Looking Back to 1973

 

Class Memories From 1973
  • Tim Baldwin made an 85.5’ field goal in a basketball game against Pryor
  • Our Sr. Play was “The Night of January the 16th
  • The baseball team won the first game at the state playoffs and then lost the next two
  • Ron Lambeth: Wrestling -- 1st in state and 4th in nationals
  • Devereaux Jones: Tennis -- 3rd in state (Junior year)
  • Leland Grubb: Track -- new school record in long jump by jumping 20’ 6”
  • Jr. & Sr. Prom: May 11th, at the Tulsa Home Builder’s Association
  • Baccalaureate Service: May 20th, at 2:00 p.m., followed by our Sr. Picnic at Woodward Park with food, footballs and Frisbees.
  • Commencement Exercises were held on Kirkland Field
  • After School: Ken’s Pizza Parlor, Frank’s Drive-In, Tastee Freeze, goin' to the movies and draggin’ main @ $0.39 per gallon
Events in 1973
  • US Troops withdrawn from Vietnam and U.S. involvement in Vietnam War ends with the signing of peace
  • Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), announces they will restrict flow of crude oil to countries supporting Israel causing price of oil to increase by 200%
  • Recession begins in Europe following OPEC Oil price increases
  • Chrysler and other US car makers close a number of plants affecting 100,000 workers
  • World Trade Center in New York becomes the tallest building in the world
  • Supreme Court of the United States rules on Roe v. Wade making abortion a US constitutional right
  • Watergate Hearings begin in the United States Senate and President Richard Nixon tells the nation, “I am not a crook.”
  • Yom Kippur War - Fourth and largest Arab-Israeli conflict begins as Egyptian and Syrian forces attack Israel
  • Armed members of the American Indian Movement and their supporters seizes the old town of Wounded Knee in South Dakota
  • Basque Terrorists kill Spanish Prime Minister
  • Israel shoots down Libyan passenger plane
  • In a Tennis Match billed as the battle of the sexes, Mrs. Billy Jean King defeats Bobby Riggs
  • Secretariat Wins Triple Crown – the first winner in the previous 25 years and one of three winners between 1973 and 2008)
  • The Bahamas gains Independence from Great Britain
  • The Mississippi River reaches its peak level in St. Louis during a record 77-day flood
  • The Sears Tower opens in Chicago
Inventions / First Use in 1973
  • Genetic Engineering -- USA by S. Cohen and H. Boyer
  • Barcode – USA
  • Optical Fiber – USA
  • Space Station -- USA Skylab
  • Jetski or Personal Watercraft -- USA by Clayton Jacobson II (the original was only a stand-up type and was difficult to stay on ); manufactured by Kawasaki
Movies in 1973
  • The Sting – Academy Award’s Best Picture
  • The Exorcist
  • Deliverance
  • Live and Let Die
  • Paper Moon
  • Shamus
  • The Getaway
  • War Between Men and Women
  • Last Tango in Paris
  • Jesus Christ Superstar
  • American Graffiti
  • Lady Sings the Blues
Music in the Early 70’s
  • America – “A Horse with No Name” “Ventura Highway” “Tin Man” “Sandman” and “I Need You”
  • David Bowie – “Time” and “Let’s Spend the Night Together”
  • Bread – “If” and “Aubrey”
  • Jim Croce – “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” “Time in a Bottle” and “I Got a Name”
  • Crosby, Stills and Nash – “Woodstock”
  • The Eagles – “Tequila Sunrise”
  • Electric Light Orchestra – “In Old England Town” and “From the Sun to the World”
  • Pink Floyd – “Dark Side of The Moon”
  • Michael Jackson – “Got to Be There” and “Ben”
  • Elton John – “Crocodile Rock”
  • Gladys Knight and the Pips – “Midnight Train to Georgia”
  • John Lennon – “Imagine”
  • Bob Marley and the Wailers – “Get Up, Stand Up” and “I Shot the Sheriff”
  • Paul McCartney and Wings – “My Love” and “Band On the Run”
  • Don McLean – “American Pie” and “Vincent”
  • The Moody Blues – “Nights in White Satan” and “I’m Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band”
  • Gilbert O’Sullivan – “Alone Again (Naturally)”
  • Rolling Stones – “Angie”
  • Diana Ross – “Touch Me in the Morning” and “You Are Everything”
  • Seals and Crofts – “Summer Breeze” and “Diamond Girl”
  • Paul Simon – “Loves Me Like a Rock”
  • Simon and Garfunkel – “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
  • Rod Stewart – “Reason to Believe” and “Maggie May”
  • Bill Withers – “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Lean on Me”
  • Wizzard – “Ball Park Incident”
  • Neil Young – “Old Man” “Heart of Gold” and “Cinnamon Girl”
  • Led Zeppelin – “Stairway to Heaven”
TV Programs in 1973
  • The Odd Couple
  • The Partridge Family
  • Columbo
  • Masterpiece Theatre
  • McMillan and Wife
  • M*A*S*H
  • Sanford and Son
  • The Bob Newhart Show
  • The Price Is Right
  • The Waltons
What Things Cost in 1973
  • Ford Galaxy 500: $3,883
  • Gasoline: 39 cents per gallon
  • House: $35,500
  • Average Monthly Rent: $175
  • Bread: 27 cents per loaf
  • Dozen Medium Eggs: 25 cents
  • Milk: $1.31 per gallon
  • Postage Stamp: 8 cents
  • Median Household Income: $10,512
  • Minimum Wage: $1.60 per hour