Recap of the year 1980 in sports.
Auto Racing[]
- Stock car racing:
- NASCAR Championship - Dale Earnhardt
- Buddy Baker won the Daytona 500
- CART Racing - Johnny Rutherford won the season championship
- Indianapolis 500 - Johnny Rutherford
- Formula One Champion - Alan Jones of Australia
- 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Jean Rondeau / Jean-Pierre Jaussaud won, driving a Rondeau M379B
- Rally racing - Walter Röhrl in a Fiat won the World Rally Championship
- the team of Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdorfer won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Fiat 131 Abarth
- Drag racing - Shirley Muldowney won the NHRA Top Fuel championship.
Baseball[]
- September 18: Outfielder Gary Ward become the sixth Minnesota Twins player to hit for the cycle. The Twins lose 9-8 to the Milwaukee Brewers, wasting Ward's effort. On May 26, 2004 his son, Daryle Ward, will repeat the feat guiding the Pirates' 11-8 victory over the Cardinals. Ward joined his father to become the first father-son combination in major league history to hit for the cycle.
- Rollie Fingers breaks Hoyt Wilhelm's major league record of 227 career saves.
- 1980 World Series: The Philadelphia Phillies of the National League end 97 years of frustration by defeating the American League champion Kansas City Royals.
- Japan's Sadaharu Oh retires from the Yomiuri Giants as the all time professional baseball home run king.
Basketball[]
- NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament:
- Louisville wins 59-54 over UCLA
- NBA Finals:
- Los Angeles Lakers won 4 games to 2 over the Philadelphia 76ers
Boxing[]
- March 14 - 22 members of the United States Olympic boxing team died in a plane crash near Warsaw, Poland
- June 20- Roberto Duran defeats Sugar Ray Leonard by a 15 round decision to win boxing's WBC world Welterweight title.
- August 2- Thomas Hearns defeats Jose Pipino Cuevas by a knockout in round 2 to win boxing's WBA world Welterweight title and Yasutsune Uehara knocks out Samuel Serrano in round six to win the WBA's world Jr. Lightweight title in Detroit
- In Cincinnati, Aaron Pryor defeats Antonio Kid Pambele Cervantes by a knockout in round four to win the WBA's world Jr. Welterweight title.
- October 2- Larry Holmes defeats Muhammad Ali by a knockout in round eleven to retain boxing's WBC world Heavyweight title, in what would be Ali's last world title bout.
- November 25- In The No Más Fight, in Montreal, Quebec, Sugar Ray Leonard recovers the WBC's world Welterweight championship with an eight round technical knockout of Roberto Duran.
Cycling[]
- Giro d'Italia won by Bernard Hinault of France
- Tour de France - Joop Zoetemelk of the Netherlands
- World Cycling Championship: Bernard Hinault of France
Field Hockey[]
- Men's Champions Trophy in Karachi, Pakistan
- Gold Medal: Pakistan
- Silver Medal: West Germany
- Bronze Medal: Australia
- Olympic Games (Men's Competition) in Moscow, Soviet Union
- Gold Medal: India
- Silver Medal: Spain
- Bronze Medal: Soviet Union
- March 8 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium,England. England beat Scotland 2-0.
- August - In the first ever Olympic women's Field Hockey Final, Zimbabwe are the Olympic champions.
Figure Skating[]
- World Figure Skating Championships:
- Men's champion: Jan Hoffmann, Germany
- Women's champion: Anett Pötzsch, Germany
- Pairs champions: Marina Tscherkasowa & Sergej Schachrai, Soviet Union
Football (American)[]
- Super Bowl XIV: Pittsburgh Steelers won 31-19 over the Los Angeles Rams
Football (Australian Rules)[]
- Victorian Football League
- Richmond wins the 84th VFL Premiership (Richmond 23.21 (159) d Collingwood 9.24 (78))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Kelvin Templeton (Footscray)
Football (Canadian)[]
- Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos win 48-10 over the Hamilton Tigercats
- Vanier Cup: Alberta Golden Bears win 40-21 over the Ottawa Gee Gees
Football (Soccer)[]
- European Championship: West Germany 2-1 Belgium
- European Cup: Nottingham Forest 1-0 Hamburg
- UEFA Cup: 2 legs, Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-2 Eintracht Frankfurt; Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 Borussia Mönchengladbach, 3-3 on aggregate, Frankfurt win on away goals
- Cup Winners' Cup: Valencia 0-0 Arsenal (AET), Valencia won 5-4 on penalties
- England - FA Cup: West Ham United won 1-0 over Arsenal
Gaelic Athletic Association[]
- Camogie
- All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Cork
- National Camogie League: Kilkenny
- Gaelic football
- All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Kerry 1-9 d. Roscommon 1-6
- National Football League: Cork 0-11 d. Kerry 0-10
- Ladies' Gaelic football
- All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Tipperary
- National Football League: Kerry
- Hurling
- All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Galway 2-15 d. Limerick 3-9
- National Hurling League:
Golf[]
Men's Golf
- January - the Senior PGA Tour (Champions Tour) is founded.
