Sports74 Gold: Bibliography

Here are some of the books and sites I used in compiling this information, from the project's beginning in the summer of 2011 and its arrival on the Web in 2013 and '14 to further research done in 2023 and '24. On links provided (if any) with this blog's pages, I make no representation as to the content of the sites to which I might link.

I never properly cited Baseball Digest as a source for that Hank Aaron post, so unless I still have (and can find) the March-April 2019 issue somewhere, it will remain uncited.

Books and other Publications

Ash, Russell. The Top 10 of Everything 2001. 1st American ed. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2000.

Ash, Russell. The Top 10 of Everything 2008. London: Hamlyn, 2007.

Athlon Sports Baseball 2014. Nashville, Tenn.: Athlon Sports Media, 2014.

Belsky, Gary, and Neil Fine. 23 Ways to Get to First Base: The ESPN Uncyclopedia. New York: ESPN Books, 2007.

Brown, Gerry, and Michael Morrison, eds. ESPN Information Please Sports Almanac 2000. New York: Hyperion, 1999.

Brown, Gerry, and Michael Morrison, eds. ESPN Sports Almanac 2007. New York: ESPN Books, 2006.

Brown, Gerry, and Michael Morrison, eds. ESPN Sports Almanac 2008. New York: ESPN Books, 2007.

Brunner, Borgna, ed. Time Almanac 2001 with Information Please. Time Life Education, 2000.

Daly, Dan, and Bob O'Donnell. The Pro Football Chronicle. New York: Collier Books, 1990.

Dickson, Paul. The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, Third Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. Inc., 2009.

Dryden, Steve, ed. The Hockey News Century of Hockey. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2000.

Duplacey, James, and Eric Zweig, comp. Official Guide to the Players of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Buffalo, N.Y.: Firefly, 2010.

50 Years of American Sports. New York: World Almanac Books, 2011.

Goldblatt, David. World Soccer Yearbook 2002-3. Dorling Kindersley, 2002.

The Guinness Book of Records 1994. Bantam ed. New York: Bantam Books, 1994.

Guinness World Records 2001. Guinness World Records, 2000.

Guinness World Records 2004. Guinness World Records, 2003.

Guinness World Records 2005. Guinness World Records, 2004.

Guinness World Records 2006. Guinness World Records, 2005.

Guinness World Records 2007. Guinness World Records, 2006.

Guinness World Records 2008. Guinness World Records, 2007.

Harris, David. The League: The Rise and Decline of the NFL. New York: Bantam Books, 1986.

Hassan, John, ed. 1997 Information Please Sports Almanac. Houghton Mifflin, 1996.

James, Bill. The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. New York: Free Press, 2001.

Lowry, Philip J. Green Cathedrals: The Ultimate Celebration of Major League and Negro League Ballparks. New York: Walker & Company, 2006.

McCall, Ken, ed. Virginia High School League Book of Records. 16th ed. Charlottesville, Va.: Virginia High School League, 2012. Web.

Meserola, Mike, ed. The 1991 Information Please Sports Almanac. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1990.

Nash, Bruce, and Allan Zullo. The Baseball Hall of Shame. New York: Pocket Books, 1985.

Nash, Bruce, and Allan Zullo. The Baseball Hall of Shame 2. New York: Pocket Books, 1986.

Nash, Bruce, and Allan Zullo. The Baseball Hall of Shame 3. New York: Pocket Books, 1987.

Nash, Bruce, and Allan Zullo. The Baseball Hall of Shame 4. New York: Pocket Books, 1990.

Nash, Bruce, and Allan Zullo. The Baseball Hall of Shame's Warped Record Book. New York: Macmillan General Reference, 1991.

Nash, Bruce, and Allan Zullo. The Baseball Hall of Shame: The Best of Blooperstown. Guilford, Conn.: Lyons Press, 2012.

Nash, Bruce, and Allan Zullo. The Football Hall of Shame. New York: Pocket Books, 1986.

Nash, Bruce, and Allan Zullo. The Football Hall of Shame 2. New York: Pocket Books, 1990.

Nash, Bruce, and Allan Zullo. The Greatest Sports Stories Never Told. New York: Little Simon, 1993.

Nash, Bruce, and Allan Zullo. The Sports Hall of Shame. New York: Pocket Books, 1987.

The Official Associated Press Sports Almanac 1975. New York: Dell Publishing, 1975.

Okrent, Dan, and Harris Levine, ed. The Ultimate Baseball Book. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2000.

Rushin, Steve. "How We Got Here." Sports Illustrated. 16 Aug 1994. Web. <https://vault.si.com/vault/1994/08/16/chapter-three-the-league-leader>.

St. John, Allen. Made to Be Broken: The 50 Greatest Records and Streaks in Sports. Chicago: Triumph Books, 2006.

Solomon, Burt. The Baseball Timeline. New York: Avon Books, 1997.

Solomon, Burt. The Baseball Timeline in Association with Major League Baseball. 1st American ed. New York: DK Publishing, 2001.

The Sports Book. 3rd American ed. DK Publishing, 2013.

Sports Illustrated: Almanac 2009. Sports Illustrated, 2008.

Sports Illustrated: Almanac 2013. Sports Illustrated, 2012.

Time Almanac 2010 Powered by Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2009.

The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1975. New York: Newspaper Enterprise Association, 1974.

The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1977. New York: Newspaper Enterprise Association, 1976.

The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1984. New York: Newspaper Enterprise Association, 1983.

The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1992. New York: Pharos Books, 1991.

The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2010. World Almanac Books, 2009.

The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2013. World Almanac Books, 2012.

The World Book Year Book 1974. Chicago: Field Enterprises Educational Publishing, 1974.

The World Book Year Book 1975. Chicago: Field Enterprises Educational Publishing, 1975.

The World Book Year Book 1976. Chicago: Field Enterprises Educational Publishing, 1976.

The World Book Year Book 1977. Chicago: Field Enterprises Educational Publishing, 1977.

The World Book Year Book 1978. Chicago: Field Enterprises Educational Publishing, 1978.

Young, Mark, ed. The Guinness Book of Sports Records. 18th ed. Stamford, Conn.: Guinness Media, 1997.

Online sources used in general

Baseball Almanac. <http://www.baseball-almanac.com/>.

Baseball-Reference.com – Major League Baseball Statistics and History. <http://www.baseball-reference.com/>.

Basketball-Reference.com. <http://www.basketball-reference.com/>.

BoxRec. <http://boxrec.com/>.

College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. <http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/>.

College Football at Sports-Reference.com. <http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/>.

COMC. <http://www.comc.com>.

Dressed to the Nines: A History of the Baseball Uniform. National Baseball Hall of Fame. <http://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/dressed_to_the_nines/index.htm>.

Elite Prospects. <https://www.eliteprospects.com>.

Hockeydb.com - Hockey Statistics and History for the NHL and more! <https://www.hockeydb.com/>.

Hockey-Reference.com – Hockey Statistics and History. <http://www.hockey-reference.com/>.

The Internet Hockey Database – Hockey Statistics, Data, Logos, and Trading Cards. <http://www.hockeydb.com/>.

My Formula 5000. <https://myf5000.com>.

Pro Football Archives. <https://profootballarchives.com/>.

Pro-Football-Reference.com – Pro Football Statistics and History. <http://www.pro-football-reference.com/>.

Rec.sport.soccer Statistics Foundation. <http://www.rsssf.com/>.

Remember the ABA. <http://www.remembertheaba.com/>.

Retrosheet. <https://www.retrosheet.org/>.

Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew. <http://www.statscrew.com>.

WHAhockey.com. <https://www.whahockey.com/>.

World Football League. <http://www.worldfootballleague.org/>.

Specific Web pages, both used and just here as links

Affleck, Will. "03/03/1974." Bury St. Edmunds Rugby Club. 3 March 2023. <https://www.bserugby.co.uk/news/03031974-2764623.html>.

Bradburn, Jamie. "Before Toronto had the Raptors it had the Buffalo Braves." TVO Today. 29 May 2019. <https://www.tvo.org/article/before-toronto-had-the-raptors-it-had-the-buffalo-braves>.

