1976 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament
The 1976 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 1976 NCAA Division III baseball season to determine the first national champion of college baseball at the NCAA Division III level. The tournament concluded with four teams competing at Pioneer Park in Marietta, Ohio for the championship. Four regional tournaments were held to determine the participants in the World Series. Regional tournaments were contested in double-elimination format, with three regions consisting of six teams and one consisting of four, for a total of 22 teams participating in the tournament. The tournament champion was Stanislaus State, who defeated Ithaca for the championship.


1976 NCAA Division III Basketball Tournament
The 1976 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament was the second annual single-elimination tournament to determine the men's collegiate basketball national champion of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III, held during March 1976.


1976 NCAA Division III Basketball Tournament
The tournament field included 28 teams, a decrease of two from 1975, and the national championship rounds were contested in Reading, Pennsylvania.


1976 NCAA Division III Basketball Tournament
Scranton defeated Wittenberg, 60–57 (in overtime), to win their first national championship.


1976 NCAA Division III football season
The 1976 NCAA Division III football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division III level, began in August 1976, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship in December 1976 at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama. The Saint John's Johnnies won their first Division III championship, defeating the Towson State Tigers by a final score of 31−28.


1976 NCAA Division III football season, Postseason
The 1976 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the fourth annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship game was held at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama for the fourth consecutive year. Like the previous championship, eight teams competed in this edition.


1976 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships
The 1976 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships were contested March 12−13, 1976 at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan at the 12th annual NCAA-sanctioned track meet to determine the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate indoor track and field events in the United States.


1976 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships
UTEP once again topped the team standings, the Miners' third consecutive and third overall indoor team title.


1976 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, Qualification
Unlike other NCAA-sponsored sports, there were not separate NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division III championships for indoor track and field until 1985. As such, all athletes and programs from all three divisions were eligible to compete.


1976 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
The consensus 1976 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of four major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Associated Press, the USBWA, The United Press International and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.


1976 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
The 1976 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament was the seventh annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's college volleyball. The tournament was played at Irving Gymnasium at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.


1976 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
UCLA defeated Pepperdine in the final match, 3–0 (18–16, 15–9, 15–11), to win their sixth, and third consecutive, national title.


1976 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
UCLA's Joe Mica was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. An All-tournament team of seven players was also named.


1976 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament, Qualification
Until the creation of the NCAA Men's Division III Volleyball Championship in 2012, there was only a single national championship for men's volleyball. As such, all NCAA men's volleyball programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.


1976 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The 1976 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the eighth annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's college water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, California during December 1976.


1976 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
Stanford defeated UCLA in the final, 13–12, to win their first national title.


1976 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The leading scorer for the tournament was Dave Breen from Arizona (17 goals). Chris Dorst, from Stanford, was named the Most Outstanding Player. An All-Tournament Team, consisting of seven players, was also named.


1976 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, Qualification
Since there has only ever been one single national championship for water polo, all NCAA men's water polo programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 8 teams were invited to contest this championship.


1976 NCAA Skiing Championships
The 1976 NCAA Skiing Championships were contested at Sunday River ski area, near the town of Newry, Maine, at the 23rd annual NCAA-sanctioned ski tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate alpine, cross country skiing, and ski jumping in the United States.


1976 NCAA Skiing Championships
Four-time defending champion Colorado, coached by alumnus Bill Marolt, finished tied with Dartmouth, coached by Jim Page, atop the team standings, with 112 points each, and shared the team national championship. Both teams finished a mere four points ahead of third-place Vermont; this was the seventh title for the Buffaloes and the second for the Big Green.


1976 NCAA Skiing Championships, Venue
This year's championships were held March 3–6 in Maine at Sunday River ski area in the town of Newry. Bates College of Lewiston served as host.


1976 NCAA Skiing Championships, Venue
These were the second NCAA championships in Maine (1967, Sugarloaf) and eighth in the East, all in New England.


1976 NFL Championship Series (Australia)
The 1976 NFL Championship Series was the 1st edition of the NFL Night Series, an NFL-organised national club Australian rules football tournament between the leading clubs from the VFL, the SANFL and the WANFL.


1976 NFL Championship Series (Australia)
It replaced the Championship of Australia tournament that been contested between the champion clubs of the VFL, the SANFL, the WANFL and the Tasmanian State Premiership between 1972 and 1975.


1976 NFL Championship Series (Australia)
The 1976 NFL Night Series was planned as a forerunner to a full-scale national competition in 1977 that would feature all the VFL, SANFL and WANFL teams plus representative teams from Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT.


1976 NFL Championship Series (Australia)
Ultimately, the 1976 competition would be the only one to feature the VFL clubs - the Victorian League chose to break away in 1977 and run a rival competition, the VFL Night Series.


1976 NFL Draft
The 1976 National Football League draft was an annual player selection meeting held April 8–9, 1976, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, New York.


1976 NFL Draft
The draft lasted 17 rounds, with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks making the first two selections. The expansion teams were also given a pair of extra picks at the end of each of rounds 2-5. The 1976 draft was the final NFL draft to last seventeen rounds; it was reduced to twelve rounds in 1977, and it was the first draft to officially have the infamous unofficial award, “Mr. Irrelevant”, for the final player selected. Like 1974, the 1976 draft is generally regarded as one of the worst quarterback draft classes of all time.


1976 NFL Draft
No quarterback from the 1976 draft class ever reached the Pro Bowl, an All-Pro team or a Super Bowl, and according to the estimate of Eldorado this quarterback class was the second-worst after 1996. Only first round pick Richard Todd, who led the New York Jets to their first postseason appearances since Super Bowl III in 1981 and 1982, was ever a regular starter.


1976 NFL Draft
Five teams lost picks as a penalty for illegally signing former World Football League players: the New York Giants and Chicago Bears lost sixth-round picks, the Washington Redskins lost their seventh-round pick, and the Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets lost their tenth-round selections.


1976 NFL Draft
The college draft was originally scheduled for February 3–4, but was postponed when the owners of the Seahawks and Buccaneers filed a lawsuit against the players' union with worries that the organization would try to prevent the expansion draft. The court case delayed both the expansion draft and the annual college draft.


1976 NFL expansion draft
The 1976 National Football League (NFL) expansion draft was held March 30–31, 1976. The expansion teams, the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, each selected 39 players from the other 26 NFL teams. Before the draft, each of the existing NFL teams was allowed to protect 29 players from selection by the expansion teams. When one player was chosen from an existing team, that team was then permitted to protect two additional players. The expansion teams continued until three players had been picked from each of the existing teams.


1976 NFL expansion draft
The expansion draft was originally scheduled for January 23–24, but was postponed when the owners of the Seahawks and Buccaneers filed a lawsuit against the players' union with worries that the organization would try to prevent the draft. The court case delayed both the expansion draft and the annual college draft.


1976 NFL season
The 1976 NFL season was the 57th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 28 teams with the addition of the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This fulfilled one of the conditions agreed to in 1966 for the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, which called for the league to expand to 28 teams by 1970 or soon thereafter.


1976 NFL season
For this season only, the Seahawks played in the NFC West while the Buccaneers played in the AFC West. The Seahawks would return to the NFC West with the realignment prior to the 2002 season. The Buccaneers became the first NFL team to finish a season 0–14. The Buccaneers lost their first 26 games as they also lost their first 12 games in 1977.


1976 NFL season
The season ended with Super Bowl XI when the Oakland Raiders defeated the Minnesota Vikings 32–14 at the Rose Bowl. The Raiders were the first original AFL team to appear and win a Super Bowl in the post-merger era.


1976 NFL season, Draft
The 1976 NFL Draft was held from April 8 to 9, 1976 at New York City's Roosevelt Hotel. With the first pick, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected defensive end Lee Roy Selmon from the University of Oklahoma.


1976 NFL season, New officials
Due to expansion, the NFL needed a new crew to help handle the weekly workload of 14 games. The most notable new official was Jerry Markbreit, hired as a line judge on the crew of referee Tommy Bell. Bell retired after working the 1976 AFC championship game, and Markbreit was promoted to referee for 1977, where he later became the first (and as of 2018, only) man to serve as the referee for four Super Bowls (XVII, XXI, XXVI and XXIX).


1976 NFL season, New officials
Another distinguished new official was Bob McElwee, who was promoted to referee in 1980. McElwee was the referee in Super Bowl XXII, Super Bowl XXVIII and Super Bowl XXXIV.


1976 NFL season, New officials
Norm Schachter retired after officiating Super Bowl X, his third after previously serving as crew chief for Super Bowl I and Super Bowl V. Red Cashion and Don Wedge were promoted after each had worked four seasons in the league.


1976 NFL season, Division races
The two expansion clubs, Tampa Bay and Seattle, were “swing” teams that did not participate in regular conference play. Every other NFL team played a home-and-away series against the other members in its division, two or three interconference games, and the remainder of their 14-game schedule against other conference teams. As a member of the AFC in 1976, Tampa Bay played the other 13 members of the conference, while Seattle did the same in the NFC. The 14th game, played in Week Six, was Seattle’s 13–10 win at Tampa.


1976 NFL season, Division races
Starting in 1970, and until 2002, there were three divisions (East, Central and West) in each conference. The winners of each division, and a fourth “wild card” team based on the best non-division winner, qualified for the playoffs. The tiebreaker rules were changed to start with head-to-head competition, followed by division records, records versus common opponents, and records in conference play.


1976 NHL Amateur Draft
The 1976 NHL Amateur Draft was the 14th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the NHL office in Montreal, Quebec, on June 1, 1976. It is notable as featuring one of the weakest first rounds in draft history, as only two players (Rick Green and Bernie Federko) played more than 450 career NHL games. In 2002, Federko was elected into the Hockey Hall-of-Fame after playing fourteen seasons (1976–1990), with 13 of those with the St. Louis Blues. The Cleveland Barons drafted as the California Golden Seals and the Colorado Rockies took part as the Kansas City Scouts. The two franchises would relocate to their new cities on July 15 of that year.


