1978 in sports
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See also: 1977 in sports, other events of 1978, 1979 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.
Contents
- 1 Auto racing
- 2 Baseball
- 3 Basketball
- 4 Boxing
- 5 Cycling
- 6 Field hockey
- 7 Figure skating
- 8 Football (American)
- 9 Football (Australian Rules)
- 10 Football (Canadian)
- 11 Football (Soccer)
- 12 Golf
- 13 Thoroughbred horse racing
- 14 Harness racing
- 15 Ice hockey
- 16 Skiing
- 17 Snooker
- 18 Speed skating
- 19 Tennis
- 20 General sporting events
- 21 Births
- 22 Deaths
Auto racing
- USAC - A J Foyt won final season championship under USAC.
- CART, Championship Auto Racing Teams open wheel racing established in the United States.
- Indianapolis 500 - won by Al Unser Snr
Baseball
- World Series: New York Yankees win 4 games to 2 over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Series MVP is Bucky Dent, New York
Basketball
- Wilt Chamberlain is elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, along with coaches Sam Barry, Eddie Hickey, John McLendon, Ray Meyer and Pete Newell, and referee Jim Enright
- NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
- Kentucky wins 94-88 over Duke
- NBA Finals:
- Washington Bullets won 4 games to 3 over the Seattle SuperSonics
- FIBA World Championship
- Yugoslavia World Champion
Boxing
- February 15: Leon Spinks defeats Muhammad Ali by decision in 15 rounds to win the world's Heavyweight title.
- September 15: Muhammad Ali recovers the world's Heavyweight title, beating Leon Spinks by decision in their rematch. It is the first time a boxer wins the world Heavyweight title for a third time.
Cycling
- Giro d'Italia won by Johan de Muynck of Belgium
- Tour de France - Bernard Hinault of France
- World Cycling Championship: Gerrie Knetemann of Netherlands
Field hockey
- March 11 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium,England. England drew with the United States of America 2-2.
- Women's Field Hockey World Cup - The Netherlands are the World Champions.
- November 17 - 24: Champions Trophy first held in Lahore, Pakistan won by Pakistan.
Figure skating
- World Figure Skating Championships:
- Men's champion: Charles Tickner, United States
- Women's champion: Anett Pötzsch, Germany
- Pairs champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexander Saizew, Soviet Union
Football (American)
- Super Bowl XII: Dallas Cowboys won 27-10 over the Denver Broncos
Football (Australian Rules)
- Victorian Football League
- Hawthorn wins the 82nd VFL Premiership (Hawthorn 18.13 (121) d North Melbourne 15.13 (103))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Malcolm Blight (North Melbourne)
Football (Canadian)
- Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos win 20-13 over the Montreal Alouettes
- Vanier Cup: Queen's Golden Gaels win 16-3 over the UBC Thunderbirds
Football (Soccer)
- Football World Cup: Argentina wins 3-1 over the Netherlands
- England - FA Cup: Ipswich Town won 1-0 over Arsenal
- England - League: Nottingham Forest won the championship as well as the League Cup
Golf
- Grand Slam of golf results:
- PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Tom Watson - $362,429
- US Women's Open - Hollis Stacy
- LPGA Championship - Nancy Lopez
- Nancy Lopez: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $189,213.
Thoroughbred horse racing
- Australia - Melbourne Cup - Arwon
- Canada - Queen's Plate - Regal Embrace
- France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Alleged
- Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Shirley Heights
- July 13: At Belmont Park, Elmont, New York, star jockey, Ron Turcotte is injured in a racing accident ending his career, leaving him a paraplegic.
- Affirmed, ridden by jockey Steve Cauthen, wins the United States Triple Crown Races by narrowly defeating Alydar in all three races:
Harness racing
- Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
- Pacers: Markovina
- Trotters: Derby Royale
Ice hockey
- Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens
- Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens
- Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 2 over the Boston Bruins
- World Hockey Championship
- Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia
- Junior Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
- Note: In the early years of the Junior tournament, Canada did not send a true National Junior team to the event. Instead, the Memorial Cup champions usually went to represent Canada. The exception was 1978 in Montreal, when an "all-star" team was put together.
Skiing
- Alpine Skiing
- The men's overall season champion: Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden
- The women's overall season champion: Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein
Snooker
- World Snooker Championship: Ray Reardon beats Perrie Mans 25-18
- World rankings: Ray Reardon remains world number one for 1978/79.
Speed skating
- First ISU Short Track Speed Skating Championships for men and ladies held in Solihull, UK
Tennis
- Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
- Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
- Davis Cup: United States won 4-1 over Great Britain in world tennis.
- US Open moves to hard courts of the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York.
- Total prize money at US Open exceeds US $500,000.
