1972 in sports

Encyclopedia : 1 : 19 : 197 : 1972 in sports

Contents

Stock car racing:
February 20: A.J. Foyt won the Daytona 500
NASCAR Championship - Richard Petty
Indianapolis 500 - Mark Donohue
USAC Racing - Joe Leonard won the season championship
Formula One Championship - Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil
24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Henri Pescarolo / Graham Hill won, driving a Matra MS670
Rally racing - Sandro Munari / Mario Manucci won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Lancia Fulvia 1.6HF
Drag racing - Don Moody won "Top Fuel" at the NHRA Supernationals

1972 in baseball
January 19: The BBWAA elects Sandy Koufax (344 votes), Yogi Berra (339), and Early Wynn (301) to the Hall of Fame. Koufax makes it in his first try and, at 36, is the youngest honoree in history. He won three Cy Young awards in a four-year span when the honor was only given to one pitcher for both leagues. Berra played in 14 World Series (ten world champions), he had more hits in Series play than any other player, and he was a three-time MVP for the Yankees. Wynn won 300 career games, and won 20 games five times. *September 30: Roberto Clemente got his 3,000th hit against the New York Mets.
Sparky Lyle saves 35 games for the New York Yankees, breaking Ron Perranoski's 1970 records for AL pitchers and lefthanders. Lyle also becomes the first left-hander to save 100 career games in the American League.
World Series: Oakland Athletics win their 6th World Championship by defeating the Cincinnati Reds, 4 games to 3.
December 31 - The Pittsburgh Pirates' legendary right fielder Roberto Clemente dies in a plane crash near Puerto Rico on his way to bring relief supplies to Nicaraguan earthquake victims.

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
UCLA wins 81-76 over Florida St.

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

June 26 - Roberto Duran stopped Ken Buchanan in the thirteenth round to win the WBA Lightweight Championship.

Giro d'Italia won by Eddy Merckx of Belgium
Tour de France - Eddy Merckx of Belgium
World Cycling Championship: Marino Basso of Italy

Olympic Games (Men's Competition) in Munich, West Germany
* Gold Medal: West Germany
* Silver Medal: Pakistan
* Bronze Medal: India

World Figure Skating Championships:
Men's champion: Ondrej Nepela, Czechoslovakia
Women's champion: Beatrix Schuba, Austria
*Pairs champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexei Ulyanov, Soviet Union

January 16-Super Bowl VI: Dallas Cowboys won 24-3 over the Miami Dolphins

1971 NCAA Division I-A national football championship: The Nebraska Cornhuskers win 38-6 over the University of Alabama Crimson Tide to claim back-to-back National Championship titles on January 1st, 1972.

Victorian Football League
* Carlton wins the 76th VFL Premiership (Carlton 28.9 (177) d Richmond 22.18 (150))
* Brownlow Medal awarded to Len Thompson (Collingwood)

Grey Cup: Hamilton Tiger-Cats won 13-10 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders
Vanier Cup: Alberta Golden Bears won 20-7 over the Waterloo Golden Hawks

England - FA Cup: Leeds United won 1-0 over Arsenal
West Germany beat the Soviet Union 3-0 to win European Championship.

Men's Golf
The European PGA tour begins its first season of competition.

Grand Slam of golf results:
#April - The Masters - Jack Nicklaus
#June - US Open - Jack Nicklaus
#July - British Open - Lee Trevino
#August - PGA Championship - Gary Player

PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Jack Nicklaus - $320,542
Women's Golf
US Women's Open - Susie Berning
LPGA Championship - Kathy Ahern
Kathy Whitworth: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $65,063

Australia - Melbourne Cup - Piping Lane
Canada - Queen's Plate - Victoria Song
France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - San San
Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Steel Pulse

English Triple Crown Races:
#Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - High Top
#Epsom Derby - Roberto
#St. Leger Stakes - Boucher

United States Triple Crown Races:
#Kentucky Derby - Riva Ridge
#Preakness Stakes - Bee Bee Bee
#Belmont Stakes - Riva Ridge

September 21 - Strike Out became the first Canadian owned harness racing horse to ever win the Little Brown Jug.

