December 28, 1973: The Endangered Species Act

December 28, 1973: The Endangered Species Act becomes law. It was introduced into Congress by Senator Harrison Williams of New Jersey. It passed the Senate, 92-0; and the House of Representatives, 355-4.

This was one of many Democratic Party ideas that President Richard Nixon realized were not only good policy, but good politics, and should be signed into law. He signed a few of those, including the 1970 creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, which would enforce the Endangered Species Act, so he could claim those issues for himself, taking them away from the Democrats in the 1972 election. But, regardless of how Watergate was going to turn out, he was now term-limited, so he was supporting this bill on policy grounds alone.

Ironically, it would be Williams, not Nixon, who would go to prison, as a result of his participation in the ABSCAM scandal of the early 1980s. First elected to the House in 1952, and to the Senate in 1958, he was convicted of bribery and conspiracy in 1981. He resigned from the Senate on March 11, 1982, rather than face an expulsion vote. He served 2 years in prison, and died in 2001.

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December 28, 1973 was a Friday. Baseball was out of season. One college bowl game was played: Unranked Georgia upset Number 18 Maryland, 17-16, in the Peach Bowl at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

There were 5 games played in the NBA:

* The Detroit Pistons beat the Capital Bullets, 102-93 at Cobo Hall (now Huntington Place) in Detroit. The Bullets would rename themselves the Washington Bullets the next season, and the Washington Wizards in 1997.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Atlanta Hawks, 118-94 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Houston Rockets, 127-111 at the Hofheinz Pavilion (now the Fertitta Center) in Houston.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns, 119-107 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 110-93 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

There were 3 games in the American Basketball Association:

* The New York Nets lost to the Utah Stars, 107-97 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah.

* The Virginia Squires beat the Carolina Cougars, 97-89 at the Hampton Coliseum outside Norfolk in Hampton, Virginia.

* And the Indiana Pacers beat the Memphis Tams, 91-86 at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum (now the Corteva Coliseum) in Indianapolis. George McGinnis led all pro scorers on the night with 37 points.

There were 3 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders played the California Golden Seals to a tie, 4-4 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-1 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* And the Minnesota North Stars beat the Vancouver Canucks, 5-3 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

And there were 2 games played in the World Hockey Association. The New York Golden Blades beat the Vancouver Blazers, 5-3 at Madison Square Garden. And the Chicago Cougars beat the Quebec Nordiques, 6-4 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago.