed upper deck.


1972 Wings Tour Bus, Service use
It was originally used in Essex and Norfolk in the 1950s–60s for local bus routes. It entered service with Eastern National Omnibus Company in Chelmsford, and was painted plain green. In 1966 the upper deck roof was removed, turning it into an open top bus, and it was repainted cream with a green trim. In this form it was primarily used by Eastern National for regular service routes in seaside areas during the summer months.


1972 Wings Tour Bus, Service use
The bus was sold to Eastern Counties Omnibus Company in 1968, with the green trim repainted maroon red. It was sold again to a dealer in July 1971, and was bought by Halls Coaches, painted red and grey, and used under the brand Valliant Silverline up until June 1972.


1972 Wings Tour Bus, Wings Tour bus
Rather than using a normal tour bus for the 1972 Wings Over Europe Tour, his first major tour after the break-up of the Beatles, McCartney bought the bus and painted it in psychedelic colours, with the tour name shown in a blue sky over snow-capped mountains, the band's logo above the windscreen, and the band members names stenciled on the back in the order Paul & Linda McCartney; Denny Laine; Henry McCullough; and Denny Seiwell. It was a similar idea to the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour and Cliff Richard's Summer Holiday from the 1960s.


1972 Wings Tour Bus, Wings Tour bus
The seats on the top deck were removed, with mattresses and bean bags for the band and their families to lounge and sleep on (although the band stayed in hotels during the tour), and was also used as a playpen for their children while on the move. The downstairs was carpeted, with four original seats at the front, bunk beds for the kids, and a fully-functioning kitchen in the rear, and there was a stereo. The McCartneys also had a double bed in the bus, which they tried to take into various hotels during the tour. The Wings logo on the rear was made of wood. It was designed by Tom Salter, of the Gear shop on Carnaby Street, with the work carried out in a London Transport garage in Staines.


1972 Wings Tour Bus, Wings Tour bus
"Quite a mad thing to do, to put a playpen on the top deck of the bus and put all the children in there. It's not what you'd expect from a normal band. But we weren't a normal band."


1972 Wings Tour Bus, Wings Tour bus
McCartney wanted to have a good time during the tour, noting as the tour began that "We never had time to do that in the Beatle days." In particular, he liked the idea of being out in the sun while traveling rather than stuck inside a vehicle in the heat of July and August.


1972 Wings Tour Bus, Wings Tour bus
The bus visited 25 cities in 9 countries, for 25 concerts in July and August 1972, covering 7,500 miles (12,100 km). The concert locations were printed and displayed in the bus's spinning destination indicator. The bus had a top speed of 38 miles per hour (61 km/h), making it, in the view of author Howard Sounes, "no doubt huge fun ... [ but] a slow and inefficient way to navigate the continent."


1972 Wings Tour Bus, Wings Tour bus
Wings member Seiwell later recalled cars zipping by them on European motorways and said of the bus, "It was quite nice, but it didn't make a lot of sense." The bus traveled in convoy with a crew tour bus. Whenever it looked like the buses would not arrive at the venue on time for a concert, a convoy of other vehicles would be sent from the venue to collect them.


1972 Wings Tour Bus, Wings Tour bus
During the tour, the band and McCartneys stayed in luxury hotels rather than in the bus (with hotel extras costing the band most of their wages during the tour). Most of the adults on the bus also smoked cannabis, but rather than storing the drugs on the bus and risking taking them through customs they were regularly posted from England, which caused problems during the tour as the Swedish police discovered the scheme. This prevented the tour from going on to the USA and Japan, and it concluded in Berlin on 24 August 1972.


1972 Wings Tour Bus, Later history
The bus subsequently re-entered service. Halls Coaches was bought by Tricentrol around August 1973, and the bus was repainted mustard gold and moved to Dunstable. It was scheduled to be scrapped in 1982, when Roger White from St Albans purchased it for £3,000, and repainted it as it had been during the Wings tour.


1972 Wings Tour Bus, Later history
In 1989 it was repainted red and white, and was used in the BAFTA Great British London-Cannes Film Rally in May 1989, and the Southend Bus Rally in 1989, before being repainted with the Wings livery for the third time (and the last time it was repainted) for the Beatles Amsterdam Convention in April 1993.


1972 Wings Tour Bus, Later history
In August 1993, the bus was put up for auction, with the Wings livery. Its value was estimated as £25,000–£30,000.


1972 Wings Tour Bus, Later history
The bus was displayed outside of a rock cafe in Tenerife, however it blocked light from the cafe, and it was moved to the cafe owner's garden in La Caldera del Rey, Adeje, where it was left to decay. It was spotted there by Justin James in 2007, who bought it even though he did not know what he would do with it. Moving the bus to Oxfordshire in the UK took eight years, partly due to the difficulty in removing it from the garden, which required using cranes. In October 2017 it was loaded onto the Monte Alegre for transport from Algeciras to Felixstowe.


