1983 Aragonese regional election, Opinion polls
he tables below lists opinion polling results in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first and using the dates when the survey fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. Where the fieldwork dates are unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed with its background shaded in the leading party's colour. If a tie ensues, this is applied to the figures with the highest percentages. The "Lead" column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the parties with the highest percentages in a given poll.


1983 Aragonese regional election, Aftermath
Under Article 22 of the Statute, investiture processes to elect the president of the General Deputation of Aragon required of an absolute majority—more than half the votes cast—to be obtained in the first ballot. If unsuccessful, a new ballot would be held 24 hours later requiring only of a simple majority—more affirmative than negative votes—to succeed. If the proposed candidate was not elected, successive proposals were to be transacted under the same procedure within ten-day periods. In the event of the investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot, the Cortes were to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called, with elected deputies merely serving out what remained of their four-year terms.


1983 Aragonese regional election, Aftermath
On 27 May 1983, PSOE candidate Santiago Marraco was elected by the Cortes as new Aragonese president by an absolute majority of 35 out of 66, with support from both PCE and CDS and the abstention of the PAR.


1983 Argentina rugby union tour of Australia
The 1983 Argentina rugby union tour of Australia was a series of seven matches played by the Argentina national rugby union team in Australia in July and August 1983.


1983 Argentina rugby union tour of Australia
Argentina played two test v Australia, winning one of them. It was the first time they beat a Wallabie team in Australian territory.


1983 Argentina rugby union tour of Australia, Match details
New South Wales :_ G.Ella, G.Da Vanzo, B.Papworth, M.Hawker,  M.Martin, M.Ella (capt. ), D.Voughan, R.Reynolds, S.Poidevin, D.Codey, P.Clemente, S.Williams, D.Curran, L.Walker (B.Malouf),  O.Hall. Argentina: M.Sansot, J.Palma, M.Loffreda, R.Madero, M.Campo, Porta (capt. ), A.Soares Gache, B.Minguez, G.Travaglini, T.Petersen, G.Milano, E.Branca, E.Rodriguez, A.Courreges, S.Dengra.


1983 Argentina rugby union tour of Australia, Match details
A.C.T. : Campese (capt. ), Thomas, Girvan, McGrath, Morton, Vest, Berry, O'Neill, Galvin, Utilelea, Donnellan, Kasrrzak, Takiari, Cowie, Didier  Argentina: D.Baetti, J.Palma, G.Varone, R.Madero, M.Campo, Porta (capt. ), M.Larrubia, R.De Vedia, C.Neyra, E.Ure, G.Milano, E.Branca, P.Devoto, A.Courregee, F.Morel


1983 Argentina rugby union tour of Australia, Match details
Queensland: Martin, Moon, Slack, Hanley, Grigg, Lynagh, Parker, Shaw (capt. ), Hall, Roche, McLean, Hillhouse, Pileki, Rosa, Meadows  Argentina: M.Sansot (Bernardo Miguens), J.Palma, M.Loffreda , R.Madero, M.Campo, Porta (capt. ), A.Soares Gache, G.Travaglini, B. Minguez, T.Petersen, G.Milano, E.Branca, E.Rodriguez, A.Courreges, S.Dengra.


1983 Argentina rugby union tour of Australia, Match details
New South Wales Country: P.Gell, D.Vignes, J.Grant, M.Scanlon, M.Kinlayson, B.Everingham, B.Turnar, S.Morgan, B.Abram, D.Carter, J.Boland, M.Smith, J.Coolican, P.Palmer (capt. ), R.Mercer. Argentina:  B.Miguens, J.Palma, M.Loffreda, G.Varone, M.Campo, R.Madero, A.Soares Gache (capt. ), R.De Vedía, B.Mínguez, E.Ure, G.Milano, G.Travaglini, P.Devoto, J.Baeck, S.Dengra


1983 Argentina rugby union tour of Australia, Match details, First test
Queensland Country': Smee (capt. ), Dillon, Wholer, Finch, Hood, Duncan, Iwikau, Astken, McLeod, R.Burnees, Filday, McCowan, Shaelds, Cox, K.Burnees. Argentina:  D.Baetti, M.Sansot, M.Loffreda, G.Varone, F.González Morán, Porta (capt. ), M.Larrubia, R.De Vedia, C.Neyra, G.Travaglini, G.Milano, E.Branca, E.Rodriguez, J.Baeck, P.Devoto


1983 Argentine Primera División
The 1983 Primera División season was the 92nd season of top-flight football in Argentina. Independiente won the Metropolitano (13th title) and Estudiantes de La Plata won the Nacional championship (4th title).


1983 Argentine Primera División
Nueva Chicago and Racing Club were relegated by the average system.


1983 Argentine Primera División, Nacional Championship, Finals, Second leg
Estudiantes LP won the final with the aggregate score of 3–2.


1983 Argentine general election
The Argentine general election of 1983 was held on 30 October and marked the return of constitutional rule following the self-styled National Reorganization Process dictatorship installed in 1976. Voters fully chose the president, governors, mayors, and their respective national, province and town legislators; with a turnout of 85.6%.


1983 Argentine general election, Background
In 1976 the military announced a coup d'état against President Isabel Perón with problems of financial instability, inflation, endemic corruption, international isolation and violence that typified her last year in office. Many citizens believed the National Reorganization Process, the junta's government, would improve the general state of Argentina. As that regime's third dictator, General Leopoldo Galtieri, awoke in the early hours of June 18, 1982, to find a letter requesting he resign, however, he had no doubt that the Process had run its course.


1983 Argentine general election, Background
Against the wishes of Galtieri's commanders, the Joint Chiefs chose Army General Reynaldo Bignone not so much the new President as the usher towards a democratic transition, which President Bignone announced would take place in March 1984. Inheriting an economy struggling under crushing interest rates imposed by the Central Bank Circular 1050, Bignone's new president of the institution, Domingo Cavallo, rescinded the policy in July, a move towards economic liberalization complemented by Bignone's restoring a limited right of assembly and free speech. Argentina's wide array of political parties, jointly pressing for elections through a "Multiparty" convened by centrist UCR leader Ricardo Balbín in 1981, geared for the imminent return to democracy.


1983 Argentine general election, Background
Six years of intermittent wage freezes, policies adverse to industry and restrictive measures like the Circular 1050 had left GDP per capita at its lowest level since 1968 and real wages lower by around 40%. Given these conditions, the return of some freedoms quickly led to a wave of strikes, including two general strikes led by Saúl Ubaldini of the CGT labor federation (then the largest in South America).


1983 Argentine general election, Background
Fanning antagonism on the part of hard-liners in the regime, this led Admiral Jorge Anaya (later court-martialed for gross malfeasance in the 1982 Falklands War) to announce his candidacy for President in August, becoming the first to do so; amid popular jeers of "Anaya canalla" (Anaya the fiend), Bignone immediately thwarted the move.


1983 Argentine general election, Background
Amid growing calls for quicker elections, police brutally repressed a December 16, 1982, demonstration in Buenos Aires' central Plaza de Mayo, resulting in the death of one protester and Bignone's hopes for an indefinite postponement of elections. Devoting themselves to damage control, the regime began preparing for the transition by shredding evidence of their murder of 15–30,000 dissidents (most of which were students, academics and labor union personnel uninvolved in the violence Argentina suffered from 1973 to 1976).


1983 Argentine general election, Background
Hoping to quiet demands that their whereabouts be known, in February 1983 Buenos Aires Police Chief Ramón Camps publicly recognized the crime and asserted that the "disappeared" were, in fact, dead. Provoking popular indignation, Camps' interview forced President Bignone to cease denying the tragedy and, on April 28, declare a blanket amnesty for those involved (including himself).


1983 Argentine general election, Background
Among the first prominent political figures to condemn the amnesty was the leader of the UCR's progressive wing, Raúl Alfonsín, who easily secured his party's nomination during their convention in July. Alfonsín chose as his running mate Víctor Martínez, a more conservative UCR figure from Córdoba Province. Their traditional opponents, the Justicialist Party, struggled to find candidates for not only the top of the ticket, but for a number of the more important local races, as well.


1983 Argentine general election, Background
Following conferences that dragged on for two months after the UCR nominated Alfonsín, the Justicialists' left wing (the target of much of the repression before and after the 1976 coup) proved little match for the CGT's influence within the party. They nominated ideological opposites Ítalo Lúder, who had served as acting President during Mrs. Perón's September 1975 sick leave, for President and former Chaco Province Governor Deolindo Bittel as his running mate; whereas Lúder had authorized repression against the left in 1975, Bittel was a populist renowned for his defense of Habeas Corpus during the subsequent dictatorship.


1983 Argentine general election, Background
Constrained by time, Alfonsín focused his strategy on accusing the Justicialists, who had refused to condemn Bignone's military amnesty, of enjoying the dictator's tacit support. Alfonsín enjoyed the valuable support of a number of Argentine intellectuals and artists, including playwright Carlos Gorostiza, who devised the UCR candidate's slogan, Ahora, Alfonsín ("Now is the Time for Alfonsín").


1983 Argentine general election, Background
Lúder, aware of intraparty tensions, limited his campaign ads and rhetoric largely to an evocation of the founder of the Justicialist Party, the late Juan Perón. Polls gave neither man an edge for the contest, which was scheduled for October 30. A few days for the elections (which a record turnout), the Justicialist candidate for Governor of Buenos Aires Province, Herminio Iglesias, threw a (premature) "victory rally" in which a coffin draped in the UCR colors was burned before the television cameras.


