1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Once again it was Ferrari versus Chevrolet in the GTS Group 4. The 365 GTB/4 “Daytona” now developed 440 bhp and nine were entered by the customer teams, many with works-prepared engines. Vic Elford was coaxed out of semi-retirement by the French Charles Pozzi team and there were four from the North American Racing Team (NART) including their young drivers’ Trofeo car (managed by Phil Hill). Four Corvettes were entered: the two French cars of Henri Greder and the Ecurie Léopard. John Greenwood arrived with two cars, one carrying a special alloy 7-litre engine boosted to put out 700 bhp.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Porsche came to Le Mans with its bigger, burlier version of the 911 to take on the big cars in Group 4. Before homologation was granted it had a surprise win at Sebring beating the Group 5, and followed it up in what was to be the final Targa Florio. The Carrera RS was lightened, with a big rear spoiler and flared wheel-arches to take wider 11” tyres. The engine had been bored out to 2.7-litres, and now produced 240 bhp. The RSR-variant had a bigger 2.8-litre engine good for 300 bhp.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
The Martini International team returned, led by David Yorke (former team manager at JW Automotive) and with works support, had two experimental versions capable of 320 bhp in the Sports category. Further lightened, they had 14” tyres and were driven by Gijs van Lennep/Herbert Müller and Reinhold Joest/Claude Haldi. Additionally, a squadron of eleven standard 911 GTs arrived for practice from privateer teams.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
In Group 2, the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) was again very popular with top drivers and close racing, and the mighty battle between the works teams of BMW and Ford spilled over into Le Mans. Ford Germany arrived with three 3-litre Capris for drivers Dieter Glemser/John Fitzpatrick, Gerry Birrell/Hans Heyer and Helmuth Koinigg/Jean Vinatier. In response, BMW turned up with the 3.0 CSL run by its newly set up BMW Motorsport works team under Jochen Neerpasch (formerly at Ford). The car had a more powerful 360 bhp over the Capri's 300 bhp. Their drivers were Chris Amon/Hans-Joachim Stuck and Toine Hezemans/Dieter Quester with a third for the Wicky Racing Team.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Practice
At the March test weekend, Beltoise put in a time for the Matra four seconds faster than Ferrari had 12 months earlier. Ferrari, citing labour strikes in Italy, did not attend. But Merzario and Ickx immediately set the pace on Wednesday night when official practice started. The only other sub-3:40 time was from the Cevert/Beltoise Matra; in fact these two works teams filled the top seven spots on the grid. Next were the two Gulf Mirages and the Gitanes Lola in tenth. None of the teams had been trying too hard to compete for a top time.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Practice
The smaller teams had a far tougher time. Both the Duckhams and the Ligiers were suffering from unstable aerodynamics. The Duckhams was running over ten seconds slower than it had the previous year. In the small-engine class, the Spanish Chevron was 13th (4:11.0) just ahead of the Sigma rotary (4:11.1). The Porsche RSR prototypes were slower than their test weekend times, until van Lennep found performance improved with narrower rear tyres. Müller recorded a 4:14.9 to be 18th on the grid.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Practice
Several incidents gave the mechanics all-nighter repair jobs: John Watson's Mirage spun in the Porsche curves and the rear section lifted and clouted him on the head; Lola had a tyre blowout rip up the rear bodywork and Ferrari got an urgent call from the factory saying the valve springs were set wrong needing 48 changes per engine.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Practice
It was close in the Group 2 and 4 categories with only three seconds covering the best Ferraris, Porsches, Fords and BMWs. Quickest was Glemser in the Ford Capri (4:16.0 for 22nd) ahead of Elford's Ferrari. The Corvettes were off the pace with Greenwood's being the best with a 4:19.6. His special-engine car was disqualified by the officials after Don Yenko had had an accident doing illegal road-testing on public roads after a full differential change. His daughter, also in the car, was taken to the hospital for stitches. The Kremer-Porsche caught fire when oil leaked onto the hot exhaust, necessitating a full engine-change, and Walter Brun put the Wicky-BMW into the Armco at the chicane.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
Bright sunshine in race week became dark clouds on Saturday morning, however by 4pm it was sunny again. Honorary starter this year was Sylvain Floirat, President of Matra. From the first lap, Merzario was bolting ahead, sent out as the ‘hare’ to lead the Matras into a race – a role he relished. However none of the other teams took the bait. A number of cars were coming in immediately with problems: Reinhold Joest's Martini Porsche with gearbox problems and the Grossman Ferrari with a puncture. Hailwood's Mirage had no clutch and Amon's BMW on had fifth gear. The Gitanes Lola, the Duckhams and the Sigma also all had early issues.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
By the pit stops around the end of the first hour, Merzario had built a significant lead but already needed to change brakepads. After the first driver changes, Carlos Pace only got six laps in the Ferrari until he had to stop, partly soaked in petrol from a split fuel tank, losing six laps. Matra was now 1-2-3 with Cevert leading from Larrousse and Wollek, chased by Reutemann in the Ferrari. While the Matras were all running at the same speed, the Ferraris had a variety of strategies. Carlos Reutemann and Tim Schenken were running among the Matras. Jacky Ickx and Brian Redman were running with the slowest 3-litre cars, the Lolas and the Alfa Romeo.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
After four hours, Jaussaud's front tyre blew out while going down the Mulsanne Straight. Ten laps were lost repairing the suspension. Less than an hour later, Beltoise had almost the same thing happen, and his Matra lost eight laps. As the Pescarolo/Larrousse car had been delayed fixing its brakes the lead fell to the Wollek/Depailler Matra. Then at 9.30pm, their car was in the pits with a terminal oil-pump problem and suddenly the Matra challenge was looking very shaky.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
At the same time, the GT-leading Sam Posey’s NART Ferrari lost five minutes in a poor pitstop, allowing the Charles Pozzi car of Elford/Ballot-Léna to take the category lead. These cars were all having a close running battle with the Martini Porsche, the Spanish 908, the Maublanc Chevron 2-litre and the fastest Capri.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Night
So by 10pm after six hours, it was now the Schenken/Reutemann Ferrari leading from Pescarolo/Larrousse. Third was Ickx/Redman, hitherto run conservatively, ahead of the Hailwood/Watson/Schuppan Mirage, Merzario's Ferrari and the Brescia Alfa Romeo. Wollek's Matra was 7th and the Müller/van Lennep Porsche 8th. Then when Pescarolo was delayed again, this time by a faulty gear selector, Ferrari was running 1–2. Both Merzario and Cevert were pushing their cars hard to make up lost time and just before midnight, Cevert put in the fastest lap of the race.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Night
Soon after midnight, Schuppan went wide at Tertre Rouge, hit the barrier and rolled his Mirage. The Merzario/Pace Ferrari was back in the pits, this time for 40 minutes replacing a slipping clutch. The Elford/Ballot-Léna spent 11 minutes changing brakepads, allowing the NART Ferrari through to the GT-lead again. In Group 2, all three Fords had been badly as night fell. The Birrell/Heyer car was out early, and its drivers transferred to the other team cars. The Glemser/Fitzpatrick car had got as high as tenth with the Hezemans/Quester BMW close by in 12th. Both cars were delayed before midnight and spent the rest of the night working back through the field.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Night
Then at 2.30am the leader was stopped out on the track by a broken conrod, and soon after Beltoise's Matra (now running 5th) again had a tyre blow out on it but this time it threw him into the guard-rails. So at half-time, Ickx was leading Pescarolo by two laps, while 8 laps further back Facetti in the surprising Alfa Romeo was ahead of Merzario and the Martini Porsche. After all the mechanical problems with the Group 5 cars, the NART Ferrari 365 was sixth leading the GTs, hounded by the Kremer and Sonauto Porsches and Elford's Ferrari. Ecuadorian Guillermo Ortega's privateer Porsche 908 rounded out the top-10.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Morning
Dawn came with mist and a light drizzle, but cleared to be another sunny day. But then after leading for seven hours, the lead Ferrari started sounding rough and just after 9am Redman brought it in with a split exhaust header. Coincidentally, a lap later Pescarolo also came in, with brake problems. It was the Matra that got back out into the lead just 15 seconds before the Ferrari. Mid -morning the third-placed Alfa Romeo's gearbox's broke. Seventy minutes were spent repairing it.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Morning
In the GT race, the NART Ferrari was running sixth and still held a narrow lead over the Kremer Porsche, made easier when the Porsche lost time in the early morning with a jammed brake calliper and detached exhaust. The Gregg/Chasseuil Sonauto Porsche was in 8th overall at 6am when a puncture on the Mulsanne Straight damaged the suspension dropping down the order. They were not alone, as most of the GT field had serious problems in the morning. In Group 2, it was resolved when the remaining Ford of Glemser/Fitzpatrick/Heyer got a broken conrod at 10.40am, leaving the BMW as the last Group 2 car running.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Morning
Then at 11am Minter bought the GT-leading Ferrari from 7th, smoking badly from a cracked piston. At the same time Ickx brought the pursuing Ferrari in with a split fuel cell like its sister-car had had earlier, costing 25 minutes and six laps to repair. But an hour later the Matra's starter motor failed in a regular pit-stop costing 20 minutes, and it was even once again.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Finish and post-race
Finally, with barely 90 minutes to go, the Ickx/Redman Ferrari was out – another conrod had broken and the car was wheeled away to a standing ovation from the crowd in the grandstand opposite. After that Pescarolo and Larrousse were able to ease off and cruise to the finish. In the end they finished six laps ahead of the Merzario/Pace Ferrari. Eighteen laps further back (and still not overtaken Ickx's retired Ferrari on distance) was the recovering Matra of Jabouille/Jaussaud.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Finish and post-race
In a very close finish, the French Ferrari of Elford/Ballot-Léna was sixth, barely a lap ahead of the hard-charging Kremer Porsche, with Ortega's privateer Porsche 908 between them. Ninth was the other Pozzi Ferrari of Serpaggi/Dolhem with Georg Loos’ Porsche RSR in tenth. The Brescia Corse Alfa Romeo had had a troubled end to the race with gearbox, clutch then fuel-pump issues after a solid first half but eventually got home in 15th.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Finish and post-race
After the win at Le Mans, Matra stormed home in the Championship winning the next two rounds. The final round in Argentina was cancelled due to lack of support, giving Matra the championship with five victories (all to Pescarolo/Larrousse) to Ferrari's two. In the European GT season it was Claude Ballot-Léna and Clemens Schickentanz, both driving Porsche RSRs who shared the championship on equal points. Toine Hezemans won the European Touring Car Championship for BMW. Later in the summer, “Pesca” and Larrousse came back to Le Mans to be presented with the Legion d’Honneur, France's highest order of merit. Still to date, 1973 was the final time that both the Scuderia Ferrari works team and Alfa Romeo have raced at Le Mans.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Official results, Finishers
Results taken from Quentin Spurring's book, officially licensed by the ACO Class Winners are in Bold text.


