I bought my Fuji Sports 12, my first "real" bike, in the summer of 1980. It had low end Suntour stuff on it, but it was certainly a 12 speed. It replaced the "Sports 10," but I am not sure if 1980 was the first year the low-end model went to 12 speeds. It's likely they had a few higher-end models with 12 speeds in the late 1970s.