1978 Holiday Bowl, Background
Navy won their first seven games of the season, the most wins in a streak in years. A loss to Notre Dame sparked a losing streak that spanned to their games against Syracuse and Florida State, but the Midshipmen managed to rout Army 28–0 to win their eighth game, the most in a season since the nine win year in 1963. The Cougars had won their third straight Western Athletic Conference title (their fourth in five years), with a 5-1 conference record (their only loss being to Utah in the Holy War). BYU was making their 3rd bowl appearance in four years, after skipping the previous year (and their invite to the Fiesta Bowl) due to the game falling on a Sunday.


1978 Holiday Bowl, Scoring summary
For Navy, Bob Lesczynski threw 7-of-13 for 123 yards for one touchdown. Phil McConkey caught 4 passes for 88 yards and rushed for 42 yards on 2 carries, while being named MVP. For BYU, Jim McMahon threw 9-of-18 for 133 yards for one touchdown and one interception. Mike Chronister caught 3 passes for 60 yards and one touchdown.


1978 Holiday Bowl, Aftermath
This was the first in seven consecutive Holiday Bowl appearances for the Cougars, who won four of the seven they played, including one against Michigan in 1984 that determined the national championship. Navy has not reached the Holiday bowl since this game, while they went on a bowl win drought of 18 years, not winning one until 1996.


1978 Holiday Inn fire
The 1978 Holiday Inn Fire broke out at the Holiday Inn-Northwest which was located at 1525 West Ridge Road in the Town of Greece, near Rochester, New York, on November 26, 1978, and killed ten people. Seven of the fatalities were Canadian; 88 Canadians were staying in the hotel at the time on a holiday shopping trip. The fire was considered notable enough by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and The Center for Fire Research to document the fire in their 1979 publications. In the end, 10 people were killed and 34 injured. In 2008, the NFPA listed the 1978 Holiday Inn Fire as one of only three dozen or so fires which killed 10 or more people in the United States between 1934 and 2006.


1978 Holiday Inn fire, Fire
The building was built in 1963 at a cost of $1.3 million and consisted of a wood frame structure with interior hallways and 91 rooms. The building had passed a fire inspection earlier in the month. The fire started on the first floor between the north and west wings of the hotel around 2:30 am. Cleaning supplies and paper products were stored in a closet near the fire's point of origin. Due to fire doors being left opened and the nearby combustible materials, the fire spread very rapidly. The fire alarm system was not tied to a dispatch center and although some people reported a bell ringing, they failed to realize it was the emergency alarm bell.


1978 Holiday Inn fire, Fire
The fire was not reported to the fire department until 2:38 am when an off duty firefighter passing by reported it. The fire burned out of control for more than two hours. 125 firefighters from six area fire companies responded. About 170 people were rescued from the building by firefighters and passers-by. The fire was declared under control at 4:34 a.m. with an ultimate toll of 10 dead—eight women and two men—and 34 injured. Investigators said the fire broke windows in the hallways connecting the hotel's two wings.


1978 Holiday Inn fire, Fire
Flames shot up to the roofs of both wings and swept through an open area between the room's ceilings and roofs. Firewalls in the buildings did not extend to the roof, allowing the fire to rip through the top floor of each wing. The burning roof had collapsed into the top floor rooms.


1978 Holiday Inn fire, Investigation
Initially, the police did not consider the fire suspicious. Questions arose about whether or not the fire alarms could be heard in the lobby of the hotel when firefighters arrived. While hotel officials said the alarms were functioning, firefighters first at the scene said they were unable to hear the bells. Although the building met existing fire codes, it lacked some fire prevention equipment including smoke detectors and a sprinkler system.


1978 Holiday Inn fire, Investigation
Additionally, the fire alarm system was not connected to the Greece-Ridge Fire Department or any other security agency, and there was only one vertical fire wall between the two wings. The alarm system consisted only of one bell in the middle of each of the two wings. John Stickevers, an expert fire investigator from New York City, was brought in to assist with the investigation. He discovered that an uncommon highly flammable liquid  accelerant was used to start the fire inside a storage cupboard under the first floor stairwell. The fire was officially ruled as an arson attack, but no one was ever charged with this crime, and the case remains open today.


1978 Holiday Inn fire, Investigation
In early 2011, the Greece Police Department launched the most intensive investigation of the fire in the last thirty years. On November 26, 2014, police announced that they have identified a suspect for the first time, 36 years after the fire. In 2018, it was reported that the investigation had been narrowed down to two suspects but disagreements between Greece Police and the Monroe County District Attorney on which suspect is responsible and over proof of arson have stalled the investigation.


1978 Holy Cross Crusaders football team
The 1978 Holy Cross Crusaders football team was an American football team that represented the College of the Holy Cross as an independent during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Neil Wheelwright returned for his third year as head coach. The team compiled a record of 7–4.


1978 Holy Cross Crusaders football team
All home games were played at Fitton Field on the Holy Cross campus in Worcester, Massachusetts.


1978 Hounslow London Borough Council election
The 1978 Hounslow Council election took place on 4 May 1978 to elect members of Hounslow London Borough Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election and the Labour party stayed in overall control of the council.


1978 Houston Astros season
The 1978 Houston Astros season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fifth in the National League West with a record of 74-88, 21 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.


1978 Houston Astros 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


1978 Houston Astros 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


1978 Houston Astros season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1978 Houston Astros season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1978 Houston Astros season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1978 Houston Cougars football team
The 1978 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH, represented the University of Houston in the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cougars were led by 17th-year head coach Bill Yeoman and played their home games at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The team competed as members of the Southwest Conference, winning the conference with a 7–1 conference record. This was Houston's first outright conference title and second overall, in only their third year in the league. They were invited to the 1979 Cotton Bowl Classic, played on New Year's Day, where they were defeated by Notre Dame. Houston was ranked 10th in the final AP Poll of the season and 11th in the Coaches' Poll.


1978 Houston Oilers season
The 1978 Houston Oilers season was the franchise's 19th overall and the 9th in the National Football League (NFL). Led by Rookie RB Earl Campbell, who won both the Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Offensive Player of the Year, who rushed for 1,450 yards, the Oilers made the playoffs with a 10-6 record, qualifying in the newly created 5th Wild Card spot. The franchise scored 283 points while the defense gave up 298 points. Their record of 10 wins and 6 losses resulted in a second-place finish in the AFC Central Division.


1978 Houston Oilers season
In the playoffs, the Oilers would stun the Miami Dolphins, 17-9, in the two teams first playoff meeting, then defeated the New England Patriots 31-14 in New England to advance to their first ever AFC Championship game, but in that game, they would score a mere 5 points in a 34-5 blowout loss to the eventual champion Steelers.


1978 Houston Oilers season, Season summary
The Oilers appeared twice on Monday Night Football. In their first appearance on Monday Night Football, the Oilers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 24–17. In their second appearance, the Oilers defeated the Miami Dolphins 35–30. The Oilers number one draft pick, Earl Campbell, a 5–11, 232-pound ball-carrying dynamo from the University of Texas, joined the Houston Oilers as the first player taken in the 1978 National Football League Draft. The first player to earn All-Southwest Conference honors four years, Campbell was a consensus All-America and the Heisman Trophy winner in 1977.


1978 Houston Oilers season, Season summary
Campbell took the NFL by storm right from the very start. In 1978, he was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player, All-Pro, and Rookie of the Year. He won the league rushing championship with 1,450 yards and was named to the AFC Pro Bowl squad. Possibly the highlight of the Oilers' fantastic season was the contest against the Miami Dolphins, in which Campbell racked up 199 yards, 81 of them coming on a TD run in the fourth quarter.


1978 Houston Oilers season, Regular season
On November 20, 1978, the Oilers took on the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football. In order to boost team spirit, the Oilers gave each fan a blue and white pom-pon before the game. The sight of over 70,000 fans waving the pom-pons inspired the Oilers to a 35–30 victory, behind Campbell's 199 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns. This would be the start of Luv Ya Blue.


1978 Houston Oilers season, Playoffs, AFC Wild Card
Quarterback Dan Pastorini led the Oilers to an upset victory by passing for 306 yards.


1978 Houston Oilers season, Playoffs, AFC Divisional Playoff
Quarterback Dan Pastorini led the Oilers to a victory by throwing for 200 yards and three touchdowns, while running back Earl Campbell rushed for 118 yards and a score.


1978 Houston Oilers season, Playoffs, AFC Championship Game
On a wet, slick, and slippery field, the Steelers dominated the Oilers by forcing 9 turnovers and only allowing 5 points.


1978 Humboldt State Lumberjacks football team
The 1978 Humboldt State Lumberjacks football team represented Humboldt State University during the 1978 NCAA Division II football season. Humboldt State competed in the Far Western Conference (FWC).


1978 Humboldt State Lumberjacks football team
The 1978 Lumberjacks were led by head coach Bud Van Deren in his 13th season. They played home games at the Redwood Bowl in Arcata, California. Humboldt State finished with a record of five wins and six losses (5–6, 3–2 FWC). The Lumberjacks were outscored by their opponents 231–258 for the season.


1978 Humboldt State Lumberjacks football team, Team players in the NFL
No Humboldt State players were selected in the 1979 NFL Draft.


1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Glasgow, Scotland, at the Bellahouston Park on 25 March 1978. A report on the event was given in the Glasgow Herald.


1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
Complete results for men, junior men, women, medallists,  and the results of British athletes were published.


1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, Participation
An unofficial count yields the participation of 358 athletes from 27 countries. This is in agreement with the official numbers as published.


1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Junior men's race
The Junior men's race at the 1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Glasgow, Scotland, at the Bellahouston Park on March 25, 1978. A report on the event was given in the Glasgow Herald.


1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Junior men's race
Complete results, medallists,  and the results of British athletes were published.


1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Junior men's race, Participation
An unofficial count yields the participation of 91 athletes from 16 countries in the Junior men's race, one athlete less than the official number published.