1976 NHL Amateur Draft, Selections by round
Below are listed the selections in the 1976 NHL amateur draft.


1976 NHL Amateur Draft, Selections by round
Club teams are located in North America unless otherwise noted.


1976 NPSL First Division
The 1976 National Professional Soccer League was the sixth season of the National Professional Soccer League, a South African soccer league. It was won by Orlando Pirates.


1976 NPSL First Division
At the time, due to the country's apartheid policies, the competition was only open to black South African teams, and it ran in parallel with the FPL and the NFL.


1976 NSWRFL season
The 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 69th season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. Twelve teams, including six of 1908's foundation clubs and another six from around Sydney, competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between the Manly-Warringah and Parramatta clubs. NSWRFL teams also competed for the 1976 Amco Cup.


1976 NSWRFL season, Season summary
This season Eastern Suburbs became the first rugby league team, and one of the first in Australian sport, to have a sponsor's name appear on their jersey.


1976 NSWRFL season, Season summary
Twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March till August resulting in a top five of Manly-Warringah, Parramatta, St. George, Eastern Suburbs and Canterbury-Bankstown, who battled it out in the finals.


1976 NSWRFL season, Season summary
In a one-off match that would form the foundation of the modern World Club Challenge, the previous season's premiers, Eastern Suburbs played British Champions St Helens R.F.C. on the 29th of June at the Sydney Cricket Ground. 26,865 turned out to see the Roosters beat the Saints 25 to 2.


1976 NSWRFL season, Season summary
This season Parramatta front-rower and captain Ray Higgs won both the Rothmans Medal and the Rugby League Week player of the year award.


1976 NSWRFL season, Season summary
The 1976 season also saw the retirement from the League of future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee, Graeme Langlands.


1976 NSWRFL season, Season summary, Teams
56th seasonGround: Jubilee OvalCaptain-coach: Graeme LanglandsCaptain(from May 76): Steve Edge


1976 NSWRFL season, Finals
Parramatta were first into the Grand Final, triumphing 23–17 in a bloody and brutal major semi-final against Manly. Manly earned a grand final berth the following week, surviving a Canterbury comeback to win 15–12.


1976 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
In 1976, after 30 years of competition, Parramatta reached their first grand final since their admission into the NSWRFL premiership in 1947. Their opponents were Manly-Warringah, who had also joined the premiership in 1947, but were playing in their eighth Grand Final, having previously won in 1972 and 1973 with captain Bob Fulton, fullback Graham Eadie, forward Terry Randall and lock Ian Martin having played in those two premiership teams.


1976 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
Jim Porter scored first, getting Parramatta to a 5–0 lead. A penalty goal to Graham Eadie closed the score to 5–2 before Alan Thompson sidestepped through to send Phil Lowe in for Manly's first and only try. Scores were locked 7–7 at half time.


1976 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
Geoff Gerard scored an unconverted try for the Eels early in the second half, then two penalties gave Manly an 11–10 lead.


1976 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
Parramatta missed a critical opportunity to win the game and their first ever premiership with ten minutes of the match remaining: 15 metres out from a wide-open tryline, Eels winger Neville Glover dropped the pass from John Moran which would have given the Eels the match-winning try in the Paddington Hill corner.


1976 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
Another penalty gave Manly a 13–10 lead. In the frantic dying minutes Parramatta threw everything they had at the Manly defence including the infamous "flying wedge" of dubious legality which had Ron Hilditch at the apex of a phalanx of players driving him towards the line. The wedge was somehow stopped by Eadie a foot short of the try line.


1976 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
The Manly defence held and the Sea Eagles secured their third premiership in five seasons, while the Eels would have to wait five more years for their first.


1976 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
It was Bob Fulton's 213rd and final match for Manly after a brilliant ten-year career with the club and the grand final victory was largely credited to his experience and brilliance. He was full of emotion as he accepted the J.J. Giltinan Shield and was able to end his playing career at Manly on the highest note.


1976 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
He would later return to the club as a successful coach in the 1980s but first he would finish his playing years and then commence coaching at Eastern Suburbs (Fulton would join Easts in 1977, unable to resist a big-money offer from the club that was backed by one of Australia's richest men and a big supporter of the future rugby league Immortal, Kerry Packer).


1976 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
Manly's win was a triumph for the powerful triumvirate of Fulton, coach Frank Stanton and Secretary Ken Arthurson who would all go on to higher honours in the game. For Stanton, it was his first success in a coaching career which was to bring two premierships and two Ashes-winning Kangaroo tours. Arthurson had brought to the club players of a calibre to enable five Grand Final appearances in the 1970s for four victories. He would go on to become the Chairman of the New South Wales Rugby League and later the Australian Rugby League.


1976 National 500
The 1976 National 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on October 10, 1976, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.


1976 National 500
By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore.


1976 National 500, Race report
A souvenir program was offered to the spectators at a cost of $3 USD per copy ($13.48 when adjusted for inflation). Another race took place the previous day known as the World Service Life 300; a companion race that accompanied the National 500 during the course of the 1970s.


1976 National 500, Race report
The race was held on a dry circuit; with no precipitation recorded around the speedway.


1976 National 500, Race report
Forty American-born drivers competed at this race; the winner received $22,435 out of the total prize purse ($100,800 when adjusted for inflation). Last-place finisher Al Holbert received only $855 for his engine problem of lap 7 out of the scheduled 334 laps of the race ($3,842 in when adjusted for inflation). Janet Guthrie was the only female competitor in this three-hour-and-thirty-two-minute race. After three cautions for eighteen laps and 26 lead changes, Donnie Allison defeated Cale Yarborough in front of 74500 other people. Had Cale Yarborough won the race, he would have won five consecutive races.


1976 National 500, Race report
A.J. Foyt quit the Hoss Ellington team in the early stages of the race, telling reporters he'd rather build his own cars than drive cars that are "never prepared." The frustrated Foyt quipped that he "couldn't keep that car in a 10 acre bryar patch." Donnie Allison won the race driving Foyt's backup car in a last minute entry.


1976 National 500, Race report
David Pearson qualified for the pole position with a top speed of 161.223 miles per hour (259.463 km/h) while the average racing speed was 141.226 miles per hour (227.281 km/h). His next pole position achievement would be at the 1977 World 600. Notable crew chiefs that participated in this race included Junie Donlavey, Jake Elder, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Bud Moore, Sterling Marlin and Tim Brewer.


1976 National 500, Race report
Buck Baker would make his last NASCAR start here before retiring with a 34th-place finish in the books. He would go on to tutor an adolescent Jeff Gordon; who would go on to become one of the best NASCAR drivers in the "modern" era of NASCAR. Hoss Ellington would make his first win as a NASCAR owner while bending the rules so that both his vehicles could compete. Gordon Johncock would also retire from NASCAR after this race.


1976 National 500, Race report
David Pearson had to get out of his #21 Purolator Mercury in this race. Neil Bonnett, an early retiree in this one, hopped into the Wood Brothers special as a relief driver to help out as the car went on to a top-10 finish. It was something of an early bird cameo in the #21 for Bonnett as he would later replace Pearson as the team's Cup driver in early 1979.


1976 National 500, Race report
Johnny Rutherford had entered the qualifying session carrying a faulty engine; the car was supposedly "set up" and the crews did not need to work on the chassis. Before he took the green to qualify he stopped and backed up a lap as he was screaming for a wedge adjustment. After eight turns down on the left rear he did put the car in the show. The decision was made to check the chassis and the front end settings were backward and the car had qualified with four inches of bite.


1976 National 500, Race report
As the race progressed Rutherford wanted four turns down on the right rear, which made no sense. The spinout that followed did not eliminate the car from the race but the engine failure down the backstretch did. Engines back then were not turned as tight as today. The tachometer was pegged to the maximum. He had clutched the motor and had to exit the race on lap 208 with a 31st-place finish; 13 places worse than the position that he qualified for.


1976 National Challenge Cup
The 1976 National Challenge Cup was the 63rd edition of the USSF's annual open soccer championship. Teams from the North American Soccer League declined to participate. The San Francisco I.A.C. defeated the New York Inter-Giuliana of New York City in the final game. It was Inter-Giuliana's second consecutive trip to the National Cup finals that they lost.


1976 National Invitation Tournament
The 1976 National Invitation Tournament was the 1976 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition.


1976 National Invitation Tournament, Selected teams
Below is a list of the 12 teams selected for the tournament.


1976 National League Championship Series
The 1976 National League Championship Series faced off the Cincinnati Reds (known for their nickname at the time, The Big Red Machine) and the Philadelphia Phillies. The Reds swept the best-of-five series in three games, winning easily in the first two games, and in their last at bat in Game 3. It was the eighth NLCS in all.


1976 National League Championship Series
Stars of the series for the Reds included batters Johnny Bench (4 for 12, HR), Dave Concepción (4 runs scored), George Foster (2 H, both home runs), Ken Griffey (5 for 13, triple), Pete Rose (6 for 14, 2 RBIs, 3 runs scored), and pitchers Don Gullett (win, 8 IP, 2 hits), Pedro Borbón (4 1⁄3 IP, 0.00 ERA), and Pat Zachry (win, 5 IP, 3 SO).


1976 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Reds starter Don Gullett held the Phils to two hits in eight strong innings, but allowed them to score first when Dave Cash hit a leadoff double, moved to third on a groundout and scored on Mike Schmidt's sacrifice fly. Gullett then walked three to load the bases, but got Tim McCarver to fly out to end the inning. The Reds tied the game in the third on Tony Perez's sacrifice fly off of Steve Carlton, then took the lead in the sixth on George Foster's home run.


1976 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
After a double and error put two on, Gullett's RBI single made it 3–1 Reds. After allowing a leadoff double and walk in the eighth, Carlton was replaced by Tug McGraw, who allowed a one-out two-run double to Gullett and RBI double to Pete Rose. The Phillies attempted to rally in the ninth off of Rawly Eastwick. Garry Maddox hit a leadoff single and scored on Greg Luzinski's double. After Dick Allen singled, Jay Johnstone's RBI single made it 6–3 Reds, but Eastwick retired the next two batters to end the game and give the Reds a 1–0 series lead.


