1971 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team
The team's statistical leaders included Todd Starks with 1,687 passing yards, Mike Ridley with 311 rushing yards, and Jim Butler with 486 receiving yards.


1971 Turkish military memorandum
The 1971 Turkish military memorandum (Turkish: 12 Mart Muhtırası), issued on 12 March that year, was the second military intervention to take place in the Republic of Turkey, coming 11 years after its 1960 predecessor. It is known as the "coup by memorandum", which the military delivered in lieu of sending out tanks, as it had done previously. The event came amid worsening domestic strife, but ultimately did little to halt this phenomenon.


1971 Turkish military memorandum, Background
As the 1960s wore on, violence and instability plagued Turkey. An economic recession late in that decade sparked a wave of social unrest marked by street demonstrations, labour strikes and political assassinations. Left-wing workers' and students' movements were formed, countered on the right by Islamist and militant Turkish nationalist groups. The left carried out bombing attacks, robberies and kidnappings; from the end of 1968, and increasingly during 1969 and 1970, left-wing violence was matched and surpassed by far-right violence, notably from the Grey Wolves. On the political front, Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel's centre-right Justice Party government, re-elected in 1969, also experienced trouble. Various factions within his party defected to form splinter groups of their own, gradually reducing his parliamentary majority and bringing the legislative process to a halt.


1971 Turkish military memorandum, Background
By January 1971, Turkey appeared to be in a state of chaos. The universities had ceased to function. Students, emulating Latin American urban guerrillas, robbed banks and kidnapped US servicemen, also attacking American targets. The homes of university professors critical of the government were bombed by neo-fascist militants. Factories were on strike and more workdays were lost between 1 January and 12 March 1971 than during any prior year. The Islamist movement had become more aggressive and its party, the National Order Party, openly rejected Atatürk and Kemalism, infuriating the Turkish Armed Forces. Demirel's government, weakened by defections, seemed paralyzed in the face of the campus and street violence and unable to pass any serious legislation on social and financial reform.


1971 Turkish military memorandum, Memorandum
It was in this atmosphere that on 12 March, the Chief of the General Staff, Memduh Tağmaç, handed the prime minister a memorandum, really amounting to an ultimatum by the armed forces. It demanded "the formation, within the context of democratic principles, of a strong and credible government, which will neutralise the current anarchical situation and which, inspired by Atatürk's views, will implement the reformist laws envisaged by the constitution", putting an end to the "anarchy, fratricidal strife, and social and economic unrest".


1971 Turkish military memorandum, Memorandum
If the demands were not met, the army would "exercise its constitutional duty" and take over power itself. Demirel resigned after a three-hour meeting with his cabinet; veteran politician and opposition leader İsmet İnönü sharply denounced any military meddling in politics. While the precise reasons for the intervention remain disputed, there were three broad motivations behind the memorandum. First, senior commanders believed Demirel had lost his grip on power and was unable to deal with rising public disorder and political terrorism, so they wished to return order to Turkey.


1971 Turkish military memorandum, Memorandum
Second, many officers seem to have been unwilling to bear responsibility for the government's violent measures, such as the suppression of Istanbul workers' demonstrations the previous June; more radical members believed coercion alone could not stop popular unrest and Marxist revolutionary movements, and that the social and economic reformism behind the 1960 coup needed to be put into practice. Finally, a minority of senior officers concluded that progress within a liberal democratic system was impossible, and that authoritarianism would result in a more egalitarian, independent and "modern" Turkey; other officers felt they had to intervene, if only to forestall these radical elements.


1971 Turkish military memorandum, Memorandum
The coup did not come as a surprise to most Turks, but the direction it would take was uncertain, as its collective nature made it difficult to discern which faction in the armed forces had seized the initiative. The liberal intelligentsia hoped it was the radical-reformist wing led by Air Force commander Muhsin Batur, who favoured implementing reforms envisaged by the 1961 constitution; they were thus encouraged by the memorandum.


1971 Turkish military memorandum, Memorandum
Their hopes were dashed when it turned out that the high command had taken power, animated by the spectre of a communist threat, and not a radical group of officers as in 1960. (There were rumours the high command had acted to pre-empt a similar move by junior officers; the notion was seemingly confirmed when a number of officers were retired soon afterwards.) The "restoration of law and order" was given priority; in practice this meant repressing any group viewed as leftist.


1971 Turkish military memorandum, Memorandum
On the day of the coup, the public prosecutor opened a case against the Workers' Party of Turkey for carrying out communist propaganda and supporting Kurdish separatism. He also sought to close all youth organisations affiliated with Dev-Genç, the Federation of the Revolutionary Youth of Turkey, blamed for the left-wing youth violence and university and urban agitation. Police searches in offices of the teachers' union and university clubs were carried out. Such actions encouraged vigilante action by the "Idealist Hearths", the youth branch of the Nationalist Action Party; provincial teachers and Workers' Party supporters became prime targets. The principal motive for the suppression of the left seems to have been to curb trade union militancy and the demands for higher wages and better working conditions.


1971 Turkish military memorandum, Memorandum
The commanders who seized power were reluctant to exercise it directly, deterred by the problems that faced the Greek junta. They had little choice but to rule through an Assembly dominated by conservative, anti-reformist parties and an "above-party" government which was expected to carry out the reforms. The military chiefs would give directives from behind the scenes. To lead this government, on 19 March they chose Professor Nihat Erim, acceptable to the Justice Party and the more conservative faction of the Republican People's Party.


1971 Turkish military memorandum, Memorandum
(This included İnönü, who embraced the generals once they picked his close associate, but the party's general secretary Bülent Ecevit was infuriated and resigned from his post. For his part, Demirel cautioned his party to remain calm.) Erim appointed a technocratic cabinet from outside the political establishment to carry out the commanders' socio-economic reform programme. The regime rested on an unstable balance of power between civilian politicians and the military; it was neither a normal elected government, nor an outright military dictatorship which could entirely ignore parliamentary opposition.


1971 Turkish military memorandum, Aftermath
In April, politics was eclipsed (and the envisaged reform put off until after 1973) when a new wave of terror began, carried out by the Turkish People's Liberation Army, in the form of kidnappings with ransom demands and bank robberies. Intelligence sources confirmed rumours that dissident junior officers and military cadets were directing this force. On 27 April, martial law was declared in 11 of 67 provinces, including major urban areas and Kurdish regions. Soon, youth organisations were banned, union meetings prohibited, leftist (but not militant neo-fascist) publications proscribed and strikes declared illegal. After the Israeli consul was abducted on 17 May, hundreds of students, young academics, writers, trade unionists and Workers' Party activists—not just leftists but also people with liberal-progressive sympathies—were detained and tortured. The consul was shot four days later after a daytime curfew had been announced.


1971 Turkish military memorandum, Aftermath
For the next two years, repression continued, with martial law renewed every two months. Constitutional reforms repealed some of the essential liberal fragments of the 1961 Constitution and allowed the government to withdraw fundamental rights in case of "abuse". The National Intelligence Organization (MİT) used the Ziverbey Villa as a torture center, employing physical and psychological coercion. The Counter-Guerrillas were active in the same building, with interrogations directed by their mainly Central Intelligence Agency-trained specialists, and resulting in hundreds of deaths or permanent injuries. Among their victims was journalist Uğur Mumcu, arrested shortly after the coup, who later wrote that his torturers informed him even the president could not touch them.


1971 Turkish military memorandum, Aftermath
Ferit Melen, who made little impression, took over the premiership in April 1972, followed a year later by Naim Talu, whose main task was to lead the country to elections. (An important reassertion of civilian influence took place in March–April 1973, when Demirel and Ecevit, normally at odds, both rejected the generals' choice for president, instead having Fahri Korutürk elected to the post by the Assembly.) By summer 1973, the military-backed regime had achieved most of its political tasks.


1971 Turkish military memorandum, Aftermath
The constitution was amended so as to strengthen the state against civil society; special courts were in place to deal with all forms of dissent quickly and ruthlessly (these tried over 3,000 people before their abolition in 1976); the universities, their autonomy ended, had been made to curb the radicalism of students and faculty; radio, television, newspapers and the constitutional court were curtailed; the National Security Council was made more powerful; and, once the Workers' Party was dissolved in July 1971, the trade unions were pacified and left in an ideological vacuum.


1971 Turkish military memorandum, Aftermath
That May, Necmettin Erbakan's National Order Party had been shut down, which the government claimed showed its even-handedness in the anti-terror campaign, but he was not tried and allowed to resume his activities in October 1972; the National Action Party and the right-wing terrorists who worked under its aegis were left conspicuously alone.


1971 Turkish military memorandum, Aftermath
In October 1973, Ecevit, who had won control of the Republican People's Party from İnönü, won an upset victory. Nevertheless, the very same problems highlighted in the memorandum re-emerged. A fragmented party system and unstable governments held hostage by small right-wing parties contributed to political polarization. The economy deteriorated, the Grey Wolves escalated and intensified political terrorism as the 1970s progressed, and left-wing groups too carried out acts aimed at causing chaos and demoralization. In 1980, seeking once again to restore order, the military carried out yet another coup.


1971 Tuscania earthquake
The 1971 Tuscania earthquake is an earthquake that occurred on February 6, 1971 near the town of Tuscania in Lazio, Italy. It had a body wave magnitude of 4.6. Despite being a moderate magnitude this event caused major destruction. 24 people were killed, 150 were injured and about 5,000 homeless. 40 homes were destroyed and 1,678 were damaged. Costs were $41 million (1971 rate). It was reported that the medieval section of Tuscania, a city of 8,000, located 50 miles northwest of Rome, was practically leveled, and 60 percent of the city's buildings destroyed. Among those structures sustaining serious damage were the 8th century St. Peter's Church and the 12th century Basilica of St. Mary Major, both recently restored. The heavy damage sustained was due to the shallow depth of the earthquake and poorly constructed buildings.