1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, Official results, Statistics
Taken from Quentin Spurring's book, officially licensed by the ACO


1973 ABA All-Star Game
The sixth American Basketball Association All-Star Game was played February 6, 1973 at Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah before an audience at 12,556. Larry Brown of the Carolina Cougars coached the East, with LaDell Andersen of the Utah Stars coached the West. Warren Jabali of the Denver Rockets was named MVP.


1973 ABA Playoffs
The 1973 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1972-1973 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion Indiana Pacers defeating the Eastern Division champion Kentucky Colonels, four games to three in the ABA Finals.


1973 ABA Playoffs, Notable events
The teams with the three best records in the ABA that year failed to win the championship. The Carolina Cougars had the league's best record at 57-27 (.679), one game ahead of the Kentucky Colonels (56-28, .667) in the Eastern Division. The Utah Stars won the Western Division with a record of 55-29 (.655), four games ahead of the Indiana Pacers, who won the league championship after posting a regular season record of 51-33 (.607).


1973 ABA Playoffs, Notable events
The Pacers became the first team to win a third ABA championship.


1973 ABA Playoffs, Notable events
The Colonels became the first team to lose two separate ABA championship series. The series also marked the second time in three years that the Colonels lost the ABA finals 4 games to 3; the same happened at the end of the 1971 ABA Playoffs against the Utah Stars.


1973 ABA Playoffs, Notable events
Two years after the 1973 finals the Colonels and Pacers would meet again at the end of the 1975 ABA Playoffs with the Colonels winning the championship series.


1973 ABA Playoffs, Notable events
The Pacers' George McGinnis was the Most Valuable Player of the ABA playoffs.


1973 ABA Playoffs, Western Division
(1) Utah Stars vs. (4) San Diego Conquistadors:Stars win series 4-0


1973 ABA Playoffs, Western Division
(2) Indiana Pacers vs. (3) Denver Rockets:Pacers win series 4-1


1973 ABA Playoffs, Western Division
(1) Utah Stars vs. (2) Indiana Pacers:Pacers win series 4-2


1973 ABA Playoffs, Eastern Division
(1) Carolina Cougars vs. (4) New York Nets:Cougars win series 4-1


1973 ABA Playoffs, Eastern Division
(2) Kentucky Colonels vs. (3) Virginia Squires:Colonels win series 4-1


1973 ABA Playoffs, Eastern Division
(1) Carolina Cougars vs. (2) Kentucky Colonels:Colonels win series 4-3


1973 ABA Playoffs, ABA Finals
(2) Kentucky Colonels VS. (2) Indiana Pacers:Pacers win series 4-3


1973 ABC Championship
The 1973 Asian Basketball Confederation Championship for Men were held in Manila, Philippines.


1973 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1973 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the Greensboro Coliseum from March 8–10. NC State defeated Maryland, 76–74, to win the championship. Tommy Burleson of NC State was named the tournament MVP.


1973 AFC Youth Championship
The 1973 AFC Youth Championship was held in Tehran, Iran.


1973 AMA Motocross National Championship season
The 1973 AMA Motocross Championship season was the 2nd AMA Motocross National Championship season.


1973 AMA Motocross National Championship season, Summary
The sport of motocross experienced explosive growth in 1973 and motorcycle manufacturers sought to capitalize on the expanding market with all four Japanese manufacturers fielding factory-backed teams alongside their European counterparts. Pierre Karsmakers from the Netherlands dominated the 1973 500cc national championship, winning seven of 12 AMA Nationals and claimed 17 victories in 36 races overall. Karsmakers is credited with helping raise the level of American motocross by stressing the importance of physical fitness and machine preparation.


1973 AMA Motocross National Championship season, Summary
1973 marked a turning point in American motocross when Jimmy Weinert became the first American rider to defeat the then-dominant European riders in the Trans-AMA Motocross Series at Lake Whitney Ranch in Texas. His victory showed that the level of American motocross had begun to compare with the level of European motocross.


1973 AMA Motocross National Championship season, Summary
As in the 1973 season, after the season-ending 500cc race on September 9, American riders competing for the AMA national championship continued to accumulate points counting towards the national championship while they competed in the 1973 Trans-AMA motocross series which began on September 23rd and hosted visiting European riders from the Motocross World Championship. Although Karsmakers was a Dutch citizen, he was competing under an AMA license so, he was listed as the "Top American" finisher in the Trans-AMA series.


1973 AMA Motocross National Championship season, Summary
After winning the 1972 250cc national championship on a Yamaha, Gary Jones was hired by Honda to help develop their new Honda CR250M motocross bike for the 1973 season. He did so successfully to win his second consecutive 250cc national title.


1973 Aberdeen Corporation election
An election to the Aberdeen Corporation was held on 1 May 1973, alongside municipal elections across Scotland. 12 of the corporation's 36 seats were up for election.


1973 Aberdeen Corporation election
The election saw Labour remain in control of the corporation, winning 6 seats, giving them a total of 23. The Conservative won 5 seats, including one gained from 89-year-old Independent councillor George Roberts, contributing to a total of 12 after the election. Nigel Lindsay caused a major upset when he became the first ever Liberal to be elected to the corporation, unseating the Labour group's leader Thomas Paine in St Machar ward.


1973 Acropolis Rally
The 1973 Acropolis Rally (formally the 21st Acropolis Rally) was the sixth round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in late-May on the punishing hot gravel roads of central Greece, the Acropolis is a long-standing event on the WRC calendar.


1973 Acropolis Rally, Report
In 1973, and for several years afterward, only manufacturers were given points for finishes in WRC events. In Greece, the Alpine Renault team had another strong showing, with their fourth win of the year. Driver Jean-Luc Thérier became the first driver to win two WRC rallies with his victory here.


1973 Adur District Council election
The first elections to the newly created Adur District Council established by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales were held 7 June 1973. Overall turnout was recorded at 46.6%.


1973 Afars and Issas legislative election
Territorial Council elections were held in the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas on 18 November 1973. The result was a victory for the "Majority" group of candidates, who were supportive of the government of Ali Aref Bourhan and mainly Afars. The other two groupings of candidates were "Moderation Opposition", who supported opposition leader Hassan Gouled Aptidon (mostly Issas and Somalis), and other opposition groups. Voter turnout was 75.6%.


1973 Afghan coup d'état
The 1973 Afghan coup d'état was a coup d'état led by Army General and prince Mohammed Daoud Khan against his cousin, King Mohammed Zahir Shah, on 17 July 1973, which resulted in the establishment of the Republic of Afghanistan under a one-party system led by Daoud Khan. For the coup, Daoud Khan led forces in Kabul along with then-chief of staff General Abdul Karim Mustaghni, to overthrow the monarchy while the King was convalescing abroad in Ischia, Italy. Daoud Khan was assisted by Army officers and civil servants from the Parcham faction of the PDPA, including Air Force colonel Abdul Qadir.


1973 Afghan coup d'état
King Zahir Shah decided not to retaliate and he formally abdicated on August 24, remaining in Italy in exile. More than two centuries of royal rule (since the founding of the Durrani Empire in 1747) ended with the coup.


1973 Afghan coup d'état
Seven loyalist police officers and one tank commander were killed in what was described at the time by staff from the United States National Security Council as a "well planned and swiftly executed coup".


1973 Afghan coup d'état, Background
Zahir Shah had ruled as King since 1933, and his cousin Prince Daoud Khan had served as Prime Minister from 1953 to 1963. Daoud Khan had strained relations with the King and he was also unable to hold political office after the 1964 constitution, which barred members of the Barakzai dynasty. Some believe the King did this on purpose because of Daoud Khan's strong pro-Pashtunistan views, which he deemed too radical and led to political rifts with Pakistan.


1973 Afghan coup d'état, Background
Daoud Khan took the opportunity during growing discontent from the public over the failure of reforms by five successive governments since a parliamentary monarchy was formed in 1964, including the King's failure to promulgate the Political Parties Law, Provincial Councils Law, and Municipal Councils Act, all of which were passed by parliament. Another reason was the poor response to the famine in 1971–72 that is believed to have killed thousands in the central and north-western parts of the country, particularly Ghor Province - causing the resignation of Prime Minister Abdul Zahir's government. Circa 1972 people were unhappy with the parliament's ineffectiveness and lack of leadership, leading to growing various political movements at universities. Daoud Khan's internal disputes with the King has also been cited as a possible reason of his decision to launch a coup.


1973 Afghan coup d'état, Background
Some scholars and historians have suggested a possible involvement of the Soviet Union in the coup, although this is not particularly evident.


