1973 in sports
See also: 1972 in sports, other events of 1973, 1974 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.
- Stock car racing:
- Richard Petty wins the Daytona 500 in which singer Marty Robbins made his first appearance as a driver.
- NASCAR Championship - Benny Parsons
- Indianapolis 500 - Gordon Johncock
- USAC Racing - Roger McCluskey
- Formula One Championship - Jackie Stewart of Great Britain
- 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Henri Pescarolo / Gérard Larrousse won, driving a Matra MS670B
- Rally racing - Jean-Claude Andruet / Michele Petit ("Biche") won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Alpine-Renault A110. This year's rally was the first ever Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship event.
- Drag racing - Don Garlits won "Top Fuel" at the NHRA Supernationals
- January 18: Orlando Cepeda signs with the Boston Red Sox, making him the first player signed by a team specifically to be a designated hitter.
- The American League uses the designated hitter rule for the first time. Ron Blomberg is the first player to bat as a DH.
- World Series: Oakland Athletics won 4 games to 3 over the New York Mets
- NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
- UCLA wins 87-66 over Memphis State.
- NBA Finals:
- New York Knicks won 4 games to 1 over the Los Angeles Lakers
- January 22 - George Foreman beats Joe Frazier by a knockout in two rounds to lift the world's Heavyweight championship from Frazier. It is HBO Boxing's first telecast.
- Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
- Dick Wilmarth won with lead dog: Hotfoot
- Men's World Cup in Amstelveen, The Netherlands
- Gold Medal: The Netherlands
- Silver Medal: India
- Bronze Medal: West Germany
- March 10 - In an international women's hockey match at Wembley Stadium,England. England are beaten by Ireland 2-1.
- World Figure Skating Championships:
- Men's champion: Ondrej Nepela, Czechoslovakia
- Ladies' champion: Karen Magnussen, Canada
- Pair skating champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexander Zaitsev, Soviet Union
- Ice dancing champions: Lyudmila Pakhomova & Alexandr Gorshkov, Soviet Union
- O. J. Simpson becomes the first player in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a single season.
- Super Bowl VII: Miami Dolphins won 14-7 over the Washington Redskins to complete the only unbeaten NFL season
- Victorian Football League
- Richmond wins the 77th VFL Premiership (Richmond 16.20 (116) d Carlton 12.14 (86))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Keith Greig (North Melbourne)
- Grey Cup: Ottawa Rough Riders win 22-18 over the Edmonton Eskimos
- Vanier Cup: St. Mary's Huskies win 14-6 over the McGill Redmen
- Brazil - Palmeiras wins the Campeonato Brasileiro
- England - FA Cup: Sunderland wins 1-0 over Leeds United
- 1st January 1973, Edinburgh, Scotland, Edinburgh Derby between Hearts and Hibernian played at Tynecastle ends in a 7-0 victory for Hibernian.
- The openly gay Greek national football team loses 14-0 at home to the Guinea-Bissau U17 side.
- Major Championship results:
- May - The Masters - Tommy Aaron
- June - US Open - Johnny Miller
- July - British Open - Tom Weiskopf
- August - PGA Championship - Jack Nicklaus
- PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Jack Nicklaus - $308,362
- Ryder Cup: United States won 19-13 over Britain & Ireland in world team golf.
- US Women's Open - Susie Berning
- LPGA Championship - Mary Mills
- Kathy Whitworth: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $82,854
- Australia - Melbourne Cup - Gala Supreme
- Canada - Queen's Plate - Royal Chocolate
- France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Rheingold
- Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Weaver's Hall
- Secretariat, ridden by jockey Ron Turcotte, becomes the first horse in 25 years to win the United States Triple Crown Races:
- Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
- Pacers: Hondo Grattan
- Trotters: Precocious
- Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins
- Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Bobby Clarke - Philadelphia Flyers
- Stanley Cup - Montreal Canadiens defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4 games to 2
- World Hockey Association:
- AVCO Cup - New England Whalers defeat the Winnipeg Jets 4 games to 1 for first league championship.