United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
#Cane Pace - Hilarious Way
#Little Brown Jug - Strike Out
#Messenger Stakes - Silent Majority

Super Bowl wins the United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
#Hambletonian - Super Bowl
#Yonkers Trot - Super Bowl
#Kentucky Futurity - Super Bowl

Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
*Pacers: Welcome Advice

World Hockey Association (WHA) formed to compete with the NHL. This new league signed several of the top NHL stars including Bobby Hull and Derek Sanderson.

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 Orr, Boston Bruins

Stanley Cup - Boston Bruins win 4 games to 2 over the New York Rangers

September 28 - Paul Henderson scored the "goal of the century" to give Canada the win in the Summit Series, the first ever Canada versus the Soviet Union hockey showdown.

World Hockey Championship
* Men's champion: Czechoslovakia defeated the Soviet Union

The Long Branch P.C.O.'s win the first Founders Cup.
The New Westminster Salmonbellies win the Mann Cup.
The Peterborough PCO's win the Minto Cup.

Alpine Skiing
The men's overall season champion: Gustav Thöni, Italy
The women's overall season champion: Annemarie Pröll, Austria

World Snooker Championship: Alex Higgins beats John Spencer 37-32

Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
#Australian Open - Ken Rosewall
#French Open - Andres Gimeno
#Wimbledon championships - Stan Smith
#US Open - Ilie Năstase

Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
#Australian Open - Virginia Wade
#French Open - Billie Jean King
#Wimbledon championships - Billie Jean King
#US Open - Billie Jean King (first player in Open Era to repeat as singles champion)

Davis Cup: United States wins 3-2 over Romania in world tennis.

1972 Summer Olympics takes place in Munich, Germany
USSR wins the most medals (99), and the most gold medals (50)

1972 Winter Olympics takes place in Sapporo, Japan
USSR wins the most medals (16), and the most gold medals (8)

Seventh Winter Universiade held in Lake Placid, United States

Births

January

January 1 — Yermakhan Ibraimov, Kazakhstani boxer
January 2 — Davide Scala, Italian tennis player
January 3 — Steph Cook, modern pentathlon athlete
January 3 — Song Seung-Tae, South Korean field hockey striker
January 11 — Julia Price, Australian cricketer
January 11 — Wenyi Yang, Chinese freestyle and backstroke swimmer
January 23 — Marcel Wouda, Dutch swimmer and swimming coach
January 24 — Ulla Werbrouck, Belgian judoka
January 26 — Denise Klecker, German field hockey player

February

February 3 — Mart Poom, Estonian football (soccer) goalkeeper
February 7 — Mariano Chao, Argentine field hockey goalkeeper
February 9 — Norbert Rózsa, Hungarian breaststroker
February 11 — Dennis Iliohan, Dutch football player
February 15 — Jaromir Jagr, Czech ice hockey star
February 16 — Dirk Dier, German tennis player
February 17 — Philippe Candeloro, figure skater
February 19 — Lucy Pearson, English cricketer
February 22 — Michael Chang, US tennis player
February 22 — Claudia Pechstein, German speed skater
February 24 — Larry Amar, American field hockey midfielder
February 24 — Richard Chelimo, Kenyan athlete, former world record holder, 10,000m (d. 2001)
February 28 — Tarick Salmaci, American boxer from Lebanese origin

March

March 3 — Petr Luxa, Czech tennis player
March 4 — Pae Gil-Su, North Korean gymnast
March 5 — Mikael Tillstrøm, Swedish tennis player
March 5 — Hernan Gumy, Argentinian tennis player
March 6 — Yoav Bruck, Israeli freestyle swimmer
March 6 — Shaquille O'Neal, American basketball player
March 9 — Anna Lawrence, New Zealand field hockey midfielder
March 9 — Meagan Warthold, Australian weight lifter
March 9 — Zsolt Varga, Hungarian water polo player
March 11 — Debra McLeod, Scottish field hockey goalkeeper
March 14 — Clover Maitland, Australian field hockey goalkeeper
March 15 — Steve Danielson, American field hockey player
March 15 — Filip Dewulf, Belgian tennis player
March 16 — Andrew Foster, British tennis player
March 16 — Sandor Noszaly, Hungarian tennis player
March 17 — Mia Hamm, American soccer player
March 18 — Carolyn Reid, British field hockey goalkeeper
March 20 — Daniela Hunger, German medley and freestyle swimmer
March 22 — Elvis Stojko, figure skating champion
March 23 — Jonas Björkman, Swedish tennis player
March 25 — Nina Bonner, Australian field hockey goalkeeper
March 29 — Piet-Hein Geeris, Dutch field hockey player
March 29 — Paul Kent, New Zealand breaststroke swimmer
March 30 — Sander van Heeswijk, Dutch field hockey player