Bruce, Kevin. "USC vs. Notre Dame 1974: That Game, The Comeback, and the End of an Ara." WeAreSC. 22 Oct 2021. <https://www.on3.com/teams/usc-trojans/news/usc-vs-notre-dame-1974-that-game-the-comeback-and-the-end-of-an-ara/>.

Crichton, Andrew. "Scorecard." Sports Illustrated. 9 Sept 1974. Web. <https://vault.si.com/vault/1974/09/09/scorecard>.

Crowley, Walt. "National Football League awards Seattle a franchise for future Seahawks on December 5, 1974." HistoryLink.org – The Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History. 2006. <http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&File_Id=7633>.

Dreyfuss, Glenn. "Seattle's First NHL Team Never Played One Game." The Hockey News. 22 June 2023. <https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/seattle-kraken/hockey-history/seattles-first-nhl-team-never-played-one-game>.

Drucker, Joel. "TBT: 1975 US Open begins with two innovations." Tennis.com. 27 Aug 2020. <https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/tbt-1975-us-open-begins-with-two-innovations>.

Drinnan, Gregg. "The Memorial Cup: A history . . . 1977." Taking Note. Blogspot.com. 15 June 2008. <http://gdrinnan.blogspot.com/2008/06/memorial-cup-history-1977.html>.

Eskenazi, David, and Steve Rudman. "Wayback Machine: Hugh McElhenny & the Kings." Sportspress Northwest. 22 Mar 2011. <https://www.sportspressnw.com/2115338/2011/wayback-machine-hugh-mcelhenny-the-seattle-kings/>.

Garrett, Robert T. "NC State Trounces Marquette; Notches NCAA Crown, 76-64." The Harvard Crimson. 26 Mar 1974. Web. < https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1974/3/26/nc-state-trounces-marquette-notches-ncaa/?print=1>.

Gerardi, Jon. "Little League World Series announces US-only tournament for 2021." Williamsport Sun-Gazette. 4 May 2021. Web. <https://www.sungazette.com/news/top-news/2021/05/little-league-world-series-announces-us-only-tournament-for-2021/>.

Jensen, Tom. "74 days until the Daytona 500: 1974 'Daytona 450' was a bizarre one." Fox Sports. 10 Jan 2017. <https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nascar/74-days-until-the-daytona-500-1974-daytona-450-was-a-bizarre-one>.

Lind, Andrew. "Buffalo Bills Celebrate 50 Seasons of 'Charging Buffalo' Logo." SportsLogos.Net News. 13 Nov 2023 <https://news.sportslogos.net/2023/11/13/buffalo-bills-celebrate-50-seasons-of-charging-buffalo-logo/football/>.

Kirshenbaum, Jerry. "Big City Country Boy." Sports Illustrated. 27 Oct 1975. Web. <https://vault.si.com/vault/1975/10/27/big-city-country-boy>.

Parsons, Mark. "1974 NHL Inter-League Draft." Historical Hockey Stats. 24 Nov 2012. <https://historicalhockey.blogspot.com/2012/11/1974-nhl-inter-league-draft.html>.

Parsons, Mark. "1974 NHL Intra-League Draft." Historical Hockey Stats. 24 Nov 2012. <https://historicalhockey.blogspot.com/2012/11/1974-nhl-intra-league-draft.html>.

Van Steendelaar, Kevin. "May 19th, 1974: The Broad Street Bullies Claim Their First Stanley Cup." Bleacher Report. 19 May 2009. <http://bleacherreport.com/articles/179147-may-19-1974-the-broad-street-bullies-claim-their-fisrt-stanley-cup>.

"ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results." Remember the ABA. <http://www.remembertheaba.com/ABAStatistics/ABANBAExhibitions.html>.

"American Basketball Association - 1973-74 ABA Draft Picks." RetroSeasons.com. <https://www.retroseasons.com/leagues/aba/1974/draft-picks/>.

"Chiba Lotte Marines." NPB.jp. <https://npb.jp/bis/eng/teams/index_m.html>.

"Chunichi Dragons." NPB.jp. <https://npb.jp/bis/eng/teams/index_d.html>.

"A closer look at other Little League scandals." Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal. 11 Feb 2015. Web. <https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/2015/02/11/little-league-scandals-at-a-glance/23257941/>.

"Damascus (KY)." National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. <https://www.racingmuseum.org/hall-of-fame/horse/damascus-ky>.

"Danny Way - 2009." Skateboarding Hall of Fame. <https://skateboardinghalloffame.org/shof-2009/danny-way-2009/>.

"Dark Mirage (KY)." National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. <https://www.racingmuseum.org/hall-of-fame/horse/dark-mirage-ky>.

"Delmonica Hanover - Harness Museum." Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame. <https://harnessmuseum.com/content/delmonica-hanover-0>.

"Eclipse Awards History." NTRA. <https://www.ntra.com/eclipse-awards/history/>.

"England's Coaches/Managers – Alf Ramsey." England Football Online – The True Story of the National Football Team. 12 Sept 2006. <http://www.englandfootballonline.com/teammgr/mgr_ramsey.html>.

"FRED DRYER MAKES NFL HISTORY." <http://mydamrams.tripod.com/index-11.html>.

"Hartford Whalers (1972-1997)." Sports Ecyclopedia. <https://sportsecyclopedia.com/nhl/hartford/whalers.html>.

"Hicham El Guerrouj." Olympedia. <http://www.olympedia.org/athletes/73317>.

"Karrie Webb." LPGA Tour. <https://www.lpga.com/lpga-hall-of-fame/karrie-webb>.

"Ken Dryden (1971-79)." The Goaltender Home Page. <http://www.hockeygoalies.org/bio/drydenk.html>.

"Krisztina Egerszegi." Olympedia. <http://www.olympedia.org/athletes/48094>.

"Maurice Greene." Olympedia. <http://www.olympedia.org/athletes/89129>.

"Monday Night Football - Fun Facts and Information." Fun Trivia Quizzes – World's Largest Trivia and Quiz Site! <http://www.funtrivia.com/en/Sports/Monday-Night-Football-11054.html>.

"NASL - Barry Watling." NASL Jerseys. <https://www.nasljerseys.com/Players/W/Watling.Barry.htm>.

"New York Golden Blades." Fun While it Lasted. <http://funwhileitlasted.net/2015/03/25/1973-new-york-golden-blades/>.

"1974 Brazil Stats." FBref. <https://fbref.com/en/squads/304635c3/1974/Brazil-Men-Stats>.

"1974 RACE RESULTS." Formula 1 – The Official F1 Website. <https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1974/races.html>.

"1974 World Cup Scores & Fixtures." FBref. <https://fbref.com/en/comps/1/1974/schedule/1974-World-Cup-Scores-and-Fixtures>.

"On This Day – March 25, 1974." CBC Archives. <http://archives.cbc.ca/on_this_day/03/25/>. Possible dead link.

"Paul Scholes - Career stats." Transfermarkt. <https://www.transfermarkt.com/paul-scholes/leistungsdaten/spieler/3397>.

"PEDRO GUTIERREZ MOYA (Nino de la Capea)." Historia del Torero. <https://historiadeltorero.com/toreros/p/pedro-gutierrez-moya-nino-de-la-capea-2/>.

"Sports news and scores from Sunday, March 24, 1974." Ultimate70s.com. <https://www.ultimate70s.com/seventies_history/19740324/golf>.

"Sports news and scores from Sunday, April 21, 1974." Ultimate70s.com. <https://www.ultimate70s.com/seventies_history/19740421/golf>.

"Sports Stars Born in 1974." On This Day. <https://www.onthisday.com/sport/birthdays/date/1974>.

"Tim Horton's Funeral." CBC Archives. <http://archives.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/clips/15204/>. Possible dead link.

"The Ultimate Canadian Hockey Hero." 1972 Summit Series: A September to Remember. <http://www.1972summitseries.com/henderson.html>. Possible dead link.

"USAC Champ Car Series Results for 1974." Racing-Reference.info. <https://www.racing-reference.info/season-stats/1974/UO/>.