General sporting events
- First Ironman Triathlon held in Hawaii
- Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
- Dick Mackey won with lead dogs: Skipper & Shrew
Births
- January 4 - Dominik Hrbaty, Slovakian tennis player
- January 8 - Gennaro Gattuso, Italian football player
- January 12 - Bonaventura Kalou, Ivorian football player
- January 14 - Shawn Crawford, American athlete
- January 18 - Thor Hushovd, Norwegian cyclist
- January 18 - Bogdan Lobont, Romanian football player
- January 18 - Stev Theloke, German swimmer
- January 19 - Zbigniew Malkowski, Polish football player
- January 19 - Megan Sargeant, Australian field hockey player
- January 28 - Gianluigi Buffon, Italian football player
- January 28 - Takumo Sato, Japanese Formula 1-driver
- February 28 - Mariano Zabaleta, Argentinian tennis player
- March 8 - Johanna Sjöberg, Swedish swimmer
- March 14 - Pieter van den Hoogenband, Dutch swimmer
- March 18 - Brooke Hanson, Australian swimmer
- March 26 - Ron van der Hoff, Dutch archer
- April 2 - Chiel Warners, Dutch athlete
- April 3 - Tommy Haas, German tennis player
- April 5 - Franziska van Almsick, German swimmer
- April 7 - Vladimir Volchkov, Belorussian tennis player
- April 11 - Victor Sikora, Dutch football player
- April 13 - Carles Puyol, Spanish football player
- April 13 - Raemon Sluiter, Dutch tennis player
- April 20 - David Sanchez, Spanish tennis player
- April 29 - Bob en Mike Bryan, American twins and tennis players
- May 7 - Peter Wessels, Dutch tennis player
- May 15 - Sue Rolph, British swimmer
- May 29 - Sebastien Grosjean, French tennis player
- June 15 - Wilfred Bouma, Dutch football player
- June 19 - Dirk Nowitzki, German NBA player
- June 22 - José Meolans, Argentinian swimmer
- June 24 - Juan Román Riquelme, Argentinian football player
- June 26 - Mark Veens, Dutch swimmer
- July 1 - Vladimer Tchanturia, Georgian boxer
- July 4 - Fatima Moreiro de Melo, Dutch field hockey player
- July 4 - Peter Mankoc, Slovenian swimmer
- July 11 - Massimiliano Rosolino, Italian swimmer
- July 12 - Florien Cornelis, Dutch field hockey player
- July 15 - Kim Baker, Canadian field hockey player
- August 5 - Kim Gevaert, Belgian athlete
- August 9 - Wesley Sonck, Belgian football player
- August 12 - Jesse Mahieu, Dutch field hockey player
- August 23 - Kobe Bryant, NBA player
- September 3 - Sam Oud, Dutch canoer
- September 6 - Amy Agulay, Canadian field hockey player
- September 15 - Kew Jaliens, Dutch football player
- September 24 - Wietse van Alten, Dutch archer
- September 26 - Gert-Jan Liefers, Dutch athlete
- September 26 - Judith Meulendijks, Dutch badminton player
- September 29 - Karel Klaver, Dutch field hockey player
- October 8 - Ewout Holst, Dutch swimmer
- October 9 - Jacob Carstensen, Danish swimmer
- October 14 - Paul Hunter, British snooker player
- October 16 - Andria Shannon, Canadian field hockey player
- October 20 - Virender Sehwag, Indian cricketer
- October 31 - Martin Verkerk, Nederlands tennisser
- November 2 - Christian Gyan, Ghanaian football player
- November 2 - Alexander Östlund, Swedish football player
- November 7 - Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Dutch football player
- November 8 - Tim de Cler, Dutch football player
- November 12 - Eric Addo, Ghanaian football player
- November 22 - Francis Obikwelu, Nigerian-born athlete
- November 27 - Radek Stepanek, Czech tennis player
- December 2 - Sven Coster, Dutch sailor
- December 2 - Louisa Walter, German field hockey goalkeeper
- December 9 - Gaston Gaudio, Argentinian tennis player
- December 15 - Christophe Rochus, Belgian tennis player
- December 16 - Rachel Imison, Australian field hockey goalkeeper
- December 21 - Emiliano Brembilla, Italian swimmer
- December 21 - Jackie Stiles, WNBA player
- December 22 - Kristal Timmer, Canadian field hockey player
- December 27 - Antje Buschschulte, German swimmer
- December 29 - Kieron Dyer, English football player
- December 29 - Brian Pinas, Dutch football player
Deaths
- January 13 - Joe McCarthy, baseball manager
- January 21 - Dit Clapper, NHL star, Boston Bruins
- September 3 - Alexander Belov, 26, USSR Olympic basketball player
- September 15 - Ricardo Zamora, 77, Spanish football player
- September 23 - Lyman Bostock, Major League Baseball player
