1996
Recap of the year 1996 in sports.
[edit] Auto Racing
- Stock car racing:
- Dale Jarrett won the Daytona 500
- NASCAR Championship - Terry Labonte
- Rusty Wallace wins the Suzuka NASCAR Thunder 100 at Suzuka City November 24, the first NASCAR event held in Japan.
- Indy Racing League - Scott Sharp and Buzz Calkins tie for the inaugural IRL championship
- CART - Jimmy Vasser won the season championship
- Formula One Championship - Damon Hill of Great Britain
- 24 hours of Le Mans: won by the team of Manuel Reuter / Davy Jones / Alexander Wurz driving a TWR-Porsche
- Rally racing - Tommi Mäkinen/Risto Mannisenmaki won the World Rally Championship
- the team of Patrick Bernardini / Bernard Occelli won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Ford Escort RS Cosworth
- Drag racing - Kenny Bernstein won the NHRA "Top Fuel" championship.
[edit] Baseball
- January 8 - For the first time in 25 years, no one garners 75 percent of the votes needed to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Phil Niekro comes closest with 68 percent.
- 1996 World Series: New York Yankees won 4 games to 2 over the Atlanta Braves. The Series MVP was relief pitcher, John Wetteland, New York
[edit] Basketball
- April 1 - 1996 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament:
- Kentucky wins 76-67 over Syracuse
- NBA Finals:
- Chicago Bulls win 4 games to 2 over the Seattle SuperSonics, after a record-breaking 72-10 regular season.
[edit] Boxing
- March 16 - Christy Martin defeats Deirdre Gogarty by a decision in six rounds to retain her Women's boxing world title in front of a national tv audience. This fight is credited with making the general public aware of women's boxing.
- June 7 - Oscar De La Hoya defeats Julio Cesar Chavez by a knockout in four rounds to win the WBC's world Jr. Welterweight championship.
[edit] Cricket
- Cricket World Cup - Final: Sri Lanka beat Australia by 7 wickets
[edit] Cycling
- Giro d'Italia won by Pavel Tonkov of Russia
- Tour de France - Bjarne Riis of Denmark
- World Cycling Championship: Johan Museeuw of Belgium
[edit] Dogsled racing
- Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
- Jeff King wins with lead dogs: Jake & Booster
[edit] Field Hockey
- Men's Olympic Qualifier Tournament in Barcelona, Spain
- Gold Medal: The Netherlands
- Silver Medal: India
- Bronze Medal: Great Britain
- Olympic Games (Men's Competition) in Atlanta, United States
- Gold Medal: The Netherlands
- Silver Medal: Spain
- Bronze Medal: Australia
- Men's Champions Trophy in Madras, India
- Gold Medal: The Netherlands
- Silver Medal: Pakistan
- Bronze Medal: Germany
- Olympic Games (Women's Competition) in Atlanta, United States
- Gold Medal: Australia
- Silver Medal: South Korea
- Bronze Medal: The Netherlands
[edit] Figure Skating
- World Figure Skating Championships:
- Men's champion: Todd Eldredge, United States
- Women's champion: Michelle Kwan, United States
- Pairs champions: Marina Eltsova & Sergei Bushkov, Russia
[edit] Football (Soccer)
For fuller coverage, see: 1996 in football (soccer)
[edit] Football (American)
- Super Bowl XXX: Dallas Cowboys won 27-17 over the Pittsburgh Steelers
- 1995NCAA Division I-A national football championship: the Nebraska Cornhuskers manhandle the University of Florida Gators, winning 64-24, along with their second back-to-back National Championship seasons on January 2nd, 1996.
- World Bowl 96: The Scottish Claymores won 32-27 over the Frankfurt Galaxy.
[edit] Football (Australian Rules)
- Australian Football League
- North Melbourne wins the 100th AFL premiership (North Melbourne 19.17 (131) d Sydney Swans 13.10 (88))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to James Hird (Essendon) and Michael Voss (Brisbane Bears)
- At the end of the season Fitzroy and the Brisbane Bears merge, forming the Brisbane Lions.
[edit] Football (Canadian)
- Grey Cup: Toronto Argonauts win 43-37 over the Edmonton Eskimos
- Vanier Cup: Saskatchewan Huskies win 31-12 over the St. Francis Xavier X-Men
[edit] Gaelic Athletic Association
- Gaelic football
- All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Kerry 2-9 d. Mayo 1-11
- National Football League: Derry 1-16 d. Donegal 1-9
[edit] Golf
- Major championship results:
- May - The Masters - Nick Faldo
- June - US Open - Steve Jones
- July - British Open - Tom Lehman
- August - PGA Championship - Mark Brooks
- PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Tom Lehman - $1,780,159
- PGA Champions Tour leading money winner: Jim Colbert - $1,627,890
- Tiger Woods became the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles. This was the sixth consecutive year in which he won a USGA championship, one short of Bobby Jones' record of seven. In September, he turned professional. In the last five regular tournaments of the year on the PGA TOUR, his finishes were 5-3-1-3-1, placing him among the tour's top 30 money-winners for the year and thereby qualifying him for the season-ending TOUR Championship. Woods was named the PGA TOUR's Rookie of the Year.
- US Women's Open - Annika Sörenstam
- LPGA Championship - Laura Davies
- Karrie Webb is the leading money winner on the LPGA tour with earnings of $1,002,000 becoming the first ever woman to earn more than a million dollars in one golf season.
[edit] Thoroughbred Horse Racing
- Australia - Melbourne Cup - Saintly
- Canada - Queen's Plate - Victor Cooley
- France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Helissio
- Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Zagreb
[edit] Harness Racing
June 22 - the fastest race mile in harness racing history was set by Jenna's Beach Boy (1:47.3) at Meadowlands Racetrack.
- Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
- Pacers: Young Mister Charles
- Trotters: Pride Of Petite
[edit] Ice Hockey
- Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Hart Memorial Trophy: for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Stanley Cup - the Colorado Avalanche defeat the Florida Panthers 4 games to 0.
- World Hockey Championship
- Men's champion: Czech Republic defeated Canada
[edit] Radiosport
- The second World Radiosport Team Championship held in San Francisco, California, USA. Gold medals go to Jeff Steinman KRØY and Dan Street K1TO of the United States.
[edit] Skiing
- Alpine Skiing
- The men's overall season champion: Lasse Kjus, Norway
- The women's overall season champion: Katja Seizinger, Germany
[edit] Snooker
- World Snooker Championship: Stephen Hendry beats Peter Ebdon 18-12
- World rankings: Stephen Hendry remains world number one for 1996/97
[edit] Swimming
- First European SC Championships, held in Riesa, Germany (December 13 – December 15)
[edit] Tennis
- Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
- Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
[edit] Wrestling
- WCW Bash at the Beach – Hulk Hogan turns heel as the nWo was born on July 7th, 1996. The match featured Kevin Nash, Scott Hall & Hogan against Sting, Lex Luger, and Randy Savage.
[edit] General sporting events
- 1996 Summer Olympics takes place in Atlanta, United States
- United States wins the most medals (101), and the most gold medals (44).
- Winter Asian Games held in Harbin, China
- The Big 12 Conference is inaugurated with a football game between Kansas State University and Texas Tech University, in Manhattan, Kansas on August 31, 1996.
[edit] Births
[edit] Deaths
- May 11 — Ademir Marques de Menezes (73), Brazilian football (soccer) player (b. 1922)
- May 11 — Rodney Culver (26), San Diego Chargers running back, died in a plane crash
- August 2 — Obdulio Varela, Uruguayan football (soccer) player
- October 12 — René Lacoste, French champion tennis player
