1977 San Francisco 49ers season, Offseason
Before the season began, the team was purchased by Edward DeBartolo, Sr., who in turn gave management of the team to his son, Edward DeBartolo, Jr. The team also hired a new general manager, Joe Thomas, and a new head coach, Ken Meyer.


1977 San Francisco Board of Supervisors election
The 1977 San Francisco general elections occurred on November 8, 1977, for all 11 newly created electoral districts to be represented in the Board of Supervisors for the 1978 fiscal year, as well as the position of City Attorney, the position of City Treasurer and a roster of 22 propositions (an extra proposition had been withdrawn from the ballot).


1977 San Francisco Board of Supervisors election
It was the first time in San Francisco's history that Board elections were held on a districted basis rather than on a citywide at-large basis; in the November 1976 general election, voters in San Francisco decided to reorganize supervisor elections to choose supervisors from neighborhoods instead of voting for them in citywide ballots.


1977 San Francisco Board of Supervisors election, Synopsis
The election was a watershed moment in the history of the city, as extremely fierce electoral campaigns immediately sprung into action. 113 candidates in total were registered in the total of all 11 districts.


1977 San Francisco Board of Supervisors election, Synopsis, Harvey Milk's campaign
One of the most memorable campaigns was that of Harvey Milk, a photographer, camera salesman, U.S. Navy veteran and prior candidate for the 1976 California State Assembly election who cut his teeth with campaigning in the Castro District and appealing to the LGBT voters of the area. He campaigned against sixteen other candidates for the District 5 post which covered the Castro, Haight-Ashbury and other local areas; the most successful candidate was the local lawyer Rick Stokes, who was backed by the Alice B. Toklas Memorial Democratic Club. However, Milk's campaign utilized a populist fervor and highly artistic displays in order to advertise the cause, leading even the San Francisco Chronicle to endorse his candidacy. Milk won the election with 30% of the vote against the other candidates.


1977 San Francisco Board of Supervisors election, Synopsis, Other campaigns
Other successful candidates included that of Carol Ruth Silver (described by the New York Times as the first un-wed mother to win a seat in the Board), Gordon Lau (the first Asian American member) and Ella Hill Hutch (the first African American female member). Dan White, a police officer and former firefighter, also won election for the first time.


1977 San Francisco Board of Supervisors election, Post-assassination
After both Harvey Milk and then-mayor George Moscone were assassinated by Dan White in 1978, the future of electoral districts were cast in doubt. Feinstein, serving as president of the Board during the 1978 fiscal year, was immediately made mayor in Moscone's stead to serve out his term (with Louise Renne replacing her in the Board seat), becoming the first female mayor in San Francisco's municipal history; she was elected to the position in the following mayoral election of 1983. Harry Britt was selected by Mayor Feinstein to succeed Milk, and would hold a seat on the council until 1993.


1977 San Francisco Board of Supervisors election, Post-assassination
In 1980, districts were abolished and replaced by the original city-at-large slate for future elections; electoral districts were only revived beginning with the 2000 elections.


1977 San Francisco Giants season
The 1977 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 95th season in Major League Baseball, their 20th season in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their 18th at Candlestick Park. The team finished in fourth place in the National League West with a 75–87 record, 23 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.


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


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


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


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


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


1977 San Francisco State Gators football team
The 1977 San Francisco State Gators football team represented San Francisco State University during the 1977 NCAA Division II football season.


1977 San Francisco State Gators football team
San Francisco State competed in the Far Western Conference (FWC). The Gators were led by head coach Vic Rowen in his 17th year at the helm. They played home games at Cox Stadium in San Francisco, California. The team finished the season with a record of five wins and five losses (5–5, 2–3 FWC). For the season the team was outscored by its opponents 155–197.


1977 San Francisco State Gators football team, Team players in the NFL
No San Francisco State players were selected in the 1978 NFL Draft.


1977 San Jose Earthquakes season
The 1977 San Jose Earthquakes season was the club's fourth season of existence as a franchise in the North American Soccer League, then the top-tier of American soccer. The Earthquakes finished in third place in the Southern Division of the Pacific Conference, strong enough to qualify for the playoffs.


1977 San Jose Earthquakes season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


1977 San Jose State Spartans football team
The 1977 San Jose State Spartans football team represented San Jose State University during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season as a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. The team was led by second year head coach Lynn Stiles. They played home games at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California. The Spartans finished the season with a record of four wins and seven losses (4–7, 2–2 PCAA).


1977 San Jose State Spartans football team, Team players in the NFL
The following finished their San Jose State career in 1977, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.


1977 San Juan earthquake
The 1977 San Juan earthquake, also known as Caucete earthquake, took place in the province of San Juan, Argentina, on 23 November at 09:26:26 AM. It measured 7.4 on the surface wave magnitude scale, and had a maximum perceived intensity of IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale.


1977 San Juan earthquake
The earthquake caused fatalities and severe damage to buildings throughout the province, especially in the city of Caucete, where at least 65 people died. It also caused slight damage in the north of the Greater Mendoza metropolitan area.


1977 San Juan earthquake
The effects of the earthquake were felt as far away as Buenos Aires, where people were awakened that Wednesday by the tremor. People left their houses at dawn in panic at the Argentinian capital, located at 1,000 km to the East South East.


1977 San Juan earthquake, Tectonic setting
San Juan Province lies in an area where the South American Plate is affected by flat-slab subduction of the underlying Nazca Plate, the so-called Pampean flat-slab. The very shallow angle leads to a much greater degree of coupling between the subducting and overriding plates. The increased coupling leads to shortening of the crust of the South American Plate, causing active thrust tectonics and rapid uplift, forming the Sierras Pampeanas. The Pie de Palo range is one of the active structures, interpreted to be controlled by major thrust faults. The overall structure has been interpreted as both thin-skinned and thick-skinned.


1977 San Juan earthquake, Earthquake
The earthquake consisted of two sub-events, separated by about 20 seconds, treated by some seismologists as foreshock and mainshock. The observed focal mechanism was reverse faulting, on a north-south trending structure. From the mainshock alone, it was not possible to decide whether the fault responsible dipped to the west or east. Analysis of the aftershock sequence suggests that two separate faults moved during the earthquake, the earlier event on a segment to the north and the later one to the south. The fault segments have been interpreted as both alternating west and eastward-dipping faults or as an east-dipping fault in the hanging-wall of a larger west-dipping fault.


1977 San Juan earthquake, Earthquake
There was no surface rupture associated with the earthquake and it is example of a blind thrust earthquake on thrust faults underlying the Pie de Palo range.


1977 San Juan earthquake, Damage
There was widespread damage in San Juan Province. The towns of Bermejo and Caucete were particularly badly affected. Many houses constructed of adobe or unreinforced masonry were either badly damaged or destroyed and very large areas were affected by liquefaction. More modern structures, built to earthquake resistant designs, in contrast showed little damage. At least 65 people were killed and a further 284 were injured. The extensive damage left many homeless, with estimates in the range 20,000 to 40,000.


1977 San Juan earthquake, Damage
The area's wine industry was heavily impacted due to damage to both buildings and particularly wine storage tanks, reducing the wine storage capacity of the affected area by about 10 million litres.


1977 Scheldeprijs
The 1977 Scheldeprijs was the 64th edition of the Scheldeprijs cycle race and was held on 2 August 1977. The race was won by Marc Demeyer.