1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Senior men's race
The Senior men's race at the 1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Glasgow, Scotland, at the Bellahouston Park on March 25, 1978. A report on the event was given in the Glasgow Herald.


1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Senior men's race
Complete results, medallists,  and the results of British athletes were published.


1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Senior men's race, Participation
An unofficial count yields the participation of 168 athletes from 21 countries in the Senior men's race. This is in agreement with the official numbers as published.


1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Senior women's race
The Senior women's race at the 1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Glasgow, Scotland, at the Bellahouston Park on March 25, 1978. A report on the event was given in the Glasgow Herald.


1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Senior women's race
Complete results, medallists,  and the results of British athletes were published.


1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Senior women's race, Participation
An unofficial count yields the participation of 99 athletes from 18 countries in the Senior women's race, one athlete less than the official number published.


1978 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships
The 1978 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia for a record third time. The Yugoslavian (now Serbian) city had previously hosted the championships in 1971 and 1975.


1978 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships
The men's competition consisted of six Canadian (single paddle, open boat) and nine kayak events. Three events were held for the women, all in kayak.


1978 IHF Women's Cup Winners' Cup
The 1978 IHF Women's Cup Winner's Cup was the second edition of IHF's competition for women's team handball national cup champions. It was contested by 15 teams, two more than the inaugural edition and ran from 22 January to 23 April 1978. Ferencvárosi TC tightly defeated 2-times European champion SC Leipzig in the final to win its first international trophy.


1978 IIHF European U18 Championship
The 1978 IIHF European U18 Championship was the eleventh playing of the IIHF European Junior Championships. This year's tournaments offered spectacular finishes in both Group A and Group B. In Group B's championship game, the Italians led with three minutes to play before the French tied it at two. Overtime was played in two five-minute halves, both teams scored once, and finally team Italy won in a shootout.


1978 IIHF European U18 Championship
As great as that was, it still did not compare to the drama that Alpo Suhonen's Finnish team provided in winning Group A. Coming into the final game on January 2 in Helsinki, both Finland and the USSR had won all four previous games. Additionally, in the games that counted in the round robin final, they had both won by a combined total of eight to three. Coming into their last game, since a tie could not be settled by any rule, they would have to play overtime.


1978 IIHF European U18 Championship
It was decided that if there was a tie, they would play one full period, and then the second period (if still needed) would be sudden death." Tom Ratschunas, writing for "Total Hockey", stated that, "The overtime stage of the game with the Soviets is still the mother of all extended playing time in Finnish hockey." The Finns tied the game at three with just a few minutes left in regulation. Twice they tied it up in the first overtime, the second goal coming with just twenty seconds left.


1978 IIHF European U18 Championship
Just one minute and forty-two seconds into the second overtime, Jari Kurri scored on Dmitri Saprykhin to make the hosts victorious. An interesting side note to the Finnish triumph was that they played without their top defenceman, Reijo Ruotsalainen because he was chosen to play in the World Juniors, which were unfortunately played at the same time in Montreal.


1978 IIHF European U18 Championship, Group A
Played in Helsinki and Vantaa, Finland from December 27, 1977, to January 2, 1978.


1978 IIHF European U18 Championship, Group B, Placing round
Italy was promoted to Group A, and Belgium was relegated to Group C, for 1979.


1978 IMSA GT Championship
The 1978 Camel GT Challenge season was the 8th season of the IMSA GT Championship auto racing series. It was the first year of the new GTX class, which allowed for Group 5 cars to compete. The GTO and GTU class Grand tourer cars remained from before. It began February 4, 1978, and ended November 26, 1978, after fourteen rounds.


1978 IMSA GT Championship, Schedule
Not all classes participated in some events. Races marked with All had all classes on track at the same time.


1978 Ice Hockey World Championships
The 1978 Ice Hockey World Championships took place in Prague, Czechoslovakia from 26 April to 14 May. Eight teams took part, with each team playing each other once in the first round, and then the four best teams meeting in a new round. This was the 45th World Championships, and also the 56th European Championships. The USSR won for the fifteenth time, narrowly defeating the incumbent Czechoslovaks.


1978 Ice Hockey World Championships
On the final day, there was essentially a gold medal game, and a bronze medal game. The Soviets played the Czechoslovaks and needed to win by at least two to win the Championship. They took a three nothing lead, and hung to win by two, capturing gold by being even head to head with the Czechoslovaks, but having a cumulative two goal advantage against everyone else. Canada and Sweden came into the final game even, so the winner would claim the bronze. Pat Hickey scored with a minute left in the game to give Canada a three to two victory, and the medal.


1978 Ice Hockey World Championships
Because of the allowance of professionals from the NHL into the tournament, a peculiar (and new) situation arose during this year's tournament. The Minnesota North Stars had players representing Canada (2), Sweden (3), and the United States (4).


1978 Ice Hockey World Championships, World Championship Group B (Yugoslavia)
Undefeated Poland was promoted to Group A, and both Italy and Yugoslavia were relegated to Group C.


1978 Ice Hockey World Championships, World Championship Group C (Spain)
The Netherlands and Austria were both promoted to Group B. China and Denmark also ended up being promoted to alleviate a political situation between the Chinese and the South Koreans.


1978 Ice Hockey World Championships, Ranking and statistics, European championships final standings
The final standings of the European championships according to IIHF:


1978 Icelandic Cup
The 1978 Icelandic Cup was the 19th edition of the National Football Cup.


1978 Icelandic Cup
It took place between 30 May 1975 and 27 August 1978, with the final played at Laugardalsvöllur in Reykjavik. The cup was important, as winners qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (if a club won both the league and the cup, the defeated finalists would take their place in the Cup Winners' Cup).


1978 Icelandic Cup
The 10 clubs from the 1. Deild entered in the last 16, with clubs from lower tiers entering in the three preliminary rounds. Teams played one-legged matches. In case of a draw, the match was replayed at the opposition's ground.


1978 Icelandic Cup
ÍA Akranes won their first Icelandic Cup, beating Valur Reykjavik in the final. The club therefore qualified for Europe.


1978 Icelandic parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 25 June 1978. The Independence Party remained the largest party in the Lower House of the Althing, winning 14 of the 40 seats. Following the election a coalition was formed between the People's Alliance, Social Democratic Party and the Progressive Party with Ólafur Jóhannesson as Prime Minister.


1978 Icelandic parliamentary election, Results
The Independent Voters in the West Fjords was a breakaway from the Union of Liberals and Leftists.


1978 Icelandic parliamentary election, Results
The Independent Voters in the South was a breakaway from the Independence Party.


1978 Idaho Vandals football team
The 1978 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Vandals were led by new head coach Jerry Davitch and were members of the Big Sky Conference. They played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho. Davitch was previously an assistant at the Air Force Academy for five seasons under longtime head coach Ben Martin, preceded by four years as a high school head coach in Tucson, Arizona.


1978 Idaho Vandals football team
With sophomore quarterbacks Jay Goodenbour and Mike McCurdy running the veer offense, the Vandals were 2–9 overall and 2–4 in the Big Sky in 1978. Projected starter Rocky Tuttle injured an ankle in the final scrimmage, had tendon surgery, and redshirted; as a fifth-year senior in 1979, he started as a running back and receiver.


1978 Idaho Vandals football team
The final win was an unplayed forfeit by Idaho State for a scheduled night game in Moscow in November. Flying from Pocatello to the Palouse on the afternoon of the game because of unavailable lodging, one of ISU's two chartered Convair 440 aircraft had carburetor problems soon after takeoff and had to land. It carried the defensive players; the other with the offense landed safely at the Moscow-Pullman airport two hours later. After difficulties in arranging a viable makeup date, a forfeit win was awarded to the Vandals. It was the conference finale for both teams, and Idaho State finished winless in the Big Sky.


1978 Idaho Vandals football team
This was the first season for the newly created Division I-AA, which the Big Sky joined. It was previously a Division II conference for football, except for Division I member Idaho, which moved down to I-AA this season. Idaho had maintained its upper division status in the NCAA by playing Division I non-conference opponents.


1978 Idaho Vandals football team, All-conference
No Vandals were chosen for All-Big Sky first team, but seven were selected for the second team; the two picks on offense were tackle Kyle Riddell and center Larry Coombs. The five on the defense were linebacker Brian Rekofke, defensive linemen Mark McNeal and Steve Parker, and defensive backs Rick Linehan and Ron Jessie.


1978 Idaho Vandals football team, NFL Draft
No Vandals were selected in the 1979 NFL Draft, which lasted twelve rounds (330 selections).


1978 Idaho Vandals football team, NFL Draft
One Vandal junior was later selected in the 1980 NFL Draft, also twelve rounds (333 selections).


1978 Idaho gubernatorial election
The 1978 Idaho gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 7,  and incumbent Democrat John Evans defeated Republican nominee Allan Larsen with 58.75% of the vote. It was the third consecutive win for the Democrats (1970, 1974, 1978), but the only significant victory for the party in Idaho in 1978.


1978 Idaho gubernatorial election, Primary elections, Democratic primary, Results
Evans ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Elected lieutenant governor in 1974, he succeeded Cecil Andrus in January 1977, who left to become U.S. Secretary of the Interior in the new Carter Administration.


1978 Idaho gubernatorial election, Primary elections, Republican primary
Entering the primary, Vern Ravenscroft and Butch Otter were the apparent front runners, but were upset by Larsen.


1978 Idaho gubernatorial election, General election
The election was notable as it was the first time Idaho elected a governor from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Both major candidates were members, and through 2020, Evans remains the only Mormon to be elected governor in the state.


1978 Ilford North by-election
The Ilford North by-election of 2 March 1978 was held after the death of Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Millie Miller  on 29 October 1977. The seat was gained by the Conservatives in a defeat for James Callaghan's government.


1978 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
The 1978 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1978 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second year under head coach Gary Moeller, the Illini compiled a 1–8–2 record and finished in ninth place in the Big Ten Conference.


1978 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Rich Weiss with 665 passing yards, running back Wayne Strader with 389 rushing yards, and wide receiver Jeff Barnes with 270 receiving yards. Linebacker John Sullivan and center Randy Taylor were selected as the team's most valuable players.