- World Hockey Championship:
- Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
- NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship: University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers defeat University of Denver Pioneers 4-2 in Boston, MA
- Seventh Amateur Radio Direction Finding European Championship held in Komló, Hungary.
- First ARRL 10 Meter Contest held in December.
- Alpine Skiing
- The men's overall season champion: Gustav Thöni, Italy
- The women's overall season champion: Annemarie Pröll, Austria
- World Snooker Championship: Ray Reardon beats Eddie Charlton 38-32
- The first FINA World Championships held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia
- Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
- Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
- Davis Cup: Australia wins 5-0 over the United States in world tennis.
- Men and women players receive equal prize money at the US Open
- Men's World Championship in Belgrade, Yugoslavia
- Gold Medal: Hungary
- Silver Medal: Soviet Union
- Bronze Medal: Yugoslavia
- Second All-Africa Games held in Lagos, Nigeria
- Seventh Summer Universiade held in Moscow, Soviet Union
Births
January
- January 2 — Roman Karmazin, Russian boxer
- January 3 — Robert Baird, Canadian medley swimmer
- January 3 — Chris Woodruff, American tennis player
- January 7 — Rafael Dudamel, Venezuelan football (soccer) goalkeeper
- January 8 — Robert Braknis, Canadian backstroke swimmer
- January 11 — Sarah Forbes, Canadian field hockey goalkeeper
- January 11 — Rahul Dravid, Indian cricketer
- January 13 — Dana Anderson, Canadian field hockey player
- January 14 — Giancarlo Fisichella, Italian Formula 1-driver
- January 14 — Clarinda Sinnige, Dutch field hockey goalkeeper
- January 15 — Tomás Galásek, Czech football (soccer) player
- January 16 — Nathalie Giguère, Canadian breaststroke swimmer
- January 16 — Somluck Kamsing, Thai boxer
- January 17 — Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Mexican football (soccer) player
- January 17 — Katrin Meißner, East German freestyle swimmer
- January 18 — Regilio Vrede, Dutch football (soccer) player
- January 19 — Yevgeny Sadovyi, Russian swimmer
- January 22 — Mukhran Vakhtangadze, Georgian wrestler
- January 25 — Nagore Gabellanes, Spanish field hockey player
- January 25 — Elsbeth Vink, Dutch cyclist
February
- February 1 — Michael Joyce, American tennis player
- February 4 — Oscar de la Hoya, American boxer
- February 5 — Marty O'Donnell, Canadian boxer
- February 5 — Deng Yaping, Chinese table tennis player
- February 12 — Laurens Looije, Dutch athlete
- February 12 — Gianni Romme, Dutch speed skater
- February 13 — Bas Roorda, Dutch football goalkeeper
- February 15 — Amy Van Dyken, American swimmer
- February 16 — Cathy Freeman, Australian athlete
- February 18 — Claude Makélélé, French football (soccer) player
- February 18 — Mirjam Overdam, Dutch waterpolo player
- February 19 — Robert Grzegorczyk, Polish figure skater
- February 22 — Shota Arveladze, Georgian football player
- February 22 — Philippe Gaumont, French professional road cyclist
- February 24 — Alexei Kovalev, Russian ice hockey rightwinger
- February 25 — Gerard Wiekens, Dutch football player
- February 26 — Jenny Thompson, American swimmer
- February 26 — Marshall Faulk, American football player
- February 28 — Eric Lindros, Canadian ice hockey player
- February 28 — Natalya Safronnikova, Belarusian athlete
March
- March 1 — Herbert Dercksen, Dutch sailor
- March 2 — Max van Heeswijk, Dutch cyclist
- March 2 — Romans Vainsteins, Latvian cyclist
- March 3 — Sean Campbell, Canadian field hockey player
