16 June – death of Brian Piccolo, Chicago Bears player
15 August – Patricia Palinkas becomes the first woman to play in a professional football game for the Orlando Panthers in the Atlantic Coast Football League.[1]
3 September – death of Vince Lombardi, Green Bay Packers coach; subsequently, his name is given to the Super Bowl trophy and the Rotary Lombardi Award
16 January – Gold GloveoutfielderCurt Flood files a civil lawsuit challenging baseball's reserve clause, a suit that will have historic implications. Flood refused to report to the Phillies after he was traded by the Cardinals, contending the baseball rule violates federal antitrust laws.
22 August – US swimmer Mark Spitz breaks his own, nearly three-year-old world record in the men's 200m butterfly (long course) with a time of 2:05.4. At the same meet and on the same day in Los Angeles, California he loses it to Gary Hall Sr., who swims 2:05.0.
