I attended a book talk by author and longtime friend, John U. Bacon, last week in Ann Arbor. John was discussing his 12th book, The Greatest Comeback: How Team Canada Fought Back, Took The Summit Series, and Reinvented Hockey, and during his comments, he cited a quote he included in the book’s Introduction from longtime Sports Illustrated writer and 2-time managing editor, Mark Mulvoy, who covered the Summit Series, about what September 1972 was like for the world of sport.
“You consider all of that, and September 1972 has to be one of the greatest months in the history of sport.”
Mark Mulvoy, journalist
That was enough to send me down the rabbit hole. Of course, it’s not possible to go through every month in the history of sport but, I figured, the least I could do was recap what exactly happened during the month in question. What follows are the highlights of my discoveries (there are, of course, more). I’d welcome any thoughts you might have on the topic and am happy to dive into another rabbit hole if presented with a compelling reason to do so.
- 1972 World Chess Championship, Reykjavik, Iceland: The Championships actually began on July 11, 1972, but this was a 21-game affair. The 21st game began August 31st, was adjourned overnight, and Spassky resigned on September 1 before any moves occurred. Fischer won the championship, 12.5-8.5. Here is a 60 Minutes segment on Fischer in the spring of 1972.
- The 1972 Summer Olympics, Munich, Germany: The Games of the 20th Olympiad began August 26 and continued through September 11.
- The Tragedy: Remembered for many competitive achievements, these Games are likely most remembered for the events of September 5 when the Palestinian Black September militant group broke into the Olympic Village and took 11 Israeli athletes, coaches, and officials hostage. Ultimately, all 11 hostages were killed during a botched rescue effort after an 18-hour standoff. This report from ABC-TV’s studio host Jim McKay became one of the most watched moments from these Olympics.
- Mark Spitz (USA), Swimming: Spitz won a record seven gold medals during these games – all by virtue of a world-record performance, bringing his total to nine (he had two previously from 1968 in Mexico City). It took 36 years for Spitz’s single-games’ record of seven golds to fall when American Michael Phelps won eight in 2008. See highlights of Spitz’s performance here.
- Olga Korbut (USSR), Gymnastics: Just 17 at the time, Korbut became a sensation leading the Soviet team to the Team Gold Medal. She was the favorite to win the All-Around, but she missed her mount on bars multiple times and it cost her. She did win individual gold on the Balance Beam and Floor Exercise and a silver on bars. See highlights of Korbut’s performance here.
- Men’s Basketball Gold Medal Game (USSR vs. USA): Perhaps the most controversial ending to an Olympic team competition in the history of the Games, the Soviets won the game, 51-50, after the game ended on two occasions with the United States winning 50-49 before a third conclusion saw the Soviets hit the winning shot. Entering the game, the U.S. men were 63-0 in Olympic competition. There’s really no way to describe what transpired, it must be seen to be believed. Please find the waning minutes of the game here. To this date, the members of Team USA have refused to accept their silver medals.
- Dan Gable (USA), Wrestling: En route to winning his only Olympic Gold Medal, the Iowa State University product did not allow a point during his six matches, winning three by falls and the other three by scores of 20-0, 6-0, and 3-0. Here is some grainy black and white footage of Gable’s third-round fall over Greece’s Stefanos Ioannidis.
- Lasse Viren (Finland), Track: The Finn claimed gold medals in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, becoming just the fourth athlete at the time to accomplish the feat. He, himself, repeated the double in the 1976 Montreal Games. Here is footage of the latter part of his 5,000 meter victory.
- NCAA Football Opening Weekend: The first weekend of the season (September 9) provided enough fireworks to cement it as one of the most noteworthy of the era. Two-time defending national champion Nebraska rode a 23-game unbeaten streak into its season-opening game at the Los Angeles Coliseum against unranked UCLA. Nebraska featured that year’s eventual Heisman Trophy winner, Johnny Rodgers, but UCLA kicker Efren Herrera‘s 30-yard field goal with 22 seconds left sent the Bruins to a 20-17 upset victory (highlights seen here). Earlier in the day, No. 8 USC traveled to Fayetteville, AR, for a 30-10 rout of fourth-ranked Arkansas. The Trojans ran the table during the regular season and then waxed Ohio State, 42-17, in the Rose Bowl to claim the National Championship.
- NFL’s Opening Month: No one knew it at the time, but the Miami Dolphins were beginning one of the best – if not the best – seasons in the history of the league in September 1972. On opening week (September 17), Miami went on the road and dispatched the Kansas City Chiefs, 20-10, and one week later blasted the Houston Oilers, 34-13. The Dolphins finished the season 17-0 and champions of Super Bowl VII; the last undefeated team to run the table in a NFL season. Enjoy the season highlights with John Facenda narrating, here.
- U.S. Open Tennis: If it’s September it must mean there’s a Grand Slam tennis championship in Flushing, NY. The U.S. Open did, in fact, occur, and crowned a repeat winner on the ladies side: American Billie Jean King, who won her third straight Slam title that year (she also won the French Open and Wimbledon) . On the men’s side, Ille Nastase defeated American Arthur Ashe in a five-set thriller for his only U.S. Open title.
- Hank Aaron Breaks Stan Musial‘s Career Total Bases Record: During the Atlanta Braves’ 8-0 loss to Steve Carlton and the Philadelphia Phillies on September 3, Aaron singled twice in three at bats to eclipes Musial’s career record for total bases with 6,135. Aaron, who played four more seasons, finished his career with 6,856 total bases which remains the career mark by more than 600 total bases over second-place’s Albert Pujols.
- Roberto Clemente Records his Hit 3,000: No one realized it at the time, but when Clemente doubled off of New York Mets’ pitcher Jon Matlack during the Pirates’ 5-0 win on September 30 for his 3,000th career hit, it would be his final regular-season hit as Clemente tragically died that New Year’s Eve in plane crash. Here’s the video of the hit.
- Summit Series (Canada vs. USSR): Borne of the Cold War, a series that was supposed to reclaim Canada’s place atop the hockey game by including many of their best NHL players in an 8-game exhibition series against the Soviet Union, turned into a battle for survival for the Canadians. The first four games were played in Canada (Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver) and the final four in the USSR (Moscow). The games were played between September 2-28 in the two nations with a 2-week break in between for travel (and Canadian exhibitions in Sweden). The Soviets won Games 1, 4, and 5, the teams tied Game 3, and Canada won Game 2 and the final three games in Moscow to claim the series, 4-3-1. The series-clinching goal by Paul Henderson with just over 30 seconds left is seen here. A full documentary on the serie is found here.
Yeah, I guess I see what Mulvoy was getting at. Any other thoughts? Please let us know.