1978 Illinois elections
Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 7, 1978.


1978 Illinois elections
This was the first election that the 1970 Constitution of Illinois' change took effect that all statewide executive offices would be elected in national midterm years.


1978 Illinois elections, Election information
1978 was a midterm election year in the United States.


1978 Illinois elections, Election information
This was the first election that the 1970 Constitution of Illinois' change took effect that all statewide executive offices would be elected in national midterm years. To accommodate this, in 1976, all statewide executive offices that were up for election were elected to two-year terms that would expire following the 1978 elections.


1978 Illinois elections, Election information, Turnout
Turnout in the primary election was 25.14%, with a total of 1,482,034 ballots cast. 911,290 Democratic and 570,744 Republican primary ballots were cast.


1978 Illinois elections, Election information, Turnout
Turnout during the general election was 57.55%, with 3,342,985 ballots cast.


1978 Illinois elections, Federal elections, United States Senate
Incumbent Republican Charles H. Percy was reelected to a third term.


1978 Illinois elections, Federal elections, United States House
All 24 Illinois seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1978. The Republican Party flipped one seat, leaving the composition of Illinois' House delegation to consist of 13 Republicans and 11 democrats.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Governor and Lieutenant Governor
Incumbent Governor James R. Thompson and Lieutenant Governor David C. O'Neal, Republicans, jointly won reelection to a second term.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Attorney General
Incumbent Attorney General William J. Scott, a Republican, was elected to a fourth term.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Attorney General, Democratic primary
Richard J. Troy, a Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, won the Democratic primary, running unopposed.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Attorney General, Republican primary
Incumbent William J. Scott won the Republican primary, running unopposed.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Secretary of State
Incumbent Secretary of State Alan J. Dixon, a Democrat, was reelected to a second term.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Secretary of State, Democratic primary
Incumbent Alan J. Dixon won the Democratic primary, running unopposed.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Secretary of State, Republican primary
Elk Grove Township Clerk Sharon Sharp won the Republican primary, running unopposed.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Comptroller
Incumbent Comptroller Michael Bakalis, a Democrat, did not seek a second term, instead opting to run for governor. Democrat Roland Burris was elected to succeed him. In winning the election, Burris became the first American American to be elected to statewide office in Illinois.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Comptroller, Democratic primary
With more than 64% of the vote, Roland Burris defeated State Representative Richard Luft in the Democratic primary.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Comptroller, Democratic primary
Burris was a Chicago attorney that had formerly served as director of the Department of General Services under Governor Dan Walker. Luft had been the early favorite for the party to slate, but at the last minute was beaten out by Burris when the party finally slated candidates. It was reported that black Chicago Democrats had pressured the party to slate a black candidate for statewide office.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Comptroller, Democratic primary
During the campaign, Burris and Luft argued over Burris' record as director of the Department of General Services.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Comptroller, Republican primary
With more than 52% of the vote, John W. Castle, director of the Department of Local Government Affairs, defeated  W. Robert Blair, former Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, in the Republican primary. Governor James R. Thompson, who had convinced Castle to abandon his declared plans to run for treasurer and instead run for comptroller, publicly endorsed Castle. Blair criticized Castle for this endorsement, alleging that he would not be able to operate the comptroller's office independently of the governor, while Castle denied that his decisions would be influenced by his political ties to Thompson.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Treasurer
Incumbent Treasurer was Donald R. Smith, a Republican who had been appointed in 1977, did not seek reelection. Democrat Jerome Cosentino was elected to succeed him in office. This election made Cosentino the first Italian-American to be elected to statewide office in Illinois.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Treasurer, Democratic primary
In the Democratic primary, the party establishment had slated Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago commissioner Jerome Cosentino as its preferred candidate. He won the primary with 60% of the vote, defeating Nina T. Shepherd, a trustee of the University of Illinois. Shepherd received the endorsement of Independent Voter of Illinois in the primary. She ran largely due to the failure of the party of slate a woman for any statewide office. The primary was not overly heated. One issue that haunted Cosentino was that his trucking firm was under investigation by the Interstate Commerce Commission for possible violations of the Interstate Commerce Act. While the investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing, it was not completed until after the primary was over.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Treasurer, Republican primary
James M. Skelton won a narrow 52% victory over Bradley M. Glass in the Republican primary. With Skelton being a downstate politician, and Glass being an upstate politician, the race had the dynamics of "downstate vs. upstate". John W. Castle had originally announced that he would run for the Republican nomination for Treasurer, before being convinced by Governor James R. Thompson to instead run for comptroller.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, State Senate
One-third of the seats of the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1982. Democrats retained control of the chamber.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, State House of Representatives
All of the seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1978. Democrats retained control of the chamber.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Trustees of University of Illinois
An election was held for three of nine seats for Trustees of University of Illinois system.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Trustees of University of Illinois
The election saw the reelection incumbent second-term Republican Ralph Crane Hahn and the election of new members, Democrats Edmund Roche Donoghue and Paul Stone.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Trustees of University of Illinois
Incumbent Republican Park Livingston and incumbent first-term Republican Jane Hayes Rader lost reelection.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Ballot measures
Illinois voters voted on a two legislatively referred constitutional amendment ballot measures in 1978. In order to be approved, the measures required either 60% support among those specifically voting on the measure or 50% support among all ballots cast in the elections.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Ballot measures, Personal Property Tax Amendment
The Personal Property Tax Amendment (also known as "Amendment 1") was a legislatively referred constitutional amendment which would have amended Article IX, Section 5 of the Constitution of Illinois to eliminate the provision that required the legislature to abolish the personal property tax by January 1, 1979. It failed to meet either threshold to amend the constitution.


1978 Illinois elections, State elections, Ballot measures, Property Tax Exemption for Veterans' Organizations
The Property Tax Exemption for Veterans' Organizations  (also known as "Amendment 2") was a legislatively referred constitutional amendment which would have amended Article IX, Section 6 of the Constitution of Illinois to exempt veterans' associations from paying property taxes on their meeting halls. It failed to meet either threshold to amend the constitution.


1978 Illinois gubernatorial election
The 1978 Illinois gubernatorial election were held in Illinois in November 7, 1978. Republican James R. Thompson easily won a second term in office, defeating Democrat nominee Michael Bakalis by nearly 600,000 votes.


1978 Illinois gubernatorial election, Election information
This was the first Illinois gubernatorial election that took place during the United States' midterm elections. The previous election had been in 1976.


1978 Illinois gubernatorial election, Election information
The primary (held March 21) and general election coincided with those for federal offices (Senate and House) and those for other state offices. The election was part of the 1978 Illinois elections.


1978 Illinois gubernatorial election, Election information, Turnout
Turnout in the primaries saw 20.39% in the gubernatorial primaries, with a total of 1,201,603 votes cast, and 16.33% in the lieutenant gubernatorial primary, with 962,288 votes cast.


1978 Illinois gubernatorial election, Election information, Turnout
Turnout during the general election was 54.23%, with 3,150,107 votes cast.


1978 Illinois gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Governor
Bakalis' opponent had been Dakin Williams, a prosecutor who was the younger brother of famous playwright Tennessee Williams. Williams had been a candidate for the Democratic nomination of Illinois' US Senate seat in 1972, and had unsuccessfully sought the nomination for the state's other US Senate seat in 1974.


1978 Illinois gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Lieutenant Governor
Lawyer Dick Durbin won the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, running unopposed.


1978 Inco strike
The Inco strike of 1978 (locally referred to as the Sudbury Strike of 1978) was a strike by workers at Inco's operations in Sudbury, Ontario, which lasted from 15 September 1978 until 7 June 1979. It was the longest strike in Inco or Sudbury history until the strike of 2009–10, and at the time broke the record for the longest strike in Canada. It has been noted as one of the most important labour disputes in Canadian history.


1978 Inco strike, Overview
The conflict was caused by proposed layoffs and cuts to pay and benefits by Inco management, with low nickel prices as a justification.


1978 Inco strike, Overview
Around 11,600 workers were involved in the strike, which affected the wages sustaining 43,000 people, or about 26% of the population of metropolitan Sudbury. By the end of the strike, the company had been starved of over twenty-two million hours of labour, smashing records for the longest strike in both Canadian and Inco history.


1978 Inco strike, Overview
Community support for the union was strong, with local politicians such as future mayor and then-Member of Parliament John Rodriguez as well as other New Democrats vocally supporting the strikers. A major role was played by women's support committees, which had also existed during the 1958 strike.


1978 Inco strike, Aftermath
The role of women in the community during the strike was profiled in the 1980 documentary film A Wives' Tale (Une histoire de femmes).


1978 Inco strike, Aftermath
Concessions won as a result of the strike included Inco's "thirty-and-out" policy, whereby workers with thirty years at the company could retire with a full pension, regardless of age. As well, most miners received a dollar an hour wage increase.


1978 Inco strike, Aftermath
A study on alcohol consumption showed that over 35% of strikers and over 40% of their wives reportedly stopped drinking alcohol or drank dramatically less during the course of the strike, while a small minority drank much more, hypothesized as being stress-induced. Overall, alcohol sales declined by 10% during the strike as compared to the previous winter, likely due to economic reasons.


1978 Inco strike, Aftermath
This effect was mirrored in the rest of the local economy, which was catastrophically affected. This would later play a critical role in spurring new economic development efforts in the city into the 1980s and 1990s; when a longer strike hit the same operations, now owned by Vale, in 2009, the action had a much more modest effect on the city's economy than the 1978 strike, with the local rate of unemployment declining slightly during the strike.


1978 Independence Bowl
In the 1978 Independence Bowl, the East Carolina Pirates defeated the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 35–13.