1977 Scottish Cup Final
The 1977 Scottish Cup Final was played on 7 May 1977 at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 92nd Scottish Cup. Celtic and Rangers contested the match, Celtic won the match 1–0 with Andy Lynch scoring a penalty in the 20th minute after Johnstone was judged to have handled the ball on the line.


1977 Scottish Cup Final
The match was the first Scottish Cup final to be televised live since the 1955 final. Rain and the televising of the match led to it having the lowest post-war attendance for a final to that date.


1977 Scottish Cup Final
This was Jock Stein's 25th trophy as Celtic manager and the last one he won.


1977 Scottish local elections
There were elections for the Scottish district councils in 1977.


1977 Scottish local elections
These were the second elections held to the 53 district councils established by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. The previous elections had been held in 1974 with the authorities acting as "shadow" councils until May 1975. The elections took place when the Labour government of James Callaghan was extremely unpopular, with a subsequent collapse in the party's vote.


1977 Scottish local elections, Background
The poll was held on 3 May and all district council seats were to be filled. Districts formed the second tier in local government in Scotland under the 1975 reorganisation, with regional councils forming the upper tier. It was intended that elections would normally take place on a four-year cycle, but as an interim measure the first two sets of district councils had terms of three years: 1974–77 and 1977–80. Regional elections were also to be on a four-year cycle, held midway between district elections.


1977 Scottish local elections, Party performance
There was a large swing against Labour, who lost control of a number of councils in the industrial Central Belt where it had dominated local politics for decades. Labour lost its majority in Glasgow for the next three years (although they were still the largest party) very unusual in the late 20th century, with some high-profile casualties including the Labour group leader on the council, Dick Dynes. While they lost seats to the SNP in Glasgow and the industrial belt, the anti-Labour mood favoured the Conservatives in Edinburgh and the Liberals in Aberdeen and Inverclyde.


1977 Scottish local elections, Party performance
In retrospect these elections were the high point of the Scottish National Party's upsurge in the 1970s. Vice-chair Margo MacDonald predicted that they would make 100 net gains, but they only made 98 (winning 103, losing 5). Even so, this left half of Scotland under hung councils. They retained control of the council they held and gained three more. The party claimed to have secured a swing of approximately 9% since the October 1974 general election, meaning they would gain 21–27 parliamentary seats from the Labour Party, 3 from the Conservatives and 1 from the Liberal Party.


1977 Scottish local elections, Party performance
Independent analysis placed the swing to the SNP of between 1 and 5 percent, giving them gains of 10–15 Labour seats and only a slight chance of making gains from the Conservatives or Liberals. In particular, the party did poorly in Nairn, putting the seat of party leader Winnie Ewing at risk (she lost the seat at the next election in 1979). The SNP's advance was halted for a time the following year, with the 1978 Glasgow Garscadden by-election, 1978 Scottish regional council elections, the 1978 Hamilton by-election and the 1978 Berwick and East Lothian by-election.


1977 Scottish local elections, Party performance
This election was also the first serious test of the new Scottish Labour Party of Jim Sillars which did not do well outside his South Ayrshire base, only winning three seats.


1977 Scottish local elections, Results by council area
The seats on each council before and after the election were as follows:


1977 Season's Cup
The 1977 Season's Cup became the first edition of Season's Cup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Soviet Top League and Soviet Cup competitions.


1977 Season's Cup
The match was played at the Stadion Dinamo imeni Lenina, Tbilisi, on 20 November 1977, and contested by league winner Dinamo Kiev and cup winner Dinamo Moscow. Dinamo Moscow won it 1–0.


1977 Seattle Mariners season
The 1977 Seattle Mariners season was the first season in franchise history, which was established via the 1977 Major League Baseball expansion. The creation of the Mariners brought baseball back to Seattle, which had been without a major league team since the Seattle Pilots left for Milwaukee to become the Brewers in April 1970.


1977 Seattle Mariners season
The Mariners ended the 1977 season by narrowly avoiding last place (held by the Oakland A's), finishing sixth in the American League West with a record of 64–98 (.395), 38 games behind the AL West champion Kansas City Royals.


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


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


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


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


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


1977 Seattle Seahawks season
The 1977 Seattle Seahawks season was the team's second campaign in the National Football League. The 1977 season was the team's first in the AFC West (the conference swap was part of the NFL's expansion plan that saw both the Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers play every other team in the NFL in their first two seasons; the Seahawks would return to the NFC West in 2002). The Seahawks lost five of their first six games.


1977 Seattle Seahawks season
On October 30, the Seahawks earned their second win of the season when quarterback Jim Zorn returned from an injury and threw four touchdown passes in a 56–17 win over the Buffalo Bills at the Kingdome. Two weeks later, the team recorded its first shutout, beating the Jets 17–0 in New York. The Seahawks would go on to finish with a 5–9 record, winning their final two games in the process; it was a three-game improvement from the inaugural season.


1977 Seattle Seahawks season, Schedule, Regular season
In its second year, Seattle played all of the teams in the AFC as a member of the AFC West.


1977 Segunda División de Chile
The 1977 Segunda División de Chile was the 26th season of the Segunda División de Chile.


1977 Senior League World Series
The 1977 Senior League World Series took place from August 15–20 in Gary, Indiana, United States. Taipei, Taiwan defeated Orlando, Florida in the championship game. It was Taiwan's sixth straight championship.


1977 Seychelles coup d'état
The 1977 Seychelles coup d'état was a virtually bloodless coup that occurred in the East African and Indian Ocean country of Seychelles on 4–5 June 1977. Between 60–200 supporters of the Seychelles People's United Party (SPUP), who had been training in Tanzania, overthrew President Sir James Mancham of the Seychelles Democratic Party (SDP) whilst he was attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London, the United Kingdom.


1977 Seychelles coup d'état, The coup
The insurgents took control of strategic points on the main island of Mahé, where the capital Victoria is located. The central police station was seized "virtually without a shot being fired." In contrast, there was an exchange of fire at the Mont Fleuri police station, where the arsenal was kept. A policeman and one of the insurgents were killed in the fighting.


1977 Seychelles coup d'état, The coup
The plotters arrested six British Armed Forces officers, who had been advising the Seychelles Police Force since 1976, when Seychelles gained independence from the United Kingdom. The officers and their families, as well as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Aiden O'Brien Quinn, a judge from Ireland similarly on loan by his Government, were flown to Europe.


1977 Seychelles coup d'état, Aftermath
The leader of the SPUP and Prime Minister France-Albert René, who denied knowing of the plan, was then sworn in as President and formed a new government.


1977 Seychelles coup d'état, Aftermath
When approached by the insurgents, René was said to have accepted the Presidency on three conditions: that the safety of political individuals be guaranteed, that international agreements remain in force (including the one allowing the United States to maintain an AFSCF space tracking station in Mahé), and that elections be planned for 1978 (they were eventually held in 1979).


1977 Shellsport International Series
The 1977 Shellsport International Series was a Formula Libre motor racing championship held in the United Kingdom, the series ran F1, F2, F5000 and Formula Atlantic cars in the same race. The second Shellsport International Series was contested over 14 rounds. The season started on 13 March and ended on 16 October. The Drivers' Championship was won by Englishman Tony Trimmer. The season was marred by the death of Brian McGuire during a practice session for round 11 at Brands Hatch. It was the last season of the Shellsport International Series. For 1978, the series  would become the British Formula One series.