1976 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
Buoyed by an RBI single by Bob Boone in the second after two leadoff singles and a homer by Greg Luzinski in the fifth off of Pat Zachry, Phils starter Jim Lonborg no-hit the Reds until the sixth. After giving up a leadoff walk, one-out RBI single to Pete Rose, followed by another single by Ken Griffey, Lonborg was removed from the game by manager Danny Ozark.


1976 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
Gene Garber came in relief and after an intentional walk loaded the bases, two runs came across on an error by first baseman Dick Allen on a ball hit by Tony Pérez, then George Foster's RBI groundout made it 4–2 Reds. They added to their lead next inning on Griffey's RBI single off of Tug McGraw and Perez's sacrifice fly off of Ron Reed. Pedro Borbon pitched the last four innings to close to give the Reds a 2–0 series lead heading home.


1976 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
Once again, the Phillies got a strong starting pitching performance that went for naught. Jim Kaat held the Reds to one hit after six innings. Meanwhile, his teammates provided him a 3–0 lead via a consecutive doubles in the fourth by Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski off of Gary Nolan and RBI doubles by Garry Maddox and Schmidt in the seventh after a leadoff walk off of Manny Sarmiento.


1976 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
But in the bottom of the seventh, Kaat began to lose it. Ken Griffey led off with a single, Joe Morgan walked. Ron Reed then replaced Kaat to face Tony Pérez, who promptly singled home Griffey. George Foster followed with a sacrifice fly. After a walk to Johnny Bench, Reed retired Dave Concepción, but then surrendered a two-run triple to César Gerónimo to put the Reds ahead 4–3.


1976 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
In the eighth, the Phillies rallied against Reds closer Rawly Eastwick. Jay Johnstone led off with a double and went to third on a wild pitch as Bob Boone walked. Larry Bowa doubled in Johnstone and Dave Cash hit a sacrifice fly to give the Phillies the lead at 5–4. The Phillies added another run in the top of the ninth on an RBI triple by Johnstone to make it 6–4.


1976 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
With Reed still on the mound in the ninth, Foster and Bench hit back-to-back homers to tie the game. Gene Garber relieved and promptly gave up a single to Concepción. Tom Underwood came on to surrender a walk to Geronimo. Pinch-hitter Ed Armbrister sacrificed the runners to second and third. Underwood then intentionally walked Pete Rose to load the bases. With the infield drawn in, Griffey hit a high bouncer toward Bobby Tolan playing first. Tolan charged, but the ball got past him and Concepción scored to send the Reds to their second straight World Series; they would sweep the Yankees in four games, becoming the only team in the divisional era (to date) to go undefeated in the postseason.


1976 National League season
The 1976 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom having been renamed from the previous season's moniker of New National League.


1976 National League season, Summary
The league was reduced from 20 teams down to 18, following the loss of three teams and gain of one. Birmingham Brummies moved up to the British League and Bradford Barons and Crewe Kings both closed down. Sadly for Crewe the team would never return. The additional team was the Oxford Cheetahs, who had returned to their traditional name following a three year period known as the Oxford Rebels. The Rebels team and promoters had moved to White City during the winter but Oxford were saved by new promoters Harry Bastable and Tony Allsop after a committee of fans had created a "Save Our Stadium" campaign over the previous winter.


1976 National League season, Summary
Newcastle Diamonds comfortably won their first National League title, completing a cup double, and dropping only seven points. The Owen brothers Joe Owen and Tom Owen topped the averages for the second consecutive year. Joe finished with an 11+ average and won the British League Division Two Riders Championship and Newcastle completed the league and cup double.


1976 National League season, National League Knockout Cup
The 1976 Speedway Star Knockout Cup was the ninth edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Newcastle Diamonds were the winners of the competition.


1976 National League season, National League Knockout Cup, Final
Newcastle were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 83–72.


1976 National Provincial Championship
The National Provincial Championship, also known in short as the NPC or commercially known as the 'Radio New Zealand National Championship', was the predecessor to the current ITM Cup and Heartland Championship in New Zealand rugby. 1976 was the first year of the National Provincial Championship, Bay of Plenty were the winners of Division 1, while  Taranaki and South Canterbury were the winners of Division 2 North Island and Division 2 South Island respectively.


1976 National Provincial Championship, Division 1, Standings
These were the NPC Division 1 standings for the 1976 season.


1976 National Provincial Championship, Division 1, Games, June 1976
Con: S.L. Watts Pen: S.L. Watts (2) Drop: P.J. Parlane


1976 National Provincial Championship, Division 1, Games, July 1976
Con: K.G. Sutherland (3) Pen: K.G. Sutherland Drop: R.E. Gordon


1976 National Provincial Championship, Division 1, Games, August 1976
Con: D.L. Rollerson Pen: D.L. Rollerson (2) Drop: Brian Morris


1976 National Provincial Championship, Division 1, Games, August 1976
Con: S.L. Watt (2) Pen: S.L. Watt (3) Drop: P.M. Richards


1976 National Provincial Championship, Division 1, Games, August 1976
Con: Gregory Rowlands (2) Pen: Gregory Rowlands (4) Drop: L.J. Brake


1976 National Provincial Championship, Division 1, Games, September 1976
Con: K.G. Sutherland (3) Pen: K.G. Sutherland Drop: K.R. Hodges


1976 National Provincial Championship, Division 1, Games, September 1976
Con: C.J. Currie (2) Pen: C.J. Currie (2) Drop: J.P. Gougan


1976 National Provincial Championship, Division 1, Games, September 1976
Con: M.D. Heffernan (4) Pen: M.D. Heffernan Drop: T.L. Mehrtens


1976 National Provincial Championship, Division 2 (North Island), Standings
These were the NPC Division 2 standings (North Island) for the 1976 season.


1976 National Provincial Championship, Division 2 (North Island), Games, June 1976
Con: Paul Martin (2), S.C. Davidson Drop: Paul Martin, I.J. Snook


1976 National Provincial Championship, Division 2 (North Island), Games, August 1976
Con: D.G. Avison Pen: D.G. Avison (3) Drop: I.R. Snook (4)


1976 National Provincial Championship, Division 2 (North Island), Games, September 1976
Con: D.G. Avison (4) Pen: D.G. Avison Drop: Paul Martin


1976 National Provincial Championship, Division 2 (South Island), Standings
These were the NPC Division 2 standings (South Island) for the 1976 season.


1976 National Provincial Championship, Division 2 (South Island), Games, September 1976
Con: R.F. Nelson (2) Pen: R.F. Nelson (2) Drop: R.F. Nelson, G.J. Cook


1976 National Provincial Championship, Promotion/Relegation Games
As North Auckland came last in Division 1, the unbeaten winners of Division 2 (North Island) who were Taranaki got promoted to Division 1 to replace North Auckland.


1976 National Provincial Championship, Promotion/Relegation Games
South Canterbury who won Division 2 (South Island) had a chance to be promoted up to Division 1 where they faced Southland but lost the game 24 to 11 and so did not get promoted.


1976 National Soccer League season
The 1976 National Soccer League season was the fifty-third season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season began in late April and concluded in early October with Toronto Panhellenic securing the double (NSL Championship, and NSL Cup) by defeating Toronto First Portuguese in a two match series for the NSL Championship. In the NSL Cup final Panhellenic defeated Toronto Italia, while Italia successfully defended the First Division title by finishing first in the standings. In the Second Division Hamilton Italo-Canadians defeated Toronto Croatia for both the division title and NSL II Championship.


1976 National Soccer League season
Toronto Italia, and Serbian White Eagles were both scheduled to participate in the 1976 CONCACAF Champions' Cup, and the NSL was sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) for the season. The NSL was operative in Northern Ontario, Quebec, and expanded into the United States with a franchise in Buffalo, New York.


1976 National Soccer League season, Overview
The National Soccer League (NSL) expanded their boundaries beyond the Canadian border with a franchise based in Buffalo, New York known as the Buffalo Blazers. The NSL made further territorial gains with a return to Northern Ontario with the acceptance of the Sudbury Cyclones. The previous time the NSL were active in the northern region was in the 1971 season. Both Buffalo, and Sudbury were placed in the Second Division.


1976 National Soccer League season, Overview
Though the league expanded beyond the Montreal–Windsor Corridor the membership still decreased from 21 teams to 18. The slight decrease was a result of both Srbija Kitchener, and Toronto Melita taking a leave of absence when both clubs were suspended by the Ontario Soccer Association (OSA) for making payments to amateur players. The two other departing clubs were the Ontario Selects, and Toronto Ukraina took a two year sabbatical and returned for the 1978 season. Further changes included the relocations of Oakville United to Toronto, and the addition of another team in the Niagara region as Hamilton City became known as Welland Lions Croatia. Another notable change occurred with the renaming of Toronto Homer to Toronto Panhellenic.


1976 National Soccer League season, Overview
Several changes were implemented to the league's structure with the approval of a new constitution which transferred more voting power from the league's executive committee to the league ownership. Reports were also circulating of the creation of a league commissioner to replace Joe Piccininni as league president, but Piccininni resumed his duties throughout the season. The regular season schedule was revised in order to prevent interlocking play between the First and Second Division teams, but both divisions were permitted to play one another in the NSL Cup. Restrictions were also placed on the allowance of five import players to each team.


1976 National Soccer League season, Cup
The cup tournament was a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all eighteen teams took part. The tournament would conclude in a final match for the Cup.


1976 National Soccer League season, Promotion and relegation matches
The promotion and relegation system utilized by the National Soccer League operated with the last placed team in the First Division being automatically relegated, while the Second Division champion would receive an automatic promotion to the First Division. The second last team in the First Division would play in a series of matches against the runner-ups in the Second Division in order to determine which team would be relegated or promoted.


1976 National Society of Film Critics Awards
The 11th National Society of Film Critics Awards, given on 4 January 1977, honored the best filmmaking of 1976.


1976 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Picture
1. All the President's Men2. Taxi Driver3. The Memory of Justice


1976 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Director
1. Martin Scorsese – Taxi Driver2. Alan J. Pakula – All the President's Men3. Éric Rohmer – The Marquise of O (Die Marquise von O...)


