1978 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Prior to the start of this game, both teams had to deal with bad news. Ron Guidry, he of the incredible 25–3 Cy Young Award-winning season, would be unavailable to start until Game 4, if played, at least. Guidry pitched the AL East division tie-breaker game against the Boston Red Sox and was starting to have arm trouble. Also, second baseman Willie Randolph would miss the entire postseason with a hamstring injury and be replaced by a platoon of Fred Stanley and Brian Doyle. For the Royals, star George Brett was suffering from a bout of hemorrhoids.


1978 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Without Guidry, the Yankees went with young Jim Beattie. Beattie pitched five shutout innings and Ken Clay went the rest of the way. The Royals would manage just two hits and one run off the two young pitchers.


1978 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Meanwhile, the Yankee bats knocked Dennis Leonard and Steve Mingori around for 13 hits and four runs, Doyle chipping in an RBI single. Reggie Jackson put an exclamation point on the win with a three-run homer in the eighth off Al Hrabosky.


1978 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
Royals' starter Larry Gura pitched six shutout innings and won with relief help from Marty Pattin and Al Hrabosky. The Royals' hitting stars were Darrell Porter, Frank White, and Fred Patek with two RBIs each, Patek's on a home run.


1978 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
Yankee starter Catfish Hunter pitched a fine game, going six innings, except for one thing:  three consecutive home runs by George Brett. Still, Hunter had a 4–3 lead after six thanks to a homer, RBI single, and sacrifice fly by Reggie Jackson. Jackson also scored a run in the fourth when Fred Patek overthrew Darrell Porter at home plate as Jackson was attempting to score on a hit by Lou Piniella.


1978 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
The Royals, however, got to Goose Gossage in the top of the eighth. Amos Otis doubled to right and Porter singled him in to tie it. After a Clint Hurdle single, Porter scored the go-ahead run on a groundout by Al Cowens.


1978 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
But, the Yanks would not be denied. After a one-out single by Roy White, Royals manager Whitey Herzog replaced his starter, left-hander Paul Splittorff, with right-hander Doug Bird to face Thurman Munson. Munson then greeted Bird with a 460-foot, game-winning, two-run blast into the Yankee bullpen in deep left-center field.


1978 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
Gossage retired the Royals in the ninth and got the win.


1978 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
The other irony of this game, besides Brett's three homers in a losing effort, was that Reggie Jackson was so productive against Paul Splittorff after former manager Billy Martin's claims that Jackson couldn't hit Splittorff during the 1977 American League Championship Series the year prior.


1978 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
Brett was the second player to hit three home runs in a League Championship Series game. Bob Robertson was the first, doing so in Game 2 of the 1971 NLCS.


1978 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Yankee manager Bob Lemon decided to use the sore-armed Ron Guidry to close out the series at Yankee Stadium. Guidry turned in an effective performance, going eight innings and giving up one run on seven hits and striking out seven.


1978 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
It didn't start out that way, though. George Brett led the game off with a triple off Guidry and Hal McRae immediately followed by driving in Brett with a single. But, the Royals would come up zeros the rest of the way. Meanwhile, Graig Nettles tied it with a homer in the second inning, and Roy White hit the deciding homer in the fifth off Dennis Leonard.


1978 American League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Guidry left in the ninth after giving up a leadoff double to Amos Otis and Goose Gossage set down the next three Royal batters to close out the series and win their third straight AL Pennant.


1978 American League Championship Series, Composite box
1978 ALCS (3–1): New York Yankees over Kansas City Royals


1978 American League East tie-breaker game
The 1978 American League East tie-breaker game was a one-game playoff following Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1978 regular season. The game was played at Fenway Park in Boston on the afternoon of Monday, October 2 between the rival New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox to determine the winner of the American League's (AL) East Division.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game
The tie-breaker was necessitated after the Yankees and Red Sox finished the season tied for first place in the AL East with identical 99–63 (.611) records. Entering the final day of the season on Sunday, October 1, the Yankees had a one-game lead; they lost 9–2 to Cleveland while Boston shut out Toronto 5–0 to force the playoff. The Red Sox were the home team by virtue of a coin toss. In baseball statistics, the tie-breaker counted as the 163rd regular season game for both teams, with all events in the game added to regular season statistics.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game
Ron Guidry started for the Yankees, while Mike Torrez started for the Red Sox. The Yankees fell behind 2–0 in the second inning with a home run by left fielder Carl Yastrzemski and a run batted in single by right fielder Jim Rice. The Yankees took the lead in the seventh when light-hitting shortstop Bucky Dent lifted a three-run home run over the left field wall to give the Yankees a 3–2 lead. The Yankees added two more runs, giving them a 5–2 lead. The Red Sox scored two more runs, but the Yankees ultimately won the game when relief pitcher Goose Gossage got Yastrzemski to pop out to third baseman Graig Nettles to earn the save. Guidry was the winning pitcher, while Torrez received the loss.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game
With the victory, the Yankees finished the regular season with a 100–63 (.613) record and clinched the AL East championship, en route to winning the World Series. This was the first tie-breaker to be contested after the introduction of divisional play in 1969. As of 2021, the 1978 Yankees remain the last team to have won the World Series after playing a tiebreaker.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game, Background
The Yankees and Red Sox had combined to win the past three American League (AL) pennants. The Red Sox lost the World Series in 1975, the Yankees lost in 1976, and then won in 1977. Heading into 1978, the Yankees, Red Sox, and Baltimore Orioles, who had also challenged for the AL East championship in 1977, all expected to contend for the AL East title. The Orioles and Red Sox had tied for second place in 1977, 2+1⁄2 games behind the Yankees. The young Detroit Tigers, with Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell, also appeared ready to challenge for the AL East.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game, Background
The Red Sox signed Mike Torrez, who won two games in the 1977 World Series for the Yankees, as a free agent during the offseason. Before the season, the Red Sox acquired Dennis Eckersley to join Torrez, Bill Lee, and Luis Tiant in their starting pitching rotation. The Yankees, meanwhile, acquired Goose Gossage and Rawly Eastwick to join Sparky Lyle, 1977's AL Cy Young Award winner, in their bullpen during the offseason. Both teams placed five players on the AL squad for the All-Star Game: Gossage, Ron Guidry, Graig Nettles, Thurman Munson, and Reggie Jackson represented the Yankees, while Carl Yastrzemski, Fred Lynn, Rick Burleson, Carlton Fisk, and Jim Rice represented the Red Sox.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game, Background
The Red Sox had once led the division by ten games; the Milwaukee Brewers were in second place, while the Yankees were in third. The Yankees experienced injuries to Willie Randolph, Catfish Hunter, Bucky Dent, and Mickey Rivers, and fell to fourth place in the division, as Baltimore moved into third. After a shake-up engineered by owner George Steinbrenner, with Munson moving from catcher to right field, the Yankees fired their combustible manager Billy Martin on July 24, replacing him with Bob Lemon.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game, Background
The Yankees had lost four of five after the All-Star break, including a three-game sweep by Kansas City in New York which ended with a club suspension of Reggie Jackson; at 47–42 (.528), they trailed Boston by 14 games on the morning of July 19. However, New York finished the season 52–21 (.712) in their last 73 games, while the Red Sox went 38–35 (.521) over the same time frame.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game, Background
This included a four-game sweep of Boston in Fenway Park in early September, in which the Yankees outscored the Red Sox by a composite score of 42–9; the series was dubbed "The Boston Massacre" by the sports press. By the end of the four games on Sunday, September 10, the two teams were tied for first place at 86–56 (.606), with twenty games remaining.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game, Background
The Yankees took the AL East lead three days later, and did not lose it until the final day of the season. The margin was up to 3+1⁄2 games after another win over the Red Sox on Saturday, September 16, but results were different the next day, the first of Boston's dozen wins over the final two weeks. Clinging to a one-game lead with seven remaining, New York won six straight, but dropped the finale at home to struggling Cleveland on Sunday, October 1. Boston won their final eight games to catch the Yanks; after the Indians' win, a 9–2 complete game victory by left-hander Rick Waits, the Fenway Park video screen flashed the happy news: "THANK YOU RICK WAITS, GAME TOMORROW."


