1979 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
- Alpine Skiing World Cup
The alpine skiing World Cup is a circuit of alpine skiing competitions launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France and the USA...
- Men's overall season champion: Peter Lüscher
Peter Lüscher is a Swiss former alpine skier, winner of the 1979 Alpine Skiing World Cup.He is married to Fabienne Serrat.-Overall victories:-Individual races:
...
, SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
- Women's overall season champion: Annemarie Moser-Pröll
Annemarie Moser-Pröll is a former champion alpine ski racer. She was the most successful World Cup racer during the 1970s....
, AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
- January 21 - Super Bowl XIII
Super Bowl XIII was an American football game played on January 21, 1979 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1978 regular season...
– Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are currently a member of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
defeated the Dallas CowboysThe Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team that plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . They are headquartered in suburban Irving, Texas, which lies between Fort Worth and Dallas...
35-31.
- World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 20th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Fort Worth, USA, in 1979. In November 1977 the 55th FIG Congress, held in Rome, changed the cycle of world championships: since 1979 they were to be held each two years, and the pre-Olympic ones were to be qualifications for the Olympic...
–
- Men's all-around champion: Alexander Dityatin
Alexander Nikolaievich Dityatin is a Russian gymnast, three-time Olympic Champion, and Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR. Winning eight medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics, he set the record for achieving the most medals of any type at a single Olympic Games...
, USSR
- Women's all-around champion: Nellie Kim
Nellie Vladimirovna Kim is a retired Soviet gymnast who won three gold medals and a silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, and two gold medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics...
, USSR
- Men's team competition champion: USSR
- Women's team competition champion: Romania
Romania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
- May 12 - England - FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association. The name "FA Cup" usually refers to the English men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held...
– ArsenalArsenal Football Club are an English professional football club based in Holloway, North London...
win 3-2 over Manchester UnitedManchester United Football Club is an English football club, one of the most popular football clubs in the world, based at Old Trafford in Greater Manchester. The club was a founding member of the Premier League in 1992, and has played in the top division of English football since 1938, with the...
- Sport Club Internacional
Sport Club Internacional, known simply as Internacional or Inter, is a Brazilian football team from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, founded on April 4, 1909. They play in red shirts, white shorts and socks, the first of which gives the team its nickname of O Colorado, or The Reds...
win the Brazilian Championship undefeated
- Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League, formerly known as the Victorian Football Association is the premier league in Victoria...
- Carlton
Carlton Football Club, nicknamed The Blues, is the third oldest club in the Australian Football League and one of the oldest Australian rules football clubs. They were the first premiers of the Victorian Football Association in 1877, and share the most premierships of any VFL/AFL club...
win the 83rd VFL Premiership (Carlton 11.16 (82) d CollingwoodCollingwood Football Club, officially nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League....
11.11 (77))
- Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy — better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
awarded to Peter Moore (Collingwood)
- January 23 – Willie Mays
William Howard "Willie" Mays, Jr. is a retired American baseball player who played the majority of his career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of...
receives 409 of 432 votes in the BBWAA election to earn enshrinement in the Hall of FameBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
.
- August 2 – death of Thurman Munson
Thurman Lee Munson was an American catcher in Major League Baseball who played with the New York Yankees from 1969 to 1979. Munson was killed at age 32 while trying to land his personal airplane.-Life and career:...
, New York Yankees catcher, in an air crash
- World Series
The World Series has been the annual championship series of the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada since 1903, concluding the postseason of Major League Baseball...
– Pittsburgh PiratesThe Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions, in addition to the distinction of playing in the first modern World Series. The Pirates are also often...
won 4 games to 3 over the Baltimore OriolesThe Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , the Orioles have played their home games at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The "Orioles" name refers to the official state...
.
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1979 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
Alpine skiingAlpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with nordic skiing, in which skiers use free-heel bindings...
- Alpine Skiing World Cup
The alpine skiing World Cup is a circuit of alpine skiing competitions launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France and the USA...
- Men's overall season champion: Peter Lüscher
Peter Lüscher is a Swiss former alpine skier, winner of the 1979 Alpine Skiing World Cup.He is married to Fabienne Serrat.-Overall victories:-Individual races:
...
, SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
- Women's overall season champion: Annemarie Moser-Pröll
Annemarie Moser-Pröll is a former champion alpine ski racer. She was the most successful World Cup racer during the 1970s....
, AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
American footballAmerican football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, and often as Gridiron or Tackle football outside North America, is a competitive team sport known for combining strategy with physical play. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the...
- January 21 - Super Bowl XIII
Super Bowl XIII was an American football game played on January 21, 1979 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1978 regular season...
– Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are currently a member of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
defeated the Dallas CowboysThe Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team that plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . They are headquartered in suburban Irving, Texas, which lies between Fort Worth and Dallas...
35-31.
Artistic gymnasticsArtistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics. Competitive gymnasts perform short routines on different apparatus, with less time for vaulting . Artistic gymnastics has become a popular spectator sport at the Summer Olympic Games, and in numerous other competitive environments...
- World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 20th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Fort Worth, USA, in 1979. In November 1977 the 55th FIG Congress, held in Rome, changed the cycle of world championships: since 1979 they were to be held each two years, and the pre-Olympic ones were to be qualifications for the Olympic...
–
- Men's all-around champion: Alexander Dityatin
Alexander Nikolaievich Dityatin is a Russian gymnast, three-time Olympic Champion, and Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR. Winning eight medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics, he set the record for achieving the most medals of any type at a single Olympic Games...