"USAC Champ Car Series Standings for 1974." Racing-Reference.info. <https://www.racing-reference.info/yeardet/1974/UO>.

"What Happened on May 4, 1974." On This Day. <https://www.onthisday.com/date/1974/may/4>.

"Why the NFL Couldn't Expand North to Canada." CanadaFootballChat.com. 5 Aug 2021. <https://www.canadafootballchat.com/why-the-nfl-couldnt-expand-north-to-canada/>.

Sports74 Gold: Basketball Early in '74-75

With this look back at late 1974 in both the college and professional games, Sports74 Gold concludes as the original Sports74 series did.

PRO BASKETBALL

Bill Walton is the No. 1 pick in the '74 NBA Draft, and he goes to the Portland Trail Blazers. In his first season, he gets 441 rebounds in 35 games.

The NBA's New Orleans Jazz plays its first season, but first, LSU alumnus Pete Maravich is traded from the Atlanta Hawks May 3, 1974. The Jazz plays at Municipal Auditorium (capacity 7,853) until the Louisiana Superdome (47,284) opens in '75.

Three arenas that open are Richfield Coliseum in northern Ohio (home of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers and the WHA's Cleveland Crusaders), Market Square Arena in Indianapolis (ABA Indiana Pacers and WHA Indianapolis Racers), and Kemper Arena in Kansas City (NBA Kansas City-Omaha Kings and NHL Kansas City Scouts).

The Capital Bullets change their name to the Washington Bullets.

Among the NBA-ABA exhibitions in the preseason is Sept. 28, when the New York Nets defeat the Bullets 101-98 in overtime at the Capital Centre. Something had gone wrong in handling luggage, so Julius Erving and four other Nets players have to wear Bullets road uniforms.

The two leagues discuss merging, but one difference between the leagues' team owners is that the NBA's want to keep the option clause in place and the ABA's want it gone. The ABA sues the NBA for a total of $600 million. Oscar Robertson himself had filed a suit in 1970. The option clause will be dropped in the '76 offseason.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar plays what will prove to be his final season with the Milwaukee Bucks.

This season, Rick Barry of the Golden State Warriors makes his 4000th free throw between ABA and NBA games.

Lenny Wilkens, having coached the Seattle SuperSonics for three years before, is back to coaching after two years of playing for Bill Fitch on the Cavs. He begins his stint as head coach of the Trail Blazers.

Moses Malone, who had briefly been enrolled at the University of Maryland, leaves and signs with the ABA's Utah Stars in August, having been drafted by that team in the third round.

The Buffalo Braves play six more games at the cold Maple Leaf Gardens in '74-75. A Toronto franchise is approved for '75-76, but it will not be formed, reportedly because investors don't have enough faith in the stability of sports at this time.

This is, after all, a season in which, according to ABA president John Y. Brown, the leagues lose $16 million. "There's no way professional basketball can survive if 25 of the 28 teams in both leagues lose substantial amounts of money every year," he will say.

In October, the New York Knickerbockers gain the NBA rights to Pacers power forward George McGinnis from the Philadelphia 76ers, who had drafted him in 1973. When McGinnis instead signs a new contract with the Pacers, the Knicks lose those rights, and what follows in '75 will be a dispute between the two NBA teams over McGinnis.

The season opener for both the Cavaliers and the home Trail Blazers goes to quadruple overtime. Each team scores exactly eight points in the additional periods of this Oct. 18 game, except for the Blazers in the fourth OT, who score ten to win it 131-129.

In a game against the Hawks at the Omni Coliseum, Elmore Smith of the Los Angeles Lakers has three chances to make two free throws Dec. 28. All of the shots are air balls.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

In his final year at N.C. State, David Thompson averages 29.9 points per game and gets 229 rebounds (8.2 per game). The Atlanta Hawks will use their No. 1 overall pick in the '75 NBA Draft on him, and so will the ABA's Virginia Squires in their own league's draft, but he will go to the Denver Nuggets (who had been the Denver Rockets until after the '73-74 season) after they trade with the Squires.

This season is the last for UCLA coach John Wooden. By March, it will be the Bruins' last NCAA tournament appearance under Wooden and the program's tenth championship season.

Pat Head (later Summitt) begins her long coaching career with the Tennessee Lady Vols soon after graduating from the University of Tennessee-Martin.

Bob McCurdy of 16-12 Southern Conference member Richmond leads Division I with 32.9 points per game.

This season will be followed by the first Division III tournament.

Larry Bird, fresh out of Springs Valley High School in French Lick, Ind., initially goes to Indiana University but quickly transfers to Indiana State.

Butch Morgan, coach at the College of St. Joseph the Provider (in Rutland, Vt.), reads a poem called "Don't Quit" to the players and has them discuss it prior to the Dec. 11 game against Castleton State College. The process takes so long that the team gets five technical fouls for being late to the court, and the other team makes three of the five shots. Final score: Castleton 79, St. Joseph 78. Later, Morgan will recall that he thought his team would lose by much more.

NOTE: Over the course of this three-week interval, I received a new smartphone with a larger screen (about 5 1/2 inches), so I tested this post Oct. 1 to see how it would look on the five-inch screen of the phone I had for four years.

Sports74 Gold: Hockey Early in '74-75

This retrospective, which mainly covers what happened in the '74 calendar year, is the penultimate entry in Sports74 Gold. How time flies.

After leaving Canada with a win, a loss, and two ties, the Soviet Union's national team defeats a team of WHA all-stars in three out of four games in Moscow; the other game is a tie. The squad that represents Canada includes all three Howes (of the Houston Aeros), Winnipeg Jets player-coach Bobby Hull, and '72 Summit Series hero Paul Henderson (a new arrival on the Toronto Toros). Hull scores nine points against the Soviets and Gordie Howe gets seven.

On the way to Moscow, the WHA stars defeat Finland in Helsinki and Sweden in Gothenburg. On the way home, they lose to Czechoslovakia in Prague.

In the NHL, this season is the debut of the Kansas City Scouts and Washington Capitals. With this expansion, the league is realigned into the Wales Conference and the Campbell Conference, each of which has two divisions.

An advertisement for the Capitals that first season contains these words: "For as little as $4 a ticket, the least you'll feel is reasonably disappointed."

Franchises in Denver and Seattle are planned for the NHL in 1976-77, but for several reasons, neither one will materialize.

The Northlands Coliseum opens, and it will be the home of the WHA's (later NHL's) Edmonton Oilers for over 40 years.

The New England Whalers play games in West Springfield, Mass. -- where they had played their '74 playoff games -- for the season up to and including Jan. 4, 1975. They play their first game at the Hartford Civic Center on Jan. 11, 1975. Except for some time in the late '70s, the Whalers will keep calling Hartford home until 1997.

The WHA's third season is the first for which plus-minus figures are available. The best in that figure is Bobby Hull with 55. The worst, with negative 63, is defenseman Paul Curtis of the team that starts the season as the Michigan Stags and finishes as the Baltimore Blades.

Ken Dryden is back on the Montreal Canadiens. After a year of absence, he has the third-best GAA in the NHL (2.69). He led the league in '72-73 with 2.26.

Speaking of the Habs, they begin a streak of 23 road games without a loss Nov. 27.

Guy Lafleur of Montreal has his breakout season with 53 goals and 66 assists.

Gordie Howe's 99 points bring him to 2,008 combined for NHL and WHA games.

Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins scores his 500th goal Dec. 22 in his 803rd career game, played at the Boston Garden against the Detroit Red Wings. He is the sixth player in league history to reach the 500 mark.

Esposito and Bobby Orr play what proves to be their last season together and Orr's last season before his premature decline.

Also in Boston, Don Cherry is brought in to start a six-year run as head coach.

The playoffs that follow this NHL season will be different from how they had been in the last four years. From 1971 to 1974, East and West teams met in the semifinals. Now, the four division winners get byes and the second- and third-place teams play in the preliminaries, with matchups determined by points regardless of division or even conference.

