Biggest Sports Icons of the 1970s
As far back as I can remember, one of my first interests in life was sports. I can remember looking over my Father's shoulder as he read the sports page each morning. It wasn't until the 1970s though that my interest in sports really took off. Looking back on it now with some 40 years of wisdom there were some areas in sports that were really special in the 70s. What stands out the most is the Heavyweight division of boxing. It was quite a bit simpler then. You had two ranking agencies, the World Boxing Council and the World Boxing Association. What made the Heavyweight division so outstanding in the 70s was the great fighters. Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Earnie Shavers, Ron Lyle, George Foreman, Ken Norton, Larry Holmes. Plus some great fights, the one that stands out to me the most being Ali vs. Frazier 3 - also know as "The Thrilla in Manila". It was just a great era for Heavyweights. The NFL was great, too. What stands out to me the most about the NFL in the 1970s was the Pittsburgh Steelers. 4 Lombardi trophies, 8 consecutive playoff appearances, 6 AFC Championship games. The thing that I think was most special about the Steelers is that over this 8 year period (72-79) in which they reached the playoffs every year- the personnel was virtually the same. You can take the San Francisco 49ers of the 1980 whom also won 4 Lombardi's. The difference though is only 6 players remained from their first Super Bowl winning team of 1982 by the time they won their final Super Bowl in 1989. In MLB probably what was most memorable in the 1970s was the 1975 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Cincinnati Reds. Game 6 of that series is considered by many to be the greatest baseball game ever. So, a lot of special things happened in 1970s sports. Who stood out the most though? Who were the Icons that transcended the sport itself? I can think of three.
Muhammad Ali: Ali most definitely was an icon in the 1970s. He actually was an icon in the 1960s as well but due to the fact that he lost three years of his career in the late 60s due to his refusal of military induction, there was even more clamor around him when he came back in the early 70s. He was involved in some great fights but probably most notable was the fact that he won the Heavyweight Crown two additional times in the 70s, by defeating George Foreman in 1974 and Leon Spinks in 1978. This accomplishment was unheard of at the time. That plus Ali's comfort in front of the camera made him someone that was simply bigger than the rest.
Evel Knievel: I don't know if you can equate being a daredevil with being an athlete but that is what Knievel was. His thing was jumping over various items with his motorcycle. He too was very comfortable in front of the camera. His stunts became more and more outrageous and therefore, there was more and more curiosity. The ultimate being his attempt to jump the Snake River Canyon in 1974. I think there a couple of things that made him stand out so much. First being what he was doing - no one else was doing the daredevil stunts he was, and secondly the merchandising of him. Evel Knievel merchandise was everywhere in the mid 1970s. I can remember having some of the toys and dressing as him on Halloween in 1975. He also starred in a movie about himself in 1976 called "Viva Knievel". He was another one who was bigger than life.
Lastly and Ill try to be brief on this athlete because of how his life turned out:
OJ Simpson: Simpson was huge in the 1970s. His biggest accomplishment coming in 1973 when he rushed for 2003 yards in 14 games - making him the all time single season rushing leader at that point. So, even though his football talent was beyond compare, what made him transcend sports was the commercial endorsement of him. Simpson was pitching everything at that point, mainly Hertz Rent-a-Car. He starred in some movies as well - "The Towering Inferno" being one of them. Obviously his life didn't turn out well but if you go back to the 70s, to put it mildly, he was on top.
These three, to me, were the Biggest Sports Icons of the 1970s. I welcome other opinions....
Muhammad Ali: Ali most definitely was an icon in the 1970s. He actually was an icon in the 1960s as well but due to the fact that he lost three years of his career in the late 60s due to his refusal of military induction, there was even more clamor around him when he came back in the early 70s. He was involved in some great fights but probably most notable was the fact that he won the Heavyweight Crown two additional times in the 70s, by defeating George Foreman in 1974 and Leon Spinks in 1978. This accomplishment was unheard of at the time. That plus Ali's comfort in front of the camera made him someone that was simply bigger than the rest.
Evel Knievel: I don't know if you can equate being a daredevil with being an athlete but that is what Knievel was. His thing was jumping over various items with his motorcycle. He too was very comfortable in front of the camera. His stunts became more and more outrageous and therefore, there was more and more curiosity. The ultimate being his attempt to jump the Snake River Canyon in 1974. I think there a couple of things that made him stand out so much. First being what he was doing - no one else was doing the daredevil stunts he was, and secondly the merchandising of him. Evel Knievel merchandise was everywhere in the mid 1970s. I can remember having some of the toys and dressing as him on Halloween in 1975. He also starred in a movie about himself in 1976 called "Viva Knievel". He was another one who was bigger than life.
Lastly and Ill try to be brief on this athlete because of how his life turned out:
OJ Simpson: Simpson was huge in the 1970s. His biggest accomplishment coming in 1973 when he rushed for 2003 yards in 14 games - making him the all time single season rushing leader at that point. So, even though his football talent was beyond compare, what made him transcend sports was the commercial endorsement of him. Simpson was pitching everything at that point, mainly Hertz Rent-a-Car. He starred in some movies as well - "The Towering Inferno" being one of them. Obviously his life didn't turn out well but if you go back to the 70s, to put it mildly, he was on top.
These three, to me, were the Biggest Sports Icons of the 1970s. I welcome other opinions....
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