1983 Argentine general election, Background
The bonfire ignited the electorate's bitter memories of Isabel Perón's tenure and helped result in a solid victory for the UCR. The Peronists were given a majority in the Senate and 12 of 22 governorships. The UCR secured only 7 governors, though the nation's largest province, Buenos Aires, would be governed by the UCR's Alejandro Armendáriz. The elections themselves, which allowed Alfonsín to persuade Bignone to advance the inaugural to December 10, 1983, became, in playwright Carlos Gorostiza's words, "more than a democratic way out, a way into life."


1983 Arizona State Sun Devils football team
The 1983 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 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth season under head coach Darryl Rogers, the Sun Devils compiled a 6–4–1 record (3–3–1 against Pac-10 opponents), finished in a tie for sixth place in the Pac-10, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 320 to 200.


1983 Arizona State Sun Devils football team
The team's statistical leaders included Tod Hons with 2,394 passing yards, Darryl Clack with 932 rushing yards, and Don Kern with 502 receiving yards.


1983 Arizona Wildcats football team
The 1983 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth season under head coach Larry Smith, the Wildcats compiled a 7–3–1 record (4–3–1 against Pac-10 opponents), finished in fifth place in the Pac-10, and outscored their opponents, 343 to 188. The offense scored an average of 31.2 points per game, the eighth best average in Division I-A. The team played its home games in Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona. They were ineligible for a bowl game (including the Rose Bowl) due to NCAA violations (see below).


1983 Arizona Wildcats football team
The team's statistical leaders included Tom Tunnicliffe with 2,474 passing yards, Chris Brewer with 586 rushing yards, and Jay Dobyns with 694 receiving yards. Linebacker Ricky Hunley led the team with 176 total tackles.


1983 Arizona Wildcats football team, Before the season
The Wildcats finished the 1982 season with a 6–4–1 (4–3–1 Pac-10) record and entered 1983 with high expectations with a chance to contend for a possible trip to the Rose Bowl.


1983 Arizona Wildcats football team, Before the season, NCAA investigation
In the spring of 1983, Arizona was placed on probation by both the Pac-10 and the NCAA after it was discovered that the football program was involved in a slush fund scandal by giving players cash payments, which is illegal under NCAA rules. Tony Mason, Smith's predecessor, was allegedly involved in the scandal. After a three-year investigation, the NCAA and the Pac-10 found enough evidence that Mason covered up the scandal and that the Arizona football program broke NCAA rules by committing academic fraud as well as recruiting violations. The program was handed out infractions by the NCAA, including being placed on probation (the team was originally placed on probation in 1981 and Mason had already resigned before the 1980 season began, leading to the hiring of Smith to clean up the mess left behind by Mason).


1983 Arizona Wildcats football team, Before the season, NCAA investigation
Due to the scandal, the NCAA handed out the following sanctions to the Wildcats, which included:


1983 Arizona Wildcats football team, Before the season, NCAA investigation
The NCAA/Pac-10 did not forfeit all of Arizona's wins from Mason's tenure due to the fact that the infractions occurred off the field.


1983 Arizona Wildcats football team, Before the season, NCAA investigation
Due to television broadcasting rights for Arizona's games already booked for the 1983 season prior to the ban being handed down, the TV ban was in effect for the 1984–85 seasons.


1983 Arizona Wildcats football team, Before the season, NCAA investigation
The Wildcats were also barred from eligibility to ranked in the polls (primarily in the AP and coaches’ polls) due to the sanctions. However, it was only affected for the 1984 and 1985 seasons, as the AP predicted the Wildcats to be competitive in 1983 despite being on probation.


1983 Arizona Wildcats football team, Before the season, NCAA investigation
In addition, the Pac-10 announced that the Wildcats were ineligible for the 1983 and 1984 conference championships and the Rose Bowls if they were to finish in first place in both seasons (to date, the Wildcats have not made an appearance in the bowl game).


1983 Arizona Wildcats football team, Game summaries, Oregon State
Arizona opened the season against Oregon State for the second consecutive season. The Wildcats, who were ranked 14th in the preseason polls, didn't miss a beat and scored 50 points in their dominance over the Beavers.


1983 Arizona Wildcats football team, Game summaries, California
On the road at California, the Wildcats, unbeaten and ranked third, came out hot and led 26–3 at one point before the Golden Bears stormed back by outscoring Arizona 30–7 to tie it midway through the fourth quarter. Neither team would score the rest of the way, and settled for the tie, which ended the Wildcats’ chances of a possible perfect season, but still had their unbeaten hopes intact.


1983 Arizona Wildcats football team, Game summaries, Colorado State
After their devastating tie at California, the Wildcats returned home to host Colorado State in a rare October non-conference game. The Rams had no answer against Arizona's offense, who lit up the score with 52 points on its way to a victory. The win avenged the Wildcats’ loss to the Rams in 1980 in coach Smith's Arizona debut. The 52 points were the most Arizona scored in a game during the season.


1983 Arizona Wildcats football team, Game summaries, Oregon
Arizona came in to the game against Oregon unbeaten (including a tie) and ranked ninth. Despite keeping Oregon in check on defense, the Wildcats sputtering on offense, perhaps due to a blitzing defense by the Ducks. In the end, Oregon came out on top and handed Arizona their first defeat of the season.


1983 Arizona Wildcats football team, Game summaries, Stanford
The Wildcats traveled on the road to Stanford to visit the rebuilding and winless Cardinal. Stanford was hungry for a win and ultimately took down Arizona in front of their home fans. The loss turned out to be Stanford's only win of the season.


1983 Arizona Wildcats football team, Game summaries, Washington
On homecoming weekend, Arizona hosted 20th-ranked Washington. The Wildcats were looking for their first win against the Huskies, and seemed to be on their way to that until Washington connected on a field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter to win and give Arizona their third straight loss. It was the first and only game of the season that Arizona faced a ranked opponent.


1983 Arizona Wildcats football team, Game summaries, UCLA
Arizona hosted UCLA in their home finale. The Bruins were unbeaten in the Pac-10 and were contending for the Rose Bowl. In a back and forth battle, the Wildcats rallied in the fourth quarter and took the lead with a touchdown with over a minute remaining. UCLA tried to respond, but missed a field goal that would’ve forced a tie in the final seconds, and Arizona escaped with the win and snapped their three-game losing streak. Kicker Max Zendejas made a pair of field goals that went over 50 yards for the Wildcats. It was the only conference loss for UCLA, as they went on to capture the Rose Bowl.


1983 Arizona Wildcats football team, Game summaries, Arizona State
In the annual rivalry game against Arizona State, the Wildcats fell behind late in the fourth quarter after ASU scored a touchdown to take a 15–14 lead (they missed a two-point conversion attempt) and Arizona had one final chance. They would drive into ASU territory and into field goal range. Zendejas connected on a 45-yard field goal as time expired to win the game for the Wildcats. It was the first time since 1961-62 that the Wildcats defeated the Sun Devils in back-to-back seasons. Also, it was Arizona's smallest margin of victory over ASU since 1955 (where they won by one point that season).


1983 Arkansas Razorbacks football team
The 1983 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented the University of Arkansas during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. Ron Faurot received first-team All-American honors as a defensive lineman for the Hogs.


1983 Arkansas Razorbacks football team
The Hogs would hire Ken Hatfield, who shined for the Hogs as a defensive back on the 1964 national championship team, as their new head football coach. He is still a large proponent of the triple option offense in college football.


1983 Army Cadets football team
The 1983 Army Cadets football team was an American football team that represented the United States Military Academy in the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first season under head coach Jim Young, the Cadets compiled a 2–9 record and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 304 to 140. In the annual Army–Navy Game, the Cadets lost to Navy by a 42–13 score.


1983 Asia Golf Circuit
The 1983 Asia Golf Circuit was the 22nd season of golf tournaments that comprised the Asia Golf Circuit.


1983 Asia Golf Circuit, Tournament schedule
The table below shows the 1983 Asian Golf Circuit schedule.


1983 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 prize pool to be shared between the top players in the points table.


1983 Asian Athletics Championships
The fifth Asian Championships in Athletics were held in November 1983 in Kuwait City, Kuwait.


1983 Asian Badminton Championships
The Asian Badminton Championships 1983  took place from 1 to 8 December in Calcutta, India. Both individual competitions and men's team competition were conducted. At the end of day, China took titles from four disciplines, Men's singles, Men's doubles, Women's doubles and Men's team competitions while South Korea won Women's singles and Mixed doubles events.


1983 Asian Baseball Championship
The 1983 Asian Baseball Championship was the twelfth continental tournament held by the Baseball Federation of Asia. The tournament was held in Seoul, South Korea for the fourth time, and was won by the hosts for their fourth Asian Championship; all four times when hosting the tournament. This was the first time that South Korea had successfully defended their title, and the first time this was achieved by a team other than Japan.


1983 Asian Baseball Championship
Chinese Taipei and Japan shared second place, the second time that a medal position had been shared in the tournament's history; the previous occurring 20 years earlier at the 1963 tournament, which was also held in Seoul and had the same teams finish for the same medals. Australia (4th) and Philippines (5th) were the other participants.


1983 Asian Baseball Championship, Bibliography
This article relating to baseball in Asia is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .


1983 Asian Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships
The 1st Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships 1983 were held in Al-Manama, Bahrain, from  14 ‐ 23 December 1983. It was organised by the Bahrain Table Tennis Association under the authority of the Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU) and International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).


1983 Asian Men's Handball Championship
The 1983 Asian Men's Handball Championship was the third Asian Championship, which was taking place from 25 September to 1 October 1983 in Seoul, South Korea.


1983 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship
The 1983 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship was the 3rd Asian Championship, which took place from November 23 to December 1, 1983, in Tokyo, Japan.


1983 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship
The 1983 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship was the 3rd Asian Championship, which took place from November 10 to November 17, 1983, in Fukuoka, Japan.


