Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The 1970s was known for three renegade sports leagues that challenged older, established organizations in need of an energ... Read more

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The 1970s was known for three renegade sports leagues that challenged older, established organizations in need of an energy boost and fresh perspective on their respective sports. The American Basketball Association (ABA), founded in 1967, was well-known for its faster, up-tempo style of play, its multicolored red, white, and blue ball, and the introduction of the three-point shot. In 1976, the NBA took in four former ABA teams when that league folded. The NBA also adopted the three-point shot and many star ABA players who would go on to star in the NBA. The World Hockey Association (WHA), which lasted from 1972 through 1979, brought four new franchises to the NHL and the player who would come to dominate the sport itself in Wayne Gretzky. World Series Cricket was a breakaway league from 1977-1979, which attracted international players with salaries far in excess of officially established competition. It was the catalyst for the major restructuring of world cricket which took place in the 1980s. The "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, who proclaimed the women's game to be inferior, was a turning point in sports during the decade. Playing a male chauvinist card, Riggs originally challenged Margaret Court, whom he beat soundly on Mother's Day 1973. Riggs took this as an invitation to challenge all female players, and Billie Jean King took the opportunity to accept his challenge. Highly publicized and nationally televised, the "Battle of the Sexes" match was held on September 20, 1973, at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas; King defeated the 55-year-old Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. The match was heralded as a major victory for women in athletics. The book reviews the year 1974 in sports including football, baseball, basketball, soccer, boxing, cycling, and the champions who shined that year including Muhammad Ali, Eddy Merckx, Jimmy Connors, and Chris Evert. Project Webster represents a new publishing paradigm, allowing disparate content sources to be curated into cohesive, relevant, and informative books. To date, this content has been curated from Wikipedia articles and images under Creative Commons licensing, although as Project Webster continues to increase in scope and dimension, more licensed and public domain content is being added. We believe books such as this represent a new and exciting lexicon in the sharing of human knowledge. Less