1973 Afghan coup d'état, The coup
King Zahir Shah left Afghanistan for London, via Rome, on the morning of June 25, 1973 for hemorrhaging treatment after injuring his eye. After treatment he went back to Italy spending time in the island of Ischia. Mohammed Daoud Khan along with several hundred of his supporters from the Army launched the coup in the morning of July 17; within hours and without any armed resistance, the monarchy ended and Khan announced the new republic through Radio Afghanistan at 7 in the morning. Staff from the United States National Security Council described it as a "well planned and swiftly executed coup."


1973 Afghan coup d'état, The coup
The only casualties were 7 police officers at a station, who mistook the rebels for a hostile force; and a tank commander who drowned in the Kabul River after swerving off the road trying to avoid colliding with a bus.


1973 Afghan coup d'état, Aftermath
Despite being part of the Musahiban Barakzai dynasty, Daoud Khan abolished the monarchy and created a new Republic instead, declaring himself as head of state and head of government, foreign minister and head of the Army. The royal Arg (palace) in Kabul became the official presidential residence. In a radio address, he called the coup a "national and progressive revolution", calling the King's rule “corrupt and effete” and vowed to replace it with “genuine democracy”. He pledged to continue Afghanistan's long-standing policy of neutrality. The Soviet Union and India diplomatically recognized the new government on July 19.


1973 Afghan coup d'état, Aftermath
Daoud Khan's links to Marxism, and the Parchamite support in his military coup, led to some suspecting it as being a communist takeover. In order to prevent opposition, he assured continuity of religious and cultural heritage, as demonstrated in the Republican Decrees created in July 1973. Upon coming to power, Daoud Khan disbanded the parliament and the judiciary, with direct executive rule established. Despite his socialist views, Khan did not bring drastic change to the economic system and maintained connections with the Cold War superpowers.


1973 Afghan coup d'état, Aftermath
A loya jirga was convened following the Constitutional Assembly election in January 1977, and approved a new constitution creating a presidential one-party state, with strong powers to the head of state. Daoud started re-approaching the United States and Pakistan, which contributed to the deterioration of his relations with the Soviet Union and the PDPA communists. Eventually he was overthrown and killed during the Saur Revolution in 1978, including by several high-ranking civilian and military people who helped him get to power in 1973.


1973 African Cup of Champions Clubs
The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1973 was the 9th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region (Africa), the African Cup of Champions Clubs. It determined that year's club champion of association football in Africa.


1973 African Cup of Champions Clubs
The tournament was played by 24 teams and used a knock-out format with ties played home and away. AS Vita Club from Zaire won the final, and became CAF club champion for the first time.


1973 African Cup of Champions Clubs, Second round
1 Mighty Jets were forced to withdraw as they could not afford the cost of travel to Zaire for the first leg.


1973 African Cup of Champions Clubs, Top scorers
The top scorers from the 1973 African Cup of Champions Clubs are as follows:


1973 Air Canada Silver Broom
The 1973 Air Canada Silver Broom was held at the Regina Exhibition Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada from March 19–24, 1973. The tournament was won by Sweden, with a team from Djursholms CK.


1973 Air Canada Silver Broom, Teams
Skip : Renato GhezzeThird: Paolo da RosSecond: Lino Mariani MaierLead: Andrea Pavani


1973 Air Canada Silver Broom, Teams
Skip : Alex F. TorranceThird: Alex A. TorranceSecond: Tom McGregorLead: Willie Kerr


1973 Air Force Falcons football team
The 1973 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy in the 1973 NCAA Division I football season as an independent. They were led by sixteenth–year head coach Ben Martin and played their home games at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They were outscored by their opponents 223–239 and finished with a record of 6 wins and 4 losses (6–4) for a third consecutive season.


