# The 12 Greatest American Sports Moments of the 1970s

> Boxing, baseball, tennis and the racetrack each had their decade-defining afternoon. Only one of them can come first here.

*By YPB Team · Published August 20, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-12-greatest-american-sports-moments-of-the-1970s*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Hank Aaron's 715th home run** — score 1000/1000
   Passed Babe Ruth's career record in Atlanta in April 1974 after a year of death threats.
2. **The Immaculate Reception** — score 659/1000
   Franco Harris caught a deflection off the turf to win a 1972 playoff game for Pittsburgh.
3. **Affirmed and Alydar at Belmont** — score 647/1000
   The 1978 Triple Crown was decided by a head after three races run side by side.
4. **Secretariat's 1973 Belmont** — score 647/1000
   A 31-length victory in record time that completed the first Triple Crown in 25 years.
5. **The Battle of the Sexes** — score 571/1000
   Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in front of 30,000 people and 90 million viewers in 1973.
6. **The Rumble in the Jungle** — score 571/1000
   Ali reclaimed the heavyweight title from George Foreman in Kinshasa in 1974.
7. **The Thrilla in Manila** — score 571/1000
   Ali and Frazier's third fight ended after fourteen rounds in punishing heat in 1975.
8. **Bird and Magic in the 1979 final** — score 571/1000
   The NCAA title game that drew the largest college basketball audience ever recorded.
9. **The 1976 Olympic decathlon record** — score 483/1000
   The Montreal decathlon was won with a world-record score and made its champion a household name.
10. **Dorothy Hamill wins Olympic gold** — score 381/1000
   Her 1976 free skate made her a household name and her haircut a national trend.
11. **Reggie Jackson's three-homer World Series game** — score 381/1000
   Three home runs on three swings in the 1977 clincher earned him the name Mr. October.
12. **Nadia Comaneci's perfect 10** — score 114/1000
   The first perfect score in Olympic gymnastics, at Montreal in 1976.

Tags: usa, sports, 70s