1971 U.S. Clay Court Championships
The 1971 U.S. Clay Court Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament that was part of the 1971 Grand Prix circuit and categorized as a Group B event. The event was held in Indianapolis, USA and played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 3rd edition of the tournament in the Open Era and was held in from August 16 through August 22, 1971. Željko Franulović and Billie Jean King won the singles titles.


1971 U.S. Clay Court Championships, Finals, Men's Doubles
Željko Franulović /  Jan Kodeš defeated  Clark Graebner /  Erik van Dillen 7–6, 5–7, 6–3


1971 U.S. Clay Court Championships, Finals, Women's Doubles
Judy Dalton /  Billie Jean King defeated  Julie Heldman /  Linda Tuero 6–1, 6–2


1971 U.S. Open (golf)
The 1971 U.S. Open was the 71st U.S. Open, held June 17–21 at the East Course of Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, a suburb west of Philadelphia. Lee Trevino, the 1968 champion, won his second U.S. Open, defeating Jack Nicklaus by three strokes in an 18-hole playoff. It was the second of Trevino's six major titles and the second of four times in which Nicklaus was the runner-up to Trevino in a major; Nicklaus won his third U.S. Open the following year.


1971 U.S. Open (golf)
The U.S. Open was just part of an outstanding year for Trevino in 1971 and following this playoff win, his confidence soared. Two weeks later he won the Canadian Open in a playoff; the next week the British Open, and became the first to win those three national opens in the same year; only Tiger Woods has done it since, in 2000. Trevino won six times on tour in 1971 with two majors and was PGA Player of the Year.


1971 U.S. Open (golf)
He was named athlete of the year by the Associated Press and Sporting News, and was the Sports Illustrated "Sportsman of the Year." Trevino was the first to win the U.S. and British Opens in the same year in 18 years, last accomplished by Ben Hogan in 1953. The others were Gene Sarazen in 1932 and amateur Bobby Jones in 1926 and 1930, his grand slam year. Subsequent winners of both were Tom Watson in 1982 and Woods in 2000.


1971 U.S. Open (golf)
For Jim Simons, a Pennsylvania native entering his senior year at Wake Forest, his fifth-place finish remains the most recent top ten by an amateur at the U.S. Open. It is the best since Nicklaus' tie for fourth in 1961, following his runner-up finish the year before at age 20 in 1960. The last victory by an amateur at any major was at the U.S. Open in 1933, won by Johnny Goodman of Omaha. Bobby Jones won four U.S. Opens as an amateur, the last in 1930 was part of his grand slam.


1971 U.S. Open (golf)
This was the third U.S. Open played at Merion, which previously hosted in 1934 and 1950. A fourth was played in 1981, and a fifth in 2013.


1971 U.S. Open (golf), Round summaries, Third round
Four strokes back after 36 holes, amateur Simons shot a five-under 65 in the third round, one off the U.S. Open record, to take the 54-hole lead. He got out to a fast start on Saturday, and was five-under for the round after ten holes. Simons played even-par on the last eight and ended with seven birdies and two bogeys to lead Nicklaus by two strokes.


1971 U.S. Open (golf), Round summaries, Final round
In the final pairing with Nicklaus, 21-year-old Simons retained the lead through the first nine holes of the final round, and was one shot back on the 18th tee. Needing a birdie to tie, his tee shot found the thick rough; a double bogey six yielded a 76 and he finished three strokes back in a tie for fifth place. Trevino took the lead with a birdie at 14, but then missed an 8-footer (2.4 m) for par at the last. He backed off before the putt after a disturbance in the gallery.


1971 U.S. Open (golf), Round summaries, Final round
Nicklaus' 15-foot (4.5 m) birdie putt for the win on the 72nd green also narrowly missed, and settled for par to force a Monday afternoon playoff. Bob Rosburg also had a chance to join the playoff with a birdie at the last, but he three-putted for bogey and finished two shots back.


1971 U.S. Open (golf), Round summaries, Playoff
Prior to the playoff, the first at the U.S. Open since 1966, Trevino and Nicklaus, both 31, were involved in a famous incident on the first tee involving a toy rubber snake. Trevino had acquired it at a zoo gift shop and used it earlier in the week along with a pith helmet and hatchet during a whimsical photo shoot emphasizing Merion's thick and penal rough. Hot and humid in the early afternoon, Trevino reached into his golf bag for a fresh glove and came across the snake and took it out to entertain the crowd.


1971 U.S. Open (golf), Round summaries, Playoff
Nicklaus then asked him to toss it over, which Trevino did. Nicklaus picked it up, laughed with the crowd, then threw it back to Trevino. It would later be written that Trevino had tossed the snake at Nicklaus in an attempt to unnerve his rival; in reality, Nicklaus was the one who asked him to throw the snake.


1971 U.S. Open (golf), Round summaries, Playoff
When the playoff began, Trevino bogeyed the first hole and Nicklaus took the lead, but then hit two poor bunker shots on the next two, allowing Trevino to open a two-stroke lead. Although Nicklaus cut into the lead several times, to within one stroke as late as the 12th tee, Trevino never relinquished it. He carded a 68 to Nicklaus' 71 to win by three. Nicklaus won his third U.S. Open the following year in 1972 at Pebble Beach, and a record-tying fourth at Baltusrol at age 40 in 1980.


1971 U.S. Open (golf), Round summaries, Playoff
Television coverage by ABC Sports for the Monday playoff was scheduled for just an hour, beginning at 4:30 p.m. EDT. A 35-minute weather delay after the sixth hole allowed for lengthened coverage.


1971 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships
The 1971 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, USA and was part of the 1971 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the 44th edition of the tournament and was held from August 2 through August 8, 1971. Sixth-seeded Ken Rosewall won the singles title, his third U.S. Pro title, and the accompanying $10,000 first-prize money. The final was watched by 5,500 spectators.


1971 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships, Finals, Doubles
Roy Emerson /  Rod Laver defeated  Tom Okker /  Marty Riessen 6–4, 6–4


1971 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships – Doubles
The 1971 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, USA and was part of the 1971 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the 44th edition of the tournament and was held from August 2 through August 8, 1971. Sixth-seeded Ken Rosewall won the singles title, his third U.S. Pro title, and the accompanying $10,000 first-prize money. The final was watched by 5,500 spectators.


1971 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships – Doubles, Seeds
Champion seeds are indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which those seeds were eliminated.


1971 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships – Singles
The 1971 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, USA and was part of the 1971 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the 44th edition of the tournament and was held from August 2 through August 8, 1971. Sixth-seeded Ken Rosewall won the singles title, his third U.S. Pro title, and the accompanying $10,000 first-prize money. The final was watched by 5,500 spectators.


1971 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships – Singles, Seeds
Champion seeds are indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which those seeds were eliminated.


1971 U.S. Professional Indoor
The 1971 U.S. Professional Indoor was a WCT and Virginia Slims Circuit tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was played at the Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It was the fourth edition of the tournament and was held from February 9 through February 14, 1971. John Newcombe and Rosie Casals won the singles titles.


1971 U.S. Professional Indoor – Men's Singles
John Newcombe won the title, defeating Laver 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–1), 6–4 in the final.


1971 U.S. Women's Open
The 1971 U.S. Women's Open was the 26th U.S. Women's Open, held June 24–27 at Kahkwa Club in Erie, Pennsylvania.


1971 U.S. Women's Open
JoAnne Carner won the first of her two U.S. Women's Open titles, seven strokes ahead of runner-up Kathy Whitworth. Carner led (or co-led) wire-to-wire and entered the final round with a five-stroke lead over 1963 champion Mary Mills. The course was designed by Donald Ross.


1971 UC Davis Aggies football team
The 1971 UC Davis football team represented the University of California, Davis in the 1971 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.


1971 UC Davis Aggies football team
The Aggies were led by second-year head coach Jim Sochor. They played home games at Toomey Field. UC Davis finished the season as co-champion of the FWC. This started a remarkable streak where the Aggies would win or share the conference crown for the next 20 seasons. The Aggies finished the season with a record of nine wins and one loss (9–1, 5–1 FWC). The Aggies outscored their opponents 305–184 for the 1971 season.


1971 UC Davis Aggies football team, NFL Draft
No UC Davis Aggies players were selected in the 1972 NFL Draft.


1971 UC Riverside Highlanders football team
The 1971 UC Riverside Highlanders football team represented UC Riverside during the 1971 NCAA College Division football season.


1971 UC Riverside Highlanders football team
UC Riverside competed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The team was led by second-year head coach Gary Knecht. They played home games at Highlander Stadium in Riverside, California. The Highlanders finished the season with a record of two wins, seven losses and one tie (2–7–1, 0–2 CCAA). Overall, the team was outscored by its opponents 120–256 for the season.


1971 UC Riverside Highlanders football team, Team players in the NFL
No UC Riverside players were selected in the 1972 NFL Draft.


1971 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos football team
The 1971 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos football team represented University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season.


1971 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos football team
The Gauchos competed in the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. The team was led by second-year head coach Andy Everest, and played home games at Campus Stadium in Santa Barbara, California. They finished the season with a record of three wins and eight losses (3–8, 2–3 PCAA).


1971 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos football team
At the end of the 1971 season, citing financial problems the school decided to drop football as an intercollegiate sport. UCSB would not field another football team until 1983, when a student-run team was formed. "Official" NCAA games did not restart until the 1986 season.


1971 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos football team, Team players in the NFL
The following Santa Barbara Gaucho players were selected in the 1972 NFL Draft.


1971 UCI Road World Championships
The 1971 UCI Road World Championships took place on 4 September 1971 in Mendrisio, Switzerland.


1971 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race
The men's road race at the 1971 UCI Road World Championships was the 38th edition of the event. The race took place on Sunday 5 September 1971 in Mendrisio, Switzerland. The race was won by Eddy Merckx of Belgium.


1971 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
The 1971 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championship for track cycling. They took place in Varese, Italy in 1971. Eleven events were contested, 9 for men (3 for professionals, 6 for amateurs) and 2 for women.