In the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft, the Buffalo Sabres use their eleventh-round pick on made-up Japanese player Taro Tsujimoto. Among the real players drafted this year are two future Hall of Famers, both New York Islanders selections: Clark Gillies of the WCHL's Regina Pats and Bryan Trottier of the Western Canada League's Swift Current Broncos (who play in Lethbridge, Alberta, for 12 years starting in the coming season).

The Toronto Maple Leafs draft the Broncos' Dave "Tiger" Williams, who had 854 penalty minutes in 204 games with Swift Current, but also 108 goals and 133 assists. In '74-75, he has 202 penalty minutes in 39 games with the Central League's Oklahoma City Blazers and 187 in 42 games with the Leafs.

With the first pick, the Capitals select Greg Joly of the Pats. The second pick belongs to the Scouts, and they choose Wilf Paiement of the OHA's St. Catharines Black Hawks.

In the WHA, the Minnesota Fighting Saints acquire the players who will be made famous in the 1977 movie Slap Shot. They select Dave Hanson of the Midwest Junior Hockey League's St. Paul Vulcans in the '74 draft. From the USHL's Marquette Iron Rangers, the Saints draft two of the Carlson brothers (Jack Carlson and Steve Carlson) and sign the third, Jeff Carlson.

All told, there are eight different drafts for the two leagues in 1974. To wit:

·     In addition to the aforementioned, the NHL amateur draft involves the California Golden Seals selecting Joly's teammate Rick Hampton with the third overall pick.

·     The WHA amateur draft brings Real Cloutier of the QMJHL's Quebec Remparts to the Quebec Nordiques.

·     A secret amateur draft results in Cam Connor of the WCHL's Flin Flon Bombers going to the Phoenix Roadrunners.

·     That new franchise is one of two teams with picks to make in the WHA expansion draft; the Indianapolis Racers get Bob Fitchner from the Oilers.

·     The NHL also has an expansion draft, whose most important picks might be Seals left winger Gary Croteau for the Scouts and Pittsburgh Penguins blueliner Yvon Labre for the Capitals.

·     The expansion teams also take part in an interleague draft, each one choosing a player from the Hershey Bears of the American League. The Caps take Jim Hrycuik (who scores the team's very first goal Oct. 9), and the Scouts pick Hugh Harvey.

·     In the reverse draft, the AHL's Nova Scotia Voyageurs get Al Hangsleben back from their parent club, the Canadiens, but he plays the season with the Whalers and their NAHL affiliate, the Cape Codders.

·     Finally, there's the NHL's intraleague draft, in which the New York Rangers claim Walt McKechnie of the Golden Seals as compensation for losing Seals pick Jeff Neilson, only to immediately send McKechnie to the Bruins in what appears to be a pre-arranged, three-team trade.

Soviet defenseman Vyacheslav Fetisov plays a single game this season that begins a distinguished 15-year run with CSKA Moscow.

The finale for Sports74 Gold involves front office problems, free throw problems, and a moment that caused problems for some fans in Vermont. Pro and college roundball will round out the series Oct. 18.

[EDITS 4:58-5:03 a.m: Making it look better on mobile devices.]

[EDIT 5:21-23 a.m.: Moving the entire post to a new URL. The title was wrong as originally posted at 4:28.]

[EDIT 5:24-25 a.m.: Taking out an extra space before potentially going back to bed.]

[EDITS 1:29-34 p.m.: It didn't turn out right, just copying and pasting. Back to the original post. But I'll be changing the title.]

Sports74 Gold: NFL 1974

The mid-'70s may have been an era of labor strife, but not enough to interfere with a lot of gridiron action.

Super Bowl IX is the Pittsburgh Steelers' first Super Bowl victory; the AFC champs defeat the NFC champion Minnesota Vikings 16-6. Franco Harris is the game's MVP with 158 yards on 34 rushes, including the first touchdown.

The game gets a rating of 42.3 and a share of 78. An estimated 29.44 million households watch the game on NBC television Jan. 12, 1975.

It is the first Super Bowl in which a safety is made. Fran Tarkenton is sacked in the second quarter to give the Steelers the first points of the game.

These playoffs are the third in a row in which the Steelers and Oakland Raiders meet and the first of three consecutive playoff years in which the two teams play for the AFC championship.

What will be remembered as the game of the season is the Dec. 21 divisional playoff contest between the Raiders and the Miami Dolphins. The fourth-quarter play that wins the game for Oakland is a catch that running back Clarence Davis makes despite the Dolphin coverage that will go down in history as "The Sea of Hands."

The MVP according to the AP (and in the players' vote for the Jim Thorpe Trophy) is Raiders QB Ken Stabler, who leads the league with 26 touchdown passes.

The UPI Coach of the Year for the NFC is second-year St. Louis Cardinals coach Don Coryell, who improved his team from a 4-9-1 record to a 10-6 record. For the AFC, it's Sid Gillman, who led the Houston Oilers from a 1-13 record that even his skills couldn't prevent to a 7-7 record in his coaching swan song.

Los Angeles Rams DT Merlin Olsen, a 13-year veteran, wins the Bert Bell Trophy for MVP, presented by the Maxwell Club of Philadelphia.

The AP names Steelers DT Joe Greene Defensive Player of the Year and gives teammate Jack Lambert, a linebacker, the honor of Defensive Rookie of the Year.

San Diego Chargers running back Don Woods wins awards from UPI as AFC Rookie of the Year, from the AP as Offensive Rookie of the Year, and from the Newspaper Enterprise Association as overall Rookie of the Year. Woods has 1,162 rushing yards, second-best in the NFL, and 10 touchdowns for rushing and receiving combined. UPI's NFC Rookie of the Year is New York Giants offensive guard John Hicks.

Chuck Foreman of the Vikings is the NFC Player of the Year according to The Sporting News. He has 777 yards on 199 rushes, 586 yards on 53 receptions, and a league-best 15 touchdowns combined on runs and catches.

UPI's NFC Player of the Year is Jim Hart, the Cardinal QB. The undisputed all-NFC signal caller, he leads two game-winning drives, and he passes for 2,411 yards and 20 touchdowns, but he also throws eight interceptions, or a league-high 2.1 percent of his pass attempts.

Washington Redskins quarterback and five-time Pro Bowler Sonny Jurgensen plays his last season and leads the NFC in passer rating with 94.5. His final TD is in the Skins' regular-season finale against the Bears, and he goes 6 for 12 with three interceptions in Washington's playoff loss to the Rams.

The leading rusher in the AFC -- and the league -- is the Denver Broncos' Otis Armstrong with 1,407 yards. In the two years before and the two years after, that is Buffalo Bills back O.J. Simpson's honor.

Besides Armstrong, Harris, Simpson, and Woods, Larry McCutcheon of the Rams is also a thousand-yard rusher, the NFC's only one.

This time, Ken Anderson of the Cincinnati Bengals is the leader in quarterback rating with a mark of 95.7, which is 1.2 better than Stabler's.

The Baltimore Colts' Lydell Mitchell rushes a record 40 times Oct. 20 in a 35-20 Colts win at Shea Stadium against the New York Jets. Mitchell has 72 receptions this year, a record for a running back thus far and the leading figure for any player in the season.

Emmitt Thomas of the Kansas City Chiefs is the first since 1964 to get 12 interceptions in a season. By the way, those INT's go for 214 yards.

An NFL franchise for Tampa is awarded April 24, and Seattle joins that city June 5. The latter could have been the Seattle Kings, whose ownership group felt it was guaranteed the franchise and promoted it greatly, but the $16 million fee and the labor dispute are factors leading the group to concede to Seattle Professional Football, a more local group of owners, which gets the franchise Dec. 5.

A six-week NFLPA strike precludes the Chicago College All-Star Game -- an event in which the Dolphins as reigning champs would have played college all-stars, one that will only be held twice more -- but no regular-season games are canceled or delayed. The point of contention is free agency, and the slogan is "no freedom, no football." The union gets back to work before the season starts.

This dispute will be settled by a federal ruling Dec. 20 that by one contemporary account puts "the game's structure in doubt," ultimately ushering in free agency. District Court judge William T. Sweigert rules in the Joe Kapp case that a team signing someone who has played out his option is not obligated to compensate the team losing that player, striking down a rule (named for Commissioner Pete Rozelle) that had been in standard contracts.