1978 American League East tie-breaker game, The game
The tie-breaker game was the first in the AL since 1948, when the Indians defeated the Red Sox for the pennant at Fenway Park, and the first in the majors since the advent of the division system in 1969. Guidry, who had won 24 games in the 162-game regular season, started on three days of rest, less than usual, and Torrez started the game for the Red Sox. He started for the Red Sox on Opening Day and had a 16–12 record, but contributed to the Red Sox struggles late in the season with six consecutive losses. Game time was 2:30 p.m. EDT, televised nationally on ABC.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game, The game
Carl Yastrzemski hit a home run in the second inning, and Jim Rice drove in Rick Burleson with a single in the sixth inning, giving the Red Sox a 2–0 lead. Meanwhile, Torrez held the Yankees to two hits through six innings. With one out in the seventh inning, Chris Chambliss and Roy White of the Yankees both singled off of Torrez, and pinch hitter Jim Spencer flied out. Dent then hit a fly ball that cleared the Green Monster wall in left field for a three-run home run to give the Yankees a 3–2 lead.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game, The game
Torrez was removed from the game after walking Mickey Rivers. Reliever Bob Stanley came in, and after Rivers stole second Thurman Munson drove him in with a double. In the eighth inning, a home run by Reggie Jackson made the score 5–2. The Red Sox cut New York's lead to just one run in the bottom of the eighth against closer Goose Gossage on RBI singles by Fred Lynn and Yastrzemski.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game, The game
But the Yankees would hold off the Red Sox, thanks in part to a heads-up defensive play by right fielder Lou Piniella with one out in the bottom of the ninth. With Burleson on first base, Jerry Remy hit a line drive to Piniella in right field, but Piniella was blinded by the late afternoon sun and could not see the ball. However, he pretended to field the play normally, pounding his glove as though he would easily catch the ball, then stabbed at the ball on a bounce as it almost passed him. This prevented Burleson from advancing to third base; when Rice followed with a deep fly to the outfield, Burleson could only move up to third base instead of scoring the tying run.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game, The game
Batting with two out and two men on, Yastrzemski popped out to third baseman Graig Nettles in foul territory for the game's final out, and New York won the game, 5–4. Guidry improved his record to 25–3 (.893), while Torrez took the loss;  Gossage recorded his 27th save.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game, Broadcast coverage
This game was televised regionally by the respective teams' rights holders, WSBK-TV in Boston and WPIX in New York City. ABC Sports picked up the contest for national viewers, and thus provided alternate coverage of the game on its New York and Boston affiliates. Keith Jackson and Don Drysdale called the action in the ABC booth.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game, Broadcast coverage
On radio, the CBS Radio Network offered national coverage of the game, with Ernie Harwell doing play-by-play and Win Elliot working as a color commentator. Locally in the home markets, WINS in New York City and WITS in Boston fed the game to the teams' respective radio networks.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game, Broadcast coverage
In the Red Sox' broadcast booth, Dick Stockton and Ken "Hawk" Harrelson worked the television side while Ned Martin and Jim Woods were heard on radio. In the Yankees' booth, Phil Rizzuto, Bill White, and Frank Messer alternated play-by-play on both radio and television, and were backed up on radio by Fran Healy.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game, Aftermath
For the third straight year, the Yankees went on to face the Kansas City Royals in the 1978 American League Championship Series. The Yankees won the best-of-five series for their third consecutive pennant. New York defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series to win their second consecutive championship, and 22nd overall.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game, Aftermath
The loss of the Red Sox was seen as a manifestation of the Curse of the Bambino, long thought to be the reason behind a decades-long litany of failures for the Red Sox  after owner Harry Frazee  to the Yankees on January 5, 1920. Described as a "shocking blast" by the Sporting News, Dent's home run silenced the Fenway Park crowd. For the light-hitting Dent, it was just his fifth home run of the 1978 season. It sealed Dent's reputation among Yankee fans, while inspiring the permanent nickname "Bucky Fucking Dent" in New England.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game, Aftermath
Dent, later the manager of the Yankees, was fired during a series in Boston in 1990. Twenty-five years later, in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series, Aaron Boone received similar treatment by Red Sox fans after he hit the home run in the bottom of the 11th inning that clinched the pennant for the Yankees, but the Yankees would later lose to the Florida Marlins in the World Series, which went six games.


1978 American League East tie-breaker game, Aftermath
Guidry and Rice were considered candidates for the AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award for their strong seasons. Rice was named MVP, with Guidry finishing second in the voting. Guidry won the AL Cy Young Award. Lemon was named AL Manager of the Year.


1978 American Samoan referendum
A referendum on sessions of Fono was held in American Samoa on 7 November 1978. Voters were asked to approve a proposed amendment which would elongate sessions of Fono from 30 days to 45 days. The measure was approved and entered into law.


1978 Amstel Gold Race
The 1978 Amstel Gold Race was the 13th edition of the annual road bicycle race "Amstel Gold Race", held on Sunday March 25, 1978, in the Dutch province of Limburg. The race stretched 230 kilometres, with the start in Heerlen and the finish in Meerssen. There were a total of 138 competitors, and 32 cyclists finished the race.


1978 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election
The 6th Andhrapradesh Legislative Assembly election was held in 1978. It was the sixth election. Indira Gandhi formed new party INC(I). Indian National Congress (I)  won 175 seats out of 294 seats. While, JNP won 60 seats and Independent candidates won 15 seats.


1978 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, Election results, Contestants
Maximum contestants  in a constituency: 16 in 207 - Himayatnagar


1978 Andorran political reform referendum
A referendum on political reforms was held in Andorra on 16 January 1978. Voters were presented with two options, but the none of the above option received the most votes.


1978 Andorran political reform referendum, Background
In February 1977, the General Council and the Co-Princes agreed to political reforms, putting forward six options to voters in a referendum in October 1977. However, none of the options received a majority of the vote, and 30% of votes cast were left blank.


1978 Andorran political reform referendum, Background
A second referendum was planned with voters offered a choice between the proposal that received the most votes in the 1977 referendum, and a new proposal. Proposal 6 had received the most votes in the 1977 referendum, and had been put forward by the Democratic Agrupament d'Andorra. They proposed having the General Council elected by proportional representation with regional lists, together with a directly-elected Prime Minister. The Prime Minister would then appoint a deputy and four ministers. The General Council put forward a new Proposal 7, which would increase the number of parishes from 6 to 7. Each parish would elect four members to the General Council, whilst the Prime Minister would be directly elected.


1978 Arab League summit
The 1978 Arab League summit was meeting held between Arab leaders on 2 November in Baghdad as the 9th Arab League Summit. The summit came in the aftermath of the Egypt's Anwar Sadat's unilateral peace treaty with Israel. On 31 March 1979, five days after the ratification of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, Arab leaders again convened in Baghdad in the absence of Egypt and decided to expel it from the Arab League. Consequently, the secretariat of the League was moved out of its Cairo headquarters to Tunis.


1978 Arab League summit
This decision was slowly reversed in the 1980s after president Hosni Mubarak ascended to power. Egypt, which regained strong influence in the region as rival nation Syria was suffering setbacks during the Lebanon Civil War, returned to the Arab League on 23 May 1989 and the headquarters, which never saw completed construction in Tunis, return to Cairo on 12 March 1990.


1978 Argentina rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and Italy
The 1978 Argentina rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and Italy was a series of nine matches played by the Argentina national rugby union team in September and October 1978.


1978 Argentina rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and Italy
Six of the nine matches were played in England, with the tourists going on to play one match each in Wales, Ireland and Italy. The tour featured the first ever test match between Argentina and Italy.


1978 Argentina rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and Italy
Argentina won five matches, lost three and drew one. The draw came against England, although England did not award full international caps for the fixture.


1978 Argentina rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and Italy
The tour captain, Hugo Porta, played all nine games, scored 94 of the team's 157 points on tour and, according to Rothmans Rugby Yearbook, "established himself as one of the world's great players" on the tour.


1978 Argentina rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and Italy, The matches, Southern Counties
Southern Counties: I.Gale. Clive Rees, B.Reynolds, D.Course-, R.Ellis Jones; J.Wright e I.George; G.Sharpe, R.Jackson, J.Coock, J.Mawle, John Orwin, Paul Rendall, A.Jenkins, Gary Pearce. Argentina: M.Sansot; A.Puccio, R.Madero, M.Loffreda, A.Cappelletti; H.Porta (capt. ), R.Landajo; C.Serreno, H.Silva, T.Petersen; A.Iachetti, G.Travaglini; H.Nicola; R..Seaton, A.Cerioni.


1978 Argentina rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and Italy, The matches, London Division
London Division: K.M.Bushell; R.O.Demming; N.R.French, Clive Woodward, Derek Wyatt; N.J.Preston, M.R.Conner; T.C.Claston, P.d'A.Keith-Roach (capt.) A.J.Cutter, N.D.Mantell, Maurice Colclough, A.C.Alexander, R.J.Mordell, Andy Ripley. Argentina: M.Sansot; A.Puccio, M.Loffreda, R.Madero, A.Cappelletti; H.Porta (capt. ), R.Landajo; H.Silva, T.Pe¬tersen, G.Paz; G.Travaglini, A.Iachetti; H.Nicola, A.Cubelli, A.Cerioni.


1978 Argentina rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and Italy, The matches, Northern Division
North of England: D.Boyd; Peter Squires, Tony Bond, W.Lyon, Mike Slemen; John Horton, Malcolm Young; Fran Cotton; K.Pacey, J.Bell, Bill Beaumont (capt. ), J.Buttler, Peter Dixon, P.Moss, K.Higgins. Argentina: M.Sansot; M.Campo, J.Trueco, R.Madero, A.Cappelletti; H.Porta (capt. ), R.Landajo; T.Petersen, C.Serrano, H.Silva; A.Iachetti, R.Passaglia; H.Nicola, R.Sea¬ton, E.Rodríguez.


1978 Argentina rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and Italy, The matches, North Midlands
North Midlands: P.J.Mumford.C.Perry, A.Watson-Jones, M.K.Swain, M.A.Hall; Les Cusworth, P.C.Bullock; T.F.Corless, G.N.J.Cox, J.J.Moore, B.Aire, N.J.Bekewell, J.C.White, T.Clarke, D.Nutt. Argentina: M.Sansot; M.Campo, M.Lofreda, R.Madero, A.Cappelletti; H.Porta (capt. ), A.Soares Gache; G.Paz, C.Serrano, G.Travaglini; R.Passaglia, A.Iachetti; H.Nicola, R.Seaton, A.Cerioni.


1978 Argentina rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and Italy, The matches, The English Students
English Students: Marcus Rose; J.Basnett, A.Harrower, Clive Woodward, P.Asquith; 1.Wilkins, M.Conner; S.Wilkes, M.Howe, J.Doubleday, Paul Ackford, Steve Bainbridge, Toby Allchurch, Nick Jeavons, Peter Polledri. Argentina: E.Sanguinetti; M.Campo, J.Escalante, R.Madero, A.Cappelletti; H.Porta (capt. ), R.Landajo; G.Paz, G.Travaglini, H.Silva; R.Passaglia, A.Iachetti; H.Nicola, A.Cubelli, A.Cerioni.


1978 Argentina rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and Italy, The matches, Wales "B"
Wales "B": I.Walsh; E.Rees, N.Hutchings, P.Morgan, R.Ellis¬Jones; D.Barry, G.Williams; D.Jones, G.Davies, D.Lewis, R.Moriarty, S.Sutton, G.Williams, Ch.Seldon, P.Ringer. Argentina: M.Sansot; M.Campo, M.Loffreda, R.Madero, A.Cappelletti; H.Porta (capt. ), A.Soares Gache; T.Peter¬sen, C.Serrano, G, Travaglini; R.Passaglia, A.lachetti; H.Nicola, A.Cubelli, A.Cerioni.


1978 Argentina rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and Italy, The matches, Leinster
Leinster: F.Ennis; T.Kennedy, P.Andrucetti, P.Me Naughton, A.Me Lennan; M.Quinn, J.Moloney (capt. ); P.Orr, J.Cantrell, M.Fitzpatrick, W.Duggan, E.D'Raffertty, F.Slattery, S.Deering, M.Gibson. Argentina: M.Sansot; M.Campo, J.Trucco, R.Madero, A.Cappelletti; H.Porta (capt. ), Landajo; H.Silva, T.Petersen, G.Travaglini; R.Passaglia, A.lachetti; H.Nicola, A.Cubelli, A.Cerioni.