- March 6 — Silvia Manrique, Spanish field hockey player
- March 7 — Wang Manli, Chinese speed skater
- March 8 — Jeroen Delmee, Dutch field hockey player
- March 9 — Maximiliano Caldas, Argentine field hockey defender
- March 9 — Danny Green, Australian boxer
- March 9 — Jakob Piil, Danish cyclist
- March 13 — Edgar Davids, Dutch football player
- March 13 — Allison Higson, Canadian breaststroke and freestyle swimmer
- March 16 — Fernando Platas, Mexican diver
- March 17 — Daniel Ballart, Spanish water polo player
- March 20 — Javier Arnau, Spanish field hockey player
- March 24 — Mette Jacobsen, Danish freestyle and butterfly swimmer
- March 27 — Rui Jorge, Portuguese football player
- March 28 — Luis Adrian Morejon, Ecuadorian tennis player
- March 29 — Brad Bridgewater, American swimmer
- March 29 — Marc Overmars, Dutch football player
- March 30 — Simon Mason, English field hockey goalkeeper
April
- April 3 — Christopher Reitz, German field hockey goalkeeper
- April 4 — Peter Hoekstra, Dutch football (soccer) player
- April 5 — Kristin Topham, Canadian freestyle and butterfly swimmer
- April 6 — Edith van Dijk, Dutch long distance swimmer
- April 8 — Patrik Isaksson, Swedish breaststroke swimmer
- April 8 — Nicholas Tongue, New Zealand freestyle swimmer
- April 9 — Bart Goor, Belgian football player
- April 10 — Roberto Carlos, Brazilian football player
- April 11 — Jerine Fleurke, Dutch volleybal player
- April 11 — Olivier Magne, French rugby union player
- April 12 — Roberto Ayala, Argentine football player
- April 12 — Lionel Roux, French tennis player
- April 13 — Nicolas Jalabert, French cyclist
- April 14 — Tammy Cole, Australian field hockey player
- April 15 — Jeroen Dubbeldam, Dutch horse rider
- April 17 — Kenneth Carlsen, Danish tennis player
- April 18 — Haile Gebreselassie, Ethiopian long distance track and road running athlete
- April 19 — George Gregan, Zambia-born Australian rugby union scrum half
- April 19 — Tzipora Obziler, Israeli tennis player
- April 22 — Mohamed Elsayed, Egyptian boxer
- April 24 — Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricketer
- April 26 — Stephanie Graf, Austrian middle distance athlete
- April 26 — Lee Woon-Jae, South Korean football (soccer) player
- April 29 — Tessa Appeldoorn, Dutch rower
- April 30 — Michael Blaudzun, Danish cyclist
May
- May 1 — Oliver Neuville, German football player
- May 2 — Richard Schuil, Dutch volleybal player
- May 3 — Michael Reiziger, Dutch football player
- May 3 — Peter Windt, Dutch field hockey player
- May 7 — Paolo Savoldelli, Italian cyclist
- May 8 — Wolf Wigo, American water polo player
- May 9 — Tegla Loroupe, Kenyan long-distance track and road runner
- May 9 — Oscar Ortiz, Mexican tennis player
- May 10 — Wayne Mardle, English darts player
- May 10 — Rüstu Reçber, Turkish football player
- May 11 — Britta Becker, German field hockey player
- May 12 — Kira Bulten, Dutch swimmer
- May 13 — Mike Beres, Canadian badminton player
- May 14 — Mike van de Goor, Dutch volleybal player
- May 19 — Dario Franchitti, automobile racer
- May 22 — Tatiana Petrova, Russian water polo player
- May 24 — Karim Alami, Moroccan tennis player
- May 28 — Alberto Berasategui, Spanish tennis player
- May 29 — Malcolm Allen, Australian freestyle swimmer
- May 31 — Dominique van Roost, Belgian tennis player
June
- June 1 — Fred Deburghgraeve, Belgian swimmer
- June 2 — Marko Kristal, Estonian football midfielder
- June 2 — Anja Smolders, Belgian athlete
- June 4 — Lourdes Becerra, Spanish swimmer
- June 4 — Greg van Hest, Dutch athlete
- June 4 — Alexandra Verbeek, Dutch sailor
