1972 Sugar Bowl (December), Aftermath
The scandal however, prevented the Sooners from playing in bowl games for two seasons after Chuck Fairbanks's departure to the New England Patriots. Offensive coordinator Barry Switzer, who spearheaded Oklahoma's adoption of the Wishbone formation during the 1970 season, succeeded Fairbanks.


1972 Sugar Bowl (December), Aftermath
The 1974 Sooners were named national champions by the Associated Press, but could not be ranked by the coaches' poll, due to a rule adopted following the 1973 season by the American Football Coaches Association which prohibited teams on major NCAA probation from the rankings.


1972 Sugar Bowl (December), Aftermath
The Sooners were allowed to appear on television in 1973, but were banned in 1974 and the 1975 regular season. Oklahoma returned to television with the Orange Bowl on January 1, 1976, when it defeated Michigan 14-6 to secure its second consecutive national championship.


1972 Sugar Bowl (December), Aftermath
Oklahoma did not return to the Sugar Bowl until after the 2003 season, losing in the Bowl Championship Series championship game to LSU 21-14.


1972 Sugar Bowl (December), Aftermath
Penn State lost the Sugar Bowl twice more in the 1970s to Alabama before breaking through vs. Georgia in the 1983 game to win the national championship for 1982.


1972 Sugar Bowl (January)
The 1972 Sugar Bowl (January) was the 38th edition of the college football bowl game, played at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Saturday, January 1. It featured the third-ranked Oklahoma Sooners of the Big Eight Conference and the #5 Auburn Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The favored Sooners won 40–22.


1972 Sugar Bowl (January)
This was the last Sugar Bowl played in January until 1977, as it moved to New Year's Eve night for the next four editions.


1972 Sugar Bowl (January), Teams
Although the runner-up in their respective conferences, both teams were ranked in the top five in the polls, as this game was a tale of duality. Both teams averaged over 300 yards on the season, though Oklahoma's record setting 566 yards a game was more notable than Auburn's 393. Both teams started the season 9–0, with both teams losing late in the season to their respective arch-rivals, who were likewise undefeated and untied.


1972 Sugar Bowl (January), Teams, Oklahoma
On Thanksgiving day, Oklahoma lost a late lead to visiting #1 Nebraska in a memorable game, and fell from second to third in the rankings. This was the Sooners' fourth appearance in the Sugar Bowl, but first since 1951.


1972 Sugar Bowl (January), Teams, Auburn
Auburn lost 31–7 to Alabama in late November; they remained at fifth in the rankings and were invited to their first Sugar Bowl. Alabama and Nebraska matched up in the Orange Bowl for the national championship, essentially making this a runner-up game.


1972 Sugar Bowl (January), Game summary
Televised by ABC, the kickoff was in the morning at 11 a.m. CST, two hours before the Cotton Bowl on CBS.


1972 Sugar Bowl (January), Game summary
Though he threw only four passes (with one completion), Oklahoma quarterback Jack Mildren used his legs to help win the game and the MVP award, running thirty times for 149 yards and three touchdowns. Leon Crosswhite helped start the scoring with a touchdown run on OU's first drive. Mildren scored three straight touchdown runs to make it 25–0 by the second quarter and after a punt return touchdown by Joe Wylie, it was 31–0 at halftime.


1972 Sugar Bowl (January), Game summary
Sooner kicker John Carroll made a 53-yard field goal before Auburn finally got on the scoreboard with a touchdown run by fullback Harry Unger, and the score was 34–7 after three quarters. The Sooners responded as halfback Greg Pruitt made it an even forty points, and Auburn then scored two late touchdowns. The first was a pass from Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan to Sandy Cannon with less than four minutes remaining, and Unger added another on the ground to complete the scoring at 40–22. Oklahoma had more yards, fewer turnovers (2 to 3), and more first downs, and won their first Sugar Bowl since 1950.


1972 Sugar Bowl (January), Aftermath
Oklahoma moved up to second in the final AP poll, followed by Colorado, the only time the top three teams were from the same conference. Alabama fell to fourth and Auburn dropped to twelfth.


1972 Sugar Bowl (January), Aftermath
The Sooners returned to the Sugar Bowl in December and defeated Penn State, becoming the only school to win the same bowl game twice in a  calendar year. Auburn waited twelve years for their next Sugar Bowl, a victory over Michigan.


1972 Suisse Open Gstaad
The 1972 Suisse Open Gstaad was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts in Gstaad, Switzerland. It was the 27th edition of the tournament and was held from 10 July until 16 July 1972. The tournament was part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit and was categorized as a Group C event. Andrés Gimeno won the singles title.


1972 Suisse Open Gstaad, Finals, Doubles
Andrés Gimeno  /  Antonio Muñoz defeated  Adriano Panatta /  Ion Țiriac 9–8, 4–6, 6–1, 7–5


1972 Suisse Open Gstaad – Singles
John Newcombe was the defending champion but he did not take part in the 1972 edition.


1972 Suisse Open Gstaad – Singles
Andrés Gimeno won the title, defeating Adriano Panatta in the final 7–5, 9–8, 6–4.


1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics (German: Olympische Sommerspiele 1972), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad (German: Spiele der XX. Olympiade) and commonly known as Munich 1972 (German: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, Bavaria, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972.


1972 Summer Olympics
The event was overshadowed by the Munich massacre in the second week, in which eleven Israeli athletes and coaches and a West German police officer at Olympic village were killed by Palestinian Black September members.


1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics were the second Summer Olympics to be held in Germany, after the 1936 Games in Berlin, which had taken place under the Nazi regime. The West German Government had been eager to have the Munich Olympics present a democratic and optimistic Germany to the world, as shown by the Games' official motto, "Die Heiteren Spiele", or "the cheerful Games". The logo of the Games was a blue solar logo (the "Bright Sun") by Otl Aicher, the designer and director of the visual conception commission. The hostesses wore sky-blue dirndls as a promotion of Bavarian cultural heritage. The Olympic mascot, the dachshund "Waldi", was the first officially named Olympic mascot. The Olympic Fanfare was composed by Herbert Rehbein. The Soviet Union won the most gold and overall medals.


1972 Summer Olympics
The Olympic Park (Olympiapark) is based on Frei Otto's plans and after the Games became a Munich landmark. The competition sites, designed by architect Günther Behnisch, included the Olympic swimming hall, the Olympics Hall (Olympiahalle, a multipurpose facility) and the Olympic Stadium (Olympiastadion), and an Olympic village very close to the park. The design of the stadium was considered revolutionary, with sweeping canopies of acrylic glass stabilized by metal ropes, used on such a large scale for the first time.


1972 Summer Olympics, Host city selection
Munich won its Olympic bid on April 26, 1966, at the 64th IOC Session at Rome, Italy, over bids presented by Detroit, Madrid, and Montréal. Montréal would eventually host the following Olympic games in 1976.


1972 Summer Olympics, Munich massacre
The Games were largely overshadowed by what has come to be known as the "Munich massacre". Just before dawn on September 5, a group of eight members of the Palestinian Black September terrorist organization broke into the Olympic Village and took eleven Israeli athletes, coaches and officials hostage in their apartments. Two of the hostages who resisted were killed in the first moments of the break-in; the subsequent standoff in the Olympic Village lasted for almost 18 hours.


1972 Summer Olympics, Munich massacre
Late in the evening of September 5 that same day, the terrorists and their nine remaining hostages were transferred by helicopter to the military airport of Fürstenfeldbruck, ostensibly to board a plane bound for an undetermined Arab country. The German authorities planned to ambush them there, but underestimated the numbers of their opposition and were thus undermanned. During a botched rescue attempt, all of the Israeli hostages were killed. Four of them were shot, then incinerated when one of the terrorists detonated a grenade inside the helicopter in which the hostages were sitting. The 5 remaining hostages were then shot and killed with a machine gun.


1972 Summer Olympics, Munich massacre
"Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They have now said that there were 11 hostages. Two were killed in their rooms, yesterday morning. Nine were killed at the airport, tonight. They’re all gone."


1972 Summer Olympics, Munich massacre
—After a series of conflicting reports and rumours, Jim McKay of ABC brought the news at 3:24 a.m. local time.


1972 Summer Olympics, Munich massacre
All but three of the terrorists were killed as well. Although arrested and imprisoned pending trial, they were released by the West German government on October 29, 1972, in exchange for the hijacked Lufthansa Flight 615. Two of those three were supposedly hunted down and assassinated later by the Mossad. Jamal Al-Gashey, who is believed to be the sole survivor, is still living today in hiding in an unspecified African country with his wife and two children.


1972 Summer Olympics, Munich massacre
The Olympic events were suspended several hours after the initial attack, but once the incident was concluded, Avery Brundage, the International Olympic Committee president, declared that "the Games must go on". A memorial ceremony was then held in the Olympic stadium, and the competitions resumed after a stoppage of 34 hours. The attack prompted heightened security at subsequent Olympics beginning with the 1976 Winter Olympics. Security at Olympics was heightened further beginning with the 2002 Winter Olympics, as they were the first to take place after the 2001 September 11 attacks.


1972 Summer Olympics, Munich massacre
The massacre led the German federal government to re-examine its anti-terrorism policies, which at the time were dominated by a pacifist approach adopted after World War II. This led to the creation of the elite counter-terrorist unit GSG 9, similar to the British SAS. It also led Israel to launch a campaign known as Operation Wrath of God, in which those suspected of involvement were systematically tracked down and assassinated.


1972 Summer Olympics, Munich massacre
The events of the Munich massacre were chronicled in the Oscar-winning documentary, One Day in September. An account of the aftermath is also dramatized in three films: the 1976 made-for-TV movie 21 Hours at Munich, the 1986 made-for-TV movie Sword of Gideon and Steven Spielberg's 2005 film Munich. In her film 1972, Artist Sarah Morris interviews Dr. Georg Sieber, a former police psychiatrist who advised the Olympics' security team, about the events and aftermath of Black September.


