Who needs clues? In 1973, somebody found the Oktoberfest medallion by accident

The 1973 Oktoberfest medallion hunt ended abruptly when George Mekvold found the prize in the water at a fountain outside the south entrance to La Crosse City Hall.  Mekvold said he had been waiting outside the building for his wife to get off work when a couple started walking around the fountain, apparently looking for the medallion.  When they left, he looked into the fountain and saw the medal.

Billie Jean King handily won the tennis “Battle of the Sexes” in the Houston Astrodome on this night in 1973.  King responded to the challenge by past Wimbledon champ Bobby Riggs, who claimed that even in his 50’s, he could beat the best female tennis pros.  The King-Riggs contest has inspired a new movie in 2017 starring Steve Carell and Emma Stone.
 
And on the same night as that tennis match, singer Jim Croce performed his last concert, and then died in a plane crash in Louisiana.  Croce had three hit songs on the charts in the two years before he was killed…and his new single, “I Got a Name,” was released the day after his death.  New Jim Croce music would continue to be released in 1973, 44 years ago, yesterday in La Crosse.