1978 Argentina rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and Italy, The matches, Italy
Italy: 15.Rocco Caligiuri, 14.Massimo Mascioletti, 13.Nello Francescato, 12.Rino Francescato, 11.Serafino Ghizzoni, 10.Loredano Zuin, 9.Angelo Visentin, 8.Elio de Anna, 7.Fiorenzo Blessano, 6.Paolo Mariani, 5.Adriano Fedrigo, 4.Fulvio di Carlo, 3.Ambrogio Bona (capT. ), 2.Claudio Robazza, 1.Anacleto Altigieri – Replacement: Narciso ZanellaArgentina 15.Eduardo Sanguinetti, 14.Martin Sansot, 13.Javier Escalante, 12.Rafael Madero, 11.Marcelo Campo, 10.Hugo Porta (cap), 9.Alfredo Soares Gache, 8.Gabriel Travaglini, 7.Tomas Petersen, 6.Carlos Serrano, 5.Ricardo Passaglia, 4.Alejandro Iachetti, 3.Alejandro Cerioni, 2.Alejandro Cubelli, 1.Rodolfo Ventura – Replacement: Adolfo Cappelletti, Hugo Nicola


1978 Argentine Grand Prix
The 1978 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 15 January 1978 at Buenos Aires. It was the first race of the 1978 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1978 International Cup for F1 Constructors. The 52-lap race was won from pole position by American driver Mario Andretti, driving a Lotus-Ford, with Austrian Niki Lauda second in a Brabham-Alfa Romeo and Frenchman Patrick Depailler third in a Tyrrell-Ford. This was the debut of multiple-time Constructors' Champions, Williams.


1978 Argentine Grand Prix, Overview
Mario Andretti took pole in his Lotus, with Carlos Reutemann's Ferrari joining him on the front row and Ronnie Peterson in the other Lotus third on the grid. The start was uneventful, with Andretti and Reutemann easily keeping first and second, with John Watson in the Brabham taking third from Peterson. Watson took second from Reutemann on the seventh lap, but Andretti was uncatchable.


1978 Argentine Grand Prix, Overview
Reutemann ran third for a while, but then began to drop down the order, and so reigning world champion Niki Lauda took third in his Brabham, which became second with ten laps left when Watson's engine blew up. Andretti motored on to a crushing victory, with Lauda second and Patrick Depailler's Tyrrell taking the final spot on the podium ahead of James Hunt in the leading McLaren, Ronnie Peterson in the other Lotus and Patrick Tambay in the other McLaren.


1978 Argentine Primera División
The 1978 Primera División season was the 87th season of top-flight football in Argentina. Quilmes won the Metropolitano (2nd title) and Independiente achieved the Nacional championship (12th title).


1978 Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team
The 1978 Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team represented Arizona State University in the 1978 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Sun Devils played their home games at Packard Stadium. The team was coached by Jim Brock in his seventh season at Arizona State.


1978 Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team
The Sun Devils reached the College World Series, finishing as the runner up to Southern California.


1978 Arizona State Sun Devils football team
The 1978 Arizona State Sun Devils football team was an American football team that represented Arizona State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their 21st season under head coach Frank Kush, the Sun Devils compiled a 9–3 record (4–3 against Pac-10 opponents), finished in a tie for fourth place in the Pac-10, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 347 to 236.


1978 Arizona State Sun Devils football team
The team's statistical leaders included Mark Malone with 1,305 passing yards and 705 rushing yards and Chris DeFrance with 617 receiving yards.


1978 Arizona State Sun Devils football team, Season summary, Arizona
Mark Malone threw a pair of touchdown passes and Bill Zivic's 45-yard field goal attempt missed wide left in the final seconds to secure the Sun Devil victory.


1978 Arizona Wildcats football team
The 1978 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second season under head coach Tony Mason, the Wildcats compiled a 5–6 record (3–4 against Pac-10 opponents), finished in a tie for sixth place in the Pac-10, and outscored their opponents, 245 to 205. The team played its home games in Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona. This is the first year in which Arizona, along with rival Arizona State, joined the Pac-10 (previously the Pac-8 prior to both Arizona schools’ joining the conference).


1978 Arizona Wildcats football team
The team's statistical leaders included Jim Krohn with 991 passing yards, Hubert Oliver with 866 rushing yards, and Ron Beyer with 296 receiving yards. Linebacker Sam Giangardella led the team with 131 total tackles.


1978 Arizona Wildcats football team, Before the season
Arizona and Arizona State joined the Pac-8 prior to the start of the 1978 season after spending several years as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The Pac-8 was then renamed the Pac-10 after the two schools joined the conference. Both schools went to the Pac-10 to compete for championships and that the conference had more money in revenue and more scholarships offered. The Wildcats finished the 1977 season with a record of 5–7 in Mason's first season with the team.


1978 Arizona Wildcats football team, Game summaries, Kansas State
In the season opener, Arizona played their first game as a Pac-10 member and faced Kansas State (whose nickname was also the Wildcats, like Arizona). Arizona would dominate the game in a shutout win.


1978 Arizona Wildcats football team, Game summaries, Oregon State
In Arizona's first Pac-10 game, they defeated Oregon State to improve on their record. It was their first home win over a Pac-10 opponent.


1978 Arizona Wildcats football team, Game summaries, Michigan
The Wildcats went on the road at Michigan for only their second meeting against the Wolverines (the first was in 1970, also on the road). Arizona fought hard with third-ranked Michigan, and ultimately came up short at a chance of an upset.


1978 Arizona Wildcats football team, Game summaries, UCLA
In their first Pac-10 road game, Arizona traveled to UCLA and faced the No. 10 Bruins. The Wildcats would end up losing to the Bruins for their first Pac-10 road loss.


1978 Arizona Wildcats football team, Game summaries, Oregon
Arizona went to Oregon and defeated the Ducks to win their first road Pac-10 game.


1978 Arizona Wildcats football team, Game summaries, Arizona State
Arizona and Arizona State met in their first rivalry matchup as Pac-10 members. In a back and forth game, Arizona State led late in the fourth quarter and the Wildcats had a chance to possibly win it, but missed a field goal to lose.


1978 Arizona gubernatorial election
The 1978 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1978, for the post of Governor of Arizona. Democrat Bruce Babbitt defeated Republican nominee Evan Mecham. Babbitt was the former Attorney General of Arizona, but after the death of Governor Wesley Bolin, Babbit became governor. Bolin himself ascended to office from the position of Secretary of State, meaning his replacement, Rose Mofford was not eligible to the office as she was not elected. This drama of exchanging office would continue after Babbitt's term came to an end, as Mofford would become governor and succeeded Evan Mecham, Babbitt's challenger, in 1988.


1978 Arkansas Razorbacks football team
The 1978 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented the University of Arkansas in the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second year under head coach Lou Holtz, the Razorbacks compiled a 9–2–1 record (6–2 against SWC opponents), finished in a tie for second place in the SWC, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 336 to 147. The Razorbacks' only losses were to SWC champion Houston by a 20–9 score and to Texas by a 28–21 score. The team advanced to 1978 Fiesta Bowl, playing to a 10–10 tie with UCLA. Arkansas was ranked #11 in the final AP Poll and #10 in the final UPI Coaches Poll.


1978 Arkansas gubernatorial election
The 1978 Arkansas gubernatorial election, held on November 7, was the first time that future President Bill Clinton was elected Governor of Arkansas.


1978 Arkansas gubernatorial election, Democratic primary
At this time, one gubernatorial term was two years. Incumbent two-term Democratic Governor David Pryor decided to not seek re-election in order to run for the United States Senate, as his predecessor and future Senate colleague Dale Bumpers did.


1978 Arkansas gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Results
Clinton, a former assistant to U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright and since 1977 the state Attorney General, won the nomination easily.


1978 Arkansas gubernatorial election, Republican nomination
A. Lynn Lowe, a Texarkana farmer, who served as state Republican Party chairman from 1974–1980, was unopposed for the 1978 gubernatorial nomination. He had also been the Republican nominee for Arkansas's 4th congressional district seat in 1966.


1978 Arkansas gubernatorial election, Election result
Clinton also led in fundraising. His campaign budget combined $709,234.00 while Lynn's was $171,382.


1978 Arkansas gubernatorial election, Election result
Clinton, at the age of thirty-two, became the youngest Arkansas governor, the youngest governor in the United States since Harold E. Stassen won in Minnesota in 1938 at the age of thirty-one, and the youngest governor in nation at this time. In 1992 he was elected third-youngest U.S. President.


1978 Arkansas gubernatorial election, Election result
Lowe's total was the highest for a Republican nominee in Arkansas since Winthrop Rockefeller's third term bid in 1970. He carried fourteen out of seventy-five counties, including Miller, Columbia, and Union counties in South Arkansas.


1978 Army Cadets football team
The 1978 Army Cadets football team represented the United States Military Academy in the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth and final year under head coach Homer Smith, the Cadets compiled a 4–6–1 record and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 255 to 188. In the annual Army–Navy Game, the Cadets lost to the Midshipmen by a 28 to 0 score.


1978 Army Cadets football team
No Army players were selected as first-team players on the 1978 College Football All-America Team.


1978 Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election
The first elections to the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly were held in on 25 February 1978.


1978 Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election
There were 30 single-member constituencies at the time of the election, out of whom two were reserved for Scheduled Tribes. There was a total of 86 candidates participating. The maximum number of candidates was found in the Ziro constituency, with six candidates. In two constituencies (Prem Khandu Thungan from Dirang, Kalaktang and  Noksong Boham from Niasua-Kanubari) there was only one candidate, who was elected unopposed. There were 29 Janata Party candidates, 21 People's Party of Arunachal candidates, 1 Indian National Congress candidate (Shri Tasso Grayu) and 35 independents in the fray.


1978 Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election
The speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Nonemati, contested as a Janata Party candidate from Khonsa North constituency. A total of 105 nominations had been presented, out of which 3 had been rejected by the Election Commission (a PPA candidate from Yingdiono-Pangin constituency, an independent from Ziro and an independent from Along North).


