Buck White
Dec 2 Oscar Brown, Jr's musical "Buck White", starring Muhammad Ali, opens at George Abbott Theatre, NYC, runs for 7 performances
- Dec 2 Two years after doubling its size from six to 12, the NHL announces 2 new teams would be joining the League the following year; Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks
Come and Get It
Dec 5 Apple Records releases the single "Come and Get It" by the band Badfinger; track was written and produced by Paul McCartney for the dark comedy film "The Magic Christian" starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr
- Dec 5 Four-node ARPANET network is established between the University of California, Los Angeles, Stanford Research Institute, U.C. Santa Barbara, and the University of Utah
- Dec 5 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Rolling Stones at Altamont
Dec 6 300,000 attend free concert featuring The Rolling Stones in Altamont, California; the event is marred by violence and four deaths
- Dec 6 Oscar Brown, Jr's musical "Buck White", starring Muhammad Ali, closes at George Abbott Theatre, NYC, after 7 performances
- Dec 6 USSR performs nuclear test
- Dec 8 Greek DC-6B crashes in storm at Athens, 93 killed
- Dec 8 Police surprise attack on Black-Panthers in LA
- Dec 11 Libya adopts constitution
The Magic Christian
Dec 12 Comedy film "The Magic Christian", starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr premieres in London, England
- Dec 12 Decathlon Bill Toomey achieves world record-score of 8417 points
- Dec 12 Offices of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana, Milan, are bombed, killing 14
Billy Martin Fired
Dec 13 MLB manager Billy Martin fired by the Minnesota Twins
Leaving on a Jet Plane
Dec 14 "Leaving on a Jet Plane" single sung by Peter, Paul and Mary, written by John Denver, hits #1 on US Billboard's Hot Top 100
- Dec 14 Bishen Bedi takes 7-98 (career-best) v Australia at Calcutta
Jackson Five on Ed Sullivan
Dec 14 Jackson Five make their 1st appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show"
- Dec 14 One of the most catastrophic flops in the history of showbusiness - the musical "La Strada" opens and closes at Lunt Fontanne NYC after 1 performance
Plastic Ono Band
Dec 15 John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Plastic Ono Band, play their only European gig - appearing in UNICEF charity concert at London's Lyceum Ballroom, band is augmented by Bonnie & Delaney Bramlett, guitarists George Harrison and Eric Clapton, and keyboardist Billy Preston
- Dec 15 San Francisco Fire Department replaces leather helmets with plastic ones
War is Over! If You Want It
Dec 16 "War is Over! If You Want It, Happy Christmas from John & Yoko" posters begin appearing
- Dec 16 British House of Commons votes 343-185 to abolish the death penalty
Hello Dolly
Dec 16 Film adaptation of "Hello Dolly" starring Barbra Streisand premieres; wins 3 Academy Awards
Coco
Dec 18 André Previn and Alan Jay Lerner's musical "Coco", inspired by the life of Coco Chanel, and starring Katharine Hepburn, opens at Mark Hellinger Theatre, NYC; runs for 329 performances, wins 2 Tony Awards
- Dec 18 House of Lords votes to abolish the death penalty in England, Wales and Scotland (Northern Ireland 25 July 1973)
- Dec 18 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Dec 19 Beatle's 7th Christmas fan-club single is released
"Leaving On A Jet Plane"
Dec 20 Peter, Paul & Mary's cover of John Denver's song "Leaving On A Jet Plane" reaches #1
Ross's Final Supreme Appearance
Dec 21 Diana Ross' final TV appearance as a Supreme on "The Ed Sullivan Show", performing “Someday We’ll Be Together", after which Sullivan announced her upcoming departure from the group
- Dec 21 Vince Lombardi (Washington Redskins) coaches his last football game, a 20-10 loss to the Cowboys in Dallas, for a 7-5-2 season and 105-35-6 career
- Dec 22 Pete Marovich sets NCAA record of hitting 30 of 31 foul shots
Ballon d'Or
Dec 23 Ballon d'Or: Milan midfielder Gianni Rivera wins award for best European football player ahead of Cagliari forward Luigi Riva and Bayern Munich striker Gerd Müller
Flood Urges Free Agency
Dec 24 Curt Flood writes to baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn refusing to accept the Cardinals’ right to deal him and in favor of free agency [1]
"Last of the Red Hot Lovers"
Dec 28 Neil Simon's play "Last of the Red Hot Lovers" premieres in NYC
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