1971 UCLA Bruins football team
The 1971 UCLA Bruins football team represented University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. The team was coached by Pepper Rodgers and was ranked 15th by AP in the pre-season poll. The team finished the season with a 2–7–1 record.


1971 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, USC
The game was played to a 7–7 tie before 68,426 at the Coliseum and a nationwide TV audience. Lou Harris scored for the Trojans and Marv Kendricks scored a 7-yard touchdown for the Bruins. Efren Herrera kicked the PAT to tie the game in the third quarter.


1971 UEFA European Under-18 Championship
The UEFA European Under-18 Championship 1971 Final Tournament was held in Czechoslovakia.


1971 UEFA European Under-18 Championship, Teams
The following teams entered the tournament. Eight teams qualified (Q) and eight teams entered without playing qualification matches.


1971 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1971 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 45th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.


1971 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Summary
The annual National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) returns were released, with totalisator turnover at £56,188,971 and attendances recorded at 7,119,398 from 5808 meetings.


1971 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Summary
Dolores Rocket was Greyhound of the Year after winning the English Greyhound Derby at White City and St Leger at Wembley. Her performances shone through during a difficult year that saw the closure of four tracks. The tracks were Kings Heath Stadium, which had only just recently been purchased by the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) under their GRA Property Trust, Charlton Stadium (also GRA), the City Stadium, Norwich and Houghton Stadium in Durham.


1971 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Tracks
Hendon was the first track to declare decimal dividends and Milton Keynes (known as Bletchley or the Groveway) switched from independent status to full NGRC status.


1971 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Competitions
Following the closure of Charlton, three events came to an end. The Olympic would return in 1979 at Brighton and the Greenwich Cup was moved to Catford but the Cloth of Gold was discontinued. The Welsh Greyhound Derby at Cardiff Arms Park and the Grand Prix at Walthamstow were given the overdue status of being an official classic status competition, by the NGRC.


1971 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Competitions
The Eclipse was switched to Hall Green for a two year period.


1971 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Competitions
Sherrys Prince successfully defended his Grand National, breaking the track record twice, first recording 29.26 seconds in the heats and then 29.20 in the semi-finals. The only other greyhounds that had achieved double Grand National glory were Juvenile Classic (1940) and Blossom of Annagura (1950). Dolores Rocket won the Spring Cup over 700 yards at Wimbledon and set a track record at Crayford before victory in the Wembley Spring Cup.


1971 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Competitions
Don't Gambol won a second successive Scurry Gold Cup at Clapton and in the year ending annual Duke of Edinburgh Cup, Leeds provided a shock by reaching the final and beating Clapton to lift the trophy.


1971 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, News
A change in the betting laws allowed tracks to hold an extra 26 race meetings per year. Crayford & Bexleyheath Stadium was the latest track to change to a contract trainer system, which led to Henry Parson's 33 year training career coming to an end after he joined the racing office. Slough and Reading followed suit soon after. Another trainer Stan Gray also retired after 35 years at Southend and Frank Melville left Rochester Stadium for Harringay Stadium, Melville was replaced by Jimmy Keane.


1971 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, News
The demise of the GRA Kings Heath Stadium kennels in addition to the demolition of the Hall Green kennels, meant that the two remaining Birmingham GRA kennel trainers, Eric O'Connor and Peter Harding, were relocated to Powderhall. The Edinburgh track also brought in contract trainers as well (some from Kings Heath). Hall Green Racing Manager Sid Wood moved to Belle Vue Stadium and Bob Rowe (son of Leicester Racing Manager John Rowe) filled the position at Hall Green.


1971 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, News
The experiment by GRA to introduce eight dog races continued with trials at Harringay and races at Belle Vue and White City Stadium (Manchester). The Northern Flat took place as an eight dog competition, the first major event to do so. Trainers were also allowed to seed their greyhounds wide for the first time.


1971 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Ireland
In Ireland the Bord na gCon introduced drug testing for the first time. Sole Aim was a rare English winner of the 1971 Irish Greyhound Derby which featured one of strongest entries for years.


1971 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Ireland
The Bord na gCon introduced drugs testing for the first time and experiment with the procedures at Shelbourne Park.


1971 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Ireland
Blissful Pride trained by Leslie Mcnair wins his 18th race from 19 starts following victory in the Anglo-Irish International at White City. The Irish star also won the Irish Oaks.


1971 UMass Redmen football team
The 1971 UMass Redmen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 1971 NCAA College Division football season as a member of the Yankee Conference. The team was coached by Dick MacPherson and played its home games at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. The 1971 season was the last in which Massachusetts was named the "Redmen," as the university would change the nickname of all athletic teams to the "Minutemen" due to changing attitudes regarding the use of Native American-themed mascots in sports. It was also the first season of Dick MacPherson's tenure as head coach. UMass finished the season with a record of 4–4–1 overall and 3–1–1 in conference play.


1971 UNLV Rebels football team
The 1971 UNLV Rebels football team was an American football team that represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas as an independent during the 1971 NCAA College Division football season. In their fourth year under head coach Bill Ireland, the team compiled an 5–4–1 record.


1971 US Figure Skating Championships
The 1971 U.S. Figure Skating Championships was held in Buffalo, New York on January 27–31. The compulsory figure competitions were held at Dann Memorial Rink, while the free skating events were held at the Memorial Auditorium. Medals were awarded in three colors: gold (first), silver (second), and bronze (third) in four disciplines – men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing – across three levels: senior, junior, and novice.


1971 US Figure Skating Championships
The event determined the U.S. team for the 1971 World Championships.


1971 US Figure Skating Championships
In addition to Kenneth Shelley, this event was notable for the number of other skaters competing successfully in multiple disciplines. As well as placing second in senior pairs, Melissa Militano won the junior ladies' title, landing a rare triple toe loop as she had at the previous year's championships. Besides winning a bronze medal in ice dance with Mary Karen Campbell, Johnny Johns competed in senior pairs with another partner, and placed a very respectable 6th in the senior men's division. Sheri Thrapp competed in both senior ladies and senior pairs. Another unusual crossover was the junior pair team of Sheryl Trueman and Jack Courtney who had been World Champions in artistic roller skating in 1969—as a team in pair skating, and Courtney individually in men's single skating. This was their first season of competition on the ice.


1971 US Figure Skating Championships, Senior results, Men
The men's title was vacant due to the retirement of 1970 champion Tim Wood. The title was won by John Misha Petkevich, while Ken Shelley (pulling double duty by competing in singles as well as pairs) took the silver and young Gordon McKellen placed third.


1971 US Figure Skating Championships, Senior results, Ladies
The ladies' competition featured the usual match of this era between Janet Lynn and Julie Lynn Holmes. Holmes had a small lead after the compulsory figures but Lynn pulled ahead in the free skating, in spite of missing an attempt at a triple toe loop. Holmes included an unusual inside double Axel in her free skating.


1971 US Figure Skating Championships, Senior results, Pairs
Defending champions JoJo Starbuck / Kenneth Shelley retained their title with a unanimous decision. Their program included new elements which were considered especially daring for the time—a double twist lift and an overhead lift with three positions. The young team of Melissa / Mark Militano finished second, and third place went to Barbara Brown / Doug Berndt in spite of a frightening fall.


1971 US Figure Skating Championships, Senior results, Ice dancing (Gold dance)
Judy Schwomeyer / James Sladky dominated the dance event to win their third consecutive national title.


1971 US Open (tennis)
The 1971 US Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, Queens, in New York City, USA. The tournament ran from 1 September until 12 September. It was the 91st staging of the US Open, and the fourth Grand Slam tennis event of 1971.


1971 US Open (tennis), Finals, Men's doubles
John Newcombe /  Roger Taylor defeated  Stan Smith /  Erik van Dillen, 6–7, 6–3, 7–6, 4–6, [5-3]


1971 US Open (tennis), Finals, Women's doubles
Rosemary Casals /  Judy Tegart Dalton defeated  Gail Chanfreau /  Françoise Dürr, 6–3, 6–3


1971 US Open (tennis), Finals, Mixed doubles
Billie Jean King /  Owen Davidson defeated  Betty Stöve /  Robert Maud, 6–3, 7–5


1971 US Open – Men's Doubles
Pierre Barthès and Nikola Pilić were the defending US Open men's doubles tennis champions, but did not defend their title as a team.


1971 US Open – Men's Doubles
Seventh-seeded John Newcombe and Roger Taylor won the title by defeating sixth-seeded Stan Smith and Erik van Dillen  6–7, 6–3, 7–6, 4–6, [5-3] in the final.


1971 US Open – Men's Singles
Stan Smith defeated Jan Kodeš 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 7–6(5–3) in the final to win the Men's Singles tennis title at the 1971 US Open. Ken Rosewall was the defending champion but did not compete at the 1971 US Open – Men's Singles event.


1971 US Open – Men's Singles
Rosewall and Tony Roche, both finalists from the previous year, did not compete in the tournament that year. This would not happen again at the US Open until the 2017 edition of the tournament, 46 years later.


1971 US Open – Men's Singles, Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Stan Smith is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


1971 US Open – Mixed Doubles
Marty Riessen and Margaret Court were the defending champions but both players chose not to participate.


1971 US Open – Mixed Doubles
Owen Davidson and Billie Jean King won in the final 6–3, 7–5 against Bob Maud and Betty Stöve.


1971 US Open – Women's Doubles
Margaret Court and Judy Dalton were the defending champions but Margaret Court did not compete this year.


1971 US Open – Women's Doubles
Judy Dalton teamed up with Rosemary Casals and successfully defended her title by defeating Gail Chanfreau and Françoise Dürr 6–3, 6–3 in the final.


1971 US Open – Women's Singles
Billie Jean King defeated Rosemary Casals 6–4, 7–6(5–2) in the final to win the Women's Singles tennis title at the 1971 US Open. Two-time reigning champion Margaret Court did not defend her title.


