1976 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
| Centuries: | 19th century · 20th century · 21st century |
| Decades: | 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s |
| Years: | 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 |
Alpine skiing
- Alpine Skiing World Cup
- Men's overall season champion: Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden
- Women's overall season champion: Rosi Mittermaier, West Germany
American football
- Super Bowl X (January 18) – Pittsburgh Steelers won 21-17 over the Dallas Cowboys
- Pittsburgh Panthers are voted NCAA Football National Champions.
- Seattle Seahawks founded.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers founded.
Association football
- England - FA Cup – Southampton won 1-0 over Manchester United
- Italy – Torino win Serie A for the first time since the Superga air disaster wiped out the team 27 years before.
- 1976 European Championship – Czechoslovakia beat West Germany 5-3 on penalties to win, after the game had ended 2-2 after extra time.
Athletics
- July – Athletics at the 1976 Summer Olympics held at Montreal
Australian rules football
- Victorian Football League
- Hawthorn wins the 80th VFL Premiership (Hawthorn 13.22 (100) d North Melbourne 10.10 (70))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Graham Moss (Essendon)
Baseball
- April 17 – Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies hits four consecutive home runs in a game against the Chicago Cubs.
- April 25 – Chicago Cubs outfielder Rick Monday rescues an American flag just as two protesters are about to burn it in the outfield during a game at Dodger Stadium.
- Sparky Lyle of the New York Yankees breaks Hoyt Wilhelm's American League record of 154 career saves.
- World Series – The Cincinnati Reds (aka the "Big Red Machine") sweep the New York Yankees, 4 games to 0, to win their second straight championship.
Basketball
- NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship –
- Indiana wins 86-68 over Michigan
- NBA Finals –
- Boston Celtics win 4 games to 2 over the Phoenix Suns
- 1976 ABA Playoffs –
- New York Nets defeat Denver Nuggets 4 games to 2
- American Basketball Association merges with the National Basketball Association; Virginia Squires fold and Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis are bought out
Boxing
- May 22 – death of Oscar Bonavena (34), Argentinian heavyweight, who was shot in Reno, Nevada
- September 28 in Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York Muhammad Ali won a controversial 15-round decision over Ken Norton to keep his World Heavyweight title.
- October 8 in São Paulo, Brazil, former world featherweight champion Eder Jofre fought his last fight, outpointing Mexico's Octavio (Famoso) Gomez in ten rounds.
Canadian football
- Grey Cup – Ottawa Rough Riders won 23-20 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders
- Vanier Cup – Western Ontario Mustangs won 29-13 over the Acadia Axmen
Cycling
- Giro d'Italia won by Felice Gimondi of Italy
- Tour de France - Lucien Van Impe of Belgium
- World Cycling Championship – Freddy Maertens of Belgium
Dogsled racing
- Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion –
- Gerald Riley won with lead dogs: Puppy & Sugar
Field hockey
- Olympic Games (Men's Competition) in Montreal won by New Zealand
- Women's World Cup in Berlin won by West Germany
Figure skating
- World Figure Skating Championships –
- Men's champion: John Curry, Britain
- Ladies' champion: Dorothy Hamill, United States
- Pair skating champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexander Zaitsev, Soviet Union
- Ice dancing champions: Lyudmila Pakhomova & Alexandr Gorshkov, Soviet Union
Golf
Men's professional
- Masters Tournament - Raymond Floyd
- U.S. Open - Jerry Pate
- British Open - Johnny Miller
- PGA Championship - Dave Stockton
- PGA Tour money leader - Jack Nicklaus - $266,439
Men's amateur
- British Amateur - Dick Siderowf
- U.S. Amateur - Bill Sander
Women's professional
- LPGA Championship - Betty Burfeindt
- U.S. Women's Open - JoAnne Carner
- LPGA Tour money leader - Judy Rankin - $150,734, she is the first to ever earn more than $100,000 in a season.
Harness racing
- United States Pacing Triple Crown races –
- Cane Pace - Keystone Ore
- Little Brown Jug - Keystone Ore
- Messenger Stakes - Windshield Wiper
- United States Trotting Triple Crown races –
- Hambletonian - Steve Lobell
- Yonkers Trot - Steve Lobell
- Kentucky Futurity - Quick Pay
- Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
- Pacers: Carclew
- Trotters: Bay Johnny
Horse racing
Steeplechases
- Cheltenham Gold Cup – Royal Frolic
- Grand National – Rag Trade
Flat races
- Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Van der Hum
- Canada – Queen's Plate won by Norcliffe
- France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Ivanjica
- Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Malacate
- English Triple Crown Races:
- 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Wollow
- Epsom Derby – Empery
- St. Leger Stakes – Crow
- United States Triple Crown Races:
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: Bobby Clarke - Philadelphia Flyers
- Stanley Cup – Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 0 over the Philadelphia Flyers
- World Hockey Championship –
- Men's champion: Czechoslovakia defeated the Soviet Union
- NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship – University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Golden Gophers defeat Michigan Technological University Huskies 6-4 in Denver, CO
Motor racing
- Stock car racing –
- February 15: David Pearson won the Daytona 500 in a memorable last-lap duel with Richard Petty
- NASCAR Winston Cup Championship – Cale Yarborough
- Indianapolis 500 – Johnny Rutherford in a rain-shortened 255-mile event.
- USAC Racing – Gordon Johncock won the season championship
- Formula One Championship –
- James Hunt of Britain won the World Driving Championship
- Niki Lauda's famous accident occurred during the German Grand Prix at Nürburgring.
- 24 hours of Le Mans – the team of Jacky Ickx / Gijs van Lennep won, driving a Porsche 936
- Rally racing – the team of Sandro Munari / Mario Manucci won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Lancia Stratos HF
- Drag racing – Shirley Muldowney won "Top Fuel" at the NHRA World Finals
- Touring car racing – Bob Morris and John Fitzpatrick won the Bathurst 1000, driving a Holden Torana
Rugby league
- 29 June – the World Club Challenge concept is trialled as English champions St Helens travel to Sydney to play Australian champions Eastern Suburbs. Easts defeat St Helens 25–2 in the one-off match.
- 18 August – the 1976 Amco Cup tournament culminates in Balmain's 21–7 win over North Sydney in the final
- 18 September – the 1976 NSWRFL season culminates in Manly-Warringah's 13–10 win over Parramatta in the Grand Final
Rugby union
- 82nd Five Nations Championship series is won by Wales who complete the Grand Slam
Snooker
- World Snooker Championship – Ray Reardon beats Alex Higgins 27-16
- World rankings are introduced. Ray Reardon becomes the first world number one, for 1976/77.
Swimming
- July 18 to July 25 – XXI Olympic Games, held in Montreal
- August 14 – USA's Jonty Skinner sets the first official world record in the 50m freestyle in Philadelphia, clocking 23.86
Tennis
- Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
- Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
- Davis Cup – Italy wins 4-1 over Chile in world tennis.
Water polo
- Water polo at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montréal won by Hungary
General sporting events
- 1976 Summer Olympics takes place in Montreal, Canada
- USSR wins the most medals (125), and the most gold medals (49).
- 1976 Winter Olympics takes place in Innsbruck, Austria
- USSR wins the most medals (27), and the most gold medals (13).
- Fifth Pan Arab Games held in Damascus, Syria
Awards
- Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Bruce Jenner, Track and field
- Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Nadia Comaneci, Gymnastics
- ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year: Nadia Comaneci, Gymnastics
References
|
||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