1972 Wings Tour Bus, Later history
In 2017, McCartney tweeted to say that he had heard it was back in the UK, and to ask its whereabouts, with a reply from James that it was in Oxfordshire.


1972 Wings Tour Bus, Later history
In 2019 it was put up for auction in Merseyside by Omega Auctions, as part of a Beatles-themed auction, with an estimated selling price of £15,000–£25,000. This was because James's plans to use it for musical children's tours did not work out, and he was emigrating to Australia. He estimated that he had spent around £25,000 on the bus at that point, and said that any profit would go to the charity he was a trustee of, Arms Around the Child. The bus was auctioned with the owner's paperwork, but without an MOT. However, no bids were received and the bus went unsold.


1972 Wings Tour Bus, Later history
It was subsequently bought by Tom Jennings who set up the 1972 Wings Tour Bus Supporters Club, who fundraised for its restoration. The bus is now being restored in Bristol. A digital 3D model of the bus exists. Although some museums expressed interest in having it as an exhibition, Jennings intends that it would be used on the road again after restoration.


1972 Winston 500
The 1972 Winston 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race on May 7, 1972, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama.


1972 Winston 500, Background
Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a Tri-oval and was constructed by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family, in the 1960s. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line - located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the Monster Energy Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega Superspeedway is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66 miles (4.28 km), and the track at its peak had a seating capacity of 175,000 spectators.


1972 Winston 500, Race report
The grand marshal for the event was Auburn football head coach, Ralph "Shug" Jordan.


1972 Winston 500, Race report
There were fifty drivers on the grid. It took three hours and forty-five minutes for 188 laps of racing. There were nine cautions for 62 laps with 53 lead changes. David Pearson defeated Bobby Isaac by almost five seconds. More than 71000 people would see 500.1 miles or 804.8 kilometres of racing action with an average speed of 134.4 miles per hour (216.3 km/h).


1972 Winston 500, Race report
Bobby Isaac would win the pole position at 192.498 miles per hour (309.796 km/h) during qualifying. There were many mechanical failures in the race including the rear end failures and an incident involving a windshield. Marty Robbins, who was also a country music star, dropped out of the race after 179 laps; after his top speed proved to be substantially faster than that he achieved in qualifying and being in position to pass the leaders, he confessed to altering his restrictor plate and was disqualified and listed as finishing in last place, declining Rookie of the Race honors. Other notable drivers  were: Richard Petty, LeeRoy Yarbrough, Elmo Langley, Coo Coo Marlin, and Neil Castles. Darrell Waltrip would make his NASCAR debut in this race and finish in 38th after starting 25th. Clarence Lovell would also make his introduction to NASCAR during this race.


1972 Winston 500, Race report
Had Bobby Allison not had this one bad finish here at Talladega, he would've had 20 top-10 finishes in a row. The only thing is, his cars had engine problems in the long races. All three engine failures occurred at the 500-mile races of Rockingham, Talladega, and Dover. Even when his engines were being strained at the long races, he still did well, getting top-5 finishes at most of the 500+ mile races that season.


1972 Winston 500, Race report
Notable crew chiefs for this race were Jake Elder, Steven Gray, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Tom Vandiver and Herb Nab. Inman, Hyde, and Wood would help maintain the vehicles for the winner, the runner-up, and the fifth-place finisher of this race.


1972 Winston 500, Race report
James Hylton would lose his points lead to Richard Petty after this race. The winner of the race would receive $23,745 in total winnings ($145,134 when adjusted for inflation) while the last-place finisher won $745 for a disqualification ($4,554 when adjusted for inflation).


1972 Winter Olympics
The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the XI Olympic Winter Games (Japanese: 第11回オリンピック冬季競技大会, Hepburn: Dai Jūichi-kai Orinpikku Tōkikyōgi Taikai) and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 (Japanese: 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to February 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Europe and North America.


1972 Winter Olympics, Host city selection
Sapporo first won the rights to host the 1940 Winter Olympics, but Japan resigned as the Games' host after its 1937 invasion of China. The 1940 Games were later cancelled. All the cities awarded Games that were cancelled due to war have since hosted the Games (London, Tokyo, Helsinki, Sapporo and Cortina d'Ampezzo).


1972 Winter Olympics, Host city selection
Sapporo competed with Banff, Lahti, and Salt Lake City. The Games were awarded at the 64th IOC Session in Rome, Italy, on April 26, 1966.


