1976 Big Ten Conference football season
The conference's statistical leaders included Ed Smith and Kirk Gibson of Michigan State with 1,749 passing yards and 748 receiving yards, respectively, Rob Lytle of Michigan with 1,469 rushing yards, Mike Carroll of Wisconsin with 1,773 yards of total offense, and Pete Johnson of Ohio State with 114 points scored.


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Results and team statistics
KeyAP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1976 seasonAP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1976 seasonPPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in boldPAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in boldMVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, September 11
On September 11, 1976, the Big Ten football teams opened the season with five conference games.


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, September 18
On September 18, 1976, the Big Ten teams played 10 non-conference games, resulting in seven wins and three losses.


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, September 25
On September 25, 1976, the Big Ten teams played 10 non-conference games, resulting in five wins, four losses, and one tie.


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, October 2
On October 2, 1976, the Big Ten teams played 10 non-conference games, resulting in three wins and seven losses. After three weeks of non-conference play, the Big Ten teams had compiled a 15–14–1 record against non-conference opponents.


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, October 9
On October 9, 1976, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, October 16
On October 16, 1976, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, October 23
On October 23, 1976, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, October 30
On October 30, 1976, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, November 6
On November 6, 1976, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, November 13
On November 13, 1976, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Regular season, November 20
On November 20, 1976, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Bowl games, 1977 Rose Bowl
On January 1, 1977, USC (ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll) defeated Michigan (ranked No. 2), 14–6, before a crowd of 106,182 in the 1977 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Bowl games, 1977 Rose Bowl
In the first quarter, neither team scored, and USC's Heisman Trophy runner-up Ricky Bell was injured and unable to return to the game. Michigan took a 6-0 lead on a one-yard touchdown run by Rob Lytle in the second quarter, but Bob Wood's extra point kick was blocked. The Trojans moved down field on the next drive, and  quarterback Vince Evans put USC in the lead on a one-yard touchdown run with a minute-and-a-half left in the first half.


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Bowl games, 1977 Rose Bowl
Neither team scored in the third quarter, and freshman tailback Charles White scored USC's second touchdown with three minutes left in the game. White rushed for 122 yards in the game. Michigan's offense was held to 155 rushing yards and 76 passing yards. Rick Leach completed only 4 of 12 passes.


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Bowl games, 1977 Rose Bowl
Press coverage of the game focused on Michigan's conservative, run-oriented offense and USC's more versatile attack. Los Angeles Times columnist Jim Murray wrote: "Of course, it's possible Michigan doesn't know how to catch a pass. They never throw any, so may not know it's legal. The way they play the game you could hold it in a cave." An Associated Press story noted: "It was the same old story. The Big Ten's Rose Bowl representative, a stick-to-the-ground team . . . just couldn't cope with the versatility of its Pacific-8 Conference opponent." Another writer noted that the Rose Bowl had become an annual "wake" for the Big 10: "It is rapidly becoming an annual event. Only the corpses are different."


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Season overview, Bowl games, 1977 Orange Bowl
On January 1, 1977, Ohio State (ranked No. 12 in the AP Poll) defeated Colorado (ranked No. 11), 27–10, in the 1977 Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida.


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Statistical leaders, Passing yards
1. Ed Smith, Michigan State (1,749)2. Mike Carroll, Wisconsin (1,627)3. Randy Dean, Northwestern (1,384)4. Tony Dungy, Minnesota (1,291)5. Kurt Steger, Illinois (1,243)


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Statistical leaders, Rushing yards
1. Rob Lytle, Michigan (1,469)2. Jeff Logan, Ohio State (1,248)3. Mike Harkrader, Indiana (1,003)4. Scott Dierking, Purdue (1,000)5. Larry Canada, Wisconsin (993)


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Statistical leaders, Receiving yards
1. Kirk Gibson, Michigan State (748)2. Jim Smith, Michigan (714)3. Scott Yelvington, Northwestern (649)4. Eugene Byrd, Michigan State (539)5. Mark Bailey, Northwestern (496)


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Statistical leaders, Total offense
1. Mike Carroll, Wisconsin (1,773)2. Ed Smith, Michigan State (1,738)3. Tony Dungy, Minnesota (1,639)4. Rick Leach, Michigan (1,611)5. Randy Dean, Northwestern (1,561)


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Statistical leaders, Passing efficiency rating
1. Randy Dean, Northwestern (118.4)2. Ed Smith, Michigan State (117.4)3. Kurt Steger, Illinois (106.1)4. Mike Carroll, Wisconsin (105.9)5. Tony Dungy, Minnesota (86.2)


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Statistical leaders, Rushing yards per attempt
1. Rob Lytle, Michigan (6.6)2. Harlan Huckleby, Michigan (5.9)3. Jeff Logan, Ohio State (5.7)4. Russell Davis, Michigan (5.7)5. Rick Leach, Michigan (5.6)


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Statistical leaders, Yards per reception
1. Jim Smith, Michigan (27.5)2. Kirk Gibson, Michigan State (19.2)3. Scott Yelvington, Northwestern (19.1)4. Eugene Byrd, Michigan State (17.4)5. Mark Bailey, Northwestern (15.5)


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Statistical leaders, Points scored
1. Pete Johnson, Ohio State (114)2. Rob Lytle, Michigan (96)3. Jim Perkins, Minnesota (78)4. Bob Wood, Michigan (76)5. Scott Dierking, Purdue (66)5. Harlan Huckleby, Michigan (66)


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Awards and honors, All-Big Ten honors
The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1976 All-Big Ten Conference football team.


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Awards and honors, All-American honors
At the end of the 1976 season, Big Ten players secured four of the consensus first-team picks for the 1976 College Football All-America Team. The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Awards and honors, All-American honors
Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Awards and honors, Other awards
Michigan running back Rob Lytle finished third in the voting for the 1976 Heisman Trophy.


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, Awards and honors, Other awards
Bo Schembechler of Michigan was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.


1976 Big Ten Conference football season, 1977 NFL Draft
The 1977 NFL Draft was held in New York on May 3–4, 1977. The following players were among the first 100 picks:


1976 Birmingham International
The 1976 Birmingham International was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the fourth edition of the Grand Prix Birmingham, and part of the 1976 USTA Indoor Circuit. It took place in Birmingham, Alabama, United States from January 20 through January 25, 1976. First-seeded Jimmy Connors won the singles title, his third consecutive at the event, and earned $10,000 first-prize money.


1976 Birmingham International, Finals, Doubles
Jimmy Connors /  Erik van Dillen defeated  Hank Pfister /  Dennis Ralston 6–3, 6–2


1976 Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday 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 published on 4 June 1976 for the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Mauritius, Fiji, the Bahamas, Grenada, and Papua New Guinea. These were the first Birthday Honours on the advice of Papua New Guinean Ministers for Papua New Guinea, as the nation had gained independence from Australia on 16 September 1975.


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


1976 Birthday Honours
At this time honours for Australians were still being awarded in the UK honours on the advice of the premiers of Australian states, as well as in the new Australian honours system which had been established in the previous year.


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


1976 Birthday Honours (New Zealand)
The 1976 Queen's Birthday Honours in New Zealand, celebrating the official birthday of Elizabeth II, were appointments made by the Queen on the advice of the New Zealand government to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. They were announced on 12 June 1976.


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


1976 Blue Swords
Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles and pair skating.


1976 Boise State Broncos football team
The 1976 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 1976 NCAA Division II football season. The Broncos competed in the Big Sky Conference and played their home games on campus at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. Led by first-year head coach Jim Criner, the Broncos were 5–5–1 overall and 2–4 in conference.


1976 Boise State Broncos football team
Boise State entered the season as three-time defending Big Sky champions, but under a new head coach. After leading the Broncos for eight seasons, 61-year-old Tony Knap moved south to Nevada-Las Vegas in late January to replace Ron Meyer, who went to SMU in Dallas. Hired two weeks later in mid-February, Criner was previously the linebackers coach at UCLA under head coach Dick Vermeil; the Bruins were Pac-8 champions in 1975 and won the Rose Bowl, a 23–10 upset of undefeated and top-ranked Ohio State.


1976 Bolivian census
The Eighth Census of Bolivia is the national census of Bolivia conducted in 1976. The population was 4,613,486.


1976 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election
Elections to Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council were held on in May 1976. The Conservatives retained control of the Council.


1976 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election
23 seats were contested, with 16 being won by the Conservative Party and 7 by the Labour Party.


1976 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election
Ernie Crook was the sitting Conservative Councillor in the Church East and North Ward, but was re-elected as an Independent Conservative due to an internal selection dispute. However he took the Conservative Party whip soon after. Therefore, this seat is regarded as a Conservative hold rather than a loss.


1976 Boston College Eagles football team
The 1976 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College in the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. The Eagles were led by ninth-year head coach Joe Yukica, and played their home games at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Boston College opened the year with an upset win over then-No. 7 Texas, but accumulated three losses to un-ranked teams and failed to be invited to a bowl game.


1976 Boston Red Sox season
The 1976 Boston Red Sox season was the 76th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished third in the American League East with a record of 83 wins and 79 losses, 15+1⁄2 games behind the New York Yankees, who went on to win the AL championship.


1976 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, Highlights
The Red Sox did not come close to repeating the previous year's success. An off-season contract dispute with Fred Lynn was a distraction. In early May, a brawl with the New York Yankees led to a shoulder injury for Bill Lee, one of their best pitchers and a 17-game winner in 1975; Lee would be out until mid-1977, and his loss was keenly felt.


1976 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, Highlights
On June 15, Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley attempted to sell left fielder Joe Rudi and relief pitcher Rollie Fingers to the Red Sox for $1 million each, and starting pitcher Vida Blue to the New York Yankees for $1.5 million. Three days later, Commissioner of Baseball Bowie Kuhn voided the transactions, citing "the best interests of baseball."


1976 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, Highlights
The Red Sox' beloved owner, Tom Yawkey, died of leukemia in July. Manager Darrell Johnson was fired shortly thereafter, and replaced by coach Don Zimmer. Overall, it was a disappointing season for a talented but underachieving team.