- Major championship results:
- May - The Masters - Seve Ballesteros
- June - US Open - Jack Nicklaus
- July - British Open - Tom Watson
- August - PGA Championship - Jack Nicklaus
- PGA Tour leading money winner for the year: Tom Watson - $530,808
- Champions Tour - In its first year, Don January is the leading money winner with earnings of $44,100.
Women's Golf
- US Women's Open - Amy Alcott
- LPGA Championship - Sally Little
- Beth Daniel: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $231,000.
Horse racing[]
Thoroughbred Horse Racing[]
- Australia - Melbourne Cup - Beldale Ball
- Canada - Queen's Plate - Driving Home
- France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Detroit
- Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Tyrnavos
- English Triple Crown Races:
- Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Known Fact
- Epsom Derby - Henbit
- St. Leger Stakes - Light Cavalry
- United States Triple Crown Races:
- Kentucky Derby - Genuine Risk
- Preakness Stakes - Codex
- Belmont Stakes - Temperence Hill
Harness Racing[]
- Superhorse, Niatross wins the United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
- Cane Pace - Niatross
- Little Brown Jug - Niatross
- Messenger Stakes - Niatross
- United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
- Hambletonian - Burgomeister
- Yonkers Trot
- Kentucky Futurity
- Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
- Pacers: Koala King
- Trotters: Hano Direct
Ice Hockey[]
See 1980 in ice hockey
Radiosport[]
- First Amateur Radio Direction Finding World Championships held in Cetniewo, Poland.
Skiing[]
- Alpine Skiing
- The men's overall season champion: Andreas Wenzel, Liechtenstein
- The women's overall season champion: Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein
January 12 - Canada’s Ken Read, the leader of the "Crazy Canucks" ski team, wins the Hahnenkamm downhill in Kitzbühel, Austria, becoming the first North American to ever win the classic race.
Snooker[]
- World Snooker Championship: Cliff Thorburn beats Alex Higgins 18-16, becoming the first non-UK player to win the title
- World rankings: Ray Reardon remains world number one for 1980/81
Tennis[]
- Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
- Australian Open - Brian Teacher
- French Open - Björn Borg
- Wimbledon championships - Björn Borg
- US Open - John McEnroe
- Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
- Australian Open - Hana Mandlikova
- French Open - Chris Evert
- Wimbledon championships - Evonne Goolagong Cawley
- US Open - Chris Evert
- Davis Cup World tennis - Czechoslovakia defeated Italy 4-1.
General sporting events[]
- 1980 Summer Olympics takes place in Moscow, USSR
- USSR wins the most medals (195), and the most gold medals (80).
- 1980 Winter Olympics takes place in Lake Placid, United States
- GDR wins the most medals (23), and the USSR wins the most gold medals (10).
- Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
- Joe May won with lead dogs: Wilbur & Cora Gray
Births[]
January[]
- January 3 — Angela Ruggiero, American ice hockey defenseman
- January 12 — Akiko Morigami, Japanese female tennis player
- January 14 — Taeke Taekema, Dutch field hockey player
- January 19 — Jenson Button, British Formula 1-driver
- January 19 — Matic Osovnikar, Slovenian track and field athlete
- January 25 — Xavi Hernández, Spanish football (soccer) player
- January 25 — Christian Olsson, Swedish athlete
- January 27 — Sherzod Husanov, Uzbek boxer
- January 27 — Marat Safin, Russian tennis player
- January 27 — Jiří Welsch, Czech basketball player
February[]
- February 2 — Kyle Pontifex, New Zealand field hockey goalkeeper
- February 3 — Craig Victory, Australian field hockey player
- February 9 — Angelos Charisteas, Greek football (soccer) player
- February 10 — Gordon D'Arcy, Irish rugby player
- February 11 — Karin Ruckstuhl, Dutch athlete
- February 12 — Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spanish tennis player
- February 16 — Miguel Espino, American professional boxer
- February 20 — Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby player
- February 20 — Bram Som, Dutch athlete
- February 24 — Roman Sloudnov, Russian swimmer
- February 26 — Alex Fong, Hong Kong swimmer and actor
- February 28 — Pascal Bosschaart, Dutch football (soccer) player
March[]
- March 1 — Shahid Afridi, Pakistani cricketer
- March 6 — Emma Igelström, Swedish swimmer
- March 9 — Sofia Konoukh, Russian water polo player
- March 12 — California Molefe, Botswanan athlete
- March 15 — Deidra Graham, American gymnast
- March 15 — Josefin Lillhage, Swedish swimmer
- March 18 — Alexei Yagudin, Russian figure skater
- March 21 — Ronaldinho, Brazilian football (soccer) player
- March 27 — Toni Cronk, Australian field hockey goalkeeper