1972 Summer Olympics, Cost
The Oxford Olympics Study established the outturn cost of the Munich 1972 Summer Olympics at US$1.0 billion in 2015-dollars. This includes sports-related costs only, that is, (i) operational costs incurred by the organizing committee for the purpose of staging the Games, e.g., expenditures for technology, transportation, workforce, administration, security, catering, ceremonies, and medical services, and (ii) direct capital costs incurred by the host city and country or private investors to build, e.g., the competition venues, the Olympic village, international broadcast center, and media and press center, which are required to host the Games.


1972 Summer Olympics, Cost
Indirect capital costs are not included, such as for road, rail, or airport infrastructure, or for hotel upgrades or other business investment incurred in preparation for the Games but not directly related to staging the Games. The cost for Munich 1972 compares with costs of US$4.6 billion for Rio 2016, US$15 billion for London 2012 (the most costly Summer Olympics to date) and US$21 billion for Sochi 2014 — the most expensive Olympic Games in history. Average cost for Summer Games since 1960 is US$5.2 billion.


1972 Summer Olympics, Sports
The 1972 Summer Olympic programme featured 195 events in the following 21 sports:


1972 Summer Olympics, Participating National Olympic Committees
Eleven nations made their first Olympic appearance in Munich: Albania, Dahomey (now Benin), Gabon, North Korea, Lesotho, Malawi, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Swaziland, Togo, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso).


1972 Summer Olympics, Participating National Olympic Committees
Rhodesia's invitation to take part in the 1972 Summer Games was withdrawn by the International Olympic Committee four days before the opening ceremony, in response to African countries' (such as Ethiopia and Kenya) protests against the Rhodesian government. (Rhodesia did, however, compete in the 1972 Summer Paralympics, held a little earlier in Heidelberg.)


1972 Summer Olympics, Calendar
‡ No medals were awarded on 5 September as all Olympic competitions were suspended during the day although events that were being held at the time of the suspension were allowed to finish to their conclusion.


1972 Summer Olympics, Calendar
Note: The Memorial service was held in the Olympic Stadium on 6 September which was attended by 80,000 spectators and 3,000 athletes. Following this all Olympic competitions were then allowed to resume after a 34 hour suspension.


1972 Summer Olympics, Medal count
These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1972 Games.


1972 Summer Olympics, Doping
The report, titled "Doping in Germany from 1950 to today", details how the West German government helped fund a wide-scale doping program. Doping of West German athletes was prevalent at the Munich Games of 1972.


1972 Summer Olympics medal table
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, took place in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August through 11 September 1972. A total of 7,134 athletes from 121 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 195 events from 23 sports.


1972 Summer Olympics medal table
Men's indoor handball, slalom canoeing and kayaking all made their Olympic debuts, while archery returned to the Olympic program after a 52-year hiatus. Rhodesia, like South Africa, was still segregated in 1972 and yet the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to invite Rhodesia to the 1972 Games. Eventually, African nations protested this invitation and threatened to boycott the Games. Three days before the opening ceremonies the IOC voted to rescind their invitation and exclude the Rhodesian athletes.


1972 Summer Olympics medal table
The Games were largely overshadowed by what has come to be known as the Munich massacre. On September 5 a group of eight Palestinian terrorists belonging to the Black September Organization broke into the Olympic Village and took nine Israeli athletes, coaches and officials hostage in their apartments. Two of the hostages who resisted were killed in the first moments of the break-in; the subsequent standoff in the Olympic Village lasted for almost 18 hours.


1972 Summer Olympics medal table
Late in the evening of September 5, the terrorists and their hostages were transferred by helicopter to the military airport of Fürstenfeldbruck, ostensibly to board a plane bound for an undetermined Arab country. The German authorities planned to ambush them there, but underestimated the number of terrorists and were thus undermanned. During a botched rescue attempt, all of the Israeli hostages were killed. Four of them were shot, then incinerated when one of the terrorists detonated a grenade inside the helicopter in which the hostages were sitting. The five remaining hostages were then machine-gunned by another terrorist.


1972 Summer Olympics medal table
Athletes from 48 NOCs won medals, leaving 73 NOCs unrepresented on the medal table. The Soviet Union edged the United States in total (99 to 94) and gold medals (50 to 33). Another notable rivalry took place between East and West Germany. Led by gymnast Karin Janz, who won two golds, two silvers and one bronze, East Germany (66 total and 20 gold medals) beat West Germany (13 gold and 40 total medals) to third place in the total medal count.


1972 Summer Olympics medal table
East Germany would nearly overtake the United States in 1976, and then finish second in the medal count in 1980 and 1988. American swimmer Mark Spitz won seven events, breaking the record for most gold medals by a single athlete in a single Olympic Games. Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut delivered another memorable performance. She entered the Olympics as an alternate on the Soviet gymnastics team, and replaced an injured teammate before the start of the competition. Korbut performed magnificently during the team competition and captured the global television audience with her personality.


1972 Summer Olympics medal table
She helped the Soviet team win its sixth straight Olympic title and went on to win two more individual gold medals and one silver. Japanese gymnast Sawao Kato won three gold and two silver medals, including the men's individual all-around title. This was the second individual all-around title for Kato, after 1968. Kato would go on to take silver in the all-around competition in 1976 to cap an Olympic career medal total of eight golds, three silvers and one bronze. Finnish runner Lasse Virén won both the 5,000 and 10,000 metre races. The 10,000 metres was won in dramatic fashion after he recovered from a fall to win and set a world record. He would repeat the double at the 1976 Games.


1972 Summer 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 Summer Olympics national flag bearers
During the Parade of Nations section of the 1972 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, athletes from each country participating in the Olympics paraded in the arena, preceded by their flag. The flag was borne by a sportsperson from that country chosen either by the National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves to represent their country.


1972 Summer Olympics national flag bearers, Parade order
As the nation of the first modern Olympic Games, Greece entered the stadium first; whereas, the host nation West Germany marched last, according with tradition and IOC guidelines. Announcers in the stadium read off the names of the marching nations in the host country's language, German, by actor and television personality Joachim Fuchsberger and music during the parade of nations is composed by Kurt Edelhagen.


1972 Summer Olympics national flag bearers, Parade order
Whilst most countries entered under their short names, a few entered under acronym or alternative names, mostly due to political and naming disputes. The People's Republic of the Congo entered as Congo (Kongo instead of Volksrepublik Kongo), South Korea (Republic of Korea) entered as Korea instead of Republik Korea, Taiwan (Republic of China) entered as Republik China, and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) entered as Vietnam.


1972 Summer Olympics national flag bearers, Parade order
Acronyms used during the ceremony like East Germany (German Democratic Republic), North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) entered respectively as DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik), DVR Korea (Demokratische Volksrepublik Korea) and UdSSR (Union der Sozialistischen Sowjeterepubliken), United States in other hand entered the same as English, USA instead of its full German name Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika, and host nation West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) entered as Germany (Deutschland instead of Bundesrepublik Deutschland or its acronym BRD) to avoid with the two Germanies.


1972 Summer Olympics national flag bearers, Parade order
A record of 121 nations entered the stadium with a combined total of 7,134 athletes. Eleven nations made their Olympic debut, namely Albania, Dahomey (now Benin), Gabon, North Korea, Lesotho, Malawi, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Swaziland, Togo, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso). Rhodesia's invitation to take part in the 1972 Summer Games was withdrawn by the International Olympic Committee four days before the opening ceremony, in response to African countries' (such as Ethiopia and Kenya) protests against the Rhodesian government. (Rhodesia did, however, compete in the 1972 Summer Paralympics, held a little earlier in Heidelberg.) Rhodesian athletes would have been marched between Republic of China and Romania.


1972 Summer Olympics national flag bearers, List
The following is a list of each country's announced flag bearer. The list is sorted by the order in which each nation appears in the parade of nations. The names are given in their official designations by the IOC.


1972 Summer Olympics national flag bearers, List
This table is sortable by country name (in German), the flag bearer's name, and the flag bearer's sport.


1972 Summer Paralympics
The 1972 Summer Paralympics (German: Paralympische Sommerspiele 1972), the fourth edition of the Paralympic Games, were held in Heidelberg, West Germany, from 2 to 11 August 1972. The games ended 15 days before the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, also in West Germany.


1972 Summer Paralympics, Sports
As with previous Paralympics, the 1972 games were intended for wheelchair athletes only. However, demonstration events such as goalball and a 100 m sprint for the visually impaired allowed visually impaired competitors to participate for the first time.


1972 Summer Paralympics, Medal table
The top ten listed NOCs by number of gold medals are listed below. The host nation, West Germany, is highlighted.


1972 Summer Paralympics, Participating delegations
Forty-one delegations took part in the Heidelberg Paralympics. Bahamas, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Egypt, Hong Kong, Hungary, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Romania, Uganda and Yugoslavia competed for the first time.


1972 Summer Paralympics, Participating delegations
South Africa was competing at the Paralympics for the third time. Although banned from the Olympic Games due to its policy of apartheid, it was not banned from the Paralympics until 1980, and West Germany, as host country, did not object to its participation.


1972 Summer Paralympics, Participating delegations
Rhodesia competed for the last time. Its invitation to take part in the 1972 Summer Olympics was withdrawn by the International Olympic Committee four days before the opening ceremony, in response to African countries' protests against the Rhodesian government. But as the Paralympics that year were held before the Olympics (and independently from them), Rhodesia was able to take part in the 1972 Paralympic Games.


1972 Summer Paralympics medal table
The 21st International Stoke Mandeville Games, later known as the 1972 Summer Paralympics (also known as the XXI World Games for the Paralysed) was an international multi-sport event held in Heidelberg, West Germany, from August 2 to 11, 1972, in which athletes with physical disabilities competed against one another. The German Disabled Sports Association planned to stage the Games in Munich following the 1972 Olympic Games, however the Olympic village in Munich was designated to be closed and converted into private apartments. The organisers tried to arrange for alternative accommodation for the athletes but when this was not possible the city of Heidelberg stepped in with an invite to stage the Games at the University of Heidelberg's Institute for Physical Training.


1972 Summer Paralympics medal table
In total 575 medals were awarded in 187 events in 10 different sports. Of the 42 competing National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) 31 won at least one medal. The host nation won the most gold medals, with 28, and the United States won the most total medals with 74. Rhodesia competed at these Games, winning 12 medals, but did not take part at the 1972 Summer Olympics after their invitation was withdrawn by the International Olympic Committee, four days before the opening ceremony, in response to African countries' protests against the Rhodesian regime. This medal table ranks the competing NPCs by the number of gold medals won by their athletes.