1976 Boston Red Sox season, Farm system
The Pawtucket Red Sox were known as the Rhode Island Red Sox during the 1976 season. LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Winston-Salem, ElmiraSource:


1976 Boston University Terriers football team
The 1976 Boston University Terriers football team was an American football team that represented Boston University as a member of the Yankee Conference during the 1976 NCAA Division II football season. In their fourth season under head coach Paul Kemp, the Terriers compiled a 3–7 record (2–3 against conference opponents), finished in a four-way tie for third/last place in the conference, and were outscored by a total of 225 to 150.


1976 Bowling Green Falcons football team
The 1976 Bowling Green Falcons football team was an American football team that represented Bowling Green University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. In their ninth season under head coach Don Nehlen, the Falcons compiled a 6–5 record (4–3 against MAC opponents), finished in sixth place in the MAC, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 292 to 249.


1976 Bowling Green Falcons football team
The team's statistical leaders included Mark Miller with 1,839 passing yards, Dave Preston with 989 rushing yards, and Jeff Groth with 598 receiving yards.


1976 Brantford municipal election
The 1976 Brantford municipal election was held on December 6, 1976, to elect a mayor, councillors, and school trustees in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. The rural and small-town communities near Brantford also held elections on the same day.


1976 Brantford municipal election
Charles Bowen was elected to a third two-year term as mayor of Brantford.


1976 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 1976 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Interlagos in São Paulo, Brazil on 25 January 1976. It was the opening round of the 1976 Formula One season. The race was the fifth Brazilian Grand Prix and the fourth to be held for the World Drivers' Championship. The race was held over 40 laps of the 7.87-kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 315 kilometres.


1976 Brazilian Grand Prix
The race was won by defending world champion, Niki Lauda, driving a Ferrari 312T. The Austrian driver won his eighth Formula One Grand Prix by 28 seconds over French driver Patrick Depailler in a Tyrrell 007. Second place was Depailler's best finish in almost two years having finished second previously at the 1974 Swedish Grand Prix. Tom Pryce finished third in a Shadow DN5B in his second podium in six months. It would prove to be the season highlight for Pryce and for Shadow Racing Cars. It was their only podium for the season and Pryce would not stand on the podium again.


1976 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race, Summary
For the opening round of the season, James Hunt took his first Formula 1 pole position with reigning champion Niki Lauda alongside in his Ferrari. Emerson Fittipaldi qualified fifth on his debut for his brother Wilson's Copersucar team. Clay Regazzoni in the second Ferrari took the lead at the start. Lotus teammates Andretti and Peterson collided on the first lap, both retiring as a result. Lauda was still in the lead ahead of Hunt and Jarier.


1976 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race, Summary
Hunt crashed out due to a sticking throttle, and Jarier did the same a lap later after driving on some oil in the track from Hunt's car. Fittipaldi's debut race for Copersucar failed to live up to its initial promise, the Brazilian double world champion ending up three laps down after various technical problems. Lauda thus started his title defence with victory, with Patrick Depailler second in the Tyrrell, and Tom Pryce completing the podium in the other Shadow.


1976 Brisbane Rugby League season
The 1976 Brisbane Rugby League premiership was the 69th season of Brisbane's semi-professional rugby league football competition. Eight teams from across Brisbane competed for the premiership, which culminated in a grand final match between the Western Suburbs and Eastern Suburbs clubs.


1976 Brisbane Rugby League season, Season summary
Teams played each other three times, with 21 rounds of competition played. It resulted in a top five of Eastern Suburbs, Western Suburbs, Past Brothers, Redcliffe and Wynnum-Manly. However, Wynnum-Manly and Southern Suburbs finished the season equal on points, with Magpies defeating Seagulls in a mid-week play-off.


1976 Brisbane Rugby League season, Season summary
The 1976 season's Rothmans Medallist was Northern Suburbs forward Darryl Brohman. Brohman would later sign for Sydney club Penrith and feature for Canterbury in its 1984 NSWRL grand final win.


1976 Brisbane Rugby League season, Grand Final
Western Suburbs made it two premierships in succession, after defeating favourites Eastern Suburbs in an anticlimactic decider.


1976 Brisbane Rugby League season, Grand Final
Easts' solitary point was a field goal by second-rower John Payne, who temporarily gave Tigers the lead in the first-half.


1976 Brisbane Rugby League season, Grand Final
Man of the match Gary Prickett scored the opening try for Wests, with lock John Ribot scoring the second just before half-time. Wests lead 12–1 at half-time and effectively repelled all Easts' efforts in the second-half.


1976 Brisbane Rugby League season, Grand Final
The match was virtually without incident. The most blatant was a high tackle by John Payne on Wests' prop, Max Williamson. Williamson had to be helped from the field, with Payne greceiving a long lecture from referee Bernie Pramberg.


1976 Brisbane Rugby League season, Grand Final
Western Suburbs 16 (Tries: Gary Prickett, John Ribot. Goals: 5)


1976 Bristol City Council election
The 1976 Bristol City Council election took place on 6 May 1976 to elect members of Bristol City Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections. Labour retained overall control of the council despite losing 9 seats to the Conservatives.


1976 British Formula Three season
The 1976 British Formula Three season was the 26th season of the British Formula Three season. Rupert Keegan took the B.A.R.C. BP Super Visco British Formula 3 Championship, while Bruno Giacomelli took the B.R.D.C. Shellsport British Formula Three Championship.


1976 British Formula Three season
Thanks to Giacomelli's March 763-Toyota and to Keegan's old 743, March dominated the two championships with 12 race wins, the other five falling to the Chevron B34s of Geoff Lees and mid-season convert Keegan.


1976 British Grand Prix
The 1976 British Grand Prix (formally the John Player Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 18 July 1976 at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, England, United Kingdom. The 76-lap race was the ninth round of the 1976 Formula One season.


1976 British Grand Prix
British driver James Hunt was involved in a first corner crash that brought out the red flags. Hunt drove his damaged car back to the pits, but did not complete a full lap of the track to do so, instead driving through an access road on the Cooper Straight. The officials declared that, since he had not been on the circuit when the red flag was waved, Hunt would not be allowed to take part in the restart.


1976 British Grand Prix
This news led to much angry feeling amongst the British crowd, who chanted Hunt's name until the stewards, fearing crowd trouble, announced that Hunt would be allowed to take the restart. Hunt duly won the restarted race. Immediately after the race, the Ferrari, Tyrrell and Fittipaldi teams protested against the inclusion of Hunt's car. In September, two months after the event, a decision was reached and Hunt was disqualified, giving Niki Lauda the race win.


1976 British Grand Prix, Report, Background
This was the only Formula One Grand Prix in which multiple female racers (Lella Lombardi and Divina Galica) were entered. Neither qualified for the Grand Prix.


1976 British Grand Prix, Report, Background
The Brands Hatch layout had been modified from the previous year. Paddock Hill, Bottom Straight (renamed Cooper Straight) and South Bank (renamed Surtees) had all been slightly modified. The pit lane was extended and many of the corners were renamed, all after racing drivers and teams.


1976 British Grand Prix, Report, Race
At the start, Hunt made a relatively poor start and allowed Lauda to pull away. By contrast, Clay Regazzoni starting from fourth made a good start from the second row, and attempted to take the lead from Lauda at the first corner. Regazzoni made contact with his Ferrari team-mate which resulted in a broken rear wheel on Lauda's car, and him spinning his own car. Regazzoni's car was then hit by cars behind, resulting in damage to several more cars including those of Hunt and Jacques Laffite. Due to the amount of debris covering the track as a result, the race was stopped.


1976 British Grand Prix, Report, Race
The McLaren, Ferrari and Ligier teams set about preparing the spare cars for Hunt, Regazzoni and Laffite respectively in the belief that there was insufficient time for their original cars to be repaired. However, the race stewards announced that no driver would be allowed to take part in the restarted race unless they were in their original car, and that they had finished the first lap of the original race. This meant that the spare cars could not be used, and the drivers that had returned to the pits at the end of the first lap would not be allowed to restart.


1976 British Grand Prix, Report, Race
Some debate then ensued, during which time the McLaren mechanics managed to repair Hunt's damaged McLaren which he had used in the original start. Despite having failed to complete the first lap, Hunt was now at least not in a replacement car, and with the crowds chanting "We Want Hunt" with bottles and other stuff thrown to the track with the potential of crowd trouble with the British fans, the stewards relented and allowed Hunt to take the restart. In the event, both Regazzoni and Laffite also took the restart, although both in replacement cars, with the two teams opting to compete anyway and face possible exclusion after the race.


1976 British Grand Prix, Report, Race
At the second attempt to start the race, Lauda again led the field, with Hunt second, Regazzoni third and Scheckter fourth. Laffite retired on lap 32 and Regazzoni on lap 37 due to suspension problems and low oil pressure respectively.


1976 British Grand Prix, Report, Race
Lauda led the race for the first 45 laps, until gearshift problems allowed Hunt to overtake him. Hunt continued to build up a lead from Lauda for the rest of the race, and crossed the finish line in first position.


1976 British Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
Immediately following the race, the Ferrari, Tyrrell and Copersucar teams protested the result to the stewards. The three teams believed that as Hunt had not completed a lap following the accident, then under the regulations, he should not have been allowed to take the restart. Following a three-hour meeting, the officials dismissed the protests and announced the original result would stand.


1976 British Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
Ferrari announced that they would submit an appeal to the RAC, the governing body of motorsport in Britain who were responsible for sanctioning and organizing the British Grand Prix. A meeting was held in London on 4 August, where the Ferrari team again put forward their view that Hunt did not complete a lap, and therefore should not have been permitted to take part in the restart. In explaining their reason for dismissing the appeal, the RAC stated that although Hunt did not finish the lap, his car was still moving at the time the race was stopped, and this was sufficient to allow him to restart.


1976 British Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
Ferrari then protested the result to the FIA, which resulted in a tribunal being convened to hear Ferrari's appeal. The tribunal was held in Paris on 25 September, where Ferrari put forward their belief that Hunt's car had been pushed by his mechanics before the race had been halted, breaking the regulation prohibiting outside assistance during the race. McLaren maintained that they had only pushed the car after the race had been stopped.