1978 Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election
A peculiar situation for the tribal societies of the Union Territory was the fact that in many constituencies members of the same families (even brothers) or clans fought against each other for different parties. There were only two female candidates (Nyari Welly and Omem Deori) standing in the election. Neither was elected.


1978 Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election
Janata Party won 17 seats, compared to 8 seats for the PPA. 5 seats were won by independents. Following the election a five-member cabinet was sworn in on 14 March 1978, headed by Janata Party leader Prem Khandu Thungan as Chief Minister. Other ministers were Gegong Apang, Tadar Tang, Soben Tayang and Nokme. The newly elected assembly held its first session in Itanagar on 21 March 1978. Three members were nominated by the Governor to sit in the Assembly, amongst them was one woman (Sibo Kai).


1978 Asia Golf Circuit
The 1978 Asia Golf Circuit was the 17th season of golf tournaments that comprised the Asia Golf Circuit.


1978 Asia Golf Circuit
Taiwan's Hsu Sheng-san was the overall circuit champion for the second time despite being disqualified in the season ending Dunlop International Open for returning an unsigned scorecard, finishing less than six points ahead of compatriot Kuo Chie-Hsiung.


1978 Asia Golf Circuit, Tournament schedule
The table below shows the 1978 Asian Golf Circuit schedule.


1978 Asia Golf Circuit, Final standings
The Asia Golf Circuit operated a points based system to determine the overall circuit champion, with points being awarded in each tournament to the leading players. At the end of the season, the player with the most points was declared the circuit champion, and there was a US$80,000 prize pool to be shared between the top players in the points table with the winner taking half. The pool was supposed to be US$100,000, but the Philippines and Thailand did not contribute their share.


1978 Asian Games
The 8th Asian Games (Thai: เอเชียนเกมส์ 2521) were held from 9 to 20 December  1978, in Bangkok, Thailand. Originally, the host city was Singapore but Singapore dropped its plan to host the Games due to financial problems. Then Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, was decided to host the 8th Games. But Islamabad also dropped its plan to host the Asian Games due to conflicts with Bangladesh and India.


1978 Asian Games
Thailand offered to help and the Asiad therefore was held in Bangkok. On the political front, Israel was expelled from the Asian Games. A total number of 3,842 athletes, coming from 25 countries, competed in these Asian Games. Debuting sports were archery and bowling.


1978 Asian Games, Participating nations
25 out of 32 Olympic Council of Asia members participated in these games. Iran just sent only one official and did not participate in the games due to the political situation in Iran at the time.


1978 Asian Games, Medal table
The top ten ranked NOCs at these Games are listed below. The host nation, Thailand, is highlighted.


1978 Asian Games medal table
The 1978 Asian Games (also known as the VIII Asiad), was a multi-sport event held in Bangkok, Thailand from 9 December to 20 December 1978. Originally, the host city was to be Singapore, but it dropped its plan to host the Games due to financial problems. Then the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad, was subsequently chosen to host the games. However Pakistan also dropped its plan to host the games due to conflicts with Bangladesh and India.


1978 Asian Games medal table
A total of 3842 athletes from 25 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in these games, competing in 147 events in 19 sports. Archery and bowling were included for the first time. This medal table ranks the participating NOCs by the number of gold medals won by their athletes.


1978 Asian Games medal table
Athletes from 19 participating NOCs won at least one medal; athletes from 15 of these NOCs secured at least one gold. Athletes from Japan won 70 gold medals, the most of any nation at these Asiad. China finished second in total medals. South Korea finished fourth in total medals. Host nation Thailand finished the games with 42 medals overall (11 gold, 12 silver and 19 bronze), in fifth spot in terms of total medals.


1978 Asian Games medal table, Medal table
The ranking in this table is consistent with International Olympic Committee convention in its published medal tables. By default, the table is ordered by the number of gold medals the athletes from a nation have won (in this context, a nation is an entity represented by a National Olympic Committee). The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If nations are still tied, equal ranking is given; they are listed alphabetically by IOC country code.


1978 Asian Table Tennis Championships
The 4th Asian Table Tennis Championships 1978 were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 22 November to 2 December 1978. It was organised by the Table Tennis Association of Malaysia under the authority of Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU) and International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).


1978 Asian Taekwondo Championships
The 1978 Asian Taekwondo Championships were the 3rd edition of the Asian Taekwondo Championships, and were held in Hong Kong from 8 to 10 September, 1978.


1978 Assam Legislative Assembly election
The 1978 Assam Legislative Assembly election  was held to elect members for 126 assembly seats to constitute the seventh Assam Legislative Assembly. The Janata Party formed the first non-Congress government led by Golap Borbora with 53 seats on March 12, 1978. He resigned as chief minister on September 4, 1979 after losing the support of a majority of MLAs. Jogendra Nath Hazarika was sworn in as chief minister on 9 November 1978. But he existed in CM’s chair for only 94 days, as central government imposed President's rule in Assam


1978 Assam Legislative Assembly election, Background
The Navnirman Andolan, which erupted in December 1973 started on the issue of hike in fees for an engineering college in Gujarat, Jayaprakash Narayan's movement against corruption, a three week long Bihar rail strike led by socialist leader George Fernandes, had destabilized the political atmosphere of India. The sterilization program, which was tried to be implemented forcefully by Sanjay Gandhi, son of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi also created a lot of public outrage .


1978 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl
The 1978 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Stanford Cardinals, and was played on December 31, 1978, at the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas. It was the twentieth edition of the Bluebonnet Bowl. Stanford overcame a 22–0 third quarter deficit and won the game, 25–22.


1978 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, Teams, Stanford
Stanford was making its second consecutive bowl appearance under second-year head coach Bill Walsh. Stanford was noted for its pass-heavy offense, led by Sammy Baugh Trophy-award winning quarterback Steve Dils and his targets, receiver Ken Margerum and back Darrin Nelson.


1978 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, Teams, Georgia
A tie in their second-to-last game of the season kept Georgia out of a possible berth in the 1979 Sugar Bowl. Led by long-time coach Vince Dooley, the Bulldogs were ranked #11 and featured a punishing defense and a rushing attack led by SEC offensive player of the year Willie McClendon. The Bulldogs had lost their last three bowl games, dating back to the 1974 Tangerine Bowl.


1978 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, Game summary
Georgia dominated the first half, scoring on two Carmon Prince touchdown receptions and a Rex Robinson field goal to lead 15–0 at the half. The only miscues were in the kicking game: Robinson missed the extra point on both touchdowns. Early in the third quarter, another Bulldog score on a one-yard run by quarterback Jeff Pyburn made the score 22–0, and it appeared that Georgia would complete a rout.


1978 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, Game summary
But following that score, Stanford quarterback Steve Dils hit receiver Ken Margerum on a 32-yard touchdown pass. Stanford's attempt at a two-point conversion was no good, but on Georgia's ensuing possession, running back Willie McClendon fumbled on the Georgia 19. Two plays later, Dils connected with Darrin Nelson for a 20-yard touchdown pass. Stanford then completed a successful two-point conversion, in which kicker Ken Naber faked a kick attempt and then ran into the end zone to make the score 22–14.


1978 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, Game summary
Georgia's next possession was three plays and a short punt which gave Stanford the ball at the Georgia 41. Three plays later, Dils hit Margerum again for a 14-yard touchdown pass, and connected with Nelson for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 22–22. The Bulldogs fumbled again (one of five on the day), setting up a Naber 27-yard field goal which gave Stanford a 25–22 lead early in the fourth quarter.


1978 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, Game summary
Georgia's Robinson missed another field goal to tie the game and the Stanford defense did the rest to shut down the Bulldogs, led by linebacker Gordy Ceresino's 20 tackles. Ceresino was named the game's defensive MVP; offensive MVP was quarterback Dils, who completed 17 of 28 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns.


1978 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, Aftermath
This was the last game of Bill Walsh's first coaching stint with Stanford; following this game, he became head coach of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers, eventually leading them to three Super Bowl titles. Walsh returned to Stanford in 1992 and coached the Cardinal for three seasons and one bowl victory. Stanford's football program slid after Walsh's departure, and they would not return to a bowl for 8 years when they earned a berth in the 1986 Gator Bowl.


1978 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, Aftermath
Georgia did not make a bowl in the following season, but Dooley's 1980 team, quarterbacked by Buck Belue, who was a freshman in the Bluebonnet Bowl, was undefeated and named national champion by most media organizations.


1978 Atlanta Braves season
The 1978 Atlanta Braves season was the 108th season for the franchise and their 13th in Atlanta.


1978 Atlanta Braves season, Offseason, Managerial turnover: Bobby Cox begins his first term
In May 1977, owner Ted Turner had stunned baseball when—in the midst of a 16-game losing streak—he furloughed manager Dave Bristol, sent him on a ten-day scouting trip, and took the reins of the team himself; on May 11, he donned uniform #27 and skippered the Braves to their 17th straight loss. National League president Chub Feeney and Commissioner of Baseball Bowie Kuhn then stepped in and forbade the owner from managing his own ballclub, citing MLB rules that apparently took effect after Connie Mack retired as owner-manager of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1950. Veteran coach Vern Benson ran the Braves the following night (and broke the losing skein), and then Bristol was rehired for the balance of the season.


1978 Atlanta Braves season, Offseason, Managerial turnover: Bobby Cox begins his first term
However, that chaotic season was followed by one of the most important events in Braves' history: the hiring of Bobby Cox, briefly a Braves' farm system player, as manager for 1978. Cox was then a 36-year-old, relatively unknown former third baseman who had spent the previous ten seasons in the New York Yankees' organization, including six years (1971–1976) as a highly successful minor league manager and one season as the first-base coach on the Yankees' 1977 world championship team. Cox would spend four seasons, 1978–1981, during this first term in the Braves' dugout.


1978 Atlanta Braves season, Offseason, Managerial turnover: Bobby Cox begins his first term
While his first two years produced frustrating, last-place seasons in the National League West, by Cox' third year, 1980, the Braves posted a winning (81–80) mark and rose to fourth place in their division. Attendance began to climb, with the team exceeding the one-million mark at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium for the first time since 1971. But the strike-shortened 1981 season was a major disappointment; the Braves fell to 50–56, and Cox was fired. He went 266–323 (.452) during his inaugural tenure.