1972 Summer Paralympics medal table
Notable gold medallists included Canadian Eugene Reimer, who set a world record in discus with a throw of 29.91 metres and also won a gold medal in the pentathlon and silver in the 4×60 metres wheelchair relay. A crowd of 4,000 watched the United States defeat defending champions Israel 59–58 to take the gold medal in men's wheelchair basketball. Zipora Rubin-Rosenbaum of Israel won a gold medal in the women's javelin throw 5 event, with a new world record of 18.50 metres, and also won a silver medal in the shot put.


1972 Summer Paralympics medal table, Medal table
The ranking in this table is based on information provided by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and is consistent with IPC convention in its published medal tables. By default, the table is ordered by the number of gold medals the athletes from a nation have won (in this context, a "nation" is an entity represented by a NPC). 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 by IPC country code.


1972 Summer Paralympics medal table, Medal table
Two bronze medals were awarded in each table tennis and lawn bowls event. Some athletics and swimming events did not award silver or bronze medals.


1972 Sun Bowl
The 1972 Sun Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game that featured the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Texas Tech Red Raiders.


1972 Sun Bowl, Background
A 29-14 loss to #5 Ohio State proved to be the Tar Heels' only loss of the season, as they went undefeated in conference play to win the Atlantic Coast Conference title for the second straight year. As for the Red Raiders, they had finished tied for second in the Southwest Conference, with a 24-14 loss to Arkansas on Thanksgiving especially damaging, as Tech had been ranked #20 before the loss.


1972 Sun Bowl, Game summary
Ellis Alexander gave the Tar Heels a 3-0 lead on his 32 yard field goal in the first quarter. A Dick Oliver 22 yard touchdown run made it 9-0 (with a missed extra point) in the 2nd. The Red Raiders scored a passing touchdown by Pat Barnes in the 2nd quarter to make it 9-7 at halftime. However, a touchdown they didn't make turned out to be important.


1972 Sun Bowl, Game summary
On a North Carolina punt in the 2nd quarter, the kick was blocked and Red Raider Donald Rives returned it for an apparent touchdown, but it was called back due to a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a Tech coach being on the field during play. They took the lead on two touchdown runs by George Smith to make it 21-9. North Carolina responded with two touchdowns of their own. The first came on a Ted Leverenz touchdown catch from Nick Vidnovic touchdown pass from 62 yards out.


1972 Sun Bowl, Game summary
The second came in the 4th quarter on a Billy Hite touchdown run, with the successful conversion making it 24-21. Tech responded Smith's third touchdown of the game to make it 28-24 with 7:41 left. Vidnovic and Leverenz responded once again with a touchdown throw that gave them the lead with a minute to go. When the Red Raiders got the ball back, Barnes was sacked in the endzone, making the score 32-28 as the Tar Heels ran out the rest of the clock to clinch the victory. Despite his team losing, George Smith was named MVP on 172 yards on 14 carries.


1972 Sun Bowl, Aftermath
The Tar Heels returned to the Sun Bowl two years later. The Red Raiders returned in 1993.


1972 Sutton and Cheam by-election
The Sutton and Cheam by-election of 7 December 1972 was held after Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Richard Sharples was appointed Governor of Bermuda. In a defeat for Edward Heath's government the seat was taken by the Liberals. This was the second Liberal gain during the 1970–1974 Parliament, during which they gained five seats overall.


1972 Swazi general election
General elections were held in Swaziland between 16 and 17 May 1972. The result was a third successive victory for the royalist Imbokodvo National Movement, which won 78% of the vote and 21 of the 24 seats, based on a voter turnout of 74.0%. The Ngwane National Liberatory Congress won three seats, but five days after the election one of its successful candidates was served with a deportation order as an "undesirable alien". Although he subsequently won a High Court ruling against the order, in November the parliament created a tribunal through which his citizenship was revoked.


1972 Swazi general election
The Appeal Court declared the act unconstitutional, and on 12 April 1973 the parliament passed a motion that "called on the king to devise ways and means of dealing with the crisis". The result was that King Sobhuza suspended the constitution, dismissed Parliament, banned all political parties and became an absolute monarch.


1972 Swedish Open
The 1972 Swedish Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts held in Båstad, Sweden. It was classified as a Group C category tournament and was part of the 1972 Grand Prix circuit. It was the 25th edition of the tournament and was held from 17 July until 23 July 1972. Manuel Orantes won the singles title. No doubles event was held that year.


1972 Swedish Pro Tennis Championships
The 1972 Swedish Pro Tennis Championships was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 1st edition of Swedish Pro Tennis Championships, and was part of the 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit. It took place at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 30 October until 5 November 1972.


1972 Swedish Pro Tennis Championships
The singles line up featured Toronto, Las Vegas, St. Louis, Fort Worth, Alamo and Vancouver WCT winner John Newcombe, US Open runner-up, Louisville and Montreal WCT champion Arthur Ashe, and Chicago WCT finalist, Boston WCT and Stockholm finalist Tom Okker. Also competing were Cleveland WCT winner Mark Cox, Richmond, Miami, Las Vegas and Alamo WCT runner-up Cliff Drysdale, Marty Riessen, Robert Lutz and Nikola Pilić.


1972 Swedish Pro Tennis Championships, Finals, Doubles
Tom Okker /  Marty Riessen defeated  Ismail El Shafei /  Brian Fairlie, 6–2, 7–6


1972 Swedish Pro Tennis Championships – Doubles
Tom Okker and Marty Riessen won in the final 6–2, 7–6, against Ismail El Shafei and Brian Fairlie.


1972 Swedish Pro Tennis Championships – Singles
John Newcombe won in the final 6–0, 6–3, 6–1, against Roy Emerson.


1972 Swedish football Division 2
Statistics of Swedish football Division 2 for the 1972 season.


1972 Swiss League Cup
The 1972 Swiss League Cup was the inaugural Swiss League Cup competition. It was played in the summer of 1972 as a pre-season tournament to the 1972–73 Swiss football season. It was won by FC Basel who defeated FC Winterthur 4–1 in the final.


1972 Swiss League Cup, Final
The final took place on 11 November 1972 at Letzigrund in Zürich


1972 Swiss referendums
Seven referendums were held in Switzerland in 1972. The first two were held on 5 March on a popular initiative on the promotion of housebuilding (and a counter-proposal) and on an amendment to the Swiss Federal Constitution to protect tenants. The popular initiative was rejected, whilst the constitutional amendment was approved. The third and fourth were held on 4 June on measures to stabilise the federal construction market and protecting currency, both of which were approved.


1972 Swiss referendums
The fifth was held on 24 September on a popular initiative for enhanced arms control and a ban on weapon exports, but was narrowly rejected. The final two were held on 3 December on a popular initiative on introducing a "people's pension" (and a counterproposal) and on an agreement with the European Community. The pensions initiative was rejected, whilst the agreement was approved.


1972 Syracuse Orangemen football team
The 1972 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented Syracuse University during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. The team was led by 24th-year head coach Ben Schwartzwalder and played their home games at Archbold Stadium in Syracuse, New York. The team finished with a record of 5–6.


1972 São Paulo FC season
The 1972 football season was São Paulo's 43rd season since club's existence.


1972 TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series
The 1972 TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series was an Australian motor racing competition open to Formula Ford racing cars. It was the third annual Australian national series for Formula Fords.


1972 TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series
The series was won by Bob Skelton driving a Bowin P4a.


1972 TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series, Points system
Series points were awarded on a 10-9-8-76-5-4-3-2-1 basis for the first ten positions in each round.


1972 TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series, Points system
Only the best three scores in Victorian races and the best three scores in New South Wales races were considered for each driver.


1972 TANFL season
The 1972 Tasmanian Australian National Football League (TANFL) premiership season was an Australian rules football competition staged in Hobart, Tasmania over twenty (20) roster rounds and four finals series matches between 1 April and 16 September 1972.


1972 TANFL season, Participating Clubs, Interstate Matches
See : 1972 Australian National Football CarnivalMatch One (Saturday, 17 June 1972)


1972 TANFL season, 1972 TANFL Ladder, Grand Final
Source: All scores and statistics courtesy of the Hobart Mercury and Saturday Evening Mercury (SEM) publications.


1972 TCU Horned Frogs football team
The 1972 TCU Horned Frogs football team represented Texas Christian University (TCU) in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. The Horned Frogs finished the season 5–6 overall and 2–5 in the Southwest Conference. The team was coached by Billy Tohill, in his second year as head coach. The Frogs played their home games in Amon G. Carter Stadium, which is located on campus in Fort Worth, Texas.


1972 Taiwanese legislative election
The second supplementary elections took place for the National Assembly and Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan) on 23 December 1972.


1972 Taiwanese legislative election, Background
Compared with the first supplementary election the number of eligible seats for the National Assembly had been increased from 15 to 53 and for the Legislative Yuan from 11 to 51. Of these, 36 seats for the Legislative Yuan represented Taiwan Province, Kinmen and Matsu, and the special municipality of Taipei and were to be elected directly. The remaining 15 seats for the Legislative Yuan represented overseas nationals and were chosen by the President.


1972 Taiwanese legislative election, Results
Turnout for the supplementary election of the National Assembly was 68.35% and 68.18% for the Legislative Yuan. Of the newly elected members to the National Assembly 43 belonged to the Kuomintang and 10 were independent. Of the 36 elected delegates to the Legislative Yuan 30 belonged to the Kuomintang, 5 were independent and 1 belonged to the Chinese Youth Party. All representatives chosen were born Taiwanese except for 10 (5 in each of the legislative bodies) who were from the Mainland.