1976 British Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
The decision reached by the tribunal was to uphold the appeal by Ferrari, and disqualify Hunt from the race. This in turn resulted in all the other drivers moving up one position, and hence making Lauda the winner of the race.


1976 British Hard Court Championships
The 1976 British Hard Court Championships, also known by its sponsored name Coca-Cola British Hard Court Championships, was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts in Bournemouth, England. The men's event was part of the 1976 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix. The tournament was held from 10 May through 16 May 1976. Wojciech Fibak and Helga Masthoff won the singles titles.


1976 British Hard Court Championships, Finals, Men's doubles
Wojciech Fibak /  Fred McNair defeated  Juan Gisbert, Sr. /  Manuel Orantes 4–6, 7–5, 7–5


1976 British Hard Court Championships, Finals, Women's doubles
Linky Boshoff /  Ilana Kloss defeated  Lesley Charles /  Sue Mappin 6–3, 6–2


1976 British Hard Court Championships, Finals, Mixed doubles
Linky Boshoff /  Colin Dowdeswell defeated  Ilana Kloss /  Byron Bertram 6–8, 8–6, 6–1


1976 British Isles heat wave
The 1976 British Isles heat wave led to the second hottest summer average temperature in the UK since records began. At the same time, the country suffered a severe drought. It was one of the driest, sunniest and warmest summers (June/July/August) in the 20th century, although the summer of 1995 is now regarded as the driest. Only a few places registered more than half their average summer rainfall. In the CET record, it was the warmest summer in that series. It was the warmest summer in the Aberdeen area since at least 1864, and the driest summer since 1868 in Glasgow.


1976 British Isles heat wave, Heatwave and drought effects
Heathrow had 16 consecutive days over 30 °C (86 °F) from 23 June to 8 July and for 15 consecutive days from 23 June to 7 July temperatures reached 32.2 °C (90 °F) somewhere in England. Furthermore, five days saw temperatures exceed 35 °C (95 °F). On 28 June, temperatures reached 35.6 °C (96.1 °F) in Southampton, the highest June temperature recorded in the UK. The hottest day of all was 3 July, with temperatures reaching 35.9 °C (96.6 °F) in Cheltenham.


1976 British Isles heat wave, Heatwave and drought effects
The great drought was due to a very long dry period. The summer and autumn of 1975 were very dry, and the winter of 1975–76 was exceptionally dry, as was the spring of 1976; indeed, some months during this period had no rain at all in some areas.


1976 British Isles heat wave, Heatwave and drought effects
The drought was at its most severe in August 1976 and in response parliament passed the Drought Act 1976. Parts of the south west went 45 days without any rain in July and August. As the hot and dry weather continued, devastating heath and forest fires broke out in parts of Southern England. 50,000 trees were destroyed at Hurn Forest in Dorset. Crops were badly hit, with £500 million worth of crops failing. Food prices subsequently increased by 12%.


1976 British Isles heat wave, Heatwave and drought effects
Massive swarms of seven-spotted ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata) occurred across the country, with the British Entomological and Natural History Society estimating that by late July 23.65 billion of them were swarming across the southern and eastern coasts of England. The population explosion occurred because a warm spring had meant there were many aphids, the ladybirds' food prey; as the hot weather dried the plants on which the aphids fed, the aphid populations collapsed, causing the ladybirds to swarm to try to find food elsewhere.


1976 British Isles heat wave, Heatwave and drought effects
In the last week of August, days after Denis Howell was appointed 'Minister for Drought', severe thunderstorms brought rain to some places for the first time in weeks. September and October 1976 were both very wet months, bringing to an end the great drought of 1975–1976.


1976 British Isles heat wave, Heatwave and drought effects
The Haweswater reservoir had only 10% of its water left; people walked dryshod on its bed 60 feet below its normal water level. The site of the flooded village of Mardale Green was dry.


1976 British Isles heat wave, Heatwave and drought effects
In Ireland the temperature reached 32.5 °C (90.5 °F) in County Offaly on 29 June 1976. There were also gorse fires in County Wicklow.


1976 British Isles heat wave, Health impact
The 1976 heatwave is understood to have been the cause of 20% 'excess deaths' and there were significantly more hospital emergency admissions from 24 June to 8 July 1976 than for the same period in 1975 or 1974. This compares to 59% excess deaths for the 2003 heatwave.


1976 British Isles heat wave, Ecological impact
The extensive fires paradoxically helped preserve many areas of heathland that had been becoming scrubland through natural succession because of reduced grazing pressure; the only long-term effect of the fires on Dorset heathlands was a change in the composition of scrub. The impacts of the extended drought on mature trees, especially beech, were still evident in UK woodlands in 2013.


1976 British Isles heat wave, Government response
The effect on domestic water supplies led to the passing of a Drought Act by parliament and Minister for Drought, Denis Howell, was appointed. There was widespread water rationing and public standpipes in some affected areas. Reservoirs were at an extremely low level, as were some rivers. The rivers Don, Sheaf, Shire Brook and Meers Brook (all in Sheffield) all ran completely dry, without a drop of water in any of them, as well as Frecheville Pond and Carterhall Pond (Carterhall Pond was permanently dry until 2007, when floods hit, and has not dried since).


1976 British Isles heat wave, Government response
Longer term, the UK Department of the Environment realised it needed more information about the storage capacity and other properties of British aquifers, as sources of groundwater.


1976 British Isles heat wave, Comparisons
In the Central England Temperature series, 1976 is the hottest summer for more than 350 years. The average temperature over the whole summer (June, July, August) was 17.77 °C (63.99 °F), compared to the average for the unusually warm years between 2001–2008 of 16.30 °C (61.34 °F).


1976 British Isles heat wave, Comparisons
The summer was so hot that it is embedded in the national psyche, with subsequent heatwaves in 1995,1997, 2003, 2006 and 2018 all using 1976 as a benchmark.


1976 British League season
The 1976 Gulf British League season was the 42nd season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 12th season known as the British League.


1976 British League season, Summary
The White City Rebels made their debut as did 1975 National League champions Birmingham Brummies. Oxford Cheetahs dropped down a division with White City inheriting both their riders and their nickname. The league was sponsored by Gulf Oil for a second season.


1976 British League season, Summary
Ipswich Witches won their second consecutive title. The Witches team was once again headed by John Louis and Billy Sanders but this time Tony Davey also scored well with an average of 8.37, resulting in a comfortable league title success for the Suffolk team. The team then went on to claim the double on 28 October by winning the Knockout Cup.


1976 British League season, Summary
Wimbledon Dons had the worst possible start to a season when their leading rider and the man touted to be a world champion Tommy Jansson died during a 1976 Individual Speedway World Championship meeting in Stockholm, on 20 May.


1976 British League season, Final table
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points


1976 British League season, British League Knockout Cup
The 1976 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 38th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Ipswich Witches were the winners.


1976 British League season, British League Knockout Cup, Final, Second leg
Ipswich Witches were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 91-63.


1976 British National Track Championships
The 1976 British National Track Championships were a series of track cycling competitions held from 7–14 August 1976 at the Leicester Velodrome.


1976 British Rowing Championships
The 1976 National Rowing Championships was the fifth edition of the National Championships, held from 16–18 July 1976 at the National Water Sports Centre in Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham. The Championships did not feature any of the British Olympic team members who were in Canada at the time.


1976 British Saloon Car Championship
The 1976 Keith Prowse British Saloon Car Championship was the 19th season of the series. That year saw a change in the class structure, with a limit of 3000cc engines being brought in, to stop the large American V8 cars competing in the championship. Bernard Unett regained the drivers title he last won in 1974, again driving a now renamed Chrysler Avenger GT.


1976 British Saloon Car Championship, Calendar and winners
All races were held in the United Kingdom. Overall winners in bold.


1976 British and Nepalese Army Expedition to Everest
The 1976 British and Nepalese Army Expedition to Everest resulted in the successful summit of Mount Everest via its South Face on 16 May. This was the second time this had been achieved - less than a year previously, the 1975 British Mount Everest Southwest Face expedition being the first up the same route. The expedition by the British Army and Royal Nepalese Army was under the command of Tony Streather, and the summiteers were Special Air Service soldiers Bronco Lane and Brummie Stokes.


1976 British and Nepalese Army Expedition to Everest, Background
The British Army were closely involved in many mountain climbing initiatives from the early 1900s, which included a strong involvement in the reconnaissance expeditions to Everest during the 1920s. During the Second World War, the British Army fielded a Division of Mountain Trained troops - the 52nd Lowland Division. The Army then mounted a number of successful expeditions around the world - Lieutenant John Hunt's trip to climb K36 (Saltoro Kangri) in Baltistan inspired more expeditions. Hunt would subsequently become the successful leader of the 1953 British Mount Everest expedition.


1976 British and Nepalese Army Expedition to Everest, Background
With the success of that expedition a mountaineering club was thus proposed and fronted by Colonel Gerry Finch, Major Hugh Robertson and Second Lieutenant Chris Bonington. On 24 May 1957 the Army Mountaineering Association was formed as a charitable status. Its constitution states that it exists 'To promote military efficiency by encouraging mountaineering in the Army'. Another army officer, Tony Streather ascended the third highest mountain in the world Kangchenjunga in 1955, then Tirich Mir five years later. His legendary parts played on K2 and Haramosh gave him a superb reputation in mountaineering. More army officers led the way - Major Jon Fleming had led AMA expeditions to Tirich Mir in 1969, Lahul in 73 and Nuptse three years later.


1976 British and Nepalese Army Expedition to Everest, Background
Two SAS men Brummie Stokes and Bronco Lane took part in the 1975 expedition to the neighbouring peak of Nuptse, which is 25,850 feet high to Everest’s 29,030 feet. Four men had died on that particular trip, but Stokes and Lane were undeterred about climbing Everest itself. The following year both were given leave from the SAS to attempt an Army ascent of Everest. The expedition was to be a joint British-Nepalese Army operation under the command of Streather.


1976 British and Nepalese Army Expedition to Everest, Expedition
During the 200 mile walk from Kathmandu to Everest base camp with the Army Mountaineering Association two men emerged as clear summiters - Stokes and Lane. Their combined endurance had impressed all even though they were not rock climbing experts.


