What Happened on May 17, 1973

Historical Events

  • "Nash at Nine" opens at Helen Hayes Theater NYC for 21 performances
  • Angels outfielder Bobby Valentine breaks his leg trying to scale wall to prevent a Dick Green home run during a 5-4 loss to the A's
  • Five British Army soldiers are killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army booby-trap bomb in Omagh, County Tyrone
  • Joe Ferguson, hits the 6,000th Dodger home run

#1 in the Charts

Stevie Wonder releases the music single "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life", goes to #1 and wins him a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

  • US performs 3 nuclear tests at Rifle Colorado
  • US Senate Watergate Committee begins its hearings into the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C.

Famous Birthdays

  • Jay Riemersma, tight end (Buffalo Bills)
  • Jenny Scheinman, American jazz and session violinist (Bill Frisell; Allison Miller), and singer, born in San Francisco, California
  • Josh Homme, American rock singer-songwriter, and guitarist (Queens of the Stone Age), born in Palm Springs, California
  • Matthew McGrory, American actor (d. 2005)
  • Sasha Alexander, American television actress
  • Steve Barakatt, Canadian pianist and composer, born in Quebec City, Canada

Famous Deaths

  • Alexander J. Kropholler, Dutch architect and writer, dies at 91
Died in 1973 1973 Highlights

About May 17, 1973

Day of the Week: Thursday
How Long Ago? 50 years, 11 months and 9 days
Leap Year: No

Generation: Generation X
Chinese Zodiac: Ox
Star Sign: Taurus

Music Charts

  • US #1 Song: You Are The Sunshine Of My Life - Stevie Wonder
  • UK #1 Song: See My Baby Jive - Wizzard