1973 Akron Zips football team
The 1973 Akron Zips football team represented Akron University in the 1973 NCAA Division II football season as an independent. Led by first-year head coach Jim Dennison, the Zips played their home games at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio. They finished the season with a record of 6–5 and outscored their opponents 289–203.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
The 1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented the University of Alabama in the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 79th overall and 40th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Bear Bryant, in his 16th year at his alma mater and 29th overall as a head coach, and played their home games at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished season with eleven wins and one loss (11–1 overall, 8–0 in the SEC), as SEC champions and with a loss to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
Although they lost in the Sugar Bowl, Alabama was recognized as national champions by the Coaches' Poll (UPI) as their selection was made prior to bowl season at the time (the UPI started to issue its final poll after the bowl games beginning in 1974). Notre Dame was awarded the national championship by the Associated Press.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
The Crimson Tide opened the season with a victory at Birmingham over California. The next week, they defeated Kentucky in what was Bryant's first game in Lexington since he resigned as head coach of the Wildcats after their 1953 season. After they defeated Vanderbilt for their second shutout of the season, Alabama defeated Georgia in the first Tuscaloosa game of the season and followed that with a victory at Florida before what was the largest crowd to date at Florida Field.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
Against Tennessee, Alabama defeated their rivals behind three fourth quarter touchdowns and extended their record to 6–0. The following week, the Crimson Tide shattered numerous offensive records with their 77–6 blowout win over Virginia Tech. After victories over both Mississippi State at Jackson and Miami on homecoming, Alabama then captured their third consecutive SEC championship with their win over LSU. Alabama then closed the season with a win over Auburn in the Iron Bowl to close the regular season, but then lost to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, California
As they entered the 1973 season, Alabama was ranked as the No. 6 team in the first AP Poll prior to their season opener against California. Playing in the evening at Legion Field, the Crimson Tide utilized 70 players and set a school record for total offense with this 66–0 shutout of the Golden Bears. Alabama took a 14–0 first quarter lead behind touchdowns scored on a two-yard Wilbur Jackson run and a 32-yard pass from Gary Rutledge to Johnny Sharpless. They then extended their lead to 21–0 at halftime behind a 16-yard touchdown pass from Richard Todd to George Pugh.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, California
The Crimson Tide continued their dominance over the Golden Bears through the second half where they outscored their opponent 45–0. In the third, Alabama scored on a three-yard James Taylor run, a 21-yard Bill Davis field goal and on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Richard Todd to Darrell Owen. In the fourth, Alabama closed with touchdowns on a Harris fumble recovery, and 18-yard run by John Boles and runs of 32 and five-yards by Willie Shelby. The 667 yards of total offense set a new school record and the 66 points were the most scored by the Crimson Tide since their 66–0 victory over Richmond in 1961. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against California to 1–1.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Kentucky
After their victory over California to open the season, Alabama moved from the No. 6 to No. 4 position in the AP Poll prior to their game at Kentucky. In what was Bear Bryant's first game at Lexington since he resigned as the Wildcats head coach following their 1953 season, the Crimson Tide came from behind and won 28–14. After a scoreless first quarter, Kentucky took a 14–0 halftime lead behind second quarter touchdowns on a four-yard Sonny Collins run and a 14-yard Ernie Lewis pass to Jack Alvarez.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Kentucky
The Crimson Tide started their comeback on the first play of the third quarter when Willie Shelby returned the second half kickoff 100-yards for a touchdown. Touchdown runs of three-yards by Wilbur Jackson and six-yards by Gary Rutledge gave Alabama a 21–14 lead as they entered the fourth quarter. In the fourth, Shelby scored his second touchdown on a two-yard run that made the final score 28–14. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Kentucky 26–1–1.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
After their closer than expected victory over Kentucky, Alabama dropped into the No. 5 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Vanderbilt. Against the Commodores, the Crimson Tide scored on eight of their eleven offensive possessions en route to a 44–0 shutout at Nashville. Alabama took a 17–0 lead in the first quarter behind a 14-yard Gary Rutledge touchdown pass to Wayne Wheeler, a 35-yard Bill Davis field goal and a 13-yard Randy Billingsley touchdown run. They then extended their lead to 27–0 at halftime behind a 13-yard Mike Stock touchdown run and a 22-yard Davis field goal as time expired in the second quarter.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
Alabama closed the game with a four-yard Ellis Beck touchdown run and 34-yard Davis field goal in the third and a one-yard Stock run in the fourth for the 44–0 win. The game marked the first time Bryant coached against his former quarterback Steve Sloan who was the Commodores. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Vanderbilt to 30–17–4.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Georgia
After their victory over Vanderbilt, Alabama moved into the No. 3 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Georgia. Playing in their first Denny Stadium game of the season, the Crimson Tide came-from-behind and defeated the Bulldogs 28–14 at Tuscaloosa. After each team traded first quarter field goals, Alabama took a 13–3 halftime lead behind an eight-yard Randy Billingsley touchdown run and a 39-yard Bill Davis field goal in the second quarter. In the third, Georgia cut the lead to 13–5 after Kirk Price blocked a Greg Gantt punt out of the endzone for a safety.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Georgia
The Bulldogs next scored early in the fourth on a 37-yard Allan Leavitt field goal and on an eight-yard Jimmy Poulos touchdown run and took a 14–13 lead. Alabama retook the lead late in the fourth on an eight-yard Gary Rutledge touchdown run. Their defense then forced four consecutive Georgia incompletions on the possession that ensued. Billingsley then gave the Crimson Tide the 28–14 win with his 17-yard run in the final minute of the game. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Georgia to 30–19–4.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Florida
After their victory over Georgia, Alabama retained their No. 3 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Florida. Before what was then the largest crowd in the history of Florida Field, the Crimson Tide defeated the Gators 35–14 at Gainesville. Alabama took a 7–0 lead in the first quarter after Tyrone King recovered a blocked punt in the endzone for a touchdown. They then extended their lead to 21–0 with second quarter touchdown runs from one-yard by Richard Todd and 11-yards by Calvin Culliver.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Florida
Down by three scores, the Gators rallied with a pair of David Bowden touchdown passes that cut the Crimson Tide lead to 21–14 by the third quarter. The first was from 16-yards to Lee McGriff and the second from two-yards to Thomas Clifford. Alabama then closed the game with fourth quarter touchdown runs of 13-yards from Culliver and six-yards by Wilbur Jackson for the 35–14 win. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Florida to 13–5.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
After their victory over Florida, Alabama moved into the No. 2 position and Tennessee moved into the No. 10 position in the AP Poll prior to their game at Legion Field. Against the Volunteers, the Crimson Tide scored three touchdowns in the final quarter of the game for a 42–21, victory at Birmingham before a nationally televised audience. Alabama opened the game with an 80-yard Gary Rutledge touchdown pass to Wayne Wheeler for a 7–0 lead on their first offensive possession.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
After Wilbur Jackson extended their lead to 14–0 with his seven-yard run, Tennessee scored their first points on a 20-yard Condredge Holloway pass to John Yarbrough that made the score 14–7 at the end of the first. The Crimson Tide next took a 21–14 lead into halftime after Richard Todd threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Willie Shelby and Holloway scored on a six-yard run for the Vols.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
Tennessee then managed to tie the game 21–21 with the lone third quarter points on a 64-yard Holloway touchdown pass to Mitchell Gravitt. Alabama responded with three fourth quarter touchdowns en route to the 42–21 win. the first came on a 64-yard Robin Cary punt return, an 80-yard Wilbur Jackson run and a three-yard Paul Spivey run. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Tennessee to 26–23–7.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
After their victory over Tennessee, Alabama retained their No. 2 position prior to their out of conference match-up against Virginia Tech at Denny Stadium. Against the Gobblers, the Crimson Tide set several team, conference and national offensive records with this 77–6 blowout at Tuscaloosa. Alabama opened the game with a pair of first quarter touchdown runs from 51-yards by Wilbur Jackson and two-yards from Randy Billingsley for a 14–0 lead.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
In the second, the Crimson Tide extended their lead to 35–0 after Ralph Stokes scored on a seven-yard run, Conley Duncan recovered a fumble in the endzone and Richard Todd threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Darrell Owen before the Hokies scored their only points of the contest. With just under a minute to play in the first half, Phil Rogers scored Tech's only points with his six-yard touchdown run. However, Alabama responded on their next offensive play with an 80-yard James Taylor touchdown run for a 42–6 halftime lead.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
The Crimson Tide continued their scoring into the second half with another four touchdowns in the third quarter. They came on runs of seven-yards by Billingsley, nine-yards by Todd, 14-yards by Jack O'Rear and 86-yards by Calvin Culliver. O'Rear then scored the final points of the game with his 28-yard touchdown run in the fourth that made the final score 77–6. Records set in the game included the most total offensive yards in SEC history with 828 and the most rushing yards in NCAA history for a single game with 743.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
The 828 yards of total offense for the game also eclipsed the previous record of 667 yards set against California to open the season, and the 77 points also represented the first time the Crimson Tide reached 70 points in a game since their 1945 season. Additionally, four Alabama backs rushed for over 100 yards with 142 yards from Taylor, 138 from Jackson, 127 yards from Culliver and 102 yards from Todd. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Virginia Tech to 8–0.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Mississippi State
As they entered their game against Mississippi State, Alabama retained their No. 2 position in the AP Poll. Favored by 28 points as they entered the game, the Crimson Tide shutout the Bulldogs 35–0 at Jackson. On the second offensive play of the game, Alabama took a 7–0 lead behind a 38-yard Randy Billingsley touchdown run. State then held the Crimson Tide to only a pair of Bill Davis field goals from 33 and 27-yards for a 13–0 Alabama lead at halftime.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Mississippi State
The Crimson Tide then closed the game with three second half touchdowns for the 35–0 win. Willie Shelby scored on a 29-yard run in the third and Wilbur Jackson and Ralph Stokes scored on runs of six and one-yard in the fourth. In the game, Sam Nichols missed a pair of field goals for the Bulldogs from 30 and 32-yards that would have prevented the shutout. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Mississippi State to 45–10–3.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Miami
As they entered their game against Miami, Alabama retained their No. 2 position in the AP Poll for a fourth consecutive week. On homecoming in Tuscaloosa, Alabama defeated Hurricanes 43–13 and after the victory accepted an invitation to compete in the Sugar Bowl. Alabama scored their first points early in the game when Greg Montgomery blocked a Miami punt out of the endzone for a safety. They then extended their lead to 15–0 by the end of the first behind a two-yard Gary Rutledge run and a 69-yard Rutledge pass to John Sharpless. Willie Shelby then made the halftime score 22–0 with his 52-yard punt return.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Miami
Miami scored their first points early in the third on a three-yard Woody Thompson touchdown run. However, Alabama responded later in the quarter with a nine-yard Rutledge touchdown pass to Darrell Owen and made the score 29–6. In the final quarter, the Crimson Tide closed with a five-yard James Taylor touchdown run and a 62-yard John Boles punt return. The Hurricanes then scored the final points of the game on a 78-yard Coy Hall touchdown pass to Steve Marcantonio that made the final score 43–13. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Miami to 10–2.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, LSU
After their victory over Miami, Alabama retained their No. 2 position and LSU was in the No. 7 position in the AP Poll prior to their match-up at Baton Rouge on Thanksgiving Day. Playing in a regionally televised game on ABC, Alabama defeated the previously undefeated Tigers 21–7 and secured both the 500th win in the history of Crimson Tide football and captured the 1973 conference championship. After a scoreless first quarter, Alabama took a 14–0 halftime lead with a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter. The first came on a 19-yard Gary Rutledge run and the second on a 49-yard Rutledge pass to George Pugh.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, LSU
In the third, the Crimson Tide extended their lead to 21–0 after Rutledge threw a 77-yard touchdown pass to Wayne Wheeler. LSU answered early in the fourth with their only points on a 40-yard Brad Davis run that made the final score 21–7. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against LSU to 23–10–4.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Auburn
As they entered their annual rivalry game against Auburn, Alabama moved into the No. 1 position in the AP Poll prior to their match-up in the Iron Bowl. Seeking to avenge their loss from the previous season to the Tigers the Crimson Tide were dominant in this 35–0 shutout at Legion Field. Alabama took a 14–0 lead in the first quarter behind touchdown runs of seven-yards by Randy Billingsley and of one-yard by Gary Rutledge.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Auburn
After a scoreless second, Rutledge scored his second rushing touchdown early in the third on a three-yard run for a 21–0 lead. The Crimson Tide then closed the game with touchdown runs of 14-yards by Wilbur Jackson and eight-yards by James Taylor for the 35–0 win. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Auburn to 20–17–1.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Notre Dame
At the conclusion of the regular season, Alabama was selected as national champions in the UPI Coaches' Poll. However, the Crimson Tide would not win the AP championship as they lost 24–23 against Notre Dame in what was a classic Sugar Bowl.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Notre Dame
Notre Dame checked into the locker room at halftime up 14–10, the big play coming on a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Al Hunter. Each team scored a touchdown in the third quarter, that left the Irish up 21–17 going into the fourth. Alabama took a 23–21 lead on a fleaflicker touchdown pass from running back Mike Strock back to quarterback Richard Todd. However, Bill Davis missed the extra point and Alabama was up by only two. Notre Dame drove the ball downfield and kicked a 19-yard field goal to go up 24–23 with 4:26 to go.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Game summaries, Notre Dame
Bama could not answer, but the punt left Notre Dame backed up to their own goal. With time ticking away and Notre Dame facing a third and eight, Alabama had a chance to get the ball back in excellent field position, but Irish QB Tom Clements threw a 35-yard pass to tight end Robin Webber and Notre Dame held on to win the game and the AP national championship.


1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, NFL Draft
Several players that were varsity lettermen from the 1973 squad were drafted into the National Football League (NFL) in the 1974, 1975 and 1976 drafts. These players included:


1973 Alamo 500
The 1973 Alamo 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on June 10, 1973, at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas. Speeds for this race would reach an average of 142.114 miles per hour (228.710 km/h).


1973 Alamo 500
The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore.


1973 Alamo 500, Race report
It took three hours and twenty-six minutes to resolve a race spanning 250 laps. Richard Petty defeated Darrell Waltrip by at least two laps in front of 27000 people; Waltrip's second-place run was just his second-ever Winston Cup "top five" finish and his first on a superspeedway. There were always large margins of victory at Texas World Speedway because of many long green-flag runs. Drivers were either became very cautious or very lucky and they managed to avoid having to deal with relatively long yellow-flag runs. Five cautions were handed out by NASCAR officials for 27 laps.


1973 Alamo 500, Race report
Twenty-eight lead changes were reported amongst five leaders. Nearly two years later, Darrell Waltrip would actually win a superspeedway race.


1973 Alamo 500, Race report
Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race; a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day.


1973 Alamo 500, Race report
Buddy Baker would earn the pole position with a speed of 169.248 miles per hour (272.378 km/h). J.D. McDuffie would make a top-ten finish here; a rare occurrence considering that he finished last-place the most often. Richie Panch would become the last-place finisher of the race due to an ignition problem on the first lap. This would be the last race done at Texas World Speedway until the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. There were 38 American-born drivers on the racing grid. Bob Whitlow and Ed Sczech would make their NASCAR debuts at this racing event; Whitlow was driving a second car for Ed Negre.


1973 Alamo 500, Race report
Petty would receive a prize amount of $17,820 for winning the race ($102,632 when considering inflation) while Panch would collect a mere $920 as his "reward" for finishing in last place ($5,299 when considering inflation).


1973 Alamo 500, Race report
Notable crew chiefs who fully participated in this race were Tim Brewer, Jake Elder, Travis Carter, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, and Bud Moore.


1973 Alamo 500, Finishing order
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased * Driver failed to finish race


1973 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election
The 1973 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election was held on March 6, 1973, to elect the United States Representative from Alaska's at-large congressional district. Incumbent Democratic Representative Nick Begich had won reelection in 1972, but had gone missing shortly before the election.