1977 Shellsport International Series, Results and standings, Drivers' standings
Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers using the following structure:


1977 Shia uprising in Iraq
The 1977 Shia protests in Iraq, or the Safar uprising, were a series of demonstrations and riots against the Iraqi government in Karbala and Najaf Governorates, the demonstrations started on 4 February 1977 and finished on 9 February in the same year. Demonstrators had taken to the streets to demonstrate against the  Iraqi government because they had blocked Arbaʽeen Pilgrimage. The Iraqi security forces killed and arrested many protesters and presented them to trial in a revolution court, the revolution court declared execution for eight demonstrators and life imprisonment for 16 demonstrators.


1977 Shia uprising in Iraq, Background
On 17 July 1968 the Ba'athism took power in Iraq , Ba'athism  is an Arab nationalist and Arab socialist ideology that promotes the development and creation of a unified Arab state . In 1977, Ba'athism  attempted to ban an annual pilgrimage to Karbala as well as attempted to ban  religious processions. This move sparked protests, with the pilgrimage transforming into the 1977 Safar uprising in holy shia citys.


1977 Shura
1977 Shura, provisional designation 1970 QY, is a stony asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 16 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 30 August 1970, by Russian astronomer Tamara Smirnova at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, Nauchnyj, on the Crimean peninsula. The asteroid was named for Soviet Aleksandr Kosmodemyansky.


1977 Shura, Orbit and classification
Shura orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.6–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 8 months (1,694 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.07 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic.


1977 Shura, Orbit and classification
The asteroid was first observed as 1942 RW at Turku Observatory in 1942. The first used observation was a precovery taken at Goethe Link Observatory in 1954, extending the body's observation arc by 16 years prior to its official discovery observation at Nauchnyj.


1977 Shura, Physical characteristics, Rotation period
A rotational lightcurve was obtained from photometric measurements made at the Australian Oakley Southern Sky Observatory in March 2010. It gave a well-defined rotation period of 7.461±0.004 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.34 in magnitude (U=3).


1977 Shura, Physical characteristics, Diameter and albedo
According to the space-based surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 16.3 and 18.5 kilometers in diameter, respectively, and its surface has a corresponding albedo of 0.19 and 0.13. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 14.9 kilometers.


1977 Shura, Physical characteristics, Spectral type
CALL characterizes Shura as a stony S-type asteroid. In the SMASS taxonomic scheme, it is classified as a transitional Sq-subtype to the elusive Q-type asteroids of the main-belt. Shura is also characterized as a carbonaceous C-type asteroid by Pan-STARRS' photometric survey.


1977 Shura, Naming
This minor planet was named after Aleksandr Kosmodemyansky (1925–1945), Hero of the Soviet Union, who died at the age of 19 during the German-Soviet War, shortly after the Battle of Königsberg. "Shura" is a pet name for Aleksandr. The minor planets 1793 Zoya and 2072  Kosmodemyanskaya were named in honor of his sister and mother, respectively. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 30 June 1977 (M.P.C. 4190).


1977 Sierra Leonean parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Sierra Leone on 6 May 1977. They were the last multi-party elections held in the country until 1996.


1977 Sierra Leonean parliamentary election, Background
Elections were called ahead of schedule by president Siaka Stevens following his declaration of a state of emergency after student riots earlier in the year.


1977 Sierra Leonean parliamentary election, Background
In the election itself, only 41 of the directly elected and one of the indirectly elected paramount chief seats were contested (in the remaining 36 directly elected and 11 indirectly elected seats, the All People's Congress was the only party with a candidate). In a campaign marred by violence, elections in eight constituencies were not held on the day of the election, but were contested at a later date.


1977 Sierra Leonean parliamentary election, Background
For the first time, there were also three presidential appointees in the parliament.


1977 Sierra Leonean parliamentary election, Aftermath
The following year, a referendum approved a new constitution that made the country a one-party state with the APC as the sole legal party. Elections were held under this system in 1982, 1985 and 1986. Another referendum in 1991 returned the country to multi-party politics, and the next pluriform elections were held in 1996.


1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours
The 1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours were announced on 11 June 1977 to celebrate Her Majesty's Silver Jubilee and Birthday in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Barbados, Mauritius, Fiji, the Bahamas, Grenada, and Papua New Guinea.


1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supplements to the London Gazette and many are conferred by the monarch (or her representative) some time after the date of the announcement, particularly for those service people on active duty.


1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged by honour, with classes (Knight, Knight Grand Cross, etc.) and then divisions (Military, Civil, etc.) as appropriate.


1977 Silver Jubilee and Queen's Birthday Honours (Australia)
The 1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours for Australia were appointments to recognise and reward good works by citizens of Australia and other nations that contribute to Australia to celebrate Her Majesty's Silver Jubilee and birthday. The Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours were announced on 14 June 1977 in Australia.


1977 Silver Jubilee and Queen's Birthday Honours (Australia)
The recipients of honours are displayed as they were styled before their new honour and arranged by honour with grades and then divisions i.e. Civil, Diplomatic and Military as appropriate.


1977 Silver Jubilee and Queen's Birthday Honours (Australia), Order of Australia
The following appointments were made in the Order of Australia.


1977 Singaporean by-elections, Background
There were 2 by elections held in 1977 where both People's Action Party's Members of Parliament, N. Govindasamy and Lim Guan Hoo had died suddenly, which vacates Radin Mas and Bukit Merah respectively. Through co-operation within the opposition camp, no 3 corner / multiple corner fights were shown in both by-elections.


1977 Singaporean by-elections, Background, First 1977 By Election (May)
With the demise of N. Govindasamy who was the then incumbent of Radin Mas, it sets the first by election in 1977 with the polling day on 14 May 1977 and the nomination day was set on 4 May 1977.


1977 Singaporean by-elections, Background, Second 1977 By Election (July)
With the demise of Lim Guan Hoo who was the then incumbent of Bukit Merah, it sets the second by election in 1977 with the polling day on 23 July 1977 and the nomination day was set on 13 July 1977.


1977 Singaporean by-elections, Election deposit
The election deposit was set at $1200. Similar with previous elections, the election deposit will be forfeited if the particular candidate had failed to secure at least 12.5% or one-eighth of the votes.


1977 Skate Canada International
The 1977 Skate Canada International was held in Moncton, New Brunswick on October 27–29. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and ice dancing.


1977 Somerset County Council election
Elections to Somerset County Council were held on Thursday, 5 May 1977, when the whole council of 56 members was up for election.


1977 Somerset County Council election
The result was that the Conservatives retained their control, winning 44 seats, a gain of eight. Independents ended with nine county councillors, a loss of two, and Labour with three, a loss of four, but the Liberals lost both their seats and ended with none.


1977 South African Grand Prix
The 1977 South African Grand Prix (formally the XXIII The Citizen Grand Prix of South Africa) was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on 5 March 1977, won by Niki Lauda of Austria. The race is principally remembered for the accident that resulted in the deaths of race marshal Frederick Jansen van Vuuren and driver Tom Pryce. It was also the last race for Carlos Pace, who was killed in an aircraft accident less than two weeks later.


1977 South African Grand Prix, Start and first 21 laps
James Hunt took his third consecutive pole position, with Carlos Pace alongside and Niki Lauda next. Hunt led off at the start, with Lauda and local driver Jody Scheckter following him after Pace struggled. The order stayed put until the seventh lap when Lauda took the lead and was never passed again, with Scheckter taking second from Hunt 11 laps later.


