1976 in sports

1976 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

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

• 1976 Cotton Bowl Classic (January 1) - Arkansas beats Georgia 31-10.
• 1976 Orange Bowl (January 1) - Oklahoma beats Michigan 14-6.
• 1976 Rose Bowl (January 1) - UCLA beats Ohio St. 23-10.
• Super Bowl X (January 18) – Pittsburgh Steelers won 21-17 over the Dallas Cowboys
• Pittsburgh Panthers are voted NCAA Football National Champions.
• Lee Roy Selmon is selected as the first overall pick in the NFL Draft. (April 8)
• Seattle Seahawks founded.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers founded.
• Tony Dorsett is awarded the Heisman Trophy (November 30).
• 1976 Independence Bowl (December 13) - McNeese St. beats Tulsa 20-16.
• 1976 Tangerine Bowl (December 18) - Oklahoma St. beats BYU 49-21.
• 1976 Liberty Bowl (December 20) - Alabama beats UCLA 36-6.
• 1976 Fiesta Bowl (December 25) - Oklahoma beats Wyoming 41-7.
• 1976 Gator Bowl (December 27) - Notre Dame beats Penn St. 20-9.
• 1976 Bluebonnet Bowl (December 31) - Nebraska beats Texas Tech 27-24.
• 1976 Peach Bowl (December 31) - Kentucky beats North Carolina 21-0.

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 –
  1. Cane Pace - Keystone Ore
  2. Little Brown Jug - Keystone Ore
  3. Messenger Stakes - Windshield Wiper
• United States Trotting Triple Crown races –
  1. Hambletonian - Steve Lobell
  2. Yonkers Trot - Steve Lobell
  3. 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:
  1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Wollow
  2. Epsom Derby – Empery
  3. St. Leger Stakes – Crow
• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby – Bold Forbes
  2. Preakness Stakes – Elocutionist
  3. Belmont Stakes – Bold Forbes

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:
  1. Australian Open - Mark Edmondson
  2. French Open - Adriano Panatta
  3. Wimbledon championships - Björn Borg
  4. US Open - Jimmy Connors
• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Evonne Goolagong Cawley
  2. French Open - Sue Barker
  3. Wimbledon championships - Chris Evert
  4. US Open - Chris Evert
• 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 Comăneci, Gymnastics
• ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year: Nadia Comăneci, Gymnastics

References