1973 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election
Begich's seat was declared vacant by a jury and a special election was ordered by Governor William A. Egan. Don Young, who had lost to Begich in 1972, won the Republican nomination without opposition while Emil Notti defeated Chancy Croft and Pegge Begich for the Democratic nomination. In the general election Young defeated Notti.


1973 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election, Background
Representative Nick Begich disappeared while traveling on an airplane with House Majority Leader Hale Boggs on October 16, 1972, and was never found. However, despite his disappearance Begich defeated Don Young in the House of Representatives election. On November 24, the United States Air Force announced that it would suspend the air search for Begich and Boggs after no traces of the missing plane had been found after 3,600 hours of searching had covered 325,000 square miles.


1973 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election, Background
Following his defeat Young asked Governor William A. Egan to call a special legislative session to speed up the process of the special election to fill Begich's vacant seat. According to Alaskan law a special election must be called by the governor within sixty to ninety days after a vacancy is declared. Three petitions calling for a presumptive death hearing for Begich were filed in the Juneau District Court, and was later transferred to Anchorage. On December 12, the six-member jury deliberated for twenty minutes before ruling that Begich and two other people onboard the plane were presumably dead.


1973 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election, Background
On December 29, Governor Egan announced that the special election would be held on March 6, 1973.


1973 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election, Democratic nomination
On November 7, 1972, after voting in the 1972 election, Pegge Begich, the wife of Nick Begich, stated that she was open to running in a special election to fill her husband's vacant seat. Peggy later announced that she would seek the Democratic nomination "if and when a vacancy occurs". On December 20, she stated that she would spend $40,000 to $60,000 on the campaign.


1973 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election, Democratic nomination
The Anchorage Daily News released a poll of 22 of the 29 members of the Democratic State Central Committee. Eleven members supported state Senator Chancy Croft, eight were undecided, and three supported Pegge Begich. On December 7, Croft announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination for the special election. On January 5, 1973, Emil Notti, chairman of the Alaska Democratic Party, announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination for the special election.


1973 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election, Democratic nomination
Fifty-one Democrats filed a lawsuit on December 5, to prevent the Democratic State Central Committee from choosing the special election candidate at a meeting. On December 7, Judge Edmond W. Burke granted a preliminary injunction while Notti filed an appeal. On December 28, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled against Notti's appeal which forced the Democratic Party to select its candidate at a convention. The court ruled that a committee meeting to select the candidate would be a violation of the principle of one man, one vote. Another attempt was made to appeal the ruling prohibiting the selection of a candidate at a committee meeting, but the courts ruled in favor of the 51 Democrats again on January 10, 1973.


1973 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election, Democratic nomination
On January 14, 1973, the Democratic state convention was held at the Gold Rush Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska. Notti won on the third ballot with 108.5 delegate votes against Croft's 90.4 votes. On January 17, Notti selected Begich to serve as the chairwoman of his campaign. Following the convention Democratic National committeeman Cliff Warren announced that he would drop his appeal to the ruling baring a committee meeting to select the party's special election candidate.


1973 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election, Republican nomination
Former Governor Keith Harvey Miller, Anchorage Mayor George M. Sullivan, former Commissioner of Natural Resources Tom Kelley, and state senators Clifford Groh and Lowell Thomas Jr., who had been speculated as possible candidates for the Republican nomination in the special election, announced that they would support Don Young for the Republican nomination. However, Sullivan and Groh stated that they would be interested in running if Young were to withdraw.


1973 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election, Republican nomination
On December 2, 1972, the Alaska Republican Central Committee, with eight committee members present and eight committee members voting by proxy, voted unanimously to give Young the Republican nomination for the special election.


1973 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election, Republican nomination
On December 13, the Republican Party filed a lawsuit to receive clarification on Judge Edmond W. Burke's ruling that the Democratic candidate for the special election could only be nominated at a convention and not by the Democratic Central Committee. The Alaskan government filed a motion to dismiss the Republican lawsuit stating that there was no conflict for the court to resolve, and on December 29, Judge Everett W. Hepp dismissed the lawsuit. Jack Coghill, the chairman of the Alaska Republican Party, stated that as the lawsuit was dismissed that the Republicans would not need to hold a convention to select their special election candidate as their method of selection for Young was not contested.


1973 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election, General election
On January 9, 1973, Don Young filed to run in the special election, and stated that environmental issues and how Alaska utilizes its natural resources would be the major issues during the campaign. Young also stated that he would not resign from the state senate, but he would limit campaigning to the weekends when the state legislature was not in session. Jack Coghill served as the chairman of Young's campaign.


1973 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election, General election
Young stated that he was promised seats on the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries and the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs by the Republican leadership. Young showed a telegram signed by House Minority Leader Gerald Ford showing the promise. Emil Notti stated that Speaker of the House Carl Albert and House Majority Leader Tip O'Neill promised him a seat on the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.


1973 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election, General election
On March 6, Young narrowly defeated Notti by 2,000 votes with 35,044 (51.41%) to 33,123 (48.59%) votes. Young was inaugurated into the House of Representatives on March 14. He would continue to be reelected and became the longest serving Republican member of the House of Representatives in 2013.


1973 Algerian Cup Final
The 1973 Algerian Cup Final was the 11th final of the Algerian Cup. The final took place on June 19, 1973, at Stade 5 Juillet 1962 in Algiers with kick-off at 21:00. MC Alger beat USM Alger 4–2 after extra time to win their second Algerian Cup.


1973 All England Badminton Championships
The 1973 All England Championships was a badminton tournament held at Wembley Arena, London, England, from 21–24 March 1973.


1973 All-Africa Games
The 2nd All-Africa Games – Lagos 1973 were played from January 7, 1973, to January 18, 1973, in Lagos, Nigeria.


1973 All-Africa Games
After the success of the first African Games, the organizing bodies awarded the second games to Bamako, Mali to be held in 1969. A military coup disrupted the plans and the organizers moved the games to Lagos, Nigeria to be held in 1971. The games were postponed once again and finally opened in January 1973. A torch was lit in Brazzaville a week before the games and transported to Lagos as a symbol of the continuity of the games.


1973 All-Africa Games
Security again was very tight at the games. This time in response to the massacre of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympic Games just four short months before.


1973 All-Africa Games
Sports heroes from around the world including Abebe Bikila, Pelé, Muhammad Ali, and Jesse Owens were invited to attend the opening ceremonies.


1973 All-Africa Games
Ben Jipcho, Kenya's 3000 meter silver medalist at the Munich Olympics, tied the world record in the steeplechase with a run of 8:20.8. Tanzania's newcomer Filbert Bayi stunned the veteran favorite Kip Keino in the 1500 meters in 3:37.18.


1973 All-Africa Games
African nations continued to put pressure on South Africa which was not invited to participate due to their apartheid policies. Rhodesia was also not invited.


1973 All-Africa Games
At the closing ceremonies the torch was passed to Algiers, Algeria to begin preparations for the IIIrd All-Africa Games in 1978.


1973 All-Africa Games, Athletics
Only one athlete defended his title from the 1965 Games, namely Malian discus thrower Namakoro Niaré. Three athletes, one male and two female, won more than one event:


1973 All-Africa Games, Athletics
Several women's events was added. These were 200 metres, 400 metres, 800 metres, 1500 metres, discus throw, shot put and 4 x 400 metres relay.


1973 All-Africa Games, Soccer
The soccer tournament was won by the host country Nigeria.


1973 All-Atlantic Coast Conference football team
The 1973 All-Atlantic Coast Conference football team consists of American football players chosen by the Atlantic Coast Sports Writers Association (ACS) as the best at each position in Atlantic Coast Conference ("ACC") during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season.


1973 All-Big Eight Conference football team
The 1973 All-Big Eight Conference football team consists of American football players chosen by various organizations for All-Big Eight Conference teams for the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. The selectors for the 1973 season included the Associated Press (AP).


1973 All-Big Ten Conference football team
The 1973 All-Big Ten Conference football team consists of American football players chosen by various organizations for All-Big Ten Conference teams for the 1973 Big Ten Conference football season.


1973 All-Big Ten Conference football team, Key
UPI = United Press International, selected by the conference coaches


1973 All-Big Ten Conference football team, Key
Bold = Consensus first-team selection of both AP and UPI


1973 All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship
The 1973 All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship was the 13th staging of the All-Ireland hurling championship. The championship ended on 16 September 1973.


1973 All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship
Tipperary were the defending champions, however, they did not field a team in the championship. Kilkenny won the title after defeating London by 5–15 to 2–9 in the final.


1973 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship
The 1973 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship was the 42nd staging of the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament for boys under the age of 18.


1973 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship
Cork entered the championship as defending champions, however, they were defeated by Tyrone.


1973 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship
On 23 September 1973, Tyrone won the championship following a 2-11 to 1-6 defeat of Kildare in the All-Ireland final. This was their third All-Ireland title overall and their first in 25 championship seasons.


1973 All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship
The 1973 All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship was the 43rd staging of the All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship. The championship began on 5 August 1973 and ended on 2 September 1973.


