From Shankly to Simpson, this is 1973

Whether an interview with the men’s hockey captain ahead of a Varsity clash with Coventry or a nostalgic look back at the London Olympics, The Boar has been providing insighful articles on the biggest stories in sport for 40 years.

So let us cast our minds back to the first year of this very publication, and take a look at the main events that made the back page in 1973.

Football: Liverpool began their domination of English football under Bill Shankly as they claimed the First Division title.

The Reds’ strike-force of Kevin Keegan and John Toshack scored 39 goals between them to help their side edge out Arsenal by three points and Don Revie’s Leeds United by seven.

It was the first time that Liverpool had been crowned champions of the top tier since 1966.

In Europe, Shankly’s men added the Uefa Cup trophy to their league title after beating Borussia Monchengladbach over two legs.

In the European Cup, Brian Clough’s Derby County reached the semi-final stages, defeating Eusebio’s Benfica on the way, before being controversially knocked out by Juventus – it was later proven that the Italian giants had bribed the referee.

At the time of writing, England can seal qualification to the 2014 World Cup in Rio, Brazil, by beating Poland at Wembley – but they should take heed of England’s complacency in 1973.

On June 6, Sir Alf Ramsey’s side slumped to a 2-0 defeat against their Eastern European opponents in Chorzow in a World Cup qualifier.

Perhaps the most astonishing element of the match was that it contained two glaring errors from arguably the greatest English footballer, Bobby Moore. Arsenal midfielder Alan Ball was also sent off.

In October, Poland put paid to England’s hopes of qualifying for the tournament with a 1-1 draw at Wembley.

Brian Clough had branded opposition goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski a “clown” before the match, but the custodian pulled off a number of spectacular saves to defy England. Despite having 35 shots, only Allan Clarke managed to beat Tomaszewski. A few months later, Ramsey was sacked by the Football Association.

Rugby Union – Five Nations: The annual Five Nations Championship (which became the Six Nations Championship in 2000 with the addition of Italy) ended in an historic five-way tie – the first time in the tournament’s forty-four year history that the entire quintet of teams ended on the same number of points.

Between January 13 and April 14, the five participating nations of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France won both of their home fixtures and fell to defeat in both away fixtures to ensure every side finished on four points.

England lifted the Calcutta Cup after Peter Dixon’s brace of tries helped them to a 20-13 victory against Scotland at Twickenham.

Golf – Ryder Cup: The Old Muirfield course in East Lothian played host to the Ryder Cup as the US overcame Great Britain and Ireland by a score of 19-13.

The American team, led by captain Jack Burke Jr, were locked 8-8 with their opponents at the end of the second day’s play, but provided a dominant display in the Saturday singles event to maintain an incredible unbeaten streak stretching back to 1957.

Great Britain and Ireland’s star golfer Bernard Gallacher contracted food poisoning at the end of the first day to cut his tournament short, whilst the great Jack Nicklaus amassed 4.5 points for Team USA.

Tennis: Margaret Court won three of the four Grand Slams in the 1973 calendar year, and in doing so became the first mother to win the French, US and Australian titles in the Open era.

Court, who went on to become a Christian minister, previously won all four titles in 1970, and still holds the record of most Grand Slam titles (24).

Despite this, fellow tennis player Billie Jean King was voted the female Athlete of the Year by Associated Press, while OJ Simpson, the American football player, was recognised as the male equivalent.

And finally…

At a time when Manchester United fans are beginning to fear their club’s invincibility, perhaps this story will ease some of the worry. At the end of 1973, United goalkeeper Alex Stepney was joint top-scorer for his side with two goals after a torrid start to the season. Moaning about David Moyes? It could be so much worse.