1978 Independence Bowl, Game summary
The East Carolina Pirates forced four fumbles and intercepted Louisiana Tech Bulldogs quarterback Eric Barkley three times en route to victory. ECU took control of the game early, scoring twice in the first quarter. The Pirates pushed their lead to 21-0 on a touchdown run early in the second quarter. The Bulldogs answered less than two minutes later with a 32-yard touchdown strike. Tech cut the lead to 21-10 with a 36-yard field goal less than a minute before the end of the half. Tech's Swilley kicked another 36-yard field goal six minutes into the third quarter. Pirate running back Theodore Sutton ran 45 yards for a touchdown with seven minutes remaining in the quarter. The Pirates scored another touchdown late in the game. ECU totaled 278 yards rushing, while holding the Bulldogs to 12 yards on the ground.


1978 Indian Open
The 1978 Indian Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts in Calcutta, India. It was the sixth edition of the tournament and was held from 27 November through 3 December 1978. The tournament was part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit. Yannick Noah won the singles title.


1978 Indian Open, Finals, Doubles
Sashi Menon /  Sherwood Stewart defeated  Gilles Moretton /  Yannick Noah 7–6, 6–4


1978 Indian Rajya Sabha elections
Rajya Sabha elections were held in 1978, to elect members of the Rajya Sabha, Indian Parliament's upper chamber.


1978 Indian Rajya Sabha elections, Elections
Elections were held in 1978 to elect members from various states. The list is incomplete.


1978 Indian Rajya Sabha elections, Elections, Members elected
The following members are elected in the elections held in 1978. They are members for the term 1978-84 and retire in year 1978, except in case of the resignation or death before the term.


1978 Indian Rajya Sabha elections, Bye-elections
The following bye elections were held in the year 1978.


1978 Indiana Hoosiers football team
The 1978 Indiana Hoosiers football team represented the Indiana Hoosiers in the 1978 Big Ten Conference football season. They participated as members of the Big Ten Conference. The Hoosiers played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. The team was coached by Lee Corso, in his sixth year as head coach of the Hoosiers.


1978 Indianapolis 500
The 62nd 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 28, 1978. Danny Ongais dominated the early stages of the race but eventually dropped out with a blown engine. Al Unser Sr. dominated the second half, and held a large lead late in the race. However, Unser bent the front wing of his Lola during a pit stop on lap 180, causing his handling to go away over the final twenty laps.


1978 Indianapolis 500
Second place Tom Sneva charged to catch Unser's crippled Lola but came up 8 seconds short at the finish line – the second-closest finish in Indy history to that point. Unser held off the challenge, and became a three-time winner of the 500. It was Al Unser's third Indy victory in the decade of the 1970s, and the fifth of nine overall victories by the Unser family.


1978 Indianapolis 500
Al Unser Sr. entered the month having won the 1977 California 500 at Ontario the previous September. Later in the 1978 season, Unser would go on to win the Pocono 500 and the California 500, sweeping the "triple crown" of Indy car racing. As of 2019 he is the only driver in history to do so in the same season, and coupled with the win at Ontario in 1977, set a record by winning four straight 500-mile Indy car races.


1978 Indianapolis 500
Second year driver Janet Guthrie finished ninth, and it was later revealed she drove with a broken wrist. It was the highest finish for a female driver in Indy history until Danica Patrick finished in fourth place in 2005. During time trials, Tom Sneva, who had broken the 200 mph barrier a year earlier, bettered his own record. This time he managed to complete all four qualifying laps over 200 mph, setting once again new one and four lap records.


1978 Indianapolis 500
Tony Hulman, the popular owner and president of the track since 1945, died the previous October. His widow Mary F. Hulman was named the chairperson of the board of the Speedway, and for the first time she delivered the famous starting command. Along with the death of Tony Hulman, the race was held just five weeks after eight USAC officials were killed in a plane crash. With dissent increasing among the participants about organizational issues and poor revenue, the 1978 race would be the final Indy 500 contested prior to the formation of CART and prior to the first open wheel "split."


1978 Indianapolis 500
Al Unser's victory was the first Indy triumph for the Cosworth DFX V8 engine. The British-based engine building company would go on to win the Indianapolis 500 for ten consecutive years.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Race schedule
* Includes days where trackactivity was significantlylimited due to rain


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials
On Wednesday May 10, Mario Andretti turned a practice lap of 201.838 mph, faster than the track record. Minutes later, Danny Ongais upped the best speed to 201.974 mph. On Thursday May 11, rookie Rick Mears (200.0 mph) also joined the coveted "200 mph club" in practice. Johnny Rutherford (199.2 mph) and A. J. Foyt (199.158 mph) were also within striking distance.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials
On Friday May 12, the final day of practice before pole qualifying was scheduled to be held, Mario Andretti shattered the unofficial track record, turning a lap of 203.482 mph. Also over 200 mph were Mears, Rutherford, and Foyt. Tom Sneva, the driver who broke the 200 mph barrier a year earlier, was the slowest of the three Penske cars, managing only a 196.3 mph lap during practice.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials
The first weekend of time trials was scheduled for May 13–14. Rain washed out the entire first weekend, and pole qualifying was moved to Saturday May 20.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials
The rainout complicated the schedule for Mario Andretti. He was forced to leave the track and fly to Zolder for the Grand Prix of Belgium. Arrangements were being made for another driver to qualify the car for him, and he would return to the cockpit for race day. With no track activity possible at Indy for Sunday, A. J. Foyt flew to Talladega and finished third in the NASCAR Winston 500.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials
During the second week of practice, Pancho Carter and Tom Sneva joined the "200 mph club." Sneva had a hand-timed lap of about 203.1 mph, inching closer to Andretti's mark from the previous week. Danny Ongais destroyed his primary car in a crash in turn four on Tuesday May 16. He was not seriously injured, but would have to qualify with his back-up car.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Pole Day – Saturday May 20
Pole day dawned with temperatures in the high 70s and low 80s. Qualifying started promptly at 11:00 a.m., with Johnny Rutherford first out on the track. He fell short of the 200 mph barrier on all four laps, and settled for an average of 197.098 mph.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Pole Day – Saturday May 20
At 12:03 p.m., Tom Sneva took to the track. Following in his own footsteps from the previous year, he set new all-time one and four lap track records. This time becoming the first driver in Indy history to complete all four qualifying laps over 200 mph.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Pole Day – Saturday May 20
Due to changes in the rules in subsequent years, his one and four lap track records would stand until 1982. Sneva's four-lap average secured the pole position, his second pole in a row.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Pole Day – Saturday May 20
Sneva's Penske teammate, rookie Rick Mears, was the next car out. Mears completed three laps over 200 mph, and his four-lap average of 200.078 mph was a rookie speed record, and would be good enough for the front row.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Pole Day – Saturday May 20
Janet Guthrie returned for her second start, and qualified strongly at 190.325 mph. At 12:39 p.m., Danny Ongais made it an "all 200 mph" front row, securing second starting position at 200.122 mph.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Pole Day – Saturday May 20
After practicing over 200 mph, A. J. Foyt was forced to wave off his run, and missed his chance to qualify in the pole round. Mike Hiss was hired by Penske to drive substitute for Mario Andretti during time trials. He qualified the car with a respectable speed of 194.647 mph (8th). However, on race day, Andretti would get back in the car, and he would be forced to line up in the 33rd starting position due to the driver switch.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Pole Day – Saturday May 20
Rain late in the day hampered the qualifying attempts. The trip through the original qualifying line exhausted at 5 p.m., and Tom Sneva officially secured the pole position. Several drivers including Bobby Unser, A. J. Foyt, and Pancho Carter, were unable to qualify during the pole round. At 5 p.m., the "third day" of time trials officially commenced, and those drivers would line up behind the cars from the pole round.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Pole Day – Saturday May 20
The day ended with the field filled to twenty cars. Bobby Unser finished his run as a "third day" qualifier in the rain. The track was closed for the day as soon as Unser returned to the pits at 5:11 p.m.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Bump Day – Sunday May 21
The final day of time trials opened with 13 spots unfilled. A. J. Foyt (200.120 mph) was the fastest of the day. His speed was tied for second-fastest, but as a final day qualifier, he would line up 20th.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Bump Day – Sunday May 21
Roger Rager was the only major on-track incident of the day. On his second warm-up lap, he hit the outside wall in turn four, suffering an injured hand. He would miss the race. Larry Cannon brushed the wall on his second qualifying lap, and Dick Simon brushed the wall on the main stretch shaking down a car for Bill Puterbaugh. The car lost two wheels and it was too late in the day for the car to be repaired.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Bump Day – Sunday May 21
In the final hour, there was one spot left in the field when Bob Harkey was preparing to make his attempt. Jim Hurtubise, who had once again entered his now-infamous Mallard/Offy front-engined car, had been denied the permission to qualify, due to lack of speed. USAC had decided to set a 180 mph minimum speed in order to pass "final" inspection, receive the appropriate sticker, and be allowed to make a qualifying attempt. They deemed Hurtubise ineligible, claiming he had not broken 175 mph, despite some claiming he had lapped over 184 mph.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Bump Day – Sunday May 21
Hurtubise considered the ruling a personal harassment, lies, and an effort by USAC, Goodyear, and the Speedway to single him out and keep him from qualifying. After being a popular fixture amongst the fans for many years, several episodes of antics had caused some to begin to view Hurtubise unfavorably. Hurtubise got into a heated exchange with chief steward Tom Binford, then proceeded to climb into Harkey's car, shouting "If I can't qualify, no one can!" After a few minutes, Hurtubise was coaxed out of the car, and Harkey climbed in to crank it up.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Bump Day – Sunday May 21
With some encouragement from the crowd, Hurtubise then jumped in front of Harkey, preventing him from pulling out of the pits. He had to be restrained by safety patrol members, and Harkey managed to pull away. While Harkey was on the backstretch of his warm-up lap, Hurtubise jumped over the pit wall and ran out on the race track in order to disrupt and halt the qualifying attempt. Running down the main stretch, several guards chased after him. Hurtubise was tackled by John Martin and was then detained by police. By this time, the crowd's opinion had changed, and they began booing and jeering Hurtubise for going too far by disrupting qualifying. Hurtubise was banned from the track for the remainder of the month.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Bump Day – Sunday May 21
Harkey managed to finish his qualifying attempt without incident, but his speed was not fast enough to stand. Within twenty minutes, Harkey was bumped by Joe Saldana. The day closed with Cliff Hucul bumping Graham McRae with two minutes left in the day.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Bump Day – Sunday May 21
After missing time trials, Mario Andretti won the Grand Prix of Belgium. He traveled back to Indianapolis during the week, and would be back in time for Carburetion Day "tests."