1973 All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship
On 2 September 1973, Kilkenny won the championship following a 4-5 to 3-7 defeat of Galway in the All-Ireland final. This was their 9th All-Ireland title and their second championship title in succession.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship
The 1973 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship was the high point of the 1973 season. The championship was won by Cork who defeated Antrim by a single point margin in the final for their fourth successive success. The match drew an attendance of 4,000.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship, Semi-finals
Antrim seemed to have taken a firm grip of the semi-final when Chris O'Boyle, who had just come on as substitute, got a goal to put them seven points clear near the interval. This setback roused Wexford who retaliated with a well taken goal by Mary Sheil but still trailed by 1-5 to 1-1 at half time. Marking as far closer in the second half.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship, Final
After a match marred by heavy rain, Antrim failed in a dramatic bid for an equaliser at the end of the final. Agnes Hourigan wrote in the Irish Press:


1973 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship, Final
Over the 50 minutes Antrim had slightly the better of the play territorially and missed many second half scoring chance, were desperately unlucky not to snatch a draw in the dying seconds. Cork seemed to have the tenth title wrapped up when Ann Phelan goalled just three minutes from time and Marion McCarthy promptly pointed a 30 with just over two minute remaining to put the holders four points clear after Antrim had leveled the scores in a great rally. Then the Ulster champions came again. Mairéad McAtamney shot low from a free.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship, Final
The ball was diverted out for a 30, which the Antrim captain took and crashed the ball to the back of the Cork net, to reduce the margin to a point with the last minute ticking away. Back came Antrim in a last attack. Full forward Lily Scullion seemed to be brought down in possession, but instead of awarding a free referee Phyllis Breslin, who was right on the spot, threw in the ball. A Cork back cleared to touch. Mairéad McAtamney took the line ball about 25 yards out and sent it sailing for the Cork posts but the leather went inches wide in that brave bid for the balancing point, the long whistle blew on the puckout and Cork were champions again.<


1973 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship, Assessment
Both teams were evenly matched throughout the field. The Irish Independent noted:


1973 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship, Assessment
Fast, spectacular, open camogie, fine striking and superb ball control by both side were features of the final.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship, Assessment
Form start to finish, the crowd was spellbound by the play of both sides and it was a pity that one of them had to lose.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship, Assessment
The players managed to continue to serve up brilliant camogie even as the ball and the pitch became slippery. Had the rain not come just five minutes before the interval, this must surely have gone on record as the greatest camogie final ever played.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship, Assessment
Antrim were the last team to wear the old style tunic in a major final. Cork were the first county to win the senior and junior finals on the same day. Cally Riordan (Youghal) won medals with both teams, playing on the junior team and coming on as a sub for the seniors.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship Final
The 1973 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship Final was the 42nd All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 1973 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship, an inter-county camogie tournament for the top teams in Ireland.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship Final
Cork won by the narrowest of margins, with Ann Phelan scoring 2-1.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship Final
The 1973 All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship final was a hurling match played at Croke Park on 9 December 1973 to determine the winners of the 1972–73 All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship, the third season of the All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship, a tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association for the champion clubs of the four provinces of Ireland. The final was contested by Glen Rovers of Cork and St. Rynagh's of Offaly, with Glen Rovers winning by 2-18 to 2-8.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship Final
The All-Ireland final between Glen Rovers and St. Rynagh's was a unique occasion as it was the first ever championship meeting between the two teams. It remains their only championship meeting. Both sides were hoping to win the title for the first time.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship Final
The game was a disappointing end to a controversial championship. Glen Rovers had earlier been awarded the All-Ireland title by a committee, however, the club preferred to contest the game and win it on the field of play. Only a few hundred spectators turned out at GAA headquarters to witness a game that lacked any entertainment value. St. Rynagh's were described as being inferior to Glen Rovers. The Offaly men repeatedly missed chances in the opening thirty minutes as the Glen played into a blinding sun towards the canal end.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship Final
Goalkeeper Finbarr O'Neill saved Glen Rovers on a number of occasions and the Cork team had a 1–10 to 1–3 lead at the interval. St. Rynaghs' six first-half wides did not help the situation. Glen Rovers stretched their lead to eleven points just after the restart. Basil Johnson got a goal for St. Rynagh's, however, it was too little too late as Glen Rovers won by 2–18 to 2–8.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship Final
St. Rynaghs' All-Ireland defeat was the second of two All-Ireland defeats in three years. They remain a team who has contested All-Ireland deciders but has never claimed the ultimate prize.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
The 1973 All-Ireland Football Championship was the 87th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament. The championship began on 13 May 1973 and ended on 23 September 1973.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Offaly were the defending champions but were defeated by Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
On 23 September 1973, Cork won the championship following a 3-17 to 2-13 defeat of Galway in the All-Ireland final. This was their 4th All-Ireland title, their first in 28 championship seasons.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Offaly's Tony McTague was the championship's top scorer with 1-25. Cork's Billy Morgan was the choice for Texaco Footballer of the Year.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final
The 1973 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final was a Gaelic football match played at Croke Park on 23 September 1973 to determine the winners of the 1973 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the 87th season of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, a tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association for the champions of the four provinces of Ireland. The final was contested by Galway of Connacht and Cork of Munster, with Cork winning by 3–17 to 2–13.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final
Cork's All-Ireland victory was their first since 1945. The win gave them their fourth All-Ireland title over all and put them joint sixth on the all-time roll of honour along with Kildare and Tipperary. The game, which remains the highest scoring All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final in history, also marked the emergence of a nineteen-year-old Jimmy Barry-Murphy onto the national stage. Barry-Murphy finished the game with 2–1 (seven points).


1973 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final
Galway's All-Ireland defeat was their second as part of a hat-trick of All-Ireland defeats between 1971 and 1974.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final
Writers such as John D. Hickey and Martin Breheny have praised the manner in which the game was played.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, Match, Summary
The game was expected to be an open affair and so it proved, with Cork taking the initiative early on. Dinny Long's centre was punched against the crossbar by Jimmy Barrett; however, 19-year-old Jimmy Barry-Murphy was alert to the rebound and pounced for a well-taken goal after just two minutes. With their confidence boosted, the Cork forwards settled quickly and scores came freely. At the other end of the field, Cork's John Coleman curbed the threat of Galway captain and centre-forward Liam Sammon. Cork led at the interval by 1–10 to 0–6.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, Match, Summary
The second half produced the unusually high tally of 4–14 with each side landing 2–7. Cork were slow to find the target after the interval; however, once Dinny Long scored a difficult free from under the Hogan Stand and Ray Cummins followed suit from the other side they appeared to be coasting to victory. A Galway revival saw them cut the margin to just three points when Tom Naughton scored a goal, but Cork's response was controlled and efficient. Ray Cummins steadied Cork with three points in quick succession before setting up Jimmy Barry-Murphy for the clinching goal. Johnny Hughes pulled one back for the men from the West; however, it was as close as they got and the Leesiders closed out the contest with their third goal, scored by Jimmy Barrett.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, Match, Summary
The 1973 All-Ireland decider holds the record as the final which produced the highest cumulative score with 5–30 (i.e. 45 points). At the time, Cork's tally of 3–17 was the highest in a final; however, Dublin bettered this by one point four years later when they recorded 5–12 against Armagh. Galway's tally of 2–13 remains the highest by a losing finalist.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, Match, Summary
Due to the similarity of the colour of their jerseys a change was necessary. This was done in a bid to aid television viewers who may have been watching in black and white. A coin toss decided that Cork would wear a reversal of their usual jerseys. To help prepare for the All-Ireland final, Cork trained in the jerseys of Tyrone, whom they had beaten in the All-Ireland semi-final.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, Post-match
It would be another quarter of a century before Galway won another All-Ireland, doing so in 1998. Before that they would appear in the finals of 1974 and 1983. Cork had to wait sixteen years to win another All-Ireland title, doing so in 1989.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, Post-match
John D. Hickey, writing afterwards in the Irish Independent, described it as "one of the most honest and most wholesome games I have seen". In 2018, Martin Breheny listed this as the sixth greatest All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, describing it as a game "played in a wonderful spirit, with open, attacking football the priority for both teams" and noting that it marked the emergence of a nineteen-year-old Jimmy Barry-Murphy onto the national stage; this was Barry-Murphy's only All-Ireland football title - the rest were in hurling.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1973 was the 87th series of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition. Limerick won the championship, beating Kilkenny 1-21 to 1-14 in the final at Croke Park, Dublin.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Format, Overview
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1973 was run on a provincial basis as usual. It was a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random in the respective provinces - there were no seeds.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Format, Overview
Each match was played as a single leg. If a match was drawn there was a replay. If both sides were still level at the end of that game another replay had to take place.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Format, The Championship
Quarter-final: (1 match) This was a single match between the first two teams drawn from the province of Munster.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Format, The Championship
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the lone quarter-final joined the other three Munster teams to make up the semi-final pairings.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Format, The Championship
Final: (1 match) The winner of the two semi-finals contested this game.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Format, The Championship
First Round: (1 match) This was a single match between two of the 'weaker' teams drawn from the province of Leinster.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Format, The Championship
Quarter-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the first-round game joined three other Leinster teams to make up the two quarter-final pairings.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Format, The Championship
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winners of the two quarter-finals joined Kilkenny and Wexford, who received a bye to this stage, to make up the semi-final pairings.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Format, The Championship
Quarter-final: (1 match) This was a single match between London and Galway, two teams who faced no competition in their respective provinces.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Format, The Championship
Semi-final: (1 matches) The winner of the lone quarter-final joined  the Munster champions to make up the semi-final pairing.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Format, The Championship
Final: (1 match) The winner of the lone semi-final contested this game with the Leinster champions receiving a bye into the final.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Player facts, Debutantes
The following players made their début in the 1973 championship:


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Player facts, Retirees
The following players played their last game in the 1973 championship:


