“The most successful stretch in Knicks history and a championship back to a young Madison Square Garden.” - The Sporting News, 1973
For the first time in 53 years, the New York Knickerbockers won a National Basketball Championship. Five decades ago, there was little to celebrate in this nation, as the Knicks brought a brief reprieve to the suffering of the United States during the early 1970s. Recently, fans across the Tri-State area were excited over the come-from-behind and hard-fought victories of the Knicks to bring home this momentous victory. Many of the older Knicks fans not only recalled the 1973 victory, but they also remembered the hit movie “The Poseidon Adventure,” the average house cost $32,000, Elvis Presley’s best record was “Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite,” and minimum wage was $1.60. As Walt “Clyde” Frazier and Willis Reed led the Knicks against the Los Angeles Lakers, many of the fans in 1973 faced domestic and foreign hardships.
For several years, America watched its Armed Forces escalate their presence in South Vietnam to prevent the expansion of communism into that nation. Soldiers from across Long Island and New York State traveled thousands of miles to fight in the jungles and the unknowns of South Vietnam. They bravely served in a difficult combat situation, as they fought against an enemy that they could hardly see in the jungle, in advanced tunnel systems, among populations that resented Americans, and in warfare in cities like Saigon during the Tet Offensive. At the height of the fighting in 1968, there were 536,000 soldiers in South Vietnam. That was reduced to 24,000 in 1973 by the time President Richard M. Nixon signed a peace agreement with North Vietnam. Whereas Nixon sought “Peace with Honor,” America lost 58,220 members of its military, had 1,566 soldiers and civilians who were “Missing in Action” and still believed to be held by the enemy. “Operation Homecoming” watched the return of 660 prisoners of war who were finally released from North Vietnam and sent back to America.
It was a harsh moment for Vietnam War veterans, as they were treated poorly, called “baby killers,” spat upon and discriminated against for fighting in this Southeast Asian war. The final aspects of the draft were seen on June 30, 1973, which eventually ended this process of legally enlisting troops into the military by the federal government. There was also the War Powers Act of 1973 to limit the power of the president and restrict the ability to easily deploy Americans overseas. This legislation recently pressured President Donald J. Trump to deter offensive military operations against the Iranians. For years, the government refused to classify the fighting in Vietnam as a war, and it took several years for the government to recognize the service of the 2.8 million American veterans of this conflict.
In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon won his second term but was concerned about the strength of the Democratic Party and the anti-war protesters. While he feared losing the election, Nixon won 520 Electoral College votes to easily defeat George McGovern of South Dakota. But these victorious feelings for Nixon would not last long, as the “Watergate Affair” gained steam through the conviction of burglars who were caught breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee. Loosely connected to Nixon, additional information was eventually learned about the president’s involvement and knowledge of this failed attempt to obtain damaging materials on a rival political party. There were televised hearings involving Nixon and the discovery of a taping system in the Oval Office. During this crisis, the 39th Vice President, Spiro Agnew, was investigated for extortion, bribery and income tax violations that mostly occurred when he was governor of Maryland. After resigning, Agnew was fined $10,000 and placed on three years of unsupervised probation.
Almost at the same moment that the Knicks won their championship on May 10, 1973, White House Counsel John Dean, on May 25, admitted Nixon’s involvement in the crime. He described the presidential “cover-up” and the use of “hush money” to buy the silence of political opponents. As the government appointed Archibald Cox as a special prosecutor, Nixon ordered him fired two months later. Refusing to abide by this order, Attorney General Elliot Richardson and his deputy resigned from their positions instead of removing Cox. Nixon was repeatedly questioned about his own conduct in the affair, and the government wanted direct access to the Oval Office tapes. Later, in 1974, the Supreme Court ordered the release of the tapes, which led to Nixon’s resignation.
As the United States ended one major conflict, another started on October 6, 1973, with the Egyptian and Syrian attack on Israel. The Yom Kippur War started on this holy day through the attempt of Arab nations to reclaim lost territories in the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights following previous military defeats. This fourth war advantageously began when Arab nations attacked while many Israeli soldiers were away from their posts celebrating the Day of Atonement. The Arabs gained a large supply of modern weapons from the Soviet Union to help regain lost territory. Whereas the Israelis were surprised and pushed back, they mobilized their nation to meet the threat.
As Israel pushed the Arab nations back, it came at a heavy military cost, and the Israelis requested $850 million in military aid from the United States. Nixon countered with a $2.2 billion effort to provide enough weapons and resources to ensure that Israel restored its lost armaments, secured victory and demonstrated strength against Soviet meddling. While America has been a powerful friend to Israel, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, used oil as a weapon to oppose foreign military and economic support provided to Israel. Many of these OPEC countries strengthened the fuel embargo to economically hurt Western Europe, the United States and Canada. As Americans have recently felt the impact of rising fuel prices due to disruptions in the Persian Gulf, the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War saw prices spike from 39 cents a gallon and from $2.90 to $11.65 a barrel. It was a painful period of long and expensive gas lines, odd-and-even license plate rationing and fuel theft. The Big Three American automakers continued producing larger vehicles and watched as better-made, fuel-efficient German and Japanese cars flooded the market.
Over the last several years, history has repeated itself through the high inflation rates Americans have suffered due to rising prices. With the high oil prices of 1973, the inflation rate climbed to 6.2%, and it nearly doubled years later under the presidency of Jimmy Carter. President Trump campaigned on the need to curb inflation, and while gains were made, current high oil prices have made goods and services more expensive and increased financial strains on the economy. As the Knicks recently celebrated their victory with a special New York City parade, there are striking concerns that American citizens have felt in both 1973 and 2026.
Next week will be the continuation of the General Dwight D. Eisenhower story.