1983 Asian Wrestling Championships
The 1983 Asian Wrestling Championships were held in Tehran, Iran. The event took place from November 8 to November 11, 1983.


1983 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl
The 1983 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game that featured the Baylor Bears and the Oklahoma State Cowboys.


1983 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, Background
Oklahoma State finished 4th in the Big Eight Conference in their second bowl appearance in three seasons. Baylor finished tied for 3rd in the Southwest Conference in their first bowl game since 1981.


1983 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, Game summary
For Baylor, Gerald McNeil caught 10 passes for 163 yards with 2 touchdowns. Oklahoma State quarterback Rusty Hilger went 12-of-17 for 137 yards and two touchdowns before being knocked out by Robert Watters, missing the 2nd half.


1983 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, Aftermath
Johnson left for the Miami Hurricanes after the game ended. Baylor returned to the penultimate Bluebonnet Bowl in 1986. Both would become conference rivals starting in 1996 with advent of the Big XII.


1983 Asturian regional election
The 1983 Asturian regional election was held on Sunday, 8 May 1983, to elect the 1st General Junta of the Principality of Asturias. All 45 seats in the General Junta were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.


1983 Asturian regional election
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) scored a landslide victory by securing a comfortable absolute majority of 26 out of 45 seats, with 52% of the vote. The People's Coalition, headed by the conservative People's Alliance and joined by the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the Liberal Union (UL) became the second political force and the main opposition party in the General Junta with 14 seats and 30.2%. The Communist Party of Spain (PCE) obtained 5 seats and 11.1%, whereas the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) was left as an extra-parliamentary party after failing to reach the 5% regional threshold. The former ruling party of Spain, the Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD), had chosen to dissolve itself in February 1983 and did not contest the election as a result.


1983 Asturian regional election
After the election, Socialist Pedro de Silva replaced Rafael Fernández as president of the Principality of Asturias. The election remains, together with 1999, the only occasion to date in which a party has obtained an absolute majority of seats on its own in an Asturian regional election.


1983 Asturian regional election, Overview, Electoral system
The General Junta of the Principality of Asturias was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Asturias, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the regional Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a President of the Principality.


1983 Asturian regional election, Overview, Electoral system
Transitory Provision First of the Statute established a specific electoral procedure for the first election to the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias, to be supplemented by the provisions within Royal Decree-Law 20/1977, of 18 March, and its related regulations. Voting for the General Junta was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over eighteen, registered in Asturias and in full enjoyment of their civil and political rights. The 45 members of the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of five percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied regionally. Seats were allocated to constituencies, which were established as follows:


1983 Asturian regional election, Overview, Electoral system
Each constituency was allocated a fixed number of seats: 32 for the Central District, 5 for the Eastern District and 8 for the Western District.


1983 Asturian regional election, Overview, Election date
The Council of Government of the Principality of Asturias, in agreement with the Government of Spain, was required to call an election to the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias within from 1 February to 31 May 1983.


1983 Asturian regional election, Overview, Election date
On 7 March 1983, it was confirmed that the first election to the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias would be held on Sunday, 8 May, together with regional elections for twelve other autonomous communities as well as nationwide local elections, with the election decree being published in the Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias and of the Province on 10 March.


1983 Asturian regional election, Background
The approval of a statute of autonomy for the Principality of Asturias was subject to the "slow-track" procedure set down under Article 143 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978. This route had been favoured by the governing party of Spain, the Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD), and more reluctantly by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) and the People's Alliance (AP), which had initially advocated for the "fast-track" route of Article 151; the difference between both procedures being the pace in the process of devolution.


1983 Asturian regional election, Background
Starting in October 1977, deputies and senators from the four parties having won parliamentary representation in Asturias at the 1977 Spanish general election—PSOE, UCD, AP and PCE—initiated procedures for requesting the central government a pre-autonomic regime for the region, which was granted in 1978 through the establishment of a Regional Council with Socialist Rafael Fernández at its head and members from the aforementioned four political parties. The autonomy Statute was finally approved in 1981 after the signing of the "autonomic pacts" between UCD and PSOE, coming into force on 31 January 1982.


1983 Asturian regional election, Background
The first regional government of the autonomous community came to be formed by a PSOE–PCE coalition in April 1982. The investiture process to re-elect Rafael Fernández to the post had came under trouble over discrepancies on the government composition, after the PSOE unsuccessfully attempted to invite all other parties into a national unity government or form a single-party government without the PCE until the celebration of the first regional election, and with the PCE's refusal to support the PSOE candidate without entering the regional cabinet risking a political deadlock or a UCD–AP government in the region. While as president, Fernández maintained a moderate profile aimed at broadening the PSOE's support ahead of the incoming 1982 and 1983 elections, with the Principality having become both an experiment on the Socialists's government capabilities at large as well as an electoral stronghold for the party.


1983 Asturian regional election, Parliamentary composition
The composition of the provisional General Junta was determined by the provisions of Transitory Provision Second of the Statute, which established that its members be indirectly elected as follows:


1983 Asturian regional election, Parliamentary composition
As a result, the composition of the provisional General Junta of the Principality of Asturias, upon its constitution in March 1982, was established as indicated below:


1983 Asturian regional election, Parliamentary composition
The 1982 Spanish general election resulted in changes in the composition of the provisional regional assembly, in accordance with the new seat distribution of Cortes Generales members in the region. Changes shown include former UCD provincial deputy Manuel Rodríguez Zapico leaving the UCD's parliamentary caucus and joining the Mixed Group as an independent on 23 March 1982.


1983 Asturian regional election, Parties and candidates
The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within fifteen days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one-thousandth of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election—with a compulsory minimum of 500 signatures—disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates. A minimum of three deputies was required for the constitution of parliamentary groups in the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias.


1983 Asturian regional election, Parties and candidates
Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election:


1983 Asturian regional election, Parties and candidates
The electoral disaster of the Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) in the October 1982 general election and the outcome of its extraordinary congress held in December, in which the party's leadership chose to transform the UCD into a christian democratic political force, brought the party to a process of virtual disintegration as many of its remaining members either switched party allegiances, split into new, independent candidacies or left politics altogether.


1983 Asturian regional election, Parties and candidates
Subsequent attempts to seek electoral allies ahead of the incoming 1983 local and regional elections, mainly the conservative People's Alliance (AP) and the christian democratic People's Democratic Party (PDP), had limited success due to concerns from both AP and UCD over such an alliance policy: AP strongly rejected any agreement that implied any sort of global coalition with UCD due to the party's ongoing decomposition, and prospects about a possible PDP–UCD merger did not come into fruition because of the latter's reluctance to dilute its brand within another party. By the time the UCD's executive had voted for the liquidation of the party's mounting debts and its subsequent dissolution on 18 February 1983, electoral alliances with the AP–PDP coalition had only been agreed in some provinces of the Basque Country and Galicia.


1983 Asturian regional election, Parties and candidates
Together with AP, the PDP had agreed to maintain their general election alliance—now rebranded as the People's Coalition—for the May local and regional elections, with the inclusion of the Liberal Union (UL), a political party created in January 1983 out of independents from the AP–PDP coalition in an attempt to appeal to former UCD liberal voters. The Coalition had seen its numbers soar from late February as a result of many former members from the UCD's christian democratic wing joining the PDP.


1983 Asturian regional election, Parties and candidates
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) chose not to field incumbent president Rafael Fernández as their leading candidate, after several clashes between Fernández and the party's regional leadership, instead proposing Pedro de Silva, secretary general of the Socialist Parliamentary Group in the Congress of Deputies up until then, for the post of regional premier.


1983 Asturian regional election, Opinion polls
he tables below lists opinion polling results in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first and using the dates when the survey fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. Where the fieldwork dates are unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed with its background shaded in the leading party's colour. If a tie ensues, this is applied to the figures with the highest percentages. The "Lead" column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the parties with the highest percentages in a given poll.


1983 Asturian regional election, Opinion polls
The table below lists weighted voting intention estimates. When available, seat projections are also displayed below (or in place of) the voting estimates in a smaller font; 23 seats were required for an absolute majority in the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias.


1983 Asturian regional election, Aftermath
Under Article 32 of the Statute, investiture processes to elect the president of the Principality of Asturias required of an absolute majority—more than half the votes cast—to be obtained in the first ballot. If unsuccessful, new ballots would be held within 48-hour periods requiring only of a simple majority—more affirmative than negative votes—to succeed. In the event of the investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot, the General Junta was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called, with elected deputies merely serving out what remained of their four-year terms.


1983 Asturian regional election, Aftermath
On 17 June 1983, Pedro de Silva, the candidate proposed by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), was elected as new president of the Principality with an absolute majority of votes.


1983 Atlanta Braves season
The 1983 Atlanta Braves season was the 18th season in Atlanta along with the 113th overall.


1983 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season
The 1983 season was one of hope for the Braves of Atlanta. The previous season they had won 89 games and advanced to the playoffs before succumbing to the St. Louis Cardinals in three consecutive games. This was a season to prove that the 1982 National League West Division champions were no fluke.


1983 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season
Atlanta opened the season April 4 in Cincinnati. The Braves grabbed an early 3–0 lead in the game only to lose it 5–4. Atlanta promptly won 13 of its next 15 games and found themselves in first place with a 13–3 record. This included a seven-game winning streak after the opening day loss and a five-game winning streak that finished the 13–2 stretch. It appeared the Braves were no flukes after all. They were off to another great start and fans were hopeful that their Braves would win another NL Western Division Championship.


