1981 in sports
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See also: 1980 in sports, other events of 1981, 1982 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 Rugby union
- 17 Skiing
- 18 Snooker
- 19 Tennis
- 20 General sporting events
- 21 Births
- 22 Deaths
Auto Racing
- Stock car racing:
- CART Racing - Rick Mears won the season championship
- Formula One Champion - Nelson Piquet of Brazil
- 24 hours of Le Mans:
- teammates Jacky Ickx / Derek Bell won, driving a Porsche 936
- Rally racing - Ari Vatanen in a Ford won the World Rally Championship
- the team of Jean Ragnotti / Jean-Marc Andrie won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Renault 5 Turbo
- Drag racing: Gary Beck won "Top Fuel" at the NHRA World Finals
Baseball
- January 15 - In his first year of eligibility, former Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson is the only player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Gibson won 20 games five times, struck out 3,117 batters, and captured the Cy Young Award and MVP in 1968 with a 1.12 ERA. Players falling short of the 301 votes needed for election include Don Drysdale (243), Gil Hodges (241), Harmon Killebrew (239), Hoyt Wilhelm (238), and Juan Marichal (233). All except Hodges would subsequently gain election.
- April 18 - An International League game between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the visiting Rochester Red Wings set the record for the most innings ever played in a single professional baseball game, at 33 innings (24 extra innings). The game was suspended after 32 innings on the morning of April 19, and was concluded on June 23 with a 3-2 Pawtucket victory.
- June 12 - Major League Baseball players begin a 49 day strike over the issue of free-agent compensation.
- World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers win 4 games to 2 over the New York Yankees. The Series MVP is a tie between Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager, Los Angeles
Basketball
- NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
- Indiana wins 63-50 over North Carolina
- NBA Finals:
- Boston Celtics won 4 games to 2 over the Houston Rockets
Boxing
- April 11: Larry Holmes defeats Trevor Berbick by a unanimous decision to retain the WBC heavyweight title.
- August 21: Salvador Sanchez defeats Wilfredo Gomez by knockout in round eight to retain boxing's WBC world Featherweight title.(see: Salvador Sanchez vs. Wilfredo Gomez)
- September 16: Sugar Ray Leonard defeats Thomas Hearns by knockout in round 14 to unify boxing's world Welterweight title.
- october 3: Mike Weaver defeats James (Quick) Tillis by a unanimous decisin to retain the WBA/World Boxing Association heavyweight title.
Cycling
- Giro d'Italia won by Giovanni Battaglin of Italy
- Tour de France - Bernard Hinault of France
- 1981 - Freddy Maertens, (Belgium)
Field Hockey
- January 9 - 16 - Third Men's Champions Trophy in Karachi first time won by the Netherlands, Australia finish second.
- March 21 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium,England.England beat Wales 2-1.
Figure Skating
- World Figure Skating Championships:
- Men's champion: Scott Hamilton, United States
- Women's champion: Denise Biellmann, Switzerland
- Pairs champions: Irina Worobjewa & Igor Lisowski, Soviet Union
Football (American)
- January 25 - Super Bowl XV: Oakland Raiders won 27-10 over the Philadelphia Eagles
Football (Australian Rules)
- Victorian Football League
- Richmond wins the 85th VFL Premiership (Richmond 12.20 (92) d Collingwood 10.12 (72))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Barry Round (South Melbourne) and Bernie Quinlan (Fitzroy)
- At the end of the season, South Melbourne relocates to Sydney and is renamed the Sydney Swans.
Football (Canadian)
- Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos won 26-23 over the Ottawa Rough Riders
- Vanier Cup: Acadia Axemen won 18-12 over the Alberta Golden Bears
Football (Soccer)
- UEFA Champions League: Liverpool 1-0 Real Madrid
- UEFA Cup: Two legs. 1st leg Ipswich Town F.C. 3-0 AZ '67 (Alkmaar); 2nd leg AZ '67 4-2 Ipswich Town. Ipswich Town won 7-2 on aggregate
- Cup Winners' Cup: Dynamo Tbilisi 2-1 Carl Zeiss Jena
- League champions
- Argentina: Boca Juniors
- Brazil: Grêmio
- France: Saint-Étienne
- England: Aston Villa
- Italy: Juventus
- Netherlands: Ajax
- Portugal: Benfica
- Scotland: Celtic
- Spain: Real Sociedad
- West Germany: Bayern Munich
- England - FA Cup: Tottenham Hotspur won 3-2 over Manchester City
Golf
- Major championship results:
- PGA Tour leading money winner for the year: Tom Kite - $375,699
- Champions Tour leading money winner: Miller Barber - $83,136
- Ryder Cup: United States won 18 1/2 to 9 1/2 over Europe in world team golf.