, USSR
- Women's all-around champion: Nellie Kim
Nellie Vladimirovna Kim is a retired Soviet gymnast who won three gold medals and a silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, and two gold medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics...
, USSR
- Men's team competition champion: USSR
- Women's team competition champion: Romania
Romania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
Association football (soccer)
- May 12 - England - FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association. The name "FA Cup" usually refers to the English men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held...
– ArsenalArsenal Football Club are an English professional football club based in Holloway, North London...
win 3-2 over Manchester UnitedManchester United Football Club is an English football club, one of the most popular football clubs in the world, based at Old Trafford in Greater Manchester. The club was a founding member of the Premier League in 1992, and has played in the top division of English football since 1938, with the...
- Sport Club Internacional
Sport Club Internacional, known simply as Internacional or Inter, is a Brazilian football team from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, founded on April 4, 1909. They play in red shirts, white shorts and socks, the first of which gives the team its nickname of O Colorado, or The Reds...
win the Brazilian Championship undefeated
Australian rules footballAustralian football, also commonly referred to as Australian rules football, football, or Aussie rules, colloquially as footy, and historically as Australasian football or Victorian football, is a variant of football played between two teams of 18 players, plus four interchange players, outdoors on...
- Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League, formerly known as the Victorian Football Association is the premier league in Victoria...
- Carlton
Carlton Football Club, nicknamed The Blues, is the third oldest club in the Australian Football League and one of the oldest Australian rules football clubs. They were the first premiers of the Victorian Football Association in 1877, and share the most premierships of any VFL/AFL club...
win the 83rd VFL Premiership (Carlton 11.16 (82) d CollingwoodCollingwood Football Club, officially nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League....
11.11 (77))
- Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy — better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
awarded to Peter Moore (Collingwood)
BaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
- January 23 – Willie Mays
William Howard "Willie" Mays, Jr. is a retired American baseball player who played the majority of his career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of...
receives 409 of 432 votes in the BBWAA election to earn enshrinement in the Hall of FameBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
.
- August 2 – death of Thurman Munson
Thurman Lee Munson was an American catcher in Major League Baseball who played with the New York Yankees from 1969 to 1979. Munson was killed at age 32 while trying to land his personal airplane.-Life and career:...
, New York Yankees catcher, in an air crash
- World Series
The World Series has been the annual championship series of the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada since 1903, concluding the postseason of Major League Baseball...
– Pittsburgh PiratesThe Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions, in addition to the distinction of playing in the first modern World Series. The Pirates are also often...
won 4 games to 3 over the Baltimore OriolesThe Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , the Orioles have played their home games at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The "Orioles" name refers to the official state...
. The Series MVP was Willie StargellWilver Dornell "Willie" Stargell , nicknamed "Pops" in the later years of his career, was a professional baseball player who played his entire Major League career with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an outfielder and first baseman.Over his 21-year career with the Pirates, he batted .282, with 2,232...
, Pittsburgh
BasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
- NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single elimination tournament held each spring featuring 65 college basketball teams. college basketball teams in the United States...
–
- Michigan St. wins 75-64 over Indiana St.
- NBA Finals
The National Basketball Association is a professional basketball league, composed of thirty teams in North America . It is an active member of USA Basketball , which is recognized by the International Basketball Federation as the National Governing Body for basketball in the United States...
–
- Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...
, coached by Lenny WilkensLeonard Randolph "Lenny" Wilkens is a retired American basketball player and coach in the NBA, as well as the league's career leader in coaching win–loss totals...
, won 4 games to 1 over the Washington BulletsThe Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...
for the only finals win in Seattle SuperSonics history.
- National Basketball League (Australia)
The National Basketball League is Australasia's top-level professional basketball competition.There are currently 8 teams in the league, with teams in Adelaide, Auckland, Cairns, the Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth, Townsville, and Wollongong. This comes after a turbulent period, when the league lost...
–
- The Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n NBL was founded. The St Kilda Saints became the first champions by defeating the Canberra CannonsThe Canberra Cannons were a basketball team competing in the Australian National Basketball League. They went into financial administration in 2003 and were relocated to Newcastle, where they became the Hunter Pirates...
94-93 in the final.
BoxingBoxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds. There are three ways to win...
- September 28 in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, and an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, fine dining, and entertainment. Las Vegas, which bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, is famous for the number of...
, Larry HolmesLarry Holmes is a former world WBC and IBF heavyweight boxing champion. Holmes has spent the majority of his adult life in Easton, Pennsylvania, in the state's Lehigh Valley region, giving rise to his boxing nickname, The Easton Assassin.As a professional heavyweight, Holmes won his first 48...
retains his World Heavyweight title with an 11th round TKO of Earnie ShaversEarnie Dee Shaver , better known as Earnie Shavers, is an American former professional boxer. Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, Randall "Tex" Cobb, Ron Lyle and Ken Norton all credited Shavers as being the hardest puncher they had ever faced in the ring...
.
- November 30 in Las Vegas, dual world championship undercard: Vito Antuofermo
Vito Antuofermo is an actor who is also a former world Middleweight boxing champion.-Background:Antuofermo was born in Italy, town of Palo del Colle is located about 15 km inland from the city of Bari. but his family moved to the United States when he was 10 years old...
retains his world Middleweight title with a 15 round draw (tie) against Marvin HaglerMarvelous Marvin Hagler , is a former Undisputed Middleweight boxing champion of the world. Hagler's record is 62-3-2 with 52 knockouts.- Early life and amateur career :...