1983 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season
There was a stretch in late May and early June when Atlanta won seven of eight games to improve their mark to 34–17. However, they were in second place and trailed the Dodgers by 1 1⁄2 games. On June 5 the Braves lost 8–3 to the Cardinals but remained 1 1⁄2 games behind Los Angeles. On June 7 the Dodgers were in Atlanta for a three-game series. LA lost the opener 4–1 to Pascual Perez and their lead over the Braves was a mere half game. LA however bounced back to defeat the Braves twice, 11–5 and 4–2, expanding their lead over the Braves to 2 1⁄2 games. On June 22 the Braves had slipped to 39–29 and were 4 1⁄2 games behind LA. Atlanta had posted a 5–12 record from June 8 to 22.


1983 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season
This began to change for the Braves however. They won 10 of 12 games from June 24 to the All-Star Break. That streak moved them into first place all by themselves on July 4 with a 49–31 record and a one-game lead over the Dodgers. It was the best record in all Major League Baseball. It appeared the Braves were for real after all.


1983 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season
The Braves were 61–37 on Sunday, July 24, coming off a 12–4 rout of Philadelphia. Atlanta had a 4 1⁄2-game lead in their division. It was also the second consecutive season the Braves had started 61–37. In 1982, the Braves lost 19 of their next 21 games after the 61–37 start. In 1983, it was hoped they would do better.


1983 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season
On Monday Atlanta blew a ninth-inning 4–1 lead to the Mets to slip to 61–38. On Tuesday the Braves lost 2–1 to the Mets in ten innings on a homer by Mookie Wilson. The Braves were 61–39 and already fans on WSB radio were complaining about another Braves collapse. However, the Braves won three of their next four to go to 64–40 and a six-game lead in the Western Division on July 30. On Thursday August 4 Atlanta routed the San Francisco Giants 8–1 to raise their record to 67–42.


1983 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season
It was the first time since coming to Atlanta in 1966 that the Braves were 25 games above the .500 mark. The Braves also had a 6 1⁄2-game lead. However, on Friday and Saturday the Dodgers beat Atlanta 2–1 and 4–2 to reduce the lead to 4 1⁄2. The Braves salvaged the final game of the series with a 5–2 win on Sunday, upping their lead back to 5 1⁄2 games.


1983 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season
The Braves were 71–46 on Saturday, August 13, after beating the LA Dodgers 8–7 on a Bob Watson come -from- behind homer in the bottom of the ninth. The Braves were 6 1⁄2 games ahead of the Dodgers at this point and things were looking good for them. Braves fans were extremely enthusiastic and confident.


1983 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season
The next day the Braves lost 5–4 to the Dodgers and then on Monday August 15 they not only lost 4–0 to the San Diego Padres but they lost their cleanup hitter Bob Horner to a season-ending wrist injury. Horner was batting .303 with 20 homers at that point. His loss would prove to be a disaster for the Braves.


1983 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season
After Horner's injury the Braves spiraled down and were soon overtaken by the Dodgers. On August 29 the Braves slipped into second place behind LA with a 7–5 loss to the Chicago Cubs. This loss was the first of six straight. Overall, the Braves lost nine of ten games from August 25 to September 3, going from 75–51 and two games ahead to 76–60 and 3 1⁄2 out. On Sunday September 11 the Braves led Los Angeles 6–3 going into the bottom of the ninth. They were two games behind and were in position to cut the Dodger lead to one game. However, LA rallied to win 7–6, and their lead was three games over the Braves.


1983 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season
Atlanta trailed by as much as 5 1⁄2 games (September 23) following an 11–2 blowout at the hands of the Dodgers. The Braves were 82–70 at this point and were 11–24 since Watson's dramatic home run in August. Atlanta beat the Dodgers the next two games 3–2 and 7–1 to cut their deficit to 3 1⁄2 games. After splitting a two-game series with San Francisco, the Braves won two of three from the Houston Astros, and, with three games left in the season, the Braves were three games out. Atlanta lost to the San Diego Padres 3–2 on Friday night to fall four games out, eliminated from the playoffs. The Braves finished three games behind the Dodgers. It was a season of extreme excitement followed by profound disappointment.


1983 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


1983 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


1983 Atlanta Falcons season
The 1983 Atlanta Falcons season was the Falcons’ eighteenth season in the National Football League. The team looked to improve on its 5–4 1982 season and make the playoffs for the second consecutive season. However, the Falcons started out terribly, losing five of their first seven games. The Falcons would finish the season with a 7–9 record in their first season under head coach Dan Henning. This would ultimately prove the first of eight consecutive losing seasons for the Falcons.


1983 Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Championship Series
The 1983 Atlantic Conference Baseball Championship Series was held on May 6 and 7, 1983 to determine the champion of the NCAA Division I the Atlantic 10 Conference, for the 1983 NCAA Division I baseball season. The conference rechristened itself for the 1983 season, recognizing membership changes. This was the fifth iteration of the event, and was held at Beaver Field on the campus of Penn State in State College, Pennsylvania. Temple won the championship two games to none and earned the conference's automatic bid to the 1983 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


1983 Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Championship Series, Format and seeding
The regular season winners of each of the conference's two divisions advanced to a best of three series.


1983 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1983 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament was the seventh held by the Atlantic 10 Conference, and the first under the conference's current name. It was held in Philadelphia at The Spectrum from March 7–12, 1983. West Virginia defeated Temple 86-78 to win their first tournament championship. Terence Stansbury of Temple was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.


1983 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament
The 1983 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament was the 1983 postseason baseball championship of the NCAA Division I Atlantic Coast Conference, held at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina from April 20-25. North Carolina defeated Clemson in the championship game, earning the conference's automatic bid to the 1983 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


1983 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament, Format
All eight ACC teams qualified for the eight-team double-elimination tournament.