1976 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Actor
1. Robert De Niro – Taxi Driver2. Gérard Depardieu – The Last Woman (La dernière femme)2. William Holden – Network


1976 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Actress
1. Sissy Spacek – Carrie2. Faye Dunaway – Network3. Liv Ullmann – Face to Face (Ansikte mot ansikte)


1976 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Supporting Actor
1. Jason Robards – All the President's Men2. Harvey Keitel – Taxi Driver3. Robert Duvall – Network and The Seven-Per-Cent Solution


1976 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Supporting Actress
1. Jodie Foster – Taxi Driver2. Talia Shire – Rocky3. Marie-France Pisier – Cousin, Cousine


1976 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Screenplay
1. John Berger and Alain Tanner – Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 (Jonas qui aura 25 ans en l'an 2000)2. Paddy Chayefsky – Network3. Paul Mazursky – Next Stop, Greenwich Village4. Harold Pinter – The Last Tycoon


1976 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Cinematography
1. Haskell Wexler – Bound for Glory2. Néstor Almendros – The Marquise of O (Die Marquise von O...)3. Michael Chapman – Taxi Driver


1976 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix
The 1976 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix was the third round of the 1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 16 May 1976 at the Mugello circuit. Otello Buscherini suffered a fatal accident on lap 6 of the 250cc race and was killed.


1976 Nauruan parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on 18 December 1976. Following the election, Bernard Dowiyogo was elected President by Members of the Parliament.


1976 Nauruan parliamentary election, Background
In July 1976 Parliament had forced President Hammer DeRoburt – head of state since independence in 1968 – to resign after refusing to pass financial bills. However, within a few hours DeRoburt was re-elected president unopposed.


1976 Nauruan parliamentary election, Campaign
A total of 43 candidates contested the elections, two of whom were elected unopposed.


1976 Nauruan parliamentary election, Campaign
An informal Nauru Party was formed prior to the election, the first party on the island. Its members were younger MPs who had been concerned about the country's economic policy and saw DeRoburt's government of making decisions without proper discussion.


1976 Nauruan parliamentary election, Results
15 of the 18 incumbents were re-elected. Lagumot Harris, MP for Ubenide, was surprisingly defeated.


1976 Nauruan parliamentary election, Aftermath
The newly elected Parliament met on 21 December and re-elected  Kenas Aroi was re-elected as Speaker. After DeRoburt refused to listen to suggestions that he appoint some new ministers to his cabinet, he lost the vote for president to Bernard Dowiyogo by nine votes to seven. Following the election, Nauru Party MPs met with DeRoburt and promised that Dowiyogo would resign and allow him to run unopposed if he reconsidered making changes to his cabinet. However, he refused, taking the view that the president should be free to choose their own cabinet.


1976 Nauruan parliamentary election, Aftermath
Dowiyogo appointed a new cabinet, including Aroi, who subsequently resigned as Speaker. Samuel Tsitsi was elected in his place.


1976 Nauruan parliamentary election, Aftermath
On 24 December, DeRoburt called a special session of parliament to propose a motion that the new government had been formed outside the constitution, which did not provide for party politics. The debate was halted when Tsisti resigned as Speaker, also giving up his seat in Parliament. The following week David Gadaroa was elected as the third Speaker of the parliamentary term.


1976 Nauruan parliamentary election, Aftermath
The Supreme Court later overturned the election of Derog Gioura. Kennan Adeang was declared elected in his place. In 1977 MP René Harris – who had replaced Tsitsi after his resignation – was removed from Parliament after being convicted of assault. In the subsequent by-election, he was re-elected with 95 votes, defeating Reginald Akiri (41 votes), John Bill (12) and August Deiye (10).


1976 Navy Midshipmen football team
The 1976 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach George Welsh.


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
The 1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Roster
Altman, Dick (So.) WBAnderson, Rene #2 (Jr.) RCBAndrews, George #96 (So.) DEAnthony, Monte #49 (Jr.) IBAvery, Scott #93 (Sr.) DTBarnett, Bill #97 (So.) DTBelka, Jim #47 (Sr.) LBBerns, Richard #35 (So.) IBBishop, Keith #53 (So.) CBloom, Jeff (So.) CBrannon, Mike (So.) DTBrock, Dan #94 (Sr.) DTBrown, Kenny #22 (So.) WBBryant, Bill #95 (So.) DTBurns, Ed #17 (Sr.) QBBurton, Mike (So.) DBButterfield, Dave #34 (Sr.) LCBCabell, Jake #24 (Sr.)


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Roster
LCBCarpenter, Jeff #37 (Jr.) LBCass, Dan (So.) LCBClark, Kelvin #73 (So.) OTCole, Lawrence #92 (So.) DECooley, Lawrence #67 (So.) OGCotton, Barney #54 (So.) CCraig, Curtis #33 (Jr.) WBDavis, Tom #52 (Jr.) CDonnell, Dodie #45 (Jr.) FBDufresne, Mark #88 (Jr.) TEEichelberger, Percy #44 (Sr.) SLBEveland, Al #43 (Sr.) PKEverett, Earl #9 (Sr.) WBEwing, Ben #26 (So.) WLBFerragamo, Vince #15 (Sr.) QBFischer, Tim #16 (Jr.) LCBFultz, Mike #72 (Sr.) DTGalano, Bobby (So.) OGGarcia, Randy #18 (Jr.) QBGast, Reg #82 (Jr.) DEGillespie, Dave #28 (Sr.) IB


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Roster
Glenn, Steve #71 (So.) OTGoodspeed, Mark (So.) DTHager, Tim #10 (So.) QBHansen, Jeff #48 (So.) SHarvey, Ted #31 (Jr.) RCBHavekost, John (So.) OGHayes, Bob #76 (Jr.) OTHenson, Zac #79(Jr..) OLKHiggs, Gary #46 (Sr.) FBHipp, I.M. #32 (So.) IBHoins, Steve #78 (Sr.) OTHorn, Brian (So.) TEHorn, Rod #55 (So.) MGHumphrey, Lawrence (Unk) OTIngram, John #19 (So.) SJorgensen, Greg #63 (Jr.) OGKennedy, Mike #11 (So.) QBKroneberger, Jon #64 (So.) OTKujath, Kim #36 (Jr.) FBKunz, Lee #38 (So.) SLBLaFever, Dan (Fr.) WLBLee, Oudious #65 (So.) MGLehigh, Pat #6 (So.) LCBLessman, Randy #39 (Sr.) PLindquist, Steve #68 (So.)


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Roster
OGLingenfelter, Bob #70 (Sr.) OTLink, Rob (So.) TELoken, Rocke #87 (Jr.) SELong, Doug (So.) SLBMalito, Chuck #89 (Sr.) SEMarkus, Steve #56 (Jr.) SLBNitzel, Ron #85 (Sr.) SEOhrt, Tom #74 (So.) OTPayne, Dennis #13 (So.) SPhillips, Ray #80 (Sr.) DEPillen, Clete #61 (Sr.) SLBPillen, Jim #29 (So.) MONPlucknett, John #50 (Sr.) MGPoeschl, Randy #75 (So.) DTPotadle, Paul (So.) OT


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Roster
West, Dave #91 (Sr.) DTPullen, Jeff #66 (Jr.) MGRick, Randy #90 (Jr.) DERidder, Tom (So.) DERoehrs, Kelvin (So.) MGRuud, John (So.) WLBSaalfeld, Kelly (So.) OTSamuel, Tony #98 (Jr.) DESchmidt, Dan #51 (Sr.) OGSelko, John #83 (So.) TEShamblin, Dave #81 (Sr.) SESmith, Kent #23 (Jr.) MONSmith, Tim #84 (So.) SESorley, Tom #12 (So.) QBStark, Jared #86 (Jr.) TESteiner, Dan #58 (So.) OGSteward, Keith #40 (So.) FBStewart, Byron #30 (So.) IBStewart, Eric (So.) SStovall, Rod #5 (Jr.) RCBStroh, Mark (So.) DESukup, Dean #3 (So.) PKTheissen, Gordon (So.) DEThomas, Bobby #8 (Sr.) SEValasek, Larry #4 (Jr.) SVanderMeer, Ron #1 (Sr.)


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Roster
PKVanous, Russ #25 (Jr.) PVering, Tom #57 (So.) WLBWaldemore, Stan #62 (Jr.) OGWalderzak, Paul #77 (So.) OTWalton, Darrell #7 (So.) WBWashington, Mike #42 (So.) FBWest, Bruce #85 (Sr.) /DEWeinmaster, Kerry (So.) MGWightman, Jim #59 (Jr.) WLBWilliquette, Jim #41 (So.) RCBYoung, Larry #14 (So.) MONYoung, Willie (So.) CZabrocki, Dale #21 (Jr.) IB


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, LSU
Top-ranked Nebraska quickly found the scoreboard with a touchdown just four minutes into the game, but a failed extra point attempt was the first sign of trouble to come, as the Cornhuskers failed to score again against a fierce LSU defense. The Tigers also struggled to make headway against the tenacious Blackshirts, managing just one field goal in each of the final two quarters, which resulted in a less than stellar beginning of the season for Nebraska as they were forced to settle for a 6-6 tie. LSU drove into field goal range in the closing seconds, but Mike Conway missed from 44 yards out.


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Indiana
Nebraska pushed Indiana around all day to make up for the previous week's disappointing tie game, running out ahead 38-0 before Indiana managed to score. Indiana had the slight edge in the air, but without enough points to back it up, the 248-89 Cornhusker domination on the ground told the story of the game.


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, TCU
TCU proposed to make it a game by scoring first, and was still in it with a slight 10-14 lag at the end of the 1st quarter, but the Horned Frogs proceeded to fall apart as the Cornhuskers quickly rolled off 50 unanswered points to steamroll their way to a 64-10 romp in the Lincoln home opener. Nebraska QB Vince Ferragamo tied the Nebraska record of four touchdowns in a game (by halftime), while ground responsibilities were widely shared as 5th-string IB Byron Stewart ended up with the day's rushing lead at 64 yards.