1971 US Open – Women's Singles
This tournament was notable for being the first Grand Slam tournament appearance in which Chris Evert competed in the main draw; she made it to the semi-final. She competed in 19 consecutive US Open tournaments until her retirement in 1989.


1971 US Open – Women's Singles, Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Billie Jean King is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


1971 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The Men's 1971 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships took place between June 25-27 at Hayward Field on the campus of University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. The Women's Championships took place at Memorial Stadium on the campus of Bakersfield College in Bakersfield, California. The meet was organized by the Amateur Athletic Union. The women's pentathlon took place at Los Alamos, New Mexico on June 12.


1971 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
This is the meet where John Smith set the still standing world record in the 440 yard dash, an event now essentially discontinued on the international scene.


1971 USAC Championship Car season
The 1971 USAC Championship Car season consisted of 12 races, beginning in Rafaela, Argentina on February 28 and concluding in Avondale, Arizona on October 23. The USAC National Champion was Joe Leonard and the Indianapolis 500 winner was Al Unser. For 1971 it was decided that there should be three separate points championships, for paved ovals, dirt ovals, and  road courses.


1971 USAC Championship Car season
The existing Championship Car championship was then restricted to only paved ovals, and two new championships were created. The National Dirt Car Championship (which would become the modern Silver Crown Series in 1981) was run over four races, and won by George Snider. The Road Racing championship was originally to be run over between 8 and 10 races, however a lack of interest lead to just two races being held on the same day, on the 7th of August at Seattle International Raceway. Continental Championship cars were allowed, and made up the majority of the grid, with just 5 USAC specification cars entered. Jim Dittemore won the series in a Formula 5000 specification Lola T192-Chevrolet. The Road Racing championship did not continue in 1972.


1971 USAC Championship Car season, Schedule and results
All races running on Oval/Speedway. On February 18, the non-championship races at Rafaela were transformed into a points-paying double round, due to a request from race organizers. On June 9, the Langhorne round was cancelled after the drivers refused to race at the outdated venue, and on June 30, USAC cancelled the race at the new Mountaineer Speedway, which was never built to completion. The 1971 season was the first time the 500 mile triple crown was on the schedule with the addition of Ontario Motor Speedway's California 500 the previous year & the Pocono 500 added in this season.


1971 USAC Championship Car season, Final points standings
Note1: Donnie Allison, Carlos Pairetti, Denny Hulme, David Hobbs and Jim Hurtubise are not eligible for points.


1971 USAC Championship Car season, Final points standings
Note2: John Mahler qualified 21st at Indianapolis. His car was driven in the race by Dick Simon who started 33rd as a result of the driver change.


1971 USC Trojans baseball team
The 1971 USC Trojans baseball team represented the University of Southern California in the 1971 NCAA University Division baseball season. The team was coached Rod Dedeaux in his 30th season.


1971 USC Trojans baseball team
The Trojans won the College World Series, defeating the Southern Illinois Salukis in the championship game, winning their second of five consecutive national championships, and third in four years.


1971 USC Trojans baseball team, Trojans in the 1971 MLB Draft
The following members of the USC baseball program were drafted in the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft.


1971 USC Trojans football team
The 1971 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. In their 12th year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled a 6–4–1 record (3–2–1 against conference opponents), finished in second place in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8), and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 229 to 164. The team was ranked #20 in the final AP Poll.


1971 USC Trojans football team
Jim Jones led the team in passing, completing 89 of 161 passes for 995 yards with seven touchdowns and ten interceptions. Lou Harris led the team in rushing with 167 carries for 801 yards and four touchdowns. Edesel Garrison led the team in receiving with 25 catches for 475 yards and five touchdowns.


1971 USSR Chess Championship
The 1971 Soviet Chess Championship was the 39th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 15 September to 18 October 1971 in Leningrad. The tournament was won by Vladimir Savon. It was an amazing result, the title fell to the little-known international master Savon. He only learned the moves at the late age of 13, and lived in a small country settlement where he could find no strong opposition. The final were preceded by semifinals events at Daugavpils, Ivano Frankivsk, Novosibirsk and Perm.


1971 UTEP Miners football team
The 1971 UTEP Miners football team was an American football team that represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the Western Athletic Conference during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. In their seventh year under head coach Bobby Dobbs, the team compiled a 5–6 record.


1971 Uganda Cup
1971 Uganda Cup was the first season of the main Ugandan football Cup.


1971 Uganda Cup, Overview
The competition has also been known as the Kakungulu Cup and was won by Coffee Kakira who beat Simba FC (the Army side) 2-1 in the final. The results are not available for the earlier rounds


1971 Uganda National First Division League
The 1971 Uganda National First Division League was the fourth season of the Ugandan football championship, the top-level football league of Uganda.


1971 Uganda National First Division League, Overview
The 1971 Uganda National First Division League was contested by 8 teams and was won by Simba FC, the Army side. In the next two seasons of 1972 and 1973 the championship was not completed because of civil unrest.


1971 Uganda National First Division League, Leading goalscorer
The top goalscorer in the 1971 season was Polly Ouma of Simba FC with 18 goals.


1971 Ugandan coup d'état
The 1971 Ugandan coup d'état was a military coup d'état executed by the Ugandan military, led by general Idi Amin, against the government of President Milton Obote on January 25, 1971. The seizure of power took place while Obote was abroad attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Singapore. Amin was afraid that Obote might dismiss him, and installed himself as dictator.


1971 Ugandan coup d'état
The 1971 coup is often cited as an example of "class action by the military", wherein the Uganda Army acted against "an increasingly socialist régime whose equalitarian domestic politics posed more and more of a threat to the military's economic privileges".


1971 Ugandan coup d'état, Background
A rift had developed between Amin and Obote, exacerbated by the support Amin had built within the army by recruiting from the West Nile region, his involvement in operations to support the rebellion in southern Sudan and an attempt on Obote's life in 1969. In October 1970, Obote took overall control of the armed forces, reducing Amin from his position of commander in chief of all the armed forces to that of commander in chief of the army.


1971 Ugandan coup d'état, Background
The Obote government pursued a policy of African Nationalism which antagonized the British and the Israelis - both of which maintained a strong presence in Uganda. Obote supported independence in Southern Africa and opposed British weapons sales to the Apartheid South Africa government. He attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1971 in order to address this issue. The United Kingdom was also opposed to Obote's Move to the Left, a series of socialist-orientated policies that hindered the operations of international corporations. The British government further feared that these initiatives would provoke the departure of thousands of Asians in Uganda, who were British subjects and might choose to go to the United Kingdom.


1971 Ugandan coup d'état, Background
Israel initially maintained close relations with Obote's government, and used Uganda as a means to channel support to Anyanya rebels in southern Sudan with the hope of distracting Sudan from supporting Palestine in the Arab-Israeli conflict. In 1969 Jaafar Nimeiry came to power in Sudan via a coup and pledged to end the war in the country. Obote summarily ordered the end of all aid to the Anyanya, troubling the Israeli government.


1971 Ugandan coup d'état, Coup
Having learned that Obote was planning to arrest him for misappropriating army funds, Amin launched a coup on 25 January 1971, while Obote was attending a Commonwealth summit meeting in Singapore. Army and military police forces loyal to Amin moved to secure strategic positions in and around Kampala and Entebbe. The putschists sealed off Entebbe International Airport to prevent Obote's return, and tanks and soldiers patrolled the streets of Kampala and Entebbe.


1971 Ugandan coup d'état, Coup
Here, some soldiers loyal to President Obote and members of the General Service Unit resisted the coup forces while some fighting also took place at the Kampala police college. Fierce fighting was reported in Jinja, about 50 miles from Kampala. Obote's residence was surrounded and major roads were blocked. A nighttime curfew was imposed by the coup forces. Overall, the Obote loyalists were too disorganized to offer an effective resistance, and they were quickly overwhelmed. At 4:30pm it was announced that the Army and the police under Amin's leadership had control of the entire country.


1971 Ugandan coup d'état, Coup
The UK government may have orchestrated the Obote government coup. Obote was a supporter of independence for Southern Africa and chose to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1971 to oppose British weapons sales to apartheid South Africa. The decision was taken at the meeting to allow the British to continue the arms sale but the issue threatened to destroy the Commonwealth.


1971 Ugandan coup d'état, Coup
Uganda radio broadcasts accused the Obote government of corruption and said the army believed Obote's policies result in violence and accused him of giving preferential treatment to certain regions of the country. The broadcast was reportedly met with cheering crowds in the capital. After having seized control of the government, Amin moved to purge the military of political rivals, and ordered the murder of Acholi and Lango soldiers whom he suspected of being supportive of Obote. By 1972, about 5,000 of them had been killed.


1971 Ugandan coup d'état, Aftermath
As he consolidated his power as military dictator, Amin ordered numerous purges against suspected opponents, resulting in 30,000 to 50,000 Ugandans killed over the years following the coup. Thousands consequently fled to Tanzania, where they joined Obote's dissidents. With the approval of President of Tanzania Julius Nyerere, these Ugandan exiles formed a small guerilla army, and invaded Uganda in 1972. The popular uprising against Amin they had hoped for failed to materialize, however, and the invasion was defeated. Nevertheless, the conflict resulted in a sharp deterioration of relations between Uganda and Tanzania, which ultimately contributed to the Uganda–Tanzania War and the fall of Amin's regime in 1979.


1971 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election
The 1971 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election  was caused by the resignation of James Chichester-Clark, after he had failed to persuade the British Government to provide his government with more resources to quell the growing civil unrest.


1971 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election, Sources
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1971 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election, Sources
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1971 United Kingdom census
The United Kingdom Census 1971 was a census of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland carried out on 25 April 1971. The census will be released after 100 years.


1971 United Kingdom census
According to the preliminary general results of the census, the population of the United Kingdom on 25 April 1971 was as follows:


1971 United Kingdom local elections
Local elections were held in the United Kingdom in 1971, the year after the Conservatives under Edward Heath had taken office.