This is the first season in which games outside of the playoffs can go to sudden-death overtime. This might be prompted by the use of overtime in the WFL.

Among other rule changes possibly influenced by the WFL's rules: the moving of the goalposts to behind the end zone, kickoffs from the 35-yard line, and a new rule for missed field goals.

The Giants play at the Yale Bowl again this year. They will play at Shea Stadium, also home of the Jets, in 1975.

With the first pick in the '74 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys get Ed "Too Tall" Jones, a 6-foot-9 Tennessee State defensive end.

Throughout the season, the Dolphins maintain their home winning streak, which started in 1971, and extend it to 27 games. That's where the streak will be left when they lose their first regular-season home game in '75.

On Oct. 13, Dennis Morgan of the Cowboys returns a Cardinals punt for a 98-yard touchdown. He is the third player to do so for that many yards, and no one will go longer until 1994.

Mack Herron of the New England Patriots breaks Gale Sayers's single-season record of 2,440 all-purpose yards in a season by accumulating 824 running, 474 receiving, and 1,146 returning. The new record, four better than Sayers', will last one year.

Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw only plays eight regular-season games. He is, however, the starter for all three playoff games, and as such he is credited with the fourth-quarter comeback and game-winning drive against the Raiders. His time to shine, though, will be '75.

With 2,598 passing yards, Tarkenton gets ahead of Y.A. Tittle (33,070) on the all-time list. His 35,846 career yards are at this time second only to the figure put up by Johnny Unitas.

Cowboys QB Roger Staubach's .528 completion percentage is, and will be, his personal worst for a season of 200 attempts or more.

Jets QB Joe Namath has 20 touchdown passes, a high level he hadn't reached since 1967. Also, 22 of his passes are intercepted.

Harris, a third-year player who was the consensus Rookie of the Year in '72, has 1,006 yards on 208 carries. He scores five rushing touchdowns in the regular season and six in the playoffs.

After four games with the Chiefs, future Hall of Fame DT Curley Culp is traded to the Oilers.

Norm Van Brocklin's time as Falcons sideline general, which is in its seventh year, comes to an end Nov. 5.

Ron Smith of the Raiders finishes a ten-year career with 6,922 yards returning 275 kickoffs. Billy Johnson of the Oilers begins a fifteen-year career of returning 282 punts for 3,317 yards.

Raiders kicker George Blanda, who reaches the age of 47 early in the season, plays his next-to-last year and wins the Man of the Year Award.

Far from being Man of the Year is Conrad Dobler, Cardinals offensive guard, who wears a cast on his left arm that he uses to strike opponents. This is in addition to the kicking and biting that opponents have come to expect after two seasons.

Speaking of meanness: In one of the Steelers' two meetings with the Bengals, Pat Matson, Cincinnati offensive guard, tries to limp off the field, but Greene approaches him and urges him to stay on the gridiron.

During the strike and a soccer-style kicker fad, Sal Casola is drafted by the Bills and gets cut. He lands a spot on the Chiefs, but he decides the NFL's not for him and gets his brother to assume his identity. John Casola looks different, as Bills head coach Lou Saban notices Aug. 12, and Saban tells his opponent, Hank Stram, about it before the preseason game. Saban's amused and Stram isn't. The Chiefs' head coach has to wait until the half to end this short non-career.

In his third year as Colts owner and with a reputation for being meddlesome, Robert Irsay (during the Sept. 29 game against the Philadelphia Eagles) tells Howard Schnellenberger that quarterback Bert Jones should be put in. The coach doesn't comply, so Irsay fires him.

At halftime of the Nov. 17 game in Miami, Simpson encourages his fellow Bills to play a more physical game to hinder the Dolphins later on in the division race. On the second play, he taunts linebacker Nick Buoniconti and winds up having to limp off the field. With Simpson ineffective for the rest of the game, Buffalo loses 35-28.

In the week leading up to the Super Bowl, Lance Rentzel and Fred Dryer, members of the NFC runner-up Rams, pose as reporters, complete with old-time clothing, and try to be funny. "Do you think the zone defense is here to stay," Rentzel asks Steelers head coach Chuck Noll, "and if not, where'd it go?"

Besides Lambert and Swann, other future Hall of Famers making their debut this year are Raiders TE Dave Casper, Steelers WR John Stallworth, Steelers center Mike Webster, and Steelers defensive back Donnie Shell.

Besides Jurgensen, other retiring players this year include future Hall of Famers Bobby Bell, Deacon Jones, Bob Lilly, Jim Otto, and Dave Robinson. Coaching for his final year is another man to be enshrined at Canton, Sid Gillman.

One of the latest Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees is tackle and place-kicker Lou Groza. Another is defensive halfback and cornerback "Night Train" Lane. The rest of the class consists of two-way back Tony Canadeo and linebacker Bill George.

Roy Blount's About Three Bricks Shy of a Load, a.k.a. About Three Bricks Shy... and the Load Filled Up, is published. This is an acclaimed book about the '73 Steelers.

Former cornerback and current blaxploitation star Fred Williamson has a short-lived gig joining Frank Gifford and Howard Cosell on Monday Night Football. Former Detroit Lions DT Alex Karras replaces Williamson on the program early in the season.

The NFL is reportedly intent on organizing a six-team league in Europe starting in 1975. That will come to pass in 1995.

Jack Kent Cooke becomes the majority stockholder of the Redskins after the last of deceased founder George Preston Marshall's stock is retired.

After her breast-cancer surgery in late September, the Redskins present first lady Betty Ford with a football.

The Raiders' Bubba Smith, in his second year away from the Colts organization, sues for the incident in Tampa two years before that led to him missing a full season (see NFL '73 entry). Official Ed Marion and the NFL are on the other side of a $2.5-million lawsuit, as is local man Robert Lastra, who had been hired to hold the first-down marker. One version of the story is that Smith hit the marker and Lastra didn't let go.

Ed Meadows, who as a Chicago Bears defensive tackle in 1956 was infamous for a late hit on Bobby Layne of the Lions, one that ignited an already hot discussion about football violence, shoots and ends it all Oct. 22. He was 42, and he had played for four teams over six years.

Don McCafferty, the Lions' head coach, dies of a heart attack July 28.

Does it feel a bit drafty? A selection of hockey events from the '74-75 season is coming Sept. 27.

[EDIT 5:59-6:02 a.m.: A couple of sources seem to differ with the account of Schnellenberger's firing. I am removing a few details that Football Hall of SHAME may have embellished.]

[EDIT 9-8, 11:32-33 p.m.: Changed font size.]

[EDITS 9-9, 9:28-9:50 a.m.: The Super Bowl was on NBC that time, not CBS. Also, made some adjustments.]

Little Post About Little League

For the first time in 15 years, a team from Taiwan made it to the championship game of the Little League World Series, and it was from the same organization. The young residents of Taoyuan were close to ending a drought of over a quarter-century, but things went the Americans' way, and Florida's even longer wait for a world champion is at an end. Congratulations to Lake Mary.

Fifty years ago, the Republic of China, still recognized as such at the time, sent a team to Williamsport that became the Little League World Series championship squad for the fifth year out of six. Over the five days of the tournament, the team representing Kaohsiung played all-star sides from New Haven, Conn.; from Tallmadge, Ohio; and from Red Bluff, Calif. The Far East champions always scored in double digits and only allowed one run over the three games.

As for Florida, the Pinellas Park National Blue team of 1974 was eliminated in the Southern region after losing by one run in the semifinals. In years before and after, Belmont Heights of Tampa was the state champion, but that league's players weren't even in the state championship tournament in between.

[EDIT 9/22 11:24 p.m.: Pesky punctuation.]

Sports74 Gold: College Football '74

Another season of pigskin fast approaches, so let's focus our attention on the one that took place half a century ago.

