1977 Atocha massacre, Subsequent revelations
In March 1984 the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero reported that Italian neo-fascists were involved in the massacre, suggesting a "Black International" network. This theory was further supported in October 1990 after revelations from the Italian CESIS (Executive Committee for Intelligence and Security Services) concerning Operation Gladio, a clandestine anti-communist structure created during the Cold War. It was alleged that Carlo Cicuttini had played a role in the Atocha massacre. Cicuttini had fled to Spain in 1972 following a bombing carried out with Vincenzo Vinciguerra in Peteano, Italy, which had killed three police.


1977 Atocha massacre, Subsequent revelations
He was reported to have had connections to Spanish security services and been active in the anti-ETA paramilitary organization GAL. Sentenced in Italy to life in prison in 1987, Spain denied Italian requests for his extradition. Cicuttini was arrested in France in 1998 and extradited to Italy, where he died in 2010.


1977 Atocha massacre, Subsequent revelations
While the Atocha murders were the most infamous act during Spain's democratic transition, between 1977 and 1980, far right organizations carried out more than 70 assassinations. Jaime Sartorius, a lawyer who worked on the prosecution at the original trial in 1980, would declare in 2002: "The masterminds are missing. They did not let us investigate. To us, the investigations pointed to the secret services, but only pointed."


1977 Atocha massacre, Legacy
On January 11, 2002, the Council of Ministers granted the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Raymond of Peñafort to the four murdered lawyers, with the Cross of the Order given to Ángel Rodríguez Leal. Across Madrid, there are 25 streets and squares dedicated to the victims of the Atocha massacre and many more across Spain.


1977 Atocha massacre, Legacy
The labor federation CCOO created a foundation to promote the memory of the victims and to advocate for labor and human rights. The Atocha Lawyers Awards were instituted as an annual ceremony in 2002 to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the massacre.


1977 Atocha massacre, Legacy
Journalist Juancho Dumall, writing in 2017 on the 40th anniversary of the massacre, highlighted that the attack had the opposite effect of what was intended: "It was a terrorist act that marked the future of the country in a way that the murderers would never have suspected and, instead, was the one desired by the victims." The mass peaceful responses and the subsequent liberalizations (legalization of the PCE, worker and union freedoms) are generally credited as allowing the June 1977 elections, Spain's first in 40 years, to occur peacefully.


1977 Atocha massacre, Legacy
Although many celebrate the success of Spain's transition to democracy, debates over the human cost  – especially the Pact of Forgetting (Pacto del olvido) – have grown. That debate was echoed in the words of Atocha massacre survivor Dolores González Ruiz, who passed away in 2015: "In the course of my life, my dreams broke me."


1977 Atocha massacre, Gallery
Memorial designed by Spanish artist Juan Genovés, Plaza de Antón Martín, Madrid


1977 Atocha massacre, Gallery
Dedication on the memorial, headed by a quote from Paul Éluard: "If the echo of their voice weakens, we will perish"


1977 Auburn Tigers football team
The 1977 Auburn Tigers football team achieved an overall record of 5–6 under second-year head coach Doug Barfield and 4–2 in the SEC. However, due to sanctions imposed against Mississippi state, the loss that year was vacated and Auburn's record officially improved to 6–5 (5–1).


1977 Auburn Tigers football team
Four players were named to the All-SEC first team for 1977: Lynn Johnson (OG), James McKinney (DB), Jorge Portela (SP), and Freddie Smith (LB).


1977 Auckland City mayoral election
The 1977 Auckland City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1977, elections were held for the Mayor of Auckland plus other local government positions including twenty-one city councillors. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.


1977 Auckland City mayoral election, Background
Incumbent Mayor Dove-Myer Robinson was re-elected seeing off a challenges from Labour Party candidate Jim Anderton, former councillor Colin Kay and Citizens & Ratepayers nominee Mel Tronson.


1977 Australasian Individual Speedway Championship
The 1977 Australasian Individual Speedway Championship was the second annual Australasian Final for Motorcycle speedway riders from Australia and New Zealand as part of the qualification for the 1977 Speedway World Championship.


1977 Australasian Individual Speedway Championship
The Final took place at the 509 metres (557 yards) Sydney Showground. Four time World Champion Ivan Mauger was the winner after defeating Phil Crump and defending Australasian Champion John Boulger in a runoff after all three riders finished on 14 points. Billy Sanders finished fourth to get the last qualifying spot in the 1977 Intercontinental Final to be held at the White City Stadium in London, England.


1977 Australasian Individual Speedway Championship
Ivan Mauger would go on to win his record equalling 5th World Championship later in the year at the Ullevi stadium in Göteborg, Sweden.


1977 Australia Day Honours
The Australia Day Honours 1977 were announced on 26 January 1977 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir John Kerr.


1977 Australia Day Honours
The Australia Day Honours are the first of the two major annual honours lists, announced on Australia Day (26 January), with the other being the Queen's Birthday Honours which are announced on the second Monday in June.


1977 Australian Drivers' Championship
The 1977 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to racing cars complying with Australian Formula 1 or with Australian Formula 2. It was the 21st Australian Drivers' Championship to be awarded by CAMS. The title winner, John McCormack, was awarded the 1977 CAMS Gold Star.


1977 Australian Drivers' Championship, Points system
Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six place-getters  at each round.


1977 Australian Drivers' Championship, Points system
Where a round was contested over two heats, points were allocated on a 20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis to the first 14 place-getters in each heat. The six drivers attaining the highest aggregate from both heats were then awarded the championship points for that round. Where more than one driver attained the same total, the relevant placing was awarded to the driver who was higher placed in the last heat.


1977 Australian Drivers' Championship, Championship name
Sources vary as to the actual name of the championship.


1977 Australian Film Institute Awards
The 1977 Australian Film Awards ceremony, presented by the Australian Film Institute (AFI), honoured the best Australian films of 1976 on 21 September 1977 at Regent Theatre, in Sydney, New South Wales. It was televised on ABC. Actors Keir Dullea andKaren Black, and former Australian Prime Minister John Gorton hosted the show.


1977 Australian Film Institute Awards
Don's Party won six awards including Best Direction and Best Actress. Other winners were The Picture Show Man with four awards, and Storm Boy with two awards including Best Film and the Jury Prize. Charles Chauvel was posthumously awarded the Raymond Longford Award.


1977 Australian Film Institute Awards, Ceremony
The ceremony was held on 21 September 1977 at Regent Theatre, in Sydney, New South Wales. It was hosted by actors Keir Dullea and Karen Black, and former Australian Prime Minister John Gorton. Films were nominated for awards in thirteen categories, marking the first time the awards were presented competitively and not as a film prize like previous years, with the exception of the non-feature film categories. The Awards were televised on ABC.


1977 Australian Film Institute Awards, Winners and nominees
The Australian Film Institute (AFI) presented awards across eighteen categories. Three new award categories were presented for Best Achievement in Sound, Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction, and the award for Best Original Music Score was reinstated after it had not been given since 1973. The recipients of the peer voted feature-film awards included the film Storm Boy, for Best Film; Bruce Beresford for Best Direction, for Don's Party; John Meillon for Best Actor, for The Fourth Wish; and Pat Bishop for Best Actress, for Don's Party.


1977 Australian Film Institute Awards, Winners and nominees
Charles Chauvel received the Raymond Longford Award posthumously for his contribution to Australian screen culture and environment, and was presented to his wife Elsa Chauvel. Storm Boy was nominated for nine awards but only received two; and Don's Party won five of the six awards it was nominated for, winning the most awards at the ceremony. Non -feature films were presented with a gold, silver or bronze prize, or an honourable mention, and the awards were determined by a jury. The Love Letters from Teralba Road received a gold and silver prize, and a special award for creativity.


1977 Australian Film Institute Awards, Winners and nominees, Peer voted awards
Winners of competitive awards marked first in boldface and highlighted in gold.


1977 Australian Film Institute Awards, Winners and nominees, Jury voted prizes
Winners of the gold prize. Winners of the silver prize. Winners of the bronze prize.


1977 Australian Formula 2 Championship
The 1977 Australian Formula 2 Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of Australian Formula 2 racing cars. The championship was contested over a single race which was staged at the Sandown International Motor Racing Circuit in Victoria on 17 April 1977.


1977 Australian Grand Prix
The 1977 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at Oran Park International Raceway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on 6 February 1977. It was the forty second Australian Grand Prix and also the first round of the 1977 Rothmans International Series. The race was open to Australian Formula 1 cars and Australian Formula 2 cars.


1977 Australian Grand Prix
The race was won by Warwick Brown (Lola T430), his first and only Australian Grand Prix victory. Alan Jones (Lola T332) actually finished his 58th and final lap 40 seconds ahead of Brown, however officials penalised Jones 60 seconds for jumping the start and he was officially classified in 4th place.


1977 Australian Open (December)
The 1977 Australian Open (December) was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was the 66th edition of the tournament and was held from 19 to 31 December 1977. Due to a scheduling change two Australian Opens took place in 1977 with the first taking place in January. Vitas Gerulaitis and Evonne Goolagong Cawley won the singles titles.


1977 Australian Open (December), Seniors, Men's singles
Vitas Gerulaitis defeated  John Lloyd, 6–3, 7–6, 5–7, 3–6, 6–2


1977 Australian Open (December), Seniors, Men's doubles
Ray Ruffels /  Allan Stone defeated  John Alexander /  Phil Dent, 7–6, 7–6


1977 Australian Open (December), Seniors, Women's doubles
Evonne Goolagong Cawley /  Helen Gourlay Cawley vs.  Mona Schallau Guerrant /  Kerry Melville Reid, shared due to rained out final


1977 Australian Open (December) – Men's Singles
First-seeded Vitas Gerulaitis defeated John Lloyd 6–3, 7–6, 5–7, 3–6, 6–2 in the final to win the Men's Singles tennis title at the December, 1977 Australian Open. Roscoe Tanner was the defending champion, but was upset in the first round by Chris Lewis.


1977 Australian Open (December) – Men's Singles, Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Vitas Gerulaitis is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


1977 Australian Open (December) – Men's Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw for men's singles at the 1977 Australian Open (December).


1977 Australian Open (December) – Women's Singles
First-seeded Evonne Goolagong defeated Helen Gourlay, 6–3, 6–0, in the final to win the December edition Women's Singles tennis title at the 1977 Australian Open. Both players were entered in the championships as Mrs R. Cawley, as they were married to Roger Cawley and Richard Cawley (who were not related) respectively. The umpire became confused during the early stages of the final and simply referred to the players as Evonne or Helen to avoid confusion.


1977 Australian Open (December) – Women's Singles
The second of the two Australian Opens held in 1977 started on 19 December and ended on 31 December. It was held in Kooyong in Melbourne and was a grass court tournament. For the first Australian Open held in 1977, see: 1977 Australian Open (January).


1977 Australian Open (December) – Women's Singles
Kerry Reid was the defending champion, but was eliminated in the semifinals by Goolagong. This was the last ladies final contested by two Australians.


1977 Australian Open (December) – Women's Singles, Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Evonne Goolagong is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


1977 Australian Open (December) – Women's Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw for women's singles at the 1977 Australian Open (December).


1977 Australian Open (January)
The 1977 Australian Open (January) was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts at the Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament was held from 3 to 9 January 1977. Due to a scheduling change two Australian Opens took place in 1977 with the second taking place in December.


1977 Australian Open (January), Seniors, Men's doubles
Arthur Ashe /  Tony Roche defeated  Charlie Pasarell /  Erik van Dillen, 6–4, 6–4


1977 Australian Open (January), Seniors, Women's doubles
Dianne Fromholtz /  Helen Gourlay defeated  Kerry Melville Reid /  Betsy Nagelsen, 5–7, 6–1, 7–5


1977 Australian Open (January) – Men's Singles
Second-seeded Roscoe Tanner defeated Guillermo Vilas 6–3, 6–3, 6–3 in the final to win the Men's Singles tennis title at the 1977 Australian Open (January). Mark Edmondson was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Ken Rosewall. This was the first final since 1912 not to include an Australian player.


1977 Australian Open (January) – Men's Singles, Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Roscoe Tanner is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


1977 Australian Open (January) – Men's Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw for men's singles at the 1977 Australian Open (January).


1977 Australian Open (January) – Women's Singles
Second-seeded Kerry Reid defeated Dianne Fromholtz, 7–5 6–2, in the final to win the January edition Women's Singles tennis title at the 1977 Australian Open. The first of the two Australian Opens held in 1977 started on 3 January and ended on 9 January. For the second Australian Open held in December 1977, see: 1977 Australian Open (December).


1977 Australian Open (January) – Women's Singles
Evonne Goolagong was the defending champion, but did not compete in January 1977.


1977 Australian Open (January) – Women's Singles, Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Kerry Reid is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


1977 Australian Open (January) – Women's Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw for women's singles at the 1977 Australian Open (January).


1977 Australian Professional Championship
The 1977 Australian Professional Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place in September 1977.


1977 Australian Professional Championship
Eddie Charlton won the tournament defeating Paddy Morgan 25–21 in the final.


1977 Australian Rally Championship
The 1977 Australian Rally Championship was a series of five rallying events held across Australia. It was the tenth season in the history of the competition.


1977 Australian Rally Championship
Ross Dunkerton and navigator Jeff Beaumont in the Datsun 260Z tied with George Fury and navigator Monty Suffern in the Datsun 710 Coupe for the 1977 Championship.


1977 Australian Rally Championship, Season review
The tenth Australian Rally Championship was held over five events across Australia, the season consisting of one event each for Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia. The 1977 season was a closely fought battle between the Datsuns of Dunkerton and Fury and at the end of the season they could not be separated and thus tied for the championship.


1977 Australian Rally Championship, The Rallies
The five events of the 1977 season were as follows.


1977 Australian Sports Car Championship
The 1977 Australian Sports Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing competition for drivers of Group D Production Sports Cars. It was the ninth Australian Sports Car Championship to be awarded by CAMS.


1977 Australian Sports Car Championship, Results
Note: Hamilton achieved four round wins to Latham's one, however there was no countback process incorporated in the points system to act as a tiebreaker, so the two drivers shared the title.


1977 Australian Sports Sedan Championship
The 1977 Australian Sports Sedan Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of Sports Sedans complying with Group B regulations.


1977 Australian Sports Sedan Championship
Round 1 was conducted as a single race and all other rounds were contested over two heats.


1977 Australian Sports Sedan Championship
Championship points were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the top six placegetters in each round. Only the best six round results for each driver were counted. Where rounds were run over two heats, results were determined by awarding round points on a 20–16–13–11–10–9–8–7–6–5–4–3–2–1 basis to the top fourteen placegetters in each heat. Where round points were tied, the relevant round placing was awarded to the driver attaining the higher position in the second heat.


1977 Australian Touring Car Championship
The 1977 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing championship open to Group C Touring Cars. It was the 18th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship. The championship began at Symmons Plains Raceway on 7 March and ended at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on 20 November after eleven rounds. 1977 was the second and final time that the series incorporated the longer distance races which made up the Australian Championship of Makes. These races included the Sandown 400 and the Phillip Island 500K, although notably not the Bathurst 1000.


1977 Australian Touring Car Championship
Reigning champion Allan Moffat (Ford Falcon) dominated the 1977 season. In addition to his victory in the non-championship Hardie-Ferodo 1000 at Bathurst, Moffat won his third Australian Touring Car Championship, leading home new Moffat Ford Dealers teammate Colin Bond for a series 1-2 result. Moffat won the first five rounds of the championship, won a total of seven out of the eleven rounds and won the title by 32 points.


1977 Australian Touring Car Championship
Bond recorded a win at Adelaide International Raceway but was put under pressure near the end of the season from Peter Brock after consecutive wins by the Holden Torana driver at Lakeside International Raceway and Sandown Raceway in the Hang Ten 400. In the end Bond finished nine points clear of Brock. The only other round win was claimed by Allan Grice (Holden Torana) at the final round at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.


1977 Australian Touring Car Championship
In previous years the class pointscore system saw a consistent performer threaten the top of the points table. In 1977 though the best performer from the smaller cars was Ford Capri racer Lawrie Nelson who finished fourth in the points, 19 behind Brock. Holden Torana racer Bob Morris took points away from the small car class drivers by racing his Triumph Dolomite early in the series, as well as racing Lakis Manticas' Ford Capri on occasion, effectively spoiling the chances of other drivers in the under three-litre class.


1977 Australian Touring Car Championship, Drivers
Drivers that competed in the 1977 Australian Touring Car Championship included the following:


1977 Australian Touring Car Championship, Calendar
The 1977 Australian Touring Car Championship was contested over eleven rounds.


1977 Australian Touring Car Championship, Classes
For points-scoring purposes, cars competing in the Australian Touring Car Championship were classified into one of two classes defined by engine capacity.


1977 Australian Touring Car Championship, Points system
Australian Touring Car Championship points were awarded to drivers as follows:


1977 Australian Touring Car Championship, Points system
Only the best six scores from the first seven rounds and the best two scores from the last four rounds counted towards the championship totals.


1977 Australian Touring Car Championship, Points system
Points were awarded only where a car completed 75% of race distance and was running at the completion of the final lap.


1977 Australian Touring Car Championship, Results
Results of the 1977 Australian Touring Car Championship were as follows:


1977 Australian Touring Car Championship, Results
Note: South African driver Basil van Rooyen placed fourth at Round 8 (the Hang Ten 400 at Sandown) but was not eligible to score points.


1977 Australian Touring Car Championship, Australian Championship of Makes
The 1977 Australian Championship of Makes was awarded on the results of the final four rounds of the 1977 Australian Touring Car Championship. It was the seventh circuit racing championship for manufacturers to be awarded by CAMS and the second to carry the Australian Championship of Makes name.


1977 Australian Touring Car Championship, Australian Championship of Makes, Classes
For pointscoring purposes, cars competed in four classes defined by engine capacity


1977 Australian Touring Car Championship, Australian Championship of Makes, Points
Points were awarded for the six best placed cars in class in each of the four rounds on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis with only the highest scoring car of each make attracting points.


1977 Australian Tourist Trophy
The 1977 Australian Tourist Trophy was a motor race staged at the Phillip Island circuit in Victoria, Australia on 13 November 1977. It was open to Group A Sports Cars and was recognized by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as an Australian Title. The race, which was the fifteenth Australian Tourist Trophy, was won by Ian Geoghegan of Sydney, driving the Porsche 935 of Laurie O’Neill. It was Geoghegan’s third Australian Tourist Trophy victory.


1977 Australian federal election
The 1977 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 10 December 1977. All 124 seats in the House of Representatives and 34 of the 64 seats in the Senate were up for election.


1977 Australian federal election
The incumbent Liberal-National Country Coalition led by Malcolm Fraser, in government since 1975, was elected to a second term over the opposition Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam. While the Coalition suffered a five-seat swing, it still had a substantial 35-seat majority in the House. The Liberals retained an outright majority, with 67 seats. Although Fraser thus had no need for the support of the National Country Party, the Coalition was retained.


1977 Australian federal election
Whitlam became the first and only person to contest four federal elections as Leader of the Opposition. He was unable to recover much of the ground Labor had lost in its severe defeat two years prior, and resigned as leader shortly after the election.


1977 Australian federal election, Background and issues
The government offering tax cuts to voters and ran advertisements with the slogan "fistful of dollars". The tax cuts were never delivered; instead a "temporary surcharge" was imposed in 1978. The election coincided with the retirement of the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr. Kerr had appeared drunk at the Melbourne Cup in November and the public outcry resulted in the cancellation of his appointment as Ambassador to UNESCO.


1977 Australian federal election, Background and issues
The 1977 election was held a year earlier than required, partly to bring elections for the House and Senate back into line. A half-Senate election had to be held by the middle of 1978, since the double dissolution election of 1975 had resulted in the terms of senators being backdated to July 1975.