- June 5 — Gella Vandecaveye, Belgian judoka
- June 10 — Natalia Via Dufresne, Spanish sailor
- June 11 — Nicole van Hooren, Dutch badminton player
- June 12 — Daron Rahlves, American alpine skier
- June 13 — Gabriella Csépe, Hungarian breaststroke swimmer
- June 14 — Alex Calatrava, German-born tennis player from Spain
- June 15 — Vanina Oneto, Argentine field hockey player
- June 16 — Jan Maarten Heideman, Dutch marathon skater
- June 16 — Nikos Machlas, Greek football player
- June 17 — Leander Paes, Indian tennis player
- June 18 — Baljit Singh Dhillon, Indian field hockey midfielder
- June 21 — Alyson Annan, Australian field hockey player
- June 27 — Simon Archer, British badminton player
- June 28 — Brian Maisonneuve, American soccer player
- June 29 — George Hincapie, American cyclist
July
- July 5 — Marcus Allbäck, Swedish football player
- July 11 — Albert Guardado, American boxer
- July 11 — Konstantinos Kenteris, Greek athlete
- July 11 — Joeri Stoffels, Dutch waterpolo player
- July 12 — Christian Vieri, Italian football player
- July 13 — Craig Parnham, English field hockey defender
- July 14 — Maider Tellería, Spanish field hockey player
- July 16 — Stefano Garzelli, Italian cyclist
- July 20 — Peter Forsberg, Swedish ice hockey player
- July 21 — Stephen Clarke, Canadian swimmer
- July 21 — Mandy Wötzel, German figure skater
- July 25 — Carolijn Brouwer, Dutch sailor
- July 26 — Jean-François Bergeron, Canadian boxer
- July 27 — David McLellan, Canadian freestyle swimmer
- July 30 — Andrea Gaudenzi, Italian tennis player
August
- August 1 — Veerle Dejaeghere, Belgian athlete
- August 2 — Daniele Nardello, Italian cyclist
- August 2 — Karina Habšudová, Slovak tennis player
- August 2 — Susie O'Neill, Australian swimmer
- August 4 — Xavier Marchand, French medley swimmer
- August 6 — Alexander Lüderitz, German freestyle swimmer
- August 7 — Larissa Loukianenko, Belarusian rhythmic gymnast
- August 12 — Joseba Beloki, Spanish cyclist
- August 14 — Jared Borgetti, Mexican football (soccer) player
- August 14 — Jay-Jay Okocha, Nigerian football (soccer) player
- August 14 — Kieren Perkins, Australian freestyle swimmer
- August 14 — Nancy Sweetnam, Canadian medley swimmer
- August 16 — Tracy Looze, Australian-born triathlete
- August 20 — Scott Goodman, Australian butterfly swimmer
- August 21 — Nikolay Valuev, Russian heavyweight boxer
- August 22 — Okkert Brits, South African pole vaulter
- August 22 — Eurelijus Žukauskas, Lithuanian basketball player
- August 22 — Mark Hickman, Australian field hockey goalkeeper
- August 24 — Inge de Bruijn, Dutch swimmer
- August 25 — Bas van Dooren, Dutch mountainbiker
- August 25 — Bernard Inom, French boxer
- August 27 — Karim Tulaganov, Uzbek boxer
- August 29 — Olivier Jacqué, French motorcyclist
September
- September 1 — Trent Bray, New Zealand freestyle swimmer
- September 2 — Matthew Dunn, Australian swimmer
- September 4 — Lidia Simon, Romanian long-distance runner
- September 6 — Nikola Grbic, Serbian volleyball player
- September 6 — Greg Rusedski, Canadian-born tennis player
- September 9 — Vesa Hanski, Finnish butterfly swimmer
- September 10 — Mark Huizinga, Dutch judoka
- September 11 — Bas de Jong, Dutch waterpolo player
- September 12 — Jack Rosendaal, Dutch athlete
- September 13 — Christine Arron, French sprint athlete
- September 13 — Fabio Cannavaro, Italian football player
- September 16 — Alexandr Vinokoerov, Kazach cyclist
- September 18 — Dario Frigo, Italian cyclist
- September 19 — José Azevedo, Portuguese cyclist
- September 21 — Virginia Ruano-Pascual, Spanish tennis player
- September 21 — Andrei Kivilev, Kazach cyclist (d. 2003)