The winning team at the Rose Bowl is Southern California, which defeats Ohio State 18-17. The UPI coaches' poll, the FWAA, and the National Football Foundation all decide the Trojans are the No. 1 team in the country, but the AP ranks USC second and gives the national title to 11-0 Oklahoma, whose Big 8 champion team is on probation and prevented from playing in bowls.

The Sooners are undefeated for a second year in a row. In fact, this will become a 28-game winning streak and 37-game unbeaten streak that ends in 1975. Head coach Barry Switzer wins his first national championship.

Once again, Michigan and Ohio State are tied for the Big Ten crown. The athletic directors, for a second season in succession, choose the Buckeyes to face the Pacific-8 champions on New Year's Day. This time it's a 5-4 vote, with Michigan State's A.D. being a faithless elector and voting for his school. From next season on, there will be a different way of deciding which Big Ten team plays in the Rose Bowl.

Notre Dame ekes out a 13-11 victory in the Orange Bowl over SEC champion Alabama, sending head coach Ara Parseghian off as a winner and knocking the Crimson Tide out of the No. 1 spot in the coaches' poll.

The Sugar Bowl, played on New Year's Eve, is a 13-10 victory for Nebraska against Florida.

In a big Nov. 30 game against rival Notre Dame, USC is down 24-6 at halftime but makes it an incredible 55-24 victory, shutting out the Fighting Irish in the second half.

Ohio State halfback Archie Griffin wins the Heisman Trophy, and he will win that award again the next year. On 256 carries, he has 1,695 yards and 12 touchdowns.

The Maxwell Award goes to Steve Joachim, quarterback for independent, 8-2 Temple. Joachim has 1,950 passing yards and 20 TDs; he has a 150.1 rating. His 2,227 yards of total offense in 10 games are a University Division (Division I) best for the year.

Defensive tackle Randy White, playing for ACC champion Maryland, wins the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award. The Dallas Cowboys will make this unanimous All-American the second overall pick in '75.

The writers and coaches agree: third-year Baylor coach Grant Teaff is Coach of the Year. The Bears improve from a 2-9 season in '73 to an 8-4 season, Southwest Conference title, and subsequent Cotton Bowl appearance (lost 41-20 to Penn State) for '74.

Steve Bartkowski of 7-3-1 Pac-8 member California is the leading passer in terms of completions, going 182 for 325. He throws for 2,580 yards and 12 touchdowns. The consensus All-American will be the first player picked in the '75 NFL Draft and join the Atlanta Falcons.

Future pro star Walter Payton plays his last season at Jackson State. His totals are 3,600 yards in 598 attempts, and he has scored 63 TDs. Payton is the leading rusher in the Senior Bowl with 77 yards. In '75, he will be the fourth player picked overall in the NFL Draft and start a great career with the Chicago Bears.

Texas loses the Gator Bowl to Auburn two days short of a year after the Longhorns lost the Cotton Bowl to Nebraska. In both games, U.T. only manages a field goal.

Heisman runner-up Anthony Davis of USC sets a record for kickoff return average with a mark of 35.1 yards per return over three seasons. Davis is a consensus All-American running back (along with Griffin and Oklahoma's Joe Washington) whose 301 rushing attempts in '74 go for 1,421 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Also from USC, Charles Phillips attains a single-season high with 302 yards on interceptions.

Talking about interceptions, John Provost finishes his three years playing at Holy Cross (5-5-1 indie in '74) with 27 of them. This mark is second only to the standard set by Al Brosky of Illinois two decades past (29 from '50 to '52).

Louie Giammona of independent, 8-3 Utah State is the season's University Division rushing leader with 1,534 yards on 329 carries. He is also the all-purpose yards leader with 1,984.

Dwight McDonald of San Diego State (Pacific Coast Athletic Association, 8-2-1) is the receiving leader with 86 catches in 11 games. He gets 1,157 yards and 7 TDs.

Chris Kupec, the N.C. State quarterback, sets a record with his .693 completion percentage (minimum 150 attempts).

The Senior Bowl, Jan. 11, 1975, is a 17-17 tie between North and South. The Blue defeats the Gray 29-24 in the Dec. 17 Blue-Gray Classic, and the East wins the Dec. 28 Shrine Game 16-14 against the West.

Colorado State seems to win its Oct. 5 game against fellow WAC member BYU 34-33. However, the tying TD is followed by fans getting on the field and disrupting the game, and the Rams get a penalty. The extra point goes wide, but referee Jack Moyers can't find the ball to hold up for the end-of-game signal, so he holds up his hands without the ball. The scoreboard says CSU wins, but the conference officials' supervisor tells celebrating players that it's a 33-all tie.

In the College Division, Central Michigan wins the Division-II Camellia Bowl 54-14 over Delaware, and Central College (Iowa) defeats Ithaca 10-8 at the Division-III Stagg Bowl.

In a time of financial difficulty, the University of Vermont ends its football program, and reportedly some hard-up programs long for the days when players stayed in the game on both offense and defense.

Chris Sizemore finishes at Bridgewater College with 32.7 rushes per game over three years, a record for Division III.

The winners of the NAIA championship games are Texas A&I, defeating Henderson State (Arkansas) 34-23, and Texas Lutheran, with a 42-0 shutout against Missouri Valley.

Macalester College (St. Paul, Minn.) embarks on a 50-game losing streak. This run of failure for the Scots will span the second half of the decade, lasting until the 1980 season.

Former Michigan center Gerald Ford becomes U.S. President on Aug. 9.

Amateur hour is done, and the game gets all too business-like, from players on the picket lines to an overbearing owner. The NFL in 1974 is coming Sept. 6.

[EDIT 10:02 a.m. EDT: Small but important Davis change]

[EDIT 10:03 a.m. EDT: Correcting inconsistent font]

[EDITS 8/20 2:04-2:22 p.m.: A few small things that might make this look a little better on mobile devices]

Sports74 Gold: International Sports

As the Olympics in Paris begin now, let's take a look at sports around the world 50 years ago.

Dorothy Hamill of Riverside, Conn., wins her first of three U.S. figure skating championships. She finishes second at worlds to 17-year-old East German Christine Errath.

Another East German, Jan Hoffmann, wins the men's world title. The U.S. men's champion, for the second of what will be three times, is Gordon McKellen of Lake Placid, N.Y.

Melissa Militano (Skating Club of New York) and new partner Johnny Johns (Detroit Skating Club) win their first of two U.S. titles in pairs figure skating. Militano had won a title with her brother (Mark Militano) the previous year.

At the world figure skating championships, Irina Rodnina and Aleksandr Zaytsev win their second of six pairs titles together; this is the sixth of ten for Rodnina. At those same championships, fellow Soviets Lyudmila Pakhomova and Aleksandr Gorshkov win their fifth consecutive ice-dancing crown.

In speed skating, Soviet Tatyana Averina sets a women's world record in the 1500 meters. In the women's sprint race world championships, Leah Poulos of Northbrook, Ill., is the overall winner.

Eddy Merckx of Belgium wins the Tour de France for the fifth time, tying the record held by French cyclist Jacques Anquetil. He finishes the 4098-kilometer route (about 2,546 miles) in 116 hours 16 minutes 58 seconds. Merkcx has also won five Tours of Italy and a Tour of Spain, giving him a total of eleven victories among those three events, a record not equaled. Merckx has worn the yellow jersey for a record 111 days, also not equaled.

Merckx wins the Tour of Italy for the fifth time this year and joins a club whose membership otherwise consists of only Italians Alfredo Binda and Alfredo Coppi.

Merckx is also the third three-time winner of the UCI Road World Championship (held in Montreal this year), the other two being Binda and Belgian Rik van Steenbergen.

In rugby, Ireland has sole possession of the Five Nations championship for the first time since 1951. All five nations tied for the championship in '73.

Romania wins the men's team handball world championship for the fourth time, a record no one else will reach until 1999.

In Mexico City, Poland wins the men's volleyball world championship, defeating the Soviet Union in the final, while reigning Olympic champion Japan finishes third. In Guadalajara, Japan's women defeat those of the Soviet Union, also reigning Olympic champions, for the world title.

France wins its seventh freshwater fishing championship.

