September 1972 - September 16, 1972 (Saturday)

September 16, 1972 (Saturday)

• At least 103 people were killed in the collapse of the Colgante Bridge, during the festival at of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, near Naga City in the Philippines. At 4:30 in the afternoon, the wooden bridge fell apart under the weight of spectators, plunging people and debris into the Bicol River.
• The Bob Newhart Show began a successful seven season run on CBS, giving the master of the telephone monologue a situation comedy role as Chicago psychologist Dr. Robert Hartley. A variety show of the same name appeared on NBC from 1961 to 1962.
• "Deep Throat" (later revealed to be FBI Associate Director W. Mark Felt) listened over the telephone to reporter Bob Woodward's draft of a story on Watergate and confirmed an anonymous tip that money from Maurice Stans had been used to finance the Watergate break-in.