1977 Australian federal election, Significance
This election marks the effective parliamentary debut of the Australian Democrats. The former Liberal minister Don Chipp had resigned his seat to leave politics but was soon invited to lead the new party and decided to run as a senator for Victoria. The party's Janine Haines had briefly inherited a South Australian Senate seat when Liberal Movement senator Steele Hall had resigned to contest a lower-house seat. Haines was, however, not preselected to recontest the seat. Don Chipp was elected in Victoria and Colin Mason in New South Wales. (Haines returned to the Senate at the following election.)


1977 Australian federal election, Significance
The second Fraser Government had the second-largest parliamentary majority in Australian history (at the time) after the majority it won in the 1975 election. Gough Whitlam resigned as the leader of the ALP in 1978, and was replaced by Bill Hayden.


1977 Australian federal election, Significance
This was the last Australian federal election for the House of Representatives at which no women were elected, although there were a number of women candidates. Women have been elected at every federal election from 1980 onwards.


1977 Australian plebiscite (National Song)
As an additional question in the 1977 referendum, the voters were polled on which song they would prefer to be played as the de facto national anthem (in place of "God Save the Queen"). Voting on this question was not compulsory. This was the third plebiscite to be held in Australia, following two regarding military service in 1916 and 1917. The winner, "Advance Australia Fair", was later formally declared the Australian anthem in 1984.


1977 Australian plebiscite (National Song), Background
Prior to 1974, "God Save the Queen" was Australia's national anthem. In 1974, the Whitlam government performed a nationwide opinion survey, conducted through the Australian Bureau of Statistics, to determine the song to be sung on occasions of national significance. "Advance Australia Fair" was chosen and was enshrined as the national song, to be used on all occasions excepting those of a specifically regal nature.


1977 Australian plebiscite (National Song), Background
In January 1976, the Fraser government reinstated "God Save the Queen" for royal, vice-regal, defence and loyal toast occasions, and made plans to conduct a national poll to find a song for use on ceremonial occasions when it was desired to mark a separate Australian identity.


1977 Australian plebiscite (National Song), Results
Voters were presented with the following choice: Against the background that 'GOD SAVE THE QUEEN' is the NATIONAL ANTHEM to be played on Regal and Vice Regal occasions, electors may indicate their preferences as to which of the tunes of the songs listed below they would prefer to be played on other occasions.


1977 Australian referendum
The 1977 Australian Referendum was held on 21 May 1977. It contained four referendum questions and one non-binding plebiscite.


1977 Australian referendum
This referendum had a particularly strong "Yes" vote. All but one of the referendum questions was carried, and the only one to not be carried had a clear national majority, but was held back by not achieving a majority of the states. No referendum since then has been successful, although the 2017 Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey would have been successful as it carried all states & a national majority, but was not an official constitutional referendum despite being held in a similar manner to one.


1977 Australian referendum
The four referendum questions were only voted on in the states; voters in the territories only gained the right to vote on constitutional changes as a result of the Referendums amendment passing. Voters in the territories, however, were able to vote on the plebiscite.


1977 Australian referendum (Referendums)
The Constitution Alteration (Referendums) 1977 was an Australian referendum held in the 1977 referendums in which electors approved an amendment to the Australian constitution to allow electors in the Australian territories to vote at referendums. Electors in the territories were to be counted towards the national total, but would not be counted toward any state total.


1977 Australian referendum (Referendums), Question
It is proposed to alter the Constitution so as to allow electors in the territories, as well as electors in the states, to vote at referendums on proposed laws to alter the Constitution.


1977 Australian referendum (Referendums), Discussion
At the time of Federation the very few people who lived in the Northern Territory voted as residents of South Australia. Territorians could therefore vote in constitutional referendums. When the Territory was surrendered to the Commonwealth in 1911, however, its citizens lost the vote in such referendums, due to the absence of reference to Territory voters in s. 128. Residents of the Australian Capital Territory were similarly restricted. In 1967 demonstrations against this restriction occurred in Alice Springs, as Territorians expressed their resentment at not being able to vote in the Aboriginals referendum.


1977 Australian referendum (Referendums), Discussion
In the 1974 referendum the Whitlam Government attempted to amend s. 128 in a double-pronged proposal. Territorial voting rights in referendums were sought, but the Government also proposed that constitutional amendments could be carried with just half of the States — instead of a majority of States — voting in favour. Only New South Wales supported the proposal, but it is likely that, had the Territories section been a separate question, it would have been ratified.


1977 Australian referendum (Referendums), Discussion
In 1977 the question of Territory votes was relatively uncontroversial, being carried in every State, gaining a national YES vote of 77.7 per cent, though Queensland (40.4 per cent) and Tasmania (37.8 per cent) had quite large NO votes. It has been claimed that the high vote of approval was a reminder of Australia's honourable record of electoral reform — that the amendment had 'Australian political tradition behind it'.


1977 Australian referendum (Referendums), Discussion
Despite John Paul of the University of New South Wales dismissing the change as the granting of a 'hollow privilege', The Canberra Times stated that people in both Territories should be grateful, 'for the universal acknowledgment that their natural right to vote in future referendums will now be given the force of law'.


1977 Australian referendum (Retirement of Judges)
The Constitution Alteration (Retirement of Judges) 1977 was an Australian referendum held in the 1977 referendums in which electors approved an amendment to the Australian constitution to provide for a retirement age for federal judges. After receiving a majority approval in each state, the proposal was carried, and the Constitution Alteration (Retirement of Judges) 1977 amended Chapter III of the Constitution so that federal judges were required to retire at the age of 70.


1977 Australian referendum (Retirement of Judges), Question
It is proposed to alter the Constitution so as to provide for retiring ages for judges of federal courts.


1977 Australian referendum (Retirement of Judges), Discussion
In October 1976 the Senate Standing Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs recommended a retiring age for all federal judges. This recommendation was based on


1977 Australian referendum (Retirement of Judges), Discussion
The committee's view was accepted by the Australian Constitutional Convention soon thereafter.


1977 Australian referendum (Retirement of Judges), Discussion
The amendment introduced in the following year sought to provide for a retiring age of 70 for all federal court judges, including those on the High Court. The issue was not controversial, despite Sir Robert Menzies' description of the change as 'superficial and ill-considered'. Over 80 per cent of voters supported the amendment.


1977 Australian referendum (Retirement of Judges), Discussion
The amendment applied prospectively, meaning the tenure of those High Court and Federal judges appointed prior to the referendum were unaffected. Of the serving High Court judges, only Sir Garfield Barwick made use of his original tenure, retiring in 1981 at the age of 77. The remaining  judges either retired, resigned, or died, with the exception of Sir Harry Gibbs and Sir Anthony Mason, who were appointed Chief Justice and thus lost their right to the original life tenure.


1977 Australian referendum (Retirement of Judges), Discussion
Several Federal judges made use of their original tenure, with judges of the Australian Industrial Court Sir Percy Joske retiring on 31 December 1977 aged 82, and Edward Dunphy retiring on 31 December 1982 aged 75. Five Federal Court judges did not retire at age 70, Sir Nigel Bowen (1990), aged 79, Sir John Nimmo (1980) aged 71, Sir Reginald Smithers (1986) aged 83, Charles Sweeney (1995) aged 80 and Ray Northrop (1998) aged 73.


1977 Australian referendum (Senate Casual Vacancies)
The referendum of 21 May 1977 approved an amendment to the Australian constitution concerning the filling of casual vacancies in the Senate. The referendum for practical purposes was a vote on the Constitution Alteration (Senate Casual Vacancies) 1977 which after being endorsed in the referendum, became law on 29 July of the same year.


1977 Australian referendum (Senate Casual Vacancies)
Its intended purpose was to prevent major changes in the balance of power in the senate in the middle of a parliamentary term, but as it did not provide any time limit within which the appointment had to be made, the state legislature remained free to decline to fill the vacancy. As Section 11 of the Constitution permits the Senate to carry on despite the failure to fill any vacancy, the amendment did not completely solve the problem.


1977 Australian referendum (Senate Casual Vacancies)
On the same day as the vote on the casual vacancies amendment, four other questions were also put to the electorate. These concerned the:


1977 Australian referendum (Senate Casual Vacancies), Overview
The casual vacancies amendment came about as part of the political fallout from the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975. In the aftermath of this crisis, four amendments were recommended by sessions of the Australian Constitutional Convention, including one that would change the procedure for appointing replacement senators. All four were put to voters on 21 May 1977, and all were passed except a proposal for simultaneous elections to the House of Representatives and Senate.


1977 Australian referendum (Senate Casual Vacancies), Overview
The casual vacancies proposal arose out of the 1975 controversy over the appointment of independent Cleaver Bunton (New South Wales) and anti-Whitlam Australian Labor Party member Albert Field (Queensland) to fill Senate seats formerly held by ALP senators. The appointments ran counter to a longstanding convention that when a Senate seat became open due to a casual vacancy, the state parliament would appoint a replacement recommended by the former senator's party.


1977 Australian referendum (Senate Casual Vacancies), Overview
The change aimed to ensure that a replacement senator would be required to be a member of the party of which the previous senator was a member at the time of his or her election. The amendment was approved by a 73.3 per cent majority of the electorate.


1977 Australian referendum (Senate Casual Vacancies), Overview
Despite the intention of the amendment's supporters to ensure that the party balance in the Senate should not be altered by a casual vacancy, the amendment has not been entirely successful in that regard. Following the resignation of the Tasmanian ALP Senator Don Grimes in April 1987, the nominee of the ALP, John Devereux, was rejected by a tied vote in the Tasmanian Parliament. As one Tasmanian Minister Ray Groom argued: "we can choose only a person who is a member of the same party ... but we are not bound to accept the nomination of the party concerned". Tasmania therefore had only eleven senators between 2 April and the double dissolution election of 11 July 1987.


1977 Australian referendum (Senate Casual Vacancies), Changes to the text of the constitution
If the place of a senator becomes vacant before the expiration of his term of service, the Houses of Parliament of the State for which he was chosen shall, sitting and voting together, choose a person to hold the place until the expiration of the term, or until the election of a successor as hereinafter provided, whichever first happens.