1971 United Kingdom local elections
The opposition Labour Party, which had lost the general election in the previous year, enjoyed its best results since the 1945 local elections. They were able to win wards in cities including Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester which they had not even in 1945, as well as some wards they had not previously contested.


1971 United Kingdom local elections
The Conservatives lost overall control of councils such as Harrow, Sutton, Basildon, Havant-Waterloo and Salford which had previously been considered safe for them.


1971 United Kingdom local elections
The Liberals lost seats overall, despite making striking progress in Merseyside. Both the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru suffered very poor results.


1971 United Kingdom postal workers strike
The 1971 United Kingdom postal workers strike was a strike in the United Kingdom staged by postal workers between January and March 1971.


1971 United Kingdom postal workers strike, Details
The strike was Britain's first national postal strike and began after postal workers demanded a pay rise of 15–20% then walked out after Post Office managers made a lower offer. The strike began on 20 January and lasted for seven weeks, finally ending with an agreement on Thursday 4 March. After voting over the weekend, the strikers returned to work on Monday 8 March 1971. The strike overlapped with the introduction of decimal currency in the UK.


1971 United Kingdom postal workers strike, Private posts
A wide range of officially licensed and unlicensed private posts operated during the strike to fill the gap left by the withdrawal of official postal services. Some were genuine commercial services that provided local, national and international deliveries, but many were set up by stamp collectors and stamp dealers to provide philatelic material for collectors.


1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection
A United Nations Secretary-General selection was held in 1971 to succeed U Thant, who was stepping down after two full terms. Three candidates received enough votes in the Security Council to be selected Secretary-General: Carlos Ortiz de Rozas of Argentina, Kurt Waldheim of Austria, and Max Jakobson of Finland. However, all of the frontrunners were vetoed in the first two rounds of voting. In the third round, Waldheim accidentally escaped a triple-veto when three permanent members failed to coordinate their votes and all abstained. As a result, Kurt Waldheim was selected Secretary-General of the United Nations for a term starting 1 January 1972.


1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection, Background
The Secretary-General of the United Nations is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. Candidates for the office can be vetoed by any of the five permanent members. Members of NATO and the Warsaw Pact were not eligible for the job, as they would be vetoed by the opposing superpower. Only diplomats from neutral countries could expect to escape a veto.


1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection, Background
On 18 January 1971, Secretary-General U Thant announced that he would not seek another term. Thant had been serving as Secretary-General since 1961, when his predecessor Dag Hammarskjöld died in a plane crash. The Soviet Union, France, and Third World countries wanted to draft Thant for at least one more year in office, as he had been strongly opposed to apartheid and colonialism. However, Thant declared that his decision was "final and categorical," and he would not serve "even for two months" past the end of his term. The United States also opposed another term for Thant, citing his administrative shortcomings and his opposition to the Vietnam War.


1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection, Campaign
Max Jakobson of Finland entered the race on 20 January 1971. Jakobson had taken a strongly anti-colonial stance, winning him the support of the newly independent countries of Africa. He was supported by the United States and the United Kingdom, while France was troubled only by his inability to speak French. Jakobson had been praised privately by Arab diplomats for his fairness in chairing a committee on Palestinian refugees. However, the Arab countries and the Soviet Union expressed their belief that he would be subject to Zionist pressure because of his Jewish ancestry. Western diplomats believed that the Soviet Union actually opposed Jakobson because of his views on Finnish-Soviet relations, but Soviet diplomat Victor Israelyan revealed decades later that the Soviet Union vetoed Jakobson on behalf of the Arabs.


1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection, Campaign
Kurt Waldheim of Austria was long rumored to be interested in the position of Secretary-General. After losing the Austrian presidential election to the incumbent Franz Jonas in April 1971, Waldheim turned his efforts to the U.N. Secretary-Generalship. On 16 June 1971, Waldheim called on the U.S. Department of State to make it known that he would be available for the position. Unlike Jakobson, Waldheim spoke French fluently and could count on the French vote. Waldheim also counted on Soviet support in case Jakobson's candidacy began to falter. The United States was unenthusiastic about Waldheim, as his "greatest asset" and "greatest liability" was that he had no enemies and wouldn't do anything to make enemies.


1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection, Campaign
Gunnar Jarring of Sweden was a dark-horse candidate. Although Jakobson won Swedish endorsement as the Scandinavian candidate, the Soviet Union floated Jarring's name as a Scandinavian alternative.


1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection, Campaign
Felipe Herrera of Chile picked up support late in the race as Latin American countries united behind his candidacy. Although Herrera had been nominated by the leftist Allende government, even Argentina's military junta committed to support him as the Latin American candidate. Herrera was well-regarded in Latin America as the former head of the Inter-American Development Bank, where he was known as a "developmentalist". However, the United States opposed any candidate nominated by the Allende government and felt that Herrera was "a poor manager to boot". On 20 October 1971, the United States instructed its ambassadors to tell Latin American Foreign Ministers, "in deep confidence," that the U.S. could not support a Chilean candidate. On 5 November 1971, George Bush met with Herrera and revealed that the United States would not support his candidacy.


1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection, Campaign, Consultations of the permanent members
In past selections, the two superpowers had controlled the selection of the next Secretary-General. However, the 1971 selection was complicated by the uncertain status of the Chinese seat in the United Nations. On 20 November 1970, a majority of the General Assembly had voted to expel the Republic of China from the United Nations and replace it with the People's Republic of China. Although the vote had fallen short of the two-thirds required to take effect, supporters of Communist China were confident of victory in 1971. On 25 October 1971, two-thirds of the General Assembly voted to expel Nationalist China from the United Nations. The Chinese veto was placed in the hands of Communist China, a Third World country that was not aligned with either the United States or the Soviet Union.


1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection, Campaign, Consultations of the permanent members
The United States and the Soviet Union avoided discussing the Secretary-Generalship as they waited to see what the Chinese position would be. From early in the race, Max Jakobson had presented himself as the only candidate who was acceptable to the People's Republic of China. The Chinese were publicly noncommittal on the selection of a Secretary-General. However, they revealed to the other permanent members that their top choices were Herrera and Jakobson.


1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection, Campaign, Consultations of the permanent members
On 6 December 1971, the permanent members finally began meeting to discuss the selection of a Secretary-General. Despite Thant's "final and unequivocal" decision to step down, the Soviet Union expressed its desire to draft Thant for at least a few months to deal with the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Although Thant had recently been treated at Leroy Hospital for a bleeding ulcer, Soviet ambassador Yakov Malik said that Thant could not be expected to be "100 percent fit as an astronaut" and needed two weeks of vacation. The U.S. and British ambassadors argued that Thant should be allowed to step down, and U.S. Secretary of State William P. Rogers instructed Bush to veto Thant if his name appeared on the ballot.


1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection, Voting
On 17 December 1971, the Security Council met in closed session to vote on the selection of a Secretary-General. The vote was taken by secret ballot, with the permanent members voting on red ballots and the rotating members voting on white ballots. Although Jakobson had been presumed the frontrunner for the past 11 months, Kurt Waldheim was the only candidate to win the required 9-vote majority. However, Waldheim was vetoed by China and the United Kingdom. Felipe Herrera of Chile was kept on the ballot at Chinese and Soviet insistence. Every candidate was vetoed except Gunnar Jarring of Sweden, who became the presumed frontrunner.


1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection, Voting
On 20 December 1971, Waldheim continued to lead with 11 votes but was vetoed by China. Carlos Ortiz de Rozas arrived on the ballot with a surprisingly-strong 10 votes but was vetoed by the Soviet Union. Jakobson received the required minimum of 9 votes but was vetoed by the Soviet Union. Jarring managed only 7 votes and received a double-veto, including one from China. Every candidate received at least one veto, and one candidate was even vetoed by four permanent members. Diplomats expected the veto duel to continue in the third round of voting.


1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection, Voting, Accidental Waldheim victory
On 21 December 1971, the U.S. and British delegations received instructions from their governments to prevent Kurt Waldheim from being selected in that day's voting. Since both countries had voted in favor of Waldheim on 20 December 1971, they decided to abstain if they were "reasonably certain" that the Chinese would veto Waldheim again. U.S. ambassador George H. W. Bush asked British ambassador Colin Crowe to talk to the Chinese, but Crowe thought that it would "only arouse suspicion". Instead, they asked the Norwegian and Finnish ambassadors how the Chinese would vote, receiving assurances that the Chinese would continue to veto Waldheim. Bush also talked to Jakobson, who said that the Chinese would veto Waldheim "all the way through".


1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection, Voting, Accidental Waldheim victory
In the third round of voting, Carlos Ortiz de Rozas moved into the lead with 12 votes but was vetoed by the Soviet Union. Waldheim came in second with 11 votes but received no vetoes. To the surprise of the Americans and British, the Chinese abstained instead of vetoing Waldheim. As a result, Kurt Waldheim was selected as Secretary-General of the United Nations for a term beginning on 1 January 1972.


1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection, Conclusions
The Austrian campaign for Kurt Waldheim was successful even though he was "regarded as lacking sufficient stature and drive to be taken seriously". French ambassador Jacques Kosciusco-Morizet said that it was "not enough to have a candidate against whom there is no objection. A candidate for SYG [Secretary-General] should also have something in his favor." British ambassador Colin Crowe disagreed that Waldheim was even "non-objectionable". However, Waldheim received strong diplomatic backing from Austria's Social Democratic government under Bruno Kreisky, even though Waldheim was from the opposition Austrian People's Party. Waldheim was also favored by the Soviet Union. During a dinner at Waldheim's house, Soviet ambassador Yakov Malik proposed a toast to the host, "May all your wishes come true."