1972 Taiwanese legislative election, Further reading
Copper, John F. and George P. Chen (1984), Taiwan’s Elections. Political Development and Democratization in the Republic of China, [Baltimore, Md. ], Occasional Papers/Reprints Series in Contemporary Asian Studies, no. 5-1984 (64), ISBN 0-942182-66-9


1972 Taiwanese presidential election
Indirect elections were held for the presidency and vice-presidency of the government of the Republic of China on Taiwan on March 21, 1972. The vote took place at the Chung-Shan Building in Yangmingshan, Taipei. Incumbent President Chiang Kai-shek, aged 85, was re-elected for the fifth term with his Vice President Yen Chia-kan. President Chiang died in office on April 5, 1975. Vice President Yen Chia-kan then sworn in as the President.


1972 Taiwanese presidential election, Electors
The election was conducted by the National Assembly in its meeting place Chung-Shan Building in Yangmingshan, Taipei. According to the Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion, National Assembly delegates elected in the following elections were eligible to vote:


1972 Taiwanese presidential election, Electors
In total, there were 1,344 delegates reported to the secretariat to attend this fifth session of the first National Assembly.


1972 Talladega 500
The 1972 Talladega 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on August 6, 1972, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama.


1972 Talladega 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 Talladega 500, Race report
Bobby Isaac won the pole at a speed of 190.677 miles per hour (306.865 km/h). Taking place on August 6, 1972, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, the race took three hours and twenty-two minutes.


1972 Talladega 500, Race report
James Hylton won the race; collecting $24,865 ($151,979 when adjusted for inflation). This was a controversial race because NASCAR used treaded tires and it was disastrous for most teams. Hylton won because he didn't have the money to buy the new tires and used old nontreaded tires. Darrell Waltrip would lead his first laps of his NASCAR Winston Cup Series career.


1972 Talladega 500, Race report
The drivers who were using old tires had a huge advantage, Waltrip was one of them as was eventual winner James Hylton. Waltrip actually led 7 laps before his engine blew up. All was not bad for Waltrip who was short on funds at the time.


1972 Talladega 500, Race report
Many drivers were out of the race by lap 5 because of a big crash. By the day's end, only 18 cars finished the race and only two cars finished on the lead lap. One lap 188, Hylton and ARCA legend Ramo Stott battled to the finish. Hylton won the race by less than one second. Third-place finisher Bobby Allison was five laps down. It was Hylton's second and final win in NASCAR.


1972 Talladega 500, Race report
Notable crew chiefs at this race; Jake Elder, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman and Lee Gordon.


1972 Tampa Spartans football team
The 1972 Tampa Spartans football team represented the University of Tampa in the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. It was the Spartans' 36th season and they competed as an NCAA College Division independent. The team was led by head coach Earle Bruce, in his first and only year, and played their home games at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida. They finished with a record of ten wins and two losses (10–2) and with a victory in the Tangerine Bowl over Kent State, which featured future Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Lambert and future Missouri coach Gary Pinkel.


1972 Tampa Spartans football team
Bruce was hired on February 2, 1972, to serve as the replacement for Bill Fulcher who resigned to become the head coach at Georgia Tech. Bruce departed following the season to become head coach at Iowa State after Johnny Majors was named coach at Pittsburgh.


1972 Tampa Spartans football team
The Spartans' notable players included John Matuszak, who was selected first overall by the Houston Oilers in the 1973 NFL Draft and later won two Super Bowls with the Oakland Raiders; Freddie Solomon, a receiver on two Super Bowl champion teams with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s; and Paul Orndorff, who went on to stardom in the World Wrestling Federation as "Mr. Wonderful".


1972 Tangerine Bowl
The 1972 Tangerine Bowl, part of the 1972 bowl game season, took place on December 29, 1972, at the Tangerine Bowl stadium in Orlando, Florida. The competing teams were the Tampa Spartans, that competed as a College Division Independent, and the Kent State Golden Flashes, that competed as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). In the game, Tampa took a 21–0 halftime lead, and then held off a Golden Flashes comeback to win 21–18.


1972 Tangerine Bowl
The game featured two eventual College Football Hall of Fame coaches, Earle Bruce at Tampa and Don James at Kent State. Other players of note that played in the game included eventual Alabama head coach Nick Saban, Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel and Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Lambert for Kent State and eventual number one NFL Draft pick John Matuszak for Tampa. Tampa's Paul Orndorff would go on to have a successful professional wrestling career.


1972 Tangerine Bowl, Teams, Tampa
The Spartans entered their game against Bowling Green with an overall record of seven wins and two losses (7–2), and it was speculated the winner of the game would be invited to compete in the Tangerine Bowl. This was the case as a Falcons victory would give them the MAC championship and an automatic bid to the game thus making a rematch against the Spartans unlikely. Tampa did win the game 29–22, and on November 20, they accepted a bid to play in the Tangerine Bowl. The appearance marked the first for the Spartans in a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sanctioned bowl game and their first postseason appearance since their victory in the 1954 Cigar Bowl.


1972 Tangerine Bowl, Teams, Kent State
The Golden Flashes entered their game against Toledo with an overall record of five wins, four losses and one tie (5–4–1). With a victory over the Rockets, Kent State won their first all-time MAC Championship and secured the league's automatic bid to the Tangerine Bowl.


1972 Tangerine Bowl, Game summary
The 1972 edition of the Tangerine Bowl kicked off at 8:00 p.m. before what was the largest crowd to date for the game. The Spartans took a 14–0 first quarter lead on a pair of Buddy Carter touchdown passes to Paul Orndorff. The first was set up after Gerald Tinker fumbled a punt at the Flashes' 15-yard line that was recovered by Terry Grantham. On the next play, Tampa led 7–0 with Orndorff's 15-yard touchdown reception.


1972 Tangerine Bowl, Game summary
Later in the quarter, the second Spartans touchdown was set up by a Tommy Thomas interception return of a Greg Kokal pass to the Kent 38-yard line. Two plays later, Tampa led 14–0 with Orndorff's 35-yard touchdown reception. Tampa's final touchdown drive of the night was again set up by a Kent turnover. For the second time, Kokal threw an interception, and on the drive that followed Freddie Solomon gained 60 yards on five carries that included the final two for a touchdown and a 21–0 halftime lead.


1972 Tangerine Bowl, Game summary
Kent responded in the third quarter with their first touchdown on a 76-yard Kokal pass to Tinker, and after a missed extra point the score was 21–6. A pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns on a ten-yard Kokal pass to Dooner and on a 78-yard Renard Harmon punt return made the final score 21–18. For his performance of 103 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown, Freddie Solomon was named outstanding back of the game, along with Kent State's Jack Lambert who was named outstanding lineman.


1972 Tanglewood International Tennis Classic
The 1972 Tanglewood International Tennis Classic was a men's tennis tournament held at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, North Carolina in the United States that was part of the Grand Prix circuit and categorized as a Group D event. The tournament was played on outdoor clay courts and was held from July 24 through July 30, 1972. It was the second edition of the tournament and Bob Hewitt won the singles title.


1972 Tanglewood International Tennis Classic, Finals, Doubles
Bob Hewitt /  Andrew Pattison defeated  Jim McManus /  Jim Osborne 6–4, 6–4


1972 Taroom explosion
The 1972 Taroom explosion occurred after a truck carrying ammonium nitrate, an explosive and fertilizer, caught fire on 30 August 1972 near Taroom, Central Queensland, Australia. The explosion, on the Fitzroy Developmental Road near Stonecroft Station, 90 kilometres north-west of Taroom, killed three men.


1972 Taroom explosion, Summary
25-year-old truck driver Ronald Holzberger had left East Botany on 28 August 1972 with a 21 tonne (23 tons) load of Nitropril, Imperial Chemical Industries' brand of a pourous type of ammonium nitrate. Used extensively as an explosive in open-cut mining, the load was destined for the Goonyella coalfields.


1972 Taroom explosion, Summary
His younger brother Bill Holzberger was driving another truck, loaded with 11 tonnes (12 tons) of the same chemical.


1972 Taroom explosion, Summary
However, upon reaching Taroom, the two brothers decided to swap vehicles after Bill Holzberger had complained about his truck becoming difficult to operate due to electrical issues. Bill Holzberger, now driving the heavier load, then continued on ahead of his brother who was now driving behind with the 11 tonne load.


1972 Taroom explosion, Summary
About an hour after continuing the journey, the truck Ronald Holzberger was now driving caught fire. He pulled the burning truck over, parked it to the side of the road and salvaged some personal belongings.


1972 Taroom explosion, Summary
Nearby, two brothers from Stonecroft Station, 20-year-old Evan Becker and 18-year-old Douglas Becker, saw the smoke from a distance and rode to the scene on their motorbikes to investigate and to render assistance.


1972 Taroom explosion, Summary
Not realising the danger they were in, the three men were standing near the burning truck when the ammonium nitrate ignited and caused a massive explosion which was heard in the towns of Moura and Theodore where it shook houses.


1972 Taroom explosion, Summary
The blast killed all three men and caused a crater in the road which measured two metres deep, five metres wide and 20 metres long.


1972 Taroom explosion, Summary
The International TranStar truck cab and the trailer were completely destroyed and debris was scattered up to two kilometres away. The explosion also started a bushfire which burnt out over 800 hectares of land.


1972 Taroom explosion, Summary
The deaths of the two brothers in the explosion was yet another hardship for the Becker family. Evan and Douglas Becker's two brothers Russell and Owen had suffered polio as children and their sister Kay had died as a child in 1951 after developing encephalitis.


1972 Taroom explosion, Legacy
On 30 March 2013, a memorial was unveiled and dedicated in a ceremony held at the site of the explosion. It had been erected with the assistance of the Taroom Historical Society and Banana Shire Council and was dedicated by Heather Becker, a liturgical assistant at the Holy Trinity Church in Taroom.


1972 Taroom explosion, Legacy
The memorial site includes the truck's bullbar which was recovered 200 metres north of the blast site, which has been cemented in as part of the memorial.


1972 Taroom explosion, Legacy
The ceremony was attended by over 100 people including Bill Holzberger and members of the Becker family.


1972 Taroom explosion, Legacy
Another ammonium nitrate explosion, very reminiscent of the Taroom incident, occurred on 5 September 2014 at Angellala Creek on the Mitchell Highway near Wyandra, Queensland when another burning truck triggered another massive explosion. Some media reports mentioned the 1972 Taroom incident in their reporting of the 2014 explosion.


