The year 1971 consisted of Sports Championship winners Baltimore Colts (NFL), Milwaukee Bucks (NBA), Montreal Canadiens (NHL), Pittsburgh Pirates (MLB)
HIGHLIGHTS
The
1971 NFL Super Bowl was a battle between the
Baltimore Colts and the
Dallas Cowboys. The Colts, led by quarterback Johnny Unitas, were the defending champions and had a record of 11-3. The Cowboys, led by quarterback Roger Staubach, had a record of 11-2-1. The game was a hard-fought battle, with the Colts leading at halftime 14-6. The Cowboys came back in the second half, however, and took the lead in the fourth quarter. With less than a minute left in the game, the Colts were able to score a touchdown and take the lead. The Colts were able to hold off the Cowboys and win the game 16-13. It was the first Super Bowl victory for the
Baltimore Colts and the first Super Bowl loss for the
Dallas Cowboys.
The
1971 NBA championship final series between the
Milwaukee Bucks and the
Baltimore Bullets was a hard-fought battle between two talented teams. The Bucks, led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson, had the best regular season record in the league and were favored to win the series. The Bullets, led by Wes Unseld and Earl Monroe, put up a strong fight, but ultimately the Bucks proved too much for them. The Bucks swept the series in four games, winning each game by double digits. The Bucks' dominant performance earned them their first championship in franchise history.
The
1971 Stanley Cup Finals featured the
Montreal Canadiens and the
Chicago Blackhawks. The Canadiens had won the Stanley Cup the previous season, and were looking to become the first team since the
1950s to win consecutive titles. The Blackhawks had not won a championship since
1961, and were looking to end their decade-long drought. The series was a highly contested one, with the Canadiens taking the first two games at home, before the Blackhawks bounced back to tie the series at two games apiece. In the end, the Canadiens were able to secure the championship in game seven, winning by a score of 3-2. This marked the Canadiens' seventeenth Stanley Cup, and their fourth in five years.
The
1971 World Series featured the
Pittsburgh Pirates and the
Baltimore Orioles. The Pirates, who had not won a World Series since
1960, won the series in seven games. The Orioles, led by Hall of Famers Frank Robinson, Jim Palmer, and Brooks Robinson, won the first two games of the series. The Pirates, however, bounced back to win the next three games, with the help of Roberto Clemente's .414 batting average and two home runs. The Orioles won the sixth game to force a seventh and deciding game. In Game 7, the Pirates won 2-1 in a low-scoring affair. Steve Blass pitched a complete game, allowing only one run on five hits. The Pirates' victory marked the first time since
1960 that they had won the World Series.