1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection, Conclusions
The Finnish campaign for Max Jakobson was marked by a number of missteps. Although Finland sought the support of the other Scandinavian countries, Swedish diplomat Gunnar Jarring was also nominated and became the only candidate to receive no vetoes in the first round. Jakobson was Jewish and drew opposition from the Arab countries, but Jarring had been the U.N. Special Representative in the Middle East and tried to arrange an Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai. Jakobson's views on Finnish neutrality also drew Soviet opposition, while Jarring was Sweden's ambassador to the Soviet Union. Finland pressured Sweden to withdraw Jarring from the race, but Swedish neutrality made it difficult to withdraw a candidate who was supported by one of the superpowers.


1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection, Conclusions
Waldheim was selected because of a miscalculation by the U.S. and U.K. delegations. On 20 December 1971, George Bush received contradictory information about the Chinese position on Waldheim. The Finnish and Norwegian delegations claimed that China would "veto Waldheim to the bitter end". However, the Austrian and Italian delegations claimed that the Chinese would drop their veto if their preferred candidate could not win. Bush felt that Norwegian ambassador Ole Ålgård had "proven to be most accurate forecaster of PRC positions". The next day, the U.S. and U.K. acted on this belief by abstaining on Waldheim instead of vetoing him, discovering to their surprise that China also abstained.


1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection, Conclusions
After the surprise victory of Kurt Waldheim, the British and Italian delegations criticized Finnish "overconfidence" that led to "inaccurate Finnish statements concerning positions of alleged supporters". In addition to getting the Chinese position wrong, Finland had also claimed that the Soviet Union would not veto Jakobson, and Sweden would withdraw Jarring. Finland also claimed that the Soviet Union would not veto their candidate and said that the U.S. and U.K. had "let them down" by not vetoing Waldheim. The French were "furious" when the Finns accused them of vetoing Jakobson in the first round, as they had actually abstained.


1971 United Nations Security Council election
The 1971 United Nations Security Council election was held on 23 November 1971 during the Twenty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly elected Guinea, India, Panama, Sudan, and Yugoslavia, as the five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 1972. It was the first election of Guinea and Sudan into the council.


1971 United Nations Security Council election, Rules
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.


1971 United Nations Security Council election, Rules
In accordance with the rules whereby the ten non-permanent UNSC seats rotate among the various regional blocs into which UN member states traditionally divide themselves for voting and representation purposes, the five available seats are allocated as follows:


1971 United Nations Security Council election, Rules
To be elected, a candidate must receive a two-thirds majority of those present and voting. If the vote is inconclusive after the first round, three rounds of restricted voting shall take place, followed by three rounds of unrestricted voting, and so on, until a result has been obtained. In restricted voting, only official candidates may be voted on, while in unrestricted voting, any member of the given regional group, with the exception of current Council members, may be voted on.


1971 United Nations Security Council election, Result
The election was managed by then-President of the United Nations General Assembly Adam Malik of Indonesia. The United Nations had 131 member states at this time (for a timeline of UN membership, see Enlargement of the United Nations). There were no nomination prior to the vote. Delegates were to write the names of the five member states they wished elected on the ballot papers. Voting was conducted on a single ballot. 116 ballot papers were used.


1971 United States Grand Prix
The 1971 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 3, 1971, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was race 11 of 11 in both the 1971 World Championship of Drivers and the 1971 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 59-lap race was won by Tyrrell driver François Cevert after he started from fifth position. Jo Siffert finished second for the BRM team and March driver Ronnie Peterson came in third.


1971 United States Grand Prix, Summary
Jackie Stewart's domination in 1971 clinched his second Driver's Championship with three races remaining, but the final round belonged to his Tyrrell teammate, François Cevert. The Frenchman took the lead from Stewart on lap 14 and went on to claim his only career win, the first GP victory for a French driver since Maurice Trintignant in 1958.


1971 United States Grand Prix, Summary
As usual, the American race attracted a large field of entrants, despite it being the last race of the year and both Championships having long been wrapped up. It seemed nearly every spare works F1 car and quite a few independents, as well, were present to try for a share of the $267,000 in prize money, easily the richest purse in F1.


1971 United States Grand Prix, Summary
Unfortunately, the two most popular American drivers, Mario Andretti and Mark Donohue, who was fresh from a stunning third place finish in Canada in his Formula One debut, were committed to drive on Sunday in a USAC race which had incomprehensibly been rescheduled to the GP weekend after a previous rainout. The two drivers qualified, Andretti in a Ferrari and Donohue in a McLaren shared with David Hobbs, hoping for more rain in New Jersey and the chance to return for the race on Sunday.


1971 United States Grand Prix, Summary
Since the previous year's race, the course had been resurfaced, widened and, most significantly, lengthened by a mile to 3.377 miles with an entirely new section at the southwest corner called the "Boot" or "Anvil". The pits were also moved from the north end straight back before the right angle turn known as "The 90," which now became Turn One.


1971 United States Grand Prix, Summary
Friday was sunny and hot (105 °F (41 °C)), and Stewart jumped immediately to the top of the charts with a time of 1:42.844, as the times were recorded to a thousandth of a second for the first time. On Saturday, with the temperature now 110° and both Goodyear's and Firestone's qualifying tires breaking down after a few laps, Emerson Fittipaldi pipped Stewart's time from the day before, but the Scot returned to the track and grabbed the pole by .017 of a second. Denny Hulme joined them on the front row in his McLaren, followed by Clay Regazzoni's Ferrari, Cevert and the soon-to-be-absent Andretti. American Peter Revson qualified nineteenth in the third Tyrrell. It was his only race for Tyrrell and his first Grand Prix since 1964.


1971 United States Grand Prix, Summary, Race
Sunday was dry in both upstate New York and Trenton, and word came that the USAC race would go on, dismaying both the crowd and the organizers, who were robbed of seeing two of the country's best road racers. At the start, Hulme jumped into the lead, ahead of Cevert and Stewart, but by the end of the first lap, Stewart led Hulme, Cevert, Regazzoni, Jo Siffert, Jacky Ickx, Chris Amon and Fittipaldi.


1971 United States Grand Prix, Summary, Race
At first, Stewart was able to open a gap back to the following group, now headed by his teammate, but after ten laps, his tires began to go off and the gap closed. The Scot realized that Cevert's Goodyears were holding up much better in the heat, and when Cevert closed up right behind him, he waved him by on lap 14. Hulme was now struggling with a terrible vibration in his tires and was passed, first by Ickx, then Regazzoni and Siffert. On lap 15, American Sam Posey, in his first Grand Prix, retired from a fine run with a blown piston in his Surtees. By the time Ickx could get around Stewart on lap 17, Cevert's lead was 5.7 seconds.


1971 United States Grand Prix, Summary, Race
At about half-distance, Cevert finally began to struggle with the same understeer that had plagued Stewart much earlier. Ickx was closing, and his Firestones were getting better as the race went on. On lap 43, the Belgian set the fastest lap of the race, and the gap was down to 2.2 seconds. Then, on lap 49, the Ferrari's alternator fell off, punching a hole in the gearbox and spilling oil all over the track! Hulme hit the oil and spun into the barrier, bending his front suspension. He was standing beside the track when Cevert came by and also hit the barrier, but kept going, now 29 seconds in the lead!


1971 United States Grand Prix, Summary, Race
Jo Siffert was now in second place and 33 seconds clear of Ronnie Peterson. With four laps to go, however, Siffert began to run low on fuel. The Swede took huge chunks off the gap as Siffert jerked the BRM from side to side, trying to use every remaining drop of fuel. Cevert coasted home, taking both hands off the wheel to wave as he crossed the line, and Siffert weaved his way around to hold second place by four seconds over Peterson's March.


1971 United States Grand Prix, Summary, Race
After taking the checkered flag, Cevert gave a nod to his teammate. "I feel pretty good with a $50,000 win. I followed Stewart in the beginning and was flagged on ahead. Jackie Stewart is a very sensible driver and a very good teacher. He let me go through." While it was the first race on the expanded Watkins Glen track, it was the third year in a row that The Glen had rewarded a driver with his first career victory. This was Cevert’s only victory in Formula One.


1971 United States House of Representatives election in District of Columbia
The 1971 special congressional election for the Delegate from the District of Columbia was held on March 23, 1971. This was the first election for the newly re-created district since Norton P. Chipman (R) briefly held the seat during the Reconstruction Era. The winner of the race was Walter E. Fauntroy (D). After serving his remaining term in the 92nd United States Congress, he would continue to be re-elected until he stepped down to run for mayor in the 1990 election.


1971 United States House of Representatives election in District of Columbia
The non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives from the District of Columbia is elected for two-year terms, as are all other Representatives and Delegates minus the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, who is elected to a four-year term.


1971 United States House of Representatives election in District of Columbia, Candidates
Walter E. Fauntroy, a Democrat, sought election for his first term to the United States House of Representatives. Fauntroy was opposed in this election by Republican challenger John A. Nevius, who received 25.08%, and Statehood Party candidate Julius Hobson who received 13.23%. This resulted in Fauntroy being elected with 58.44% of the vote. This is the lowest percentage that a Democratic candidate has received in any election to the District of Columbia's at-large congressional district.


1971 United States House of Representatives elections
There were elections in 1971 to the United States House of Representatives:


1971 United States House of Representatives elections
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1971 United States gubernatorial elections
In Mississippi and Kentucky, general elections took place on 2 November 1971. In Louisiana, their general election took place on 1 February 1972 after the party primaries on 6 November 1971 and a Democratic primary runoff on 18 December 1971. In Louisiana, this was the last gubernatorial election which didn't use the nonpartisan blanket primary system.


1971 United States gubernatorial elections
In Mississippi and Louisiana, there were no party changes (in both cases, from Democrat to Democrat). In Kentucky, there was a Democratic gain.


1971 United States gubernatorial elections
In Kentucky, Louie B. Nunn wasn't allowed to run for a second term under the term limits rule at the time, a rule that was changed in 1992.


1971 United States gubernatorial elections
In Mississippi, John Bell Williams was also barred from a second term under the term limits rule at the time, a rule that was changed in the mid-1980s.


1971 United States gubernatorial elections
In Louisiana, John McKeithen had been allowed a second term due to a new rule enacted that allowed governors two consecutive terms, and thus wasallowed to run for a second term (see Louisiana gubernatorial election, 1967). Thus, when the 1971 race rolled around, he too was term-limited.


1971 United States gubernatorial elections, Election results
A bolded state name features an article about the specific election.


1971 Uruguayan Primera División, Overview
It was contested by 12 teams, and Nacional won the championship.


1971 Uruguayan general election
General elections were held in Uruguay on 28 November 1971, alongside a double referendum. The result was a victory for the Colorado Party, which won the presidency and the most seats in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate.


1971 Uruguayan general election
Wilson Ferreira Aldunate of the National Party received the most votes of any individual candidate. However, the combined Colorado vote exceeded the combined National vote by just over 12,000 votes, resulting in Juan Maria Bordaberry being elected president. Under the Ley de Lemas system in effect at the time, the highest-finishing candidate of the party that won the most votes was elected president.


1971 Uruguayan general election
Fifteen months after taking office, Bordaberry carried out a self-coup, closing down the General Assembly and giving the military and police full powers to restore order. This marked the start of a civic-military dictatorship that ruled the country until the next free elections in 1984.


1971 Uruguayan referendum
A double referendum was held in Uruguay on 28 November 1971 alongside general elections. Voters were asked whether they approved of two proposals; one to allow presidents to seek immediate re-election for a second term, and one that would force the President to resign if any government ministers were found guilty of violating the law. Both were rejected by voters.


1971 Uruguayan referendum, Proposals
The proposal to allow Presidents to seek immediate re-election for a second term was put forward by the Battlista faction of the Colorado Party in the General Assembly. It had been inspired by the National Re-electionista Union supporting President Jorge Pacheco Areco.


1971 Uruguayan referendum, Proposals
The proposal to force the President to resign if any government minister was found guilty of violating the law was put forward a popular initiative.


1971 Utah Redskins football team
The 1971 Utah Redskins football team was an American football team that represented the University of Utah during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. Head coach Bill Meek led the team to a 3–4 mark in the WAC and 3–8 overall.


1971 Utah State Aggies football team
The 1971 Utah State Aggies football team was an American football team that represented Utah State University as an independent during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. In their fifth season under head coach Chuck Mills, the Aggies compiled an 8–3 record and outscored all opponents 243 to 183.


1971 Utah State Aggies football team
The team's statistical leaders included Tony Adams with 2,035 passing yards, Ed Giles with 510 rushing yards, Bob Wicks with 862 receiving yards, Jerry Hughes with 60 points scored (six touchdowns), Alan McMurray "Madpup" (soph all american) lead team with 104 tackles, (record 19.5 sacks) and Tom Murphy with 81 total tackles.


1971 Utah State Aggies football team
In December, the team traveled to Japan for two games against Japanese university students. The Aggies were the first American college football team to play a game in Japan since the sport was introduced there in the 1910s. The American players reportedly had a height advantage of twelve inches (30 cm) and a weight advantage of fifty pounds (23 kg) per player.


1971 VFA Grand Final
The 1971 VFA Division 1 Grand Final  was an Australian rules football match played between the Dandenong Redlegs and the Preston Bullants. The match was held on Sunday 26 September 1971 at the Junction Oval in St Kilda, Victoria, to decide Division 1 Premiership for the 1971 Victorian Football Association season.


1971 VFA Grand Final
The match was one of the most controversial in the history of the VFA. Dandenong won the match by six points; however, Preston challenged the result, on the grounds that a free kick paid to Dandenong full-forward Jim Miller before the opening bounce was not valid under the rules of the game. It was not until Preston's challenge was defeated on the evening of Wednesday 29 September that Dandenong was formally confirmed as premiers. It was Dandenong's second VFA Division 1 premiership.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Lead-up
The Dandenong Redlegs and Preston Bullants had both been promoted from Division 2 to Division 1 in the early 1960s, and had enjoyed success in Division 1 through the latter part of the decade. Dandenong won its first premiership in 1967, and Preston won its first premiership in 1968. The two teams then faced each other in the 1969 Grand Final, which Preston won by twelve points to secure back-to-back flags. Both sides missed the finals in 1970, but returned to the top of the ladder in 1971.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Lead-up
At the end of the 1971 home and away season, Preston finished as minor premiers with a record of 13-4-1; Dandenong finished second with a record of 12–6. The teams had met in the final round of the home and away season, in a vigorous and spiteful match which included two brawls; Preston won the match by 14 points.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Lead-up
The two teams faced off in the Second Semi-Final on 12 September, with Dandenong winning easily; the result was effectively decided by quarter time, when Dandenong led 12.2 (74) to 1.2 (8) by 66 points; the Redlegs eventually won 24.11 (155) to 11.15 (81), by 74 points, with Jim Miller kicking ten goals. Preston faced Sandringham in the Preliminary Final on 19 September, and survived a late comeback to beat the Zebras, 17.17 (119) to 14.21 (105), by 14 points.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Lead-up
The field umpire for the Grand Final was Jim McMaster. The match was played at the Junction Oval in St Kilda, a neutral venue.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Match report
Prior to the opening bounce, and prior to the opening siren, umpire McMaster observed jostling between Dandenong full-forward Jim Miller and Preston full-back Barry Leslie. Without bouncing the ball, McMaster paid a free kick against Leslie for a push in the back, from which Miller scored the opening goal of the game, giving Dandenong an early six-point lead. This free kick would ultimately be the subject of Preston's challenge to the match result.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Match report
Dandenong was kicking with the aid of a breeze in the first quarter, and controlled general play to lead by 28 points at quarter time, although wasteful goalkicking saw the Redlegs score only 7.8 (50) from its fifteen scoring shots. The sides also resumed their hostilities from the final round of the season, with a brawl started after only six minutes had elapsed. With the advantage of the wind in the second quarter, Preston kicked five goals to three to narrow the margin to 14 points at half-time.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Match report
In a low-scoring third quarter, Dandenong kicked two goals to one with the wind, to lead by 21 points. Several brawls and fights took place in the third quarter, and three players – Jim Miller and Lyall Henriksen from Dandenong, and Robert Ireland from Preston – were reported for striking.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Match report
Preston had the better of attack in the final quarter; they kicked four quick goals late in the game, and at the 22-minute mark, after trailing for the entire afternoon, hit the front by one point. In the close finish, Pat Flaherty kicked a goal to regain the lead for Dandenong by five points, and then kicked another behind to extend the lead to six. There was no further score, the final siren sounded, and Dandenong won the game by six points.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Match report
Overall, Dandenong rover Rod Evans was credited as the best on ground for the Redlegs. Ruckman Bernie McCarthy was the Bullants' best player, and Preston's final quarter fightback is largely credited to McCarthy's good ruckwork. Miller was the leading goalkicker on the ground, with five; he finished with 99 goals for the 1971 season, including finals.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Protest
The evening after the game, Preston club secretary Alf Rowe informed the VFA that the club would protest the result of the game; a formal protest was lodged on the morning of Monday 27 September. The basis of Preston's protest was that the free kick paid to Miller prior to the opening bounce was invalid, because umpire McMaster had not formally started the match when he paid it. Preston contended that Miller's goal should be removed from the scorecard, the final score amended to 92–92, and the premiership decided by a grand final replay the following Sunday. Preston did not at any stage attempt to argue that Leslie had not pushed Miller in the back, only that he should not have been penalised for doing so because the game had not yet started.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Protest
The protest was heard by a meeting of the VFA Board of Management on the evening of Wednesday 29 September. The Board of Management had a total of 44 members, including two delegates from each of the 20 VFA clubs.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Protest, Relevant rules and customs
Preston's protest was based primarily on Rule 6(b) which described the commencement of play as follows:


1971 VFA Grand Final, Protest, Relevant rules and customs
Preston's contention was that because the ball had not been bounced, the match had not started when the free kick was paid, making it invalid. Media reports on the protest also made reference to Rule 17(a), which stated:


1971 VFA Grand Final, Protest, Relevant rules and customs
although it is not immediately clear how this rule interacts with the start of the game as defined in Rule 6.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Protest, Relevant rules and customs
VFA umpires' advisor Andrew O'Neill testified during the Board of Management meeting that, regardless of the precise interpretation of Rule 6(b), umpires were formally advised that free kicks could be paid between the opening whistle and the opening bounce – and therefore that the game is thought to commence at the opening whistle.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Protest, Relevant rules and customs
Finally, it was testified that it was common practice (although not necessarily explicit in the rules) for an umpire to confirm that the timekeepers are ready by holding the ball above his head, and waiting for the timekeepers to sound the siren – after which he blows the opening whistle, followed by executing the opening bounce.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Protest, Evidence related to the start of the game
The Board of Management meeting was hindered by the fact that a technical error meant there was no video footage of the first few minutes of the match; as such, all evidence presented at the meeting was verbal.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Protest, Evidence related to the start of the game
According to McMaster's testimony, he blew the opening whistle once he was convinced that the teams were ready. However, the timekeepers did not sound the opening siren until McMaster was already in the Dandenong forward-line handing the ball to Miller; this contributed significantly to the confusion about whether or not the game had started.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Protest, Evidence related to the start of the game
The confusion was caused by the fact that McMaster had not effectively held the ball above his head and waited for the timekeepers to sound the siren, as was the normal custom; Preston timekeeper Len Herman said that he did not see McMaster lift the ball at all, which Preston captain Laurie Hill agreed with, while The Sun News-Pictorial reporter Murray Hubbard reported that McMaster had "half-raised the ball" before blowing his whistle.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Protest, Evidence related to the start of the game
McMaster testified that he saw Leslie push Miller as he was still blowing his opening whistle – which, by O'Neill's advice, allowed him to pay the free kick, regardless of whether or not the siren had sounded. He then immediately blew his whistle a second time to signify the free kick, and ran to the Dandenong forward-line to give the ball to Miller. Witnesses had different accounts on whether or not they heard McMaster blow the opening whistle, or were able to discern it from the free kick whistle. Dandenong timekeeper, Graham Way, testified that although he did not hear the opening whistle, he did see McMaster appear to blow it.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Protest, David Sheehan's after-the-siren opportunity
Shortly before the final siren, Dandenong's David Sheehan had taken a mark in Dandenong's forward-line, roughly 30 yards out, directly in front; even considering the wind, Sheehan could easily have scored from this distance. When the siren sounded with Dandenong in front, Sheehan threw the ball away, went to celebrate with his team-mates, and did not take the after-the-siren kick for goal to which he was entitled. Had Sheehan taken his kick, any score would have pushed the final margin beyond six points, and it is almost certain that Preston would not have protested the result.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Protest, Reaction to the protest
Dandenong reacted with anger towards Preston's protest. Dandenong club secretary, Lionel Farrow, made it clear that his club believed Preston was behaving as a sore loser – particularly considering the circumstances surrounding David Sheehan's after-the-siren opportunity. Many Dandenong players publicly stated that they would boycott any replay, and the team did not continue its training during the week, so it is questionable whether or not a replay would ever have occurred. Many players were unhappy that the glory and celebration of their premiership were ruined by the uncertainty of the protest.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Protest, Reaction to the protest
Preston coach Kevin Wright made it clear that the decision to protest was made at the club administrative level, and that he and his players were prepared to accept the six-point defeat without challenge. Nevertheless, the team continued its training through the week in case the protest was successful.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Protest, Reaction to the protest
In the uncertainty that followed the protest, the VFA postponed its tribunal session, such that the three players who were reported in the third quarter would have been permitted to play if a replay had eventuated, with their cases to be heard the following week. The VFA also secured the availability of the Junction Oval from the St Kilda Cricket Club for a replay on the Sunday, which would have delayed the opening of St Kilda's district cricket season.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Protest, Decision
Following the Board of Management meeting, which lasted 2½ hours, Preston's protest was rejected, and Dandenong was formally confirmed as the 1971 Division 1 Premiers. The board ruled in Dandenong's favour by an overwhelming majority, listed in different sources as either 39–5 or 40–4.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Protest, Decision
It is unclear whether the decision was based solely on Preston's arguments concerning the application of Rule 6(b), or whether other factors – such as the breakdown in umpire-timekeeper communication, the circumstances of Sheehan's after-the-siren opportunity, or Dandenong's threats that it could boycott the replay – were taken into account by Board of Management delegates.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Historical context
This was not the first incident of this type at the top level of the game. In the WAFL Grand Final of 1907 between East Fremantle and Perth, legendary umpire Henry "Ivo" Crapp awarded a free kick to East Fremantle's Chas Doig at half time, from which Doig scored a goal; East Fremantle initially won the match by five points.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Historical context
However, Perth lodged a protest with the league, contending that Crapp blew his whistle for Doig's free kick after the half-time bell had sounded, and therefore play was dead and the free kick was invalid – similar to the argument put forward by Preston concerning the commencement of its game. In that case, Perth's protest was upheld, the score was amended, and Perth was awarded the premiership by one point.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Historical context
Under the 2011 version of the Laws of the Game, it is made explicit in Law 15.1.3(a) that an umpire may award a free kick for any infringement which takes place on the playing surface prior to the commencement of a quarter. Under this modern version of the Laws, Preston would have had no case for a challenge.


1971 VFA Grand Final, Historical context
Miller's goal and Preston's protest have left a legacy, with the incident celebrated as one of Australian rules football's 150 greatest moments, released coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the sport in 2008.


1971 VFA season
The 1971 Victorian Football Association season was the 90th season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the eleventh season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won by the Dandenong Football Club, after it defeated Preston in the Grand Final on 26 September by six points, and after a formal protest by Preston against the result of the Grand Final was dismissed on 29 September; it was Dandenong's second Division 1 premiership. The Division 2 premiership was won by Sunshine; it was the club's first and only premiership in either division in its time in the Association, and came in its ninth consecutive appearance in the Division 2 finals.


1971 VFA season, Division 1
The Division 1 home-and-home season was played over 18 rounds; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system. The finals were played at the St Kilda Cricket Ground.


1971 VFA season, Division 1, Grand Final
Dandenong defeated Preston in the Grand Final by six points. However, following the match, Preston formally protested the result, on the grounds that umpire Jim McMaster had paid a free kick to Dandenong full-forward Jim Miller, from which a goal was scored, before the opening bounce was executed and therefore before the game had officially begun – which Preston contended made the free kick invalid and the resultant goal void. Preston's protest was heard by the Board of Management on the evening of Wednesday 29 September, and was dismissed by an overwhelming majority, formally confirming Dandenong as premiers.


1971 VFA season, Division 2
The Division 2 home-and-home season was played over eighteen rounds; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system; all finals were played on Sundays at Toorak Park.


1971 VFL Grand Final
The 1971 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the   Hawthorn Football Club and St Kilda Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1971. It was the 75th annual grand final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1971 VFL season. The match, attended 118,192 spectators, was won by Hawthorn by a margin of 7 points, marking that club's second premiership.


1971 VFL Grand Final, Background
This was St Kilda's first appearance in a premiership decider since winning the 1966 VFL Grand Final, while for Hawthorn it was their first since losing the 1963 VFL Grand Final. Both clubs were aiming for their second premiership.


1971 VFL Grand Final, Background
At the conclusion of the regular home-and-away season, Hawthorn had finished first on the ladder with 19 wins and 3 losses. St Kilda had finished second with 16 wins and 6 losses. Hawthorn's Peter Hudson was the leading goal-kicker in the competition with 140 goals.


1971 VFL Grand Final, Background
In the finals series leading up to the grand final, Hawthorn met St Kilda in the second semi final,  Hawthorn dominated early with Hudson kicking 7 goals to be well clear by three quarter time. St Kilda staged a fightback to lose by only two points. Hawtorn's victory sent them straight through to the grand final. St Kilda, after this loss, defeated Richmond by 30 points in the preliminary final to match up with Hawthorn in the premiership decider.


1971 VFL Grand Final, Match summary
The match was played in wet conditions and it was probably the toughest grand final ever played. Both sides dished out physical punishment and copped it as well. It was an evenly fought contest throughout.


1971 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, 1st quarter
Hawthorn started well with star full forward Peter Hudson kicking two goals early in the term. St Kilda's fullback Bob Murray was hurt early, and then Cowboy Neale clashed heavily with Hudson leaving Hudson with double vision for the rest of the game. Murray was moved to full forward and Barry Lawrence was moved onto Hawthorn's Hudson and kept him well in check. Les Hawken who had a fitness test earlier in the week hurt his ankle again after a clash with Carl Ditterich and was replaced by Ken Beck.


1971 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, 2nd quarter
The rain was relentless and Peter Crimmins kicked an early goal,  Murray was replaced by Stephen Rae and Hawthorn's Robert Day was crunched by Neil Besanko in a marking contest. St Kilda managed to inch ahead with goals to John Manzie and Barry Breen. Hudson with concussion kicked his third after a in the back free kick.


1971 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, 3rd quarter
In the Hawthorn rooms, both Hudson and Robert Day were suffering from concussion, Day being worst, was replaced at half time by Ray Wilson. As no one else could replace Hudson he played on. The Saints were two points up at half time and had the better of the third term. John Bonney goaled from a mark within thirty seconds. Bonney again goaled five minutes later after a free 30 metres out in front.


1971 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, 3rd quarter
Barry Breen goaled after being disallowed a mark and playing on, and then Ross Smith kicked the Saints' fourth goal and they led by twenty seven points by the fifteen-minute mark. A late snap from Leon Rice kicked the Hawks' only goal for the quarter and reduced St Kilda's lead to 20 points at three quarter time.


1971 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Final quarter
At the 3/4 time address John Kennedy told Bob Keddie  " You'll have to win this for us. Bob! ", Keddie had been quiet with only five touches. Keddie was moved to full-forward and Hudson out to centre-half-forward, Matthews goaled with a long shot from a free, Moore became unpassable across half back and Keddie kicked his first goal from a snap in the goal square. Crimmins kicked the Hawks' third in three minutes from a running snap.


1971 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Final quarter
Keddie added two points to level the scores, a minute later Keddie marked on the edge of the goal square, he goaled and the Hawks regained the lead. After another long arm-wrestle  Don Scott gathers the ball at half forward and a mongrel kick rolls through for Hawthorn's 10th goal. Keddie outmanoeuvres three opponents to snap his third goal. St Kilda's John Bonney goals straight after the restart. Another Hawthorn forward thrust and Keddie marks in the goal square, he handballs to Hudson but the goal is disallowed as Keddie had moved over his mark. Keddie goals and becomes Hawthorn's match winner with four goals in the space of 16 minutes during the last quarter. Hawks led by nineteen points at the nineteen-minute mark of the final quarter. Goals to St Kilda's Allan Davis and Barry Breen reduced the final margin to seven points.


1971 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Final quarter
The Hawks scored 7.3 in the quarter to the Saints' three straight goals.


1971 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Final quarter
Going into the game, Hudson needed four goals to surpass Bob Pratt's record for most goals in a VFL season but only managed to kick three which left him level with Pratt on 150 goals. Late in the game he had a set shot on goal to break the record but kicked the ball into the man on the mark, Barry Lawrence. His last attempt for the record, had Hudson kicking out of  bounds on the full after running towards an open goal.


1971 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Final quarter
Hawthorn's next success came five years later, when they won the 1976 VFL Grand Final against North Melbourne. It would take another 26 years for St Kilda to appear in another premiership decider, when they were defeated by Adelaide in the 1997 AFL Grand Final.


1971 VFL season
The 1971 Victorian Football League season was the 75th season of the elite Australian rules football competition.