1972 Taroom explosion, Legacy
Both the Taroom and Wyandra incidents have been referenced by international media when reporting on ammonium nitrate disasters, such as the 2020 Beirut explosion.


1972 Tasman Series
The 1972 Tasman Series was a motor racing competition staged in New Zealand and Australia for racing cars complying with the Tasman Formula. The series, which began on 8 January and ended on 27 February after eight races, was the ninth annual Tasman Series. It was won by Graham McRae of New Zealand, driving a Leda GM1 Chevrolet.


1972 Tasman Series, Points system
Series points were awarded at each round on the following basis.


1972 Tasmanian state election
The Tasmanian state election, 1972 was held on 22 April 1972  in the Australian state of Tasmania to elect 35 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The election used the Hare-Clark proportional representation system — seven members were elected from each of five electorates.


1972 Tasmanian state election
The one-term Liberal government of Premier Angus Bethune had collapsed following the withdrawal of support by Kevin Lyons. The opposition Labor Party, led by Eric Reece, gained a clear majority and won the election.


1972 Tasmanian state election, Background
The 1969 election had resulted in a hung parliament, with the deadlock broken when Kevin Lyons of the Centre Party formed a coalition government with Angus Bethune's Liberal Party. On 15 March 1972, Lyons resigned as Deputy Premier and effectively dissolved the Liberal-Centre coalition. The resulting instability triggered an election.


1972 Tasmanian state election, Background
The 1972 election was also notable due to the emergence and candidacy of the United Tasmania Group, the world's first Green party, formed to campaign against the proposed damming of Lake Pedder.


1972 Tasmanian state election, Results
The Liberals lost three seats, giving Labor a clear majority. Eric Reece was sworn in as Premier of Tasmania for a second time on 3 May 1972. Eric Reece also received the highest personal vote ever in Braddon, gaining 14,790 votes, or 35.4% of the vote.


1972 Tasmanian state election, Results
The United Tasmania Group gained a respectable 3.9% of the vote, failing to gain a seat in the parliament and to stop the damming of Lake Pedder, but their efforts paved the way for the Tasmanian Greens to become a significant force in Tasmanian politics.


1972 Tasmanian state election, Results
Tasmanian state election, 22 April 1972House of Assembly << 1969–1976 >>


1972 Taça de Portugal Final
The 1972 Taça de Portugal Final was the final match of the 1971–72 Taça de Portugal, the 32nd season of the Taça de Portugal, the premier Portuguese football cup competition organized by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). The match was played on 4 June 1972 at the Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and opposed two Primeira Liga sides: Benfica and Sporting CP. Benfica defeated Sporting CP 3–2 to claim a fifteenth Taça de Portugal.


1972 Temple Owls football team
The 1972 Temple Owls football team was an American football team that represented Temple University as an independent during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. In its third season under head coach Wayne Hardin, the team compiled a 5–4 record and was outscored by a total of 176 to 164. The team played its home games at Temple Stadium in Philadelphia.


1972 Temple Owls football team
The team's statistical leaders included Doug Shobert with 1,416 passing yards, Paul Loughran with 593 rushing yards and 36 points scored, and Clint Graves with 707 receiving yards.


1972 Tennessee Volunteers football team
The 1972 Tennessee Volunteers football team (variously "Tennessee", "UT" or the "Vols") represented the University of Tennessee in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Bill Battle, in his third year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of ten wins and two losses (10–2 overall, 4–2 in the SEC) and a victory over LSU in the 1972 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl. The Volunteers offense scored 297 points while the defense allowed 100 points.


1972 Texas 500
The 1972 Texas 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on November 12, 1972, at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas.


1972 Texas 500
The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore.


1972 Texas 500, Race report
The race was 250 laps on a paved track spanning 2 miles (3.2 km) in front of 33,000 live spectators. It took exactly 3 hours and 24 seconds for Buddy Baker to defeat A. J. Foyt by ½ of a car length. Baker's victory played a role in making 1972 the first NASCAR Cup Series season without any first-time Cup series winners. Foyt had earned the pole position with a speed of 170.273 miles per hour (274.028 km/h) during the qualifying runs even though the actual race speeds approached 147.059 miles per hour (236.669 km/h). Five cautions slowed the race for 29 laps. All the 44 drivers on the racing grid were American-born males.


1972 Texas 500, Race report
Bill Seifert of the famous Giachetti Brothers (headed by Richard Giachetti) finished the race in the last-place position due to a clutch problem in the first lap of the race. Bill Champion had engine issues on lap 16 while Earle Canavan had windshield issues on lap 30. Ron Keselowski would ruin his vehicle's engine on lap 38 while Bill Hollar did the same thing on lap 68. Frank Warren would ruin his vehicle's engine on lap 92. Jabe Thomas noticed that his vehicle's suspension acted strangely on lap 93.


1972 Texas 500, Race report
H.B. Bailey would lose the rear end of his vehicle on lap 106. Gordon Johncock's engine expired on lap 182. Once Buddy Arrington dropped out with engine failure after completing 184 laps, Petty had locked up a 33rd-place finish. Petty only needed to complete 190 laps to clinch the championship; becoming the champion on lap 191. Clarence Lovell's engine stopped working on lap 196 while Paul Feldner's engine stopped working on lap 198. Larry Smith had identical problems to Lovell and Feldner on lap 199. Johnny Rutherford had to stop racing due to a problematic engine on lap 224.


1972 Texas 500, Race report
Seven notable crew chiefs were recorded as participating in the event; including Dale Inman and Harry Hyde. Paul Feldner and Bill Shirey would retire from the NASCAR Winston Cup Series after this event while Rick Newsom would make his introduction into professional stock car racing.


1972 Texas 500, Race report
Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race; a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day. Unfortunately, this race broke Bobby Allison's streak of leading a lap from the 1971 Southern 500 all the way to the 1972 American 500. This streak would be known as the "Joe DiMaggio Streak" after the famous baseball player, and it has not been accomplished by any driver after this date.


1972 Texas 500, Race report
Individual prize winnings for each driver ranged from the winner's share of $14,920 ($92,309 when considering inflation) to the last-place finishers' share of just $705 ($4,362 when considering inflation). The total prize purse for this racing event was locked in at $88,270 ($546,122 when considering inflation).


1972 Texas A&M Aggies football team
The 1972 Texas A&M Aggies football team represented Texas A&M University in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC). The Aggies were led by head coach Emory Bellard in his first season and finished with a record of three wins and eight losses (3–8 overall, 2–5 in the SWC).


1972 Texas Longhorns baseball team
The 1972 Texas Longhorns baseball team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 1972 NCAA University Division baseball season. The Longhorns played their home games at Clark Field. The team was coached by Cliff Gustafson in his 5th season at Texas.


1972 Texas Longhorns baseball team
The Longhorns reached the College World Series, finishing tied for third with wins over Ole Miss and Oklahoma and losses to Connecticut and a ten-inning loss to eventual champion Southern California.


1972 Texas Longhorns football team
The 1972 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. The Longhorns finished the regular season with a 9–1 record and defeated Alabama in the Cotton Bowl Classic.


1972 Texas Rangers season
The Texas Rangers 1972 season involved the Rangers finishing sixth in the American League West with a record of 54 wins and 100 losses. This was the Rangers' first season in Texas, as well as the club's first year in the AL West, after playing their first 11 seasons in Washington, D.C., and from 1969 to 1971 in the American League East. The Rangers were dead last in batting in the major leagues with a .217 team batting average. They failed to record an extra-base hit in 38 of their 154 games, the most of any team in the live-ball era (1920 onwards).


1972 Texas Rangers season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases


1972 Texas Rangers season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases


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


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


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


1972 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team
The 1972 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Tech University in the Southwest Conference during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. In their third season under head coach Jim Carlen, the Red Raiders compiled an 8–4 record (4–3 against conference opponents), tied for second place in the conference, and outscored opponents by a combined total of 282 to 188. The team's statistical leaders included Joe Barnes with 1,142 passing yards, George Smith with 740 rushing yards, and Andre Tillman with 285 receiving yards. The team played its home games at Clifford B. & Audrey Jones Stadium.


1972 Texas gubernatorial election
The 1972 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1972, to elect the Governor of Texas. Incumbent Democratic Governor Preston Smith was running for reelection, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by businessman Dolph Briscoe. Briscoe went on to win the election by a relatively small margin, winning 48% of the vote to Republican Henry Grover's 45%. Raza Unida candidate Ramsey Muniz won 6%.


1972 Texas gubernatorial election
The 1972 election marked the last time that a gubernatorial election was held concurrently with a presidential election and the last time that a governor was elected for a two-year term. Smith became one of five consecutive incumbent Texas governors to lose re-election.


1972 Texas–Arlington Mavericks football team
The 1972 Texas–Arlington Mavericks football team was an American football team that represented  the University of Texas at Arlington in the Southland Conference during the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. In their second year under head coach John Symank, the team compiled a 5–6 record.


1972 Thailand Regional Games
The 6th Thailand National Games (Thai:กีฬาเขตแห่งประเทศไทย ครั้งที่ 6, also known as the 1972 National Games and the 1972 Interprovincial Games) were held in Ratchaburi, Thailand from 2 to 8 December 1972, with contests in 12 sports. These games were the first competition of the new region, Bangkok, formerly part of region 1, and the new member of region 3, Yasothon, formerly part of Ubon Ratchathani.


1972 Thailand Regional Games, Emblem
The emblem of the 1972 Thailand National Games was a brown rhombus, with the emblem of Sports Authority of Thailand inside, surrounded by the text


1972 Thailand Regional Games, Emblem
อสกท กีฬาเขตแห่งประเทศไทย ครั้งที่ ๖ ราชบุรี ๒๕๑๕SAT 6th Inter-Provincial Games, Ratchaburi 1972


1972 Thailand Regional Games, Participating regions
The 8th Thailand National Games represented 10 regions from 71 provinces.


1972 Thailand Regional Games, Sports
The 1972 Thailand National Games featured 10 Olympic sports contested at the 1973 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, 1974 Asian Games and 1972 Summer Olympics. In addition, four non-Olympic sports was featured: badminton, sepak takraw, table tennis and tennis.