1977 Australian referendum (Senate Casual Vacancies), Changes to the text of the constitution
But if the Houses of Parliament of the State are not in session at the time when the vacancy is notified, the Governor of the State, with the advice of the Executive Council thereof, may appoint a person to hold the place until the expiration of fourteen days after the beginning of the next session of the Parliament of the State, or until the election of a successor, whichever first happens.


1977 Australian referendum (Senate Casual Vacancies), Changes to the text of the constitution
At the next general election of members of the House of Representatives, or at the next election of senators for the State, whichever first happens, a successor shall, if the term has not then expired, be chosen to hold the place from the date of his election until the expiration of the term.


1977 Australian referendum (Senate Casual Vacancies), Changes to the text of the constitution
The name of any senator so chosen or appointed shall be certified by the Governor of the State to the Governor-General.


1977 Australian referendum (Senate Casual Vacancies), Changes to the text of the constitution
If the place of a Senator becomes vacant before the expiration of his term of service, the Houses of Parliament of the State for which he was chosen, sitting and voting together, or, if there is only one House of that Parliament, that House, shall choose a person to hold the place until the expiration of the term.


1977 Australian referendum (Senate Casual Vacancies), Changes to the text of the constitution
But if the Parliament of the State is not in session when the vacancy is notified, the Governor of the State, with the advice of the Executive Council thereof, may appoint a person to hold that place until the expiration of fourteen days from the beginning of the next session of the Parliament of the State or the expiration of the term, whichever first happens.


1977 Australian referendum (Senate Casual Vacancies), Changes to the text of the constitution
Where a vacancy has at any time occurred in the place of a senator chosen by the people of a State and, at the time when he was so chosen, he was publicly recognized by a particular political party as being an endorsed candidate of that party and publicly represented himself to be such a candidate, a person chosen or appointed under this section in consequence of that vacancy, or in consequence of that vacancy and a subsequent vacancy or vacancies, shall, unless there is no member of that party available to be chosen or appointed, be a member of that party.


1977 Australian referendum (Senate Casual Vacancies), Changes to the text of the constitution
he shall be deemed not to have been so chosen or appointed and the vacancy shall be again notified in accordance with section twenty-one of this Constitution.


1977 Australian referendum (Senate Casual Vacancies), Changes to the text of the constitution
The name of any senator chosen or appointed under this section shall be certified by the Governor of the State to the Governor-General.


1977 Australian referendum (Senate Casual Vacancies), Question
It is proposed to alter the Constitution to ensure as far as practicable that a casual vacancy in the Senate is filled by a person of the same political party as the Senator chosen by the people and for the balance of his term. Do you approve the proposed law?


1977 Australian referendum (Simultaneous Elections)
The Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) 1977  was an Australian referendum held in the 1977 referendums which sought to amend the Australian constitution for the second time to ensure that elections for both houses of parliament occurred simultaneously.


1977 Australian referendum (Simultaneous Elections), Question
It is proposed to alter the Constitution to ensure that Senate elections are held at the same time as House of Representatives elections.


1977 Australian referendum (Simultaneous Elections), Discussion
This was one of several occasions that the double majority rule resulted in a referendum with a clear 'Yes' overall majority not being approved, as it failed to receive approval in a majority of States. The margin of failure, 9211 votes (in WA), made it the third-closest referendum result in Australian history. Charles Court the Liberal Premier of Western Australia, Joh Bjelke-Petersen the National Party Premier of Queensland and Max Bingham Leader of the Tasmanian state Liberal Party (then in Opposition at the state level) campaigned against the referendum, largely causing its defeat in those three states.


1977 Austrian Grand Prix
The 1977 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Österreichring on 14 August 1977. It was the twelfth race of the 1977 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1977 International Cup for F1 Constructors.


1977 Austrian Grand Prix
Since the previous year's race, the Hella-Licht corner had been converted to a fast chicane, thus increasing the length of the circuit to 5.942 kilometres (3.692 mi). The race was held over 54 laps of the circuit for a race distance of 320.8 kilometres (199.3 mi).


1977 Austrian Grand Prix
The race was won by Australian driver and future World Champion, Alan Jones, driving a Shadow-Ford. It was Jones's first Formula One victory, and the only victory for the Shadow team in its eight-year F1 history. Local hero Niki Lauda finished second in his Ferrari, having started from pole position, with West Germany's Hans-Joachim Stuck third in a Brabham-Alfa Romeo.


1977 Austrian Grand Prix, Race, Race report
Rain had fallen immediately prior to the race start leaving the track wet but would not rain during the race. Tyre choice was split between wets and slicks. Mario Andretti led early until the engine failed in his Lotus 78. The track was drying by this time. Gunnar Nilsson and Jones had starred in the early laps on the wet track. Nilsson moving from 16th to second and Jones progressed from his 14th grid position to fourth. James Hunt became the race leader.


1977 Austrian Grand Prix, Race, Race report
Nilsson pitted to replace his ruined wet tyres on his Lotus 78 while Jones moved past Hans-Joachim Stuck's Brabham and Jody Scheckter's Wolf WR3 into second position. Jones would not have progressed further but for an engine failure in Hunt's McLaren M26 late in the race. Nilsson recovered from his pitstop to third until an engine failure claimed its second Lotus of the day. Lauda's poor handling Ferrari came on as the track dried and he moved into second while Stuck survived to claim the final podium position.


1977 Austrian Grand Prix, Race, Race report
Scheckter spun off leaving Carlos Reutemann in the second Ferrari 312T2 to finish fourth ahead of Ronnie Peterson in the Tyrrell P34 and the second McLaren of Jochen Mass claimed the final championship point in sixth. Despite the changeable condition, 16 cars finished the race with 17 classified. The seventeenth was Emilio de Villota, who crashed his privately entered McLaren M23 in the closing stages while on his 51st lap.


1977 Austrian Grand Prix, Race, Race report
It had been seven years since the last victory by an Australian (Jack Brabham in the 1970 South African Grand Prix). Jones' win had no effect the championship points race. Lauda's second place, coupled with retirements to Scheckter, Andretti and Hunt significantly strengthened Lauda's grip on the championship, expanding his lead to 16 points.


1977 Austrian Open (tennis)
The 1977 Austrian Open , also known as the 1977 Head Cup for sponsorship reasons, was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was categorized as a two-star tournament and was part of the Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix circuit. It took place at the Tennis Stadium Kitzbühel in Kitzbühel, Austria and was held from 11 July through 17 July 1977. Guillermo Vilas won the singles title after a final that lasted 4 hours and 45 minutes.


1977 Austrian Open (tennis), Finals, Singles
Guillermo Vilas defeated  Jan Kodeš 5–7, 6–2, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2


1977 Austrian Open (tennis), Finals, Doubles
Buster Mottram /  Roger Taylor defeated  Colin Dowdeswell /  Chris Kachel 7–6, 6–4


1977 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix
The 1977 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix was the second round of the 1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 1 May 1977 at the Salzburgring circuit.


1977 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix
The opening race was for the 350 cc category. This race was abandoned after eight laps following an accident which led to the death of Hans Stadelmann from head injuries, and seriously injured Johnny Cecotto, Patrick Fernandez, Dieter Braun and Franco Uncini. The 125 cc race was due to run after the 350 cc race, but the 125 cc riders staged a sitdown strike and there was a delay before their race took place. Riders in the 500 cc category organised a boycott of their race which led to only 14 competitors taking part. The FIM, motorcycle racing's governing body, initially issued formal warnings to Barry Sheene and Ángel Nieto but later in the year the punishments were retracted.


1977 Aviateca Convair 240 crash
The 1977 Aviateca Convair 240 airplane crash was a scheduled Aviateca passenger flight that crashed near Guatemala City, Guatemala on April 27, 1977. All 28 people on board survived, but the aircraft was destroyed.


1977 Aviateca Convair 240 crash, Final moments
The aircraft, a Convair 240, took off from La Aurora International Airport (GUA/MGGT) in Guatemala City as scheduled. During the initial climb to cruise altitude, the number one engine suffered a failure due to oil loss. The crew was unable to feather the propeller, and was forced to attempt an emergency landing in rough terrain. The plane was destroyed in the attempt, but none of the 22 passengers and six crew on board were killed.


1977 Aviateca Convair 240 crash, Investigation
The government of Guatemala initiated a full investigation. It found that the aircraft had undergone maintenance shortly before the flight. In order to perform the maintenance, it was necessary to disconnect a high-pressure oil hose from the engine cylinders. The hose was not correctly reattached, thus starving the engine of oil.


1977 B.R.S.C.C. Trophy
The 1977 B.R.S.C.C. Trophy was a non-championship Formula Three race, held at the Mallory Park circuit, in Leicestershire, England, on 4 September. The race saw Stephen South, who won the previous year’s corresponding race (Griffin Golden Helmet Trophy), return to win again.


1977 B.R.S.C.C. Trophy, Report, Entry
A total of just 17 F3 cars were entered for the event, however of those, only 11 took part in qualifying and race. Of those who were entered, but did not arrive included both the Unipart Racing Team’s cars and neither did one for up and coming young English driver, Nigel Mansell.


1977 B.R.S.C.C. Trophy, Report, Qualifying
Stephen South took pole position, with a time of 44.2 secs.


1977 B.R.S.C.C. Trophy, Report, Race
After 20 laps of the Mallory Park circuit, South took the chequered flag, in a time of 15:07.0 mins. averaging a speed of 107.166 mph. Second place went to Mario Pati, who was over 28 secs. behind. Just 0.2 of second separate Pati from Ian Grob who completed the podium. The race however saw four taken out following a startline crash, leaving just seven cars running after Gerard’s, the first corner.


1977 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy
The 1977 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was the thirteenth occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held. This year there was another new name added when Hull Kingston Rovers won the trophy by beating St. Helens in the final by the score of 26-11. The match was played at Craven Park (1), in Hull,  East Riding of Yorkshire. The attendance was 10,099, and the  receipts were £6,586.