, and Sugar Ray LeonardSugar Ray Leonard is a retired American professional boxer . Named Fighter of the Decade for the 1980s, he is widely considered to be one of the best boxers of all time, winning world titles at multiple weights and engaging in contests with such celebrated opponents as Wilfred Benitez, Thomas...
wins his first world title, beating WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
world Welterweight champion Wilfredo Benitez by knockoutA knockout is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
in round 15.
Canadian footballCanadian football is a form of gridiron football played almost exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide , attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
- Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 4 million.Like the Stanley Cup used in the...
– Edmonton EskimosThe Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian Football League team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The Eskimos are the most successful CFL franchise of the modern era , having won the league's Grey Cup championship thirteen times, including an unmatched five consecutive wins between 1978 and 1982, and most...
win 17-9 over the Montreal AlouettesThe Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current incarnation of the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...
- Vanier Cup
The Vanier Cup is the name of the championship of Canadian Interuniversity Sport football and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is currently played between the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl...
– Acadia Axmen win 34-12 over the Western Ontario MustangsThe Western Ontario Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada....
CricketCricket is a bat-and-ball team sport that is first documented as being played in southern England in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, cricket had developed to the point where it had become the national sport of England. The expansion of the British Empire led to cricket being...
- Cricket World Cup
The Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years....
- West Indies beat EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
by 92 runs
- World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
rival competition to official International Cricket CouncilThe International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
matches is disbanded.
CyclingCycling is an activity most commonly performed on a bicycle - when it is it is also referred to as bicycling or simply biking. It is the use of the bicycle, unicycle , tricycles , quadracycles , and other similar wheeled human-powered vehicles for the purpose of transport, as a form of...
- Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. It is one of the three Grand Tours, and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
won by Giuseppe SaronniGiuseppe Saronni , also known as Beppe Saronni, is an Italian former racing cyclist.-Biography:Born in Novara, Piedmont, Saronni turned professional in 1977. During his career, that lasted until 1989, he won 193 races...
of ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
- Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race that covers approximately throughout France and bordering countries. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages. Individual times to finish each stage are totalled to...
- Bernard HinaultBernard Hinault is a French cyclist known for five victories in the Tour de France. He is one of only five cyclists to have won all three Grand Tours, and the only cyclist to have won each more than once. He won the Tour de France in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985...
-FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
- World Cycling Championship
The UCI Road World Championships, often referred to as the World Cycling Championships, is the annual world championship for bicycle road racing organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale . The UCI Road World Championships include championships for elite men's road race and individual time trial...
– Jan RaasJan Raas is a Dutch former professional cyclist whose 115 wins include the 1979 World Road Race Championship in Valkenburg, he also won the Ronde van Vlaanderen in 1979 and 1983, Paris-Roubaix in 1982 and Milan-Sanremo in 1977...
of NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
Dogsled racingDogsled racing, more accurately referred to as sled dog racing, is a winter dog sport involving the timed competition of teams of sleddogs that pull a sled with the dog driver or musher standing on the runners. The team completing the marked course in the least time is judged the winner...
- Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion –
- Rick Swenson
For the Saskatchewan politician see Rick Swenson .Rick Swenson, sometimes known as the "King of the Iditarod", , is an American dog musher who has won the 1,049-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across the U.S. state of Alaska more times than any other competitor...
won with lead dogs: Andy & O.B. (Old Buddy)
Field hockeyField hockey is a team sport in which a team of players attempt to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking the ball with hockey sticks into the opposing team's goal. Its official name is simply hockey, and this is the common name for it in many countries...
- 1979 Pan American Games
The 8th Pan American Games were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15, 1979. The capital of Puerto Rico played host to 3,700 athletes from 34 countries competing in 22 sports, making the VIII Pan American Games the largest to date. Security was a concern due to turmoil over the...
men's competition held in San Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan is the capital and largest municipality in Puerto Rico. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 433,733, making it the 42nd-largest city under the jurisdiction of the United States. San Juan was founded by Spanish colonists in 1521, who called it Ciudad de Puerto Rico...
and won by Argentina
- August - The 2nd Women's World Field Hockey Championships are held at Vancouver, Canada with the Netherlands as the champions.
Figure skatingFigure skating is a Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
- World Figure Skating Championships
The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...
–
- Men's champion: Vladimir Kovalev
Vladimir Kovalev is a retired figure skater who competed internationally for the USSR. He is an Olympic silver medalist and 2-time World champion. He trained at VSS Trud in Moscow. Kovalev is pronounced, "ko-va-lyov."-Career:...
, Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
- Ladies' champion: Linda Fratianne
Linda Sue Fratianne was an American Olympic figure skater, who won four consecutive U.S. Championships .-Early career:...
, United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- Pair skating champions: Tai Babilonia & Randy Gardner
Randy Gardner is a U.S. figure skater, the partner of Tai Babilonia. They began skating together as children, when Babilonia was eight and Gardner ten. Their coach was John Nicks. The pair were five-time gold medalists at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and won the gold medal at the 1979...
, United States
- Ice dancing champions: Natalia Linichuk
Natalia Vladimirovna Linichuk is a Russian former competitive ice dancer and current ice dancing coach. With partner Gennadi Karponossov, she was the 1980 ice dancing Olympic champion and two-time World champion...