1972 Thandwe crash
The 1972 Thandwe crash occurred on 16 August in Burma. Shortly after the flight departed Thandwe Airport on its initial climb, the scheduled passenger flight for Burma Airways carrying 27 passengers and four crew suddenly fell from the sky and crashed into the sea, killing all four crew and all but three passengers. It was the first fatal accident for Burma Airways.


1972 The Citadel Bulldogs football team
The 1972 The Citadel Bulldogs football team represented The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. Red Parker served as head coach for the seventh season. The Bulldogs played as members of the Southern Conference and played home games at Johnson Hagood Stadium.


1972 Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship
The 1972 Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship was the 82nd staging of the Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Tipperary County Board in 1887.


1972 Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship
Roscrea won the championship after a 5-08 to 3-06 defeat of Borris-Ileigh  in the final at Semple Stadium. It was their fourth championship title overall and their first title in two years.


1972 Tirreno–Adriatico
The 1972 Tirreno–Adriatico was the seventh edition of the Tirreno–Adriatico cycle race and was held from 13 March to 17 March 1972. The race started in Ladispoli and finished in San Benedetto del Tronto. The race was won by Roger De Vlaeminck.


1972 Titleholders Championship
The 1972 Titleholders Championship was contested from May 26–29 at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina. It was the 28th and final edition of the Titleholders Championship, following a six-year hiatus. It was the only edition not played at the Augusta Country Club.


1972 Togolese presidential referendum
A referendum on coup leader Gnassingbé Eyadéma remaining president was held in Togo on 9 January 1972. Eyadéma had overthrown the government in 1967 and installed himself as president on 14 April.


1972 Togolese presidential referendum
Voters were asked the question "Do you want General Eyadéma to continue the functions of president of the republic entrusted to him by the army and the people?" The result was reported to be 99.9% of voters in favour with a 97.8% turnout.


1972 Toledo Rockets football team
The 1972 Toledo Rockets football team was an American football team that represented the University of Toledo in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1972 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second season under head coach Jack Murphy, the Rockets compiled a 6–5 record (2–3 against MAC opponents), finished in a tie for fourth place in the MAC, and were outscored by all opponents by a combined total of 210 to 196.


1972 Torneo Descentralizado
The 1972 Torneo Descentralizado, the top category of Peruvian football, was played by 16 teams. The season was divided into 3 stages. The first stage was contested in two groups: Metropolitan (teams from Lima and Callao) and Regional (teams from the rest of the country); each group winner qualified for the Championship Group. The second stage was the Descentralised (league tournament); the top 4 qualified for the Championship Group and the bottom 2 were relegated. Championship Group was contested by 6 teams in Lima; neither team carried their previous records. The national champion was Sporting Cristal.


1972 Torneo Godó
The 1972 Torneo Godó or Trofeo Conde de Godó was a men's tennis tournament that took place on outdoor clay courts in Barcelona, Spain. It was the 19th edition of the tournament and was part of the 1972 Grand Prix circuit. It was held from 16 October until 23 October 1972. Fifth-seeded Jan Kodeš won the singles title.


1972 Torneo Godó, Finals, Doubles
Juan Gisbert /  Manuel Orantes defeated  Frew McMillan /  Ilie Năstase 6–3, 3–6, 6–4


1972 Torneo di Viareggio
The 1972 winners of the Torneo di Viareggio (in English, the Viareggio Tournament, officially the Viareggio Cup World Football Tournament Coppa Carnevale), the annual youth football tournament held in Viareggio, Tuscany, are listed below.


1972 Torneo di Viareggio, Format
The 16 teams are organized in knockout rounds. The round of 16 are played in two-legs, while the rest of the rounds are single tie.


1972 Toronto Argonauts season
The 1972 Toronto Argonauts finished in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with a 3–11 record and failed to make the playoffs.


1972 Toronto municipal election
The 1972 Toronto municipal election was held December 4, 1972, to elect the governments of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the five other boroughs, and the government of Metro Toronto as well.


1972 Toronto municipal election
The election was overshadowed by the 1972 federal election held October 30 and the American elections held November 7, but it resulted in a dramatic change in the city government. Four new mayors were elected, and 17 of 32 Metro seats were held by newcomers. In the City of Toronto, control of city council was won by the reform faction and reform leader David Crombie was elected mayor.


1972 Toronto municipal election
As in the 1969 election many of the central debates were over proposed megaprojects. The Spadina Expressway had been halted in 1971, but some wanted it built. The debate over the Scarborough Expressway was also one of the central issues in the east end.


1972 Toronto municipal election
An IBM 370-155 was used by the Star to process the results.


1972 Toronto municipal election, Toronto, Mayoral election
Incumbent mayor William Dennison chose not to turn for reelection. The three main candidates vying to replace him were city councillors David Rotenberg, David Crombie, and Tony O'Donohue. O'Donohue and Rotenberg were veteran councillors. Rotenberg had been on council ten years and had served as Deputy Mayor. He also won the endorsement of the Toronto Star. Crombie had been elected to city council only three years earlier, previously serving as a professor at Ryerson Polytechnic Institute. He was a moderate member of the reform faction on council, willing to compromise with the Old Guard. A fourth notable candidate was Toronto Sun columnist Paul Rimstead, who ran a semi-serious campaign based on law and order policies.


1972 Toronto municipal election, Toronto, Mayoral election
Crombie dominated the affluent midtown and North Toronto wards, and also carried the east end of the city. O'Donohue won the heavily ethnic, working class wards of the west end.


1972 Toronto municipal election, City council
Two aldermen were elected per Ward. The alderman with the most votes was declared Senior Alderman and sat on both Toronto City Council and Metro Council.


1972 Toronto municipal election, City council
The council elected in 1969 was split into two factions. The dominant group, commonly referred to as the 'Old Guard,' were 12 councillors who generally sided with developers and supported plans for urban renewal and new expressways. The opposition faction was made up of seven members who supported the reform movement. The reformers won a clear victory. Only four Old Guard aldermen were reelected: William Boytchuk, Joseph Piccininni, Fred Beavis, and Thomas Clifford. The reform faction won five new seats, giving them an overall majority on council.


1972 Toronto municipal election, Etobicoke, Etobicoke Board of Control (4 elected)
(Source: "How the voting went throughout Etobicoke", Toronto Star, pg 13, December 5, 1972)


1972 Toronto municipal election, North York, Mayor
Lastman is elected mayor for the first time and serves until 1997.


1972 Toronto municipal election, North York, North York Board of Control (4 elected)
Paul Godfrey was appointed to the Board of Control by North York Council in 1970, following the death of Controller John Booth. He was returned to the Board of Control in 1972, his first time being elected to the body. In 1973, he resigned to become Metro Chairman. Barbara Greene is elected in an upset victory after running to protest a by-law which made it illegal for unrelated roommates to share a house or apartment if the neighbourhood was zoned for single family dwellings. She is not only the first woman ever elected to North York's Board of Control but she and her roommate, Kate Hayhurst who ran for alderman and Betty Sutherland who was also elected as an alderman in 1972 are the first three women ever elected to North York council


1972 Toronto municipal election, York, Board of Control (2 elected)
(Source: Toronto Star, page 12, December 5, 1972; "The Star's suggestions for Monday's elections", Toronto Star, December 2, 1972, page 20)


1972 Tour de France
The 1972 Tour de France was the 59th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place from 1 to 22 July, with 20 stages covering a distance of 3,846 km (2,390 mi). The long awaited clash between Eddy Merckx and Luis Ocaña after Ocaña crashed on Col de Menté in the 1971 Tour de France. After riding strongly in the first two weeks of the race and being the closest GC contender to Merckx, Luis Ocaña crashed once more, in the Pyrenees, leaving Merckx to battle Cyrille Guimard for the win. Guimard, having won four stages, had to leave the race after stage 17 in second place (he already was 7:58 behind at that point), but was given the combativity award after the race.


1972 Tour de France, Teams
The 1972 Tour started with 12 teams, each with 11 cyclists, a total of 132.


1972 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
In the previous year, Luis Ocaña was on his way to beat Eddy Merckx, when he fell as leader and had to give up. Everybody expected Merckx and Ocana to battle for the victory in 1972. Ocana felt that he could have won the 1971 Tour, and Merckx did not like the comments that he did not deserve the 1971 victory, and both wanted to show their strengths. Merckx had won important races before the Tour started, including the 1972 Giro d'Italia, and was also the reigning world champion. Ocana had won less races, but won the Criterium du Dauphiné Libéré. The most important other participants were considered Raymond Poulidor, Felice Gimondi, Joop Zoetemelk and Bernard Thévenet.


1972 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
José Manuel Fuente, who had won the 1972 Vuelta a España and finished second in the 1972 Giro d'Italia, did not compete, as his team decided they had already been in too many hard races. Herman Van Springel had announced four days prior to the Tour that he would leave his team after his contract would end at the end of 1972. His team then removed him from the Tour squad.


1972 Tour de France, Route and stages
For the first time since 1947, the Tour de France was entirely in France. The highest point of elevation in the race was 2,556 m (8,386 ft) at the summit tunnel of the Col du Galibier mountain pass on stage 14a.


1972 Tour de France, Route and stages
Three days before the Tour started on 1 July, the schedule was changed: the final time trial was split, with the first 42 km as a time trial in the morning, and the last 89 km as a mass-start stage in the afternoon. There were two rest days, in Bayonne and Orcières.


1972 Tour de France, Race overview
Merckx won the prologue, beating his rivals by some seconds. In the first stage, Cyrille Guimard won the sprint, and because of the bonification seconds took over the leader's jersey in the general classification. In the next stages, Merckx tried to win back time by winning bonification seconds in intermediate sprints and at the finish, but Guimard used the same tactic. Merckx won back the first position thanks to the bonification seconds after the team time trial in stage 3b, but lost it again in the fourth stage.


1972 Tour de France, Race overview
Merckx won the time trial in the second part of the fifth stage, but Guimard came third, retaining the lead. After the sixth stage, Guimard was 11 seconds ahead of Merckx. The third place was occupied by a teammate of Merckx, and Ocaña was in fourth place, one minute behind Guimard.