1972 Winter Olympics, Host city selection
In preparation, the Japanese constructed new largescale facilities at Sapporo and conducted a trial run a full year in advance of the Games. An international sport week was held in February, 1971, to assess the city's preparations as well as "to test its civic mettle and hospitality", and this effort was acclaimed by Olympic observers as "a complete success". The development of new infrastructure proved to be a huge boon for the Sapporo economy: by the time of the Games, the national government had invested some US$500 million in upgrades, including a new subway. The Games' organizers themselves turned a healthy profit in part because they arranged a record $8.47 million for broadcast rights.


1972 Winter Olympics, Venues
1 New facilities constructed in preparation for the Olympic Games. 2 Existing facilities modified or refurbished in preparation for the Olympic Games.


1972 Winter Olympics, Sports
There were 35 events contested in 6 sports (10 disciplines).


1972 Winter Olympics, Participating nations
35 nations participated in the 1972 Winter Olympics. The Republic of China (commonly known as Taiwan) and the Philippines participated in their first Winter Olympic Games.


1972 Winter Olympics, Medal count
These are the top eleven nations that won medals at these Games. The host nation Japan finished 11th.


1972 Winter Olympics medal table
The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XI Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held in Sapporo, Japan, from 3 to 13 February 1972. A total of 1,006 athletes representing 35 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 35 events from 10 different sports and disciplines.


1972 Winter Olympics medal table
Seventeen NOCs won at least one medal and fourteen of them collected at least one gold. The Soviet Union finished at the top of the gold and overall medal counts with 8 and 16, respectively. Along with Norway, the Soviet team also won the most silver medals (5). East Germany, which ended the Games behind the Soviet Union with 14 medals, secured the most bronzes (7). The host nation, Japan, won a record total of three medals (one of each color), which included its first Winter Olympics gold medal.


1972 Winter Olympics medal table
Three NOCs won a single medal: Canada (silver), Poland and Spain (gold). For the last two, these were their first-ever gold medals at the Winter Olympics, and in the case of Spain, it was its first medal. This was Canada's weakest result since the 1936 Winter Olympics, when its athletes also brought home a single silver medal. The NOCs from the Republic of China and the Philippines sent athletes to the Winter Olympics for the first time, but failed to win any medals.


1972 Winter Olympics medal table, Highlights
Hosting the Olympic Winter Games for the first time, Japan's record consisted of a single medal: a silver in alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics. In Sapporo, Yukio Kasaya, Akitsugu Konno, and Seiji Aochi won the ski jumping normal hill (70 m) gold, silver, and bronze medal, respectively. Kasaya's gold was Japan's first-ever at the Winter Games. This result would persist as the country's best for the next 20 years.


1972 Winter Olympics medal table, Highlights
Wojciech Fortuna of Poland won the ski jumping's large hill (90 m) event, while Spain's Francisco Fernández Ochoa prevailed in the alpine skiing's men's slalom, thus becoming their respective countries' first Winter Olympic champions. Ochoa's gold medal was also Spain's first medal at the Winter Games. Karen Magnussen's silver in the figure skating singles competition was Canada's sole medal and reflected what was the NOC's weakest performance since the 1936 Winter Games. For the first time in its history, a delegation from Finland concluded its participation at the Winter Olympics without gold medals.


1972 Winter Olympics medal table, Highlights
Six Soviet Union medals were won by two cross-country skiers: Galina Kulakova, who took gold in both women's individual distances and in the relay event; and Vyacheslav Vedenin, who won the 30 km—becoming the first Soviet skier to win an individual Olympic title—and the relay events, and came third in the 50 km. East German lugers won eight medals for their NOC by taking every medal in the men's and women's singles, and placing two teams in the top three of the doubles event.


1972 Winter Olympics medal table, Highlights
Paul Hildgartner and Walter Plaikner of Italy were the only non-East German athletes to win a luge medal, as they shared the doubles gold with Horst Hörnlein and Reinhard Bredow. Italy's other gold medal was won by Gustav Thöni in the men's giant slalom; he also took silver in the men's slalom, thus contributing two of his country's five medals. Marie-Theres Nadig skied her way to victory in the women's downhill and giant slalom events, winning half of Switzerland's gold medals and helping her country achieve its best result at that time. Two-time world figure skating champion Ondrej Nepela added the Olympic men's singles title to his career and guaranteed Czechoslovakia's second and last gold medal in its Winter Olympics history.