1976 British and Nepalese Army Expedition to Everest, Expedition
On May 14, Stokes and Lane were established at Camp 6, at 27,000 feet, ahead of the planned ascent of Everest’s south-west face the following morning. That night, however, a severe storm made movement impossible. There were concerns that a prolonged stay at such high altitudes might weaken the pair, but they were keen to press on. There’s only one way we’re going, Stokes radioed, and it's not down.


1976 British and Nepalese Army Expedition to Everest, Expedition
Two days later they set off early on the morning and by mid-afternoon they had reached the summit, where they collapsed in a shattered state. After taking a few pictures on the summit they set about their descent - the danger was far from over; at 28,000 feet on the way down, the route became impassable owing to white-out weather conditions and both were forced to abandon their descent.


1976 British and Nepalese Army Expedition to Everest, Expedition
As their oxygen supplies began to run perilously low, they huddled down to make an improvised camp for the night. The mercury dropped to around minus 20 degrees Celsius, made colder by the wind chill. They scraped a hole in the snow near the South Summit for the night and they had to hit each other to keep themselves awake and in so doing kept themselves alive next morning. Stokes tried and failed to attach an oxygen bottle to his face-mask. Lane had to remove his glove to attach the bottle but after an hour his hand was frozen. After the night in the open both men's feet were badly frostbitten.


1976 British and Nepalese Army Expedition to Everest, Expedition
As they struggled from their bivouac site, they were met by the second pair to try for the summit, John Scott and Pat Gunson both from the Parachute Regiment – who had expected to find them dead. They were overjoyed to see them and the message was relayed to Streather who was relieved. Having dosed the severely weakened pair with oxygen – and hot soup – Scott and Gunson scrapped their own ascent and began to descend with them. All four safely reached base camp five days later.


1976 British and Nepalese Army Expedition to Everest, Aftermath
With the summit attained complete the expedition ended - Stokes and Lane were evacuated home. Stokes left the mountain three-and-a-half stone lighter. Back home in England both were awarded the British Empire Medal; doctors attempted to save the men's toes but the condition of their feet deteriorated in the summer heat. Stokes lost all his toes and part of each foot to frostbite. Lane lost his toes too as well as the thumb and top halves of his fingers on his right hand. Despite losing all his toes to frostbite, Stokes returned to tackle Everest a further three times, while Lane continued mountaineering in the Canadian Rockies in 1978-9 and Mount Kenya in 1983.


1976 Brown Bears football team
The 1976 Brown Bears football team was an American football team that represented Brown University during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. Brown tied for first place in the Ivy League, its first conference championship.


1976 Brown Bears football team
In their fourth season under head coach John Anderson, the Bears compiled a 8–1 record and outscored opponents 171 to 102. Scott Nelson and Mike Prairie were the team captains.


1976 Brown Bears football team
The Bears' 6–1 conference record tied for best in the Ivy League standings. They outscored Ivy opponents 140 to 84. Brown was named co-champion despite having defeated the other 6–1 team, Yale.


1976 Brown Bears football team
Brown played its home games at Brown Stadium in Providence, Rhode Island.


1976 Brownlow Medal
The 1976 Brownlow Medal was the 49th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Victorian Football League (VFL) home and away season. Graham Moss of the Essendon Football Club won the medal by polling forty-eight votes during the 1976 VFL season. The count was the first of two occasions in which the two field umpires independently voted for the best players on the ground under the 3-2-1 system. This meant that the winner of the Brownlow had a higher number of votes than usual. From 1978 onwards, the field umpires conferred after each game and awarded a single set of votes, rather than voting independently.


1976 Broxbourne Borough Council election
The Broxbourne Council election, 1976 was held to elect council members of the Broxbourne Borough Council, the local government authority of the borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England.


1976 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
The second election to Broxbourne Borough Council took place on Thursday 6 May 1976.


1976 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
This was an "all out" election as a result of significant ward boundary changes since the June 1973 election.


1976 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
The warding pattern was now of 14 wards each returning 3 Councillors. This meant that the Council had expanded to 42 elected members - an increase of 2 Councillors.


1976 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
A new ward had been created to cover the Rosedale estate.


1976 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
This warding pattern was to remain in effect until 1999.


1976 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
Following this election Borough Councillors would retire in thirds starting from the 1978 election.


1976 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
The Councillor polling the lowest number of votes in each ward would stand for re-election in 1978. The Councillor who polled the next highest number of votes would stand in 1979 and the Councillor with the highest number of votes would stand in 1980.


1976 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
This arrangement resulted in an electoral curiosity in Rosedale Ward where 2 of the successful candidates at this election polled exactly the same number of votes.


1976 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
To determine who would "retire" in 1978 after a 2-year term of office, the successful candidates cut a pack of playing cards with the lowest card "losing"


1976 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
Councillor Robert Donoghue (Conservative) drew a 6 and Councillor Mark Farrington (Labour) drew a 5.


1976 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
Accordingly, Councillor Farrington was determined to have been placed 3rd in the election and stood for re-election in 1978 after a 2-year term of office.


1976 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
Shortly after the election Councillor Dan Hickman (Goffs Oak Ward) left the Conservative Group and sat as an Independent Member resulting in a revised political balance of:


1976 Bucknell Bison football team
The 1976 Bucknell Bison football team was an American football team that represented Bucknell University as an independent during the 1976 NCAA Division II football season.


1976 Bucknell Bison football team
In their second year under head coach Bob Curtis, the Bison compiled a 4–5 record. Karl Meyer, Jim Nesbitt and Kerry Snow were the team captains.


1976 Bucknell Bison football team
Bucknell played its home games at Memorial Stadium on the university campus in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.


1976 Buffalo Bills season
The 1976 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 7th season in the National Football League, and the 17th overall.


1976 Buffalo Bills season
Buffalo's season was troubled from the start, as the team was in a contract dispute with star running back O. J. Simpson. Simpson had been demanding a trade, before finally agreeing to a three-year, $2.5 million contract.


1976 Buffalo Bills season
The Bills started the season 2–2, before losing their final ten games of the season. Quarterback Joe Ferguson only started the first seven games before being sidelined for the season with a back injury. Backup quarterback Gary Marangi started Buffalo's final seven games, all losses.


1976 Buffalo Bills season
Fullback Jim Braxton injured his knee in the Bills' season opener and was lost for the season. Simpson still led the NFL in rushing in 1976, even without Braxton's blocking.


1976 Buffalo Bills season
Bills head coach Lou Saban resigned after the fifth game of the season, with the Bills struggling at 2–3. Offensive line coach Jim Ringo took over, but would not win a game for the rest of the year.


1976 Buffalo Bills season
The lowest point of the season was when O. J. Simpson was ejected from a game for getting into a fight with New England Patriots defensive end Mel Lunsford. Lunsford was also ejected from the game as well. Neither player was fined or suspended by the league.


1976 Buffalo Bills season, Offseason
Before the 1976 season, Buffalo lost some key players, notably wide receivers Ahmad Rashād and J. D. Hill, and defensive linemen Earl Edwards, Walt Patulski and Pat Toomay.


1976 Buffalo Bills season, Offseason, NFL Draft
Note: 1976 was the final year in which the NFL draft was seventeen rounds; it would be reduced to twelve rounds in 1977.


1976 Buffalo Bills season, Offseason, NFL Draft
The Bills' 1976 draft produced four long-time starters with their first four picks. First round pick Mario Clark played for seven seasons with the Bills. Offensive guard Ken Jones played for the Bills for eleven years. Offensive tackle Joe Devlin played every game of his 14-year career with the Bills, playing in all 191 regular-season games until his retirement after the 1989 season. Defensive end Ben Williams played for the Bills for 10 years; he was a Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro for the 1982 season.


1976 Buffalo Bills season, Regular season, Season summary, Week 12
O. J. Simpson rushed for 273 yards, setting a Thanksgiving Day record that still holds as of the end of the 2016 season.


1976 Bulgarian Cup Final
The 1976 Bulgarian Cup Final was the 36th final of the Bulgarian Cup (in this period the tournament was named Cup of the Soviet Army), and was contested between Levski Sofia and CSKA Sofia on 2 June 1976 at Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia. Levski won the final 4–3 after extra time.


1976 Bulgarian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 30 May 1976. The Fatherland Front, dominated by the Bulgarian Communist Party, was the only organisation to contest the election; all candidate lists had to be approved by the Front. The Front nominated one candidate for each constituency. Of the 400 candidates 272 were members of the Communist Party, 100 were members of the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union and the remaining 28 were unaffiliated. Voter turnout was reportedly 99.9%.


1976 Burundian coup d'état
The 1976 Burundian coup d'état was a bloodless military coup that took place in Burundi on 1 November 1976. An Army faction, led by Deputy Chief of Staff Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, ousted President Michel Micombero. Bagaza formed the 30-member Supreme Revolutionary Council to take control, suspended the country's constitution and was inaugurated as president on 10 November 1976.


1976 Burundian coup d'état
Micombero was initially arrested but later allowed to leave the country and went into exile in Somalia (then Somali Democratic Republic under the rule of Siad Barre) where he died in 1983.


1976 Burundian coup d'état, Aftermath, The regime of Bagaza
After coming to power, Bagaza tried to defuse interethnic and intra-ethnic tensions between Hutu and Tutsi through a series of liberalization. In 1977, Bagaza returned Burundi to civilian rule and the Hutus were incorporated into the government; an anti-corruption campaign began and eventually a limited land reform program was launched by the government.


1976 Burundian coup d'état, Aftermath, The regime of Bagaza
In November 1981, a new constitution was approved in a referendum, but Burundi remained a one-party state led by the Union for National Progress party (Union pour le Progrès national, UPRONA).


1976 Burundian coup d'état, Aftermath, The regime of Bagaza
According to the Constitution, election was held on 22 October 1982 for the National Assembly, and on 31 August 1984 Bagaza was elected president with 99.6% of the vote, being the only candidate for the country's presidency. However, the reforms were cosmetic in nature, the state was still dominated by UPRONA and the military, which in general served as instruments of political and economic domination of the Hima-Tutsi clan, based in Bururi (Bagaza was from province of the same name), while most of the Hutus remained marginalized and disenfranchised.