1977 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy, Background
The Rugby Football League's BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was a knock-out competition sponsored by the BBC and between rugby league clubs, entrance to which was conditional upon the club having floodlights. Most matches were played on an evening, and those of which the second half was televised, were played on a Tuesday evening. Despite the competition being named as 'Floodlit', many matches took place during the afternoons and not under floodlights, and several of the entrants, including  Barrow and Bramley did not have adequate lighting.


1977 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy, Background
And, when in 1973, due to the world oil crisis, the government restricted the use of floodlights in sport, all the matches, including the Trophy final, had to be played in the afternoon rather than at night. The Rugby League season always (until the onset of "Summer Rugby" in 1996) ran from around August-time through to around May-time and this competition always took place early in the season, in the Autumn, with the final taking place in December (The only exception to this was when disruption of the fixture list was caused by inclement weather)


1977 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy, Competition and results
This season Bramley, winners in 1973, did not enter the competition (they returned next year), but Batley joined the  competition; thus the number of entrants remaining the same at twenty-two. The format remained as a knock-out competition from the preliminary round through to the  final. The preliminary round involved twelve clubs, to reduce the numbers taking part in the  competition proper to just sixteen.


1977 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy, Competition and results, Final, Teams and scorers
Scoring - Try = three (3) points - Goal = two (2) points - Drop goal = two (2) points


1977 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy, Notes
1 * Batley join the competition and play first game in the competition, and first at home in the competition. It was also their one and only game as they did not enter the competition again2 * At the  time this highest score and greatest winning margin, never to be beaten3 * This match was televised4 * Abandoned after 25 Minutes due to Fog - Second Half was due to be Live on BBC 25  * Craven Park (1) was the home ground of Hull Kingston Rovers from 2 September 1922 to 9 April 1989. The final capacity was estimated to be under 10,000 although the record attendance was 22,282 set on 7 October 1922 in a match against local rivals Hull FC. The stadium was demolished in 1989 and a new supermarket constructed for the Co-op, and now occupied by Morrisons.


1977 BC Lions season
The 1977 BC Lions finished in second place in the Western Conference with a 10–6 record. They appeared in the Western Final.


1977 BC Lions season
General Manager Bob Ackles started a complete shakeup of the organization by bringing Edmonton assistant Vic Rapp in as the 10th Head Coach on January 21st.


1977 BC Lions season
Ackles also recruited Jerry Tagge, who quarterbacked the two-time NCAA champion University of Nebraska and was a high first round draft choice of the Green Bay Packers. Tagge, who never found success with Green Bay, was enticed to come up to Canada to resurrect his football career. Tagge had a solid season throwing for 2787 yards but more importantly led the Lions to 10 victories and several last-minute heroics that earned the 1977 Lions the label the "Cardiac Kids". Tagge was the western nominee for Outstanding Player, but lost out to running back JImmy Edwards of Hamilton for the Outstanding Player Award in the CFL.


1977 BC Lions season
Al Wilson finally won the Schenley award for Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman and receiver/return Leon Bright captured the Schenley Rookie award.


1977 BC Lions season
Rapp was named the Canadian Football League's Coach of the Year.


1977 BC Lions season
Tagge, Wilson and Bright were the 3 Lions selected to the CFL All-star team.


1977 BYU Cougars football team
The 1977 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University (BYU) for the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The Cougars were led by sixth-year head coach LaVell Edwards and played their home games at Cougar Stadium in Provo, Utah. The team competed as a member of the Western Athletic Conference, winning a share of the conference title for the second consecutive year, sharing the title with Arizona State with a conference record of 6–1.


1977 BYU Cougars football team
The previous season, BYU was invited to the Tangerine Bowl, where they lost to Oklahoma State. Despite finishing the regular season with a record of 9–2 and ranked 17th in the AP Poll, the Cougars were not invited to a bowl game and dropped to twentieth in the final poll, and tied for sixteenth in the UPI Coaches Poll.


1977 BYU Cougars football team, Game summaries, Utah State
Senior quarterback Gifford Nielsen completed 30 of 40 passes for 321 yards and six touchdowns. Head coach LaVell Edwards pulled Nielsen with about three minutes left in the first half and again at 3:46 in the third quarter while three more potential touchdown passes were dropped otherwise Nielsen's stats would have been even greater. On the road in Logan, the BYU players were actually cheered by the Utah State fans as they left field.


1977 BYU Cougars football team, Game summaries, Oregon State
Starting quarterback Nielsen injured his knee late in the loss at Corvallis on October 8, ending his collegiate career; he was replaced by sophomore Marc Wilson. The struggling Oregon State Beavers were seven-point underdogs, and went winless in the Pac-10 Conference.


1977 BYU Cougars football team, Game summaries, Utah
BYU's Marc Wilson threw for 571 yards, breaking the single-game NCAA record set by Utah State's Tony Adams in 1972, also against Utah. Wilson was pulled with two minutes left, but returned a minute later and completed three passes, including a touchdown to John VanDerWouden, to set the record, which drew the ire of Utah head coach Wayne Howard.


1977 Bahamian general election
General elections were held in the Bahamas on 19 July 1977. The result was a victory for the Progressive Liberal Party, which won 30 of the 38 seats. Voter turnout was 92.6%.


1977 Balkans Cup
The 1977 Balkans Cup was an edition of the Balkans Cup, a football competition for representative clubs from the Balkan states. It was contested by 6 teams and Panathinaikos won the trophy.


1977 Ball State Cardinals football team
The 1977 Ball State Cardinals football team was an American football team that represented Ball State University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. In its seventh season under head coach Dave McClain, the team compiled a 9–2 record (5–1 against conference opponents) and finished third in the MAC. The team played its home games at Ball State Stadium in Muncie, Indiana.


1977 Ball State Cardinals football team
The team's statistical leaders included Dave Wilson with 1,589 passing yards, George Jenkins with 1,070 rushing yards, Rick Morrison with 908 receiving yards and 60 points scored.


1977 Ballon d'Or
The 1977 Ballon d'Or,  given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to the Danish Forward Allan Simonsen on 27 December 1977. There were 25 voters, from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, East Germany, England, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Soviet Union, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, West Germany and Yugoslavia.


1977 Ballymena Borough Council election
Elections to Ballymena Borough Council were held on 18 May 1977 on the same day as the other Northern Irish local government elections. The election used four district electoral areas to elect a total of 21 councillors.


1977 Ballymena Borough Council election, Districts results, Area A
1973: 2 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Independent1977: 2 x DUP, 1 x UUP, 1 x Independent1973-1977 Change: DUP gain from UUP


1977 Ballymena Borough Council election, Districts results, Area B
1973: 2 x DUP, 2 x Independent Unionist, 1 x UUP, 1 x Independent1977: 4 x DUP, 2 x UUP1973-1977 Change: DUP (two seats) gain from UUP and Independent, Independent Unionists (two seats) join UUP


1977 Ballymena Borough Council election, Districts results, Area C
1973: 3 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Vanguard1977: 3 x DUP, 2 x Independent Unionist1973-1977 Change: DUP gain from UUP, Independent Unionists (two seats) leave UUP and Vanguard


1977 Ballymena Borough Council election, Districts results, Area D
1973: 3 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Independent1977: 2 x DUP, 1 x UUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Independent, 1 x Independent Unionist1973-1977 Change: DUP gain from UUP, Independent Unionist leaves UUP


1977 Ballymoney Borough Council election
Elections to Ballymoney Borough Council were held on 18 May 1977 on the same day as the other Northern Irish local government elections. The election used three district electoral areas to elect a total of 16 councillors.


1977 Ballymoney Borough Council election, Districts results, Area A
1973: 1 x DUP, 1 x UUP, 1 x Independent Unionist, 1 x Independent1977: 2 x DUP, 2 x UUP1973-1977 Change: DUP gain from Independent, Independent Unionist joins UUP


1977 Ballymoney Borough Council election, Districts results, Area B
1973: 3 x UUP, 2 x SDLP, 2 x Independent Unionist, 1 x Independent Nationalist1977: 3 x UUP, 3 x SDLP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Independent1973-1977 Change: DUP, SDLP and Independent gain from UUP (two seats) and Independent Nationalist, Independent Unionists (two seats) join UUP


1977 Ballymoney Borough Council election, Districts results, Area C
1973: 2 x Independent, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Independent Unionist1977: 2 x Independent, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Independent Unionist1973-1977 Change: No change


1977 Baltimore Colts season
The 1977 Baltimore Colts season was the 25th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). Led by third-year head coach Ted Marchibroda, the Colts finished with 10 wins and 4 losses, tied for first in the AFC East division with the Miami Dolphins. The Colts had the tiebreaker over Miami based on better conference record (9–3 to 8–4), and the Dolphins missed the playoffs.


1977 Baltimore Colts season
This was the final playoff appearance for the Colts as a Baltimore-based franchise (their next came ten years later in 1987, by which time the team moved to Indianapolis). Baltimore's next playoff team was the Ravens in 2000, winners of Super Bowl XXXV.


1977 Baltimore Colts season, Offseason
Colts' owner Robert Irsay fired general manager Joe Thomas in January 1977, due to a power struggle he was having with head coach Ted Marchibroda. The new general manager was former Colts center Dick Szymanski, who was the personnel director and a former scout.


1977 Baltimore Colts season, Regular season, Schedule
This was the seventeenth and last NFL regular season with 14 games: it was expanded to 16 games in 1978.


1977 Baltimore Colts season, Playoffs
Baltimore made it to the AFC playoffs as a No. 2 seed and hosted the defending Super Bowl champion Oakland Raiders in the divisional round. The Colts held a 31–28 lead with time running out, when the famous “Ghost to the Post” play to tight end Dave Casper advanced the Raiders to the Baltimore 14-yard line, where Errol Mann kicked the tying field goal to send the contest into overtime. After the first overtime went scoreless, Casper caught a 10-yard touchdown pass 43 seconds into the period to win the game for the Raiders.


1977 Baltimore International
The 1977 Baltimore International was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Towson State College in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States that was part of the 1977 Grand Prix circuit. It was the sixth edition of the event and was held from January 17 through January 23, 1977. Second-seeded Brian Gottfried won the singles title, his second at the event after 1975, and won $20,000 first-prize money.


1977 Baltimore International, Finals, Doubles
Ion Ţiriac /  Guillermo Vilas defeated  Ross Case /  Jan Kodeš 6–3, 6–7, 6–4


1977 Baltimore Orioles season
The 1977 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Orioles finishing tied for second in the American League East with a record of 97 wins and 64 losses.


1977 Baltimore Orioles season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1977 Baltimore Orioles season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1977 Baltimore Orioles season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1977 Baltimore Orioles season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1977 Baltimore Orioles season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1977 Banbridge District Council election
Elections to Banbridge District Council were held on 18 May 1977 on the same day as the other Northern Irish local government elections. The election used two district electoral areas to elect a total of 15 councillors.


1977 Banbridge District Council election, Districts results, Area A
1973: 4 x UUP, 2 x Independent Nationalist, 1 x Independent Unionist1977: 3 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Independent Nationalist, 1 x Independent Unionist1973-1977 Change: DUP and SDLP gain from UUP and Independent Nationalist


1977 Banbridge District Council election, Districts results, Area B
1973: 7 x UUP, 1 x SDLP1977: 5 x UUP, 2 x DUP, 1 x SDLP1973-1977 Change: DUP (two seats) gain from UUP (two seats)


1977 Bandy World Championship
The 1977 Bandy World Championship was the tenth Bandy World Championship and was contested between four men's bandy playing nations. The championship was played in Norway from 23–30 January 1977. The Soviet Union became champions.


1977 Bangladesh Air Force mutiny
The 1977 Bangladesh Air Force mutiny was a mutiny in Dhaka on 1 October 1977 by members of Bangladesh Air force and the Signal corps of Bangladesh Army.


1977 Bangladesh Air Force mutiny, Background
Bangladesh was under a military government headed by President Ziaur Rahman who had come to power through a coup. The government of Bangladesh was busy with the Japan Airlines Flight 472 hijacking and the exchange of hostages for ransom. The Japanese Red Army had hijacked the plane and landed it in Tejgaon Airport in Dhaka. The hijackers were warned of the mutiny and told to take defensive position if they saw armed personnel moving towards the plane by the air control tower.


1977 Bangladesh Air Force mutiny, Events
The revolt was carried out by lower ranking soldiers of the Bangladesh Army Signals Battalion and the Bangladesh Air Force. It was led by Sergeant Afsar of the Bangladesh Air Force, who was influenced by the ideology of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal. The mutineers killed 11 officers in Tejgaon Airport. Ten soldiers from the army were killed. The mutineers took over Dhaka Radio station briefly and attacked the residence of President Ziaur Rahman. After the government put down the mutiny, hundreds of members of the Air Force were arrested. They were swiftly convicted in military tribunals. A few were sentenced to prison, but most were executed in Dhaka Central Jail. The government of President Zia officially announced the hanging of 561 Air Force personnel.


1977 Bangladeshi presidential confidence referendum
A national vote of confidence in President Ziaur Rahman was held in Bangladesh on 30 May 1977. Voters were asked Do you have confidence in President Major General Ziaur Rahman BU and the policies and programs adopted by him? The result saw 98.9% vote yes, with a turnout of 88.1%.


1977 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting
Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 1977 followed the system in place since 1971. The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) voted by mail to select from recent major league players and elected Ernie Banks. The Veterans Committee met in closed sessions to consider executives, managers, umpires, and earlier major league players. It selected three people: Al López, Amos Rusie, and Joe Sewell. The Negro League Committee also met in person and selected two players, Martín Dihigo and John Henry Lloyd. The Negro League Committee also decided to disband; it had elected nine players in seven years. A formal induction ceremony was held in Cooperstown, New York, on August 8, 1977, with Commissioner of Baseball Bowie Kuhn presiding.


1977 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, BBWAA election
The BBWAA was authorized to elect players active in 1957 or later, but not after 1971; the ballot included candidates from the 1976 ballot who were not elected, along with selected players, chosen by a screening committee, whose last appearance was in 1971. All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to vote.


1977 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, BBWAA election
Voters were instructed to cast votes for up to 10 candidates; any candidate receiving votes on at least 75% of the ballots would be honored with induction to the Hall. The ballot consisted of 34 players; a total of 383 ballots were cast, with 288 votes required for election. A total of 2,929 individual votes were cast, an average of 7.65 per ballot.


1977 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, BBWAA election
Candidates who were eligible for the first time are indicated here with a dagger (†). The one candidate who received at least 75% of the vote and was elected is indicated in bold italics; candidates who have since been elected in subsequent elections are indicated in italics.


1977 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, BBWAA election
George Kell and Walker Cooper were on the ballot for the final time. Harvey Kuenn, whose last game had been in 1966, was eligible for the first time due to his appearance on the roster of the Milwaukee Brewers for two weeks in 1970.


1977 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, BBWAA election
Harvey Kuenn, whose last game played was in 1966, was actually activated by the Brewers for the last two weeks of 1971, in order for him to qualify for pension purposes. He did not play in an actual game, however.


1977 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, BBWAA election
The newly-eligible players included 13 All-Stars, 8 of whom were not included on the ballot, representing a total of 50 All-Star selections. Among the new candidates were 11-time All-Star Ernie Banks, 8-time All-Star Harvey Kuenn, and 7-time All-Stars Jim Bunning and Camilo Pascual. The field included two MVPs (Banks, who won twice, and Zoilo Versalles), one Cy Young Award winner (Dean Chance) and one Rookie of the Year (Kuenn).


1977 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, BBWAA election
Players eligible for the first time who were not included on the ballot were: Bob Aspromonte, Clete Boyer, George Brunet, Dean Chance, Ty Cline, Clay Dalrymple, Dick Ellsworth, Jake Gibbs, Tony González, Mudcat Grant, Dick Hall, Jim Hannan, Mike Hershberger, Chuck Hinton, Mack Jones, Cal Koonce, Jim Maloney, Lee Maye, Mike McCormick, Don Pavletich, Claude Raymond, Howie Reed, Ducky Schofield, Al Spangler, George Thomas, Zoilo Versalles and Al Weis.


1977 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, J. G. Taylor Spink Award
Harold Kaese (1909–1975) and Red Smith (1905–1982) received the J. G. Taylor Spink Award honoring baseball writers. The awards were voted at the December 1976 meeting of the BBWAA, and included in the summer 1977 ceremonies.


1977 Baylor Bears football team
The 1977 Baylor Bears football team represented the Baylor University in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The Bears finished the season sixth in the Southwest Conference.


1977 Belfast City Council election
Elections to Belfast City Council were held on 18 May 1977 on the same day as the other Northern Irish local government elections. The election used nine district electoral areas to elect a total of 51 councillors, most representing the more heavily populated north and west.


1977 Belfast City Council election
The UUP remained the largest party, and James Stewart became Lord Mayor. The narrow unionist majority of one on the council resulted in David Cook from Alliance becoming Lord Mayor in 1978, the first non-unionist Lord Mayor since 1898.


1977 Belfast City Council election, District results, Area A
1973: 4 x UUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Vanguard, 1 x NILP1977: 2 x UUP, 2 x DUP, 2 x Alliance, 1 x SDLP1973-1977 Change: DUP (two seats), Alliance and SDLP gain from UUP (two seats), Vanguard and NILP


1977 Belfast City Council election, District results, Area B
1973: 5 x UUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x United Loyalist1977: 3 x UUP, 2 x Alliance, 1 x UPNI, 1 x DUP1973-1977 Change: Alliance, UPNI and DUP gain from UUP (two seats) and United Loyalist


1977 Belfast City Council election, District results, Area C
1973: 4 x UUP, 2 x Alliance1977: 3 x Alliance, 2 x UUP, 1 x UPNI1973-1977 Change: Alliance and UPNI gain from UUP (two seats)


1977 Belfast City Council election, District results, Area D
1973: 4 x SDLP, 1 x Republican Clubs, 1 x Alliance1977: 4 x SDLP, 1 x Republican Clubs, 1 x Alliance1973-1977 Change: No change


1977 Belfast City Council election, District results, Area E
1973: 1 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x NILP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x United Loyalist, 1 x Independent Unionist1977: 2 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Independent, 1 x Independent Unionist1973-1977 Change: UUP and Independent gain from NILP and United Loyalist


1977 Belfast City Council election, District results, Area F
1973: 3 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Republican Clubs1977: 2 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Republican Clubs, 1 x Alliance1973-1977 Change: Alliance gain from UUP


1977 Belfast City Council election, District results, Area G
1973: 3 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Independent Unionist1977: 2 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Republican Clubs, 1 x Alliance1973-1977 Change: DUP and Republican Clubs gain from UUP and Independent Unionist


1977 Belfast City Council election, District results, Area H
1973: 5 x UUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x SDLP1977: 2 x UUP, 2 x Alliance, 1 x SDLP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Independent Unionist1977-1981 Change: Alliance, DUP and Independent Unionist gain from UUP (three seats)


1977 Belgian Cup Final
The 1977 Belgian Cup Final, took place on 12 June 1977 between Anderlecht and Club Brugge. It was the 22nd Belgian Cup final and only the first final in which Club Brugge and Anderlecht met each other. Club Brugge won the match 4-3.


1977 Belgian Cup Final, Match, Summary
During the first half, Anderlecht scored from three long range shots, with Club Brugge barely managing to hang on and happy to go into the break only one goal down at 3-2. During the second half Roger Davies turned the tide as he scored twice to hand Club Brugge the cup.


1977 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1977 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zolder on 5 June 1977. It was the seventh race of the 1977 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1977 International Cup for F1 Constructors.


1977 Belgian Grand Prix
The 70-lap race was won by Swedish driver Gunnar Nilsson, driving a Lotus-Ford. Austrian driver Niki Lauda finished second in a Ferrari, while Nilsson's fellow Swede, Ronnie Peterson, finished third in the six-wheeled Tyrrell-Ford. This was to be Nilsson's only Formula One victory, before his career was cut short by cancer and he died in October 1978.


