See also: 1972 in sports, other events of 1973, 1974 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.

Contents

1 Auto Racing 2 Baseball 3 Basketball 4 Boxing 5 Cycling 6 Field Hockey 7 Figure Skating 8 Football (American) 9 Football (Australian Rules) 10 Football (Canadian) 11 Football (Soccer) 12 Golf 13 Thoroughbred Horse Racing 14 Harness Racing 15 Ice Hockey 16 Skiing 17 Snooker 18 Tennis 19 General sporting events 20 Births 21 Deaths

Auto Racing

• Stock car racing:
  • Richard Petty wins the Daytona 500 in which singer Marty Robbins made his first appearance as a driver.
  • NASCAR Championship - Benny Parsons
• Indianapolis 500 - Gordon Johncock
• USAC Racing - Roger McCluskey
• Formula One Championship - Jackie Stewart of Great Britain
• 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Henri Pescarolo / Gérard Larrousse won, driving a Matra MS670B
• Rally racing - Jean-Claude Andruet / Michele Petit ("Biche") won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Alpine-Renault A110 . This year's rally was the first ever Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship event.
• Drag racing - Don Garlits won "Top Fuel" at the NHRA Supernationals

Baseball

• January 18: Orlando Cepeda signs with the Boston Red Sox, making him the first player signed by a team specifically to be a designated hitter.

• The American League uses the designated hitter rule for the first time. Ron Blomberg is the first player to bat as a DH.

• World Series: Oakland Athletics won 4 games to 3 over the New York Mets

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
  • UCLA wins 87-66 over Memphis State.

• NBA Finals:
  • New York Knicks won 4 games to 1 over the Los Angeles Lakers

Boxing

• January 22 - George Foreman beats Joe Frazier by a knockout in two rounds to lift the world's Heavyweight championship from Frazier. It is HBO Boxing's first telecast.

Cycling

• Tour de France - Luis Ocaña of Spain
• World Cycling Championship: Felice Gimondi, of Italy

Field Hockey

• March 10 - In an international women's hockey match at Wembley Stadium,England. England are beaten by Ireland 2-1.

Figure Skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Ondrej Nepela , Czechoslovakia
  • Women's champion: Karen Magnussen, Canada
  • Pairs champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexander Zaitsev, Soviet Union

Football (American)

• O. J. Simpson becomes the first player in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a single season.

• Super Bowl VII: Miami Dolphins won 14-7 over the Washington Redskins

Football (Australian Rules)

• Victorian Football League
  • Richmond wins the 77th VFL Premiership (Richmond 16.20 (116) d Carlton 12.14 (86))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Keith Greig (North Melbourne)

Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Ottawa Rough Riders win 22-18 over the Edmonton Eskimos
• Vanier Cup: St. Mary's Huskies win 14-6 over the McGill Redmen

Football (Soccer)

• England - FA Cup: Sunderland wins 1-0 over Leeds United

Golf

Men's Golf

• Major Championship results:
  1. May - The Masters - Tommy Aaron
  2. June - US Open - Johnny Miller
  3. July - British Open - Tom Weiskopf
  4. August - PGA Championship - Jack Nicklaus

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Jack Nicklaus - $308,362

• Ryder Cup: United States won 19-13 over Britain & Ireland in world team golf.

Women's Golf

• US Women's Open - Susie Berning
• LPGA Championship - Mary Mills
• Kathy Whitworth: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $82,854

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Gala Supreme
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Royal Chocolate
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Rheingold
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Weaver's Hall

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Mon Fils
  2. Epsom Derby - Morston
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Peleid

• Secretariat, ridden by jockey Ron Turcotte, becomes the first horse in 25 years to win the United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Secretariat
  2. Preakness Stakes - Secretariat
  3. Belmont Stakes - Secretariat

Harness Racing

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace - Smog
  2. Little Brown Jug - Melvin's Woe
  3. Messenger Stakes - Valiant Bret

• United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian - Flirth
  2. Yonkers Trot
  3. Kentucky Futurity

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Hondo Grattan
  • Trotters: Precocious

Ice Hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins

• Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Bobby Clarke - Philadelphia Flyers

• Stanley Cup - Montreal Canadiens defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4 games to 2

• World Hockey Association:
• AVCO Cup - New England Whalers defeat the Winnipeg Jets 4 games to 1 for first league championship.

• World Hockey Championship:
  • Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden

Skiing

• Alpine Skiing
  • The men's overall season champion: Gustavo Thoeni , Italy
  • The women's overall season champion: Annemarie Pröll , Austria

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship: Ray Reardon beats Eddie Charlton 38-32

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - John Newcombe
  2. French Open - Ilie Nastase
  3. Wimbledon - Jan Kodes
  4. US Open - John Newcombe

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Margaret Smith Court
  2. French Open - Margaret Smith Court
  3. Wimbledon - Billie Jean King
  4. US Open - Margaret Smith Court

• Davis Cup: Australia wins 5-0 over the United States in world tennis.
• Men and women players receive equal prize money at the US Open.

General sporting events

• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
  • Dick Wilmarth won with lead dog: Hotfoot

Births

• January 1 - Britta Becker,German field hockey international
• February 26 - Jenny Thompson, U.S. Olympic swimmer
• February 26 - Marshall Faulk, American football star
• February 28 - Eric Lindros, ice hockey star
• April 24 - Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricketer
• May 1 - Oliver Neuville, German international footballer
• May 19 - Dario Franchitti, automobile racer
• June 15 - Vanina Oneto , Argentinian field hockey international
• June 21 - Alyson Annan , Australian field hockey international
• July 20 - Peter Forsberg, ice hockey player
• September 28 - Kathryn Leng , English cricketer
• October 22 - Ichiro Suzuki, Japanese baseball star, American League MVP and Rookie of the Year in 2001
• November 29 - Ryan Giggs, Welsh international footballer
• December 2 - Monica Seles, Yugoslavia-born American tennis champion

Deaths

• February 8 - Herbie Taylor , South African cricketer
• March 12 - Frankie Frisch, Major League Baseball player (1919-1937)
• March 26 - George Sisler, Major League Baseball hall of famer (1915-1930)
• July 2 - Swede Savage 26, USAC race car driver
• July 8 - Wilfred Rhodes, English cricketer
• July 29 - Formula One driver, Roger Williamson burns to death at the Dutch Grand Prix
• August 7 - Wilbur Cooper , Major League Baseball pitcher (1912-1926)
• August 9 - Charlie Daniels, U.S. Olympic Gold medal swimmer
• October 2 - Paavo Nurmi, Finnish runner
• December 3 - Count Fleet, thoroughbred racehorse and Triple Crown champion.
• December 16 - Syd Barnes , Australian cricketer