1972

Events

February

• February 16: Thomas Mavros makes his debut with Greece in a match against Holland (0-5) in Athens.
• February 18: An Olympic Aviation Learjet crashed off the coast of Monte Carlo. Both crew members are killed.

March

• March 2: Three Cypriot Metropolitans demand that Makarios III step down from the Presidency of the island-Republic.
• March 4: The US resumes economic and military aid to the Military regime of Greece.
• March 4: Greece defeat Italy 2-1 in a friendly at Karaiskaki Stadium. Antonis Antoniadis and Spyros Pomonis score the Greek goals.
• March 5: Mikis Theodorakis leaves the Communist Party of Greece.
• March 28: Dictator George Papadopoulos becomes: Royal Regent, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Defence Minister and President of the Greek Parliament.

May

• May 7: Vasilis Lymperis is found guilty and sentenced to death for the murder of his wife, two kids and mother in law on January 6.
• May 21: Sofia Sakorafa breaks the Greek record in the javelin with a throw of 41.32m.

June

• June 5: Greece establishes full diplomatic relations with P.R. China.
• June 12: Bobby Moore dons Olympiakos' jersey in the Piraeus team's friendly against Brazilian side Corinthians. The England captain played the full 90 minutes.
• June 30: The Military Government of Greece passes a "quickie divorce" law. Dictator George Papadopoulos will avail himself of his own law to divorce his first wife.

July

• July 13: Iraklis player Aristides Moumoglou sets a Greek basketball record by scoring 145 points in a single game against VAO BC. The final score of the game was Iraklis - VAO 170-94.
• July 19: Bishop Demetrius of Imvros and Tenedos is elected Ecumenical Patriarch. The election was controversial since the favoured candidate, Bishop Meliton of Chalkedon, was bypassed as he did not please the Turkish government.
• July 30: Archaeologists discover a 6th Century BC temple near Kalentzi, Achaea.

August

• August 4: Vasilis Papageorgopoulos breaks the Greek record for the 100m with a 10.22 performance. The record will stand for 21 years.
• August 25: Vasilis Lymperis' death sentence is carried out; Vasilis Lymperis is the last person to be executed in Greece.

September

• September 2: Stavros Tziortzis finishes 6th in 400m hurdles (49.7) at the Munich Olympics. John Akii-Bua from Uganda wins the race setting new world record with 47.8.
• September 8: Elias Hadjipavlis wins silver at the Munich Olympiad in Finn class sailing.
• September 10: Petros Galaktopoulos wins silver at the Munich Olympiad in Greco-Roman wrestling.
• September 24: Maroula Lambrou breaks the Greek women's record in the long jump with a jump of 6.00m.

October

• October 21: An Olympic Airways NIHON YS-11 crashes off the coast of Voula, Athens. 37 passengers and crew (36 passengers and 1 crew member) drown, while 16 passengers and 3 crew members are rescued.
• October 26: Totis Fylakouris is handed a 4-game ban because, prior to Panathinaikos' game against CSKA Sofia, he left a rooster in midfield as an insult to Olympiakos who had lost the previous day 4-0 to Tottenham Hotspur.
• October 31: Dowry offered for officer weddings is no longer endorsed

December

• December 20: Charilaos Florakis is elected Chairman of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), replacing Konstantinos Koligiannis who had resigned for health reasons.
• December 29: Cyprus proclaims presidential elections to be held on February 8, 1973. Makarios is the only expected candidate.

Births

January

• January 5: Sakis Rouvas, singer.

February

• February 4: Giovanni, football player.

August

• August 16: Stan Lazaridis, Greek-Australian footballer.

November

• November 12: Vasilis Tsiartas, footballer
• November 28: Anastasia Kelesidou, athlete

Deaths

January

• January 1: Maximus V, Patriarch of Constantinople

February

• February 8: Markos Vamvakaris, composer

July

• July 7: Patriarch Athenagoras

August

• August 3: Yiannis Papaioannou, rebetika songwriter
• August 25: Vasilis Lymperis, last person executed in Greece.