April

April 3 — Sandrine Testud, French tennis player
April 8 — Katrina Powell, Australian field hockey player
April 10 — Srdjan Muskatirovic, Serbian tennis player
April 11 — Brandon Coupe, US tennis player
April 11 — Annemette Jensen, Danish athlete
April 14 — Yamilé Aldama, Cuba-born Sudanese triple jumper
April 15 — Arturo Gatti, Italian-born boxer from Canada
April 16 — Eldar Kurtanidze, Georgian wrestler
April 17 — Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lankan cricketer
April 17 — Macha van der Vaart, Dutch field hockey midfielder
April 22 — Tanya White, Australian taekwondoka
April 27 — Silvia Farina Elia, Italian tennis player
April 29 — Mariusz Siudek, Polish figure-skater

May

May 1 — Angela Alupei, Romanian rower
May 5 — James Cracknell, British rower
May 5 — Michael Green, German field hockey player
May 7 — Peter Dubovský, Slovak football (soccer) player (d. 2000)
May 9 — Daniela Silivaş, Romanian gymnast
May 11 — Brian MacPhie, US tennis player
May 11 — Lori Melien, Canadian backstroke swimmer
May 14 — Mandy Smith, New Zealand field hockey striker
May 21 — Jalo de Vries, Dutch water polo player
May 23 — Kevin Ullyett, South African tennis player
May 27 — Eskild Ebbesen, Danish rower
May 31 — Frode Estil, Norwegian cross-country skier

June

June 11 — Julien Prosser, Australian beach volleyball player
June 17 — Iztok Čop, Slovenian rower
June 23 — Zinedine Zidane, French football star
June 24 — Robbie McEwen, Australian professional road bicycle racer
June 26 — Jai Taurima, Australian long jumper
June 26 — Mansueto Velasco, Filipino boxer
June 28 — Mark Merklein, US tennis player

July

July 1 — Svetlana Zhurova, Russian ice speed skater
July 2 — Matthew Birir, Kenyan athlete
July 8 — Saurav Ganguly, Indian cricketer
July 8 — Viorel Moldovan, Romanian football (soccer) forward
July 15 — Natalya Sadova, Russian discus thrower
July 16 — Oleg Ogorodov, Uzbek tennis player
July 21 — Nikolay Kozlov, Russian water polo player
July 22 — Michael Johansen, Danish football (soccer) player
July 26 — Indrek Sei, Estonian freestyle swimmer
July 28 — Tom Vanhoudt, Belgian tennis player
July 31 — Armen Bagdasarov, Uzbek judoka

August

August 1 — Martin Damm, Czech tennis player
August 3 — Christian Keller, German medley and freestyle swimmer
August 7 — Xeno Müller, Swiss rower
August 10 — Yong Zhuang, Chinese freestyle swimmer
August 11 — Melanie Jones, Australian cricketer
August 11 — Rob Short, Canadian field hockey player
August 21 — Ronnie Ekelund, Danish football (soccer) player
August 24 — Christian Ruud, Norwegian tennis player
August 27 — Jaap-Derk Buma, Dutch field hockey player
August 27 — Denise Lewis, British athlete
August 27 — Wayne McIndoe, New Zealand field hockey player
August 28 — Nathan Thomas, Australian waterpolo player
August 30 — Pavel Nedved, Czech football player