1978 Atlanta Braves season, Offseason, Managerial turnover: Bobby Cox begins his first term
His successor, former New York Mets skipper Joe Torre, would lead the Braves to the 1982 National League West Division championship. Cox would land with the Toronto Blue Jays as their 1982 manager. The Jays were then a five-year-old expansion team that had never escaped the basement of the American League East Division, nor won more than 67 games in a season. By Cox' second season, the Blue Jays broke the .500 mark, and by his fourth, in 1985, they would win 99 games and the AL East title.


1978 Atlanta Braves season, Offseason, Managerial turnover: Bobby Cox begins his first term
Meanwhile, the Braves' front office was in flux and owner Turner was seeking a strong hand to take over the team's baseball operations as general manager. He lured Cox back to Atlanta with a multi-year contract.


1978 Atlanta Braves season, Offseason, Managerial turnover: Bobby Cox begins his first term
And, although the team struggled desperately on the field in the late 1980s, general manager Cox was assembling a base of talent that, when he returned to the dugout to manage the Braves for his second term, on June 23, 1990, would ignite a series of first-place divisional teams (for 15 out of 16 straight seasons) and five National League pennant winners (as well as the 1995 World Series title) that would earn Cox a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame by his 2010 retirement.


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


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


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


1978 Atlanta Falcons season
The 1978 Atlanta Falcons season was the Falcons' 13th season. The Falcons only went 2-4 in their first 6 games. However, after such a blue-cold start to the season, they got back on the saddle and won 7 of their last 10, and it was the first postseason appearance in franchise history with a 9–7 record. Hosting the Philadelphia Eagles in their first ever playoff game, the Falcons scored 2 touchdowns in their final fourteen minutes to pull out a 14–13 win. A week later the Falcons were 14-point underdogs facing the Cowboys. The Falcons took a 20-13 lead into halftime, but the Cowboys battled back to take a 27-20 lead. With one last shot, the Falcons fell inches short of a first down on the Cowboys' 32-yard line, as the Cowboys got the ball and ran down the clock.


1978 Atlanta Falcons season, Game summaries, Week 8 vs San Francisco 49ers
Atlanta erased a 17-7 deficit in the final 5:38 of the game, beating San Francisco on Tim Mazzetti's last-second, 29-yard field goal. Steve Bartkowski directed the comeback, hitting a 71-yard bomb to set up a 21-yard Mazzetti field goal, completing a 59-yard scoring pass to Billy Ryckman with 1:52 remaining and then finding Tim Mitchell with a 19-yard reception to set up a winning kick. This game was broadcast by CBS with announcers Vin Scully, George Allen and Jim Brown at the game.


1978 Atlanta Falcons season, Postseason, NFC Wild Card Game
The Falcons won their first playoff game in team history after they overcame a 13–0 deficit by scoring 2 touchdowns in the final 5 minutes of the game.


1978 Atlanta Falcons season, Postseason, NFC Divisional Playoff
Dallas' "Doomsday Defense" limited Atlanta quarterback Steve Bartkowski to only 8 completions in 23 attempts and intercepted him 3 times en route to victory. After the Falcons led 20–13 at halftime, the Cowboys scored 14 unanswered points in the second half.


1978 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament
The 1978 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament was held at Beautiful Tiger Field in Clemson, SC from April 20 through April 24. Clemson won the tournament and earned the Atlantic Coast Conference's automatic bid to the 1978 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season
The 1978 Atlantic hurricane season was the last Atlantic hurricane season to use an all-female naming list. The season officially began on June 1, and ended on November 30. It was an above average season due to a subsiding El Niño. The first storm, a subtropical storm, developed unusually early – on January 18 – and dissipated five days later without causing any damage. At the end of July and early August, short-lived Tropical Storm Amelia caused extensive flooding in Texas after dropping as much as 48 in (1,200 mm) of rain. There were 33 deaths and US$110 million (equivalent to $345.21 million in 2019) in damage. Tropical Storm Bess and Hurricane Cora resulted in only minor land impacts, while the latter was attributed to one fatality.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season
Later in August, Tropical Storm Debra produced widespread effects on the US Gulf Coast, though damage was also relatively minor. Hurricane Ella became the northernmost Category 4 hurricane while located at 38°N, and lashed the East Coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada with gusty winds and rip currents. Hurricanes Flossie and Kendra as well as tropical storms Hope, Irma, and Juliet had minimal land impacts as tropical cyclones. However, the precursor to Kendra caused flooding in Puerto Rico. Hurricane Greta brought strong winds, high tides, and flooding to Central America, particularly Belize and Honduras. Greta resulted in about $25 million in damage and at least five fatalities. The storm crossed into the eastern Pacific and was renamed Olivia. Overall, the storms of this season collectively caused $191 million in damage and 42 fatalities.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Season summary
The Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1978. Although 24 tropical cyclones developed, only twelve of them reached tropical storm intensity, which is slightly above the 1966-2009 average of 11.3 named storms per season. Of the twelve tropical storms, five of them strengthened into a hurricane, which is slightly below the 1966-2009 average of 6.2. Two of the five hurricane became major hurricanes, which is Category 3 or greater on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Three tropical storms and two hurricanes made landfall during the season. Collectively, the tropical cyclones of the 1978 season caused at least 41 fatalities and $135 million. Additionally, the precursor to Hurricane Kendra brought flooding to Puerto Rico, with $6 million in damage and one death. The season officially ended on November 30, 1978.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Season summary
Tropical cyclogenesis began very early, with the development of a subtropical storm on January 18. It dissipated about five days later. However, the next tropical cyclone, an unnumbered depression, did not develop until June 21. In July, there were two systems, including an unnumbered tropical depression and Tropical Storm Amelia. Seven tropical cyclones formed in August, including Tropical Depression Four, tropical storms Bess and Debra and hurricanes Cora and Ella. There were also seven systems in September – tropical depressions Eight, Nine, and Twelve, Tropical Storm Hope, and hurricanes Flossie and Greta. During the month of October, there were five tropical cyclones, with two unnumbered tropical depressions, tropical storms Irma and Juliet, and Hurricane Kendra. There was another unnumbered tropical depression in November, which dissipated on November 5.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Season summary
The season's activity was reflected with an accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) rating of 63. ACE is a metric used to express the energy used by a tropical cyclone during its lifetime. Therefore, a storm with a longer duration will have high values of ACE. It is only calculated at six-hour increments in which specific tropical and subtropical systems are either at or above sustained wind speeds of 39 mph (63 km/h), which is the threshold for tropical storm intensity.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Subtropical Storm One
In the middle of January, an upper-level trough in the westerlies spawned a surface low-pressure area to the east-northeast of the Lesser Antilles and to the south of a subtropical ridge. Isolated from the detrimental effects of the westerlies, it was initially non-tropical in nature and intensified through a baroclinic energy source, or one that derives energy from the interaction of cold and warm air. Convection increased slightly despite cool sea surface temperatures of around 75 °F (24 °C).


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Subtropical Storm One
At 1200 UTC on January 18, it organized into a subtropical depression about 1,725 mi (2,776 km) east-northeast of Puerto Rico while moving in a general westward track, which it would maintain for much of its duration. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) initiated Dvorak classifications on the cyclone at 0000 UTC on January 19, assessing a Dvorak number of T2.5, suggesting both tropical and subtropical characteristics. On the same day, the pressure gradient between the storm and the ridge produced gale-force winds.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Subtropical Storm One
By early on January 20, the storm maintained minimal convection near its center, with its primary rainband revolved in a cyclonic formation around its well-defined center. Later that day, the storm strengthened into a subtropical storm and attained peak winds of 45 mph (72 km/h), supported by both ship and Hurricane Hunters reports.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Subtropical Storm One
After the storm maintained peak winds for about 36 hours, the outer rainbands to the south and east of the center began diminishing late on January 21, which began a weakening trend. At around that time, the cyclone was moving west-southwestward, and within 72 hours was forecast by one hurricane forecast model to be located over Hispaniola. By midday on January 22, the winds decreased to below gale force after the convection dissipated near the center.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Subtropical Storm One
Subsequently, it turned more to the west away from land, and by January 23 the circulation degenerated into a remnant trough about 185 mi (298 km) north of the Lesser Antilles. The storm was one of six tropical or subtropical cyclones on record to be active in the month of January, and one of four to have formed in the month.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Amelia
A tropical wave emerged into the Atlantic Ocean from the west coast of Africa on July 19. The wave did not develop significantly while crossing the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. The disturbance then entered an area of the Gulf of Mexico that was conducive to tropical cyclogenesis and became a tropical depression while located about 30 mi (48 km) south of Brownsville, Texas on July 30. Despite its proximity to land, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Amelia on July 31 and peaked with winds of 50 mph (80 km/h). Around that time, Amelia made landfall near Port Isabel, Texas. Later on July 31, the storm weakened to a tropical depression and dissipated early the following day.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Amelia
Amelia affected the Texas coast for two days, causing several shipping incidents and minor damage in Corpus Christi and South Padre Island. While active, there were no deaths linked to the storm. However, the biggest impact from the storm followed its dissipation, when its remnants contributed to record rainfall totals over the state. The state, already suffering from a previous drought, believed that the rain would help alleviate the conditions. However, the dry ground aided the flooding from the storm. The rainfall caused several rivers and creeks to flood, especially around the Texas Hill Country and northern Texas, leading to severe damage. Overall, Amelia caused 33 fatalities with an estimated $110 million in damages.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Bess
A low-pressure area developed in Georgia along a dissipating cold front on August 1. The system detached from the cold front and drifted southwestward, reaching northeastern Gulf of Mexico on August 3. Satellite imagery, buoys, and reconnaissance aircraft flights indicated that by August 5, the system likely acquired a closed circulation. Thus, the National Hurricane Center estimated that a tropical depression developed in the central Gulf of Mexico at 1200 UTC that day. On August 6, a reconnaissance flight into the depression resulted in an upgrade to Tropical Storm Bess, while located about 250 mi (400 km) southeast of Brownsville, Texas. The storm had initially headed west-southwestward at 8 mph (13 km/h), before moving southwestward at nearly the same speed.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Bess
At 1200 UTC on August 7, Bess attained its minimum barometric pressure of 1,005 mbar (29.7 inHg). Thereafter, Bess began to turn nearly due southward under the influence of a high-pressure area over southern Texas. Later on August 7, the storm reached its maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (80 km/h). Early on August 8, Bess made landfall near Nautla, Veracruz, at the same intensity and then rapidly dissipated inland. In Tuxpan, Veracruz and Tampico, Tamaulipas, sustained winds reached only 29 mph (47 km/h). The storm also produced heavy rainfall, peaking at 12.04 in (306 mm) in La Estrella. However, no flooding occurred and no damage or fatalities were reported. Its remnants emerged into the Pacific Ocean, leading to the formation of Hurricane Iva.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Cora
A disturbance exited the west coast of Africa on August 4 and developed into a tropical depression about three days later, while located well east of the Lesser Antilles. On August 8, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Cora. The storm moved at an unusually high forward speed for a cyclone in the Atlantic Ocean in August, and intensified into a hurricane later that day. The hurricane was upgraded into a hurricane based solely on satellite photography, the second time this occurred. Early on August 9, it peaked with winds of 90 mph (140 km/h).


