May 9 –
Muhammad Ali was stripped of his World Heavyweight Champion titles and was banned from boxing by the various commissions for his refusal to be inducted into the
United States Army.
October 27 – death of
Robert Carmody (29), American boxer, in the Vietnam War
August 30 –
John Ferris captures the
world record from fellow-American Mark Spitz in the men's 200m butterfly (long course) by swimming 2:06.0 at a meet in
Tokyo, Japan.
October 8 – Mark Spitz regains his
world record in the men's 200m butterfly (long course) at a meet in
West Berlin,
West Germany, clocking 2:05.7.