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final
The 1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final was the 86th All-Ireland Final and the culmination of the 1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, an inter-county hurling tournament for the top teams in Ireland. The match was held at Croke Park, Dublin, on 2 September 1973, between Limerick and Kilkenny. The Leinster champions lost to their Munster opponents on a score line of 1-21 to 1-14.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, Background
This was Kilkenny's third consecutive appearance in an All-Ireland final. After losing to Tipperary in 1971, 'the Cats' defeated Cork to take their eighteenth championship title in 1972. Limerick, having won the Munster title for the first time since 1955, were lining out in a first All-Ireland final since 1940 when they claimed their sixth championship crown.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, Background
The two teams last met in a major game in the semi-final of the 1971-1972 National Hurling League. Limerick were the winners on that occasion with a score line of 3-13 to 2-13. Both teams last met in the championship in the 1940 All-Ireland final when Limerick won. The 1973 All-Ireland final was the sixth championship clash between the two. Limerick had three victories - the All-Ireland finals of 1897, 1936 and 1940 - while Kilkenny defeated Limerick in the finals of 1933 and 1935.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, All-Ireland final, Overview
Sunday 2 September was the date of the 1973 All-Ireland senior hurling final at Croke Park. Limerick were playing at the famous stadium for the first time in eighteen years, while for Kilkenny Croke Park was regarded as a home away from home due to the frequency of their visits.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, All-Ireland final, Overview
Limerick undoubtedly started the game as rank outsiders against a Kilkenny team regarded as one of the greatest of all-time; however, ‘the Cats’ suffered an amazing streak of bad luck. Between the Leinster and All-Ireland deciders Kilkenny lost many of their key players for one reason or another. Éamonn Morrissey was forced to emigrate to Australia, Jim Treacy was ruled out due to injury, Kieran Purcell couldn’t play because of appendicitis and star forward Eddie Keher couldn’t play because of a broken collar bone. Limerick saw their chance and made a masterful selectorial decision.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, All-Ireland final, Overview
With Keher and Purcell sidelined Pat Delaney would take up the mantle as Kilkenny’s chief scorer. Delaney was an exceptional half-forward who was far too quick for most defenders. Instead of using a defender to mark him the Limerick selectors moved Éamonn Cregan from the forwards back to centre-back where he was charged with the task of nullifying the Kilkenny marksman. Limerick also had serious losses that day. Mickey Graham, who broke his leg in the National League Final that year, was thus a spectator.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, All-Ireland final, Overview
Jim O'Donnell, was also injured and was man of the match in the first round v Clare that year and Mick O'Loughlin who would have been their first choice corner back, but could not commit himself to the cause that year were also out. Leonard Enright, who would subsequently win 3 All Stars in his early thirties was engaged in other sports in '73 and thus also unavailable.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, All-Ireland final, Overview
The weather on the day of the final was wet, with heavy showers falling before and during the match. Because of this the pitch was extremely slippery while the sliotar was also difficult to control.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, All-Ireland final, Match report
At 3:15pm Mick Slattery of Clare threw in the sliotar and the game was on. The opening forty minutes saw Kilkenny set the standard. Pat Delaney, in spite of Éamonn Cregan doing an excellent man-marking job, scored the opening goal of the game to give Kilkenny the lead. Twice Limerick fell behind in the opening half and twice they fought back. At one stage they trailed by 1-5 to 0-3, however, they held Kilkenny scoreless for two nine-minute spells in the first-half. At the short whistle Limerick were very much on top and left the pitch leading by 0-12 to 1-7.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, All-Ireland final, Match report
Five minutes after the restart Kilkenny levelled the scores courtesy of points by Claus Dunne and Liam ‘Chunky’ O’Brien. A minute later ‘the Cats’ went a point ahead when Limerick ‘keeper Séamus Horgan brought off a remarkable save from a palmed shot by Mick Crotty. Although the attempt on goal was blocked, the sliotar flew over the bar for a Kilkenny point. Shortly afterwards Richie Bennis had the sides level when he converted a free from forty yards out. A minute later Limerick secured the match-winning score.


1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, All-Ireland final, Match report
A puck-out from Kilkenny ‘keeper Noel Skehan was quickly sent back in his direction by Liam O'Donoghue. Skehan saved the shot but Mossie Dowling and Ned Rea were waiting for the rebound. Dowling became the Limerick hero as he turned the sliotar past Skehan and into the net. Although the match was far from over this was the vital score that gave Limerick the title. The entire second-half saw Limerick show their supremacy. Kilkenny were held scoreless for twenty-three minutes during the second-half while Limerick went on a point-scoring spree for the final quarter. Midfield marshal Richie Bennis finished the game with ten points to his name as Limerick claimed their seventh All-Ireland crown with a 1-21 to 1-14 victory.


1973 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship
The 1973 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship was the 10th staging of the All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1964.


1973 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship
Galway entered the championship as defending champions, however, they were defeated by Mayo in the Connacht final.


1973 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship
On 16 September 1973, Kerry won the championship following a 2-13 to 0-13 defeat of Mayo in the All-Ireland final. This was their second All-Ireland title overall and their first in nine championship seasons.


1973 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship
The 1973 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship was the 10th staging of the All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1964.


1973 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship
Galway were the defending champions, however, they were defeated by Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final.


1973 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship
On 11 November 1973, Cork won the championship following a 2-10 to 4-2 defeat of Wexford in the All-Ireland final. This was their sixth All-Ireland title in the grade and their fifth in six championship seasons.


1973 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship Final
The 1973 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship final was a hurling match that was played at Páirc Dáibhín, Carrick-on-Suir on 11 November 1973 to determine the winners of the 1973 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship, the 8th season of the All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship, a tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association for the champion teams of the four provinces of Ireland. The final was contested by Cork of Munster and Wexford of Leinster, with Cork winning by 2-10 to 4-2.


1973 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship Final
The All-Ireland final between Cork and Wexford was their eighth championship meeting. Cork were hoping to win their sixth title over all. Wexford were hoping to win their second All-Ireland title.


1973 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship Final
Wexford's run of bad luck in All-Ireland finals continued. After winning their sole title in 1965, defeat in 1973 marked their fifth loss in an All-Ireland decider since that victory.


1973 All-Pacific-8 Conference football team
The 1973 All-Pacific-8 Conference football team consists of American football players chosen by various organizations for All-Pacific-8 Conference teams for the 1973 NCAA Division I football season.


1973 All-Pro Team
The following is a list of players that were named to the Associated Press All-Pro Team, the Newspaper Enterprise Association All-Pro team and the Pro Football Writers Association, and Pro Football Weekly All-Pro teams in 1973. Both first- and second- teams are listed for the AP, NEA, and PFWA  teams. These are the four All-Pro teams that are included in the Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League and compose the Consensus All-pro team for 1973.


1973 All-Pro Team, Teams
Chris Hanburger, Washington Redskins  (AP, NEA, PFW)Dave Wilcox, San Francisco 49ers (NEA, PFWA, PFW)Isiah Robertson, Los Angeles Rams  (AP, PFWA)


1973 All-Pro Team, Key
AP = Associated Press All-Pro team; AP-2 Associated Press Second-team All-Pro; PFWA = Pro Football Writers Association All-Pro team; NEA = Newspaper Enterprise Association All-Pro team. ; NEA-2 Newspaper Enterprise Association Second-team All-Pro; PFW = Pro Football Weekly All-Pro team; t = players tied in votes.


1973 All-SEC football team
The 1973 All-SEC football team consists of American football players selected to the All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) chosen by various selectors for the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. Alabama won the conference.


1973 All-SEC football team, Key
Bold = Consensus first-team selection by both AP and UPI


1973 All-Southwest Conference football team
The 1973 All-Southwest Conference football team consists of American football players chosen, at each position, as the best players in the Southwest Conference during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. The selectors for the 1973 season included the Associated Press (AP) and the United Press International (UPI).


1973 All-Southwest Conference football team
Texas running back Roosevelt Leaks set the conference single-season record with 1,415 rushing yards in 1973 and was selected as the player of the year by the AP and the offensive player of the year by the UPI.


1973 All-Southwest Conference football team
The AP also conducted balloting for coach of the year (Jim Carlen, Texas Tech) and newcomer of the year (Larry Isaac, Texas Tech). And the UPI selected a defensive player of the year (linebacker Ed Simonini, Texas A&M) and a freshman player of the year (quarterback David Walker, Texas A&M).


1973 Allan Cup
The 1973 Allan Cup was the Canadian national senior ice hockey championship for the 1972-73 Senior "A" season. The event was hosted by the Orillia Terriers and Orillia, Ontario. The 1973 playoff marked the 65th time that the Allan Cup has been awarded.


1973 Allsvenskan, Overview
The league was contested by 14 teams, with Åtvidabergs FF winning the championship.


1973 Amateur World Series (in Cuba)
The 1973 Amateur World Series run by FIBA is listed in the history books as "Amateur World Series XXI" or "Baseball World Cup XXI" even though the event numbered "XXII" actually had begun and finished earlier - the 1973 Amateur World Series run by rival group FEMBA. Once the two organizations reconciled later in the decade, the current numbering system was put into place. The FIBA 1973 Amateur World Series was held in Havana, Cuba from November 25 through December 9, 1973.


1973 Amateur World Series (in Nicaragua)
The 1973 Amateur World Series run by FEMBA ran parrelel to the 1973 Amateur World Series run by the FIBA in a period of international baseball conflict. Though the FEMBA event started and ended earlier, it went into the history books post-reconciliation as "Amateur World Series XXII" while the FIBA event was known as "Amateur World Series XXI". The FEMBA Series was held in Managua, Nicaragua from November 22 through December 5.


1973 American 500
The 1973 American 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on October 21, 1973, at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina. This event would mark the only instance that a NASCAR Cup Series season would end at Rockingham Speedway. Having a 43-car racing grid was a very infrequent case during this era of NASCAR racing. Today, it forms the mandated standards that NASCAR developed over the years.


1973 American 500
This is also the earliest in the year a Cup season has finished since the inaugural season in 1949, and the last time there have been no races in November.


1973 American 500
1973 would become the "year of the smaller engine" while declining sponsorship interests for the drivers resulted in NASCAR keeping the bigger gas-guzzling engines from being abolished from the sport. Following this race, NASCAR started to tighten up on their pre-race inspections as a precautionary measure to ensure that only legal racing components are being used.


1973 American 500, Background
North Carolina Motor Speedway is a closed racetrack located near Rockingham, North Carolina. It is affectionately known as "The Rock".


1973 American 500, Race report
David Pearson would defeat Buddy Baker by at least one lap after nearly four hours and fifteen minutes of racing. While the green flag was waved at noon, the checkered flag wasn't officially waved until 4:15 PM. An incredible number of people would show up for the race; exactly 48,000 people would see 20 different lead changes and five caution flags for a staggering distance of 36 laps. While the average speed of the race was 117.749 miles per hour (189.499 km/h), Richard Petty would clinch the pole position in qualifying for his amazing run that reached 135.748 miles per hour (218.465 km/h).


1973 American 500, Race report
Pearson ended the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season with 18 starts and 11 wins. Every time Pearson was running at the end of a race he finished either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd while leading led 2,658 of 5,338 laps in the process.


1973 American 500, Race report
The complete racing grid was 43 American-born drivers; including the last-place finisher Frank Warren who crashed on lap 13 out of the 492 laps that made up the advertised distance. Benny Parsons would return to the track after being a part of that lap 13 crash which destroyed the whole right side of his car. Travis Carter, his crew and volunteers, including Ralph Moody and his staff of 20 people managed to complete repairs to Parsons's car in an hour and eight minutes.


1973 American 500, Race report
They had to replace a rear axle, rear suspension, sidebars, braking system, and roll bar cage, cannibalizing parts from a car that did not qualify for the race. He was able to return to the race 136 laps down, to cheers. Parsons would encounter some vibration issues on lap 308 that would knock him out of the race. Even with the DNF, he would slide into a comfortable 28th-place finish.


1973 American 500, Race report
Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race; a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day. Other notable drivers in this race included Darrell Waltrip, Elmo Langley, and Richard Childress (now the owner of Richard Childress Racing). Eddie Bond, John Sears, and Paul Tyler would retire from NASCAR after this racing event. Souvenir racing programs were sold at the event for the then-inexpensive cost of $2 USD per copy ($11.52 when adjusted for inflation).


1973 American 500, Race report
Benny Parsons would eventually win the Winston Cup Championship after this race by a mere 67 points over runner-up Cale Yarborough. Even though Parsons would finish in 28th during the race in his Chevrolet Chevelle Laguna machine, Yarborough's third-place finish would not earn him enough points to overtake the championship lead. Individual race winnings for this event varied in grandeur from the winner's share of $16,795 ($96,729 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $485 ($2,793 when adjusted for inflation). NASCAR officials allowed a grand total of $99,715 to be given to the finishers of this racing event ($574,296 when adjusted for inflation).


1973 American League Championship Series
The 1973 American League Championship Series took place between October 6 and 11, 1973. The Oakland Athletics defeated the Baltimore Orioles, three games to two. Games 1 and 2 were played in Memorial Stadium in Baltimore; Games 3–5 were played at the Oakland Coliseum. It was the second match-up between the two teams in the ALCS.


1973 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
In Game 1, Jim Palmer spent 16 minutes retiring the side in the top of the first inning. He walked the first two batters and struck out the next three. The Orioles went to work against lefty Vida Blue and his successor, Horacio Piña in the bottom half. Merv Rettenmund singled and Paul Blair walked before Tommy Davis's RBI double put the Orioles up 1–0. Don Baylor then walked and one out later, Earl Williams's two-run single knocked Pina out of the game.


1973 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Andy Etchebarren was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Mark Belanger's RBI single made it 4–0 Orioles. They added to their lead on Etchebarren's RBI single in the seventh and Baylor's RBI single in the eighth, both with two on off of Blue Moon Odom. It was more than they needed as Palmer pitched a five-hit shutout, striking out 12 A's along the way.


1973 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
The Orioles' ALCS winning streak was snapped at 10 in Game 2. Bert Campaneris led off the game with a home run off of Dave McNally, but the Orioles tied the game in the bottom of the first when Al Bumbry drew to leadoff walk, moved to third on a single and scored on Tommy Davis's groundout. Back-to-back home runs leading off the sixth by Joe Rudi and Sal Bando off of McNally put the A's up 3–1. In the bottom half, the Orioles got back-to-back leadoff singles before Earl Williams's one-out RBI double cut Oakland's lead to 3–2.


1973 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
Bando's second home run of the game in the eighth off of McNally padded Oakland's lead to 5–2. The Orioles hit two singles in the bottom half off of Catfish Hunter, who was relieved by Rollie Fingers and Brooks Robinson's RBI single made it 5–3 Oakland, but they got that run back in the ninth when Angel Mangual hit a leadoff single off of Bob Reynolds, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and passed ball, and scored on Campaneris's single. Hunter, who served up so many during the season that he threatened an A.L. record, allowed none as the A's evened the series as the two teams headed to Oakland for Game 3.


1973 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
The third game, postponed a day by the lack of a dome—the postponement trigged a rhubarb between A.L. President Joe Cronin and A's President Charlie Finley—was played at Oakland and produced a brilliant pitching battle between a pair of southpaws, Mike Cuellar of Baltimore and Ken Holtzman. Up to that point, Cuellar had allowed only three hits. he had a one-hit shutout for the first seven innings as he carefully nursed a 1–0 lead given him by Earl Williams' homer in the second inning.


1973 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
But in the eighth, pinch-hitter Jesús Alou singled and pinch-runner Allan Lewis was sacrificed to second by Mike Andrews. The play was controversial in that Cuellar appeared to have a force out at second base, but he ignored catcher Etchebarren's yells and took the safe out at first. This proved costly as, one out later, Joe Rudi singled home Lewis to tie the score. Bert Campaneris, first man up in the 11th, snapped a 1–1 tie by hitting Cuellar's second pitch over the left-field fence for a home run.


1973 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
In Game 4, The A's knocked out Jim Palmer with a three-run outburst in the second inning. After a leadoff double and subsequent single, Ray Fosse's double scored two and Dick Green's double scored another. The A's made it 4–0 in the sixth on Fosse's bases-loaded sacrifice fly off of Bob Reynolds. Vida Blue pitched six shutout innings before falling apart in the seventh. Earl Williams drew a base on balls with one out and Don Baylor followed with a single. Brooks Robinson came through with a run-producing single and Andy Etchebarren hit the next pitch for a home run, making the score 4–4. The next inning, Bobby Grich hit a home run off Rollie Fingers and that, coupled with Grant Jackson's stout relief pitching, gave the game to the Orioles.


1973 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
A surprisingly small crowd of 24,265 showed up for the final game and they saw Catfish Hunter pitch a five-hit shutout, winning 3–0. The A's first run in the game come in the third inning when Ray Fosse reached first on an error by third baseman Brooks Robinson, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a single by Joe Rudi. Right-hander Doyle Alexander lasted only until the fourth inning. In that frame he was the victim of a single by Gene Tenace, who scored on a triple by Vic Davalillo before Jesus Alou added an RBI single. He was relieved by Palmer, who shut out Oakland the rest of the way, but the Orioles were helpless against Hunter's powerful pitching as the A's advanced to the World Series.


1973 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Pitching dominated the 5-game set, the victorious A's batting only .200 while the O's hit just .211.


1973 American Samoan constitutional referendum
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Number 57 (talk | contribs) at 15:32, 1 March 2020 (→Results:  +). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


1973 American Samoan constitutional referendum
A constitutional referendum was held in American Samoa on 6 November 1973. Voters were asked to whether they approved of a new constitution, The new constitution provided for the direct election of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, a doubling of the salaries for members of the Fono, issuing government bonds to raise money, and decentralising some powers to counties and villages.


1973 American Samoan constitutional referendum
As with the previous referendum in 1972, the proposals were rejected, with 34% in favour and 66% against.


1973 American Samoan constitutional referendum, Results
The new constitution was expected to be approved, but was rejected by nearly two-thirds of voters.


1973 American Samoan constitutional referendum, Aftermath
An identical measure on directly electing the Governor would be put before voters two more times in 1974 and August 1976 until it was approved in November 1976.


1973 American Soccer League
Statistics of the American Soccer League II for the 1973 season.


1973 Amstel Gold Race
The 1973 Amstel Gold Race was the eighth edition of the annual road bicycle race "Amstel Gold Race", held on Sunday April 7, 1973, in the Dutch provinces of Limburg. The race stretched 238 kilometres, with the start in Heerlen and the finish in Meerssen. There were a total of 165 competitors, and 28 cyclists finished the race.


1973 Anglo-Italian Cup
The 1973 Anglo-Italian Cup was the fourth Anglo-Italian Cup competition. The European football competition was played between eight clubs from England and eight clubs from Italy and was the last professional Anglo-Italian Cup until it was re-incarnated in 1992.


1973 Anglo-Italian Cup, Format
For the competition there were eight English teams and eight Italian teams. These teams were split into two groups consisting of four English and four Italian teams each. Each team played against the four teams in their group from the opposing nation. In each group, the best team from each nation progressed to the semi-finals. The semi-finals were two-leg matches played between each nation's group winners. The winner of each nation's semi-final then met in a final. Two points were awarded for a win and one point for a draw but, unlike the previous tournaments, points were no longer awarded for each goal scored. The draw for the group matches took place in Milan on 7 February 1973.


1973 Angolan Legislative Assembly election
Elections to a Legislative Assembly were held for the first and only time in Portuguese Angola between 19 and 27 March 1973.


1973 Angolan Legislative Assembly election, Background
On 2 May 1972 the Portuguese National Assembly passed the Organic Law for the Overseas Territories, which provided for greater autonomy for overseas territories. Angola was to have a 53-member Legislative Assembly, of which 32 would be elected. The remainder would be nominated by public services, religious groups and business groups.