1977 South African Grand Prix, Start and first 21 laps, Lap 22 fatal incident
On lap 22, the Shadow-Ford of Italian driver Renzo Zorzi pulled off to the left side of the main straight, just after the brow of a hill and a bridge over the track. He was having problems with his fuel metering unit, and fuel was pumping directly onto the engine, which then caught fire. Zorzi did not immediately get out of his car as he could not disconnect the oxygen pipe from his helmet.


1977 South African Grand Prix, Start and first 21 laps, Lap 22 fatal incident
The situation caused two marshals from the pit wall on the opposite side of the track to intervene. The first marshal to cross the track was a 25-year-old panel beater named William (Bill). The second was 19-year-old Frederik "Frikkie" Jansen van Vuuren, who was carrying a 40-pound (18 kg) fire extinguisher. George Witt, the chief pit marshal for the race, said that the policy of the circuit was that in case of fire, two marshals must attend and a further two act as back-up in case the first pair's extinguishers were not effective enough.


1977 South African Grand Prix, Start and first 21 laps, Lap 22 fatal incident
Witt also recalled that both marshals crossed the track without prior permission. The former narrowly made it across the track, but the latter did not. As the two men started to run across the track, the cars driven by Hans-Joachim Stuck and Tom Pryce came over the brow of a rise in the track.


1977 South African Grand Prix, Start and first 21 laps, Lap 22 fatal incident
Pryce was directly behind Stuck's car along the main straight. Stuck saw Jansen van Vuuren and moved to the right to avoid both marshals, missing Bill by what journalist David Tremayne, calls "millimetres". From his position Pryce could not see Jansen van Vuuren and was unable to react as quickly as Stuck had done. He struck the teenage marshal at approximately 270 km/h (170 mph). Jansen van Vuuren was thrown into the air and landed in front of Zorzi and Bill. He died on impact, and his body was badly mutilated by Pryce's car.


1977 South African Grand Prix, Start and first 21 laps, Lap 22 fatal incident
The fire extinguisher he had been carrying smashed into Pryce's head, before striking the Shadow's roll hoop. The force of the impact was such that the extinguisher was thrown up and over the adjacent grandstand. It landed in the car park to the rear of the stand, where it hit a parked car and jammed its door shut.


1977 South African Grand Prix, Start and first 21 laps, Lap 22 fatal incident
The impact with the fire extinguisher wrenched Pryce's helmet upward sharply. Death was almost certainly instantaneous. Pryce's Shadow DN8, now with its driver dead at the wheel, continued at speed down the main straight towards the first corner, called Crowthorne. The car left the track to the right, scraping the metal barriers, hitting an entrance for emergency vehicles, and veering back onto the track. It then hit Jacques Laffite's Ligier, sending both Pryce and Laffite head-on into the barriers. Jansen van Vuuren's injuries were so extensive that, initially, his body was identified only after the race director had summoned all of the race marshals the next day and he was not among them.


1977 South African Grand Prix, Start and first 21 laps, Finish
Lauda's Ferrari was barely able to finish the race after his car had picked up part of the wreckage from Pryce's accident in the underside of its monocoque. This damaged the car's water system and at the end of the race, the team found that only a third of the usual twelve liters of water remained in the system. Both the warnings for oil pressure and water temperature had been flashing at Lauda for the final 25 laps, in a car which he later described as 'completely gone'.


1977 South African Grand Prix, Start and first 21 laps, Finish
Despite this, Lauda held on to win his first victory since his near-fatal crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix the previous year. South African Scheckter was second, and Patrick Depailler's six-wheeler took third from Hunt in the closing laps. At first Lauda announced it was the greatest victory of his career, but when told on the victory podium of Pryce's death, he said that "there was no joy after that".


1977 South African Grand Prix, Start and first 21 laps, Aftermath
The sport reacted with sorrow at the loss of two young men. Tyrrell mechanic Trevor Foster viewed the incident from a distance, later recalling


1977 South African Grand Prix, Start and first 21 laps, Aftermath
I can remember quite vividly [Pryce's] teammate's car had already pulled off to the side of the track and it had started a small fire. Then the next thing I can remember is seeing Tom's car coming down the straight. I can almost remember now a momentary lift of the throttle much earlier than you would have expected and I looked and I saw something fly up from the car, which tragically turned out to be the marshal.


1977 South African Grand Prix, Start and first 21 laps, Aftermath
David Tremayne, a veteran biographer and motor sports journalist, recalled the feelings of disbelief and horror following the aftermath of the incident;


1977 South African Grand Prix, Start and first 21 laps, Aftermath
The tragedy itself – the sheer randomness of it – is so hard to take and still is. You tend to focus your anger on someone and for a long time it would be focused on a 19-year-old kid, called Jansen van Vuuren, who ran across the track.


1977 South African Grand Prix, Start and first 21 laps, Aftermath
The event was included in the motor racing film The Quick and the Dead.


1977 South African Open (tennis)
The 1977 South African Open, also known by its sponsored name SAB Open,  was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Johannesburg, South Africa. The men's tournament was part of the 1977 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix while the women's event was part of the 1977–1978 Colgate International Series. It was the 74th edition of the tournament and was held from 28 November through 6 December 1977. Guillermo Vilas and Linky Boshoff won the singles titles.


1977 South African Open (tennis), Finals, Men's Doubles
Bob Lutz /  Stan Smith defeated  Peter Fleming /  Raymond Moore 6–3, 7–5, 6–7, 7–6


1977 South African Open (tennis), Finals, Women's Doubles
Ilana Kloss /  Linky Boshoff defeated  Brigitte Cuypers /  Marise Kruger 5–7, 6–3, 6–3


1977 South African Open (tennis), Finals, Mixed Doubles
Linky Boshoff /  Colin Dowdeswell defeated  Ilana Kloss /  Sherwood Stewart 6–4, 4–6. 7–5


1977 South African general election
General elections were held in South Africa on 30 November 1977. The National Party, led by John Vorster won a landslide victory in the House of Assembly. The newly formed Progressive Federal Party, led by Colin Eglin became the official opposition. The New Republic Party, successor to the United Party, won only 10 seats, all but one of them in Natal Province. Once again, the Herstigte Nasionale Party failed to win any seats.


1977 South African general election
In the 1977 elections, the National Party received its best-ever result with support of 65% of the vote and (after a by-election) 135 seats in parliament out of 165. Vorster, however resigned as Prime Minister for alleged health reasons on 28 September 1978.


1977 South African general election, Background
On 11 February 1975 four liberal MPs led by Harry Schwarz broke away from the United Party and created the Reform Party. The party merged with the Progressive Party on 25 July 1975 to form the Progressive Reform Party. In 1977 another group of United Party members left the party to form the Committee for a United Opposition, which then joined the Progressive Reform Party to form the Progressive Federal Party. This proved to realign the opposition in Parliament, as the PFP became the official opposition party.


1977 South African general election, Results
Due to the death of the National Party candidate in the Springs constituency, one seat was left vacant until a by-election was held, which was won by the NP.


1977 South American Basketball Championship for Women
The 1977 South American Basketball Championship for Women was the 16th regional tournament for women in South America. It was held in Lima, Peru and won by the local squad. Eight teams competed.