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Cora
Around 0000 UTC the next day, Cora weakened to a tropical storm while moving west-southwestward. The storm made landfall on Grenada on August 11, while weakening to a tropical depression. Cora weakened further to a tropical depression, before losing its circulation and degenerating into a tropical wave on August 12. The remnant crossed over Central America into the Pacific Ocean, where it regenerated into Hurricane Kristy.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Cora
Cora was an unusual cyclone, maintaining an unusually low latitude in the Atlantic in August at high speeds. While passing through the Lesser Antilles, gusty winds and light rainfall in Barbados and Saint Lucia. In the latter, a person died after stepping on a high tension power line that was downed in Castries. Approximately two to four percent of trees on the island were toppled. Cora was also responsible for altering weather conditions in Presque Isle, Maine, allowing for a takeoff of the historical flight of the Double Eagle II hot air balloon.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Debra
A low-pressure area that developed over southeast Florida and an area of convection near the Yucatán Peninsula merged and resulted in the formation of a tropical depression over the southern Gulf of Mexico on August 26. Tacking west-northwestward around a high-pressure ridge, the depression gradually intensified began and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Debra on August 28. Debra turned to the north and reached its peak intensity of 60 mph (97 km/h) on August 29, shortly before making landfall in southwestern Louisiana. It was a disorganized storm, with most of the convection located to the east of the center. The system weakened rapidly and dissipated over Arkansas on August 29, though its remnants continued into the Ohio Valley.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Debra
One person died while attempting to evacuate an oil rig to the south of Cameron, Louisiana. Damage caused by Debra was considered minimal. In Louisiana, rainfall peaked at 10.81 in (275 mm) in Freshwater Bayou. However, no flooding was reported. Wind impacts were light and mainly limited to down trees and damage to roofs in Lake Charles and New Orleans. The storm spawned several tornadoes in Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Texas. In Mississippi, a tornado in Crystal Springs destroyed three mobile homes and a house, killing one person and seriously injuring another.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Ella
A cold front spawned a tropical disturbance near Bermuda, which became a tropical depression on August 30. The depression strengthened, and by early on August 31, it was upgraded to Tropical Storm Ella. Ship reports indicated that Ella became a hurricane later that day. Further significant intensification occurred, and the storm reached a preliminary peak intensity of 125 mph (201 km/h). A short-wave trough over the Eastern United States caused Ella to decelerate and turn north. Simultaneously, dry air diminished convection on September 2, which in turn resulted in weakening. Eventually, another trough forced Ella to re-curve northeastward, thereby remaining well offshore the East Coast of the United States.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Ella
The storm then re-intensified and by 1200 UTC on September 4, Ella peaked as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph (230 km/h). Thereafter, Ella rapidly weakened as it passed offshore Atlantic Canada, before being absorbed by an extratropical storm while located more than 700 mi (1,100 km) northeast of St. John's on September 5. Ella threatened to pass within 50 mi (80 km) of North Carolina. Because of this, a hurricane watch was issued for the Outer Banks of North Carolina during Labor Day Weekend, resulting in a significant decrease in tourism.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Ella
However, because the storm veered northeastward, little effects other than 5 to 9 ft (1.5 to 2.7 m) waves, minor beach erosion, and light winds in coastal portions of North Carolina. In Newfoundland, Ella produced rainfall amounts reaching 2.39 in (61 mm) and wind gusts up to 71 mph (114 km/h).


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Flossie
A tropical wave passed westward across Dakar, Senegal on August 31 and entered the Atlantic Ocean later that day. Convection markedly increased over the next few days and by 0000 UTC on September 4, the wave developed into a tropical depression while located about midway between Africa and the Lesser Antilles. Later that day, the Hong Kong Merchant reported tropical storm force winds, thus the depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Flossie. It initially tracked northwestward at 23 mph (37 km/h) and minimal strengthening occurred, possibly due to rapid forward speeds. On September 5, the storm curved westward, until turning north on September 7. A high-pressure area transitioned into a trough, causing Flossie to re-curve northeastward and generating strong upper-level winds.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Flossie
On September 8, Flossie was downgraded to a tropical depression. After the trough began weakening, favorable conditions returned, allowing Flossie to re-strengthen into a tropical storm on September 10. Flossie then decelerated and became nearly stationary on September 12. Around that time, the storm was upgraded to a hurricane. Further intensification continued, and Flossie peaked with winds of 100 mph (160 km/h) early on September 13. The storm began turned nearly due northward and began weakening. Flossie accelerated to the northeast and eventually transitioned into an extratropical cyclone while 700 miles (1,100 km) north of the Azores on September 15. The strong extratropical cyclone brought winds as high as 104 mph (167 km/h) to Fair Isle, Great Britain.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Greta
A tropical wave developed into a tropical depression near Trinidad on September 13. By the following day, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Greta. It headed westward to west-northwestward across the Caribbean Sea and slowly intensified, becoming a hurricane on September 16. The rate of intensification increased as Greta was approaching the northwestern Caribbean Sea. Greta briefly peaked as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (210 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 947 mbar (28.0 inHg), while brushing northeastern Honduras. Although the storm remained offshore, land interaction caused significant weakening. On September 19, Greta made landfall in Stann Creek District, Belize with winds of 110 mph (180 km/h). The storm rapidly weakened inland over Central America, but survived its passage and eventually became Hurricane Olivia in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Greta
Early in its duration, Greta produced heavy rainfall in the Netherlands Antilles. With a similar path to Hurricane Fifi four years prior, Greta threatened to reproduce the devastating effects of the catastrophic storm; however, damage and loss of life was significantly less than feared. In Honduras, about 1,200 homes were damaged, about half of which in towns along the coastline. The storm damaged about 75% of the houses on Roatán along the offshore Bay Islands, and there was one death in the country.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Greta
In the Belize Barrier Reef, Greta downed trees and produced high waves, while on the mainland, there was minimal flooding despite a high storm surge. In Dangriga where it made landfall, the hurricane damaged or destroyed 125 houses and the primary hospital. In Belize City, a tornado flipped over a truck and damaged four houses. Damage in Belize was estimated at $25 million, and there were four deaths.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Hope
A mid-tropospheric low-pressure area developed over the Southeastern United States on September 10. The system developed into a subtropical depression early on September 12, while located about 75 mi (121 km) east of St. Augustine, Florida. Over the next few days, the depression tracked east-northeastward to eastward. While strengthening into a subtropical storm on September 15, it passed just north of Bermuda, but produced only 1.07 in (27 mm) of rain on the island. The storm then made a brief dip to the east-southeast, before resuming its east-northeastward course on September 16. Beginning on the following day, satellite imagery indicated that the system was acquiring tropical characteristics. As a result, it was reclassified as Tropical Storm Hope at 0600 UTC on September 17.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Hope
Because Hope remained out of range of reconnaissance aircraft flights, the National Hurricane Center relied on ships and satellite estimates. After becoming a tropical cyclone, Hope began to accelerate while slowly intensifying. Satellite estimates at 1200 UTC on September 19 indicated that the storm attained its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (105 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 987 mbar (29.1 inHg), recorded by the S.S. Banglar Mann. While located hundreds of miles north of the Azores on September 20, the storm turned northward and began crossing into sea surface temperatures of 68 °F (20 °C). By 1200 UTC on September 21, Hope transitioned into an extratropical cyclone and was absorbed by another extratropical storm while situated about 220 mi (350 km) south of Reykjavík, Iceland.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Irma
The origins of Tropical Storm Irma were from a subtropical depression that formed about 500 mi (800 km) south of the Azores on October 2. During the next two days, thunderstorm activity gradually increased around the circulation center as the storm drifted northward. On October 2, the storm had taken the appearance of a tropical storm on satellite photographs, and upper-level anticyclonic flow over the center of the storm was evident on satellite time-lapse movies. By the afternoon of October 4, the system had acquired the characteristics of a tropical storm and was named Irma; gale-force winds extended 150 mi (240 km) from the center of circulation.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Irma
Six hours after being named, Irma reached its peak intensity of 50 mph (80 km/h). On October 5, Irma turned towards the north-northeast and passed about midway between the central and western Azores. Shortly thereafter, Irma became less organized, and that evening was absorbed into an approaching cold front, about 450 mi (720 km) northeast of the Azores. Although Irma passed near parts of the western and central Azores with gale-force winds in some areas, no reports of damage or casualties caused by Irma were received. Several nearby ships reported winds around 46 mph (74 km/h). It was noted that heavy rains may have occurred on some of the mountainous islands as Irma passed.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Juliet
A weak tropical wave emerged into the Atlantic Ocean from the west coast of Africa on September 30. The wave moved west-northwestward and was centered well east of the Leeward Islands on October 6, when satellite imagery indicated that deep convection became much more concentrated. The following day, ship reports noted that a closed circulation was developing. The system was classified as a tropical depression beginning at 1800 UTC on October 7, while located about 600 mi (970 km) east of Puerto Rico. Around midday on October 8, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Juliet.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Juliet
After peaking with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (80 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 1,006 mbar (29.7 inHg) early on October 9, Juliet passed north of Puerto Rico. The storm brought light rainfall to the island, peaking at 4.51 in (115 mm) at Toro Negro Plant. The storm then accelerated and curved northwestward, northward, and then northeastward. On October 11, Juliet merged with a frontal zone, while located west-southwest of Bermuda. Later that day, the remnants moved across the island and produced up to 3 in (76 mm) of rainfall.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Kendra
In late October, a tropical wave and an area of disturbed weather combined in the northwestern Caribbean, before crossing Puerto Rico. The system moved northwest and by late on October 28, it became a tropical depression while located about 80 miles (130 km) north of Mayaguana in The Bahamas. Early on the following day, it strengthened into Tropical Storm Kendra. The storm quickly intensified while moving either north or north-northwestward and became a hurricane late on October 29. After peaking with winds of 80 mph (130 km/h) on October 30, Kendra weakened significantly to a 50 mph (80 km/h) tropical storm in only 12 hours. Kendra continued north-northeastward or northeastward, before being absorbed by an extratropical cyclone while located west-northwest of Bermuda early on November 1.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Kendra
The precursor system dropped rainfall across much of southern Puerto Rico was at least 7 in (180 mm), with a peak at 20.43 in (519 mm) in Pico del Este. Mudslides and flooding from the heavy precipitation left many roads impassable, washed out or collapsed several bridges, and caused considerable damage to agriculture, especially livestock. Additionally, one fatality occurred and 1,710 families fled their homes for shelters. Damage in Puerto Rico reached $6 million. A high-pressure area and Kendra combined produced strong winds and abnormally high tides along the East Coast of the United States, though no damage was reported.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Other systems
In addition to the 12 other tropical cyclones, there were several tropical depressions that developed during the season. The first of which formed over the central Gulf of Mexico on June 21. The depression moved northeastward toward Florida and strengthened slightly. It dissipated by late on June 22. Another tropical depression developed about 175 mi (282 km) southwest of Porto Novo, Cape Verde on July 10. The system moved generally westward and intensified into a strong tropical depression, before dissipating two days later. Tropical Depression Four formed about 465 mi (748 km) east of Barbados on August 7.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Other systems
It tracked westward without significantly intensifying, and passed through the Windward Islands over Bequia on the following day. The depression continued westward and passed near Aruba on August 9. It eventually traversed the Caribbean Sea, and made landfall to the south of Bluefields, Nicaragua on August 11. The depression dissipated shortly thereafter.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Other systems
A tropical depression formed in the central Gulf of Mexico on August 9. The storm moved northward and struck southeastern Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana before dissipating the next day. By August 30, another depression developed in the north-central Gulf of Mexico. The system tracked generally eastward and avoided landfall. It dissipated around midday on September 1. Tropical Depression Eight developed over western Senegal around 1200 UTC on September 3. The depression initially headed west-southwestward and soon entered the Atlantic Ocean. Between late on September 4 and early on September 5, the system passed south of Cape Verde.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Other systems
Later that day, the storm began curving west-northwestward. By early on September 7, it was heading northwestward and then turned to the north-northwest the next day. The depression moved northward between September 9 and September 10, before re-curving to the northeast. It dissipated about 440 mi (710 km) of Flores Island in the Azores around midday on September 11.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Other systems
At 1200 UTC on September 8, Tropical Depression Nine developed over the west-central Gulf of Mexico. Moving generally westward, the depression made landfall south of La Pesca, Tamaulipas, around midday on September 10. The system rapidly weakened inland and dissipated later that day. Another tropical depression formed over western Senegal on September 18. It moved westward across the Atlantic Ocean before curving west-northwestward about three days later. On September 25, the depression moved northwestward and then northward by September 28. It dissipated about 550 mi (890 km) east-northeast of Bermuda at 1200 UTC the following day. The next tropical depression developed in the Gulf of Mexico just offshore Campeche on September 21. Moving west-northwestward, the depression made landfall near Tampico on September 23, shortly before dissipating.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Other systems
A tropical depression formed at 1200 UTC on October 13, while located about 55 mi (89 km) north of Corvo Island in the Azores. The depression initially moved south-southwestward, before curving southwestward by the following day. It then turned west-northwestward on October 15. Late the next day, the depression turned abruptly northward. The system dissipated about 500 mi (800 km) west-northwest of Flores Island. The next tropical depression developed at 1200 UTC on October 26, while located about 490 mi (790 km) south-southwest of the southernmost islands of Cape Verde.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Other systems
It moved generally westward and dissipated about halfway between the Lesser Antilles and the west coast of Africa on October 29. The final tropical depression of the season formed about 265 mi (426 km) northeast of North Abaco in the Bahamas on November 3. Moving north-northeastward, the depression turned northeastward by the next day. It dissipated about 275 mi (443 km) east of Virginia Beach, Virginia on November 5.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Storm names
The following names were used for named storms that formed in the north Atlantic basin in 1978. Storms were named Amelia, Bess, Cora, Flossie, Hope, Irma and Juliet for the first time in 1978. This was the last year that only female names were used for Atlantic hurricanes. The name Greta was retired after the 1978 season. Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.