1978 Indianapolis 500, Starting lineup, Failed to qualify
R  = Indianapolis 500 rookie W  = Former Indianapolis 500 winner


1978 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Start
Race day dawned hot and humid, with temperatures in the high 80s (°F). After the death of Tony Hulman, the starting command was recited by his widow Mary F. Hulman. With Janet Guthrie in the field once again, the traditional command was again tweaked. This time command was worded "Lady and Gentlemen, start your engines!"


1978 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Start
During the pace laps, Gary Bettenhausen pulled into the pits with mechanical trouble, and missed the start. At the green flag, Danny Ongais darted into the lead, with Tom Sneva falling in line behind him in second. Rick Mears suddenly faded and pulled to the outside, and was passed by several cars. Ongais completed the first lap at a record speed of 185.185 mph.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Start
Sheldon Kinser stalled on the backstretch, and brought out the yellow light for three laps. Rick Mears ducked into the pits for an unscheduled stop. He had neglected to fasten his helmet strap properly, and nearly lost his helmet at the start of the race. He was able to properly fasten his helmet, and returned to the race.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Start
The green came back out on lap 5, with Ongais pulling out to a comfortable lead. Cliff Hucul went to pits, and was out of the race with a broken oil line.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, First half
Mario Andretti quickly charged from last starting position to run as high as 13th in the early going. However, he was forced to pit to change a bad spark plug wire. He lost 8 laps, and was effectively out of contention for the rest of the day.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, First half
On lap 26, Spike Gehlhausen crashed exiting turn 2, and came to rest along the outside wall on the backstretch. Leader Danny Ongais was in the pits when the yellow came out, which gave the lead temporarily to Steve Krisiloff. However, under the yellow light condition, Krisiloff violated the PACER light rules, and was penalized one lap. That gave the lead to Tom Sneva. With Ongais in second right behind Sneva, the green light came back on down the backstretch on lap 31. Sneva led for barely a lap, and Ongais passed him for the lead the next time by.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, First half
Salt Walther dropped out with a bad clutch, and proceeded to rant his frustration of his chief mechanic Tommy Smith during a heated television interview.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, First half
Danny Ongais led 68 of the first 75 laps. The team reported that Ongais had lost his two-way radio, and was forced to communicate only by sign boards for the rest of the race.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, First half
Al Unser Sr. took the lead for the first time on lap 76. he held the lead at the halfway point. A. J. Foyt, who had charged near the front early on, started to fade, and after long pit stops, was laps down to the leaders. Janet Guthrie, on the other hand, was moving up into the top ten.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Second half
Rookie Rick Mears dropped out after 103 laps with a blown engine. By lap 120, thirteen cars were out of the race, with hot conditions contributing to the attrition.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Second half
Al Unser Sr. led, with Danny Ongais and Tom Sneva in the top three. Unser continued to hold a small lead over Ongais, with his crew's efficient and quick pit stops increasing the margin.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Second half
Suddenly on lap 145, second place Danny Ongais came into the pits with smoke pouring from the car. After having led 71 laps (nearly half the race up to that point), Ongais was out with a blown engine.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Finish
Al Unser Sr. led second place Tom Sneva by over 20 seconds. Those were the only two cars left on the lead lap. On lap 180, Unser came onto the pits for his final stop. Unser overshot his pit box by a few feet, and hit a spare tire with his front wing. The team decided not to change tires, and filled the car with fuel only. His stop was 17 seconds, his worst pit stop of the day.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Finish
One lap later, Tom Sneva pitted, taking fuel only. His pit stop, however, was not fast, and he did not immediately gain ground on Unser. With a 30-second lead, Unser had 19 laps to victory. However, his front wing was damaged from hitting the tire, and Unser's handling was starting to go away. Sneva began cutting away at his lead, by about a second per lap.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Finish
With three laps to go, Sneva had cut the lead to 14 seconds. Then with one lap to go, it was down to 10 seconds. On the final lap, third place Gordon Johncock slipped by Unser to get one of his laps back. Unser nursed the car around on the final lap, and won this third Indy 500. Second place for the second year in a row Tom Sneva finished 8.09 seconds behind, the second-closest finish in Indy history to that point.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Finish
Wally Dallenbach and A. J. Foyt both stalled on the course out of fuel, but both finished strongly, 5th and 7th, respectively. Janet Guthrie finished 9th, and revealed after the race that she drove with a fractured wrist. Two days before the race, she fell during a charity tennis match, suffering the injury.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Results, Box score
R  = Indianapolis 500 rookie W  = Former Indianapolis 500 winner


1978 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Paul Page served as anchor for the second year despite what happened on December 1, 1977. On that day while he was doing a helicopter traffic report, Page was nearly killed in an accident, as the helicopter he was riding aboard crashed near Speedway Senior High School in Speedway, Indiana. Page would fully recover to call the race. Lou Palmer reported from victory lane. Mike Hiss, who had served as a substitute driver for Mario Andretti during time trials, served as the "driver expert."


1978 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
This would be the 31st and final year for Jim Shelton on the crew. After eleven previous appearances, Fred Agabashian also had departed from the crew.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
Chief Announcer: Paul PageDriver expert: Mike HissStatistician: John DeCampHistorian: Donald Davidson


1978 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
Turn 1: Ron CarrellTurn 2: Howdy BellBackstretch: Darl WibleTurn 3: Doug ZinkTurn 4: Jim Shelton


1978 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Television
The race was carried in the United States on ABC Sports on a same-day tape delay basis. Billed as an "ABC Sports Exclusive", the race was introduced with the 1977 song African Symphony, written by Van McCoy, and performed by Saint Tropez. Jim McKay anchored the broadcast.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Television
The broadcast has re-aired on ESPN Classic since May 2011.


1978 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Television
The full race broadcast has been available since May 10, 2018 on the official IndyCar Series Youtube channel.


1978 Individual Ice Speedway World Championship
The 1978 Individual Ice Speedway World Championship was the 13th edition of the World Championship  The Championship was held on 4/5 March 1978 in Assen in the Netherlands.


1978 Individual Ice Speedway World Championship
The winner was Sergey Tarabanko of the Soviet Union for the fourth successive year.


1978 Individual Long Track World Championship
The 1978 Individual Long Track World Championship was the eighth edition of the FIM speedway Individual Long Track World Championship. The event was held on 10 September 1978 in Mühldorf, West Germany.


1978 Individual Long Track World Championship
The world title was won by Egon Müller of West Germany for third time after he defeated Alois Wiesböck in a run off for the gold medal. Ivan Mauger was unbeaten in his first four rides but then suffered engine problems and Peter Collins would have won the title but in his last race his chain broke and he had to push his bike over the line for one point.


1978 Individual Speedway Junior European Championship
The 1978 Individual Speedway Junior European Championship was the second edition of the European Under-21 Championships.


1978 Individual Speedway Junior European Championship, European 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 •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


1978 Individual Speedway World Championship
The 1978 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 33rd edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.


1978 Individual Speedway World Championship
Ole Olsen won his third world crown. The final was sponsored by the Sunday Mirror and was attended by 86,500. Gordon Kennett took silver on the day of his 25th birthday and American Scott Autrey won the bronze medal run-off defeating Dave Jessup and Jerzy Rembas.


1978 Individual Speedway World Championship, British Qualification
The British qualifying rounds for the World Championship doubled up as qualifying rounds for the Volkswagen/Daily Mirror Grand Prix. Therefore, many non-British riders such as Ivan Mauger and Phil Crump rode in these meetings scoring points towards the Volkswagen/Daily Mirror Grand Prix qualification - but their scores didn't count towards World Championship qualification.


1978 Individual Speedway World Championship, British Qualification, British 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 •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


1978 Individual Speedway World Championship, Intercontinental Round, Nordic 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 •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


1978 Individual Speedway World Championship, Intercontinental Round, Intercontinental 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 •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


1978 Individual Speedway World Championship, Continental Round, 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 •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


1978 Individual Speedway World 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 - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


1978 Intercontinental Final
The 1978 Intercontinental Final was the fourth running of the Intercontinental Final as part of the qualification for the 1978 Speedway World Championship. The 1978 Final was run on 2 June at the Fredericia Speedway Center in Fredericia, Denmark, and was the last qualifying stage for riders from Scandinavia, the USA and from the Commonwealth nations for the World Final to be held at the Wembley Stadium in London, England (as the World Final was in England, riders from the United Kingdom were only required to qualify through the British Final held in August).


1978 Intercontinental Final
In a battle of the masters, reigning and five time World Champion Ivan Mauger went head to head with Denmark's own two time World Champion Ole Olsen. The Dane emerged victorious, defeating his friend and mentor in a runoff to claim the Final after both had finished the meeting on 13 points. Finishing in a surprise third place was American Scott Autrey who defeated Finland's Ilka Teromaa and Sweden's rising star Jan Andersson in a runoff to claim the final place on the podium. Before the meeting, Autrey had been expected to do well enough to qualify for the World Final, but wasn't expected to claim a podium finish.