1977 South American Basketball Championship for Women, Results
Each team played the other teams twice, for a total of eight games played by each team.


1977 South American Championships in Athletics
The 1977 South American Championships in Athletics  were held in Montevideo, Uruguay, between 4 and 6 November 1977.


1977 South American Rugby Championship
The 1977 South American Rugby Championship was the tenth edition of the competition of the leading national Rugby Union teams in South America.


1977 South American Rugby Championship
The tournament was played in Tucuman and won by Argentina.


1977 South American U-20 Championship
The South American Youth Championship 1977 was held in Caracas, Mérida and Valencia, Venezuela. It also served as qualification for the 1977 FIFA World Youth Championship.


1977 South American U-20 Championship, Qualification to World Youth Championship
The three best performing teams qualified for the 1977 FIFA World Youth Championship.


1977 South American Youth Championships in Athletics
The 4th South American Youth Championships in Athletics were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from July 22–24, 1977.


1977 South American Youth Championships in Athletics, Medal summary
Medal winners are published for boys and girls. Complete results can be found on the "World Junior Athletics History" website.


1977 South American Youth Championships in Athletics, Participation (unofficial)
Detailed result lists can be found on the "World Junior Athletics History" website. An unofficial count yields the number of about 202 athletes from about 8 countries:


1977 South Australian state election
State elections were held in South Australia on 17 September 1977. All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Premier of South Australia Don Dunstan won a fourth term in government, defeating the Liberal Party of Australia led by Leader of the Opposition David Tonkin.


1977 South Australian state election, Background
Parliamentary elections for the lower house of the Parliament of South Australia were held in South Australia in 1977. There was no election for Legislative Council; and as of 2020, this is the most recent South Australian election which has not been for both houses.


1977 South Australian state election, Background
The Labor Party led by Don Dunstan, which had won the previous three elections in 1970, 1973 and 1975, defeated the Liberal Party of Australia opposition led by David Tonkin. It was the first time that a Labor government in South Australia had been re-elected for a fourth term, and would be the first nine-year-incumbent Labor government. This would be Dunstan's last election before resigning due to ill health in 1979.


1977 South Australian state election, Background
This was the first election after the end of Playmander seat weighting where one vote one value was introduced. At the previous election some metropolitan seats still saw more than three times the number of voters than in some rural seats, despite most of the Playmander being abolished nearly a decade ago. The redistribution was the reason Dunstan called an early election.


1977 South Australian state election, Background
The Australian Democrats ran for the first time under a joint New LM-Australian Democrats ticket, winning an average 12.3 percent of the primary vote in the 12 electorates they contested, with former LCL MP Robin Millhouse retaining his seat of Mitcham, which he would hold until 1982.


1977 South Australian state election, Results
Keith Russack stood as an Independent Liberal, but later joined the Liberal Party; giving the numbers: 27 Labor, 18 Liberal, 1 Country Party, 1 Australian Democrat.


1977 South Australian state election, Results
A 1979 Norwood by-election was triggered as a result of Dunstan's resignation. Labor retained the seat on a considerably reduced majority.


1977 South Australian state election, Results
South Australian state election, 17 September 1977House of Assembly << 1975–1979 >>


1977 South Carolina Gamecocks baseball team
The 1977 South Carolina Gamecocks baseball team represents the University of South Carolina in the 1977 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Gamecocks played their home games at the new Gamecock Baseball Field. The team was coached by June Raines in his first season at South Carolina.


1977 South Carolina Gamecocks baseball team
The Gamecocks lost the College World Series, defeated by the Arizona State Sun Devils in the championship game.


1977 South Carolina Gamecocks baseball team, Gamecocks in the 1977 MLB Draft
The following members of the South Carolina Gamecocks baseball program were drafted in the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft.


1977 South Carolina Gamecocks football team
The 1977 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina as an independent team in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The Gamecocks finished the season 5–7 overall.


1977 South Glamorgan County Council election
The second election to South Glamorgan County Council and was held in May 1977. It was preceded by the 1973 election and followed by the 1981 election.


1977 South Glamorgan County Council election, Boundary changes
There were no boundary changes but the balance of representation in the Penarth wards appears to have changed with the North/Central ward gaining a seat and the West ward losing one.


1977 South Glamorgan County Council election, Candidates
Conservative and Labour candidates contested the vast majority of seats. In contrast with four years previously there were more Liberal candidates together with a smaller number of Plaid Cymru candidates and Independents.


1977 South Glamorgan County Council election, Outcome
When the authority was established the Conservatives had hoped to win control but failed to do so in 1973. However, they won control at this election, with sweeping gains across Cardiff and the Vale, including some seats which the party had not fully contested at the previous election. Defeated candidates included the leader of the council, Jack Leonard.


1977 South Glamorgan County Council election, Ward Results, Barry, Illtyd (one seat)
Councillor Tresize had sat for the Cadoc Ward at the previous election.


1977 South Pacific Championships
The 1977 South Pacific Championships was an Association of Tennis Professionals men's tournament held on outdoor grass courts at the Milton Courts in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia that was part of the One Star category of the 1977 Grand Prix tennis circuit. It was the fourth edition of the tournament and was held from 10 October until 16 October 1977. First-seeded Vitas Gerulaitis won the singles title.


1977 South Pacific Championships, Finals, Doubles
Vitas Gerulaitis /  Bill Scanlon defeated  Mal Anderson /  Ken Rosewall 7–6, 6–4


1977 South West African Turnhalle Plan referendum
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Monkbot (talk | contribs) at 19:43, 5 January 2020 (→top: Task 15:  language icon template(s) replaced (1×);). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


1977 South West African Turnhalle Plan referendum
A referendum on the Turnhalle plan was held in South West Africa on 18 May 1977. In the Whites-only referendum, the draft constitution was approved by 94.69% of voters. However, following pressure from the United Nations Security Council, the constitution was never enacted.


1977 Southeast Asian Games
The 1977 Southeast Asian Games (Malay: Sukan Asia Tenggara 1977), officially known as the 9th Southeast Asian Games, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 19 to 26 November 1977. This was the third time Malaysia hosted the games and its first since 1971. Previously, it also hosted the games for the first time in 1965. Brunei, Indonesia, and the Philippines were finally admitted into the SEAP Games Federation in February that year.


1977 Southeast Asian Games
Although the word 'Peninsula' was omitted from the new federation title to reflect the expansion, in which the games is the first games to bear the name, its emblem (which featured six rings representing the six founding members), and the sequential numbering of the games was kept to provide continuity, as well as reverence to the objectives, aspirations and contributions of the founders. The six-ring emblem was not replaced until 1999, when the present ten-ring emblem was first used in an official games logo. The games was opened and closed by Yahya Petra, the King of Malaysia at the Stadium Merdeka. The final medal tally was led by Indonesia, followed by Thailand and the Philippines, with host Malaysia in fifth place.


1977 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament
The 1977 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament was held at Swayze Field in Oxford, MS from May 13th through May 16th. Ole Miss won the tournament and earned the Southeastern Conference's automatic bid to the 1977 NCAA Tournament.


1977 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament
The 1977 tournament was the first baseball tournament held by the SEC. It has been held every year since.


1977 Southern 500
The 1977 Southern 500, the 28th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on September 5, 1977, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.


