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"Hockey became for us more than
a game: it became a symbol, an emblem of our uniqueness as individuals
and as a society. "
Roy MacSkimming,
Cold War
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Major World Sports Events 0f 1972
Source: History
Central and more
- NBA Champions: LA Lakers vs. NY Knicks, 4-1
- NCAA Football Champs: USC, 12-0-0
- Heisman Trophy Winner: Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska,
Fl; 1,310 Points
- Stanley Cup: Boston Bruins vs. NY Rangers, 4-2
- Super Bowl VI: Dallas Cowboys vs. Miami Dolphins,
24-3
- U.S. Open (Golf): Jack Nicklaus Score: 290 Course:
Pebble Beach GL Location: Pebble Beach, CA
- World Series: Oakland A's vs. Cincinnati Reds,
4-3
- Winter Olympics (hockey): USSR wins its 3rd consecutive
gold medal in Sapporo
- Summer Olympics (basketball): USSR beats United
States in 1972 men's basketball final in Munich
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The 1972 Summit In Canadian History
TOP
10 TEAMS
OF THE 20th CENTURY
The Canadian Press Survey
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1.
1972 Team Canada
(1,102 pts)
2. 1983-84 to 1989-90 Edmonton Oilers
(865)
3. 1955-56 to 1959-60 Montreal Canadiens
(775)
4. 1992-93 Toronto Blue Jays (716)
5. 1975-76 to 1978-79 Montreal Canadiens
(642)
6. 1978-82 Edmonton Eskimos (587)
7. 1987 Canada Cup team (570)
8. 1995-97 4x100 track relay team (553)
9. 1993-98 Sandra Schmirler curling
rink (337)
10. 1976 Canada Cup team (260)
- Full
List -
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TOP
10 CANADIAN NEWS EVENTS OF THE 20th
CENTURY
The Canadian Press Survey
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1. D-Day, June 6, 1944 (817 pts)
2. The Patriation of the Constitution/Charter
of Rights and Freedoms, April 17, 1982
(732)
3. The October Crisis, Oct. 5, 1970
(653)
4. The battle of Vimy Ridge, April 9,
1917 (619)
5. Women get the vote, May 24, 1918
(531)
6. The Free Trade Agreement with the
United States, Jan. 1, 1989 (482)
7. 1995 Quebec Referendum, Oct. 30,
1995, (475)
8.
Paul Henderson's winning goal in
the Canada-U.S.S.R. hockey series, Sept.
28, 1972 (452)
9. The creation of medicare in Saskatchewan,
July 1, 1962 (446)
10. The Canadian military raid on Dieppe,
Aug. 19, 1942 (318)
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Related Articles at
the Summit
in 1972
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- Team
Canada '72: Historical Prospective
- Team
USSR '72: Historical Prospective
- The 1972 Summit
in Russian Hockey History
and more
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For Canada, the Summit 1972 meant much more than just
some won hockey series. There were many fascinating games
won by the nation that invented hockey. Yet, something
different was triggered among Canadians when Paul Henderson
of the 1972 Team Canada scored that goal in Moscow in
Game 8 . The goal became known as the "Goal of
the Century" and every Canadian regardless of
his or her date of birth knows about it. It was a symbolical
event that marked this incredible feeling of being a
proud Canadian.
Celebrating the beginning of the new millennium, Canadian
Press conducted various national surveys of newspapers
and broadcasters that showed that the 1972 Summit remains
an unforgettable event in the history of Canada. The millennium
polls named Team Canada as the "Team of the Century"
and the 1972 Summit was voted as the 8th among the overall
Top Canadian News Events of the 20th Century. In
December 1999, 1972 Team Canada was honored at the Hockey
Hall of Fame in Toronto as the greatest team of the century.
It's a truly amazing score for the Series that took place
30 years ago and didn't actually have any "official"
significance in terms of being a part of an established
sports competition. It was neither Stanley Cup finals,
nor Olympics, nor one of the Canada or World Cups that
came after the Summit in 1972. Officially, it was just
some exhibition games that were actually supposed to end
with a quite predictable result.
I am not a Canadian. I can only speak about the Series'
impact in Canada based on what I read in the books or
heard from my Canadian friends. But, it seems to me that
any nationality can relate to the effect that big sports
events have on people's pride and national identity. The
Cold War environment and the dramatic on and off the ice
events just made these emotions more vivid.
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Besides political and geographical borders, one has to
admit that the Summit was one of the biggest sports spectacles
with a pendulum-like game results curve within each game
and the Series overall. The game of hockey was changed
forever after that historical clash between two distinct
hockey styles. In my opinion, no other hockey event caused
more radical changes in the game than the 1972 Summit
did.
Thirty years past the 1972 Summit, the Series remains
the most fascinating spectacle that gave so much to the
Canadian, Russian and, no doubt,
international hockey.
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