& Gennadi KarponossovGennadi Michailovitch Karponossov is a Russian former competitive ice dancer and current ice dancing coach. Along with his partner, Natalia Linichuk, he was the 1980 Olympic gold medalist and a two-time World Champion.-Career:Gennadi Karponossov trained at Dynamo in Moscow...
, Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
GolfGolf is a precision club-and-ball sport, in which competing players , using many types of clubs, attempt to hit balls into each hole on a golf course while employing the fewest number of strokes. Golf is one of the few ball games that does not require a standardized playing area...
Men's professional
- Masters Tournament - Fuzzy Zoeller
Frank Urban "Fuzzy" Zoeller, Jr. is an American professional golfer. He is one of three golfers to have won The Masters in his first appearance in the event. He also won the 1984 U.S. Open, which earned him the 1985 Bob Jones Award....
defeats Ed SneedEd Sneed is an American professional golfer, sportscaster and course design consultant, who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour....
and Tom WatsonThomas Sturges "Tom" Watson is an American PGA Tour golfer and now mostly Champions Tour golfer.In the 1970s and 1980s, Watson was one of the leading players in the world, winning eight major championships and heading the PGA Tour money list five times...
in the second hole of a sudden-death playoff, the first time the Masters used a sudden-death format.
- U.S. Open
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
- Hale IrwinHale S. Irwin is an American professional golfer. He is one of the few players in history to have won three U.S. Opens and was one of the world's leading golfers for much of the 1970s and 1980s. He has also developed a career as a golf course architect.Irwin was born in Joplin, Missouri, but was...
- British Open
The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only major held outside the USA and is administered by the R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...
- Seve BallesterosSeveriano "Seve" Ballesteros Sota is a Spanish professional golfer and former World No. 1, who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid 1970s to the mid 1990s. He announced himself to the golfing world in 1976, when at age 19 he finished second at The Open Championship...
becomes the first golfer from Continental EuropeContinental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands and, at times, peninsulas. Notably, in British and Irish English usage, the term means Europe excluding the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, the Channel...
to win a major since Arnaud MassyArnaud Massy was one of France's most successful professional golfers.Massy was born in Biarritz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France...
of France won this event in 1907.
- PGA Championship
The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour...
- David GrahamAnthony David Graham is a former professional golfer from Australia.Born in Windsor, Australia, Graham turned professional in 1962 at age 16 and spent much of his career in the United States, playing on the PGA Tour. Turning age 50 in 1996, he joined the Senior PGA Tour, later known as the...
- PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is an organization that operates the main professional golf tours in the United States. It is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, a suburb of Jacksonville...
money leader - Tom WatsonThomas Sturges "Tom" Watson is an American PGA Tour golfer and now mostly Champions Tour golfer.In the 1970s and 1980s, Watson was one of the leading players in the world, winning eight major championships and heading the PGA Tour money list five times...
- $462,636
- Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a golf trophy, donated by Samuel Ryder, which is awarded biennially in an event called the "Ryder Cup Matches" between teams from Europe and the United States...
- United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
won 17-11 over EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
in the first Ryder Cup to feature a side representing all of Europe.
Men's amateur
- British Amateur
The Amateur Championship is a golf tournament which is held in the United Kingdom. In the rest of the world, it is often known as the "British Amateur" or the "British Amateur Championship". It is one of the two leading individual tournaments for amateur male golfers alongside the U.S...
- Jay SigelRobert Jay Sigel is an American professional golfer. He enjoyed one of the more illustrious careers in the history of U.S...
- U.S. Amateur - Mark O'Meara
Mark Francis O'Meara is an American professional golfer who was a prolific tournament winner on the PGA Tour and around the world from the mid 1980s to the late 1990s...
Women's professional
- LPGA Championship
The LPGA Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the McDonald's LPGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola, is the second-longest running tournament in the history of the Ladies Professional Golf Association surpassed only by the U.S. Women's Open...
- Donna CaponiDonna Caponi-Byrnes is an American professional golfer.The daughter of a club pro, Caponi began playing golf at the age of eight and joined the pro tour at 20. It took Caponi-Byrnes four years to capture her first win, but she did it on the tour's biggest stage, capturing the U.S. Women's Open...
- U.S. Women's Open
The United States Women's Open Golf Championship, one of thirteen national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association , is one of the LPGA's major championships along with the LPGA Championship, the Women's British Open, and the Kraft Nabisco Championship...
- Jerilyn BritzJerilyn Britz is an American golfer. She attended Mankato State College and the University of New Mexico.Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Britz's rookie season on the LPGA Tour was 1974 and she went on to win twice on the tour. Her first win came in 1979 at one of the LPGA majors,...
- Classique Peter Jackson Classic
The CN Canadian Women's Open is a professional women's golf tournament managed by the Royal Canadian Golf Association; it has been Canada's national championship tournament since 1973. It is on the LPGA Tour.-History:...
- Amy AlcottAmy Alcott is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1975 and won 5 major championships and twenty-nine LPGA Tour victories in all.-Professional career:...
- LPGA Tour
The LPGA, in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, whose headquarters are in Daytona Beach, Florida, is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from...
money leader - Nancy LopezNancy Lopez is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1977 and won 48 LPGA Tour events during her LPGA career, including three major championships.-Amateur career:...