1977 Southern 500, Background
Darlington Raceway, nicknamed by many NASCAR fans and drivers as "The Lady in Black" or "The Track Too Tough to Tame" and advertised as a "NASCAR Tradition", is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that will be effective at both ends.


1977 Southern 500, Background
The track is a four-turn 1.366 miles (2.198 km) oval. The track's first two turns are banked at twenty-five degrees, while the final two turns are banked two degrees lower at twenty-three degrees. The front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch is banked at six degrees. Darlington Raceway can seat up to 60,000 people.


1977 Southern 500, Background
Darlington has something of a legendary quality among drivers and older fans; this is probably due to its long track length relative to other NASCAR speedways of its era and hence the first venue where many of them became cognizant of the truly high speeds that stock cars could achieve on a long track. The track allegedly earned the moniker The Lady in Black because the night before the race the track maintenance crew would cover the entire track with fresh asphalt sealant, in the early years of the speedway, thus making the racing surface dark black.


1977 Southern 500, Background
Darlington is also known as "The Track Too Tough to Tame" because drivers can run lap after lap without a problem and then bounce off of the wall the following lap. Racers will frequently explain that they have to race the racetrack, not their competition. Drivers hitting the wall are considered to have received their "Darlington Stripe" thanks to the missing paint on the right side of the car.


1977 Southern 500, Race report
Drivers competed for a total of purse $184,200 ($786,668.53 when considering inflation). Dave Marcis drove much of the race in relief of Richard Petty.


1977 Southern 500, Race report
Darrell Waltrip qualified for the pole position with a speed of 153.493 miles per hour (247.023 km/h). The race covered 367 laps tof the 1.366-mile (2.198 km) paved track, totalling 501.3 miles (806.8 km). After six yellow flags for 93 laps and 32 different leaders, the race lasted four hours and forty-one minutes. Rain on lap 185 forced to cars to slow down their speed until NASCAR confirmed that the rain indeed stopped in time for the green flag on lap 204.


1977 Southern 500, Race report
An oil slick on lap 210 would slow down the cars yet again until workers fixed the spill around lap 222. Sixty thousand people would watch a race where David Pearson defeated Donnie Allison by 2.5 seconds with an average speed of 106.797 miles per hour (171.873 km/h). Pearson was winless in his first 15 Southern 500s, but then takes three out of four in 1976, 1977, and 1979.


1977 Southern 500, Race report
Bill Elliott was driving the 52 in this race because it was a favor for Jimmy Means. Since Jimmy Means ran all the races, he was on the plan (guaranteed money for entering and starting a race). Elliott didn't run all the races so he wasn't on the plan. By running the 52 and gaining owner points for Means, it allowed Means to stay on the plan until he could race again.


1977 Southern 500, Race report
Bill Elliott earned his first career top-ten finish. Terry Bivins made his final NASCAR appearance in this race. Notable crew chiefs to fully participate in this race were Buddy Parrott, Jake Elder, Joey Arrington, Kirk Shelmerdine, Dale Inman, and Tim Brewer.


1977 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1977 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament took place from February 26–March 2, 1977. The quarterfinal round was hosted at campus sites, while the semifinals and finals were hosted at the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, Virginia. The VMI Keydets, led by head coach Charlie Schmaus, won their third Southern Conference title and received the automatic berth to the 1977 NCAA Tournament.


1977 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
All of the conference's seven members were eligible for the tournament. Teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage. The tournament used a preset bracket consisting of three rounds, the first of which featured three games, with the winners advancing to the semifinals.


1977 Southern Cross Rally
The 1977 Southern Cross Rally, officially the Total Oil Southern Cross International Rally was the twelfth running of the Southern Cross Rally and the sixteenth round of the 1977 FIA Cup for Rally Drivers. The rally took place between the 8th and the 13th of October 1977. The event covered 2,683 kilometres from Sydney to Port Macquarie. It was won by Rauno Aaltonen and Jeff Beaumont, driving a Datsun 710 SSS.


1977 Southern Illinois Salukis football team
The 1977 Southern Illinois Salukis football team was an American football team that represented Southern Illinois University (now known as Southern Illinois University Carbondale) in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. Under second-year head coach Rey Dempsey, the team compiled a 3–8 record. The team played its home games at McAndrew Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.


1977 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team
The 1977 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team was an American football team that represented the University of Southern Mississippi as an independent during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. In their third year under head coach Bobby Collins, the team compiled a 6–6 record.


1977 Southwest Conference Baseball Tournament
The 1977 Southwest Conference Baseball Tournament was the league's annual postseason tournament used to determine the Southwest Conference's (SWC) automatic bid to the 1977 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. The tournament was held from May 19 through May 22 at Disch–Falk Field on the campus of The University of Texas in Austin, TX.


1977 Southwest Conference Baseball Tournament
The number 3 seed Baylor Bears went 3-0 to win the team's 1st SWC Tournament under head coach Mickey Sullivan.


1977 Southwest Conference Baseball Tournament, Format and seeding
The tournament featured the top four finishers of the SWC's 9 teams in a double-elimination tournament.


1977 Southwest Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1977 Southwest Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held March 3–5, 1977 at The Summit in Houston, TX. The first round took place on February 26 at the higher seeded campus sites.


1977 Southwest Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Number 1 seed Arkansas defeated 2 seed Houston 80–74 to win their 1st championship and receive the conference's automatic bid to the 1977 NCAA Tournament.


1977 Southwest Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format and Seeding
The tournament consisted of 9 teams, seeds 2-8 played in an 8 team single-elimination tournament with the winner playing the top seeded team in the tournament final.


1977 Southwestern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team
The 1977 Southwestern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team was an American football team that represented the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now known as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) in the Southland Conference during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. In their fourth year under head coach Augie Tammariello, the team compiled a 6–4–2 record.


1977 Soviet Cup
The 1977 Soviet Cup was an association football cup competition of the Soviet Union. The winner of the competition, Dinamo Moscow qualified for the continental tournament.


1977 Soviet First League
The 1977 Soviet First League was the seventh season of the Soviet First League and the 37th season of the Soviet second tier league competition.


1977 Soviet Second League
1977 Soviet Second League was a Soviet competition in the Soviet Second League.


1977 Soviet Second League, Zone 2
The 1977 Football Championship of Ukrainian SSR was the 47th season of association football competition of the Ukrainian SSR, which was part of the Soviet Second League in Zone 2. The season started on 3 April 1977.


1977 Soviet Second League, Zone 2
The 1977 Football Championship of Ukrainian SSR was won by SKA Odessa.


1977 Soviet Second League, Zone 2
The "Ruby Cup" of Molod Ukrayiny newspaper (for the most scored goals) was received by SKA Odessa.


1977 Soviet Top League, Overview
It was contested by 16 teams, and Dynamo Kyiv won the championship.


1977 Soviet nuclear tests
The Soviet Union's 1977 nuclear test series was a group of 24 nuclear tests conducted in 1977. These tests  followed the 1976 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1978 Soviet nuclear tests series.


1977 Spanish Grand Prix
The 1977 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 8 May 1977 at the Circuito del Jarama near Madrid, Spain. It was the fifth race of the 1977 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1977 International Cup for F1 Constructors.


1977 Spanish Grand Prix
The 75-lap race was won from pole position by American driver Mario Andretti, driving a Lotus-Ford. Argentinian Carlos Reutemann finished second in a Ferrari, with South African Jody Scheckter third in a Wolf-Ford.