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Miami
A hard-hitting game saw several players leaving the field with injuries as Nebraska fought from behind for the second week in a row, after having to start the 2nd half down 0-6. The Cornhuskers eventually wore the Hurricanes down in the end, putting up 10 more points while Miami was only able to add a field goal in their failed attempt to hold the lead.


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Colorado
Colorado never did find the end zone, but Buffalo PK Mark Zetterberg split the uprights four times to account for all of Colorado's scores to put Nebraska behind 7-12 at the half. Those 12 points were not nearly enough to overcome the Nebraska 2nd half effort which ran off an additional 17 unanswered points to pull away from Colorado for the win.


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Kansas State
Nebraska smashed Kansas State to celebrate homecoming, holding the Wildcats to a painful -45 yards of negative progress on the ground, as the Cornhuskers did not even have to defend their side of the field until late in the 3rd quarter when Nebraska gave up an interception. Still missing several players from injuries sustained in the previous two games, the Cornhusker machine rolled on anyway, as Nebraska QB Vince Ferragamo tied the school single-game touchdown record for the second time this season while the Blackshirts put up their only shutout of 1976.


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Missouri
Missouri arrived in Lincoln on the way to owning an impressive upset thanks to a record-setting play. Nebraska was behind 18-23 at the half, but had obtained two field goals to pull ahead 24-23 at the start of the 4th quarter. The Tigers than scored on a spectacular 98-yard pass play and successful 2-point conversion to take the momentum back just two minutes later, and iced the win with 1:19 remaining on the game clock when they added 3 more on a field goal, handing the Cornhuskers their first loss of the season.


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Kansas
Kansas took the brunt of Nebraska's frustration following their loss to Missouri the week prior, as the Blackshirts only allowed the Jayhawks to cross midfield twice all day, while the Cornhusker offense accumulated 483 yards of total offense in the one-sided game. The lone Kansas score was a field goal against Nebraska reserves in the 4th quarter.


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma State
Both teams struggled to make progress against each other at the start as both defenses protected their end zones, and by the half only Oklahoma State had managed to put any points up, with a field goal midway through the 2nd quarter.


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma State
The defensive battle continued after halftime, but the Cornhuskers were finally able to secure a 3rd-quarter touchdown, only to have the Cowboys answer it four minutes later and retake the lead 10-7. Nebraska was uncharacteristically losing the ground war, as Oklahoma State piled up a 291-121 edge in yards, and so turned to the air and found results as they amassed a 235-34 passing yardage lead, which included the game-winning touchdown pass with almost 12 minutes still remaining in the 4th quarter. The Blackshirts held from there on out to secure the victory.


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Iowa State
Turnovers took a brutal toll on Nebraska, as the Cornhuskers fumbled eight times and gave up an interception in Ames. For the second week in a row, Nebraska was forced to go to the air for results as the Cyclones held them to just 77 rushing yards, but it was not enough, as Nebraska fell behind 0-10 early on and never recovered the lead in a heartbreaking road loss to an unranked team following their thrilling finish against #13 Oklahoma State the week before.


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma
Nebraska was outrushed on the day, lagging Oklahoma 185-357 on the ground and once again resorting to an air attack to stay in the game, yet the Cornhuskers were in the lead 17-13 when Oklahoma resorted to an unexpected air attack of their own to win. The Sooners had only thrown two passes in the last two games combined, but used two pass plays in the final minutes to pull out the surprise win.


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma
One pass, a 47-yarder from reserve Oklahoma HB Woodie Shepherd, was the first of his career, while the other was tossed by backup Oklahoma QB Dean Blevins 10 yards and then lateraled for an additional 22-yard gain. The Cornhuskers, felled by passes from a ground-based team they had not defeated since 1971, was knocked out of the Orange Bowl.


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Hawaii
In a lightly attended Honolulu game with more Cornhusker fans in attendance than locals, Nebraska punished Hawaii with a 47-0 lead before allowing the Rainbows to obtain their lone points of the day on a field goal near the end of the 3rd quarter, which was answered by an additional 21 straight Cornhusker points to close the game. Nebraska's 655 yards of total offense was a new all-time school record, as was the 211 single game yards accumulated by IB Rick Berns, which succeeded the mark of 204 set by Frank Solich in 1965. Nebraska SE Chuck Malito's 166 receiving yards also set a new single game school record, and Nebraska QB Vince Ferragamo broke David Humm's 1972 season touchdown record of 18 when he pushed his season total to 20.


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Texas Tech
Nebraska was behind 17-14 at the half, and Texas Tech increased their lead shortly after the start of the 3rd when they posted another touchdown, and things were looking bleak for the Cornhuskers as the Red Raiders seemed to have an answer for everything Nebraska came up with. Then, two minutes later, Nebraska found the end zone to pull within 4 points, and after managing to force Texas Tech into a punt that was partially blocked, the Cornhuskers scored again two minutes later to take the lead, and held on for the win.


1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Rankings, NFL and Pro Players
The following Nebraska players who participated in the 1976 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi-pro team as draftees or free agents.


1976 Nelson by-election
The Nelson by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Nelson a predominantly urban seat at the top of the South Island.


1976 Nelson by-election, Background
The by-election was precipitated by the death of sitting Labour Party member of parliament and Speaker of the House Sir Stanley Whitehead on 9 January 1976. Whitehead had been re-elected two months earlier at the 1975 general election which saw the defeat of the Third Labour Government, of which he was a member.


1976 Nelson by-election, Background
As a new session of Parliament had not begun Whitehead was still legally the Speaker of the House. As such, the Governor-General, Denis Blundell, gazetted the vacancy of the seat as the acting speaker and gave the instructed the Clerk of the Writs to issue a writ for the by-election.


1976 Nelson by-election, Candidates, Labour
After Labour's shock defeat at the 1975 election Labour leader Bill Rowling was facing open concerns about the effectiveness of his leadership. His first test as Leader of the Opposition came with the Nelson by-election which became seen as crucial to his future. Media commentators were openly suggesting he could not survive should Labour suffer two losses in a row. There was a concerted effort to seek candidates with links to Nelson as there were fears in the area that MPs who had lost their seats in 1975 would become "parachute candidates". Defeated Waitemata MP Michael Bassett was asked about the Nelson candidacy but he ruled it out saying he was not interested in Nelson and "nor would Nelson be interested in me."


1976 Nelson by-election, Candidates, Labour
Mel Courtney, a 32-year-old supermarket proprietor, was chosen as the candidate. He had lived in Nelson for six years and was a member of the Nelson City Council. He was originally from Christchurch and had been the vice-chairman of the Sydenham Labour Representation Committee and was a Labour candidate for the Christchurch City Council in 1968. His selection was a surprise given the presence of more well-known contenders (Davies was runner up). Rowling's preferred choice was Palmer.


1976 Nelson by-election, Candidates, National
The National Party were confident of their chances to flip the seat following their convincing win in 1975. Top officials in the party were not only predicting a win, but that they may get as much as a 2,000 vote majority. At the same time Labour were conducting their selection meeting, National conducted a pre-selection meeting lasting six hours to reduce the number of applicants to a shortlist of five.


1976 Nelson by-election, Candidates, National
Malone was elected on the first ballot at a meeting of 150 members (70 of whom were voting delegates). His selection was contrary to expectation as McLennan was seen as the front-runner.


1976 Nelson by-election, Candidates, Social Credit
Two people came forward to represent the Social Credit Party, Cliff Beer and Rudolph Muller. Muller was selected. He had contested the Tasman electorate in 1975.


1976 Nelson by-election, Campaign
Courtney waged a local issues campaign and proved "an excellent choice" as a candidate. Courtney, a Nelson City Councillor, stressed Nelson's needs as a community as the major theme of his campaign which was managed by MPs Colin Moyle and Arthur Faulkner. Moyle, Faulkner and Labour leader Bill Rowling spoke at meetings in support of Courtney and defended him from attacks by National that he was the wrong choice of a candidate and that Palmer was more suitable highlighting that Courtney had lived and worked in Nelson for the last 6 years while Palmer had not.


1976 Nelson by-election, Campaign
He had "lived in Nelson for a number of years", was a Nelson City Councillor and struck a chord with electors: "Nelson is a unique place to live and consequently a local person (Mr Courtney) can best serve local interests". Malone's campaign manager was Stuart Bowater who planned a strategy of mobilising the 2,000 National Party members in the electorate and then expanding support across the electorate. Several National MPs including cabinet ministers campaigned for Malone as well.


1976 Nelson by-election, Campaign
Social Credit Party leader Bruce Beetham campaigned in the by-election and drew on previous MP for Nelson Harry Atmore's record as an advocate for monetary reform and providing an independent voice for the area as evidence that Nelson residents could benefit from voting Social Credit instead of the main two parties.


1976 Nelson by-election, Outcome
Labour fought a strong campaign and not only retained the seat but increased their majority as well, the victory at the polls vindicated the decision of the Labour Party's selection committee.


1976 Nelson by-election, Outcome
Courtney won with a majority of 1505 (he increased the majority Whitehead had achieved in the 1975 general election by an impressive 50 per cent-only three months after the National Party's landslide victory). Wellington's The Dominion newspaper reported that: "The defeat was a shock to the super-confident National Party organisers, including some of the party's top officials who were predicting a 2000-vote National majority". The success in Nelson periodically quietened the speculation about Rowling's leadership.


1976 Nemzeti Bajnokság I (women's handball)
The 1976 Nemzeti Bajnokság I is the 26th season of the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, Hungary's premier Handball league.


1976 Nemzeti Bajnokság I (women's handball), Final list
* M: Matches W: Win D: Drawn L: Lost G+: Goals earned G-: Goals got P: Point


1976 Nevada Wolf Pack football team
The 1976 Nevada Wolf Pack football team represented the University of Nevada, Reno during the 1976 NCAA Division II football season. Nevada competed as an independent. The Wolf Pack were led by first-year head coach Chris Ault and played their home games at Mackay Stadium.


1976 Nevada Wolf Pack football team, Previous season
The Wolf Pack finished the 1975 season 3–8. Head coach Jerry Scattini was replaced by Chris Ault.


1976 New England Patriots season
The 1976 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 7th season in the National Football League and 17th overall.