- September 28 — Mohamed Allalou, Algerian boxer
- September 28 — Kathryn Leng, English cricketer
- September 28 — Diederik van Weel, Dutch field hockey player
October
- October 1 — Jana Henke, German freestyle swimmer
- October 1 — Marijan Kanjer, Croatian freestyle swimmer
- October 5 — Jacqueline Poelman, Dutch athlete
- October 6 — Anna Gomis, French wrestler
- October 8 — Toby Haenen, Australian backstroke swimmer
- October 19 — Hicham Arazi, Moroccan tennis player
- October 19 — Marc Lotz, Dutch cyclist
- October 19 — Hanneke Smabers, Dutch field hockey player
- October 22 — Marten Eikelboom, Dutch field hockey player
- October 22 — Fleur van de Kieft, Dutch field hockey player
- October 22 — Ichiro Suzuki, Japanese baseball player, American League MVP and Rookie of the Year in 2001
- October 22 — Mark van der Zijden, Dutch swimmer
- October 23 — Semmy Schilt, Dutch kickboxer and mixed martial artist
- October 23 — Conrad Stoltz, South African athlete
- October 28 — Brent Cooper, American boxer
- October 28 — Bing Chao Lin, Taiwanese tennis player
- October 30 — Harry van der Meer, Dutch waterpolo player
November
- November 1 — Magdalena Aicega, Argentine field hockey defender
- November 2 — John "Bull" Hayes, Irish rugby union footballer
- November 5 — Koos Moerenhout, Dutch cyclist
- November 7 — Monique van der Lee, Dutch judoka
- November 12 — Sandra Azon, Spanish sailor
- November 13 — Sam Soliman, Australian boxer
- November 14 — Darren Smith, New Zealand field hockey player
- November 15 — Mahammatkodir Abdoollayev, Uzbek boxer
- November 15 — Albert Portas, Spanish tennis player
- November 15 — Robert Sycz, Polish rower
- November 16 — Joe Hudepohl, American swimmer
- November 17 — Alexei Urmanov, Russian figure skater
- November 23 — Claudia Zwiers, Dutch judoka
- November 25 — Steven de Jongh, Dutch cyclist
- November 27 — Mike Oliver, Canadian field hockey player
- November 29 — Ryan Giggs, Welsh football player
- November 30 — Carla Somerville, Canadian field hockey player
December
- December 2 — Monica Seles, Yugoslavia-born American tennis champion
- December 2 — Jan Ullrich, German cyclist
- December 5 — Eelco Uri, Dutch waterpolo player
- December 9 — Vénuste Niyongabo, Burundian middle distance runner
- December 14 — Sue Armstrong, Canadian field hockey player
- December 16 — Kristie Boogert, Dutch tennis player
- December 16 — Tomasz Czubak, Polish athlete
- December 17 — Paula Radcliffe, English athlete
- December 19 — Marc Herremans, Belgian triathlete
- December 19 — Heike Lätzsch, German field hockey player
- December 20 — Antti Kasvio, Finnish swimmer
- December 26 — Ryan Berube, American freestyle swimmer
- December 28 — Ids Postma, Dutch speed skater
- December 28 — Garth da Silva, New Zealand boxer
- December 31 — Curtis Myden, Canadian medley swimmer
Deaths
- February 8 — Herbie Taylor, South African cricketer
- March 12 — Frankie Frisch, Major League Baseball player (1919-1937)
- March 26 — George Sisler, Major League Baseball hall of famer (1915-1930)
- July 2 — Swede Savage (26), USAC race car driver
- July 7 — Fred Fulton (82), American heavyweight boxer (b. 1891)
- July 8 — Wilfred Rhodes, English cricketer
- July 29 — Roger Williamson, Formula One driver
- July 29 — Cecil Griffiths, British athlete (b. 1901)
- August 7 — Wilbur Cooper, Major League Baseball pitcher (1912-1926)
- August 9 — Charles Daniels (88), American freestyle swimmer (b. 1885)
- October 2 — Paavo Nurmi, Finnish runner
- December 3 — Count Fleet, thoroughbred racehorse and Triple Crown champion
- December 16 — Syd Barnes, Australian cricketer