1977 Spanish Grand Prix, Report
Mario Andretti continued his recent form with pole position and Jacques Laffite's Ligier springing a surprise, beating Niki Lauda to second, however Lauda was unable to take part in the race due to a broken rib. At the start, Andretti took the lead with Laffite following. Laffite gave chase to Andretti in the early stages but had to pit with a deflating tyre, leaving Andretti to romp to victory with Carlos Reutemann second. Hunt inherited third but retired with a misfire, giving it to John Watson until he lost places due to a spin and eventually retired with fuel system problems, leaving Jody Scheckter to take the final spot on the podium.


1977 Spanish Grand Prix, Report
The race marked the debut of the Williams Grand Prix Engineering team, entering a single March 761 chassis for Belgian driver Patrick Nève, who finished 12th.


1977 Spanish general election
The 1977 Spanish general election was held on Wednesday, 15 June 1977, to elect the Spanish Cortes of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as all 207 seats in the Senate.


1977 Spanish general election
It was the first free election held in Spain since 1936, prior to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. It was called by Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez as part of the political reform of the Francoist regime, ongoing since shortly after Francisco Franco's death in 1975 and promoted by his successor, King Juan Carlos I. Its aim was to elect a Constituent Cortes that was to draft a new constitution, which would ultimately lead to the repealing of the Fundamental Laws of the Realm and the culmination of the country's peaceful transition to democracy.


1977 Spanish general election
The Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD), the electoral coalition created to serve as Suárez's political platform in government, emerged as the largest party overall, albeit 11 seats short of an absolute majority. The election surprise was the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) of Felipe González, which—supported by the German SPD and running a campaign intended to highlight González's youth and charisma—won 118 seats and became the main left-of-centre party by a wide margin. The Communist Party of Spain (PCE), which had been the main opposition force to the dictatorship, and the right-wing People's Alliance (AP) of former Francoist minister Manuel Fraga, performed below expectations. Turnout was high at 78.8%, the second highest for any nationwide election held ever since.


1977 Spanish general election, Overview, Background
The death of Francisco Franco in 1975 paved the way for Spain's transition from an autocratic, one-party dictatorship into a democratic, constitutional monarchy. As per the Succession Law of 1947, the Spanish monarchy was restored under the figure of Juan Carlos I, who quickly became the promoter of a peaceful democratic reform of state institutions.


1977 Spanish general election, Overview, Background
This move was supported by western countries, an important sector of Spanish and international capitalism, a majority of the opposition to Francoism—organized into the Democratic Convergence Platform and the Democratic Junta, which in 1976 would both merge into the Democratic Coordination—and a growing part of the Franco regime itself, weary of popular mobilization after the outcome of the Carnation Revolution in neighbouring Portugal in 1974. However, as incumbent Prime Minister Carlos Arias Navarro rejected any major transformation of the Spanish political system, rather supporting the preservation of Francoist laws, he was dismissed by the King in July 1976, who appointed Adolfo Suárez for the post.


1977 Spanish general election, Overview, Background
Suárez's plans for political reform involved the transformation of Spanish institutions in accordance to the Francoist legal system through the approval of a "political reform bill" as a Fundamental Law of the Realm. This was meant as a step beyond Arias Navarro's plans to update—but preserve—the Francoist regime, with Suárez intending to implement democracy "from law to law through law"—in the words of Torcuato Fernández-Miranda—without the outright liquidation of the Francoist system as called for by opposition parties.


1977 Spanish general election, Overview, Background
Thus, on 18 November 1976, the 1977 Political Reform Act was passed by the Francoist Cortes, later ratified in a referendum on 15 December 1976 with overwhelming popular support. As set out in Suárez's scheme, the Act called for an electoral process to elect new Cortes that were to be responsible for drafting a democratic constitution.


1977 Spanish general election, Overview, Electoral system
Under the 1977 Political Reform Act, the Spanish Cortes were envisaged as a provisional legislature that was to approve a new constitution in a short timespan. Initiative for constitutional amendment belonged to the Congress of Deputies, as well as to the Government. Constitutional bills required to be passed by an absolute majority in both the Congress and Senate.


1977 Spanish general election, Overview, Electoral system
If the Senate rejected the bill as passed by Congress, discrepancies were to be submitted to a Mixed Commission and, if the deadlock persisted, a joint sitting of both Houses would convene as a single legislative body in order to resolve on the issue by an absolute majority. Voting for the Cortes was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over twenty-one and in full enjoyment of their civil and political rights.


1977 Spanish general election, Overview, Electoral system
For the Congress of Deputies, 348 seats were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Additionally, the use of the D'Hondt method might result in an effective threshold over three percent, depending on the district magnitude. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Spain.


1977 Spanish general election, Overview, Electoral system
Each constituency was entitled to an initial minimum of two seats, with the remaining 248 fixed among the constituencies in proportion to their populations, at a rate of approximately one seat per each 144,500 inhabitants or fraction greater than 70,000. Ceuta and Melilla were allocated the two remaining seats, which were elected using plurality voting.


1977 Spanish general election, Overview, Electoral system
For the Senate, 207 seats were elected using an open list partial block voting, with electors voting for individual candidates instead of parties. In constituencies electing four seats, electors could vote for up to three candidates; in those with two or three seats, for up to two candidates; and for one candidate in single-member districts.


1977 Spanish general election, Overview, Electoral system
Each of the 47 peninsular provinces was allocated four seats, whereas for insular provinces, such as the Balearic and Canary Islands, districts were the islands themselves, with the larger—Majorca, Gran Canaria and Tenerife—being allocated three seats each, and the smaller—Menorca, Ibiza–Formentera, Fuerteventura, La Gomera–El Hierro, Lanzarote and La Palma—one each. Ceuta and Melilla elected two seats each. The law also provided for by-elections to fill seats vacated up to two years into the legislature. Additionally, the King could appoint senators in a number not higher than one-fifth of the elected seats.


1977 Spanish general election, Overview, Electoral system
The electoral law provided that parties, federations, coalitions and groupings of electors were allowed to present lists of candidates. However, groupings of electors were required to secure the signature of at least 0.1 percent of the electors registered in the constituency for which they sought election—needing to secure, in any case, the signature of 500 electors—. Electors were barred from signing for more than one list of candidates. Concurrently, parties and federations intending to enter in coalition to take part jointly at an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within fifteen days of the election being called.


1977 Spanish general election, Opinion polls
The table below lists voting intention estimates in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first and using the dates when the survey fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. Where the fieldwork dates are unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed with its background shaded in the leading party's colour. If a tie ensues, this is applied to the figures with the highest percentages. The "Lead" column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the parties with the highest percentages in a given poll. When available, seat projections are also displayed below the voting estimates in a smaller font. 176 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Congress of Deputies.


1977 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix
The 1977 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix was the fifth round of the 1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 22 May 1977 at the Circuito Permanente del Jarama.


1977 Special Honours (New Zealand)
The 1977 Special Honours in New Zealand was a Special Honours List, published on 1 November 1977, that recognised the service of the outgoing vice-regal couple, Sir Denis and Lady Blundell.


1977 Speedway World Pairs Championship
The 1977 Speedway World Pairs Championship was the eighth FIM Speedway World Pairs Championship. The final took place in Manchester, England and was sponsored by Kawasaki. The championship was won by host England (28 points) who beat Sweden and West Germany (both 18 points).