1976 New England Patriots season
After a nine-year stretch in which they posted just one non-losing season amid eight losing years, the Patriots turned around their fortunes, going 11–3. It marked their first winning season as an NFL team (their last winning season came in 1966, when the team was still in the AFL). The team had gone just 3–11 the previous season, and was considered a "Cinderella team" in 1976. Coach Chuck Fairbanks was named NFL Coach of the Year, and cornerback Mike Haynes was named NFL Rookie of the Year.


1976 New England Patriots season
The 1976 Patriots rushed for a total of 2,957 yards (averaging five yards per carry) and scored 376 points, both second-best in the league. The 2,957 yards rushing were the fifth-highest total in NFL history at the time. The team's 5.0 yards per carry was the best in the NFL and remains higher than all Super Bowl champions except the 1973 Miami Dolphins whose own run game was 5.0 yards per carry. The Patriots also led the league in takeaways at 50; the Patriots finished third in the league in turnover differential at plus-14.


1976 New England Patriots season
The Patriots made only their second playoff appearance in their history and first since 1963, but lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Oakland Raiders in the first round of the playoffs. Earlier in the season, the Patriots handed the Raiders their only loss of the season with a final score of 48–17, but a controversial roughing the passer penalty on Ray Hamilton on a Raiders drive late in the playoff game dimmed the Patriots' hopes of defeating the Raiders again.


1976 New England Patriots season
Despite the playoff loss, the team has been considered one of the most talented in Patriots history; in 2004, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who was an assistant coach for the Detroit Lions in 1976, called this Patriots team "loaded", a "who's who team."


1976 New England Patriots season
After the season, offensive line coach Red Miller was hired as head coach of the Denver Broncos. In his first season, he led them to the AFC's best record (12–2), their first-ever postseason appearance, and the Super Bowl.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
The Patriots fell 30-27 in a Monday Night preseason game; rookie cornerback Michael Haynes ran back a punt but began celebrating at the five-yard line and was hit and fumbled; Darryl Stingley grabbed the fumble and scored. Entering the season the Patriots had never scored on a punt return in any game. The loss was the third of the six-game preseason.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
Four Steve Grogan interceptions and a fumble doomed the Patriots as the “Shake & Bake” Colts ran roughshod at Schaefer Stadium 27–13, this despite the sacking of Colts quarterback Bert Jones for 40 yards and 179 rushing yards by the Patriots.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
The Pats rebounded with 278 rushing yards and four touchdowns (two rushing scores by Andy Johnson, a Grogan rushing score, and a four-yard toss to Russ Francis) in a 30–14 rout of Miami. Bob Griese had one touchdown throw and three interceptions.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
Forcing six Steeler fumbles in heavy rain, the Patriots wiped out a 20–9 third-quarter gap as Steve Grogan threw to Russ Francis and Darryl Stingley and ran in a touchdown for 21 second-half points. Don Calhoun's fumble in the final four minutes led to a Bradshaw touchdown, and after forcing another punt with 1:29 to go Bradshaw nearly fumbled away the ball but converted two first downs requiring 25 or more yards. With three seconds to go Roy Gerela missed a field goal and the Patriots had an upset 30–27 win.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
The Raiders suffered their only loss of the season in a 48–17 slaughter by the Patriots. Ken Stabler had a touchdown throw to Fred Biletnikoff but was sacked four times while Steve Grogan ran wild with three touchdown throws (to Darryl Stingley and Marlin Briscoe) and two rushing scores; Andy Johnson and Jess Phillips rushed in additional touchdowns. During the third quarter a Raiders touchdown was twice wiped out on penalties and the drive ended in a Stabler sack on third-and-26.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
The Patriots never got on track as Grogan threw five picks and the Lions, led by running back Horace King and quarterback Greg Landry, stampeded the Patriots 30–10. One of the members of the Lions staff in this game was assistant special teams coach Bill Belichick, who introduced a two tight-end set on Detroit's offense that was rare for the NFL at the time.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
The Patriots despite ten penalties exploded to 330 rushing yards (103 of them with a touchdown by Steve Grogan; Grogan said years later the score came after botching what was supposed to be a hand off to Sam Cunningham) as they annihilated the Jets 41-7. Alex Karras (whose grandnephew Ted would be drafted by the Patriots in 2016) was working the ABC Sports booth and read aloud Jets coach Lou Holtz's fight song for the team, a reworked version of the US Army's original march The Caissons Go Rolling Along.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
The Patriots posted their first win over the Bills since 1971 as the two teams combined for nine turnovers, 125 yards in penalties, and 586 yards of offense in the 26-22 New England win. Sam Cunningham and O. J. Simpson combined for 229 rushing yards.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
Despite 130 rushing yards from five Patriots backs New England fell at Miami 10-3; all scoring took place in the second quarter as Jim Mandich accounted for the game's only touchdown. The Patriots were also penalized eleven times for 80 yards.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
Mike Haynes became the first Patriot to ever return a punt for a touchdown as he fielded a second-quarter punt at his 11 and stormed to the Buffalo endzone. The Patriots won 20–10 as Sam Cunningham rushed for 141 yards and a score while Joe Ferguson of the Bills threw four picks; the Bills also fumbled four times while the Patriots coughed up five turnovers (three fumbles and two INTs). O. J. Simpson threw a punch at Mel Lunsford and both players were ejected after the ensuing fight.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
Battling for the division lead, the Colts and Patriots combined for 35 first-half points. In the first quarter Roger Carr caught a 22-yard pass from Bert Jones for the Colts while Al Chandler caught a two-yarder from Steve Grogan. Grogan ran in two second-quarter touchdowns and Don McCauley ran in a score for a 21–14 Patriots lead at the half. The two defenses then shut each other out, as Jones was picked off twice by Mike Haynes and sacked five times in total; Lydell Mitchell was limited to 52 rushing yards and the Patriots held on for the 21–14 win.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
The Jets hosted the Patriots at Shea Stadium and raced to a 10–0 lead in the first quarter behind a Pat Leahy field goal and a Greg Buttle fumble-return score, but the Patriots behind Steve Grogan throws to Andy Johnson and Darryl Stingley took a 14–10 lead entering the second quarter. From there the game collapsed for the 3–7 Jets as Joe Namath threw six interceptions; Mike Haynes grabbed three and Tim Fox had one, while Prentice McCray ran in two (totalling 118 yards) for touchdowns.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
With Sam Cunningham injured Don Calhoun became the workhorse back for New England, rushing for 109 yards. Namath was benched in the fourth quarter and Richard Todd took over; he threw a touchdown to Clark Gaines but was later picked off by Bob Howard. Grogan threw for just 83 yards and three scores as the Patriots routed the Jets 38–24.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
The Patriots amassed their highest rushing yardage of the year as Don Calhoun (177 yards), Andy Johnson, and Ike Forte ground up 332 yards on the ground. Mike Haynes also returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown as the Patriots sacked Denver's quarterbacks nine times, led 31–0 at the half, and cruised to a 38–14 final.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
With Archie Manning out for the year the Saints wound up using two quarterbacks (including ex-Bear Bobby Douglass) but managed only 236 total yards vs. 220 rushing yards from the Patriots led by Don Calhoun's 113 yards. In winning 27-6 Steve Grogan completed only nine of 23 passes but two of them were touchdowns, one to Al Chandler, subbing for injured Russ Francis. The win was the 100th career victory in the franchise's history.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
Steve Grogan had his worst passing day of the season with just 40 yards in the air and a pick amid just four completions in 14 attempts. Six Patriots backs led by Andy Johnson rushed for 260 yards and three touchdowns while Sam Hunt picked off Steve Spurrier and ran back 68-yard touchdown. The game ended Tampa's winless first ever season.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
The 1976 AFC Divisional Playoffs. This would become the infamous "Ben Dreith Game" as officiating became a major controversy with numerous questionable penalties. Bill Lenkaitis had not been flagged for holding all season yet was flagged three times in this game. No penalty was called when George Atkinson of the Raiders hammered Russ Francis in the facemask and broke his nose; Steve Zabel popped Francis' nose back into place.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
There was also controversy over a Sam Cunningham run in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter where he went out of bounds; John Hannah claimed the sideline official moved the first down marker just before Cunningham went out of bounds, denying him a first down.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
On the play following this Cunningham run, on 3rd and 1 at the Raiders 28-yard line, Steve Grogan changed the snap count to draw the Raiders offsides, but the Raiders were barking out dummy snap counts themselves and Hannah, Leon Gray, and Pete Brock all jumped offsides ("I should have known better", Grogan said afterward).


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
On the next play (3rd and 6) Grogan threw to Russ Francis but Francis could not raise his arms because of holding by the Raiders Phil Villapiano, holding so blatant that according to Francis, "(he left) bruise marks on my arm....when I saw Phil at the Pro Bowl that year, he came right out and told me he had done it." The Patriots missed the ensuing field goal attempt and the Raiders took possession.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
In the final minute of the fourth quarter Raymond Hamilton of the Patriots was flagged for roughing the passer against Ken Stabler of the Raiders on a 3rd-and-18 play, even though replays showed no roughing; Dreith said the call was made because Hamilton had hit Stabler's helmet, but replays showed Stabler ducking away from Hamilton. Despite Patriot protests (Hamilton was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for his protests) the call stood.


1976 New England Patriots season, Game Summaries
The Patriots stopped the Raiders on 3rd and 1 near the goal line but another personal foul penalty (this one on Prentice McCray) extended the Raiders drive, and on second and goal at the Patriot 1-yard line Stabler ran in the game-winning touchdown with ten seconds left in a 24–21 Raiders win. Patriot protests over Dreith's call were such that Dreith was not assigned to work any games involving the Patriots until 1987.


1976 New Hampshire Wildcats football team
The 1976 New Hampshire Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Hampshire as a member of the Yankee Conference during the 1976 NCAA Division II football season. In its fifth year under head coach Bill Bowes, the team compiled an 8–3 record (4–1 against conference opponents), won the Yankee Conference championship, and lost to eventual national champion Montana State in the quarterfinal of the NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs.