1978 Atlantic hurricane season, Season effects
This is a table of the storms in 1978 and their landfall(s), if any. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but are still storm-related. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical or a wave or low.


1978 Auburn Tigers football team
The 1978 Auburn Tigers football team achieved an overall 6–4–1 record under third-year head coach Doug Barfield and failed to receive an invitation to a bowl game. While only slightly better than the previous year's 6–5 record, the 1978 squad fared worse in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) completing the season with a record of 3–2–1.


1978 Auburn Tigers football team
Four players were named All-SEC players for 1978: defensive back James McKinney, running back Joe Cribbs, offensive tackle Mike Burrow, and defensive tackle Frank Warren.


1978 Australasian Individual Speedway Championship
The 1978 Australasian Individual Speedway Championship was the third annual Australasian Final for Motorcycle speedway riders from Australia and New Zealand as part of the qualification for the 1978 Speedway World Championship.


1978 Australasian Individual Speedway Championship
The Final took place at the 413 metres (452 yards) Western Springs Stadium in Auckland and was won by 18-year-old sensation Mitch Shirra. Mick Mckeon finished second with John Titman and Mike Farrell the final qualifiers for the 1978 Intercontinental Final to be held at the Fredericia Speedway Center in Fredericia, Denmark.


1978 Australasian Individual Speedway Championship
1977 World Champion Ivan Mauger was not required to ride in Auckland as he had been seeded directly into the Intercontinental Final.


1978 Australia Day Honours
The Australia Day Honours 1978 were announced on 26 January 1978 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir Zelman Cowen.


1978 Australia Day Honours
The Australia Day Honours are the first of the two major annual honours lists, announced on Australia Day (26 January), with the other being the Queen's Birthday Honours which are announced on the second Monday in June.


1978 Australian Championship of Makes
The 1978 Australian Championship of Makes was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for car manufacturers. The championship was contested over a five-round series.


1978 Australian Championship of Makes
All rounds were contested by Group C Touring Cars  which competed in three classes according to engine capacity.


1978 Australian Championship of Makes
Championship points were awarded at each round on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis for the first six places in each class. Only the best placed car from each manufacturer in each class was eligible to score points  and points could not be aggregated across classes.


1978 Australian Drivers' Championship
The 1978 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Racing Cars complying with Australian Formula 1. It was the 22nd Australian Drivers' Championship to be awarded by CAMS. The title winner, Graham McRae, was awarded the 1978 CAMS Gold Star.


1978 Australian Drivers' Championship, Points system
Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six place-getters  at each round.


1978 Australian Drivers' Championship, Points system
Where a round was contested in two heats, points were allocated on a 20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis to the first 14 place-getters in each heat. The six drivers attaining the highest aggregate from both heats were then awarded the championship points for that round. Where more than one driver attained the same total, the relevant placing was awarded to the driver who was higher placed in the last heat.


1978 Australian Drivers' Championship, Championship name
The regulations for the championship were published by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport under the name Australian Formula 1 Championship, and the Official Souvenir Program for the 1978 Australian Grand Prix listed the race as "Round 2, 1978 Australian Formula One Championship". However it was reported in the Australian Competition Yearbook (Number 8) as the Australian Drivers' Championship  and is recognized by CAMS as the 1978 Australian Drivers' Championship  and the latter term has been used for this article.


1978 Australian Grand Prix
The 1978 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race open to cars complying with Australian Formula 1, (commonly referred to as Formula 5000 cars). It was held on 10 September 1978 at the Sandown International Motor Racing Circuit, in Victoria, Australia.


1978 Australian Grand Prix
It was the forty third Australian Grand Prix held and it was the Golden Anniversary AGP with the first being run in 1928. It also doubled as Round 2 of the 1978 Australian Drivers' Championship.


1978 Australian Grand Prix, Summary, Qualifying
John McCormack started on pole in his McLaren M23 alongside Kiwi Graham McRae in his own designed and built McRae GM3, complete with a unique clear perspex cockpit cover allowing people to see McRae at work in the car. Before the start McCormack's crew discovered in the warm up that a blown head gasket in qualifying had resulted in damage to the 5.0L Leyland's cylinder heads but had no time to replace it so McCormack started under a cloud. Vern Schuppan qualified his Ansett Team Elfin MR8 3rd with a time equal to that of McRae with the Lola's of Alan Hamilton and Jon Davison rounding out the top 5 qualifiers.


1978 Australian Grand Prix, Summary, Qualifying
Ian Adams did not practice in his Lola T330, but was permitted to start the race from the rear of the grid.


1978 Australian Grand Prix, Summary, Race
McRae won the start and was never headed despite slowing on the start/finish line for confirmation of a 'bad sportsmanship' flag for not slowing enough past Coopers crash on lap 22, and a spin at the Dandenong Road corner (turn 7 on the old circuit) on lap 32. During the time of Cooper's crash alone McRae extended his lead over Jon Davison and Vern Schuppan by more than half the length of the almost 1 km long front straight as others slowed for the yellow flags where McRae did not resulting in the bad sportmanship flag for McRae.