September

September 1 — Louise Dobson, Australian field hockey player
September 4 — Daniel Nestor, Canadian tennis player
September 9 — Jakko Jan Leeuwangh, Dutch speed skater
September 10 — Daniele Musa, Italian tennis player
September 11 — Matthew Gilmore, Australian-born Belgian cyclist
September 16 — Vebjørn Rodal, Norwegian middle distance athlete
September 17 — Simon Towns, New Zealand field hockey player
September 19 — Amy Frazier, American tennis player
September 23 — Radomir Vasek, Czech tennis player
September 25 — Davide Sanguinetti, Italian tennis player

October

October 7 — Remco van Wijk, Dutch field hockey player and coach
October 10 — Marianne Limpert, Canadian freestyle and medley swimmer
October 11 — Martin Lundgaard, Danish badminton player
October 13 — Feliberto Ascuy, Cuban wrestler
October 15 — Duncan Dokiwari, Nigerian boxer
October 19 — Otto Steffers, American field hockey defender
October 24 — Ruxandra Dragomir, Romanian tennis player
October 24 — Jonathan Reid, American boxer
October 25 — Rodolfo Falcon, Cuban backstroke swimmer
October 27 — Santiago Botero, Colombian cyclist
October 27 — Brett Clarke, Australian table tennis player
October 27 — Jason Duff, Australian field hockey defender
October 27 — Rob Henderson, Irish rugby union footballer
October 27 — Maria Mutola, Mozambican athlete
October 27 — John Steel, New Zealand freestyle swimmer

November

November 1 — Gillian Sewell, Northern Ireland-born field hockey player from Canada
November 4 — Luís Figo, Portuguese football player
November 4 — Olivia Magno, Australian cricketer
November 5 — Alison Sheppard, Scottish freestyle swimmer
November 7 — Hasim Rahman, American heavyweight boxer
November 8 — Chris Fydler, Australian swimmer
November 9 — Sophie Blake, British television sports presenter
November 14 — Laurence Tieleman, Italian tennis player
November 15 — Emilio Alvarez, Spanish tennis player
November 16 — Ageeth Boomgaardt, Dutch field hockey player
November 21 — Eyal Ran, Israelian tennis player
November 24 — Ibrahim Dossey, Ghanaian football (soccer) goalkeeper
November 24 — Marek Lemsalu, Estonian football (soccer) player
November 24 — Rhona Simpson, Scottish field hockey player

December

December 2 — Gustavo Borges, Brazilian swimmer
December 6 — Francisco Cabello, Argentinian tennis player
December 7 — Jordi Burillo, Spanish tennis player
December 9 — Fabrice Santoro, French tennis player
December 9 — Maikro Romero, Cuban boxer
December 11 — Paul Rosner, South African tennis player
December 12 — Wilson Kipketer, Kenian-born Danish middle distance runner
December 16 — Nicole Haislett, American freestyle swimmer
December 18 — Anzhela Balakhonova, Ukrainian pole vaulter
December 18 — Marcos Ondruska, South African tennis player
December 21 — Claudia Poll, Nicaragua-born swimmer from Costa Rica
December 27 — Hocine Soltani, Algerian boxer
December 28 — Roberto Palacios, Peruvian football (soccer) midfielder
December 28 — Patrick Rafter, Australian tennis player

Deaths

February 28 — Victor Barna, Hungarian-born, 5 time World table tennis champ
February 28 — Dizzy Trout, Major League Baseball pitcher (1939-1957)
March 11 — Zack Wheat, Major League Baseball player (1909-1927)
March 16 — Pie Traynor, Major League Baseball player (1920-1937)
March 28 — Donie Bush, Major League Baseball player (1908-1923)
April 2 — Gil Hodges, Major League Baseball player/manager (1943-1963)
October 9 — Dave Bancroft, Major League Baseball player (1915-1930)
October 17 — Turk Broda, ice hockey goaltender
October 24 — Jackie Robinson, (Baseball Hall of Famer) (1947-1956)
December 31 — Roberto Clemente, (Baseball Hall of Famer) (1955-1972)
December 20 — Gabby Hartnett, Major League Baseball player (1922-1941)
December 23 — Eric Green, British field hockey player (b. 1878)

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