1972 Winter Olympics medal table, Highlights
Half of the United States' eight medals were obtained in women's speed skating: Anne Henning won a gold in the 500 m and a bronze in the 1000 m, while Dianne Holum grabbed a gold in the 1500 m and a silver in the 3000 m. Also in this discipline, Ard Schenk (three golds), Stien Baas-Kaiser (one gold and one silver), Atje Keulen-Deelstra (one silver  and two bronzes), and Kees Verkerk (one silver) were responsible for all nine medals for the Netherlands. This was the best performance by a Dutch delegation at the Winter Olympics, and it took 26 years to be improved, when the Games returned to Japan.


1972 Winter Olympics medal table, Medal table
The medal table is based on information provided by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and is consistent with IOC convention in its published medal tables. By default, the table is ordered by the number of gold medals won by an NOC. The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If nations are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically.


1972 Winter Olympics medal table, Medal table
In the doubles event in luge, two gold medals were awarded for a first place tie and, consequently, no silver medal was awarded. This explains the 36 gold and 34 silver medals distributed during the Games.


1972 Winter Universiade
The 1972 Winter Universiade, the VII Winter Universiade, took place in Lake Placid, New York, United States.


1972 Wisconsin Badgers football team
The 1972 Wisconsin Badgers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 1972 Big Ten Conference football season. In their third year under head coach John Jardine, the Badgers compiled a 4–7 record (2–6 against conference opponents) and finished in ninth place in the Big Ten Conference.


1972 Wisconsin Badgers football team
Rufus Ferguson led the team with 1,004 rushing yards, was selected as the team's most valuable player, and was chosen by the Associated Press (AP) as a first-team running back, and by the United Press International (UPI) as a second-team running back, on the 1972 All-Big Ten Conference football team. Three other Wisconsin players received All-Big Ten honors: center Mike Webster (UPI-2); offensive guard Keith Nosbusch (AP-2, UPI-2); linebacker Dave Lokanc (AP-1, UPI-2).


1972 Wisconsin Badgers football team, Players in the 1973 NFL Draft
The following Wisconsin players were selected in the 1973 NFL Draft.


1972 Women's British Open Squash Championship
The 1972 Women's Open Squash Championships was held at the BP Club in Lower Sydenham, London from 4–9 March 1972.Heather McKay (née Blundell) won her eleventh consecutive title defeating Kathy Malan in the final. This surpassed the previous record of ten wins set by Janet Morgan from 1950 through to 1959.


1972 Women's College World Series
The 1972 Women's College World Series (WCWS) was contested among 16 college softball teams on May 18–21 in Omaha, Nebraska. This fourth WCWS was notable for the only appearance of a team from outside the United States, as the team from Tokyo–Nihon University of Japan proved  to be a hit with both spectators and the other teams in the tournament. Three-time defending champion John F. Kennedy College was excluded from the tournament by an organizational rule change the previous month. The new rule prohibited a team from appearing in the WCWS if it gave scholarships to any women athletes, not just softball players (JFK College openly awarded women's basketball scholarships). JFK never returned to the WCWS, and the school closed just three years later.


1972 Women's College World Series, Teams
The Arizona State Sun Devilettes defeated Tokyo–Nihon narrowly in the winners' bracket semi-final, 2–1, and split the tournament final, 0–1 and 8–5, with the if-necessary game requiring 11 innings.


1972 Women's Grand Prix (tennis)
The 1972 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix was a tennis circuit administered by the International Lawn Tennis Federation which served as a forerunner to the current Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour. The circuit consisted of the four modern Grand Slam tournaments and open tournaments recognised by the ILTF. This article covers all tournaments that were part of that year's Women's Grand Prix.


1972 Women's Grand Prix (tennis), Standings, Statistical Information
The list of winners and number of titles won, last name alphabetically:


1972 Women's Tennis Circuit
The 1972 Women's Tennis Circuit was composed of the second annual Virginia Slims Circuit, a tour of tennis tournaments for female tennis players, sponsored by Virginia Slims cigarettes and the Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix.


1972 Women's Tennis Circuit, Schedule
This is a calendar of all events sponsored by Virginia Slims in the year 1972, with player progression documented from the quarterfinals stage. The table also includes the Grand Slam tournaments, the 1972 Virginia Slims Championships and the 1972 Federation Cup.


1972 Women's Tennis Circuit, Statistical information
These tables present the number of singles (S), doubles (D), and mixed doubles (X) titles won by each player and each nation during the 1972 Virginia Slims Circuit. They also include data for the Grand Slam tournaments and the year-end championships. The table is sorted by:


1972 Women's Tennis Circuit, Statistical information
1) total number of titles (a doubles title won by two players representing the same nation counts as only one win for the nation);2) highest amount of highest category tournaments (for example, having a single Grand Slam gives preference over any kind of combination without a Grand Slam title);3) a singles > doubles > mixed doubles hierarchy;4) alphabetical order (by family names for players).