1972 Tour de France, Race overview
In the seventh stage, the Tour reached the Pyrenees. Ocaña attacked two times, and the second time only Merckx could follow. When Ocaña punctured, and later crashed with Thevenet, Merckx was away without him. Another group, including Zoetemelk and Guimard, had reached Merckx, and crossed the finish line together. Ocana finished in sixth place, losing 1 minute and 49 seconds. Thevenet lost more than six minutes that stage, and lost all hope of winning. He was taken to the hospital to see if the crash had caused serious injuries, but could start the next stage.


1972 Tour de France, Race overview
In the eighth stage, Lucien Van Impe attacked on the last climb. Merckx caught him and won the stage, with Ocana only eight seconds behind him. Guimard lost three minutes, and Merckx overtook him in the general classification. In the ninth stage, Roger Pingeon left the race. He did not play an important role in the general classification, but his team expected him to help his teammate Thevenet in the rest of the race.


1972 Tour de France, Race overview
The eleventh stage ended with the climb up to Mont Ventoux. After Merckx' team had pushed the pace such that most cyclists in the peloton had dropped, Ocana attacked four times. Every time, Merckx was able to chase him, together with only Poulidor. Poulidor then attacked, but could not get away. Some other cyclists were able to get back, including Thevenet. Thevenet then attacked, and left the others behind, winning the stage.


1972 Tour de France, Race overview
Merckx expected Ocana to attack in the twelfth stage, so he stayed with him. When Joaquim Agostinho and Lucien Van Impe attacked, Merckx let them go and stayed with Ocana, as Merckx only cared about Ocana; he did not want Ocana to win back time, and did not want him to win the stage which could give him inspiration in the next stages. On the thirteenth stage, Merckx' team first set a pace that eliminated all but 16 cyclists at the start of the climb of the Vars.


1972 Tour de France, Race overview
Raymond Delisle escaped from that group, but Merckx and Agostinho chased and passed him after the summit. On the way down, Guimard was able to catch Merckx, who had dropped Delisle and Agostinho. Climbing the Izoard, Merckx dropped Guimard, and soloed to the victory. By then, Merckx was leading the general classification firmly, almost five minutes ahead of Ocana.


1972 Tour de France, Race overview
The first part of the fourteenth stage was also won by Merckx, who outsprinted Zoetemelk. Ocana lost two minutes, and Guimard overtook him in the general classification. In the second part of the fourteenth stage, Ocana lost more than five minutes. Guimard and Merckx sprinted for the stage victory, and the photo finish gave the victory to Guimard. Ocana left the race after that stage; he had contracted a lung infection after his fall in the seventh stage. The stage ended with two laps of 1800 m; when it was found out that one group had missed one lap, the rules said that this group would have to ride that lap again, but the jury decided to use the times clocked after the first lap.


1972 Tour de France, Race overview
The fifteenth stage was also narrowly won by Guimard; Merckx had already raised one hand to cheer. In the seventeenth stage, Guimard struggled with his health. He needed medical attention during the entire stage, and lost two minutes on the final climb. After 10 km in the eighteenth stage, he left the race.


1972 Tour de France, Race overview
Merckx was now leading by more than ten minutes, and was certain to win the race. The second place was still not certain; Poulidor and Gimondi were separated only by one second. In the time trial on the last day, won by Merckx, the decision fell: Gimondi came in second, Poulidor fourth, and Gimondi overtook Poulidor in the general classification. After the finish in Paris, Merckx gave the green jersey that he received for winning the points classification to Guimard, who otherwise would have been the winner of that classification.


1972 Tour de France, Race overview, Doping
Guimard had been treated by Bernard Sainz. After Guimard left the race, there were rumours that Guimard had been using doping in the last days of the Tour; to end these rumours, he requested that after the eighteenth stage, he would also be checked for doping.


1972 Tour de France, Race overview, Doping
In 2000, Sainz wrote the book "The stunning revelation of Dr. Mabuse", where he denied that he was responsible.


1972 Tour de France, Race overview, Doping
Later that year, Eddy Merckx finished second in the athlete of the year poll, behind Mark Spitz.


1972 Tour de France, Classification leadership and minor prizes
There were several classifications in the 1972 Tour de France, three of them awarding jerseys to their leaders. The most important was the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey; the winner of this classification is considered the winner of the Tour.


1972 Tour de France, Classification leadership and minor prizes
Additionally, there was a points classification, where cyclists got points for finishing among the best in a stage finish, or in intermediate sprints. The cyclist with the most points lead the classification, and was identified with a green jersey.


1972 Tour de France, Classification leadership and minor prizes
There was also a mountains classification. The organisation had categorised some climbs as either first, second, third, or fourth-category; points for this classification were won by the first cyclists that reached the top of these climbs first, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs. The cyclist with the most points lead the classification, but was not identified with a jersey in 1972.


1972 Tour de France, Classification leadership and minor prizes
Another classification was the combination classification. This classification was calculated as a combination of the other classifications, its leader wore the white jersey.


1972 Tour de France, Classification leadership and minor prizes
The fifth individual classification was the intermediate sprints classification. This classification had similar rules as the points classification, but only points were awarded on intermediate sprints. In 1972, this classification had no associated jersey.


1972 Tour de France, Classification leadership and minor prizes
For the team classification, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added; the leading team was the team with the lowest total time. The riders in the team that led this classification wore yellow caps.


1972 Tour de France, Classification leadership and minor prizes
In addition, there was a combativity award, in which a jury composed of journalists gave points after mass-start stages to the cyclist they considered most combative. The split stages each had a combined winner. At the conclusion of the Tour, Cyrille Guimard won the overall super-combativity award, also decided by journalists. Three further daily individual awards were given for good humour, teamwork and elegance. Overall awards were given for these also, with Bernard Thévenet seen as the funniest, Martin Van Den Bossche the best teammate and Felice Gimondi the most elegant. The Souvenir Henri Desgrange was given to the first rider to pass the memorial to Tour founder Henri Desgrange near the summit of the Col du Galibier on stage 14a. This prize was won by Joop Zoetemelk.


1972 Tour de Romandie
The 1972 Tour de Romandie was the 26th edition of the Tour de Romandie cycle race and was held from 10 May to 14 May 1972. The race started and finished in Geneva. The race was won by Bernard Thévenet.


1972 Tour de Suisse
The 1972 Tour de Suisse was the 36th edition of the Tour de Suisse cycle race and was held from 15 June to 23 June 1972. The race started in Zürich and finished in Olten. The race was won by Louis Pfenninger of the Zonca team.


1972 Tour of Flanders
The 56th running of the Tour of Flanders cycling race in Belgium was held on Sunday 9 April 1972. Belgian Eric Leman won ahead of André Dierickx and Frans Verbeeck, winning the classic for the second time. The race started in Ghent and finished in Gentbrugge. 80 out of 171 riders arrived.


1972 Tour of Flanders, Course
The race was run in bad weather, leading to a group of 30. Eddy Merckx and Eric Leman broke away from the group, but Felice Gimondi brought the rest back. Merckx, suffering severe back pain, was forced to walk up the Muur van Geraardsbergen, but returned afterwards. At 10 km from the finish, a group of seven was formed, sprinting for the win. Leman narrowly beat André Dierickx. Merckx finished seventh.


1972 Tour of the Basque Country
The 1972 Tour of the Basque Country was the 12th edition of the Tour of the Basque Country cycle race and was held from 19 April to 23 April 1972. The race started and finished in Eibar. The race was won by José Antonio González Linares of the Kas team.


1972 Trampoline World Championships
The 7th Trampoline World Championships were held in Stuttgart, West Germany on September 23, 1972.


1972 Trans-AMA motocross series
The 1972 Trans-AMA motocross series was the third annual international series established by the American Motorcyclist Association as a pilot event to help establish motocross in the United States. The motocross series was an invitational based on a 500cc engine displacement formula, run on American tracks featuring the top riders from the F.I.M. world championship against the top American riders.


1972 Trans-AMA motocross series
Swedish Maico factory rider Åke Jonsson dominated the championship, winning nine consecutive overall wins. 500cc world champion, Roger De Coster and Heikki Mikkola placed second and third overall, claiming one victory apiece to start off the series before Jonsson began his winning streak. Brad Lackey was the highest-placing American rider, finishing the series sixth overall.


1972 Trans-American Sedan Championship
The 1972 Trans-American Championship was the seventh running of the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series. The first seven rounds used split classes, while the last four classes had the Under 2500cc class only. Milt Minter brought Pontiac its first win, at Mid-Ohio. George Follmer and American Motors won the over 2.5L division, while John Morton led Datsun to the championship title of the "Two-Five Challenge".


1972 Trans-American Sedan Championship
1972 is considered to be the end of the series' "golden era". From 1973 onward, Trans Am would evolve into a lesser clone of the rival IMSA GT Championship, with similarly modified cars, but with a more conventional focus with vehicles such as the Chevrolet Beretta being used. IMSA GT's focus on exotic cars such as Ferraris and Porsches provided a more adaptable format, in comparison to Trans Am's reliance on domestic performance sedans.


1972 Trans-American Sedan Championship, Championships, Manufacturers' championships
Only the highest-finishing car scored points for the manufacturer. The points system was as follows:


1972 Tripura Legislative Assembly election
Tripura was recognized as a state in India on January 21, 1972. Before that, Tripura was a Union Territory. The first Legislative Assembly Election as a state was held on March 11, 1972. The 1972 Tripura Legislative Assembly election took place in a single phase to elect the Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from each of the 60 Assembly Constituencies (ACs) in Tripura, India.


1972 Tripura Legislative Assembly election
Indian National Congress led by Sukhamoy Sen Gupta, won 41 seats and formed a Government in Tripura


1972 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Highlights
Election to the Tripura Legislative Assembly were held on March 11, 1972. The election were held in a single phase for all the 60 assembly constituencies.


1972 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Government formation
Indian National Congress,(INC) won 41 out of 60 seats in the Legislative Assembly. The CPI-M won 18 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Sukhamoy Sen Gupta of the INC formed a government as Chief Minister on March 20, 1972.


1972 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Government formation
Prafulla Kumar Das formed a government as Chief Minister on April 1, 1977.


