- Sep 1 Tracy Austin at age 14 years, 8 months, 20 days, becomes the youngest female to play in the US Open, beating German Heidi Eisterlehner 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 in a 1st round match
- Sep 1 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
Event of Interest
Sep 2 One of the great anti-climaxes in sport; 43-year-old transsexual Rene Richards, who fought for over a year for right to play in a major event, is beaten 6-1, 6-4 by Wimbledon champion Virginia Wade at the US Open
Virginia Wade
- Sep 3 Japanese baseball superstar Sadaharu Oh hits his 756th career home run to surpass Hank Aaron as all-time career leader in professional baseball
Event of Interest
Sep 3 Last broadcast of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" on CBS
Mary Tyler Moore
Event of Interest
Sep 5 Jerry Lewis' 12th Muscular Dystrophy telethon
Jerry Lewis
- Sep 5 Red Army Faction kidnaps and subsequently murders West German business executive Hanns Martin Schleyer
- Sep 5 Voyager 1 (US) launched toward fly-by of Jupiter, Saturn
- Sep 6 Angels acquire Dave Kingman from Padres for cash, 9 days later Yankees buy Kingman (started with Mets) who plays in all 4 divisions in 1977
- Sep 7 Ethiopia drops diplomatic relations with Somalia
Event of Interest
Sep 7 US President Jimmy Carter and Panama's General Omar Torrijos sign the Panama Canal treaties, guaranteeing Panama control of the Panama Canal after 1999
Jimmy Carter
- Sep 7 Watergate conspirator G. Gordon Liddy is released from prison after serving 4 years and 4 1/2 months
- Sep 8 Interpol sends a resolution concerning video piracy
- Sep 8 Jimmy McCulloch quits Wings
- Sep 9 Tiger rookies Lou Whitaker & Allan Trammell debut together & will play together for 19 years
- Sep 10 Blue Jays beat Yankees 19-3 with 20 hits
- Sep 10 Christa Vahlensieck runs female world record marathon (2:34:47.5)
- Sep 10 Susan Perkins (Ohio), crowned 50th Miss America 1978
- Sep 10 Hamida Djandoubi, convicted of torture and murder, is the last person to be executed by Guillotine in France
US Open Women's Tennis
Sep 10 US Open Women's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Chris Evert wins her 3rd straight US singles title; beats Wendy Turnbull of Australia 7-6, 6-2; final time event played at West Side Tennis Club
Chris Evert
- Sep 11 29th Emmy Awards: The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Carroll O'Conner & Bea Arthur win
US Men's Tennis Open
Sep 11 US Open Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Guillermo Vilas becomes the only Argentine to win US title; beats Jimmy Connors 2-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-0; final time event played at West Side Tennis Club
Guillermo Vilas
Jimmy Connors
The Atari 2600
Sep 11 The Atari 2600, originally known as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) is released in North America, revolutionizing the video game industry
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- Sep 12 Anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko dies in police custody from his injuries after being beaten and tortured by police
- Sep 13 1st TV viewer discretion warning-Soap
- Sep 13 2nd Test flight of Space Shuttle Enterprise
- Sep 13 General Motors introduces 1st US diesel auto (Oldsmobile 88)
- Sep 14 Christmas Tinto sentenced to 7 years in Robben Island, South Africa
- Sep 15 "Man of La Mancha" opens at Palace Theater NYC for 124 performances
- Sep 15 Orioles forfeit to Blue Jays when mgr Earl Weaver pulls team off field in 5th citing hazardous condition (small tarpaulin on bullpen mound)
- Sep 15 US President Jimmy Carter meets with 15 record company executives
- Sep 15 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Sep 15 TV LA drama "CHiPs" debuts on NBC in US
- Sep 16 90 minute pilot of "Logan's Run" premieres on TV
Event of Interest
Sep 16 Ringo Starr releases "Drowning in Sea of Love"
Ringo Starr
- Sep 16 Seattle beats Royals, 4-1, to end KC's winning streak at 16 games
- Sep 17 Ryder Cup Golf, Royal Lytham & St Annes: US wins 12½-7½; last time a Great Britain & Ireland team competes for Ryder Cup
- Sep 17 China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC
- Sep 17 Dave Kingman hits his 1st Yankee homer, Reggie hits 2 more
- Sep 17 Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors" is #1 for 19th straight week
- Sep 18 Brooks Robinson Night in Baltimore
- Sep 18 Courageous (US) sweeps Australia (Aust) in 24th America's Cup
- Sep 18 US Voyager I takes 1st space photograph of Earth & Moon together
- Sep 18 2nd Toronto International Film Festival opens
- Sep 20 "Estrada" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 7 performances
- Sep 20 Vietnam & Djibouti ask for membership in UN
- Sep 20 Russell Means addresses the UNHCR in Geneva: criticizes the United States, describing Native Americans as "people who live in the belly of the monster"
- Sep 21 US minister of Foreign affairs Cyrus Vance dismissed
- Sep 22 Minn Twin Bert Blyleven no-hits California Angels, 9-0
- Sep 22 Preston Jones' "Texas Trilogy" premieres in NYC
- Sep 22 West German Red Army Faction terrorist kills policeman in Utrecht
- Sep 23 3rd test of Space Shuttle Enterprise
- Sep 23 Cheryl Ladd replaces Farrah Fawcett on TV show "Charlie's Angels"
- Sep 23 "I Just Fall in Love Again" single released by The Carpenters
- Sep 24 "Estrada" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 7 performances
- Sep 24 1st broadcast of "Love Boat" on ABC-TV
- Sep 24 Ken Hinton of CFL British Columbia Lions returns a punt 130 yards
- Sep 26 Cleveland Browns play their 1st overtime game, beat Patriots 30-27
- Sep 26 Sir Freddie Laker begins cut-rate "Skytrain" service, London to NY
- Sep 27 Phillies clinch 2nd straight NL East Division title
- Sep 29 "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" by Meco hits #1
- Sep 29 Eva Shain is 1st woman to referee a heavyweight championship
Event of Interest
Sep 29 James Brown's band walks out claiming they were underpaid & overworked
James Brown
Boxing Title Fight
Sep 29 Muhammad Ali beats Earnie Shavers in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
Muhammad Ali
- Sep 29 Peter Schats circus opera "Houdini" premieres in Amsterdam
- Sep 29 Soviet space station Salyut 6 launched into Earth orbit
- Sep 30 Dutch Antillean government-Evertsz resigns
- Sep 30 Ringo Starr releases "Ringo the 4th" album
- Sep 30 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
- Sep 30 Due to US budget cuts, the Apollo program's ALSEP experiment packages left on the Moon are shut down.
- Sep 30 Philippine political prisoners, Eugenio Lopez, Jr. and Sergio Osmeña III successfully escaped from Fort Bonifacio Maximum Security Prison in the Philippines