Seasons
SEASON: 25 | YEAR: 1973
HEAD COACH: WALTER L. BUSH JR.
Game 216 | January 23, 1973 | Tony Oliva, Ken Sanders
Missing all but 10 games of the 1972 season due to a series of knee operations, Tony Oliva was about to have his career reborn with the inception of the Designated Hitter role in the American League. He played four years as a DH for the Twins and came back to hit .291 with 16 home runs and 92 RBIs in 1993. Sanders, obtained in an off-season trade with Philadelphia for Cesar Tovar, won only two games and saved eight in his lone season with the Twins in 1973. Tovar played all nine positions for the Twins in a game in late 1968.
Game 217 | March 16, 1973 | J. P. Parise, Buster Harvey, Dennis Hextall
The Minnesota North Stars finished third in the NHL's Western Division in 1972-'73. Veterans Hextall and Parise led the team in scoring with 82 and 75 points respectively. Harvey, a 22-year-old in only his second NHL season, had 21 goals and 34 assists.
Game 218 | April 26, 1973 | Art Rooney
One of the most beloved figures in the history of Pittsburgh, Rooney won $2,500 on a series of long shot winners at a race course and used the money to buy Pittsburgh a franchise in the National Football League. He ran the team from 1933 until 1984 when he turned the day-to-day operations over to his son, Dan. A weak team through most of its first 40 years, the Steelers dominated pro football in the 1970s, winning Super Bowls in 197 4, 1975, 1978 and 1979.
Game 219 | May 17, 1973 | Elroy Hirsch, Don Canham
Crazylegs Hirsch won All-America honors as a receiver at both Wisconsin and Michigan before starring as a professional for the Los Angeles Rams. He served as the Athletic Director at Wisconsin from 1969 to 1987. Canham, an All-American track star at Michigan, returned to the school as its Athletic Director in 1968 and held that job for 21 years. He is credited with the development of many marketing programs that later became standard practice in major college football programs.
Game 220 | July 12, 1973 | Eddie Bane, Rod Carew
Just weeks after being the Twins number one draft pick, the left-handed Bane was summoned to the major leagues to face Kansas City in a July 4th game that drew a record 45,890 fans to Met Stadium. Bane pitched well, but did not figure in the decision. He went on to win only seven games in his major league career. Carew led the American League in hitting that year with a .350 batting average.
Game 221 | September 7, 1973 | Cal Stoll, Paul Giel
A week after his Dunkers appearance, Stoll opened the Gopher football season by losing 56-7 at Ohio State. The team lost only one other Big Ten game all season, to Michigan, and finished third in the conference with a 6-2 record. As Gopher Athletic Director, Giel played a major role in luring Stoll from Wake Forest after the 1971 season.
Game 222 | October 4, 1973 | Fred Cox
A graduate of Pittsburgh, Cox became the Minnesota Vikings placekicker in 1963 and held the job for the next 14 years. He is the team's all-time leading scorer with 1,365 points and is the all-time field goal leader with 282. He became a chiropractor after he finished his pro football career, and he is the answer to the popular sports trivia question, "What former National Football League player is the inventor of the Nerf football?"
(LtoR) Back Row: Walter Bush, Sid Hartman (physician); Fron row: Fred Cox, Phil Lewis
Game 223 | December 11, 1973 | Bowie Kuhn
A very successful lawyer; Kuhn represented the National League in a lawsuit against them by the City of Milwaukee when the Braves were moved to Atlanta. He emerged as the surprise choice as commissioner when the two leagues were unable to decide between Chub Feeney and Mike Burke. His reign as Baseball Commissioner lasted from 1969 to 1985.
Game 224 | December 18, 1973 | Parker MacDonald, Gary Bergman
Taken by the new Minnesota North Stars with the team's 18th pick in the 1967 NHL expansion draft, MacDonald contributed 62 points to the Stars' offense in their first two seasons and retired after the 1969 season. He returned to coach the team in late 1993 and resigned later in the same season. Bergman, acquired from Detroit in a trade for Ted Harris, played only a single season for the North Stars before returning to the Red Wings in a trade for a draft choice who turned out to be Alex Pirus.