1976 Burundian coup d'état, Aftermath, The regime of Bagaza
To organize resistance against Tutsi rule, Hutu refugees in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Zaire under the rule of Mobutu Sese Seko) founded the Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People (Parti pour la libération du peuple Hutu, PALIPEHUTU) in April 1980. During this period, Tutsis had monopoly access to education and work in government bodies.


1976 Burundian coup d'état, Aftermath, The regime of Bagaza
As the state centralized all decisions and dissemination of information, it came into conflict with the Roman Catholic Church. The church provided alternative means of access to health care, education and social mobilization to those controlled by the Tutsis, which resulted in the church being accused of "supporting the Hutu resistance". This conflict culminated in the expulsion of missionaries and the nationalization of Catholic schools in 1985.


1976 Burundian coup d'état, Aftermath, Crisis of the regime and overthrow of Bagaza
The failure of the authorities to carry out meaningful political, economic and social reforms and the persecution of the Catholic Church by the state led to an increase in dissent, which, from 1984, has been suppressed with increasingly violent manifestations through the arrest and torture of opponents of the government.


1976 Burundian coup d'état, Aftermath, Crisis of the regime and overthrow of Bagaza
The early years of Bagaza's presidency were characterized by large public investments financed by foreign loans. Because these investments were made to create new sources of income and patronage for the Bururi-Tutsi elite, and not to achieve economic development goals, they did not have long-term viability. The authorities, in order to pay the external debt, imposed high taxes, which in turn hit the population hard.


1976 Burundian coup d'état, Aftermath, Crisis of the regime and overthrow of Bagaza
The deteriorating human rights situation has led to conflict with Burundi's major foreign donors, especially Belgium and France, who have begun to pressure the government to implement meaningful reforms, withholding aid, which accounted for 50% of government spending.


1976 Burundian coup d'état, Aftermath, Crisis of the regime and overthrow of Bagaza
By 1986, the country's economic situation had deteriorated so much that Bagaza was forced to accept a structural adjustment program imposed by the IMF and the World Bank, which included massive cuts in military and government spending.


1976 Burundian coup d'état, Aftermath, Crisis of the regime and overthrow of Bagaza
Such measures proved disastrous for Bagaza, as the Tutsi elite and military did not approve of the loss of jobs, income and patronage, as a result of which he was overthrown on 3 September 1987 in a bloodless military coup,  led by Major Pierre Buyoya.


1976 CARIFTA Games
The 5th CARIFTA Games was held in Nassau, Bahamas on April 19–20, 1976.


1976 CARIFTA Games, Participation (unofficial)
Detailed result lists can be found on the "World Junior Athletics History" website. An unofficial count yields the number of about 76 athletes (55 junior (under-20) and 21 youth (under-17)) from about 9 countries:  Bahamas (19), Barbados (6), Bermuda (18), British Virgin Islands (1), Guadeloupe (1), Guyana (3), Jamaica (20), Trinidad and Tobago (8).


1976 CARIFTA Games, Medal summary
Medal winners are published by category: Boys under 20 (Junior), Girls under 20 (Junior), Boys under 17 (Youth), and Girls under 17 (Youth). Complete results can be found on the "World Junior Athletics History" website.


1976 CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 1976 CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the fifth CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. It was played between March 18 and March 21, 1976. All games were played at St. Louis Arena in St. Louis, Missouri, the home venue of the St. Louis Billikens.


1976 CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The tournament featured two rounds of play. Only the top four teams in the conference standings were eligible for postseason play. In the semifinal the first and fourth seeds and the second and third seeds were matched as opponents in single game series with the winners advancing to the Championship. In the finals the teams played a 2 game series where the squad that score the most combined goals would be crowned champion.


1976 CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Conference Standings
Note: GP = Games Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against


1976 CECAFA Cup
The 1976 CECAFA Cup was the fourth edition of the tournament. It was held in Zanzibar, Tanzania, and was won by Uganda. The matches were played between November 6 and 14.


1976 CFL Draft
The 1976 CFL Draft composed of 10 rounds where 106 Canadian football players were chosen from eligible Canadian universities and Canadian players playing in the NCAA. A total of 18 players were selected as territorial exemptions, with the Calgary Stampeders being the only team to make no picks during this stage of the draft. Through a trade with the Toronto Argonauts, the Edmonton Eskimos selected first overall in the draft. The Eskimos had four total picks in the first round of the draft alone.


1976 CFL season
The 1976 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 23rd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 19th Canadian Football League season.


1976 CFL season, CFL news in 1976
For the first time in Canadian Football League history, more than two million fans attended CFL games, with a total attendance of 2,029,586.


1976 CFL season, CFL news in 1976
In the CFL All-Star Game, the East team defeated the West, 27-16, in front of 21,762 fans at Clarke Stadium in Edmonton. The game was played before the pre-season on May 29, the first and only time a CFL contest has been held in the month of May.


1976 CFL season, Regular season standings, Final regular season standings
Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points


1976 CFL season, Grey Cup playoffs
The Ottawa Rough Riders are the 1976 Grey Cup champions, defeating the Saskatchewan Roughriders, 23–20, at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium. This was the third championship game between the two Rough Riders with Ottawa winning two out of three games. Ottawa's Tom Clements (QB) was named the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player on Offence and Saskatchewan's Cleveland Vann (LB) was named the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player on Defence. Ottawa's Tony Gabriel (TE) was named Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian.


1976 CFL season, Grey Cup playoffs
This was the only year between 1973 and 1982 that the Edmonton Eskimos did not appear in the Grey Cup game.


1976 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
The 1976 CONCACAF Champions' Cup was the 12th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CONCACAF region (North America, Central America and the Caribbean), the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. It determined that year's club champion of association football in the CONCACAF region and was played from 6 June 1976 till 13 February 1977.


1976 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
The teams were split in three zones (North American, Central American and Caribbean), each one qualifying the winner to the final tournament, where the winners of the North and Central zones played a semi-final to decide who was going to play against the Caribbean champion in the final. All the matches in the tournament were played under the home/away match system.


1976 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
Salvadorean club Águila beat Surinamese Robinhood in the final to became CONCACAF champion for the first time in their history, and the second Salvadoran team to win the trophy.


1976 CONCACAF Champions' Cup, Final, Second leg
Aguila won the series 4–2 on points (8–3 on aggregate).


1976 CONCACAF Pre-Olympic Tournament
The 1976 CONCACAF Pre-Olympic Tournament was the fourth edition of the CONCACAF Pre-Olympic Tournament, the quadrennial, international football tournament organised by the CONCACAF to determine which national teams from the North, Central America and Caribbean region qualify for the Olympic football tournament.


1976 CONCACAF Pre-Olympic Tournament
Mexico successfully defended their title, and qualified for the 1976 Summer Olympics together with runners-up Guatemala and the host nation, Canada, as representatives of CONCACAF. Cuba was invited after the withdrawal of Uruguay, the refusal of Argentina and Colombia to replace them.


1976 CONCACAF Pre-Olympic Tournament, Qualified teams for the Summer Olympics
The following four teams from CONCACAF qualified for the 1976 Summer Olympics, including Canada which qualified as the hosts.


1976 CONCACAF Pre-Olympic Tournament qualification
The qualifying competition for the 1976 CONCACAF Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament determined the three teams for the final tournament.


1976 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament
The CONCACAF Under-20 Championship 1976 was held in Puerto Rico. It also served as qualification for the 1977 FIFA World Youth Championship.


1976 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament, Qualification to World Youth Championship
The two best performing teams qualified for the 1977 FIFA World Youth Championship.


1976 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament
The 1976 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament was the 5th CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament.


1976 Cal Poly Mustangs football team
The 1976 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State University during the 1976 NCAA Division II football season.


1976 Cal Poly Mustangs football team
Cal Poly competed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The CCAA lost two of its five members before the 1976 season. UC Riverside discontinued football after the 1975 season. Cal State Los Angeles dropped down to a lower level of competition after the 1975 season. The CCAA continued with just the three teams until the conference stopped supporting football after the 1981 season.


1976 Cal Poly Mustangs football team
The Mustangs were led by ninth-year head coach Joe Harper and played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California. They finished the regular season as champion of the CCAA, starting another run of five consecutive conference championships. They had also accomplished this from 1969 to 1973. The team finished with a record of seven wins, one loss and one tie (7–1–1, 2–0 CCAA).


1976 Cal Poly Mustangs football team, Team players in the NFL
No Cal Poly Mustang players were selected in the 1977 NFL Draft.


1976 Cal Poly Mustangs football team, Team players in the NFL
The following finished their college career in 1976, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.


1976 Cal Poly Pomona Broncos football team
The 1976 Cal Poly Pomona Broncos football team represented California State Polytechnic University, Pomona during the 1976 NCAA Division II football season.


1976 Cal Poly Pomona Broncos football team
Cal Poly Pomona competed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Cal Poly Pomona was led by third-year head coach Andy Vinci. They played home games at Kellogg Field in Pomona, California. The Broncos finished the season with a record of three wins, six losses and one tie (3–6–1, 1–1 CCAA). However, Mississippi State was later required to forfeit all nine of their victories in the 1976 season, including their victory over Cal Poly Pomona on October 2. That leaves Cal Poly Pomona with an adjusted final record of four wins, five losses and one tie (4–5–1, 1–1 CCAA). Overall, the team was outscored by its opponents 135–199 for the season.


1976 Cal Poly Pomona Broncos football team, Team players in the NFL
No Cal Poly Pomona players were selected in the 1977 NFL Draft.


1976 Cal State Fullerton Titans football team
The 1976 Cal State Fullerton Titans football team represented California State University, Fullerton during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season.


1976 Cal State Fullerton Titans football team
The Titans competed in the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. The team was led by second-year head coach Jim Colletto, and played home games at Falcon Stadium on the campus of Cerritos College in Norwalk, California. They finished the season with a record of three wins, seven losses and one tie (3–7–1, 1–3 PCAA).


1976 Cal State Fullerton Titans football team, Team players in the NFL
The following Cal State Fullerton players were selected in the 1977 NFL Draft.


