1972–73 National Hurling League
# 1972–73 National Hurling League

The 1972–73 National Hurling League was the 42nd season of the National Hurling League.

## Division 1

Cork came into the season as defending champions of the 1971-72 season.

On 13 May 1973, Wexford won the title following a 4-13 to 3-7 win over Limerick in the final. It was their fourth league title overall and their first since 1966-67.

Tipperary's Francis Loughnane was the Division 1 top scorer with 5-55.

### Division 1A table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | Diff | Pts | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Kilkenny | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | +26 | 12 |
| 2 | Tipperary | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | +33 | 10 |
| 3 | Limerick | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | +32 | 10 | Division 1 runners-up |
| 4 | Wexford | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | +23 | 10 | Division 1 champions |
| 5 | Clare | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | +39 | 8 |
| 6 | Cork | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -3 | 4 |
| 7 | Galway | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | -70 | 2 |
| 8 | Offaly | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | -30 | 0 | Relegated to Division 1B |

### Division 1B table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | Diff | Pts | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Waterford | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | +54 | 13 | Promoted to Division 1A |
| 2 | Kildare | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | +21 | 9 |
| 3 | Dublin | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | +10 | 9 |
| 4 | Antrim | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | -2 | 8 |
| 5 | Laois | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | +43 | 7 |
| 6 | Westmeath | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -41 | 4 |
| 7 | Wicklow | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -33 | 4 |
| 8 | Kerry | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | -44 | 2 |

### Knock-out stage

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

### Scoring statistics

**Top scorers overall**

| Rank | Player | Team | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Francis Loughnane | Tipperary | 5-55 | 70 | 9 | 7.77 |
| 2 | Johnny Walsh | Kildare | 6-48 | 66 | 8 | 8.25 |
| 3 | Tom Byrne | Wexford | 10-35 | 65 | 11 | 5.90 |
| 4 | Richie Bennis | Limerick | 8-37 | 61 | 8 | 7.62 |
| 5 | Eddie Keher | Kilkenny | 3-33 | 42 | 5 | 6.40 |
| 6 | Stephen Greene | Waterford | 9-12 | 39 | 9 | 4.33 |
| 7 | George Lanham | Laois | 7-14 | 35 | 7 | 5.00 |
| 8 | Tony Doran | Wexford | 7-11 | 32 | 11 | 2.90 |
| 8 | Pádraic Fahy | Galway | 3-23 | 32 | 7 | 4.57 |
| 10 | Seán Kinsella | Wexford | 2-25 | 31 | 9 | 3.44 |

**Top scorers in a single game**

| Rank | Player | Team | Tally | Total | Opposition |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | George Lanham | Laois | 3-06 | 15 | Westmeath |
| 2 | Francis Loughnane | Tipperary | 2-08 | 14 | Limerick |
| 3 | Donal Rheinisch | Dublin | 4-01 | 13 | Kerry |
| 4 | Roger Ryan | Tipperary | 4-00 | 12 | Kildare |
| 5 | Tom Byrne | Wexford | 3-02 | 11 | Tipperary |
| 5 | Francis Loughnane | Tipperary | 2-05 | 11 | Galway |
| 5 | Eddie Keher | Kilkenny | 2-05 | 11 | Wexford |
| 5 | Tom Byrne | Wexford | 1-08 | 11 | Limerick |
| 9 | Peadar Keogh | Wicklow | 3-01 | 10 | Dublin |
| 9 | Frankie Nolan | Limerick | 3-01 | 10 | Tipperary |
| 9 | Richie Bennis | Limerick | 2-04 | 10 | Clare |
| 9 | Johnny Walsh | Kildare | 1-07 | 10 | Waterford |
| 9 | Colm Connaughton | Westmeath | 1-07 | 10 | Antrim |
| 9 | Johnny Walsh | Kildare | 1-07 | 10 | Antrim |