1978 Intercontinental Final
Ole Olsen would later go on to win his third World title at Wembley.


1978 Intertoto Cup
In the 1978 Intertoto Cup no knock-out rounds were contested, and therefore no winner was declared.


1978 Intertoto Cup, Group stage
The teams were divided into 9 groups of 4 teams each.


1978 Intertoto Cup, Other groups
There are some statistics available from other groups, but these are incomplete and it is not clear whether they are connected to the Intertoto Cup. It was called the International Summer Cup, somehow joined to the Intertoto


1978 Intertoto Cup, Other groups
N.B: In the group OGC Nizza was retired before starting the cup


1978 Intertoto Cup, Other groups
Group 2: Bayern Monaco, MTK Budapest, AS Roma, AS Saint Etienne.


1978 Intertoto Cup, Other groups
Group 3 : SV Waregem, Olympique Nîmes, TSV 1860 München, AC Perugia


1978 Intertoto Cup, Other groups
Group 4 : Beerschot VAV, F.C. Nantes, Sparta Rotterdam, S.S Lazio Roma,


1978 Intertoto Cup, Other groups
Group 10 : FC VVV Venlo, AC Foggia, Olympique Lyon, Ferencvaros TC Budapest


1978 Intertoto Cup, Other groups
Group 12: Vfl Bochum, FC Liege, FC Metz, Atalanta Bergamo


1978 Iowa Hawkeyes football team
The 1978 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 1978 Big Ten Conference football season. This was Bob Commings' fifth and final season as the head coach of the Hawkeyes.


1978 Iowa Senate election
The 1978 Iowa State Senate elections took place as part of the biennial 1978 United States elections. Iowa voters elected state senators in half of the state senate's districts--the 25 odd-numbered state senate districts. State senators serve four-year terms in the Iowa State Senate, with half of the seats up for election each cycle. A statewide map of the 50 state Senate districts in the year 1978 is provided by the Iowa General Assembly


1978 Iowa Senate election
The primary election on June 6, 1978 determined which candidates appeared on the November 7, 1978 general election ballot. Primary election results can be obtained here. General election results can be obtained here.


1978 Iowa Senate election
Following the previous election in 1976, Democrats had control of the Iowa state Senate with 26 seats to Republicans' 24 seats.


1978 Iowa Senate election
To take control of the chamber from Democrats, the Republicans needed to net 2 Senate seats.


1978 Iowa Senate election
Republicans flipped control of the Iowa State Senate following the 1978 general election, with Republicans claiming 28 seats and Democrats falling to 22 seats after the election (a net gain of 4 seats for the Republicans).


1978 Iowa State Cyclones football team
The 1978 Iowa State Cyclones football team represented the Iowa State University during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Big Eight Conference (Big 8). The team was led by head coach Earle Bruce, in his sixth year, and they played their home games at Cyclone Stadium in Ames, Iowa. They finished the season with a record of eight wins and four losses (8–4, 4–3 Big 8) and with a loss to Texas A&M in the All-American Bowl. Of note, Iowa State's secondary coach was Pete Carroll.


1978 Iowa gubernatorial election
The 1978 Iowa gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Republican Robert D. Ray defeated Democratic nominee Jerome D. Fitzgerald with 58.32% of the vote. As of 2021, this is the last time Johnson County voted for the Republican candidate.


1978 Iranian Chinook shootdown
The 1978 Iranian Chinook shootdown was an incident on 21 June 1978, when four Boeing CH-47 Chinook of the Imperial Iranian Air Force strayed into Soviet airspace during a training mission, with the end result being that two of the aircraft were shot down by the PVO.


1978 Iranian Chinook shootdown, Shootdown
During the 1970s, numerous incidents, probably including Project Dark Gene occurred on the Soviet-Iranian and Afghan-Iranian border, causing the Soviets to station a regiment of MiG-23s at the Ak-Tepe AB, near the border with Afghanistan, in what was then the Turkestan Military District. One of the most serious of these occurred in the early morning of 21 June 1978, at 06:21 AM, when a Soviet radar site near the village of Bagir, not far from Ashkabad, detected four slow moving contacts which came from Iran and penetrated 15 to 20 kilometers into the Soviet airspace near Dushak, in Turkmenistan.


1978 Iranian Chinook shootdown, Shootdown
Five minutes later, these targets were detected by the radar site of Ak-Tepe Air Base, and deputy commander of the 152 IAP, Lt.Col . J. A. Miloslavsky, ordered one MiG-23M, flown by Capt. A. V. Dem'janov, to scramble. Once over the area, Dem'janov found only one helicopter, but misidentified it as a friendly Mil Mi-6. In addition, he got a command from the command post, "not to turn weapons on and not to come too close to the target". Because Dem'janov's answers to calls from the GCI station sounded uncertain, he was finally ordered back to Ak-Tepe AB and instead, at 06:52 AM, Lt.Col. Miloslavsky dispatched another MiG-23M, flown by Capt. Valery I. Shkinder.


1978 Iranian Chinook shootdown, Shootdown
Shkinder approached four contacts, identified them properly as Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters of the Imperial Iranian Air Force and got an order to attack. At the time, the Iranian Chinooks were flying in two pairs to the northwest along the Qaraqum Canal, but when their crews detected the interceptor over them, they made a turn to the southwest and flew towards the Kopet mountains and the Iranian border.


1978 Iranian Chinook shootdown, Shootdown
Diving behind the two rear Chinooks, Capt. Shkinder fired two Molniya R-60 IR-homing air-to-air missiles. Both missiles found their mark and struck the rearmost helicopter, the wreckage of which crashed near the village of Gjaurs, killing all eight crew members. Capt . Shkinder informed his base of the destruction of the first target and got an order to attack the second helicopter. Turning around, he positioned his MiG-23M behind the damaged helicopter and opened fire with GSh-23L 23-mm gun, spending a total of 72 rounds in two passes and hitting the starboard engine of the CH-47C. The Iranian pilot was lucky enough to manage a landing near the Soviet border post at Gjaurs. All four crew members survived, but were subsequently captured by Soviet border guards. The remaining two Chinooks escaped, crossing back into Iranian airspace.


1978 Iranian Chinook shootdown, Aftermath
Despite a severe loss of life for the IIAF, the incident was played down by both sides, and the Soviets subsequently permitted the damaged Chinook to be repaired by Iranians and flown back to Iran, together with all four crewmembers: Capt. Valery Shkinder was also not decorated for his feat, with the proposal for him getting a Combat Red Flag Award with Kremlin rejecting the proposal "due to a very complex international situation". Ten years later in 1988 in a similar incident, two Soviet MiG-23s shot down a pair of Iranian AH-1Js that had strayed into western Afghan airspace. The Soviets were occupying Afghanistan at the time and were withdrawing. 15 years before this incident at least another shoot down had occurred in which an Imperial Iranian Army Aviation (IIAA) Aero Commander 560 had been shot down by a Soviet MiG-17P.


1978 Irish Greyhound Derby
The 1978 Irish Greyhound Derby took place during June and July with the final being held at Shelbourne Park in Dublin on 29 July 1978.


1978 Irish Greyhound Derby
The winner Pampered Rover won £20,000 and was trained by Paddy Keane and owned and bred by Joe Phelan. The competition was sponsored by Carrolls.


1978 Irish Greyhound Derby, Competition Report
Ger McKenna was once again the trainer of the ante-post favourite for the Irish Derby, this time it was with Here's Tat. With no Welsh Greyhound Derby there was a bigger gap to the start of the event than usual.


1978 Irish Greyhound Derby, Competition Report
When the first round got underway it was National Produce Stakes champion Always Kelly that was the fastest heat winner in 29.15.


1978 Irish Greyhound Derby, Competition Report
Here's Tat went fastest in round two after recording 29.04, followed by Hunday Dook in 29.05 and English Derby finalist Glenroe Hiker (29.09). Glenroe Hiker attracted support and went into the quarter finals on a par in the ante-post lists with Here's Tat. During the quarter finals Glenroe Hiker recorded 29.08 and Hunday Dook won again in 29.10, there were also heat successes for Pampered Rover and Killaclug Jet.


1978 Irish Greyhound Derby, Competition Report
Two strong looking semi-finals then took place, firstly Ivy Hall Solo and Here's Tat vied with each other in a battle that ending in a sensational winning time of 28.85 for Ivy Hall Solo. In the second decider Hunday Dook continued to impress and crossed the line in 28.93 ahead of Malange. The third semi was a slower heat with Ahaveen Spitfire beating Pampered Rover in 29.35.


1978 Irish Greyhound Derby, Competition Report
The first prize of £20,000 equalled the English Derby prize and went to the outsider Pampered Rover after he was very fast out of the traps and took the decisive lead at the first bend from Hunday Dook and trouble behind ensured that the rest of the field could not make inroads into the leader. Pampered Rover's success meant that trainer Paddy Keane became the first trainer to lift the Irish and English Derby.


1978 Irish Masters
The 1978 Irish Masters was the fourth edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament (and the first under the Irish Masters name) which took place in March 1978. The tournament was played at Goffs in Kill, County Kildare, and featured five professional players.


1978 Irish Masters
John Spencer won the title for the third time, beating Doug Mountjoy 5–3 in the final.


1978 Island Holidays Classic
The 1978 Island Holidays Classic, also known as the Hawaii Open, was a men's tennis tournament played an outdoor hard courts in Maui, Hawaii, in the United States that was part of the 1978 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix circuit. It was the fifth edition of the tournament and was held from October 2 through October 8, 1978. Unseeded Bill Scanlon won the singles title.


1978 Island Holidays Classic, Finals, Doubles
Tom Gullikson /  Tim Gullikson defeated  Peter Fleming /  John McEnroe 7–6, 7–6


1978 Islington London Borough Council election
The 1978 Islington Council election took place on 4 May 1978 to elect members of Islington London Borough Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election and the Labour party stayed in overall control of the council.


1978 Israel Super Cup
The 1978 Israel Super Cup was the 8th Israel Super Cup (13th, including unofficial matches, as the competition wasn't played within the Israel Football Association in its first 5 editions, until 1969), an annual Israel football match played between the winners of the previous season's Top Division and Israel State Cup.


1978 Israel Super Cup
The match was played between Maccabi Netanya, champions of the 1977–78 Liga Leumit and Beitar Jerusalem, runners-up in the league, as Maccabi Netanya won the 1977–78 Israel State Cup.


1978 Israel Super Cup
This was Maccabi Netanya's 3rd Israel Super Cup appearance and Beitar's Second. At the match, played at Maccabi Netanya Stadium, Maccabi Netanya won 4–0.