1976 Cal State Hayward Pioneers football team
The 1976 Cal State Hayward Pioneers football team represented California State University, Hayward in the 1976 NCAA Division II football season. Cal State Hayward competed in the Far Western Conference (FWC).


1976 Cal State Hayward Pioneers football team
The Pioneers were led by second-year head coach Tim Tierney. They played home games at Pioneer Stadium in Hayward, California. The Pioneers finished the season with a record of one win, eight losses and one tie (1–8–1, 0–5 FWC). They were outscored by their opponents 171–223 for the 1976 season.


1976 Cal State Hayward Pioneers football team, Team players in the NFL
No Cal State Hayward Pioneers players were selected in the 1977 NFL Draft.


1976 Cal State Los Angeles Diablos football team
The 1976 Cal State Los Angeles Diablos football team represented California State University, Los Angeles during the 1976 NCAA Division II football season. The Diablos dropped out of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) at the end of the 1975 season due to financial pressures and competed as an independent in 1976.


1976 Cal State Los Angeles Diablos football team
The Diablos were led by Ron Hull in his first year as head coach. The team played home games at the Campus Field in Los Angeles, California. They finished the season with a record of five wins, three losses and one tie (5–3–1). The Diablos outscored their opponents 170–119 for the season.


1976 Cal State Los Angeles Diablos football team, Team players in the NFL
No Cal State Los Angeles players were selected in the 1977 NFL Draft.


1976 Cal State Northridge Matadors football team
The 1976 Cal State Northridge Matadors football team represented Cal State Northridge during the 1976 NCAA Division II football season.


1976 Cal State Northridge Matadors football team
Cal State Northridge competed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The CCAA lost two of its five members before the 1976 season. UC Riverside discontinued football after the 1975 season. Cal State Los Angeles dropped down to a lower level of competition after the 1975 season. The CCAA continued with just the three teams until the conference stopped supporting football after the 1981 season.


1976 Cal State Northridge Matadors football team
The 1976 Matadors were led by first-year head coach Jack Elway. They played home games at North Campus Stadium in Northridge, California. Cal State Northridge finished the season with a record of eight wins and three losses (8–3, 0–2 CCAA). The eight wins was the most by a Matador team since the school started football in 1962. The Matadors outscored their opponents 217–137 for the season.


1976 Cal State Northridge Matadors football team, Team players in the NFL
No Cal State Northridge players were selected in the 1977 NFL Draft.


1976 Calder Cup playoffs
The 1976 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 3, 1976. The top three teams from each division qualified for the playoffs. The two division winners earned byes for the Division Semifinals while the other two teams in each division played best-of-five series. The winners played best-of-seven series with the team that received the first round bye in their division. The winners of each Division Final played a best-of-seven series for the Calder Cup.


1976 Calder Cup playoffs
The Calder Cup Final ended on April 28, 1976, with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs defeating the Hershey Bears four games to one to win the Calder Cup for the second time in team history. Coincidentally, the Voyageurs parent club, the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in a four-game sweep over the Philadelphia Flyers, making them the first pair of teams in history to win both the AHL's Calder Cup and NHL's Stanley Cup in the same season. Even more impressive is that these same two teams would accomplish this feat again the following year.


1976 Calder Cup playoffs, Playoff seeds
After the 1975–76 AHL regular season, the top three teams from each division qualified for the playoffs. The Nova Scotia Voyageurs finished the regular season with the best overall record. The two division champions earned byes to the Division Finals.


1976 Calder Cup playoffs, Bracket
In each round, the team that earned more points during the regular season receives home ice advantage, meaning they receive the "extra" game on home-ice if the series reaches the maximum number of games. There is no set series format due to arena scheduling conflicts and travel considerations.


1976 Calgary Stampeders season
The 1976 Calgary Stampeders finished in 5th place in the Western Conference with a 2–12–2 record and failed to make the playoffs.


1976 California Angels season
The 1976 California Angels season involved the Angels finishing fourth in the American League West with a record of 76 wins and 86 losses.


1976 California Angels season
After a concert by The Who in March, groundskeepers reported that more than 100 marijuana plants sprouted on the playing field of Anaheim Stadium.


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


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


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


1976 California Democratic presidential primary
The 1976 California Democratic presidential primary was held on June 8, 1976 as one of the Democratic Party presidential primaries ahead of the 1976 United States presidential election. The primary was held alongside the state's Republican Party presidential primary as well as primaries in New Jersey and Ohio. It was one of the last elections before the 1976 Democratic National Convention the following month.


1976 California Democratic presidential primary
Then incumbent California governor Jerry Brown faced off against Georgia governor Jimmy Carter, as well as a small number of others. Brown won his home state in a blowout, winning every county, but ultimately failed to secure the nomination. Carter would go on to win the nomination and later the presidency, unseating incumbent president Gerald Ford.


1976 California Golden Bears football team
The 1976 California Golden Bears football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Berkeley during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. Under head coach Mike White, the team compiled an overall record of 5–6 and 3–4 in conference.


1976 California Golden Bears football team
The quarterback and leader of the previous season's team was Joe Roth. Because of that outstanding season he was one of the Heisman Trophy candidates at the beginning of the season. He had a great start, however halfway through it his performance started to drop. Unknown to almost everyone, Roth was diagnosed with melanoma the most dangerous form of skin cancer. Only coach White and his closest friends knew about it. With Roth continuing to play he still had a strong season and was named an All-American. His last game was in January 1977 at an all-star game in Japan and he died several weeks later in Berkeley. His former locker is dedicated in his honor and the annual home game against UCLA or USC is known as the Joe Roth game.


1976 California Golden Bears football team, Draft picks
The following players were claimed in the 1977 NFL Draft.


1976 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400
The 1976 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on June 20, 1976, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.


1976 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400, Background
Michigan International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 miles (3.2 km) long. Opened in 1968, the track's turns are banked at eighteen degrees, while the 3,600-foot-long front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at twelve degrees. The back stretch, has a five degree banking and is 2,242 feet long.


1976 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400, Race report
David Pearson defeated Cale Yarborough by three car lengths in front of an audience of 46,000. There were 17 lead changes and three cautions for 20 out of the 200 laps. The race took two hours and fifty minutes. Richard Petty earned the pole position with a speed of 158.569 miles per hour (255.192 km/h), the average speed of the race was 141.148 miles per hour (227.156 km/h). Joe Frasson finished last due to an engine problem on lap 2. All 36 of the drivers on the racing grid were American-born males. The field was dominated by Chevrolet vehicles as opposed to Ford and Mercury vehicles.


1976 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400, Race report
Cale Yarborough dominated most of this race, with radio announcer Ken Squier saying it was one of the best runs he'd  seen Cale have, but in the closing stages it was David Pearson out front and cruising to a win when a late caution came out for Coo Coo Marlin's blown engine while he was running seventh in the closing laps. Under the yellow the leaders all pitted with Yarborough regaining the lead only for Pearson to pass him on the backstretch after the restart and take the win. Overall it was still a good day for Yarborough as he capitalized on a 74-point swing in the point standings to vault back into the points lead as a result of Benny Parsons' issues. He would eventually become the 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion.


1976 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400, Race report
Bobby Allison was running second very late when he was black flagged for the Penske team having put tape over parts of the grill of his Cam 2 #2 Mercury. That aerodynamic improvement was illegal at the time but later became commonplace. Allison still recovered to finish third in part due to how few cars were left on the lead lap and the late caution.


1976 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400, Race report
The grand total of this race's prize purse would be $105,355 ($479,150 when considering inflation).


1976 Cambodian general election
General elections were held in Democratic Kampuchea on 20 March 1976, following the Khmer Rouge's victory over the Lon Nol government in April 1975. A total of 515 candidates for the 250 seats of Kampuchean People's Representative Assembly were put forward by the Communist-dominated National United Front of Kampuchea, 150 of whom were to be elected from among the peasantry, 50 from the industrial workers, and 50 from the Kampuchean Revolutionary Army. Following the election, the newly elected Assembly convened on 11 April, electing a new administration with General Secretary Pol Pot as Prime Minister and his interim predecessor Khieu Samphan as President of the State Presidium, ousting Prince of Cambodia Norodom Sihanouk. Voter turnout was reported to be 98%.


1976 Cambridge by-election
The Cambridge by-election of 2 December 1976 was held after Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) David Lane resigned his seat to take up the position of Chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality. : The seat was retained by the Tories in a result that cut the government majority to one seat.


1976 Campeonato Argentino de Rugby
The 1976 Campeonato Argentino de Rugby  was won by the selection of Buenos Aires that beat in the final the selection of Unión de Rugby de Cuyo.


1976 Campeonato Argentino de Rugby, Semifinals
Score system:  Try= 4 points, Conversion=2 points .Penalty and kick from mark=  3 points. Drop= 3 points.


1976 Campeonato Argentino de Rugby, Semifinals
Buenos Aires:S. Gutiérrez, O'Farrell, Benyon, Sansot, Balfour, U. O'Farrell, Capalbo, Devoto, Lucke, De Vedia, M. García Haymes, Casaba, J. Rodríguez jurado, Suárez, Correa, Ventura. Rosario:' B. Blanco, Giner, C. Blanco, Escalante, Romero Acuña, Scilabra, Baetti, Pavani, Senatore, Pecce, Mangiamelli, Svetez, Imhoff, Macat, Todeschini.


1976 Campeonato Argentino de Rugby, Semifinals
Chubut: Ojeda, Vidal, Van Gelderen, Amorós, Maldonádo, Rivas, Clarke, Vernetti, R. Domínguez, Iliana, Paits, Sansinena, Aguirre, Fernández, Couderc (Schmidt). Cuyo:' Stahringher, Massera, Morgan, Tarquini, Terarnova, Guarrochena, Gancia, Crivelli, Campoy, Antonini, Viaso, Ituarte, Carro, Cichitti, Scaiola.


1976 Campeonato Argentino de Rugby, Final
Buenos Aires: S. Gutiérrez O'Farrell, Benyon, Balfour (U. O'Farrell), I. Gutiérrez O'Farrell, Sansot, Igarzábal, Landajo (cap), García Haymes, Lucke, Casaba, Green, J. Rodríguez jurado, Ventura, Vila, Cerioni. Cuyo:' Muñiz, Massera, Morgan, Tarquini, Terranova, Guarrochena, Chacón, Nasazzi, Naves¡, Antonini, Serpa, Ituarte, Cruz, Crivelli, Micheli.