- US Women's Open - Pat Bradley
- LPGA Championship - Donna Caponi
- Beth Daniel:leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $206,977.
Thoroughbred Horse Racing
- August 30 - John Henry becomes the first horse to win a million dollar race, the Inaugural Arlington Million, at Arlington Park in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois.
- Australia - Melbourne Cup - Just a Dash
- Canada - Queen's Plate - Fiddle Dancer Boy
- France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Gold River
- Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Shergar
Harness Racing
Ice Hockey
- Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
- Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
- Stanley Cup - New York Islanders win 4 games to 1 over the Minnesota North Stars
- World Hockey Championship
- Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
- Junior Men's champion: Sweden defeated Finland
Rugby union
- The 1981 Springbok Tour caused major controversy and riots in New Zealand.
Skiing
- Alpine Skiing
- The men's overall season champion: Phil Mahre, USA
- The women's overall season champion: Marie-Therese Nadig, Switzerland
Snooker
- World Snooker Championship: Steve Davis beats Doug Mountjoy 18-12
- World rankings: Cliff Thorburn becomes world number one for 1981/82
Tennis
- Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
- Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
- Davis Cup: United States wins 3-1 over Argentina in world tennis.
General sporting events
- Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
- Rick Swenson won with lead dogs: Andy & Slick
Births
- January 2 - Maximiliano Rodriguez, Argentinian football player
- January 15 - El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese football player
- February 1 - Angie Skirving, Australian field hockey player
- February 18 - Andrei Kirilenko, Russian NBA player
- February 19 - Thomas Buffel, Belgian football player
- February 19 - Tina Pisnik, Slovenian tennis player
- February 24 - Lleyton Hewitt, Australian tennis player
- February 24 - Mauro Rosales, Argentinian football player
- March 10 - Samuel Eto'o, Cameroon football player
- March 12 - Katarina Srebotnik, Slovenian tennis player
- March 31 - Maarten van der Weijden, Dutch long distance swimmer
- April 5 - Pieter Weening, Dutch cyclist
- April 21 - Kim Lammers, Dutch field hockey player
- May 11 - Lauren Jackson, Australian basketball player
- May 19 - Klaas-Erik Zwering, Dutch swimmer
- May 26 - Anthony Ervin, American swimmer
- June 7 - Anna Kournikova, Russian tennis player
- June 9 - Bastiaan Tamminga, Dutch swimmer
- June 13 - Wieteke Cramer, Dutch speed skater
- June 14 - Hope Munro, Australian field hockey player
- July 2 - Zurab Zviadauri, Georgian judoka
- July 9 - Rutger Smith, Dutch athlete
- July 16 - Vicente Rodríguez, Spanish football player
- July 21 - Joaquín Sánchez, Spanish football player
- July 23 - Dmitriy Karpov, Kazakhstani athlete
- July 29 - Fernando Alonso, Spanish Formula 1-driver
- August 8 - Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player
- August 10 - Guillaume Elmont, Dutch judoka
- August 12 - Djibril Cissé, French football player
- August 15 - Brendan Hansen, American swimmer
- August 29 - Rob Reckers, Dutch field hockey player
- August 31 - Örn Arnarson, Icelandic swimmer
- September 6 - Brandon Simpson, Jamaican athlete
- September 18 - Helen Richardson, British field hockey player
- September 19 - Damiano Cunego, Italian cyclist
- September 23 - Robert Doornbos, Dutch Formula 1-driver
- September 26 - Serena Williams, US tennis player
- September 26 - Klaas Veering, Dutch field hockey player
- October 3 - Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Swedish football player
- October 15 - Elena Dementieva, Russian tennis player
- October 19 - Sarah Taylor, Australian field hockey player
- October 28 - Milan Baroš, Czech football player
- October 29 - Amanda Beard, American swimmer
- November 7 - Nicole Arrold, Australian field hockey player
- November 25 - Xabi Alonso, Spanish football player
- December 7 - Frédérique Ankoné, Dutch speed skater
- December 9 - Mardy Fish, American professional tennis player
- December 11 - Javier Saviola, Argentinian football player
- December 15 - Hossam Ghaly, Egyptian football player
- December 17 - Miek van Geenhuizen, Dutch field hockey player
- December 28 - Khalid Boulahrouz, Dutch football player
- December 28 - Mika Väyrynen, Finnish football player
Deaths
- Canonero II - champion thoroughbred race horse
- August 17 - 33-year-old Russian ice hockey superstar, Valery Kharlamov dies in an automobile accident.