1983 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament, Format, Seeding procedure
On Saturday (The Semifinals) of the ACC Baseball Tournament, the match-up between the four remaining teams is determined by previous opponents. If teams have played previously in the tournament, every attempt will be made to avoid a repeat match-up between teams, regardless of seed. If it is impossible to avoid a match-up that already occurred, then the determination is based on avoiding the most recent, current tournament match-up, regardless of seed. If no match-ups have occurred, the team left in the winners bracket will play the lowest seeded team from the losers bracket.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season
The 1983 Atlantic hurricane season was the least active Atlantic hurricane season since 1930. The season officially began on June 1, 1983, and lasted until November 30, 1983. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most storms form in the Atlantic basin. The season had very little activity, with only seven tropical depressions, four of which reached tropical storm strength or higher. This led to the lowest accumulated cyclone energy count since 1977, but not since 1914.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season
The season began later than normal; the first tropical depression formed on July 23 and the second on July 27. Neither tropical depressions strengthened and they dissipated soon thereafter. Hurricane Alicia formed as Tropical Depression Three on August 15, quickly intensified into a hurricane on August 16 and made landfall in Texas on August 18. Alicia caused $3 billion in damage in Texas. Hurricane Barry formed on August 25, crossed Florida and strengthened into a hurricane. Barry made landfall near the Mexico–United States border, and dissipated over land on August 30.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season
Hurricane Chantal, the third and final hurricane in 1983, formed on September 10. It strengthened into a hurricane, but stayed out at sea, and was absorbed by a frontal system on September 15. Tropical Depression Six formed on September 18 and caused heavy rains in the Caribbean before degenerating into a wave on September 20. Tropical Storm Dean was the final storm of the season, forming on September 26. It originally tracked to the north, peaking at 65 mph (100 km/h) winds, and made landfall in the Delmarva Peninsula on September 29. It dissipated over the coast of Virginia on the following day.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal forecasts
Forecasts of hurricane activity are issued before each hurricane season by noted hurricane experts such as Dr. William M. Gray and his associates at Colorado State University (CSU). A normal season, as defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the period from 1981 to 2010, has approximately 12 named storms, with 6 of those reaching hurricane status. About 3 hurricane strengthen into major hurricanes, which are tropical cyclones that reach at least Category 3 intensity on the Saffir–Simpson scale.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal forecasts
The July 23, 1983, forecasters at CSU predicted that after the slow start to the season, a total of eight tropical storms would develop, and five of the storms would reach hurricane status. The forecast did not specify how many of the hurricanes would reach major hurricane status. CSU based this prediction on an ongoing El Niño event, sea-level pressures, and wind currents. However, the prediction issued by CSU proved to be too high, with only four named storms forming by the end of the season and three of those reaching hurricane status.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal summary
The season, which began on June 1 and ended on November 30, was very inactive because of strong upper-level wind shear. The wind shear was unusually strong throughout the Caribbean and open Atlantic, and disrupted convection in areas of disturbed weather so they could not develop. Over 60 African systems had formed and made it westward, but when they reached the Lesser Antilles, they were dissolved easily. The only area where the shear was minimal—a region encompassing the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic north of the Bahamas and east of Florida—was where the four named storms developed.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal summary
Another contributing factor to the low number of storms may have been the decaying 1982–83 El Niño event. The season total of four named storms was the fewest in the satellite era, while the 1983 season was the least active since 1930, which had only three storms. This season and the previous became the first example of two consecutive years to have no storms form in the Caribbean since reliable record began. Additionally, the 1983 season was the first on record in which a system did not reach tropical storm intensity south of 25°N latitude.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal summary
The National Hurricane Center also issued numeric landfall probabilities for the first time in 1983. Probabilities had been calculated for prior storms for use in the issuing of hurricane watches and warnings, but this was the first time the raw numeric probabilities were released to the public. The probabilities issued were accurate during Alicia, indicating that Galveston and surrounding portions of the upper Texas coast were the most likely area to be struck.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal summary
Tropical cyclogenesis began on July 23, when Tropical Depression One formed over the deep Atlantic. After crossing the Windward Islands, the depression dissipated over the eastern Caribbean on July 28. As the previous system moved across the Caribbean, another depression formed on July 27 to the southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. The depression traversed the Atlantic in a west-northwestward direction and also failed to reach tropical storm intensity before dissipating near the northern Leeward Islands on August 2. Later in August, hurricanes Alicia and Barry developed.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal summary
The former also became the most intense tropical cyclone of the season, peaking as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h). Alicia caused 21 fatalities and approximately $3 billion in damage, mostly in Texas. Three tropical cyclones formed in September – Hurricane Chantal, Tropical Depression Six, and Tropical Storm Dean. The dissipation of Dean on September 30 marked the end of tropical cyclone activity.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal summary
The season's activity was reflected with a very low cumulative accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) rating of 17, one of the lowest on record, which is classified as "below normal". ACE is a metric used to express the energy used by a tropical cyclone during its lifetime. Therefore, storms that last a long time, as well as particularly strong hurricanes, have high ACEs. It is only calculated for full advisories on tropical systems at or exceeding 39 mph (63 km/h), which is the threshold for tropical storm intensity.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Depression One
Tropical Depression One developed about halfway between French Guiana and the Cape Verde Islands on July 23. The National Hurricane Center indicated the possibility of the depression strengthening into a tropical storm in media reports, but upper-level wind shear inhibited any development. The depression dissipated over the eastern Caribbean late on July 28.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Depression Two
An area of disturbed weather organized into a tropical depression southwest of the Cape Verde Islands on July 27. The depression moved generally west-northwestward across the deep Atlantic for several days, but failed to strengthened significantly due to strong upper-level wind shear. The depression dissipated near the northern Leeward Islands on August 2.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Alicia
The system that would become Hurricane Alicia originated from the western end of a frontal trough that stretched from New England to the Gulf of Mexico. Satellite pictures showed a meso-scale low-pressure area that had moved off the Alabama and Mississippi coasts near the trough and was possibly the precursor system to Alicia. Pressures in the Gulf of Mexico were high and stayed high during the early development stages. On August 15, a ship recorded a minimal pressure of 1015 millibars (29.99 inHg), when the system was upgraded into Tropical Storm Alicia. With high environmental pressures around it, Alicia remained a small system.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Alicia
Steering currents above Alicia remained weak during the storm's lifetime. However, a ridge was well formed to the north of the developing storms. With fluctuations in the pressures, Alicia began to drift to west on August 16. This was short-lived, as Alicia turned to the northwest towards Texas. During the period of August 16 to August 18, an anticyclone had formed over Alicia and along with slow movement over warm waters, caused Alicia to intensify rapidly. The pressure in Alicia decreased one millibar an hour in the 40 hours before landfall. Alicia peaked at 115 mph (185 km/h) in winds and 962 millibars (28.39 inHg) in pressure on August 18. Alicia made landfall near Galveston on August 18 as a Category 3 hurricane. Alicia weakened quickly over land and accelerated over the Midwest, before dissipating over Nebraska on August 21.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Alicia
As Alicia moved northward, the remnants caused moderate to heavy rainfall in several states. Houston suffered heavy damage, including thousands of shattered glass panes from downtown skyscrapers. Overall, Alicia killed 21 people and caused $3 billion (1983 USD) in damage.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Barry
Hurricane Barry originated from a tropical disturbance that left the Northwestern African coast on August 13. Most of the season, the northwestern tropical Atlantic Ocean had upper-level wind shear, which had inhibited development of systems. Due to these conditions, the disturbance was unable to strengthen until August 22 as it was approaching the Bahamas. A weak trough moved the disturbance into an area of low wind shear, and the disturbance intensified into Tropical Depression Four on the evening of August 23. The depression was just to the northeast of the northern Bahamian Islands where it strengthened into Tropical Storm Barry on the morning of August 24.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Barry
Tropical Storm Barry subsequently turned to the west into an area of increased wind shear and weakened rapidly. It was able to make landfall near Melbourne, Florida, on the morning of August 25 as a 45 mph tropical storm, before weakening to a tropical depression over Florida. After Tropical Depression Barry emerged from central Florida, it was still under pressure from high-level winds. The depression entered the central Gulf of Mexico, and after meandering west for a day or so, returned to tropical storm strength.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Barry
Just off the coast of Mexico, Barry rapidly intensified into a hurricane on August 28, just before making landfall near Matamoros that afternoon. Before landfall, Barry peaked with 80 mph (130 km/h) winds and a pressure of 986 millibars (29.11 inHg). The remnants quickly dissipated over the Sierra Madre Oriental on August 29.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Chantal
The precursor low to Chantal originated from a large envelope of low pressure on the morning of September 10. The disturbed weather, nested off the coast of Bermuda, was one of the remnants of an old frontal trough that had extended from Hispaniola to the central north Atlantic Ocean. This particular area of disturbed weather become part of the northeast portion of a low-pressure system. On September 10, a reconnaissance aircraft found sustained winds of 30 mph (50 km/h) and a 1010 millibar (29.83 inHg) pressure reading, indicating development into a tropical depression.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Chantal
The depression moved to within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of Bermuda and slowly intensified. Late that afternoon, Tropical Depression Five had intensified into a 40 mph (65 km/h) storm and was named Chantal. Chantal intensified rapidly, intensifying to hurricane status late on September 11. It then turned to the east and gained a weak upper-level cirrus-cloud outflow. The structure of the system changed little over the next 24 hours, before Chantal lost organization and was downgraded to a tropical storm on the night of the 12th.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Chantal
Overnight, all convection in Chantal dissipated, and its forward speed decreased as it headed north. A frontal system attracted and absorbed the remnants of Chantal by the night of September 14. Effects on Bermuda were minimal, with the island getting winds only up to 20 mph (30 km/h) and a few thundershowers. However, Chantal generated swells of 30–40 ft (9–12 m) offshore.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Depression Six
Tropical Depression Six formed on September 18 from a tropical wave. The depression caused heavy rainfall in the Lesser Antilles, before degenerating into an open tropical wave on September 20 near the Dominican Republic.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Dean
Tropical Storm Dean originated from inside a frontal cloud band, which had moved off the Eastern Coast of the United States on September 22. During the next few days, the band became stationary from the Bahamas to beyond Bermuda. During this period, a 1035 millibar (30.56 inHg) high pressure cell had become settled over the northeastern United States. This resulted in a strong pressure gradient and winds near gale force along the eastern coast.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Dean
A low-level circulation formed from the frontal cloud band on September 26 about 460 miles (740 km) east of central Florida. Dean was first identified on the afternoon of September 26 as a subtropical storm. An Air Force reconnaissance flight was sent to Dean on September 27 and only reported winds of 35 mph (55 km/h) at 23 miles (37 kilometres) from the center. A pressure of 999 millibars (29.50 inHg) indicated that Dean was strengthening as it headed northward. Additionally, satellite pictures showed that the subtropical cyclone was emerging from the cloud. This data also showed that the storm was gaining tropical characteristics and was given the name Dean on the afternoon of September 27.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Dean
Dean's winds peaked at 65 mph (105 km/h) on September 28 as it headed northward. Dean's circulation turned to the northwest on September 29 then made landfall in the Delmarva Peninsula and dissipated over land on September 30. Gale warnings were from North Carolina to Rhode Island in association with Dean. Dean produced rainfall spreading from the North Carolina/Virginia border all the way to New England. Virginia reported rains of 1 inch (25.4 mm) with 3 inches (76.2 mm) at the border. Rains peaked at 4.62 inches (117 mm) at Cockaponset Ranger Station in Connecticut. Damage was limited to minor beach erosion and flooding along the portion of Mid-Atlantic coast states.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Storm names
The following list of names was used for named storms that formed in the North Atlantic in 1983. The names not retired from this list were used again in the 1989 season. This year marked the first usage for this list of names in the North Atlantic basin. The names Alicia, Barry, Chantal, and Dean were used for the first (and only, in the case of Alicia) time this year.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Storm names, Retirement
In the spring of 1984, at the 6th session of the RA IV hurricane committee, the World Meteorological Organization retired the name Alicia from its rotating name lists due to the amount of damage and deaths it caused, and it will not be used again for another Atlantic hurricane. Alicia was replaced with Allison for the 1989 season.


1983 Atlantic hurricane season, Season effects
This is a table of the storms in 1983 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.


1983 Auburn Tigers football team
The 1983 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. Coached by Pat Dye, the team finished the season with an 11–1 record and won their first Southeastern Conference (SEC) title since 1957. The team was named national champion by NCAA-designated major selectors of Billingsley, College Football Researchers Association, and The New York Times, while named co-national champion by both Rothman and Sagarin.


1983 Auburn Tigers football team, Season
The squad featured several star players who went on to long professional careers including Bo Jackson, Randy Campbell, Tommie Agee, Lionel James, Donnie Humphrey, Steve Wallace and Al Del Greco. Prior to the season, Dye became the first coach in the SEC to require players to take blood and urine tests for drugs. Also prior to the season, fullback Greg Pratt collapsed after making his required time in running tests and died a short time later.


1983 Auburn Tigers football team, Season
The team capped a stellar 11–1 season, with a 9–7 victory over Michigan in the Sugar Bowl. Despite entering the bowl games ranked third in both major polls, and with both teams ranked higher losing their bowl games, the Tigers ended ranked third in the final AP and the UPI Coaches' poll as Miami jumped from 5th from the AP and 4th from the UPI Coaches' poll to claim the AP/UPI Coaches' National Championship award.


1983 Auburn Tigers football team, Season
Auburn had played the toughest schedule in the nation, including nine bowl teams, eight of which were ranked in the top 20 (five in the top ten), and two teams Auburn faced would compete against each other in the 1983 Florida Citrus Bowl (Tennessee won the game against Maryland 30–23). Also, Auburn beat Florida by a touchdown 28–21, the same Florida team that defeated Miami in the beginning of the season by a 28–3 score.