1976 New Hampshire gubernatorial election
The 1976 New Hampshire gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Republican Governor Meldrim Thomson Jr. defeated Democratic nominee Harry V. Spanos with 57.66% of the vote.


1976 New Mexico Lobos football team
The 1976 New Mexico Lobos football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Mexico in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. In their third season under head coach Bill Mondt, the Lobos compiled a 4–7 record (3–4 against WAC opponents) and were outscored by a total of 235 to 229.


1976 New Mexico Lobos football team
Robin Cole and Dave Green were the team captains. The team's statistical leaders included Noel Mazzone with 1,427 passing yards, Mike Williams with 1,240 rushing yards and 66 points scored, Preston Dennard with 783 receiving yards.


1976 New Mexico State Aggies football team
The 1976 New Mexico State Aggies football team was an American football team that represented New Mexico State University in the Missouri Valley Conference during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. In their fourth year under head coach Jim Bradley, the Aggies compiled a 4–6–1 record. The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces, New Mexico.


1976 New Orleans Saints season
The 1976 New Orleans Saints season was the Saints’ tenth year in the National Football League (NFL). Hoping past success could influence the franchise, the Saints hired Hank Stram as the new head coach. However, in Stram's first season at the helm, the Saints continued to struggle finishing with a 4–10 record. The Saints made a uniform change before the year, going from a dark gold to old gold, and have retained the color albeit with minor shading changes since. It was also the team's first season wearing black pants, a move which was not unexpected, since Stram outfitted the Kansas City Chiefs in red pants beginning in 1968..


1976 New Orleans Saints season
New Orleans' hopes for success was severely diminished before the season began when Stram learned star quarterback Archie Manning would not be able to play at all due to offseason elbow surgery. This forced Stram to alternate between longtime backup Bobby Scott and Chicago Bears castoff Bobby Douglass.


1976 New Orleans Saints season
The high point of the season was in week three, when Stram’s Saints traveled to Kansas City and defeated the Chiefs 27–17. Stram rubbed salt in the wounds of the team he coached for 15 seasons (1960 to 1974) and led to the Super Bowl IV championship when Scott threw a touchdown pass on the game's final play to Tinker Owens. Chiefs coach Paul Wiggin refused to shake hands with Stram, who was carried off the Arrowhead Stadium turf by his players upon orders by the coach.


1976 New South Wales state election
A general election for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly was held in the state of New South Wales, Australia, on Saturday 1 May 1976. The result was a narrow win for the Labor Party under Neville Wran—the party's first in the state in more than a decade.


1976 New South Wales state election, Issues
The incumbent Liberal-Country Party coalition had lost its longtime leader, Sir Robert Askin, at the end of 1974. His successor, Tom Lewis, didn't last a year as premier before his colleagues dumped him in favour of Eric Willis.


1976 New South Wales state election, Issues
Wran successfully emerged from the shadow of the defeated Whitlam Labor government at a federal level. Labor's campaign focussed largely on the leader himself, what Australians call a "Presidential" style campaign. The state party had undergone a long process of renewal, and emerged with strong moderate credentials. Labor also offered an alternative to a long-serving government widely perceived as corrupt.


1976 New South Wales state election, Issues
Wran's campaign slogan, "Let's put the state in better shape," delivered by the leader and key spokesmen Peter Cox and Syd Einfeld, resonated with voters.


1976 New South Wales state election, Results
The election was in doubt for several days. Ultimately, the seats of Gosford and Hurstville fell to Labor by only 74 and 44 votes respectively. Had the Coalition retained these seats, it would have stayed in power with a one-seat majority. As it turned out, the loss of Gosford and Hurstville gave Wran a one-seat majority.


1976 New South Wales state election, Results
New South Wales state election, 1 May 1976Legislative Assembly << 1973–1978 >>


1976 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1976 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1976 to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1976.


1976 New Year Honours
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged by honour, with classes (Knight, Knight Grand Cross, etc.) and then divisions (Military, Civil, etc.) as appropriate.


1976 New Year Honours, United Kingdom and Commonwealth, Royal Victorian Order, Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO)
At this time the two lowest classes of the Royal Victorian Order were "Member (fourth class)" and "Member (fifth class)", both with post-nominal letters MVO. "Member (fourth class)" was renamed "Lieutenant" (LVO) from the 1985 New Year Honours onwards.


1976 New Year Honours (New Zealand)
The 1976 New Year Honours in New Zealand were appointments by Elizabeth II on the advice of the New Zealand government to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. The awards celebrated the passing of 1975 and the beginning of 1976, and were announced on 1 January 1976.


1976 New Year Honours (New Zealand)
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour.


1976 New York City Marathon
The 1976 New York City Marathon was the 7th edition of the New York City Marathon and took place in New York City on October 24, 1976.


1976 New York City Marathon
After running in this race, Catalan chemist Ramón Oliu was inspired to organize the first marathon in Catalonia, in Palafrugell in 1978. This race was also the first popular marathon in Spain, and eventually became the Barcelona Marathon.


1976 New York Cosmos season
The 1976 New York Cosmos season was the sixth season for the New York Cosmos in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. In the Cosmos' sixth year of existence the club finished second only to the Tampa Bay Rowdies in both the five-team Eastern Division and the 20-team league. The Cosmos returned to the playoffs for the first time in two years, but were eliminated in the conference semifinals by the rival Rowdies. 1976 marked the first year for Giorgio Chinaglia with the club; Chinaglia would go on to become the all-time leading scorer in both Cosmos and NASL history.


1976 New York Cosmos season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


1976 New York Cosmos season, Results, Regular season
Pld = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points6 points for a win, 1 point for a shootout win, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each goal scored (up to three per game).


1976 New York Film Critics Circle Awards
The 42nd New York Film Critics Circle Awards, 30 January 1977, honored the best filmmaking of 1976.


1976 New York Giants season
The 1976 New York Giants season was the franchise's 52nd season in the National Football League. The Giants had a 3–11 record in 1976 and finished last in the five-team NFC East.


1976 New York Giants season
The season was highlighted by the opening of the new Giants Stadium at the New Jersey Meadowlands in East Rutherford on October 10. In the first game at the stadium, after four road games to open the season, the defending NFC champion Dallas Cowboys handed New York a 24–14 loss. The Giants then suffered defeats against the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers, falling to 0–7 after week 7. At this time, they fired third-year head coach Bill Arnsparger, whose Giants teams had lost 28 times in 35 games. John McVay was named the team's interim coach, although director of operations Andy Robustelli said the appointment was "not strictly" on a temporary basis.


1976 New York Giants season
New York lost its first two games under McVay, against the Philadelphia Eagles and Cowboys. The Giants' first win at Giants Stadium came on November 14, when they defeated the Washington Redskins 12–9; it was their first victory of the season after nine consecutive losses and the first over a George Allen-coached team in 15 tries. In their final four games, they won twice. Linebacker Brad Van Pelt became the first Giant to receive a Pro Bowl invitation since 1972. Following the season, McVay was retained as head coach, signing a two-year contract.


1976 New York Giants season
For the 1976 season and now based in New Jersey, the Giants debuted their new helmet design, changing from a stylized “NY” to the word “GIANTS”, underlined in block letters. They wore these exact helmets through the 1979 season; in 1980, the helmet's white stripes were eliminated. These helmets remained unchanged through 1999.


1976 New York Giants season, Bibliography
This article relating to a New York Giants season is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .


1976 New York Jets season
The 1976 New York Jets season was the seventeenth season for the team and the seventh in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 3–11 record from 1975 under new head coach Lou Holtz.


1976 New York Jets season
The Jets again finished with a record of 3–11, which combined with the resignation of Holtz with one game left in the season to become coach at the University of Arkansas, prompted John Facenda to say about the Jets during the NFL Films highlight film for that season “Perhaps the best thing to say about the 1976 New York Jets season is that it’s over”.


1976 New York Jets season
The only teams that the Jets defeated in 1976 were the 2–12 Buffalo Bills (twice) and the 0–14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Jets were 0–9 vs. teams with a winning record.


1976 New York Jets season
The 1976 season was also the twelfth and final year with the Jets for quarterback Joe Namath.


1976 New York Jets season, Schedule, Week 1 at Cleveland Browns
The Lou Holtz era began in cleveland, but it didn't start out that way. Reggie Rucker, the veteran wide receiver who led the Browns with 60 receptions in 1975, caught 5 against the jets in the season opener, three of them were for touchdowns. Quarterback Mike Phipps threw two of those and three scoring passes in all before departing early in the third period with what team officials called either a mild separate shoulder or sprain.


1976 New York Mets season
The 1976 New York Mets season was the 15th regular season for the Mets, who played home games at Shea Stadium. Led by manager Joe Frazier, the team had an 86–76 record and finished in third place in the National League East.


1976 New York Mets season, Offseason
On December 6, Mrs. Lorinda de Roulet, daughter of the late Joan Payson, was named president of the Mets. The critical decisions, however, were still made by board chairman M. Donald Grant and General Manager Joe McDonald.


1976 New York Mets season, Regular season, Season Summary
On September 16, before a small crowd of 5,472 at Shea Stadium, Jerry Koosman overcame a home run by future Mets player Keith Hernandez to pitch a complete game and win his 20th game of the season for the first time in his career in a 4–1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.


1976 New York Mets 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


1976 New York Mets 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


1976 New York Mets season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1976 New York Mets season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1976 New York Mets season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1976 New York Yankees season
The 1976 New York Yankees season was the 74th season for the Yankees in New York, and the 76th season overall for the franchise. The team finished with a record of 97–62, finishing 10½ games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles to win their first American League East title.


1976 New York Yankees season
In the ALCS, the Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals in 5 games. Chris Chambliss's walk-off home run in Game 5 clinched the pennant for the Yankees.


1976 New York Yankees season
In the World Series, they were defeated in a four-game sweep by the defending champion Cincinnati Reds, marking only the second time that the Yankees had ever been swept in a World Series in their history (following the 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers).


1976 New York Yankees season
New York was managed by Billy Martin. The Yankees returned to the newly renovated Yankee Stadium.


