On this day

December 31, 1972

Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from December 31, 1972

Defense Excels in Gator Bowl

By Unknown Author

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Dec. 30 — Auburn converted turnovers into an early lead and struck again on Mike Fuller's 22‐yard touch down pass to Rob Spivey as the Tigers posted a 24‐3 upset over Colorado today in the Gator Bowl game.

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Texas Tech Loses, 32‐28

By Unknown Author

EL PASO, Dec. 30—Nick Vidnovic, the North Carolina quarterback, threw a 13‐yard touchdown pass to Ted Leverenz with one minute left to play today and gave the Tar Heels a 32‐28 victory over Texas Tech in the 38th Sun Bowl, a game markedby a controversial un sportsmanlike conduct pen alty that cost the Red Raiders a touchdown.

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Bradshaw, the Steelers' Quarterback, Said to Be Ready to Play

By William N. Wallace Special to The New York Times

PITTSBURGH, Dec. 30—Rain and wind, factors that can mess up a football game were fore cast for tomorrow's American Conference championship game Between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Miami Dolphins at !lime Rivers Stadium. The stadium, however, has an all Weather synthetic turf of Tar ten composition rated as “good” that will largely neutral ize the rain.

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Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of December 27, 1972, covering December 31, 1972.

  1. 1
    Album cover for Seventh Sojourn by The Moody Blues

    Seventh Sojourn

    The Moody Blues

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    7
  2. 2
    Album cover for Rhymes & Reasons by Carole King

    Rhymes & Reasons

    Carole King

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    2
    Weeks
    9
  3. 3
    Album cover for Living With The Past by Jethro Tull

    Living With The Past

    Jethro Tull

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    3
    Weeks
    8
  4. 4
    Album cover for I'm Still In Love With You by Al Green

    I'm Still In Love With You

    Al Green

    Last week
    6
    Peak
    4
    Weeks
    11
  5. 5
    Album cover for Eric Carmen by unknown artist

    Eric Carmen

    Artist not listed

    Last week
    8
    Peak
    5
    Weeks
    6

Notable Births

Grégory Coupet

1972Grégory Coupet, French footballer[†]

Grégory Coupet is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Scott Manley

1972Scott Manley, Scottish YouTube personality[†]

Scott Park Manley is a Scottish-American science communication YouTuber, gamer, astrophysicist, and programmer. On his YouTube channel, he makes videos discussing space-related topics and news, mainly concerning up-to-date rocket science developments. He also plays space-themed video games, most notably Kerbal Space Program, while using his physics background to teach science concepts.

Notable Deaths

Roberto Clemente

1972Roberto Clemente, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and Marine (born 1934)[†]

Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, primarily as a right fielder. On December 31st, 1972, Clemente was killed when his Douglas DC-7 airplane, which he had chartered for a flight to take and deliver emergency relief goods for the survivors of a massive earthquake in Nicaragua, crashed and plunged into the water off the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico. He was 38 years old. After his sudden death, the National Baseball Hall of Fame changed its rules so that a player who had been dead for at least six months would be eligible for entry. In 1973, Clemente was posthumously inducted, becoming the first player from the Caribbean and second of Hispanic descent to be honored in the Hall of Fame.

Henry Gerber

1972Henry Gerber, German-American activist, founded the Society for Human Rights (born 1892)[†]

Henry Gerber was an early gay rights activist in the United States. Inspired by the work of Germany's Magnus Hirschfeld and his Scientific-Humanitarian Committee and by the organisation Bund für Menschenrecht by Friedrich Radszuweit and Karl Schulz, Gerber founded the Society for Human Rights (SHR) in 1924, the United States' first known gay organization, and Friendship and Freedom, the first known American gay publication. SHR was short-lived, as police arrested several of its members shortly after it incorporated. Although embittered by his experiences, Gerber maintained contacts within the fledgling homophile movement of the 1950s and continued to agitate for the rights of homosexuals. Gerber has been repeatedly recognized for his contributions to the LGBT movement.

Historical Context for December 31, 1972

In 1972, the world population was approximately 3,844,917,680 people[†]