1978 Israeli presidential election
An election for President of Israel was held in the Knesset on 19 April 1978.


1978 Israeli presidential election, History
Ephraim Katzir, who was elected President of Israel in 1973, declined to stand for a second term due to his wife's illness. Yitzhak Navon ran unopposed for the position.


1978 Israeli presidential election, History
Navon's term began on the day of the election. He held office until 1983, when Chaim Herzog was elected as  President.


1978 Italian Athletics Championships
The 1978 Italian Athletics Championships was the 68th edition of the Italian Athletics Championships and were held in Rome (track & field events).


1978 Italian Grand Prix
The 1978 Italian Grand Prix was the 14th motor race of the 1978 Formula One season. It was held on 10 September 1978 at Monza. It was marred by the death of Ronnie Peterson following an accident at the start of the race.


1978 Italian Grand Prix
With three races remaining, Mario Andretti (Lotus-Ford) led the World Drivers' Championship by 12 points from his team-mate Ronnie Peterson. Niki Lauda (Brabham-Alfa Romeo), in third place, was 28 points behind Andretti, and, with only 9 points for a win, could not overtake him.


1978 Italian Grand Prix
As of 2021, this marks the last race win for an Alfa Romeo-powered car.


1978 Italian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Andretti took pole position alongside Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari), with Jean-Pierre Jabouille (Renault) in third place, Lauda in fourth and Peterson in fifth.


1978 Italian Grand Prix, Race, First start and Ronnie Peterson accident
The race started at 3:30 pm, and the starter Gianni Restelli was overenthusiastic turning on the green lights before all the cars had lined up, that resulted in several cars in the middle of the field getting a jump on those at the front. The result was a funneling effect of the cars approaching the chicane, and the cars were tightly bunched together with little room for maneuver.


1978 Italian Grand Prix, Race, First start and Ronnie Peterson accident
James Hunt was overtaken on the right-hand side by Riccardo Patrese, and Hunt instinctively veered left and hit the rear right wheel of Peterson's Lotus 78, with Vittorio Brambilla, Hans-Joachim Stuck, Patrick Depailler, Didier Pironi, Derek Daly, Clay Regazzoni and Brett Lunger all involved in the ensuing melee. Peterson's Lotus went into the barriers hard on the right-hand side and caught fire. He was trapped, but Hunt, Regazzoni and Depailler managed to free him from the wreck before he received more than minor burns.


1978 Italian Grand Prix, Race, First start and Ronnie Peterson accident
He was dragged free and laid in the middle of the track fully conscious, but with severe leg injuries. It took 20 minutes before medical help was dispatched to the scene. Brambilla, who had been hit on the head by a flying wheel and rendered unconscious, and Peterson were taken to the Niguarda hospital in nearby Milan.


1978 Italian Grand Prix, Race, Delayed restart
Drivers were allowed to use spare cars for the race restart. Non -starters included: Peterson and Brambilla who were taken to hospital; Stuck who was not allowed to restart due to him suffering from slight concussion; Pironi (as the Tyrrell team had one spare car and that was set up for Depailler) and Lunger who had no spare car available.


1978 Italian Grand Prix, Race, Delayed restart
The race was due to be ready for a restart at 5:15pm. While driving from the pit lane to the grid, Jody Scheckter's Wolf lost a wheel and crashed at the second Lesmo curve, bending the Armco barrier that was situated right next to the track. Andretti, Hunt, Lauda, Carlos Reutemann and Emerson Fittipaldi all went to the spot where Scheckter crashed and upon inspection of the state of the barrier, they refused to start until the barrier was repaired, causing more delay. The barrier was later repaired.


1978 Italian Grand Prix, Race, Second start and race recap
Because of the amount of time clearing up the track after the shunt in the first start and the barrier being repaired plus Scheckter's crash prior to the second start. At 5:50pm, it was announced that the race would take place and the distance would be shortened from 52 laps to 40 laps to avoid sunset.


1978 Italian Grand Prix, Race, Second start and race recap
The race was restarted at 6:15pm, Villeneuve overtook Andretti at the restart and at the end of the lap, both drivers were side by side but Villeneuve held on to the lead and they pulled away from Jabouille who was running third with Lauda behind him. After four laps, Regazzoni in the spare Shadow went to the pits as he was having his brakes looked at. Jabouille had engine problems after six laps and Lauda took on the pursuit, but race control gave Villeneuve and Andretti a one-minute penalty as they were judged to have jumped the start.


1978 Italian Grand Prix, Race, Second start and race recap
Andretti took Villeneuve with only five laps remaining. With Jabouille having retired, Lauda finished third ahead of John Watson (Brabham), Carlos Reutemann (Ferrari), Jacques Laffite (Ligier-Matra) and Patrick Tambay (McLaren-Ford). Since all of those finished less than a minute behind, Andretti and Villeneuve were dropped to sixth and seventh place. Andretti had won the championship, but with Peterson in hospital, celebrations were muted. The race was also notable for the first finish for Nelson Piquet with a creditable ninth after dodging the Peterson wreckage in the first start.


1978 Italian Grand Prix, Race, Death of Ronnie Peterson
At the hospital, Peterson's X-rays showed he had a total of twenty seven fractures in both legs, according to the newly appointed F1 doctor Sid Watkins in his autobiography "Life at the Limit" from 1996. After discussion with him, Peterson was sent to intensive care so that the surgeons could operate to stabilize the bones. There was some level of dispute between the doctors regarding whether all fractures should be immediately fixed or not. During the night, Peterson's condition worsened, and he was diagnosed with fat embolism. By morning he was in full kidney failure due to the embolism, and was declared dead at 9:55 am on 11 September 1978.


1978 Italian Grand Prix, Classification
† Peterson suffered severe leg trauma in a multi-car accident but was otherwise conscious. However, while in the hospital the night following the race he was diagnosed with a fat embolism, of which he died the following morning as a result.


1978 Italian Open (tennis)
The 1978 Italian Open was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament that was played by men on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. The men's tournament was part of the 1978 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix while the women's tournament was part of the Colgate International Series (Category A). It was the 35th edition of the tournament and was held from 22 May through 28 May 1978. The singles titles were won by first-seeded Björn Borg, who won his second Italian Open title after 1974, and third-seeded Regina Maršíková.


1978 Italian Open (tennis), Finals, Men's singles
Björn Borg defeated  Adriano Panatta 1–6, 6–3, 6–1, 4–6, 6–3


1978 Italian Open (tennis), Finals, Men's doubles
Victor Pecci /  Belus Prajoux defeated  Jan Kodeš /  Tomáš Šmíd 6–7, 7–6, 6–1


1978 Italian Open (tennis), Finals, Women's doubles
Mima Jaušovec /  Virginia Ruzici defeated  Florența Mihai /  Betsy Nagelsen 6–2, 2–6, 7–6


1978 Italian presidential election
The Italian presidential election of 1978 was held in Italy between 29 June and 8 July 1978, following the resignation of incumbent President Giovanni Leone on 15 June 1978 because of the Lockheed bribery scandals.


1978 Italian presidential election
Only members of Parliament and regional delegates were entitled to vote, most of these electors having been elected in the 1976 general election and in the 1975 regional elections. As head of state of the Italian Republic, the President has a role of representation of national unity and guarantees that Italian politics comply with the Italian Constitution, in the framework of a parliamentary system.


1978 Italian presidential election
On 8 July 1978 former socialist partisan and President of the Chamber of Deputies Sandro Pertini was elected President with 832 votes out of 1,011, the biggest majority ever obtained by an elected president.


1978 Italian presidential election, Procedure
In accordance to the Italian Constitution, the election was held in the form of a secret ballot, with the Senators and the Deputies entitled to vote. The election was held in the Palazzo Montecitorio, home of the Chamber of Deputies, with the capacity of the building expanded for the purpose. The first three ballots required a two-thirds majority of the 1,011 voters in order to elect a president, or 675 votes. Starting from the fourth ballot, an absolute majority was required for candidates to be elected, or 506 votes. The presidential mandate lasts seven years.


1978 Italian presidential election, Procedure
The election was presided over by the President of the Chamber of Deputies Pietro Ingrao, who proceeded to the public counting of the votes, and by the Vice president of the Senate Luigi Carraro, since President Amintore Fanfani was serving as acting President of the Republic.


1978 Italian presidential election, Chronology
The extremely disputed Giovanni Leone's presidency came to an end in June 1978 due to allegations made in the United States over Lockheed bribing a number of high-profile politicians in Italy to purchase Hercules Aircraft for the military. Even if the accusation was never proved, Leone decided to resign in order to prevent the beginning of the so called "white semester" (semestre bianco), the six months period before the end of a presidential mandate during which the President cannot dissolve the Parliament and call a general election.


1978 Italian presidential election, Chronology
Leone's resignation came during a very difficult moment for the Italian Republic. Tight in the grip of the Years of Lead and of the strategy of tension, the country had suffered major terrorist attacks during the decade, such as 1974 Piazza della Loggia bombing and 1974 Italicus Express bombing.


1978 Italian presidential election, Chronology
The climax of tension came in March 1978, when the former Prime Minister Aldo Moro was kidnapped and killed by a unit of the militant far-left organisation known as the Red Brigades while on his way to a session of the Chamber of Deputies where a discussion was to take place regarding a vote of confidence for a new government that would have had for the first time ever the support of the Italian Communist Party.


1978 Italian presidential election, Chronology
Politically, Moro's stance to find an accommodation between the Christian Democracy and the Italian Communist Party was a way to lead the country out of the tensions and to make the republic institutions more solid and stable as response to domestic terrorism. The Historic Compromise was made possible by the new course inaugurated by the new communist leader Enrico Berlinguer, who in 1973 launched in communist magazine Rinascita a proposal for a "democratic alliance" with Christian Democracy in order to prevent a coup d'état similar to the Chilean one. However the sudden death of Moro was an hard blow to the Historical Compromise politics and a major defeat for the republic institutions in front of the public opinion.