1977 Speedway World Pairs Championship, Semifinal 1
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance • t - exclusion for touching the tapes • x - other exclusion • e - retired or mechanical failure • f - fellns - non-starter • nc - non-classify


1977 Speedway World Pairs Championship, World final
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance • t - exclusion for touching the tapes • x - other exclusion • e - retired or mechanical failure • f - fellns - non-starter • nc - non-classify


1977 Speedway World Team Cup
The 1977 Speedway World Team Cup was the 18th edition of the FIM Speedway World Team Cup to determine the team world champions.


1977 Speedway World Team Cup
The final took place at the Stadion Olimpijski (Wrocław) in Poland. England bounced back to winning ways by recording a record seventh title success. England exacted revenge on defending champions Australia by knocking them out in the British qualifying round.


1977 Speedway World Team Cup, Qualification, British Round
M - exclusion for exceeding two-minute time allowance • T - exclusion for touching the tapes • X - other exclusion • E - retired or mechanical failure • F - fell


1977 Speedway World Team Cup, Tournament, Continental Final
M - exclusion for exceeding two-minute time allowance • T - exclusion for touching the tapes • X - other exclusion • E - retired or mechanical failure • F - fell


1977 Speedway World Team Cup, Tournament, World Final
M - exclusion for exceeding two-minute time allowance • T - exclusion for touching the tapes • X - other exclusion • E - retired or mechanical failure • F - fell


1977 Sri Lankan parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Sri Lanka on 21 July 1977. The result was a landslide victory for the United National Party, which won 140 of the 168 seats in the National State Assembly.


1977 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, Background
Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike had become extraordinarily unpopular. Her economic policies had led to industrial growth and self-reliance, but was insufficient to overcome unemployment. Constitutionally, she had taken advantage of the 1972 constitution to delay the election until 1977, instead of 1975 as would have been the case under the old Soulbury constitution. The government's strong Sinhala nationalist stance had led to unrest in the Tamil north; in response, an island-wide state of emergency was imposed, causing hardship to many people. The UF coalition Bandaranaike had built for the 1970 elections had disintegrated.


1977 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, Background
By contrast, the United National Party had made a surprising comeback since its 1970 humiliation. Under the leadership of J.R. Jayewardene it had assiduously built up its ground organization. The UNP promised to solve the ethnic problem with a devolution package. Economically, it proposed opening up the Sri Lankan economy again. Constitutionally, the UNP called for replacing the Westminster-based political system with one modelled along French lines. Most importantly, it promised a free extra ration of eight pounds of cereal (the so-called eta ata), on top of the existing ration of two kilograms of rice.


1977 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, Background
More portentous was the status of the Tamil parties. The old federalist Tamil parties had merged to form the Tamil United Liberation Front, led by Appapillai Amirthalingam, which had gone beyond regional autonomy to openly call for independence of the Tamil-speaking regions of the country.


1977 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, Results
The UNP won the largest landslide in Sri Lankan history, taking over half the vote and 140 of the 168 seats, five-sixths of the legislature. The size of the landslide was magnified by the first-past-the-post system. The SLFP was decimated, falling from 91 seats to only eight–easily the worst defeat that a Sri Lankan governing party has ever suffered, and one of the worst ever suffered by a governing party in a Westminster system.


1977 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, Results
For the first time, a Tamil party won the second-highest number of seats in Parliament and became the Official Opposition.


1977 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, Results
Abeyratne Pilapitiya of the UNP was elected MP for Kalawana, but was subsequently unseated in an election petition. Sarath Muttetuwegama of the Communist Party was returned to Parliament in the ensuing by-election.


1977 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, Results
The 1977 election was the only one ever held under the 1972 constitution. A year later, the UNP-dominated legislature amended the constitution to replace the parliamentary system with a presidential system. Under the provisions of the new document, Prime Minister Jayewardene became president on 4 February 1978.


1977 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season
The 1977 St. Louis Cardinals season was the franchise’s 56th year with the National Football League and the 18th season in St. Louis. This was the final season in St Louis for head coach Don Coryell who began coaching the San Diego Chargers the following year. The Cardinals would also host the Miami Dolphins on Thanksgiving, replacing the Dallas Cowboys.


1977 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season
Coryell's final game with the Cardinals was an embarrassing 17-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won for the first time at Tampa Stadium following 13 consecutive home defeats. It was the Bucs' second consecutive victory following an NFL-record 26-game losing streak; Tampa Bay won 33-14 at New Orleans the previous week.


1977 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season, Regular season
On November 24, 1977, Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese would throw for six touchdown passes in a Thanksgiving Day match versus the Cardinals. The Dolphins would set a franchise record for most points scored in one game with 55. Of note, the Dolphins would score eight touchdowns and accumulate 34 first downs.


1977 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season, Regular season, Week 5
Jim Hart, questionable all week with an injury, passed 38 yards to Ike Harris for one td and Terry Metcalf and Jerry Latin scored on runs of 10 and two yards to lift the Cardinals to a much needed win over the Eagles.


1977 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season, Regular season, Week 6
Mel Gray caught passes from quarterback Jim Hart and running back Terry Metcalf for touchdowns and Wayne Morris scored four times on short distance runs in St. Louis Wide-open victory and now are back in the running for a playoff spot. Bobby Scott passed for two touchdowns for the Saints, who wiped out a 21-0 lead, then fell back again. The Saints total 440 yards on offense while the victorious Cardinals gained 494 yards.


1977 St. Louis Cardinals season
The 1977 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 96th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 86th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 83–79 during the season and finished third in the National League East, 18 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies.


1977 St. Louis Cardinals season
Vern Rapp took over as the Cardinals' manager this year, after the twelve-year reign of their longtime manager Red Schoendienst. On August 29, Cardinals left-fielder Lou Brock broke the modern-day stolen base record, by stealing bases 892 and 893 in a game against the Padres in San Diego.


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


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


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


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


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


1977 St. Louis mayoral election
The 1977 St. Louis mayoral election was held on April 5, 1977 to elect the mayor of St. Louis, Missouri. It saw the election of James F. Conway. Incumbent mayor John Poelker decided not to seek a second term.


1977 St. Louis mayoral election
The election was preceded by party primaries on March 8.


1977 Stanford Cardinals football team
The 1977 Stanford Cardinals football team represented Stanford University in the Pacific-8 Conference during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. Led by first-year head coach Bill Walsh, Stanford ended the regular season with an 8–3 record (5–2 in Pac-8, tie for second).


1977 Stanford Cardinals football team
The Cardinals were led by senior quarterback Guy Benjamin, who won the Sammy Baugh Trophy, awarded to the best passer in college football; senior receiver James Lofton, who caught 57 passes for 1,010 yards and 14 TDs and was named an AP and NEA Second Team All-American; junior linebacker Gordy Ceresino, and freshman running back Darrin Nelson.


1977 Stanford Cardinals football team
On New Year's Eve, Stanford defeated LSU 24–14 in the Sun Bowl for their ninth win. and climbed to fifteenth in the final rankings.


1977 Stanford Cardinals football team
Walsh, previously the offensive coordinator of the NFL's San Diego Chargers, was hired the previous December. He had been an assistant at Stanford under John Ralston from 1963 through 1965 and spent eight seasons as an assistant with the expansion Cincinnati Bengals under head coach Paul Brown.