1983 Auburn Tigers football team, Season summary, vs. Alabama
Sophomore Bo Jackson ran for 256 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Tigers won the SEC title outright. His long touchdown runs – 69 yards and 71 yards, respectively – bookended the day's scoring.


1983 Auckland City mayoral election
The 1983 Auckland City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1983, elections were held for the Mayor of Auckland plus other local government positions including twenty-one city councillors. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.


1983 Auckland City mayoral election, Background
Incumbent Mayor Colin Kay was defeated by Labour Party candidate Catherine Tizard who became Auckland's first female Mayor and first from the Labour Party, while the council saw a landslide result to the Citizens & Ratepayers ticket who picked up all but one council seat.


1983 Auckland City mayoral election, Background
It also marked the last time in Auckland where local body elections elected councillors at large.


1983 Australia Day Honours
The Australia Day Honours 1983 were announced on 26 January 1983 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir Ninian Stephen.


1983 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.


1983 Australia rugby union tour of Italy and France
The 1983 Australia rugby union tour of Italy and France was a series of matches played between October and November 1983 in Italy and France by Australia.


1983 Australian Drivers' Championship
The 1983 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title open to drivers of Australian Formula 1 racing cars. The winner of the title, which was the 27th Australian Drivers' Championship, was awarded the 1983 CAMS Gold Star.


1983 Australian Drivers' Championship
Italian born, Melbourne based driver Alfredo Costanzo won his fourth straight CAMS Gold Star driving his Tiga FA81 Ford. John Smith finished second in his Ralt RT4, including being the first Australian driver home in the final round of the championship, the Australian Grand Prix held at Melbourne's Calder Park. Port Macquarie privateer Andrew Miedecke drove his RT4 to 3rd in the championship despite only deciding to race after watching Costanzo win the first round of the series in Adelaide on television.


1983 Australian Drivers' Championship, Calendar
The championship was contested over a six-round series with each round held as a single race.


1983 Australian Drivers' Championship, Points system
Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the top six eligible finishers at each round. Non -resident drivers and drivers of Australian Formula 2 cars (who competed in some rounds by invitation) were not eligible to score points.


1983 Australian Endurance Championship
The 1983 Australian Endurance Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Group C Touring Cars. The championship was contested over a six round series with all rounds run concurrently with those of the 1983 Australian Endurance Championship of Makes.


1983 Australian Endurance Championship
Wollongong based Peter McLeod's consistent run over the series which saw him score points in all but the Castrol 400 at Sandown, won his first (and only) touring car championship driving his Slick 50 sponsored Mazda RX-7. Second was the JPS Team BMW 635 CSi of triple Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards, with Nissan Motorsport driver George Fury third in his Bluebird Turbo.


1983 Australian Endurance Championship
Fury, who won the opening two rounds of the series, and the Holden Dealer Team's star driver Peter Brock, who won the James Hardie 1000 at Bathurst and the final round in Adelaide, were the only multiple winners in the 1983 AEC (though Brock received no points from his Bathurst win due to it being in the team's second car and not his nominated one; also surprisingly one of his co-drivers, Larry Perkins, did receive points for the win). The other winners were 1983 ATCC winner Allan Moffat who drove his Mazda RX-7 to victory in the Castrol 400, and Allan Grice who drove his Roadways Commodore to victory at Surfers Paradise.


1983 Australian Endurance Championship, Points structure
Championship points were awarded to the top twenty finishers at each round according to the outright position attained. If two drivers shared a car the points were split between the two drivers, except at Round 4 where two driver combinations were mandated by regulations, removing the single driver option. Full points to both drivers were awarded. The exception appears to have been made for third drivers however as Peter Brock received no points for winning Round 4 alongside Larry Perkins and John Harvey. :


1983 Australian Endurance Championship of Makes
The 1983 Australian Endurance Championship of Makes was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title open to Group C Touring Cars. The championship was contested over a six round series with all rounds run concurrently with those of the 1983 Australian Endurance Championship.


1983 Australian Endurance Championship of Makes
Holden and Mazda jointly won the championship on 131 points each. Holden had three wins, a second, a third, and a ninth. Mazda won one race, with two seconds and three thirds. Nissan was the only other outright race winner having won the opening two rounds.


1983 Australian Endurance Championship of Makes, Points structure
Championship points were awarded at each round according to the outright position attained by the best placed car of each make:


1983 Australian Film Institute Awards
The 25th Australian Film Institute Awards (generally known as the AFI Awards) were held at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on 24 September 1983. Presented by the Australian Film Institute (AFI), the awards celebrated the best in Australian feature film, documentary and short film productions of 1983.


1983 Australian Film Institute Awards
Twenty feature films were entered. Careful, He Might Hear You received eight awards including Best Film. Phar Lap received three awards. Film technician Bill Gooley received the Raymond Longford Award for lifetime achievement.


1983 Australian Football Championships
The 1983 Australian Football Championships was an Australian rules football series between representative teams of the three major football states. Games involving Victoria were played under State of Origin rules, whilst the match between Western Australia and South Australia involved players based in their respective states at the time. The competition was won by Western Australia.


1983 Australian Football Championships, All-Australian Team
Following completion of the series, the best players over the three games were selected in the All-Australian team.


1983 Australian Formula 2 Championship
The 1983 Australian Formula 2 Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of racing cars complying with Australian Formula 2 regulations.


1983 Australian Formula 2 Championship
South Australian driver Ian Richards won the championship in his self designed Richards 201 Volkswagen. Richards won by a single point from Peter Glover who drove two Cheetah Racing Cars (Mk 7 and Mk 7D) powered by a Toyota and Isuzu engine respectively. Finishing equal third on 11 points each were David Crabtree driving a Cheetah Mk 6 BMW, and Greg Ferrall driving an Elfin GE Two-25 Wolkswagen.


1983 Australian Formula 2 Championship, Results
Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the top six placegetters in each round.


1983 Australian GT Championship
The 1983 Australian GT Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title for cars complying with Group D regulations for GT cars, with Group B Sports Sedans competing by invitation. It was the sixth Australian GT Championship. The championship was won by Rusty French, driving a Porsche 935.


1983 Australian GT Championship, Championship review
1982 Australian GT Championship winner Alan Jones moved back to Formula One in 1983 and did not defend his title. His main opposition from 1982 returned, including, Rusty French in the ex-Jones Porsche 935 sponsored by John Sands, along with new team-mate Alan Browne in the ex-French 935. Twice former Australian Sports Sedan Champion Tony Edmondson fronted again in the Don Elliot owned, 5.0L Chevrolet powered, Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV (upgraded to a 6.0L Chev during the year), while touring car driver Peter Brock again was to drive the Bob Jane owned 6.0L Chevrolet Monza.


1983 Australian GT Championship, Championship review
Also competing were the Frank Gardner run JPS Team BMW with Jim Richards driving the team's turbocharged BMW 318i that had originally been driven by Allan Grice, Adelaide based John Briggs who had sold his Monza and was running an ex-JPS BMW 318i, and Peter Fitzgerald in his 3.2L Naturally aspirated Porsche Carrera RSR. The expected challenge from the twin-turbo Chevrolet V8 powered Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC of Bryan Thompson failed to eventuate until late in the series as the car was plagued by unreliability.


1983 Australian GT Championship, Championship review
The third round of the championship at the Adelaide International Raceway was the scene of a start line accident after the Chevrolet Monza of Peter Brock snapped left off the line and speared into the concrete wall before bouncing back in front of the field. With nowhere to go and little time to react, others, led by Jim Richards crashed into Brock, with the ex-Jim Richards Ford Falcon of Tony Hubbard ending up on top of the pile and the Jaguar XJS of Queensland's Mark Trenoweth on the bottom.


1983 Australian GT Championship, Championship review
Reports varied from the Jane camp about the cause of the crash. Peter Brock maintained that the car had broken a CV joint while chief mechanic Pat Purcell believed the cause was actually Brock just losing control when the car found sudden grip, claiming that nothing had broken on the car before the crash. At least one third of the field was eliminated in the crash. Following the accident, neither the Monza nor the JPS BMW were raced until November at the 1983 Australian Grand Prix at Calder Park in Melbourne in the Sports Car / GT Challenge support races.


1983 Australian GT Championship, Championship review
Rusty French won his first Australian GT Championship with a consistent run over the six round series to score 40 points, never finishing outside of the top three positions in any round and winning Round 3 in Adelaide and the sixth and final round at Surfers Paradise. He was also the only driver in the entire field who finished (or entered) every round of the series.


1983 Australian GT Championship, Championship review
Jim Richards finished second in the championship with 18 points, despite competing in only the first two rounds at Lakeside and Sandown, winning both convincingly, though he was challenged by French at Sandown who used the superior power of his Porsche to stay with the BMW on Sandown's long straights. The 1980 and 1981 Australian Sports Sedan Champion Tony Edmondson finished equal second with Richards in the championship. Like Richards, Edmondson won two rounds with victory at Round 4 at Calder and Round 5 at Winton. Unlike Richards, Edmondson did enter other rounds of the championship. His was one of the cars damaged in the start line crash at the Adelaide round. Alan Browne was classified fourth in the championship in his Porsche 935, scoring 13 points.


1983 Australian GT Championship, Championship review
As a reward for driving his Porsche 935 to the championship win, French was flown to West Germany in 1984 by Porsche as one of their award winners for 1983. This also secured him a drive with German World Endurance Championship team Kremer Racing at the 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans driving a Porsche 956B. Alongside Englishmen Tiff Needell and David Sutherland, French finished 9th outright in the 24-hour classic.


1983 Australian GT Championship, Points system
Points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis for the first six places at each round. All rounds were counted towards the championship.


1983 Australian Grand Prix
The 1983 Australian Grand Prix was a race for Australian Formula 1 cars held at Calder Park Raceway on 13 November 1983.