- $197,489
Harness racingHarness racing is a form of horse-racing in which the horses race in a specified gait. They usually pull two-wheeled carts called sulkies, although races to saddle are still occasionally conducted, especially in Europe....
- The Hambletonian
Hambletonian, or Hambletonian 10, was an American race and stud horse who profoundly influenced the sport of harness racing. The stallion was born in Sugar Loaf, NY on May 5 1849. Hambletonian has been inducted into the Immortals category of the Harness Racing Hall of Fame.-Origin and early years...
is awarded to Meadowlands RacetrackThe Meadowlands Racetrack is a horse racing track at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States.The track hosts both thoroughbred racing and harness racing...
, starting in 1981.
- United States Pacing Triple Crown races
The Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers consists of the following horse races:#Cane Pace, held at Freehold Raceway in Freehold, New Jersey#Little Brown Jug, held at the Delaware County Fair in Delaware, Ohio...
–
- Cane Pace
The Cane Pace is a harness horse race run annually since 1955. In 1956 the race joined with the Little Brown Jug and the Messenger Stakes to become the first leg in the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers....
- Happy Motoring
- Little Brown Jug
Little Brown Jug can refer to:*Little Brown Jug , an 1869 song by Joseph Winner. Most or all other uses of this phrase are named after this famous song.*Little Brown Jug , a harness race for three-year-old pacing standardbreds....
- Hot Hitter
- Messenger Stakes
The Messenger Stakes is an American harness racing event for 3-year-old pacing horses. It was organized in 1956 at Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury, New York to join with the Cane Pace and the Little Brown Jug to create the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers...
- Hot Hitter
- United States Trotting Triple Crown races
The Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters consists of the following horse races:*Hambletonian, held at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey**The 2009 Hambletonian will be raced on August 8....
–
- Hambletonian
Hambletonian, or Hambletonian 10, was an American race and stud horse who profoundly influenced the sport of harness racing. The stallion was born in Sugar Loaf, NY on May 5 1849. Hambletonian has been inducted into the Immortals category of the Harness Racing Hall of Fame.-Origin and early years...
- Legend Hanover
- Yonkers Trot
The Yonkers Trot is a harness race for three-year old trotting standardbreds held at Yonkers Raceway in New York. In 2008, it was the first leg of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters. In 2009, the order of the events has been changed and Yonkers Trot will be the second leg of the Triple...
- Kentucky Futurity
The Kentucky Futurity is a stakes race for three-year-old trotters, held annually at The Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky since 1893. It is part of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters.Kentucky Futurity winners:*1893 - Oro Wilkes*1894 - Beuzetta...
- Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
- Pacers: Rondel
Rondel may refer to:* Rondel or roundel, type of medieval dagger...
- Trotters: No Response
Horse racingHorse racing is an equestrian sport that has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times are an early example, as is the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. It is inextricably associated with gambling...
Steeplechases
- Cheltenham Gold Cup
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of 3 miles and 2½ furlongs , and during its running there are twenty-two fences to be jumped...
– Alverton
- Grand National
The Grand National is a famous National Hunt horse race which is held at Aintree in England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of about 4 miles and 856 yards , and during its running there are thirty fences to be jumped...
– Rubstic
Flat races
- Australia – Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major annual Thoroughbred horse race. Billed as The race that stops a nation, it is a race for three-year-olds and over, over a distance of 3,200 metres. It is the richest and most prestigious "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races in...
won by HypernoHyperno was a Thoroughbred racehorse foaled in New Zealand by Rangong out of Mikarla . He was trained by Bart Cummings. He won the 1979 Melbourne Cup and was ridden by Harry White.In 1981, Hyperno was voted Australian Horse of the Year...
- Canada – Queen's Plate
The Queen's Plate is North America's oldest thoroughbred horse race. It is run at a distance of 1¼ miles for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses foaled in Canada. The race takes place each June at Woodbine Racetrack, Etobicoke , Ontario...
won by Steady Growth
- France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year, usually on the first Sunday in October.Popularly referred to as the...
won by Three TroikasThree Troikas was a French Thoroughbred Champion Filly racehorse who was owned, trained, and raced by the three members of the famous Head family....
- Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes
The Irish Derby is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late June or early July...
won by TroyTroy was an British Thoroughbred racehorse. Owned by industrialist Sir Michael Sobell and his son-in-law Lord Weinstock, under trainer Dick Hern the colt notably won the 1979 Epsom and Irish Derbys en route to earning 3-Year-Old Champion honors as well as the British flat racing Champion Owner...
- English Triple Crown Races
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...
:
- 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Tap On Wood
- Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, known colloquially as The Derby and internationally as the Epsom Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old Thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards , and it is scheduled...
– TroyTroy was an British Thoroughbred racehorse. Owned by industrialist Sir Michael Sobell and his son-in-law Lord Weinstock, under trainer Dick Hern the colt notably won the 1979 Epsom and Irish Derbys en route to earning 3-Year-Old Champion honors as well as the British flat racing Champion Owner...
- St. Leger Stakes
The St. Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 132 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.Established in 1776, the St. Leger...
– Son of Love
- United States Triple Crown Races
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...
:
- Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter miles at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ...
– Spectacular BidSpectacular Bid was an American thoroughbred race horse. His sire was Bold Bidder, stakes winner of 13 races who also sired the 1974 Kentucky Derby winner, Cannonade. His grandsire was Bold Ruler, a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee and an eight-time Leading sire in North America. His dam was...
- Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race 1-3/16 mile thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses, held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
– Spectacular BidSpectacular Bid was an American thoroughbred race horse. His sire was Bold Bidder, stakes winner of 13 races who also sired the 1974 Kentucky Derby winner, Cannonade. His grandsire was Bold Ruler, a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee and an eight-time Leading sire in North America. His dam was...
- Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The race is the third and final leg of the Triple Crown, following five weeks after the Kentucky Derby, and three weeks after the Preakness Stakes...
– CoastalCoastal was an American thoroughbred stallion racehorse. He was sired by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Majestic Prince out of the mare, Alluvial, who was in turn was sired by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame stallion, Buckpasser. He was a half-brother, thru Alluvial, to Slew o'Gold.Owned by William...
Ice hockeyIce Hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport...
- Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league as a joint venture for its self perpetuating membership of 30 franchised member clubs located in the United States and Canada...
's leading scorer during the regular season: Bryan TrottierBryan John Trottier is a retired Canadian-American professional ice hockey center who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins...
, New York IslandersThe New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
- Hart Memorial Trophy
The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, the "oldest and most prestigious individual award in hockey", is awarded annually to the "player adjudged most valuable to his team" in the National Hockey League. The Hart Memorial Trophy has been awarded 84 times to 51...
for the NHLThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league as a joint venture for its self perpetuating membership of 30 franchised member clubs located in the United States and Canada...
's Most Valuable Player: Bryan TrottierBryan John Trottier is a retired Canadian-American professional ice hockey center who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins...
, New York IslandersThe New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
- Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club cup trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion. It has been referred to as The Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
– Montreal CanadiensThe Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The team is a member of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
win 4 games to 1 over the New York RangersThe New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
- World Hockey Championship
- Men's champion: Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
defeated CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
- Junior Men's champion: Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
defeated SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
- Réal Cloutier
Réal "Buddy" Cloutier is a retired Canadian ice hockey winger. Cloutier spent his most prolific years in the World Hockey Association with the Quebec Nordiques...
of the Quebec NordiquesThe Quebec Nordiques were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association and the National Hockey League...
became the second NHLThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league as a joint venture for its self perpetuating membership of 30 franchised member clubs located in the United States and Canada...
player to score a hat trickHat Trick, hat-trick or Hattrick may refer to:*hat-trick — in various sports, achieving three goals, wickets, etc. in a single match*Hattrick — online football management game*Hattrick Limited — producers of this game...
in his debut NHLThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league as a joint venture for its self perpetuating membership of 30 franchised member clubs located in the United States and Canada...
game.
Motor racing
- Stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain and Brazil. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately ¼ mile to 2.66 miles in length, but are also raced on road courses...
–
- NASCAR Championship - Richard Petty
For the president & C.E.O. of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, see Richard PeddieRichard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...
- February 18 - Richard Petty
For the president & C.E.O. of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, see Richard PeddieRichard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...
won the Daytona 500The Daytona 500 is a -long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule. Matt Kenseth is the defending champion of the race....
it was the first Daytona 500 to be televised flag-to-flag by CBS SportsCBS Sports is a division of CBS which airs many of the sports telecasts in the United States.CBS Sports broadcasts programs like NFL on CBS, The NFL Today, Southeastern Conference football, NCAA basketball, PGA golf, and professional tennis....
- CART Racing (replaced USAC): Rick Mears
Rick Ravon Mears is a retired American race car driver. He is the third of three men to have won the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race four times , and the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six...
won the season championship
- May - Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, often shortened to Indianapolis 500 or Indy 500 or sometimes known simply as The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually over the Memorial Day weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
- Rick MearsRick Ravon Mears is a retired American race car driver. He is the third of three men to have won the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race four times , and the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six...
- Formula One Champion
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1, and currently officially referred to as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants...
- Jody ScheckterJody David Scheckter is a South African former auto racing driver, the 1979 Formula One World Drivers Champion.-Career:Scheckter was born in East London, South Africa and educated at Selborne College....
of South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
- 24 hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, Sarthe, France...
– the team of Klaus LudwigKlaus Ludwig is a German race driver. Unlike Hans-Joachim Stuck, Rolf Stommelen, Harald Ertl, Hans Heyer and Jochen Mass, he has never raced in single seaters...
/ Bill WhittingtonBill Whittington is a former American racing driver from Lubbock, Texas who won the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans together with his brother Don Whittington and Klaus Ludwig in a Porsche 935. The German professional Klaus Ludwig, multiple winner at Le Mans and elsewhere, did most of the driving in the...
/ Don WhittingtonReginald "Don" Whittington is a former American racing driver from Lubbock, Texas who won the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans together with his brother Bill Whittington and Klaus Ludwig on a Porsche 935, although Ludwig, a multiple winner at Le Mans and elsewhere, did most of the driving in the heavy rain...
win driving a Porsche 935Porsche SE is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury high performance automobiles, which is majority-owned by the Piëch and Porsche families. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG , often shortened to Porsche AG, is responsible and manufacturer of the Porsche automobile line...
- Rally racing - the team of Bernard Darniche
Bernard Darniche is a French former rally driver. He won the European Rally Championship in 1976 and 1977 and the French Rally Championship in 1976 and 1978, each time behind the wheel of a Lancia Stratos...