1976 New York Yankees season, Offseason
The Yankees returned to their home stadium in The Bronx after a two-year absence. The team had played home games at Shea Stadium in Queens, the home of the New York Mets, while renovations to Yankee Stadium were completed.


1976 New York Yankees season, Offseason
The 1975 club had finished in third place in the AL East with a record of 83–79, finishing 12 games behind the division winning Boston Red Sox. The club was beginning their first full season under manager Billy Martin, who had been hired following the mid-season firing of Bill Virdon.


1976 New York Yankees season, Offseason
Owner George Steinbrenner made three off-season moves to try to help the club. First, they brought in power-hitting outfielder/DH Oscar Gamble, who would find the 'short porch' in right field very inviting for his power swing. Then the club made two deals on the same day: they sent Doc Medich to Pittsburgh for three players, primarily seeking the services of pitcher Dock Ellis; and shipping outfielder Bobby Bonds to California for leadoff man Mickey Rivers and starter Ed Figueroa. The Pirates trade had the longest lasting impact, as then-unheralded minor leaguer Willie Randolph was included in the deal, and was a major catalyst on championship teams for years to come.


1976 New York Yankees season, Regular season, Season summary
The Yankees won 97 games in 1976 and captured the Eastern Division title of the American League, marking their first postseason appearance since 1964. Two monumental things happened as the season opened. First, the club returned to Yankee Stadium to play home games, with a special pre-game ceremony for the April 15 home opener that included Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Don Larsen, and the widows of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Eighty-five-year-old Bob Shawkey, who had pitched in the stadium in its opening season of 1923, threw out the first pitch, and the Bronx Bombers defeated Minnesota 11–4. Second, the team announced that Thurman Munson would serve in the role of team captain. This was significant because no Yankee player had been captain since the death of Gehrig in 1941.


1976 New York Yankees season, Regular season, Season summary
The team started fast with a 10–3 record in April, including a 5–1 West Coast swing through California and Oakland. On May 20, they authored another memorable chapter in their on-going rivalry with the Boston Red Sox. Lou Piniella collided with Carlton Fisk at home plate, igniting a huge bench-clearing brawl during which Graig Nettles injured Bill Lee's pitching arm.


1976 New York Yankees season, Regular season, Season summary
By mid-June, the club had built a 7-game lead. On the June 15 trading deadline, they made two significant moves to secure post-season success. First, they completed a 10-player deal with Baltimore, upgrading the pitching staff by acquiring starters Ken Holtzman and Doyle Alexander. Second, they were sold the rights to all-star pitcher Vida Blue from Oakland for $1.5 million. However, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, invoking the "best interests in baseball clause", invalidated the sale of Blue, returning him to Oakland.


1976 New York Yankees season, Regular season, Season summary
In July, six players represented the team in the All-Star Game in Philadelphia: Thurman Munson, who was elected to start by the fans; Chris Chambliss; Catfish Hunter; Willie Randolph; Mickey Rivers; and Sparky Lyle. By the end of the month, their lead in the division ballooned to 14½ games. In August, they continued to cruise towards the division title, and took part in a marathon 19-inning affair with Minnesota. By September, the club was poised to secure the spot in the American League Championship Series, and did so on September 25 by defeating the Detroit Tigers 10–6 to clinch the division title.


1976 New York Yankees season, Regular season, Monument Park
The Yankees opened "Monument Park" at the stadium in 1976. The origin of Monument Park is dated back to May 30, 1932, when the Yankees dedicated a monument to former manager Miller Huggins. The monument was placed it in front of the flagpole in center field at Yankee Stadium. Huggins was the first of many Yankees players granted this honor.


1976 New York Yankees season, Regular season, Postseason
The Yankees ended the season with a 97-62 record, best in the American League and third best overall in all of major league baseball. In the ALCS, they beat the Kansas City Royals in 5 games. In game 5, Chris Chambliss hit a memorable walk off home run to clinch the pennant for the Yankees, sending them to the World Series for the first time since 1964. The most memorable moment about the home run was the fans coming onto the field and mobbing Chambliss, and in the process, stealing bases to keep as souvenirs.


1976 New York Yankees season, Regular season, Postseason
A rule was later put into place to prevent fans from coming onto the field of play during a home run, dubbed the Chris Chambliss rule. Like their arch-rivals the Red Sox did in the 1975 World Series, the Yankees lost the World Series to the dominant Cincinnati Reds. However, this World Series was much more lopsided than the previous one, as the Yankees were swept, 4 games to 0, by the Reds and were outscored 22-8 in the process.


1976 New York Yankees season, Regular season, Aftermath
The 1976 Yankees saw the team restore the franchise to glory following the mismanaged years when CBS owned the club and failed to finish in the top half of the league or division from 1965 through 1972. Owner George Steinbrenner delivered on his promise to return the Yankees to greatness, and the fans responded as attendance reached over 2 million for the first time since 1950. Munson won the American League MVP, hitting .302 with 105 RBI. Munson became the first, and to date the only, Yankee player ever to win the MVP and the Rookie of the Year award while wearing the Yankees uniform.


1976 New York Yankees season, Regular season, Aftermath
However, the loss to Cincinnati in the World Series only consumed Steinbrenner to try to further improve the ball club. Thanks to the Seitz decision which made the reserve clause obsolete, Steinbrenner took advantage of the new era of free agency. In an era where other owners such as Charlie Finley were unwilling to spend money to keep players, and other clubs were still run by families not ready for the 'balance sheet' era of sports ownership, Steinbrenner ushered in the big salary era of sports by signing Reggie Jackson to a five-year contract worth just under $3 million. The idea of bringing in Jackson for 1977 would be to try to put the Yankees over the top.


1976 New York Yankees season, Regular season, Aftermath
Still, the 1976 version of the Yankees marked a return of prominence to the organization. It marked the first of three consecutive American League titles, and a stretch of six seasons where the club won five division titles, four league championships, and two World Series titles.


1976 New York Yankees 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


1976 New York Yankees 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


1976 New York Yankees season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1976 New York Yankees season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1976 New York Yankees season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1976 New York Yankees season, Postseason, ALCS
After splitting the first two games with the Western Division champion Royals in Kansas City, the Yankees returned home to try to capture the pennant. The two clubs split the next two games as well, setting up a deciding Game Five showdown. The Yankees had a 6–3 lead after seven innings, but the Royals rallied for 3 runs in the top of the 8th to tie the game at 6–6. Then in the bottom of the ninth, Chris Chambliss hit the first pitch thrown by Mark Littell over the right field wall for the game-winning walk-off home run. Of course, it was anything but a walk-off, as fans stormed the field with delight, making it nearly impossible for Chambliss to round the bases. The win put the Bombers into the World Series for the first time since 1964.


1976 New York Yankees season, Postseason, World Series
The Yankees were confident heading into the Fall Classic, but proved to be little match for their opponents. The Cincinnati Reds were the defending world champions, and were making their fourth World Series appearance over a seven-year span. The Big Red Machine dominated the series, sweeping the Yankees in four straight games.


1976 New York Yankees season, Awards and honors
Graig Nettles was the AL home run champion with 32 home runs in the season.


1976 New York Yankees season, Awards and honors
Munson, Chris Chambliss, Catfish Hunter, Sparky Lyle, Willie Randolph and Mickey Rivers all represented the Yankees at the 1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.


1976 New Zealand Grand Prix
The 1976 New Zealand Grand Prix was a motor race held at Pukekohe Park Raceway on 4 January 1976. The race, which had 12 starters, was the opening round of the 1976 Peter Stuyvesant Series.


1976 New Zealand Grand Prix
It was the 22nd New Zealand Grand Prix, and the first time the race was not run with the Tasman Series since 1964. New Zealander Ken Smith won his first New Zealand Grand Prix in his Lola T332 and thereby became the first New Zealander to win the race since Chris Amon back in 1969. The rest of the podium was completed by Australians Bruce Allison and Kevin Bartlett.


1976 New Zealand National Soccer League
The 1976 New Zealand National Soccer League was the seventh season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football.


1976 New Zealand National Soccer League, Promotion and relegation
Wellington City (soccer) finished last in the 1975 league and so contested a round-robin home and away play-off series with the winners of the northern, central, and southern leagues (Manurewa, Wellington Diamond United, and Christchurch Rangers respectively). The series was primarily a clash of the two Wellington teams, with Rangers and Manurewa only managing one win each. W.D.U. proved to be too strong for the rest of the teams, remaining undefeated through the series to return to the league after a one-year gap.


1976 New Zealand National Soccer League, Team performance
For the first time the league was won by the team promoted from the regions. It was also the first time that the league title went to a team from outside the two powerhouse cities of Auckland and Christchurch. Wellington Diamond United had an unconventional season in claiming the title — their away record boasted eight wins and just one loss, but the goal tally from these games was 16 for and 13 against.


1976 New Zealand National Soccer League, Team performance
Mount Wellington, usually one of the league's strongest teams, had a dreadful start with no wins in their first five games, but an unbeaten streak in the later part of the season saw them rise to second. Caversham were pacesetters for much of the season, but faded badly from a seemingly unbeatable position with only one win in their last eight games. Despite this, Cavvy recorded the best final standing up until that time  for any Dunedin side by finishing third. New Brighton bounced back from their 1975 relegation scare to secure fourth, mainly on the basis of a greatly improved away record.


1976 New Zealand National Soccer League, Team performance
Blockhouse Bay and Eastern Suburbs comfortably filled the table's middle two spots, but seventh-placed North Shore United's season was far less comfortable. A questionable change of coach proved costly as the 1975 runners-up found themselves close to the relegation zone mid-season, but recovered to finish close to the middle of the table. Christchurch United's new sponsorship deal meant a change of name to Trans Tours Christchurch United, but this change was accompanied by a change in fortune in the club's results.


1976 New Zealand National Soccer League, Team performance
The club failed to finish in the top three for the first time, slumping to eighth — though safely above the relegation zone. Stop Out had a difficult season, despite the arrival of promising new players such as Grant Turner. It was only in the season's last round of matches that they were assured of league survival. It was the East Coast North Island side Gisborne City which claimed the unenviable position of tenth; the side never recovered from an eight-game run of defeats and spent most of the season propping up the foot of the table.