1983 Australian Grand Prix
It was the forty eighth Australian Grand Prix and the fourth to be held at Calder. The race was also the sixth and final round of the 1983 Australian Drivers' Championship. The title had already been secured by Alfredo Costanzo as he had been twenty points ahead of Andrew Miedecke after winning the previous event at Winton Raceway.


1983 Australian Grand Prix
Brazilian driver Roberto Moreno won his second Australian Grand Prix in three years. Local Ralt RT4 driver John Smith finished second, with French Formula One driver Jacques Laffite finishing third.


1983 Australian Grand Prix
As of the 2016 Australian Grand Prix, Smith's second placing was the last time an Australian driver has finished on the podium of the Australian Grand Prix. The best finish since by an Australian was Alfie Costanzo's fourth place in 1984 and Mark Webber finishing fourth in 2012. Daniel Ricciardo finished second on the road in the 2014 Australian Grand Prix but was disqualified post race for breaching the maximum fuel limit and using an unauthorised method of measuring fuel consumption.


1983 Australian Individual Speedway Championship
The 1983 Australian Individual Speedway Championship was held at Speedway Park in Adelaide, South Australia on 21 January 1983. Sydney rider Billy Sanders won his fifth Australian Championship and his record fourth in a row.


1983 Australian Individual Speedway Championship
Sanders caused a stir when he famously told the unruly crowd that after the reception he got he might consider changing nationalities. He then told the crowd to "Get Stuffed" at the end of his victory speech while being unfairly booed following the unpopular decision by Adelaide-based meeting referee Sam Bass to exclude crowd favourite Phil Crump from their heat 14 clash which ultimately Crump the title. Sanders had won the start, but Crump had moved under him in turn 2 and sent the Sydney rider crashing into the concrete wall.


1983 Australian Individual Speedway Championship
To that point of the meeting, Crump had easily won his previous heats as well as twice breaking the 3 lap track record, while Sanders, who was also undefeated, had only just won his opening race after trailing Gary Guglielmi until finally passing him in the final turn. Ironically, in the re-run of the heat after Crump's exclusion Sanders would lower Crump's new track record by 5/100th's of a second with a new time of 51.22 for 3 laps of the 430 metres (470 yards) long clay surfaced track.


1983 Australian Individual Speedway Championship
The leading local rider was Steve Baker who finished 8th with 7 points. Later in the year Baker would win the 1983 European (World) Under-21 Championship in Italy.


1983 Australian Labor Party leadership spill
A leadership spill in the Australian Labor Party, then the opposition party in the Parliament of Australia, was held on 3 February 1983. It saw the resignation of Leader Bill Hayden followed by the election of Bob Hawke as his replacement.


1983 Australian Labor Party leadership spill, Background
Bill Hayden had been leader of the Labor Party since shortly after the 1977 landslide defeat, and he led the party to a much improved result at the 1980 election. However, after only just surviving a challenge from Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations Bob Hawke, a disappointing by-election result in December 1982 caused many to question his ability to win the impending federal election. With a second challenge from Hawke imminent, Hayden resigned as party leader and Hawke was returned in the caucus ballot unopposed.


1983 Australian Labor Party leadership spill, Background
Elsewhere, Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser had announced a snap election hoping to capitalise on Labor's disunity and go to the polls against Hayden rather than Hawke. Later that afternoon at a press conference, Hayden famously said that "a drover's dog could lead the Labor Party to victory, the way the country is". The ensuing federal election was easily won by Labor and Hawke became Prime Minister.


1983 Australian Masters
The 1983 Winfield Australian Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 4–15 July 1983 at Channel 10 Television Studios in Sydney, Australia.


1983 Australian Masters
Cliff Thorburn won the tournament by defeating Bill Werbeniuk 7–3 in the final.


1983 Australian Open
The 1983 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne in Victoria in Australia. It was the 72nd edition of the Australian Open and was held from 29 November through 11 December 1983.


1983 Australian Open, Seniors, Men's Doubles
Mark Edmondson /  Paul McNamee defeated  Steve Denton /  Sherwood Stewart 6–3, 7–6


1983 Australian Open, Seniors, Women's Doubles
Martina Navratilova /  Pam Shriver defeated  Anne Hobbs /  Wendy Turnbull 6–4, 6–7, 6–2


1983 Australian Open, Juniors, Boys' Doubles
Jamie Harty /  Des Tyson defeated  Darren Cahill /  Anthony Lane 3–6, 6–4, 6–3


1983 Australian Open, Juniors, Girls' Doubles
Bernadette Randall /  Kim Staunton defeated  Jenny Byrne /  Janine Thompson 3–6, 6–3, 6–3


1983 Australian Open – Men's Doubles
The Men's Doubles tournament at the 1983 Australian Open was held from 29 November through 11 December 1983 on the outdoor grass courts at the Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. Mark Edmondson and Paul McNamee won the title, defeating Steve Denton and Sherwood Stewart in the final.


1983 Australian Open – Men's Singles
Third-seeded Mats Wilander defeated Ivan Lendl 6–1, 6–4, 6–4 in the final to win the Men's Singles tennis title at the 1983 Australian Open.


1983 Australian Open – Men's Singles
Johan Kriek was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Mats Wilander.


1983 Australian Open – Men's Singles, Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Mats Wilander is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


1983 Australian Open – Men's Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw for men's singles at the 1983 Australian Open.


1983 Australian Open – Women's Doubles
Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver were the defending champions and won in the final 6–4, 6–7, 6–2 against Anne Hobbs and Wendy Turnbull.


1983 Australian Open – Women's Doubles, Seeds
Champion seeds are indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which those seeds were eliminated.


1983 Australian Open – Women's Singles
First-seeded Martina Navratilova defeated ninth-seeded Kathy Jordan 6–2, 7–6(7–5) in the final to win the Women's Singles tennis title at the 1983 Australian Open. The tournament was played on grass courts at the Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne from 29 November through 11 December 1983. Navratilova earned $75,000 prize money for winning the title, her 8th career Grand Slam singles title and her 2nd title at the Australian Open after 1981. She improved her year record to 86 wins and 1 loss. This tournament was also notable for being the first Australian Open in which Steffi Graf appeared in the main draw, and the last time that Billie Jean King appeared in the main singles draw of a grand slam.


1983 Australian Open – Women's Singles
The draw consisted of 64 players with a seeding list of 16 players. Eight players qualified from a qualifying competition of 32 players. World no. 2 Chris Evert withdrew two weeks before the start of the tournament citing a foot injury.


1983 Australian Open – Women's Singles, Prize money
The total prize money for the women's singles event was $342,000.


1983 Australian Open – Women's Singles, Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Martina Navratilova is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


1983 Australian Open – Women's Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw for women's singles at the 1983 Australian Open.


1983 Australian Rally Championship
The 1983 Australian Rally Championship was a series of four rallying events held across Australia. It was the 16th season in the history of the competition.


1983 Australian Rally Championship
Ross Dunkerton won the 1983 Drivers Championship and Geoff Jones took out the navigators honours for the year.


1983 Australian Rally Championship, Season review
The 16th Australian Rally Championship was held over four events across Australia, the season consisting of one event each for Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia. With the series being reduced to four events for the year, the field split between two categories with the introduction of Group A cars and the lack of any factory backed teams, things did not look promising. This was compounded when the second round in Queensland was postponed twice due to inclement weather. However it was an interesting and hard fought season with Dunkerton taking out his fifth title and using three different cars and two navigators to do so. The navigator's title went to Geoff Jones who was with runner up to the driver's title Peter Johnson for all four events.


1983 Australian Rally Championship, The Rallies
The five events of the 1983 season were as follows.


1983 Australian Sports Car Championship
The 1983 Australian Sports Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Group A Sports Cars. It was the fifteenth Australian Sports Car Championship.


1983 Australian Sports Car Championship
Peter Hopwood, driving the Steve Webb owned Kaditcha Chevrolet, won the championship from Ray Hanger in a Rennmax Ford. Defending champion Chris Clearihan finished third in his older model Kaditcha Chevrolet.


1983 Australian Sports Car Championship
The 1983 championship saw the debut of the Bap Romano owned and driven Kaditcha K583 Cosworth, the first Australian Group A Sports Car built with a closed top and Ground effects aerodynamics (Clearihan's Kaditcha also appeared with a bolted on closed top in the early rounds of the season but the top was later removed). The K583 would prove to be the fastest car in the field in 1983, and would compete in Class B as the ex-McLaren Cosworth DFV V8 was a 3.0 litre engine. However, unreliability and a disqualification for dangerous driving in Round 4 at Lakeside (Hopwood also received the same penalty at Lakeside) saw Romano only finish sixth in the championship.


1983 Australian Sports Car Championship
After finishing the opening round at Sandown in 2nd place overall and showing that he had the speed to at least match the Kaditcha Chevrolets of Hopwood and Clearihan, the challenge from Tasmanian Johnnie Walker, driving a 1969 model Elfin ME5, ended after the car was sold to a NSW based enthusiast following the opening round. The car was parked and neither it nor Walker took any further part in the series. Another potential challenger was the Mazda 12A rotary powered Tiga SC80 of Adelaide's Richard Warland (the car was driven in later rounds by open wheel driver John Smith). The car proved quick but poor reliability from the Barry Jones built Mazda engine, the cars unnerving habit of shedding rear wheels, plus a big crash by Smith in the final round at Winton put paid to the cars chances.


1983 Australian Sports Car Championship, Calendar
The championship was contested over five rounds with two heats per round.


1983 Australian Sports Car Championship, Classes and points system
Cars were classified into three classes based on engine displacement.


