Events in Sports History in December 1973

Dec 1 38th Iron Bowl: Alabama beats Auburn 35-0 in Birmingham

Australia Victory

Dec 1 Davis Cup Men's Tennis, Cleveland, Ohio: Rod Laver and John Newcombe beat American pair Stan Smith and Erik van Dillen 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 to give Australia an unassailable 3-0 lead, (ends 5-0); 23rd Cup title for Australia

Jack Nicklaus

Dec 1 Jack Nicklaus finishes at 13-under-par 275 to win the Walt Disney World Open by 1 stroke from Mason Rudolph; becomes the first player to reach $2 million in PGA Tour career earnings

Dec 2 Capital Centre (USAir Arena) opens in Landover Maryland; NBA's Washington Bullets beat Seattle SuperSonics, 98-96 in opening game; arena demolished 2002
Dec 2 Davis Cup Men's Tennis, Cleveland: After clinching a famous victory the previous day, Australians Rod Laver and John Newcombe finish a 5-0 rout of the US with wins over Stan Smith and Tom Gorman
Dec 5 Chicago Cubs Ron Santo becomes 1st baseball player to invoke 10-5 rule and veto his trade (with the California Angels)
Dec 6 NL votes to move San Diego Padres to Washington, D.C. (doesn't happen)
Dec 7 Orioles sell pitcher Eddie Watt to the Phillies
Dec 8 39th Heisman Trophy Award: John Cappelletti, Penn State (RB)

Năstase's 3rd Consecutive ATP

Dec 8 Romanian tennis star Ilie Năstase wins his 3rd consecutive season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix title with a 6–3, 7–5, 4–6, 6–3 win over Dutchman Tom Okker in Boston, Massachusetts

Dec 9 NFL St. Louis Cardinal Jim Bakken kicks 6 field goals vs Atlanta Falcons

Two Tennis No. 1s

Dec 10 For the first time since 1885, tennis has 2 top-ranked male players - Americans Stan Smith and Jimmy Connors [1]

Dec 11 NA Soccer League awards LA, San Francisco, Seattle & Vancouver franchises
Dec 12 Canada begins selling Olympic coins ($5 & $10 silver coins)
Dec 12 San Diego files anti-trust against NL (stopping Padres move to DC)
Dec 15 Sandy Hawley becomes 1st jockey to win 500 races in 1 year
Dec 15 Tennessee beats Temple 11-6 in low scoring NCAA basketball game

Simpson Rush Record

Dec 16 O.J. Simpson becomes 1st NFL running back to rush for 2,000 yards in a season

NFL Running Back and Convicted Criminal O.J. Simpson

Dec 18 Yanks sign Dick Williams as manager, overturned later by AL Pres

Cronin Refuses Williams

Dec 20 AL president Joe Cronin refuses to allow Dick Williams to manage Yankees

Richard Scores 1,000

Dec 20 Montreal Canadien Henri Richard scores his 1,000th NHL point

Dec 21 3rd Fiesta Bowl: #10 Arizona State beats Pittsburgh, 28-7

Johan Cruyff's Second Award

Dec 25 Ballon d'Or: Ajax forward Johan Cruyff wins his second award for best European football player ahead of Juventus goalkeeper Dino Zoff and Bayern Munich striker Gerd Müller

Dec 27 MLB Los Angeles Dodgers announce their home night games will start at 7:30 instead of 8

Dolphins Defeat Raiders

Dec 30 AFC Championship, Miami Orange Bowl: Miami Dolphins beat Oakland Raiders, 27-10

Dec 30 NFC Championship, Texas Stadium, Irving: Minnesota Vikings beat Dallas Cowboys, 27-10
Dec 31 40th Sugar Bowl: #3 Notre Dame beats #1 Alabama, 24-23