1977 Belgian Grand Prix, Race, Report
In qualifying Mario Andretti took a comfortable pole position with John Watson just beating the second Lotus of Gunnar Nilsson to second. The race was wet due to rain earlier in the day, and Watson took the lead at the first corner, but later in the first lap, Andretti ran into the back to him while attempting to retake the lead, resulting in both of them spinning out and Jody Scheckter taking the lead.


1977 Belgian Grand Prix, Race, Report
Scheckter led the early stages ahead of Nilsson, whereas Carlos Reutemann made an early charge but spun off. The track began to dry and everyone had to pit for tyres, and those who stopped early were the ones who benefited, as now Niki Lauda was leading from Jochen Mass and Scheckter was down to fifth. Mass spun off from second, handing it to Nilsson who then went on to catch and pass Lauda before driving away to his first career victory. Behind second-placed Lauda, Ronnie Peterson completed the podium for Team Tyrrell after Scheckter retired with an engine failure. This remains the only F1 race in which two Swedes shared the podium.


1977 Belgian Grand Prix, Race, Report
David Purley stayed out later than most drivers and was running third by lap 21. After he finally pitted, he emerged in front of race leader Lauda. He was likely unaware that Lauda was a lap ahead and did not let him through, holding the leader up for a few laps. This may have cost Lauda victory and the two were involved in an argument after the race.


1977 Belgian International Championships
The 1977 Belgian International Championships was a men's tennis tournament staged at the Leopold Club in Brussels, Belgium that was part of the Grand Prix circuit and categorized as a Two star event. The tournament was played on outdoor clay courts and was held from 6 June until 12 June 1977. It was the sixth edition of the tournament and first-seeded Harold Solomon won the singles title.


1977 Belgian International Championships, Finals, Singles
Harold Solomon defeated  Karl Meiler 7–5, 3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4


1977 Belgian International Championships, Finals, Doubles
Željko Franulović /  Nikola Pilić and  František Pála /  Balázs Taróczy final not played, title shared


1977 Belgian general election
General elections were held in Belgium on 17 April 1977. The result was a victory for the Christian People's Party, which won 56 of the 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 28 of the 106 seats in the Senate. Voter turnout was 95.1%. Elections were also held for the nine provincial councils and for the Council of the German Cultural Community.


1977 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix
The 1977 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix was the ninth round of the 1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 3 July 1977 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Barry Sheene won the race with an average speed of 135.0 mph making it the fastest motorcycle Grand Prix in history.


1977 Belmont Stakes
The 1977 Belmont Stakes was the 109th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York held on June 11, 1977. With a field of eight horses, Seattle Slew won by four lengths in front of a crowd of 70,229 spectators. In conjunction with previously winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, Seattle Slew became the tenth horse to with the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, and the first to do so unbeaten. The race went off at 5:47 pm ET and was televised on CBS nationwide.


1977 Belmont Stakes, Results
Times: 1⁄4 mile: :24.6, 1⁄2 mile: :48.4, 3⁄4mile: 1:14, 1 mile: 1:38.8, 11⁄4mile: 2:03.8, Final: 2:29.6


1977 Belmont Stakes, Results
Note: times were kept to the fifth of a second.


1977 Benin coup d'état attempt
The 1977 Benin coup d'état attempt, Opération Crevette or Operation Shrimp was a failed attempt by a team of French-led mercenaries to overthrow the government of the People's Republic of Benin which was led by Mathieu Kérékou whose communist party, the People's Revolutionary Party of Benin (PRPB), was the only allowed political party in the country. The coup took place on 17 January 1977 and included a failed invasion of the port city of Cotonou by mercenaries contracted by a group of exiled Beninese political rivals.


1977 Benin coup d'état attempt
Bob Denard was the leader of the mercenary group and although Jacques Foccart denied knowledge of the attempted coup after its failure, he did recognize that it had been backed-up by Gnassingbé Eyadéma (Togo), Félix Houphouët-Boigny (Ivory Coast), Omar Bongo (Gabon) and Hassan II (Morocco), all allies of France.


1977 Benin coup d'état attempt
The coup would be one of several against Kérékou who survived numerous attempts to oust him, including two coup attempts in 1988.


1977 Benson & Hedges Championships
The 1977 Benson & Hedges Championships, also known as the Wembley Championships, was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Wembley Arena in London, England that was part of the 1977 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix. It was the second edition of the tournament and was held from 14 November until 18 November 1977. First-seeded Björn Borg won the singles title.


1977 Benson & Hedges Championships, Finals, Doubles
Frew McMillan /  Sandy Mayer defeated  Brian Gottfried /  Raúl Ramírez 6–3, 7–6


1977 Benson & Hedges Cup
The 1977 Benson & Hedges Cup was the sixth competing of cricket’s Benson & Hedges Cup. The competition was won by Gloucestershire County Cricket Club.


1977 Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament
The 1977 Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament was the third edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament and took place in February 1977. For the second year running the tournament featured four professional players, although defending champion John Spencer did not compete this year and was replaced by Ray Reardon. The prize fund for the winner this year was £750, up from £600 the previous year.


1977 Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament
In a format tweak to the previous year, the four players competed in a group format, with the top two winning the most frames advancing to the final. Higgins earned £100 for the tournament high break - 126 in his group match with Taylor. Reardon topped the group, with Higgins and Taylor tied for second. In a one-frame shoot-out, Higgins defeated Taylor 71-57 and advanced to the final, in which he defeated Reardon 5–3.


1977 Berlin Marathon
The 1977 Berlin Marathon was the fourth running of the annual marathon race held in Berlin, West Germany, held on 10 September. There were two sections to the marathon in that year's running. The Berlin race hosted the West German national championship, which was started an hour after the regular mass race.


1977 Berlin Marathon
The men's and women's winners of the mass race were Great Britain's Norman Wilson (2:16:21) and West Germany's Angelika Brandt (3:10:27) while better results came in the West German championship through Günter Mielke (2:15:19) and Christa Vahlensieck (2:34:48). Vahlensieck's time was a marathon world record. A total of 230 runners finished the mass race, comprising 219 men and 11 women.


1977 Berlin Open
The 1977 Berlin Open, also known as the Berlin International Championships, was a men's tennis tournament staged in Berlin, West Germany that was part of the Grand Prix circuit and categorized as a One star event. The tournament was played on outdoor clay courts and was held from 13 June until 19 June 1977. It was the third edition of the tournament and first-seeded Paolo Bertolucci won the singles title.


1977 Berlin Open, Finals, Singles
Paolo Bertolucci defeated  Jiří Hřebec 6–4, 5–7, 4–6, 6–2, 6–4


1977 Berlin Open, Finals, Doubles
Hans Gildemeister /  Belus Prajoux and  Pavel Huťka /  Vladimír Zedník final not played, title shared


1977 Big Eight Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1977 Big Eight Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held March 1–4 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. This was the inaugural edition of the tournament.


1977 Big Eight Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Kansas State defeated Missouri in the championship game, 72–67 (in overtime), to take home their first Big 8 men's basketball tournament.


1977 Big Eight Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The Wildcats, in turn, received a bid to the 1977 NCAA Tournament. Kansas State was the only Big 8 team to qualify for the tournament.


1977 Big Eight Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
All eight of the conference's members participated in the tournament field. They were seeded based on regular season conference records, with all teams beginning play in the initial quarterfinal round.


1977 Big Eight Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
All first round games were played on the home court of the higher-seeded team. The semifinals and championship game, in turn, were played at a neutral site at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.


1977 Big League World Series
The 1977 Big League World Series took place from August 13–20 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. Taipei, Taiwan defeated host Broward County, Florida twice in the championship game. It was Taiwan's fourth straight championship.


1977 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1977 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held March 4–5 at the ISU Minidome at Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho.


1977 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Top-seeded Idaho State defeated Weber State in the championship game, 61–55, to clinch their first Big Sky men's basketball tournament.


1977 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The Bengals received an automatic bid to the 32-team NCAA Tournament, hosted Long Beach State, and won. In Provo, Utah, they upset UCLA by a point, but lost to UNLV in the Elite Eight.


1977 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
First played in 1976, the Big Sky tournament had the same format for its first eight editions. The regular season champion hosted and only the top four teams from the standings took part, with seeding based on regular season conference records.