Toshimitsu Ogata, going by the ring name Kitanoumi, reaches the highest rank in sumo at the age of 21 years and 61 days. For decades, he is the youngest yokozuna.

With Ted Hood as skipper, Courageous defeats the Australian yacht Southern Cross 4-0 for the America's Cup. That boat will win the Cup again in 1977 with Ted Turner as skipper. In '74, the two Teds compete in the Southern Ocean Racing Circuit, with Hood's Robin Too II being the champion yacht of Florida and the Bahamas and Turner's Lightnin' being second-best.

In an International Olympic Committee meeting, Lake Placid is named the host of the 1980 Winter Games and Moscow host of the 1980 summer games. It's also decided that the best skiers and skaters will spend two weeks of 1976 not in Denver, but in Innsbruck, Austria.

Mexico City is named to take over as host of the 1975 Pan American Games, Sao Paulo having withdrawn.

At the world gymnastics championships, the all-around winners are Japanese Shigeru Kasamatsu (also the winner for floor exercise and vault) and Soviet Lyudmila Turischeva (also the winner for floor exercise and balance beam). Between Olympic triumphs, Soviet Olga Korbut wins the vault at the world championships.

In international swimming, some men's world records and almost all women's are broken in August. Tim Shaw of Long Beach, Calif., is the one who beats three of the men's, and fellow Californian Shirley Babashoff of Mission Viejo is solely responsible for two of the women's. Many distaff records are set by the masculine swimmers from East Germany, whom physicians think might be on steroids.

At the quadrennial world championships of alpine skiing at St. Moritz, Switzerland, Gustavo Thoeni of Italy wins the men's slalom and giant slalom. He reaches nine events won in his Alpine Skiing World Cup career, which is a record at the time. Fellow Italian Piero Gros wins the 1973-74 Alpine World Cup title, which Thoeni won in the three seasons before and will win in '75.

Swede Ingemar Stenmark wins his first of what will be 86 slalom and giant slalom races, and Austrian Franz Klammer wins his first of what will be 25 World Cup downhill races.

The women's Alpine World Cup winner for the fourth of five times in a row is Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell (previously Annemarie Proell). The downhill gold medalist at St. Moritz, she also wins her eleventh consecutive downhill race in January. Finishing fourth in downhill is Cindy Nelson of Lutsen, Minn., the downhill winner at the International SDS ladies' ski races.

In professional skiing, Frenchman Jean-Claude Killy is unable to defend his championship because of stomach trouble. Austrian Hugo Nindl wins the title, with fourth place belonging to Hank Kashiwa of Bellingham, Wash., and fifth to Spider Sabich of Snowmass, Colo.

In cricket, Australia wins three matches against New Zealand and loses one, with two draws between the Antipodean countries.

England sweeps the year's cricket matches against India but ties in all three of its matches with Pakistan. The team wins one and loses one against the West Indies, with three ties.

In bullfighting, Spain's leading matador is Pedro Gutierrez, "Nino de la Capea," with 84 bullfights, 112 ears, and 15 tails. Ruling the Mexico City bullring is Curro Rivera, with 12 kills in six bullfights, but no ears or tails.

Two of the world motorcycling championships are won on Yamaha bikes: by Sweden's Kent Anderson in 100cc and by Italy's Giacomo Agostini in 350cc. Agostini equals his 500cc streak by winning his seventh consecutive 350cc world championship. Walter Villa, a fellow Italian, wins his first of three straight 250cc crowns.

East Germany wins all but two of the competitions at the quadrennial world rowing championships, with the Soviet Union taking pairs with coxswain and the United States eights with coxswain.

In the two English universities' annual regatta, Oxford defeats Cambridge by 5 1/2 lengths.

Among the best shooters in the country and the world are Lanny Bassham of Dallas (or Fort Worth, depending on the source), Margaret T. Murdock of Topeka, Kan., and Carter, Mont.'s own Maj. Lones Wigger (yes, that was his name).

Bud Somerville and his fellow residents of Superior, Wis., win the world curling title. The Canadian entry loses in the semifinals.

Superior also wins its fourth national curling championship under Somerville. The skip has won three times in the '60s and will win again in 1981.

In fencing, Italian Aldo Montano wins the individual saber at worlds in Grenoble, France, with Paul Apostol of New York making the semifinals. Viktor Romankov wins at least one of the Soviets' four titles at Grenoble, as individual foil champion.

In weightlifting, the heavyweight champion of the world for the fifth time in a row is Soviet Vasily Alekseyev, with 407 3/4 pounds in the snatch and 529 in the clean and jerk. He sets records for each within the calendar year: 413 for the snatch, 536 3/4 for the clean and jerk.

One of the four Americans who makes the top eight in any weight class at the world Greco-Roman wrestling championships is Koroly Kancser of Lincoln, Neb., who finishes sixth in the 105 1/2-pound class.

In chess, Viktor Korchnoi begins to seek asylum. He's been censured by the Soviet Chess Federation for saying bad things about Anatoly Karpov.

Italian contract bridge players will in time be suspected of having cheated last year and this year (Italy wins the world championship in 1974).

Twenty-six countries compete in the Stoke Mandeville International Games, where the U.S.'s wheelchair athletes win 103 medals and Great Britain's 91.

There are winners and losers. From a famous university blowing a big rivalry game to an obscure school that never expects to win, the college football season of '74 is headed your way Aug. 16.

Sports74 Gold: The WFL (and CFL)

I like how golden anniversaries are the same weekday as the event being celebrated. This coming Wednesday is the semicentennial of the first Wednesday kickoffs of the World Football League's only full year of play.

WORLD FOOTBALL LEAGUE

The WFL is formed for the 1974 season with twelve teams. The regular season is 20 games from July to November, and there are no preseason exhibition games in this first season. In "World Bowl I," held Dec. 5 at Legion Field, the Birmingham Americans win 22-21 against the visiting Florida Blazers. Thanks in part to a blown call negating a touchdown by Blazers running back Tommy Reamon, the Americans win, but their uniforms are seized after the game.

Notably, the Americans owe $237,000 in back taxes and haven't paid players in over a month going into the title game. Three days before the scheduled tilt against the Blazers, Birmingham players walk off the field wanting their pay, but they're back to practice the next day. Owner Bill Putnam vows that the Americans will get rings for victory. Coach Jack Gotta personally pays for his team's meal before the championship game.

Florida's players haven't seen checks for 14 weeks, coaches host them at their homes for dinner once in a while, and head coach Jack Pardee is once on the receiving end of suspicion about his $20 bill being funny money.

In this league, touchdowns are worth seven points, and the PAT, or "action point," has to be run or passed. Also, regular-season games as well as playoff games can go to overtime.

The three MVPs of the WFL are Reamon, Southern California Sun quarterback Tony Adams, and Memphis Southmen running back J.J. Jennings. Only Reamon will play in the NFL. All three split the $10,000 cash with which they are presented at halftime of the World Bowl, brought there by armed guards.

During the season, the New York Stars become the Charlotte Hornets, and the Houston Texans become the Shreveport Steamer. The Detroit Wheels (1-13) and Jacksonville Sharks (3-11) cease to play after 14 games out of a scheduled 20, although the Wheels will be back in '75.

The Southmen are originally to be the Toronto Northmen, but the Canadian government rejects that idea just by mulling a Canadian Football Act that would prevent non-CFL teams from being placed in that country.

In one draft, teams select players from college, while another involves NFL and CFL players. Sixteen NFL players and a CFL player jump from their leagues to the WFL in the first season.

The Texans select Lynn Swann with the 24th pick in the college draft. Of course, he doesn't sign.

Among the NFL players picked in the pro draft who would never play in the WFL: Oakland Raiders QB Ken Stabler, New York Jets QB Joe Namath, San Diego Chargers QB Dan Fouts, Los Angeles Rams DE Jack Youngblood, Raiders DB Jack Tatum, Pittsburgh Steelers DT Joe Greene, and Minnesota Vikings OT Ron Yary.

The second overall pick is Miami Dolphins FB Larry Csonka, whom the Southmen will sign the next season. The Northmen, as they are still known, also draft teammates HB Jim Kiick and WR Paul Warfield to contracts, combined for nearly $3.9 million of what is said to be guaranteed money over three years.