1978 Italian presidential election, Chronology
In that context, in summer 1978 the Italian Parliament convened to elect a new President. After 1976 general election, the left-wing parties together detained now a narrow majority in both houses of the Parliament and claimed the next President must have been a leftist one. After a long negotiation, the parties of the so called "constitutional arch" (Arco Costituzionale) - an expression used to indicate all the democratic parties represented in Parliament with the exception of the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement - found a deal on the name of the popular socialist lawmaker and former partisan Sandro Pertini.


1978 Italian presidential election, Chronology
On 8 July 1978 Pertini was finally elected President with the largest majority ever obtained in an Italian presidential election and sworn in as the new President one day after.


1978 Italian referendums
A double referendum was held in Italy on 11 June 1978. Voters were asked whether they approved of the repealing of laws on political party financing and public order. Both proposals were rejected.


1978 Italian referendums, Police powers abrogative referendum
The Reale Law was approved by the Parliament in 1975 and defined the powers and engagement of the Italian police during riots or simple street protests. The referendum was called by the Radical Party and supported by two extreme opposition parties, the Italian Social Movement on the right side, and Proletarian Democracy on the left, together with the Italian Liberal Party, while all other parties, including the Italian Communist Party, supported retaining the law.


1978 Italian referendums, Police powers abrogative referendum, Results
The referendum was rejected by the Italian electors, following the positions of all the parties of the so-called Constitutional Arch.


1978 Italian referendums, Party funding abrogative referendum
The other question concerned the party funding Piccoli Law was the subject of one question. The new law was passed by the Parliament in 1974, establishing public funding of the parliamentary parties in an attempt to stop the funding of parties big industrial groups and interests. The referendum was called by the Radical Party and was supported by Proletarian Democracy and the Italian Socialist Party, whilst the remainder of the political spectrum were against its abolishment.


1978 Italian referendums, Party funding abrogative referendum, Results
The referendum was rejected by the Italian electors, but the percentage was considerably smaller than the expected result considering the parliamentary positions.


1978 Italian regional elections
Regional elections were held in some regions of Italy during 1978. These included:


1978 Izu Ōshima earthquake
The 1978 Izu Ōshima earthquake (Japanese: 伊豆大島近海の地震) is an earthquake that occurred on January 14, 1978 at 12:24 local time. The earthquake had a magnitude of MJMA7.0, and the epicenter was located in offshore Izu Ōshima, Japan. There were 25 people who were killed and there were 211 people reported injured.


1978 JSL Cup, Overview
It was contested by 20 teams, and Mitsubishi Motors won the championship.


1978 JSL Cup Final
1978 JSL Cup Final was the 3rd final of the JSL Cup competition. The final was played at Okayama Athletic Stadium in Okayama on August 27, 1978. Mitsubishi Motors won the championship.


1978 JSL Cup Final, Overview
Mitsubishi Motors won their 1st title, by defeating Fujita Industries 2–1.


1978 Japan Series
The 1978 Japan Series was the 29th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. It matched the Central League champion Yakult Swallows against the Pacific League champion Hankyu Braves. The Braves entered the series looking to win their fourth consecutive title, while the Swallows were making their first-ever Japan Series appearance. The Swallows defeated the Braves in seven games to claim their first championship.


1978 Japan Soccer League, First Division
By winning the 1978 Emperor's Cup and 1978 Japan Soccer League Cup along with the title, Mitsubishi completed the first Japanese treble ever.


1978 Japan national football team
This page records the details of the Japan national football team in 1978.


1978 Japanese Super Cup
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Monkbot (talk | contribs) at 00:22, 8 January 2020 (→top: Task 15:  language icon template(s) replaced (1×);). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


1978 Japanese Super Cup
1978 Japanese Super Cup was the Japanese Super Cup competition. The match was played at Osaka Nagai Stadium in Osaka on April 2, 1978. Fujita Industries won the championship.


1978 John Player League
The 1978 John Player League was the tenth competing of what was generally known as the Sunday League. The competition was won for the second time by Hampshire County Cricket Club.


1978 KFK competitions (Ukraine)
The 1978 KFK competitions in Ukraine were part of the 1978 Soviet KFK competitions that were conducted in the Soviet Union. It was 14th season of the KFK in Ukraine since its introduction in 1964. The winner eventually qualified to the 1979 Soviet Second League.


1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France
The 1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France comprised the Australia national rugby league team's fourteenth tour of Great Britain and ninth tour of France, and took place from September to December 1978. Coached by Frank Stanton and captained by Bob Fulton, the Australian team, also known as the Kangaroos, played a match against Wales before contesting the Ashes series against Great Britain, winning the third and deciding Test match. The tourists then moved on to France where they were narrowly beaten in both Tests, the last series the Kangaroos would lose until 2005. In addition to these six internationals, the Australians played sixteen other matches against local club and representative sides in both countries. The 1978 Kangaroo tour followed the tour of 1973 while the next tour would be staged in 1982.


1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Background
The 1978 Kangaroo tour was the first since 1973 and took place in the wake of Australia's rugby league season. Sydney's 1978 NSWRFL season, which contributed the vast majority of the tourists, ended later in the year than usual as it involved a grand final replay. For the English the tour was conducted during the first half of the 1978–79 Northern Rugby Football League season.


1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Touring squad
The Australian team's coach was Frank Stanton, who had already taken the City, New South Wales and the Manly-Warringah teams to victory in all of their respective competitions that year. Eastern Suburbs's captain (and former Manly premiership captain under Stanton in 1976), Bob Fulton, was selected to be the touring Australian side's skipper while Cronulla back rower Greg Pierce was named as vice-captain. Manly-Warringah Grand Final winner John Harvey created some controversy when he declined selection for the tour due to personal reasons. As a result, his Manly-Warringah teammate Bruce Walker was called in as a replacement.


1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Touring squad
Another Manly premiership winner Terry Randall also declined to tour citing exhaustion after Manly's arduous finals campaign in 1978 where the Sea Eagles played 6 matched in 24 days, including the drawn Grand Final against Cronulla-Sutherland and the replay played just three days later. He later admitted regret in not touring. One shock omission was Manly centre Russel Gartner who had played two games for Australia in the 1977 World Cup including the Final in which he scored a spectacular 65 metre solo try. Gartner, a speedy outside back who could play either centre or wing, had scored two tries in the Grand Final replay, one a 70-metre effort where he easily outpaced the Cronulla defence despite having torn his hamstring a week earlier, was considered unlucky not to tour.


1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Touring squad
Of the 28 man squad, only three Queensland based players were chosen - Souths Innisfail winger Kerry Boustead, Brisbane Easts prop forward Rod Morris and Redcliffe halfback Greg Oliphant. The only other Queenslanders in the squad were St George back rower Rod Reddy and Manly forward Bruce Walker.


1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Touring squad
The tour manager was Canterbury-Bankstown Chief Executive Peter "Bullfrog" Moore, with Jim Caldwell as the co-manager.


1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Touring squad
Craig Young was named 'player of the tour'. Bob Fulton was the tourists' top try scorer with 9. Michael Cronin was the tourists' top point scorer with 142.


1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain leg, Test Venues
The three Ashes series tests took place at the following venues.


1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain leg, Test Venues
A controversial late Alan Gwilliam try gave Warrington a 15–12 win over Australia, with Steve Hesford kicking six goals. In the tourists' first lost match of the tour Warrington's packmen Tommy Martyn, Mike Nicholas, Tommy Cunningham and Roy Lester were in superb form, ably supported by replacement half backs Gwilliam and Clark. This was Warrington's eighth win over Australia since .


1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain leg, Wales
The Kangaroos played a non-test international against Wales at the St. Helen's Ground. As of 2017 this was the 13th and final rugby league international played at the ground.


1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain leg, Wales
Kangaroos' vice captain Greg Pierce injured his knee in this match and made no more appearances on the tour.


1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain leg, 1st Ashes Test
This year Great Britain had the opportunity to re-gain the Ashes title on home soil. The Ashes series was styled the "Forward Chemicals Test series" due to sponsorship reasons.


1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain leg, 1st Ashes Test
Great Britain were trailing 6-7 with fifteen minutes remaining when an Australian pass went to ground and Welsh winger John Bevan kicked the ball ahead. It was then a foot race between him and Australian fullback Graham Eadie to reach the ball which was slowing within Australia's in-goal area. Both players stumbled and dived, with Bevan getting a hand on the ball and claiming the try which was awarded, giving the home side a 9-7 lead.


1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain leg, 1st Ashes Test
The Kangaroos then worked their way up to the other end of the field and moved the ball through the hands out to the right wing where Kerry Boustead crossed for a try, regaining his side the lead 9-10. In the final minutes Australian captain Bob Fulton forced his way over for a try which was also converted, so the match ended with the scoreline at 9-15.


1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain leg, 1st Ashes Test
Widnes: David Eckersley, Stuart Wright, Malcolm Aspey, Mick George, Mick Burke, Eric Hughes, Reg Bowden, Brian Hogan, Keith Elwell, Jim Mills, Mick Adams, David Hull, Doug Laughton (c). Coach - Doug Laughton


1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain leg, 1st Ashes Test
Australia: Allan McMahon, Ian Schubert, Michael Cronin (c), Alan Thompson, Chris Anderson, Steve Martin, Greg Oliphant, Rod Morris, Ron Hilditch, Ian Thomson, Geoff Gerard, Steve Kneen, Ray Price. Res - Bob Fulton, Bruce Walker


1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain leg, 1st Ashes Test
Widnes, the reigning British champions, were leading 7–2 half time. Up to and including the last Kangaroo tour in which Australia played English club teams as part of their schedule in 1994, this was the last game the Kangaroos lost to an English club side. This was also the only time in what would be 15 tour games between 1909–1990 that Widnes would defeat The Kangaroos. Their previous best result was a 13–all draw on 21 October 1937 during the 1937–38 tour.


1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain leg, 2nd Ashes Test
Several changes were made to the Great Britain team, including a completely new front row. This match was broadcast live.