/ Alain Mahe win the Monte Carlo RallyThe Monte Carlo Rally is a rallying event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco who also organizes the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique...
driving a Lancia Stratos HF
- Drag racing
Drag racing is a competition in which vehicles compete to be the first to cross a set finish line, usually from a standing start, and in a straight line. First gaining popularity in the USA after World War II , the sport steadily grew in popularity and spread across the globe...
–
- Rob Bruins won the NHRA Top Fuel
Top-Fuel Racing is a class of drag racing in which the cars are run on a maximum of 90% nitromethane and about 10% methanol , instead of gasoline...
championship.
- Don Garlits
Donald Glenn "Don" Garlits is considered the father of drag racing. He is known as "Big Daddy" to drag racing fans around the world. Always a pioneer in the field of drag-racing, he, with the help of T.C...
won Top Fuel at the [NHRA] World Finals
- Touring car racing
Touring car racing is a general term for a number of distinct auto racing competitions in heavily-modified street cars. It is notably popular in Britain, Germany, Scandinavia, and Australia...
- Peter BrockPeter Geoffrey Brock
AM otherwise known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain" or simply as "Brocky" was one of Australia's best-known and most successful motor racing drivers...
and Jim RichardsJim Richards is a New Zealand racing driver who has spent most of his racing life in Australia. While retired from professional racing, Richards continues to compete in the historic category Touring Car Masters while running a team in the Australian GT Championship...
won their second consecutive Bathurst 1000The Bathurst 1000 is a touring car race held annually at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. The race was traditionally run on the first Sunday in October but is now held on the second Sunday. The race traces its lineage to the 1960 Armstrong 500...
, driving a Holden ToranaThe Holden Torana is a car which was produced by General Motors–Holden's , the Australian subsidiary of General Motors . The name comes from an Aboriginal word meaning "to fly". It has its origins in the British Vauxhall Vivas of the mid 1960s...
Rugby unionRugby union is a full contact team sport, a form of football which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. It is played with an oval-shaped ball, outdoors on a level field, usually with a grass surface, 100 m...
- 85th Five Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship , known before 2000 as the Five Nations Championship, is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.The Six Nations Championship is the successor to the Five Nations and the Home...
series is won by WalesThe Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
SnookerSnooker is a cue sport that is played on a large baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regulation table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different ...
- World Snooker Championship
The World Snooker Championship, held at the Crucible Theatre in the English city of Sheffield, is the climax of snooker's annual calendar and the most important snooker event of the year in terms of prestige, prize money and world ranking points. The current champion is John Higgins.- History :The...
– outsider Terry GriffithsTerrence "Terry" Griffiths OBE is a retired Welsh snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. He won the World Championship in 1979, and reached the 1988 final. He has also won the UK Championship and Masters...
beats Dennis TaylorDennis Taylor is a retired snooker player, and current BBC snooker commentator. Taylor is well known for his sense of humour and his trademark over-sized glasses...
24-16
- World rankings
The snooker world rankings are the official system of ranking professional snooker players to determine automatic qualification and seeding for tournaments. They are maintained by the sport's governing body, the WPBSA...
– Ray ReardonRay Reardon, MBE is a retired Welsh snooker player. He dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning six World Championships in that decade...
remains world number oneBelow is a List of snooker players who have number 1 in the world rankings.Since the snooker world rankings began in 1976 only seven players have held the number one position - Ray Reardon, Cliff Thorburn, Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, John Higgins, Mark J. Williams and Ronnie O'Sullivan...
for 1979/80
SwimmingThe aquatic sport of swimming involves competition amongst participants to be the fastest over a given distance under self propulsion.The different events include 25, 50, 100, 200, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly, the 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 500, 800, 1000, 1500, and 1650 free and the 100,...
- Pan American Games
The Swimming Tournament at the 1979 Pan American Games took place in the Piscina Olimpica del Escambron in San Juan, Puerto Rico from July 2 to July 8, 1979.-Men’s events:...
in San Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan is the capital and largest municipality in Puerto Rico. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 433,733, making it the 42nd-largest city under the jurisdiction of the United States. San Juan was founded by Spanish colonists in 1521, who called it Ciudad de Puerto Rico...
- July 23 – West Germany
West Germany is a common English name for the period of the Federal Republic of Germany between its' formation in May 1949 to German reunification in October 1990, when the German Democratic Republic was dissolved and the five states on its territory joined the Federal Republic of Germany,...
's Klaus SteinbachKlaus Steinbach is a former freestyle swimmer from Germany, who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics and 1976 Summer Olympics...
sets a world record in the 50m freestyle at a swimming meet in FreiburgFreiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Located in the extreme south-west of the country, Freiburg straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the...
, shaving off 0.02 of the previous record (23.72) set by Ron Manganiello nearly a year ago: 23.70.
TennisTennis is a sport played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court....
- Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
- Australian Open
The Australian Open is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments held each year. The tournament is held each January at Melbourne Park. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was contested on grass from then up to 1987. Since 1988, the tournament has been held on hard...
- Guillermo VilasGuillermo Apolinario Vilas is a retired professional tennis player from Argentina.-Career:...
- French Open - Björn Borg
Björn Borg is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Sweden regarded by some observers and tennis players as the greatest player in the sport's history....
- Wimbledon championships - July 7 - Björn Borg
Björn Borg is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Sweden regarded by some observers and tennis players as the greatest player in the sport's history....
- US Open - John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. is an American former World No. 1 professional tennis player. McEnroe won seven Grand Slam singles titles—three at Wimbledon and four at the US Open—nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title...
- Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
- Australian Open
The Australian Open is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments held each year. The tournament is held each January at Melbourne Park. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was contested on grass from then up to 1987. Since 1988, the tournament has been held on hard...
- Barbara JordanBarbara Charline Jordan was an American politician from Texas. She served as a congresswoman in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979.-Biography:...
- French Open - Chris Evert
Christine Marie "Chris" Evert is a former world number 1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, including a record seven championships at the French Open and a record six championships at the U.S. Open. According to the Women's Tennis...
- Wimbledon championships - July 7 - Martina Navratilova
Martina Navrátilová is a Czech-American tennis player. A former World No. 1...
- US Open - Tracy Austin
Tracy Ann Austin Holt is a former World No. 1 women's professional tennis player from the United States who won the women's singles title at the US Open in 1979 and 1981 and the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 1980, before a series of injuries cut short her career.-To 1980:Austin won 21...
, youngest US Open Champion at the age of 16 years, 8 months and 28 days defeating 4-time defending champion Chris Evert 6-4, 6-3 in the final after defeating 2nd seeded Martina Navratilova in the semifinal making Evert lose for the first time in 32 matches.
- Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. The largest annual international team competition in sports, the Davis Cup is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition...
– United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
wins 5-0 over ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
in world tennis.
Volleyball Volleyball is an Olympic team sport in which two teams of 6 players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules...
- Asia Volleyball Championship
The Asian Volleyball Championship is a sport competition for national teams, currently held biannually and organized by the Asian Volleyball Confederation, the Asia volleyball federation. The first edition for both men and women was held in 1975.-Summary:...
: men's and women's tournaments both won by China
- European Volleyball Championship
The European Volleyball Championship is a sport competition for national teams, currently held biannually and organized by the CEV, the European volleyball federation. There are both men's and women's competitions....
held in France: men's and women's tournaments both won by USSR
- Volleyball at the 1979 Pan American Games
This page presents the results of the Men's and Women's Volleyball Tournament during the 1979 Pan American Games, which was held in the first two weeks of July, 1979 in Caguas, Puerto Rico....
in San Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan is the capital and largest municipality in Puerto Rico. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 433,733, making it the 42nd-largest city under the jurisdiction of the United States. San Juan was founded by Spanish colonists in 1521, who called it Ciudad de Puerto Rico...
: men's and women's tournaments both won by Cuba
Water poloWater polo is a team water sport. It is the oldest continuous Olympic team sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper with a maximum of six substitutes. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Gameplay involves swimming, players passing the ball...
- 1979 FINA Men's Water Polo World Cup
The 1979 FINA Men's Water Polo World Cup was the first edition of the event, organised by the world's governing body in aquatics, the International Swimming Federation . The event took place in Rijeka and in the Tašmajdan Swimming Pool in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.Participating teams were the eight best...
held in Yugoslavia and won by Hungary
- 1979 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup
The 1979 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup was the first edition of the event, organised by the world's governing body in aquatics, the International Swimming Federation . The event took place in Merced, United States, from June 29 to July 1, 1979...
held in Merced, CaliforniaMerced [mɚ'sɛd], is the county seat of Merced County, California in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California. As of 2007, the city had a total population of 80,608. Incorporated in 1889, Merced is a charter city that operates under a council-manager government...
and won by USA
Multi-sport eventA multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, and featuring competition in many different sports between organized teams of athletes from nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of international significance was the modern Olympic Games.Many...
s
- 8th Pan American Games
The 8th Pan American Games were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15, 1979. The capital of Puerto Rico played host to 3,700 athletes from 34 countries competing in 22 sports, making the VIII Pan American Games the largest to date. Security was a concern due to turmoil over the...
held in San Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan is the capital and largest municipality in Puerto Rico. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 433,733, making it the 42nd-largest city under the jurisdiction of the United States. San Juan was founded by Spanish colonists in 1521, who called it Ciudad de Puerto Rico...
- 8th Mediterranean Games
The 8th edition of the Mediterranean Games was held in Split, Yugoslavia from 15 to 29 September 1979. Fourteen nations competed in 26 different sports.The games' mascot was the Mediterranean Monk Seal Adrijana.-Medal table:...
held in SplitSplit is the largest Dalmatian city, the second-largest urban centre in Croatia, and the seat of Split-Dalmatia County...
, YugoslaviaYugoslavia is a term that describes three political entities that existed successively on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century.The first country to be known by this...
- Tenth Summer Universiade
The 1979 Summer Universiade, also known as the X Summer Universiade, took place in Mexico City, Mexico.-Medal table:-Events:*Tennis*Basketball...
held in Mexico City, Mexico
- September 7 - The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN
ESPN is an American cable television network dedicated to broadcasting and producing sports-related programming 24 hours a day....
) makes its debut.
Awards
- Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Willie Stargell
Wilver Dornell "Willie" Stargell , nicknamed "Pops" in the later years of his career, was a professional baseball player who played his entire Major League career with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an outfielder and first baseman.Over his 21-year career with the Pirates, he batted .282, with 2,232...
, Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
- Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Tracy Austin
Tracy Ann Austin Holt is a former World No. 1 women's professional tennis player from the United States who won the women's singles title at the US Open in 1979 and 1981 and the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 1980, before a series of injuries cut short her career.-To 1980:Austin won 21...
, TennisTennis is a sport played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court....
- ABC
The American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year: Willie Stargell, Major League Baseball