Stabler, who signs to play in the WFL once his option is played out, sues to have his WFL contract ruled void because of late payments. He wins.

To help him catch the ball, Rick Eber of the Steamer uses thumbtacks. "Those WFL refs were something else," he will later recount. "I'd catch a ball and give it back to them with scratches all over it and they never suspected a thing." Using the tacks, Eber scores two touchdowns in a game against the Philadelphia Bell, whose head coach has to be the one to show the none-too-bright officials what's going on. Eber will say he wasn't the only one to use tacks.

The Bell has high attendance figures for its first two games, but it soon comes to light that many of those tickets are given away, not sold. Hawaiians players have trouble in paradise when they're released and can't afford to fly back to the mainland. The Wheels have no programs or game film. The Steamer's visiting opponents leave hotel bills unpaid. Maybe three out of ten players get their entire salaries. Teams lose $10 million in total.

The man behind this league and the ex-commissioner by year's end is Gary L. Davidson, who was also one of the fathers of the ABA and the WHA. The WFL will not survive an entire 1975 season, so the rule of threes does not quite apply here. Or does it?

MEANWHILE, IN CANADA...

Future NFL coach Marv Levy is coach of the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes. He wins the Grey Cup for the first time in 1974, as his Alouettes defeat the Edmonton Eskimos 20-7 in Vancouver.

Johnnie Rodgers of the Alouettes is the highest-paid player with a record contract, but the running back finishes second in MVP voting to Eskimos QB Tom Wilkinson. Rodgers will sign with the Chargers in 1976.

East German swimmers, Soviet weightlifters, England playing cricket overseas, Spain's best bullfighter, and a prestigious event in France: Sports74 Gold spans the globe July 26.

Sports74 Gold: Soccer

What luck. This section is scheduled to be posted at the beginning of the 2024 European championship tournament. Also, #DankeFranz.

West Germany, the home team in the World Cup, wins the final at Munich 2-1, playing against Holland and its new "Total Football" style. Gerd Mueller's 43rd-minute goal is the winner in that game. The West Germans are the first recipients of the new World Cup trophy.

West Germany loses its first-round group match against East Germany 1-0, though both teams would have qualified for the second round win, lose, or draw. In that round, East Germany draws once and loses twice in a difficult group. The West German team, on the other hand, wins all the matches in its group and qualifies for the final.

The leading scorer in the World Cup is Grzegorz Lato of Poland with nine goals. Mueller, with four goals in the finals, reaches 14 in his World Cup career and 68 in 62 international matches. With two more in '74, Jairzinho of Brazil has nine in his World Cup career.

After Italy is knocked out in the first round, hundreds of the players' countrymen attack them as they exit the grounds.

This is the lowest-scoring World Cup until 1986, with 2.55 goals per match.

The tournament generates $20 million in profits.

Johan Cruyff, the Dutch legend, is named European player of the year, receiving the Ballon d'Or ("Golden Ball") from France Football. He's also the winner of the World Cup MVP award. 

Cruyff helps Barcelona win the Spanish league championship, as does Dutch national manager Rinus Michels.

Sometime this year, Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff concedes a goal in an international match for the first time since September of 1972. The streak of 1,142 minutes is a record for internationals.

This is star defender and West German captain Franz Beckenbauer's last World Cup, but he will continue playing for Bayern Munich for a couple of years and for the national team until 1977. Beckenbauer finishes a close second to Cruyff in the voting for the France Football Ballon d'Or, and no one else is even in the neighborhood.

Bayern Munich wins the European Champions' Cup, becoming the first German club to do so. In the final, held May 15 at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, and attended by 65,000, Bayern draws with Atletico Madrid 1-1, with both goals scored in extra time. The replay two days later, with only 20,000 on hand, is a 4-0 victory, in which Mueller scores a pair and Uli Hoeness the other two goals.

Feyenoord, which is also the '73-74 Dutch league champion, wins the UEFA Cup (at the time, a tournament for clubs that didn't win a league title or a national cup in '72-73) by defeating England's Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 in a two-leg final.

At the European Cup-winners' Cup, East Germany's Magdeburg bests Italy's A.C. Milan 2-0. Normally, Cup-winners' Cup winners play Champions Cup winners in the Super Cup, but being from different sides of a divided nation and not agreeing on dates, Bayern and Magdeburg end up not having that date.

In 1973, Milan had set a record by selling Pierino Prati to Roma for $1,036,665.

Zaire wins the African Cup of Nations. The final against Zambia is a 2-2 tie, but the Leopards win the replay 2-0.

The Zaire-Zambia match is held in Cairo soon after a disaster at local club Zamalek's stadium kills 49. There is no league or cup championship awarded that year in Egypt.

Alf Ramsey finishes his 11-year career as manager of England's national team with a record of 69 wins, 27 draws, and 17 losses, including a World Cup title in '66. The English team having failed to qualify for this year's World Cup, it is announced this spring that he will be let go.

Leeds United wins the Football League in England, while last year's league champion club, Liverpool, wins the F.A. Cup. In Italy, Lazio wins Serie A. In West Germany, Bayern wins its third consecutive Bundesliga title.

The Scottish league and cup winner is Celtic, but Dundee United defeats the Bhoys 1-0 for the league cup.

It takes three games, but Independiente, an Argentine club, wins the Copa Libertadores (South American club championship) for the third of four consecutive years. The Reds score three goals to Sao Paulo's two in the first two matches, but both had won a leg, and their aggregate points are equal, so a playoff is forced for Oct. 19 in Santiago, Chile.

Like many other European Cup winners of the '70s, Bayern Munich elects not to play the Intercontinental Cup against Independiente. Runner-up Atletico Madrid will play the South American champions in March and April of '75.

The championship of Brazil goes to Vasco da Gama. The Boca Juniors top the table in Argentina.

In his last season with Santos, his home club, Pele scores 10 goals in 27 league match appearances, making his club total 643 tallies in 656 matches. He puts 14 in the net over 49 exhibition games, making his total including friendlies 1,087 goals in 1,120 matches.

Cruz Azul wins its third Mexican Primera Division championship in a row. America defeats that club in the Copa Mexico final. Both teams are located in Mexico City, although Cruz Azul moved there from a short drive outside a few years before.

In the NASL, the Los Angeles Aztecs defeat the Miami Toros in the championship game after a 3-3 match goes to a shootout. The league's leading scorer is Paul Child of the San Jose Earthquakes with 15 goals and 6 assists (36 points). The league MVP is Peter Silvester of the Baltimore Comets. The best goalkeeper, with only 16 goals allowed over 1,800 minutes, is Barry Watling of the Seattle Sounders.

This is the first season for eight NASL clubs, including the Aztecs, the Earthquakes, the Sounders, and the Vancouver Whitecaps. The league experiences a net gain (no pun intended) of six teams.

Attendance in the NASL averages 7,825 per game, an increase of almost a quarter over 1973. The New York Cosmos draws 4,700 a match in 1974, but that figure will more than quadruple next year.

In New York on June 2, Greek American, the home team, defeats Croatian of Chicago 2-0 to win the U.S. Open Cup.

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum hosts a friendly tournament in August, one that features two Mexican clubs, a European squad, and a South American team. Brazilian championship runner-up Cruzeiro defeats Cruz Azul 3-2 for third place, while Portuguese league and cup runner-up Benfica beats America with the same score for the championship.

In the NCAA championship, Howard defeats St. Louis 2-1 after four overtime periods to topple the college dynasty.

Besides being a new member of the U.N. this year, Bangladesh is also now affiliated with FIFA. Liechtenstein also joins FIFA this year, but that country will not join the U.N. until 1990.

Some people's idea of "world football" is different from others'. In this case, it involves delinquent payments, dumb officials, and disastrous results. The 50th anniversary of the WFL's first games will be marked July 5.

EDIT June 15, 12:11 a.m. EDT: Font size increased.

EDIT June 15, 7:38-7:45 p.m.: A few revisions and re-wordings.