1983 Australian Sports Car Championship, Classes and points system
Points were allocated for outright placings gained in each race with Scale A used for drivers of Class A cars, Scale B for drivers of Class B cars and Scale C for drivers of Class C cars.


1983 Australian Sports Car Championship, Classes and points system
A driver's points from both races at each round were aggregated and the result divided by two to arrive at the championship points allocation for the driver at that round.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship
The 1983 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Group C Touring Cars. The title, which was the 24th Australian Touring Car Championship, was contested over a series which began on 6 February 1983 at Calder Park Raceway and ended on 19 June at Lakeside International Raceway after eight rounds.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Season Summary
The championship was won by Allan Moffat, his fourth and final Australian Touring Car Championship and a first for Mazda, who were helping to fund Moffat's team and it was also the first ATCC win for a Japanese manufacturer. Moffat himself dominated the racing, taking four out of the eight race wins, but a beneficial points structure for smaller capacity cars allowed George Fury (driving a turbocharged version of the Nissan Bluebird) to push Moffat all the way to the title, despite not actually winning a race.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Season Summary
The folly in the point system was exposed at the first round at Calder when Moffat won the race from Fury, but Fury actually led the championship by finishing second outright in a smaller capacity car (Moffat scored 25 for winning while Fury scored 27 for finishing second). When Fury took the lead for a brief time at Calder, it was the first time that a turbo powered car had led an ATCC race.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Season Summary
Peter Brock in his Marlboro Holden Dealer Team VH Commodore SS finished third in the championship. Brock's early season form and some uncharacteristic reliability problems saw him lagging in ninth place at the midway point in the championship after failing to finish at Calder and Symmons Plains thanks to gearbox failure both times, while finishing third at Sandown and ninth at Wanneroo after spinning out of the lead in a dice with Moffat and Fury (Moffat's win at Wanneroo caused a sensation due to his Formula One style mid-race pit stop for fuel).


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Season Summary
Brock's championship got back on track with an all-the-way win in Adelaide where he won by the length of the Commodore's bumper bar from Moffat who actually got his Mazda in front 50 metres from the flag but lost out to the grunt of the more powerful V8 Commodore. From there he finished with two seconds and a win to round out the series.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Season Summary
Brock's win in the final round at Lakeside was easily one of the drives of the series. In difficult, wet conditions that actually suited the smaller RX-7's rather than the heavier Commodore's and Falcon's, he lapped the entire field in the 35 laps after taking the lead on lap 2. His race almost ended coming out of the Karrasell on the first lap when the left rear tyre of his Commodore got out into the mud and pitched the car sideways, almost into the path of Gregg Hansford in the second Allan Moffat Racing Mazda RX-7.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Season Summary
Brock recovered still in 3rd place and soon past an ailing Dick Johnson whose Falcon had suffered a power steering pump failure on the grid which would cause his early retirement as he could not steer the car properly. Brock then passed early leader Moffat on lap 2 and proceeded to run away from the field. Hansford also overtook Moffat who was wisely driving with an eye on the title, but Brock lapped the #31 Mazda through the back section of the circuit on the last lap.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Season Summary
Moffat, Brock and Allan Grice (who won rounds 2 and 3 at Sandown and Symmons Plains in his new Roadways Racing Commodore before fading later in the series) were the only race winners in the 1983 ATCC. Defending champion Dick Johnson battled season long with an ill-handling Ford XE Falcon and could only manage two distant 3rd placings at both Sandown and Wanneroo (where he led for the only time in the series) to finish a disappointing 6th in the championship, 94 points behind Moffat.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Season Summary
Johnson's 351cui, 5.8L V8 Falcon had the grunt, but not the handling to be a serious contender for the crown. It was only discovered before the final round at Lakeside that the problem with the Falcon's handling had been both a lack of rear tyres as well as the front suspension of the car.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Season Summary
Whilst Nissan driver George Fury, helped by consistent performances, led the series (uncorrected points) going into the final round at Lakeside, Fury was essentially 5 points behind Moffat in the points system corrected for the top 7 races, therefore Fury needed to finish ahead of Moffat or Moffat finish in 6th place or worse to claim the title.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Season Summary
As Moffat had finished well ahead of Fury in all but the one race were the Mazda broke its axle, team manager Howard Marsden decided the team would skip the round as they were not in major contention to win the title (officially to further develop the car before Bathurst). Moffat finished the final race in 3rd position, behind Brock and teammate Gregg Hansford, claiming the 1983 ATCC 6 points ahead of Fury in second place.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Season Summary
Controversy also reigned throughout the series with some teams such as the MHDT (Brock) and STP Roadways (Grice) claiming that Moffat was foxing during the championship and not racing as fast as he could in an effort to 'hoodwink' CAMS into believing the RX-7's, which ran the 1.2 Litre 12A rotary engine in the championship, needed the larger and more powerful (by some 30 bhp (22 kW; 30 PS)) 1.3 Litre 13B engine in order to be competitive against the V8's at Bathurst. Ultimately CAMS approved the larger 13B engine for the RX-7's (as well as a late approval for fuel injection), but also granted concessions to the Commodore's and Falcons which ended up giving the bigger cars a speed advantage on the Mountain.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Season Summary
Controversially CAMS announced the concessions for the post-ATCC 1 August homologation during the race of Round 7 at Oran Park via the ABC's telecast of the race, with ABC commentators Will Hagon and John Smailes making the announcement mid-race. In a TV interview with Smailes immediately following his 2nd placing to Moffat, Peter Brock was informed of the new homologation's and expressed his displeasure with CAMS for announcing it on television during the race and not letting those who the decision affected (the teams) know first.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Season Summary
The fallout from CAMS decision led to both the Nissan and Roadways teams boycotting the final race of the series at Lakeside, though the official reason given by Nissan team manager Howard Marsden was that the Bluebird's needed further development for the upcoming 1983 Australian Endurance Championship which included both blue ribbon events, the Sandown 400 and the James Hardie 1000 at Bathurst.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Season Summary
Nissan's boycott of the last round also meant that series leader George Fury virtually forfeited his closest chance of winning an ATCC championship and becoming the only driver other than Colin Bond to win both the ATCC and the Australian Rally Championship with Fury previously having won the Rally title in both 1977 and 1980. Despite this it was generally felt that the championship went to the right driver as Moffat and his RX-7 were usually the fastest combination and the expat Canadian was regarded as the man to beat.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Season Summary
Moffat only failed to finish once at Sandown (broken axle) and finished every other race on the podium, including four wins, four pole positions and five fastest laps resulting in new lap records at Sandown, Symmons Plains, Wanneroo, Surfers (shared with Brock) and Oran Park, while Fury's best were two seconds (Calder and Wanneroo) and one third at Symmons Plains.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Season Summary
Also in each race that both Moffat and Fury finished, the Mazda finished ahead of the Nissan, making it fairly unlikely Fury would win the championship in the last round, unless Moffat suffered a breakdown or was involved in an accident, which if either occurred would've meant the Nissan would win the championship in any case, hence a rather pragmatic decision was made by the Nissan team not to compete at the last event.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Season Summary
One outcome from this series was that in the future turbocharged cars had their engine capacities multiplied for the purposes of class point score weightings, meaning that in the 1984 Australian Touring Car Championship, the Bluebird's would compete on an equal footing with the other outright class competitors (this actually took effect prior to the start of the 1983 Endurance Championship which started two months after the ATCC concluded).


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Season Summary
Despite this meaning that the Nissan would score equal points as the RX-7's, Commodore's and Falcons, Nissan team boss Howard Marsden raised no objections to the change as the 1.8 litre turbo had proven that it was able to match the speed of the outright class cars. Indeed, later in the year Fury would showcase the speed of the car, qualifying the Bluebird on the front row of the grid at Bathurst, traditionally the sole domain of the more powerful V8 powered cars.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Entrants and drivers
The following entrants and drivers competed in the 1983 Australian Touring Car Championship.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Race calendar
The 1983 Australian Touring Car Championship was contested over an eight-round series across six states with one race per round.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Classes
The "Up to and including 3000cc class" consisted of Alfa Romeo Alfetta, Datsun Bluebird turbo, Ford Capri, Ford Escort, Isuzu Gemini, Mazda 626, Mazda RX-3, Toyota Celica and Triumph Dolomite Sprint. The "3001-6000cc class" consisted of Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Falcon, Holden Commodore and Mazda RX-7.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Points system
Championship points were awarded on a two tier system to the top twenty outright finishers in each round.


1983 Australian Touring Car Championship, Points system
Only the best seven round results could be counted by each driver.


1983 Australian Touring Car season
The 1983 Australian Touring Car season was the 24th season of touring car racing in Australia commencing from 1960 when the first Australian Touring Car Championship and the first Armstrong 500 (the forerunner of the present day Bathurst 1000) were contested.


1983 Australian Touring Car season
The year was known for its political infighting over the homologation of parts by the Confederation of Australian Motorsport (CAMS). The new homologation grants for 1 August were announced on 29 May during the running of Round 7 of the Touring Car Championship at Sydney's Oran Park by ABC television commentators Will Hagon and John Smailes. This drew public criticism from the drivers who were only told about the grants post race.


1983 Australian Touring Car season
As a result of the way CAMS announced the homologation grants, both the Roadways and Nissan teams boycotted of the final round at Lakeside, despite Nissan driver George Fury going into the round as the championship leader and needing only to finish 9th in the race to claim the title. The boycott ultimately cost Fury the championship as his only rival Allan Moffat finished a safe 3rd to claim his fourth and last ATCC series win.


1983 Australian Touring Car season
During the year CAMS also announced that the 1984 season would be the last for the locally developed Group C category which had been in place since 1973, before the move to the FIA's international Group A rules from 1985. This in effect took the homologation issue out of CAMS hands, with the FIA having the final say on all homologated cars and parts.