1972 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Government formation
Radhika Ranjan Gupta formed a coalition government with the Janata Party,(JP) and the Left Front,(LF) on July 26, 1977. Chief Minister Radhika Ranjan Gupta resigned, and the state of Tripura was placed under presidential rule from November 5, 1977 to January 5, 1978.


1972 Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands on 7 November 1972.


1972 Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands parliamentary election, Electoral system
The bicameral Congress consisted of a 12-member Senate with two members from each of the six districts and a 21-member House of Representatives with seats apportioned to each district based on their population – five from Truk, four from the Marshall Islands and Ponape, three from the Mariana Islands and Palau and two from Yap.


1972 Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands parliamentary election, Electoral system
Elections were held every two years in November of even-numbered years, with all members of the House of Representatives and half the Senate (one member from each district) renewed at each election.


1972 Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands parliamentary election, Aftermath
Following the elections, Tosiwo Nakayama became President of the Senate, whilst Bethwel Henry was re-elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.


1972 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team
The 1972 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team represented the University of Tulsa during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. The Golden Hurricane compiled a 4–7 record, 3–1 against conference opponents, and finished in fourth place in the Missouri Valley Conference. The team began the season in its third year under Claude "Hoot" Gibson and went 1–5 in games under Gibson. Prior to the end of the season, Gibson was replaced by F. A. Dry and went 3–2 under Dry.


1972 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team
The team's statistical leaders included Todd Starks with 1,201 passing yards, Ed White with 675 rushing yards, and Drew Pearson with 690 receiving yards.


1972 U.S. Clay Court Championships
The 1972 U.S. Clay Court Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament that was part of the 1972 Grand Prix circuit. The event was held in Indianapolis, USA and played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 4th edition of the tournament in the Open Era and was held in from 7 August through 13 August 1972. Bob Hewitt  and Chris Evert won the singles titles.


1972 U.S. Clay Court Championships, Finals, Men's Doubles
Bob Hewitt /  Frew McMillan defeated  Jaime Fillol /  Patricio Cornejo 6–2, 6–3


1972 U.S. Clay Court Championships, Finals, Women's Doubles
Evonne Goolagong /  Lesley Hunt defeated  Margaret Court /  Pam Teeguarden 6–2, 6–1


1972 U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships
The 1972 U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships was a men's tennis tournament held in Salisbury, Maryland. The event was part of the 1972 USLTA Indoor Circuit and was also a Grade B event on the 1972 Grand Prix Circuit. The tournament was held from February 13 through February 20, 1994, and played on indoor hard courts. First-seeded national Stan Smith won the singles title and $9,000 first-prize money as well as 50 Grand Prix ranking points.


1972 U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships, Finals, Doubles
Ion Țiriac /  Ilie Năstase defeated  Andrés Gimeno /  Manuel Orantes 7–5, 7–5


1972 U.S. Open (golf)
The 1972 U.S. Open was the 72nd U.S. Open, held June 15–18 at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. Jack Nicklaus, age 32, captured his third U.S. Open title, three strokes ahead of runner-up Bruce Crampton. This was the first of six major championships held to date at Pebble Beach: five U.S. Opens and the PGA Championship in 1977.


1972 U.S. Open (golf)
Scoring conditions during the final round were extremely difficult; the average was 78.8, the highest in post-war U.S. Open history. Nicklaus' 290 (+2) was the second-highest winning score during that span. It was Nicklaus' eleventh career major championship as a professional, tying the record of Walter Hagen. When combined with his two U.S. Amateur wins, it was his thirteenth major, equaling Bobby Jones for most all-time.


1972 U.S. Open (golf)
Defending champion Lee Trevino had been hospitalized in Texas for several days for bronchitis and pneumonia; he was released on Tuesday, two days before the first round, and tied for fourth.


1972 U.S. Open (golf)
It was the second consecutive major title for Nicklaus, who won the Masters in April. Previous winners of the first two majors of the year were Craig Wood (1941), Ben Hogan (1951, 1953), and Arnold Palmer (1960); later champions of both were Tiger Woods (2002) and Jordan Spieth (2015). In addition, Nicklaus held the PGA Championship title from February 1971; four weeks later, he was the runner-up by a single stroke at the Open Championship at Muirfield, Scotland.


1972 U.S. Open (golf)
Nicklaus won seven additional majors, the last at the Masters fourteen years later in 1986 at age 46.


1972 U.S. Open (golf), Round summaries, Final round
In high winds, Nicklaus was even par on the front nine; after a double-bogey at the tenth, Arnold Palmer and Bruce Crampton trailed by just two shots. Palmer had a chance to tie Nicklaus at the 14th, but he missed a 10-footer (3 m) for birdie. Down by one stroke, Palmer bogeyed the next two holes and finished with a final-round 76, four shots behind.


1972 U.S. Open (golf), Round summaries, Final round
With a three-shot lead over Crampton on the tee of the par-3 17th, Nicklaus hit one of his most famous shots. His 1-iron went directly at the pin, bounced once, struck the flagstick, and settled inches from the hole for a tap-in birdie. With the lead at four strokes on the final tee, he bogeyed for 74 (+2) and the win.


1972 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships
The 1972 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Longwood Cricket Club in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States and was part of the 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the 45th edition of the tournament and was held from July 31 through August 6, 1972. Bob Lutz defeated John Newcombe, Rod Laver and Cliff Drysdale prior to beating Tom Okker in the Finals.


1972 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships, Finals, Doubles
John Newcombe /  Tony Roche defeated  Arthur Ashe /  Bob Lutz, 6–3, 1–6, 7–6


1972 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships – Doubles
The 1972 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, United States and was part of the 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the 45th edition of the tournament and was held from August 7 through August 13, 1972.


1972 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships – Singles
The 1972 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, United States and was part of the 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the 45th edition of the tournament and was held from August 7 through August 13, 1972.


1972 U.S. Professional Indoor
The 1972 U.S. Professional Indoor was a WCT men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was played at the Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It was the fifth edition of the tournament and was held from February 8 through February 13, 1972. Total attendance for the tournament was 57,882. First-seeded Rod Laver won the singles title, his third at the event after 1969 and 1970.


1972 U.S. Professional Indoor, Finals, Doubles
Arthur Ashe /  Robert Lutz defeated  John Newcombe /  Tony Roche 6–3, 6–7, 6–3


1972 U.S. Professional Indoor – Doubles
Arthur Ashe and Robert Lutz won the title, defeating John Newcombe and Tony Roche 6–3, 6–7, 6–3 in the final.


1972 U.S. Professional Indoor – Singles
John Newcombe was the defending champion, but lost in the second round this year.


1972 U.S. Professional Indoor – Singles
Rod Laver won the title, defeating Ken Rosewall 4–6, 6–2, 6–2, 6–2 in the final.


1972 U.S. Women's Open
The 1972 U.S. Women's Open was the 27th U.S. Women's Open, held June 29 to July 2 at the East Course of Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York.


1972 U.S. Women's Open
Susie Berning won the second of her three U.S. Women's Open titles, a stroke ahead of runners-up Kathy Ahern, Pam Barnett, and Judy Rankin. Berning opened with a 79 (+7) and started the final round at 228 (+12), four strokes behind 54-hole leader Barnett. Berning carded a one-under 71 for the third of her four major wins. Defending champion JoAnne Carner finished at 312 (+24), thirteen strokes back.


1972 U.S. Women's Open
With a winner's share of $6,000, the 1972 edition was the first to exceed that of the inaugural championship in 1946, the only one conducted as a match play event. The course conditions at Winged Foot were soft, affected by the recent heavy rains of tropical storm Agnes, originally a hurricane. Two-time champion Louise Suggs made the cut at age 48.


1972 U.S. Women's Open
The championship was previously held at the East Course in 1957; the adjacent West Course has hosted many major championships.


1972 UC Davis Aggies football team
The 1972 UC Davis football team represented the University of California, Davis in the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. UC Davis competed in the Far Western Conference (FWC). The UC Davis sports teams were commonly called the “Cal Aggies” from 1924 until the mid 1970s.


1972 UC Davis Aggies football team
The Aggies were led by head coach Jim Sochor in his third year. They played home games at Toomey Field. UC Davis finished the season as champion of the FWC for the 2nd consecutive season and it was their 3rd consecutive winning season. The Aggies finished the regular season with a record of six wins, one loss and two ties (6–1–2, 5–0 FWC).


1972 UC Davis Aggies football team
At the end of the season, UC Davis was invited to play in one of the four College Division regional finals, the Boardwalk Bowl. The Aggies lost to UMass in the game, bringing their final record to six wins, two losses and two ties (6–2–2, 5–0 FWC). The Aggies outscored their opponents 278–228 for the 1972 season.


1972 UC Davis Aggies football team, NFL Draft
No UC Davis Aggies players were selected in the 1973 NFL Draft.


1972 UC Riverside Highlanders football team
The 1972 UC Riverside Highlanders football team represented UC Riverside during the 1972 NCAA College Division football season.


1972 UC Riverside Highlanders football team
UC Riverside competed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The team was led by first-year head coach Wayne Howard. They played home games at Highlander Stadium in Riverside, California. The Highlanders finished the season as CCAA co-champion, with a record of nine wins and one loss (9–1, 3–0 CCAA). Overall, the team outscored its opponents 207–113 for the season.


1972 UC Riverside Highlanders football team, Team players in the NFL
No UC Riverside players were selected in the 1973 NFL Draft.


1972 UCI Road World Championships
The 1972 UCI Road World Championships took place on the 6 August 1972 in Gap, France. Only two professional races took place due to the Munich Olympics.


1972 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race
The men's road race at the 1972 UCI Road World Championships was the 39th edition of the event. The race took place on Sunday 6 August 1972 in Gap, France. The race was won by Marino Basso of Italy.


1972 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
The 1972 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championship for track cycling. They took place in Marseille, France in 1972. Due to the 1972 Summer Olympics only six events were contested, 4 for men (3 for professionals, 1 for amateurs) and 2 for women.


1972 UCLA Bruins football team
The 1972 UCLA Bruins football team represented University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. Members of the Pacific-8 Conference, the Bruins were led by second-year head coach Pepper Rodgers and played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.