1977 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
Montana State and Gonzaga made their first appearances, not having qualified as a top-four team the previous year. It was Gonzaga's sole Big Sky tournament; they narrowly missed the next two and left for the WCAC in the summer of 1979.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season
The 1977 Big Ten Conference football season was the 82nd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1977 NCAA Division I football season.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season
The 1977 Michigan Wolverines football team, under head coach Bo Schembechler, compiled a 10–2 record, tied for the Big Ten championship, led the conference in scoring offense (29.4 points per games), lost to Washington in the 1978 Rose Bowl, and was ranked No. 9 in the final AP Poll and No. 8 in the final UPI Poll. Rick Leach totaled 1,109 passing yards and 370 rushing yards and finished eighth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy. Russell Davis led the team with 1,013 rushing yards and finished second in the voting for the Chicago Tribune Silver Football. Three Michigan players received first-team honors on the 1977 College Football All-America Team: (1) offensive guard Mark Donahue (consensus); (2) center Walt Downing; and (3) linebacker John Anderson.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season
The 1977 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach Woody Hayes, compiled a 9–3 record, tied with Michigan for the Big Ten championship, led the conference in scoring defense (10.0 points allowed per game), lost to Alabama in the 1978 Sugar Bowl, and was ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll. Ron Springs led the conference with 1,166 rushing yards. Four Ohio State players received first-team All-America honors: offensive tackle Chris Ward (consensus); linebacker Tom Cousineau (consensus); middle guard Aaron Brown; and defensive back Ray Griffin.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season
Mark Herrmann of Purdue led the conference with 2,453 passing yards. Defensive end Larry Bethea of Michigan State won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's most valuable player.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Results and team statistics
KeyAP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1977 seasonAP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1977 seasonPPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in boldPAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in boldMVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, September 10
On September 10, 1977, the Big Ten teams opened their seasons with four conference games and two non-conference games. The non-conference games both resulted in wins.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, September 17
On September 17, 1977, the Big Ten teams played one conference game and eight non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in six wins and two losses, giving the Big Ten an 8–2 non-conference record to that point in the season.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, September 24
On October 24, 1977, the Big Ten teams participated in 10 non-conference games, resulting in four wins and six losses. The days results gave the Big Ten a 12–8 non-conference record to that point in the season.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, October 1
On October 1, 1977, the Big Ten teams played one conference game and eight non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in four wins and four losses, giving the Big Ten a 16–12 record to that point in the season.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, October 8
On October 8, 1977, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, October 15
On October 15, 1977, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, October 22
On October 22, 1977, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, October 29
On October 29, 1977, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, November 5
On November 5, 1977, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, November 12
On November 12, 1977, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, November 19
On November 19, 1977, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Bowl games, 1978 Rose Bowl
On January 2, 1978, Michigan (ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll) lost to Washington (ranked No. 13), 27–20, before a crowd of 105,312 in the 1978 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Washington was a two touchdown underdog but shot out to a 17-0 lead at halftime and a 24-0 lead in the third quarter. Resorting to a passing offense to overcome the point deficit, Michigan's Rick Leach threw touchdown passes in the last 20 minutes, including passes covering 76 yards to Curt Stephenson and 32 yards to Stan Edwards. Michigan's comeback was ultimately stopped by two interceptions deep in Washington territory.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Bowl games, 1978 Sugar Bowl
On January 2, 1978, Ohio State (ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll) lost to Bear Bryant's Alabama Crimson Tide (ranked No. 9), 35–6, before a crowd of 76,811 in the 1978 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Ohio State did not score until the fourth quarter when Rod Gerald threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Jim Harrell.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Bowl games, 1977 Hall of Fame Classic
On December 22, 1977, Minnesota lost to Maryland, 17–7, before a crowd of 47,000 in the first 1977 Hall of Fame Classic on Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. Marion Barber, Jr. scored Minnesota's touchdown in the first quarter.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Statistical leaders, Passing yards
1. Mark Herrmann, Purdue (2,453)2. Ed Smith, Michigan State (1,731)3. Rick Leach, Michigan (1,109)4. Tom McLaughlin, Iowa (1,081)5. Rod Gerald, Ohio State (1,016)


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Statistical leaders, Rushing yards
1. Ron Springs, Ohio State (1,166)2. Russell Davis, Michigan (1,013)3. Ric Enis, Indiana (978)4. Darrick Burnett • Indiana (774)5. Harlan Huckleby, Michigan (743)


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Statistical leaders, Receiving yards
1. Reggie Arnold, Purdue (840)2. Keith Calvin, Indiana (604)3. Ray Smith, Purdue (565)4. Kirk Gibson, Michigan State (531)5. David Charles, Wisconsin (437)


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Statistical leaders, Total offense
1. Mark Herrmann, Purdue (2,190)2. Ed Smith, Michigan State (1,571)3. Rick Leach, Michigan (1,479)4. Rod Gerald, Ohio State (1,462)5. Scott Arnett, Indiana (1,197)


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Statistical leaders, Passing efficiency rating
1. Mark Herrmann, Purdue (121.1)2. Ed Smith, Michigan State (111.4)


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Statistical leaders, Rushing yards per attempt
1. Jim Earley, Michigan State (6.1)2. Ron Springs, Ohio State (5.8)3. Jeff Logan, Ohio State (5.7)4. James Coleman, Illinois (5.0)5. Darrick Burnett, Indiana (4.9)


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Statistical leaders, Yards per reception
1. Kirk Gibson, Michigan State (24.1)2. Reggie Arnold, Purdue (19.1)3. Edgar Wilson, Michigan State (18.2)4. Mark Bailey, Northwestern (15.8)5. David Charles, Wisconsin (15.1)


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Statistical leaders, Points scored
1. Hans Nielsen, Michigan State (78)1. Joel Payton, Ohio State (78)3. Paul Rogind, Minnesota (68)4. Vlade Janakievski, Ohio State (65)5. Scott Sovereign, Purdue (59)


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Awards and honors, All-Big Ten honors
The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1977 All-Big Ten Conference football team.


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Awards and honors, All-American honors
At the end of the 1977 season, Big Ten players secured three of the consensus first-team picks for the 1977 College Football All-America Team. The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, Awards and honors, All-American honors
Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:


1977 Big Ten Conference football season, 1978 NFL Draft
The 1978 NFL Draft was held in New York on May 2–3, 1978. The following players were among the first 100 picks:


1977 Bihar Legislative Assembly election
1977 Bihar Legislative Assembly election was held in 1977 to elect members to the Bihar Legislative Assembly in the state of Bihar, India. The Janata Party's decisive victories in the state and political elections ensured Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur's victory.


1977 Birmingham Ladywood by-election
The Birmingham Ladywood by-election of 18 August 1977 was held after Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Brian Walden resigned in order to concentrate on his career as a journalist and broadcaster. A safe Labour seat, it was retained by the party.


1977 Birmingham Ladywood by-election
At the count, the Socialist Unity candidate, Raghib Ahsan, punched the National Front candidate, Anthony Reed Herbert.


1977 Birmingham Stechford by-election
The Birmingham Stechford by-election, in Birmingham, on 31 March 1977 was held after Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Roy Jenkins resigned his seat following his appointment as President of the European Commission. A seat that had been solidly Labour since its formation in 1950, it was won by Andrew MacKay of the Conservative Party, before being regained by Labour in 1979. The by-election was noted for the strong performance of the National Front candidate and the presence of two far left candidates.


1977 Birmingham Stechford by-election, Background
As a leading Labour sitting MP Roy Jenkins had hoped to become Foreign Secretary in the government of James Callaghan but was overlooked in favour of Anthony Crosland. Following this Jenkins was nominated as President of the European Commission in succession to François-Xavier Ortoli, a move which necessitated his departure from Parliament.


1977 Birmingham Stechford by-election, Candidates
With the seat being solid Labour Party territory the by-election presented the possibility of a return to Parliament for Terry Davis, who had served as member for the defunct Bromsgrove seat from  a by-election in 1971 until its abolition in 1974. Davis however failed to take the seat and began a pattern for the ailing Labour government who also lost the next by-election in Ashfield when David Marquand followed Jenkins to a role in the Commission.


1977 Birmingham Stechford by-election, Candidates
It also left the governing Labour Party without a majority and resulted in a vote of no confidence being issued, although the government won and was able to cling onto power by forming a pact with the Liberals.


1977 Birmingham Stechford by-election, Candidates
The Conservative candidate Andrew MacKay won the election with a majority of nearly 2000, although ultimately he would only hold the seat until 1979 when it was regained for Labour. MacKay would go on to enjoy a long parliamentary career representing a number of constituencies.


1977 Birmingham Stechford by-election, Candidates
The Liberal Party candidate was Graham Gopsill, a Birmingham councillor who finished the by-election in a lowly fourth place. Gopsill would later serve the Liberal Democrats in Droitwich Spa until his death in 2009. He was beaten into fourth by National Front candidate Andrew Brons, a veteran of a number of far right movements and member of the NF National Directorate who eventually became NF chairman in 1980. Other candidates to appear on the ballot were leftists Brian Heron of the International Marxist Group and journalist Paul Foot for the Socialist Workers Party.


1977 Birmingham WCT
The 1977 Birmingham WCT was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the fifth edition of the Grand Prix Birmingham, and part of the 1977 World Championship Tennis circuit. It took place in Birmingham, Alabama, United States from January 12 through January 16, 1977. First-seeded Jimmy Connors won the singles title.


1977 Birmingham WCT, Finals, Doubles
Wojciech Fibak /  Tom Okker defeated  Billy Martin /  Bill Scanlon 6–3, 6–4


1977 Birthday Honours (New Zealand)
The 1977 Queen's Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours in New Zealand, celebrating the official birthday of Elizabeth II and the 25th anniversary of her accession to the throne, were appointments made by the Queen on the advice of the New Zealand government to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. They were announced on 11 June 1977.


1977 Birthday Honours (New Zealand)
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour.


1977 Blue Swords
Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles and pair skating.


1977 Bogra mutiny
The 1977 Bogra mutiny was a mutiny in Bogra Cantonment on 30 September 1977.


1977 Bogra mutiny, Background
Ziaur Rahman was the chief of Army Staff, he served as the chief Martial law administrator after the Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On 21 April 1977 President Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem resigned and Zia became president of Bangladesh. On July 1977 the Bogra cantonment saw another mutiny which led to the mutinous unit being disbanded. The cause behind the mutiny was resented over pay increase which were deemed insufficient.


1977 Bogra mutiny, Events
The mutiny took place in Bogra cantonment under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Zaman. The government of Bangladesh was preoccupied with Japan Airlines Flight 472 which was hijacked and had landed in Dhaka. Enlisted men had killed their officers and there were reports of gunfire in Bogra town. The 22nd Bengal Regiment had mutinied. After the mutiny had failed, hundreds of soldiers were executed and buried in mass graves in Rajshahi.


1977 Boise State Broncos football team
The 1977 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 1977 NCAA Division II football season. The Broncos competed in the Big Sky Conference and played their home games on campus at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. Led by second-year head coach Jim Criner, the Broncos were 9–2 overall and 6–0 in conference to win the Big Sky title, their fourth in five years.


1977 Boise State Broncos football team
This was the final season for BSU football in Division II; the Big Sky was in Division I for its other sports and joined the newly-created Division I-AA in 1978.


1977 Boise State Broncos football team
Because of their regular season ending on November 26, Boise State could not participate in the eight-team Division II playoffs, which began earlier that day. Big Sky runner-up Northern Arizona took the berth but suffered a 35-point shutout loss at home.


1977 Bolivarian Games
The VIII Bolivarian Games (Spanish: Juegos Bolivarianos) were a multi-sport event held between October 15–29, 1977, at the Estadio Olímpico La Paz in La Paz, Bolivia. The Games were organized by the Bolivarian Sports Organization (ODEBO).


1977 Bolivarian Games
The Games were officially opened by Bolivian president, General Hugo Banzer. Torch lighter was Athlete Julia Iriarte, who won five gold and three silver medals in the eight events at the 1947-48 Bolivarian Games.