1976 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The 1976 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, (officially the II Copa Brasil) was the 20th edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. The championship had 54 clubs and followed the same rules of the 1975 championship. It was won by the holders Internacional.


1976 Campeonato Carioca
The 1976 edition of the Campeonato Carioca kicked off on March 13, 1976 and ended on October 3, 1976. It was organized by FCF (Federação Carioca de Futebol, or Carioca Football Federation). This was the first edition of the championship after the incorporation of Guanabara state by Rio de Janeiro, and as such, the habitual twelve teams were joined by three invitees from the Fluminense championship: Americano, Goytacaz and Volta Redonda, with these being the first teams from outside Rio de Janeiro city to participate in the Carioca championship ever since Canto do Rio had left the league in 1964. Fluminense won the title for the 23rd time. no teams were relegated.


1976 Campeonato Gaúcho
The 56th season of the Campeonato Gaúcho kicked off on January 18, 1976, and ended on August 22, 1976. Thirty-two teams participated. Internacional won their 24th title.


1976 Campeonato Paulista
The 1976 Campeonato Paulista da Divisão Especial de Futebol Profissional was the 75th season of São Paulo's top professional football league. Palmeiras won the championship by the 18th time. no teams were relegated.


1976 Campeonato Paulista, Championship
The championship was divided into two rounds; in the first, the eighteen teams of the championship were divided into three groups of six teams, with each team playing once against all other teams, and the four best teams of each group passing to the Second round. The team with the most points in the first phase regardless of group would gain a bonus point for the Second round. In the second round, the remaining twelve teams would all play against each other once, and the team with the most points would be champion. Although no teams were relegated from last year's championship, Saad, which had been invited into the last two championships, wasn't invited back into the championship for 1976.


1976 Campeón de campeones
The 1976 Campeon de Campeones was the 34th edition of this Mexican Super Cup football match played by:


1976 Campeón de campeones
Was played on August 15, 1976, at México DF, in a single match, to extra time.


1976 Canada Cup
The 1976 Canada Cup was an international ice hockey tournament held September 2–15, 1976, in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg and Quebec City, Canada as well as in Philadelphia, United States. It was the first of five Canada Cup tournaments held between 1976 and 1991, organized by Alan Eagleson, and sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), Hockey Canada and the National Hockey League (NHL).


1976 Canada Cup
The six-team, round robin tournament ended with a best-of-three final between the top two teams. Canada finished atop the standings and defeated Czechoslovakia in the final in two consecutive games. Bobby Orr was named the most valuable player of the tournament, and Viktor Zhluktov was the leading scorer.


1976 Canada Cup
The Canada Cup was the first true best-on-best world championship in hockey history as it allowed any player to represent their team regardless of amateur or professional status. The hockey was both exciting and entertaining, with one of the games being declared "best game of all time" by fans. Bobby Orr and Lanny MacDonald both claimed that winning the Canada Cup was more important to them than their  Stanley Cup wins. Consequently, it marked the end of Canada's six-year boycott of the IIHF. The success of the event paved the way for greater use of professional players in the World Championship and Winter Olympics.


1976 Canada Cup, Background
The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) had complained for years that Team Canada faced a competitive disadvantage in international tournaments as it was restricted from using its best players, who were professionals in the National Hockey League (NHL), while European teams masked the status of their best players. The issue came to a head in 1970 when International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) president Bunny Ahearne reneged on a promise to allow each team to use up to nine professional players at the 1970 World Championship. In response, the CAHA withdrew Canada from all international competition until the IIHF gave it the right to use its best players as the European teams could.


1976 Canada Cup, Background
Around the same time, talks were begun to hold a friendly tournament between Canada's top players and the Soviet national team. These talks culminated in the Summit Series in 1972 that was narrowly claimed by Canada's NHL all-stars. A second Summit Series in 1974 saw the Soviets easily defeat the World Hockey Association's (WHA) top all-stars, but the two series created demand for a true best-on-best world championship. It was during the 1974 Summit Series that National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) executive-director Alan Eagleson began negotiations with Soviet and European authorities to create such a tournament.


1976 Canada Cup, Background
The negotiations, which grew to include the IIHF and Hockey Canada and lasted over two years, resulted in numerous agreements: Canada would return to international competition in 1977, the World Championships moved to an open format that allowed professionals to play and club teams of the Soviet League would tour North America and face NHL teams in exhibition games in what became the Super Series. The key agreement was the creation of the Canada Cup, to be held in 1976.


1976 Canada Cup, Background
Having gained international approval, Eagleson then convinced the NHLPA's players to support the tournament with promises of increased pension contributions resulting from their participation. The NHL's owners supported the concept after agreeing that half of the proceeds from the games would go to them. Some teams remained uneasy, however. The Philadelphia Flyers were afraid their players might suffer injuries in the tournament and vowed that no player from their roster would be permitted to play.


1976 Canada Cup, Background
They were convinced to back down on their threats after being promised two games would be played in Philadelphia with the Flyers receiving their share of the revenue. Though the tournament was held in September so as not to interfere with the NHL season, league president Clarence Campbell remained skeptical of the tournament's viability, calling it "wasteful".


1976 Canada Cup, Teams
Six teams competed in the 1976 Canada Cup. Canada was favoured to win as they had brought what was argued to be the strongest team in the nation's history to the tournament – 18 of the 25 players on the roster would later be elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame.


1976 Canada Cup, Teams
Seeking its best possible roster, the Canadian team put aside the bitter rivalry between the NHL and WHA, selecting players from both leagues, though almost entirely from the NHL (Winnipeg Jets winger Bobby Hull was the only WHA player to skate in the tournament, while Cleveland Crusaders defenseman Paul Shmyr participated in training camp only). Bobby Orr, plagued by growing knee problems nearly turned down the invitation to play before reconsidering, while goaltender Rogatien Vachon, who was not initially invited to join the team, wound up playing every minute in the Canadian goal.


1976 Canada Cup, Teams
While the fans hoped for a Canada-Soviet Union final, analysts ranked the Soviets as only the fourth best team entering the tournament. They chose to leave most of their elite players home for reasons that remain unclear. The potential of defections, or losing stars to North American professional hockey, are two possibilities.


1976 Canada Cup, Teams
Officially, Soviet officials said many of their players were suffering from fatigue, though goaltender Vladislav Tretiak later claimed the omissions were the result of a power struggle between Olympic coach Boris Kulagin and Canada Cup team coach Viktor Tikhonov and that the former sought to undermine the latter by forcing him to coach a weaker team.


1976 Canada Cup, Teams
The Soviets downplayed the importance of the tournament, stating their true focus was the World Championships and the Winter Olympics. As a result, they sent a much younger, "experimental" team to Canada. Valeri Kharlamov, considered by many to be their best forward, also did not play in the series, as he was recovering from serious injuries suffered in a car accident.


1976 Canada Cup, Teams
The Czechoslovak team was predicted to face Canada in the final by most experts as they brought the same team that won the 1976 World Championship a few months prior. Their goaltender, Jiří Holeček, was considered the best in the world outside the NHL. Czechoslovak coach Karel Gut anticipated his team would emerge to show the world that there was  "more to international hockey than Canada and the Soviet Union". Sweden was ranked third entering the tournament and had a large mixture of amateurs and professionals who were playing in the NHL and WHA. The United States and Finland rounded out the tournament and were not expected to be competitive.


1976 Canada Cup, Round robin games
The tournament opened in Ottawa on September 2 as Finland faced a Canadian team focused on avoiding a sense of complacency following defeats against the Soviets in 1974 and 1975. Rick Martin scored a hat trick to lead Canada in a rout of the Finns, 11–2. Sweden then defeated the United States, 5–2, on the strength of four first period power play goals. Swedish star Börje Salming, who played in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs, was greeted with a five-minute standing ovation by the Toronto crowd prior to the game.


1976 Canada Cup, Round robin games
The third game featured the world champion Czechoslovaks against the Olympic champion Soviets. Czechoslovakia justified pre-tournament expectations by winning 5–3 while the Soviets complained about the scheduling, claiming organizers deliberately matched them up against the Czechoslovaks in their opening game to set them at an early disadvantage in the tournament. The Soviet complaints grew louder following a 3–3 tie against Sweden.


1976 Canada Cup, Round robin games
While the Swedish press was hailing Salming as the greatest player in their nation's history after his second consecutive dominant effort, the Soviets threatened to quit the tournament as they were upset about the officiating of Canadian referee Andre Legace. Organizers did not take the Soviet threats to quit the tournament seriously.


1976 Canada Cup, Round robin games
The Czechoslovaks remained dominant, defeating the Finns 8–0 in a game where they out-shot their opponent 49–15. Czechoslovak goaltender Holeček recorded the first shutout in the tournament's history. The Finns were similarly decimated by the Soviets, who did not withdraw from the tournament, by an 11–3 score.


1976 Canada Cup, Round robin games
Meanwhile, the Americans, criticized in the media as being "team useless" over their perceived lack of talent, earned a measure of respect when they lost to Canada 4–2 in a game where the outcome was not certain until the final minute of play, then earned a 4–4 tie against the Czechoslovaks, and the respect of their coach, in a game played at Philadelphia.


1976 Canada Cup, Round robin games
A 4–0 loss to Canada followed by a shocking 8–6 defeat at the hands of their Scandinavian rival Finland eliminated Sweden from contention. The Finns, who overcame a 4–1 deficit, felt the result vindicated their placement in the tournament while the Swedes considered the result an embarrassment. The Soviets remained alive by defeating the United States 5–0 in Philadelphia while Canada faced the Czechoslovaks at the same time in Montreal. The game featured a goaltender battle between Canada's Rogatien Vachon and the Czechoslovak's Vladimír Dzurilla and was immediately claimed to be one of the greatest games of all time. Milan Nový scored with less than five minutes to play to lift the Czechoslovaks to a 1–0 victory and assured them a place in the final. The result meant that the winner of the Canada–Soviet Union game would claim the second spot in the final.