1978 Australian Grand Prix, Summary, Race
Alfredo Costanzo was the first to retire on lap 5 when he lost 2nd gear in Kevin Bartlett's spare Lola T400B, while McCormack retired his McLaren from 3rd place with head gasket failure on lap 6.


1978 Australian Grand Prix, Summary, Race
McRae won the 49 lap race by two laps from John Briggs driving an older model Matich A51 Repco-Holden, with Peter Edwards in a Lola T332 finishing 3rd. McRae's fastest race lap of 1:01.9 (average speed of 180.29 km/h or 112 mph) was also the fastest lap of the race.


1978 Australian Grand Prix, Summary, Race
The race was marred by several crashes with two drivers taken to hospital. On lap 22 Garrie Cooper broke some ribs and badly broke his leg in a 250 km/h crash at Rothmans Rise on the back straight, completely destroying his self-designed Elfin MR8 in the process. Cooper's simple explanation of the crash was that "something broke" sending him sliding sideways along the old fence that separated the race track from the horse track.


1978 Australian Grand Prix, Summary, Race
Five laps later, his 3rd placed teammate Vern Schuppan had tangled with the ex-Alan Jones Lola T332 of 2nd placed Jon Davison in turn 1 and had to retire with damage leaving both Ansett Team Elfin cars with heavy damage. The crash also saw Davison retire with his car with terminal damage just moments later at Holden Corner (turn 2). Then with only 3 laps left, Alan Hamilton badly crashed his Lola T430 into the old Dunlop Bridge coming through the high speed causeway onto the main straight.


1978 Australian Grand Prix, Summary, Race
The car crashed into the base of the bridge and was torn in two with Hamilton's body exposed at the front of the car while he was still strapped to his seat (thankfully this time drivers heeded the yellow flags and proceeded slowly through the scene as Hamilton and what was left of his car had bounced back onto the race track). Hamilton was unconscious and was taken to hospital with minor head injuries and some broken bones but went on to make a full recovery.


1978 Australian Grand Prix, Post Race Exhibition
After the race, McRae was awarded the Lex Davison Trophy for winning from five time World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio, stating in his short victory speech that he never thought he would ever get to meet Mr Fangio and that he believed it was a greater honour than having won his 3rd AGP. Following this Fangio, Australia's three time world champion, Jack Brabham, Bob Jane driving a Maserati, and former racer turned Holden dealer Bill Patterson driving a Cooper, had a spirited three lap demonstration/race with Fangio and Brabham clearing out and swapping the lead many times.


1978 Australian Grand Prix, Post Race Exhibition
Fangio was driving a Mercedes-Benz W196 that he raced in 1954 and 1955, while Brabham (not yet Sir Jack) drove the Repco V8 powered Brabham BT19 in which he won the 1966 World Championship of Drivers. Brabham 'won' the demonstration, just ahead of Fangio, with Patterson and Jane some distance behind in 3rd and 4th.


1978 Australian Grand Prix, Post Race Exhibition
The 67-year-old Fangio had been invited to the meeting by race organiser's to demonstrate his Mercedes. However the great man stated that he would not demonstrate his World Championship winning Mercedes, he was going to race it. Fangio also intended to drive in a T-shirt like he had in his Formula One days, but had to conform to safety regulations about uncovered body parts and wore a full set of white overalls, though he was permitted to use his old goggles and Herbie Johnson racing helmet.


1978 Australian Grand Prix, Post Race Exhibition
Despite not having raced competitively for 20 years, Juan Manuel Fangio was still the holder of a full FIA Super Licence.


1978 Australian Grand Prix, Post Race Exhibition
The fastest lap of the demonstration was a 1:21.6 by Jack Brabham, almost 20 seconds slower than McRae's fastest lap for the Grand Prix.


1978 Australian Open
The 1978 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts at the Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne, Australia and was held from 25 December 1978 to 3 January 1979. It was the 67th edition of the Australian Open and the fourth Grand Slam tournament of the year. The singles titles were won by Argentinian Guillermo Vilas and Australian Chris O'Neil.


1978 Australian Open, Seniors, Men's doubles
Wojciech Fibak /  Kim Warwick defeated  Paul Kronk /  Cliff Letcher, 7–6, 7–5


1978 Australian Open, Seniors, Women's doubles
Betsy Nagelsen /  Renáta Tomanová defeated  Naoko Sato /  Pam Whytcross, 7–5, 6–2


1978 Australian Open – Men's Singles
First-seeded Guillermo Vilas defeated John Marks 6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 in the final to win the Men's Singles tennis title at the 1978 Australian Open. Vitas Gerulaitis was the defending champion, but did not compete this year.


1978 Australian Open – Men's Singles
This tournament was the final Grand Slam appearance for former 4-time champion Ken Rosewall.


1978 Australian Open – Men's Singles, Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Guillermo Vilas is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


1978 Australian Open – Men's Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw for men's singles at the 1978 Australian Open.


1978 Australian Open – Women's Doubles
Evonne Cawley, Helen Gourlay-Cawley, Mona Guerrant and Kerry Reid were the reigning champions. None of them competed.


1978 Australian Open – Women's Singles
Unseeded Chris O'Neil defeated Betsy Nagelsen 6–3, 7–6(7–3) in the final to win the women's singles title at the 1978 Australian Open.


1978 Australian Open – Women's Singles
It would be another 29 years before Serena Williams would become the next unseeded player to win the Australian Open. Until the 2019 French Open, this would be the last major to feature a semifinalist having not previously reached a final, a span of 188 tournaments.


1978 Australian Open – Women's Singles, Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Chris O'Neil is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


1978 Australian Professional Championship
The 1978 Australian Professional Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place in August 1978.


1978 Australian Professional Championship
Eddie Charlton won the tournament defeating Ian Anderson 29–13 in the final.


1978 Australian Rally Championship
The 1978 Australian Rally Championship was a series of six rallying events held across Australia. It was the eleventh season in the history of the competition.


1978 Australian Rally Championship
Greg Carr and navigator Fred Gocentas in the Ford Escort RS1800 won the 1978 Championship, finally breaking the dominance of the Datsuns for the past three years.


1978 Australian Rally Championship, Season review
The eleventh Australian Rally Championship was held over six events across Australia, the season consisting of two events for New South Wales and one event each for Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. The 1978 season was again a closely fought battle which resulted in a tie at the finish of the last event of the season between the Datsun of Dunkerton and the Escort of Carr. However the championship was awarded to Carr on a countback as he had three wins to Dunkerton's one.


1978 Australian Rally Championship, The Rallies
The six events of the 1978 season were as follows.


1978 Australian Sports Car Championship
The 1978 Australian Sports Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title  for Group D Production Sports Cars. The title, which was the tenth Australian Sports Car Championship, was won by Ross Mathiesen, driving a Porsche Carrera.


1978 Australian Sports Car Championship, Points system
Championship points were awarded at each round on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six finishers in each class, and on a 4-3-2-1 to the first four finisher outright, irrespective of class.


1978 Australian Sports Car Championship, Points system
At rounds which were contested over two heats, round placings were determined by allocating "points" to the first fourteen placegetters in each heat on a 20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Where more than one driver attained the same total, the relevant round placing was awarded to driver gaining the higher place in the last heat. Actual championship points were then awarded based on the calculated round placings.


1978 Australian Sports Car Championship, Further reading
Jim Shepherd, Australian Sports Car Championship, 1978, A History of Australian Motor Sport, 1980, pages 178 to 179


1978 Australian Sports Sedan Championship
The 1978 Australian Sports Sedan Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of Group B Sports Sedans. It was the third Australian Sports Sedan Championship title to be awarded by CAMS.


1978 Australian Sports Sedan Championship, Calendar
All rounds were contested over two heats except for the Calder round which was staged as a single race.


1978 Australian Sports Sedan Championship, Points system
Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis for the first six places at each round. Points from the six best round results could be retained by each driver.


1978 Australian Sports Sedan Championship, Points system
Where a round was contested over more than one heat, round points were awarded on a 20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis to the first 14 placegetters in each heat. These points were then aggregated to determine the placings for the round. Where more than one driver attained the same total, the relevant round placing was awarded to the driver with the highest placing in the last heat.


1978 Australian Touring Car Championship
The 1978 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Group C Touring Cars. The title, which was the 19th Australian Touring Car Championship, was won by Peter Brock. It was his second Australian Touring Car Championship victory.


1978 Australian Touring Car Championship
For the second time in the history of the championship, the point score regulation which specified that not all results counted had an effect on the championship outcome. Bob Morris finishing the series on 53 points, two less than championship winner Peter Brock, after Morris lost the two points awarded for his fifth placing at Amaroo Park. However, the regulation did not actually change the championship winner as Brock would otherwise have won the title due to the tiebreaker rule with three round wins to one for Morris. Third in the championship was the consistent Rod Stevens driving his Under 3.0 litre Ford Escort RS2000. Stevens benefited from the point system that favoured the small class cars by giving bonus points for class placings.


1978 Australian Touring Car Championship
In his first ATCC since 1973, five time series champion Ian Geoghegan won his ninth and last ATCC race when he drove his Bob Jane owned Holden Torana to a surprise win in Round 4 at Sandown. In what would be his last ATCC season, Geoghegan finished 13th in the championship.


1978 Australian Touring Car Championship, Points system
Championship points were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the first six placegetters in each of the two classes. Bonus points were awarded on a 4–3–2–1 basis to the first four placegetters irrespective of class. Only the best six scores counted towards the championship totals.


1978 Australian Touring Car Championship, Points system
Where a round was contested in two parts, points were allocated on a 20–16–13–11–10–9–8–7–6–5–4–3–2–1 basis to the first 14 place-getters in each part and then aggregated. If more than one driver attained the same total, the superior round placing was awarded to the driver who was higher placed in the last part. Championship points were then awarded for the round.


1978 Australian Touring Car Championship, Championship standings
Note: Cars marked with an asterisk competed in the "Up to and including 3000 cc" class.


1978 Australian Tourist Trophy
The 1978 Australian Tourist Trophy was a motor race staged at the Calder circuit in Victoria, Australia on 3 December 1978. It was open to Group A Sports Cars and was recognized by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as an Australian Title. The race, which was the sixteenth Australian Tourist Trophy, was won by Greg Doidge driving an Elfin 360.