1978 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: | 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 |
Alpine skiing
- Alpine Skiing World Cup
- Men's overall season champion: Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden
- Women's overall season champion: Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein
American football
- Super Bowl XII – Dallas Cowboys win 27-10 over the Denver Broncos
- The Holy Roller Game – Oakland Raiders vs San Diego Chargers
Artistic gymnastics
- World Artistic Gymnastics Championships –
- Men's all-around champion: Nikolai Andrianov, USSR
- Women's all-around champion: Elena Mukhina, USSR
- Men's team competition champion: Japan
- Women's team competition champion: USSR
Association football
- Football World Cup – Argentina wins 3-1 (after extra time) over the Netherlands
- England - FA Cup – Ipswich Town win 1-0 over Arsenal
- England - League – Nottingham Forest win the championship as well as the League Cup
- Kirin Cup tournament is first held in Japan (international club competition phase).
- Major Indoor Soccer League begins operations in the United States.
Athletics
- August – 1978 Commonwealth Games held at Edmonton, Canada
- September – 1978 European Championships in Athletics held at Prague
- December – 1978 Asian Games held at Bangkok, Thailand
Australian rules football
- 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)
Baseball
- September 23 – death of Lyman Bostock (27), California Angels player, who was murdered in error by a jealous husband
- 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 –
- NBA Finals –
- Washington Bullets win 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 heavyweight title.
- Second World Amateur Boxing Championships held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia
- 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.
Canadian football
- Grey Cup – Edmonton Eskimos win 20-13 over the Montreal Alouettes
- Vanier Cup – Queen's Golden Gaels win 16-3 over the UBC Thunderbirds
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
Dogsled racing
- Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion –
- Dick Mackey wins with lead dogs: Skipper & Shrew
Field hockey
- Men's World Cup held in Buenos Aires and won by Pakistan
- Men's European Nations Cup held in Hannover and won by West Germany
- Men's Champions Trophy held in Lahore and won by Pakistan
- Women's World Cup held in Madrid and won by the Netherlands
Figure skating
- World Figure Skating Championships –
- Men's champion: Charles Tickner, United States
- Ladies' champion: Anett Pötzsch, Germany
- Pair skating champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexander Zaitsev, Soviet Union
- Ice dancing champions: Natalia Linichuk & Gennadi Karponossov, Soviet Union
Golf
Men's professional
- Masters Tournament - Gary Player
- U.S. Open - Andy North
- British Open - Jack Nicklaus
- PGA Championship - John Mahaffey
- PGA Tour money leader - Tom Watson - $362,429
Men's amateur
Women's professional
- LPGA Championship - Nancy Lopez
- U.S. Women's Open - Hollis Stacy
- LPGA Tour money leader - Nancy Lopez - $189,814
Harness racing
- United States Pacing Triple Crown races –
- Cane Pace - Armbro Tiger
- Little Brown Jug - Happy Escort
- Messenger Stakes - Abercrombie
- United States Trotting Triple Crown races –
- Hambletonian - Speedy Somolli
- Yonkers Trot - Speedy Somolli
- Kentucky Futurity - Doublemint
- Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
- Pacers: Markovina
- Trotters: Derby Royale
Horse racing
Steeplechases
- Cheltenham Gold Cup – Midnight Court
- Grand National – Lucius
Flat races
- Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Arwon
- Canada – Queen's Plate won by Regal Embrace
- France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Alleged
- Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Shirley Heights
- English Triple Crown Races:
- 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Roland Gardens
- Epsom Derby – Shirley Heights
- St. Leger Stakes – Julio Mariner
- 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: 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.
Motor racing
- USAC - A J Foyt wins 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
- Touring car racing – Peter Brock and Jim Richards win the Bathurst 1000, driving a Holden Torana
Rowing
- March – The Cambridge boat sinks during the annual English University Boat Race, the first sinking in the race since 1951.
Rugby union
- 84th Five Nations Championship series is won by Wales who complete the Grand Slam
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
Swimming
- The third FINA World Championships held in West-Berlin, West Germany
- July 29 – USA's Ron Manganiello sets a world record in the 50m freestyle at a swimming meet in Miami, Florida (United States), shaving off 0.02 of the previous record (23.74) set by Joe Bottom a year ago: 23.72.
Tennis
- Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
- Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
- Davis Cup – United States win 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.
Triathlon
- First Ironman Triathlon held in Hawaii
Volleyball
- 1978 FIVB Men's World Championship held in Rome and won by USSR
Water Polo
- 1978 World Aquatics Championships held in West Berlin and won by Italy
General sporting events
- Third All-Africa Games held in Algiers, Algeria
- Eighth Asian Games held in Bangkok, Thailand
- Central American and Caribbean Games held in Medellin, Colombia
- British Commonwealth Games held in Edmonton, Canada
- Ninth Winter Universiade held in Špindleruv Mlýn, Czechoslovakia
Awards
- Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Ron Guidry, Major League Baseball
- Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Nancy Lopez, LPGA golf
References
|
||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