1976 Canada Cup, Round robin games
Three games marked the final day of the round robin on September 11. The United States overcame a 2–0 deficit to defeat Finland 6–3 to finish fifth in the tournament. American co-general manager Tommy Ivan expressed his pride in his team's tournament, and predicted that this tournament had set the stage for the United States to grow into a contender in hockey. The Swedes, meanwhile, earned a 2–1 victory over Czechoslovakia in a game that had no impact on the standings.


1976 Canada Cup, Round robin games
While fans expected Canada and the Soviet Union would meet in the final, ultimately, they squared off in an unofficial semi-final. The two teams played the game at a furious pace, trading goals in a first period from which Canada emerged with a 2–1 lead. Canada extended their lead in the second period then relied on defenceman Bobby Orr's stellar play to hold off the Soviets and advance to the final. As they had earlier in the tournament, the Soviets complained of biased officiating playing a role in the outcome of the game.


1976 Canada Cup, Final
The 1976 Canada Cup final was a best-of-three series. The first game was played September 13 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. The Czechoslovaks started Dzurilla in goal after his brilliant display against Canada in the round robin. Dzurilla was unable to duplicate his success as Gilbert Perreault opened the scoring one minute into the game en route to a four-goal onslaught by the Canadians in the first period. The Czechoslovaks were stronger in the final 40 minutes, but were unable to beat Canada's Vachon, who recorded his second shutout of the tournament in a 6–0 victory for Canada.


1976 Canada Cup, Final
During the game, the Czechoslovaks were angered when Canada's Steve Shutt crosschecked Jiří Novák from behind. Novak suffered a concussion and was unable to play the remainder of the series. Shutt, a skill player of smaller stature, was apologetic after the game, claiming he had not intended to hit his opponent in the fashion he did.


1976 Canada Cup, Final
Game two was played in the Montreal Forum on September 15. Jiri Holeček, who replaced Dzurilla in goal after the first period of the first game, started game two for Czechoslovakia, while Vachon remained in the Canadian net. As they had in the first game, Canada jumped out to an early lead, scoring two goals in the first three minutes of play. Holeček was quickly pulled and replaced with Dzurilla, who completed the game. The Czechoslovaks replied with a second period goal and another early in the third to tie the game.


1976 Canada Cup, Final
Bobby Clarke re-established the Canadian lead midway through the period before Josef Augusta and Marián Šťastný scored goals one minute apart to give Czechoslovakia its first lead, 4–3, with four minutes remaining in the third period. Dzurilla was strong in net as the Canadians put 39 shots on goal in regulation time, but made a critical mistake with less than three minutes remaining. His attempt to clear a puck from his zone went instead to Canada's Bill Barber, who scored into an open net to tie the game and send it to overtime.


1976 Canada Cup, Final
The teams played an intense overtime period filled with end-to-end rushes and brilliant saves by the goaltenders. At one point, Canada's Guy Lafleur put a shot on net that snuck through the Czechoslovak goaltender, but Ivan Hlinka deliberately shoved the net out of place before the puck crossed the line. He received a delay of game penalty, but prevented a Canadian win.


1976 Canada Cup, Final
A few moments later, Guy Lapointe rifled a low shot that again beat Dzurilla, however this goal was also disallowed as the buzzer had sounded to end the first ten-minutes of the overtime period one-tenth of a second before it crossed the line. International rules of the time dictated that play was to be stopped at the ten-minute mark of each overtime period and the teams would switch the side of the ice they defended. During the break, Canadian assistant coach Don Cherry noted to his team that Dzurilla often came far out of his net to defend and could be beaten on a shot from a sharp angle.


1976 Canada Cup, Final
Less than two minutes into the second half of the overtime period, Darryl Sittler received a passfrom Marcel Dionne as he skated into the Czechoslovak zone close to the side boards. As Dzurilla came out to challenge, Sittler faked a shot that froze the goaltender, took two more strides then fired the puck into an open net. The goal touched off a wild celebration amongst the Canadian players on the ice and the fans in the stands. Sittler's championship winning goal remains one of the most famous in hockey history. During the celebrations, the players of both teams traded uniforms; Bobby Orr was presented with the Most Valuable Player award while wearing a Czechoslovak jersey. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau presented Canadian captain Bobby Clarke with the Canada Cup.


1976 Canada Cup, Legacy
The tournament finale was the most watched television event in Canadian history at the time. 10,700,000 people were estimated to have watched the game, representing nearly half of all Canadians in 1976. The team that represented Canada is still considered one of the greatest national teams ever to represent the nation in a hockey tournament. For many players, winning the Canada Cup was the highlight of their careers. Bobby Orr and Lanny McDonald both rated winning this tournament ahead of winning the Stanley Cup.


1976 Canada Cup, Legacy
The Canada Cup established a new era in international hockey. It marked Canada's formal return to the international stage after a six-year boycott, and was the first true best-on-best world championship in the sport's history. For North American audiences, the tournament established that Czechoslovakia and Sweden could compete with Canada and the Soviet Union, while the Finns and Americans proved they were capable of playing with the sport's elite teams.


1976 Canada Cup rosters
Below are the ice hockey national team rosters of the 1976 Canada Cup.


1976 Canada Cup rosters, Canada
Forwards and defence: Bill Barber, Bobby Clarke, Marcel Dionne, Phil Esposito, Bob Gainey, Danny Gare, Bobby Hull, Guy Lafleur, Guy Lapointe, Reggie Leach, Richard Martin, Peter Mahovlich, Lanny McDonald, Bobby Orr, Gilbert Perreault, Denis Potvin, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Steve Shutt, Darryl Sittler, Carol Vadnais, Jimmy Watson; Training camp only -- Dave Burrows, Dan Maloney, Jean Pronovost, Rene Robert and Paul Shmyr Goaltenders: Gerry Cheevers, Glenn Resch, Rogatien Vachon; Dan Bouchard (training camp only)Coaches: Scotty Bowman, Don Cherry, Bobby Kromm, Al MacNeil


1976 Canada Cup rosters, Czechoslovakia
Forwards and defence: Josef Augusta, Jiří Bubla, František Černík, Milan Chalupa, Miroslav Dvořák, Bohuslav Ebermann, Ivan Hlinka, Jiří Holík, Karel Holý, František Kaberle, Milan Kajkl, Oldřich Machač, Vladimír Martinec, Jiří Novák, Milan Nový, František Pospíšil, Jaroslav Pouzar, Pavel Richter, Vladimír Šándrík, Bohuslav Šťastný, Marián Šťastný, Peter ŠťastnýGoaltenders: Vladimír Dzurilla, Jiří HolečekCoaches: Karel Gut, Ján Starší


1976 Canada Cup rosters, Finland
Forwards and defence: Tapio Flinck, Matti Hagman, Hannu Kapanen, Veli-Pekka Ketola, Pertti Koivulahti, Tapio Koskinen, Tapio Levo, Harri Linnonmaa, Lasse Litma, Kari Makkonen, Timo Nummelin, Lasse Oksanen, Esa Peltonen, Jouni Peltonen, Pekka Rautakallio, Matti Rautiainen, Seppo Repo, Heikki Riihiranta, Jouni Rinne, Timo Saari, Juhani Tamminen, Jorma VehmanenGoaltenders: Antti Leppänen, Markus Mattsson, Jorma ValtonenCoaches: Lasse Heikkilä, Carl Brewer


1976 Canada Cup rosters, Sweden
Forwards and defence: Mats Åhlberg, Thommie Bergman, Per-Olov Brasar, Lars-Erik Ericsson, Roland Eriksson, Lars-Erik Esbjörs, Inge Hammarström, Anders Hedberg, Björn Johansson, Dan Labraaten, Willy Lindström, Tord Lundström, Lars-Göran Nilsson, Ulf Nilsson, Stig Östling, Börje Salming, Stig Salming, Lars-Erik Sjöberg, Jan-Olov Svensson, Mats Waltin, Juha Widing, Kjell-Arne WikströmGoaltenders: Hardy Åström, Göran Högosta, William LöfqvistCoaches: Hans "Virus" Lindberg


1976 Canada Cup rosters, United States
Forwards and defence: Fred Ahern, Curt Bennett, Harvey Bennett, Dan Bolduc, Rick Chartraw, Mike Christie, Lee Fogolin, Robbie Ftorek, Alan Hangsleben, Steve Jensen, Mike Milbury, Lou Nanne, Joe Noris, Bill Nyrop, Gerry O'Flaherty, Doug Palazzari, Craig Patrick, Larry Pleau, Mike Polich, Gary Sargent, Dean Talafous, Warren "Butch" Williams; Training camp only -- Stan Gilbertson, Jim Niekamp, Gordie Roberts, Peter Scamurra, Bobby Sheehan and Timothy Sheehy Goaltenders: Mike Curran, Pete LoPresti, Cap Raeder; Ed Walsh (training camp only)Coaches: Bob Pulford, Harry Neale


1976 Canada Cup rosters, USSR
Forwards and defence: Boris Alexandrov, Sergei Babinov, Helmut Balderis, Valeri Belousov, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, Aleksandr Golikov, Alexander Gusev, Sergei Kapustin, Vladimir Kovin, Vladimir Krikunov, Aleksandr Kulikov, Viktor Kuznetsov, Yuri Lebedev, Vladimir Lutchenko, Alexander Maltsev, Vladimir Repnev, Viktor Shalimov, Aleksandr Skvortsov, Valeri Vasiliev, Vladimir Vikulov, Viktor ZhluktovGoaltenders: Vladislav Tretiak, Mihails Vasiļonoks, Viktor ZingerCoaches: Viktor Tikhonov, Boris Mayorov, Robert Cherenkov


1976 Canadian Club Masters
The 1976 Canadian Club Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place in the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds, England.


1976 Canadian Club Masters
Alex Higgins won the tournament, defeating Ray Reardon 6–4 in the final.


1976 Canadian Club Masters
The television coverage was presented by Fred Dinenage. The commentator was Ted Lowe.


1976 Canadian Grand Prix
The 1976 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mosport Park on 3 October 1976.