- March 30 — Liriel Higa, American rhythmic gymnast
- March 31 — Jenny Smith, Australian gymnast
April[]
- April 1 — Maartje Scheepstra, Dutch field hockey player
- April 2 — Suriya Prasathinphimai, Thai boxer
- April 4 — Bekzat Sattarkhanov, Kazakhstani boxer
- April 4 — Mark Tuitert, Dutch speed skater
- April 6 — Tanja Poutiainen, Finnish alpine skier
- April 9 — Kristin Lee, American rhythmic gymnast
- April 10 — Andy Ram, Israeli tennis player
- April 12 — Terence Parkin, South African swimmer
- April 18 — Michael Lee, Canadian field hockey player
- April 22 — Monica Flammer, American gymnast
- April 25 — Phillip Burrows, New Zealand field hockey player
May[]
- May 6 — Brooke Bennett, American swimmer
- May 6 — Kasumi Takahashi, Australian rhythmic gymnast
- May 7 — Johan Kenkhuis, Dutch swimmer
- May 8 — Steven Ferguson, New Zealand swimmer and canoer
- May 9 — Grant Hackett, Australian swimmer
- May 9 — Angela Nikodinov, American figure skater
- May 10 — Kate Walsh, English field hockey player
- May 14 — Joe van Niekerk, South African rugby player
- May 14 — Eugene Martineau, Dutch athlete
- May 15 — Yvonne Hijgenaar, Dutch cyclist
- May 16 — Nuria Llagostera Vives, Spanish female tennis player
- May 18 — Michael Llodra, French tennis player
- May 18 — Sam Rukundo, Ugandan boxer
- May 23 — Sarah Catherwood, New Zealand swimmer
- May 27 — Jessica Deglau, Canadian swimmer
- May 31 — Edith Bosch, Dutch judoka
June[]
- June 1 — Aghasi Mammadov, Azerbaijani boxer
- June 2 — Shingo Suetsugu, Japanese track and field athlete
- June 7 — Ed Moses, American swimmer
- June 9 — Udonis Haslem, American basketball player
- June 16 — Thijs Al, Dutch mountainbiker
- June 17 — Brittney McConn, American figure skater
- June 17 — Andee Pickens, American gymnast
- June 17 — Venus Williams, American tennis player
- June 19 — Sanjay Ayre, Jamaican athlete
- June 23 — Manus Boonjumnong, Thai boxer
- June 23 — Ramnaresh Sarwan, Guyanese cricketer
- June 30 — Nourdin Boukhari, Moroccan-born footballe player
July[]
- July 1 — Matthijs Brouwer, Dutch field hockey player
- July 3 — Roland Mark Schoeman, South African swimmer
- July 6 — Pau Gasol, Catalan NBA player
- July 7 — Michelle Kwan, American figure skater
- July 8 — Robbie Keane, Irish football player
- July 10 — Adam Petty, fourth-generation NASCAR driver (d. 2000)
- July 16 — Travis Brooks, Australian field hockey player
- July 17 — Rashid Ramzi, Moroccan-born athlete
- July 19 — Xavier Malisse, Belgian tennisplayer
- July 21 — Tom Soetaers, Belgian football player
- July 22 — Dirk Kuijt, Dutch football player
- July 29 — Fernando González, Chilean tennis player
August[]
- August 1 — Grant Schubert, Australian field hockey player
- August 12 — Blair Hopping, New Zealand field hockey player
- August 13 — Justus Scharowsky, German field hockey player
- August 29 — Perdita Felicien, world champion track and field star
- August 29 — Corina Ungureanu, Romanian gymnast
- August 30 — Michael Boyce, Australian field hockey player
- August 31 — Hayden Shaw, New Zealand field hockey player
September[]
- September 1 — Ryan Archibald, New Zealand field hockey player
- September 1 — Dawn Holden, English cricketer
- September 6 — Samuel Peter, Nigerian heavyweight boxer
- September 8 — Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, South African middle distance runner
- September 10 — Timothy Goebel, American figure skater
- September 10 — Tahar Tamsamani, Moroccan boxer
- September 12 — Yao Ming, Chinese NBA player
- September 13 — Daisuke Matsuzaka, Japanese baseball player
- September 13 — Viren Rasquinha, Indian field hockey player
- September 14 — Luis Horna, Peruvian tennis player
- September 18 — Wendy Alcorn, Australian field hockey player
- September 19 — Dimitri Yachvili, French rugby union player
- September 20 — Vladimir Karpets, Russian cyclist
- September 30 — Martina Hingis, Swiss tennis player
- September 30 — Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz, Cuban boxer
October[]
- October 2 — Amy Tran, American field hockey goalkeeper
- October 3 — Sarah Collyer, English cricketer
- October 4 — Tomas Rosicky, Czech footballer
- October 7 — Andrei Kapralov, Russian swimmer
- October 8 — Kasper Bøgelund, Danish football (soccer) player
- October 10 — Megan Rivers, Australian field hockey player
- October 13 — Scott Parker, English football player
- October 15 — Tom Boonen, Belgian cyclist
- October 19 — Anna-Karin Kammerling, Swedish swimmer
- October 20 — Denise Durajski, Australian field hockey player
- October 21 — Mike Danton, Canadian ice hockey player, accused of murder
- October 26 — Christian Chivu, Romanian football (soccer) player
- October 28 — Alfonso Gomez, Mexican boxer
- October 31 — Geert-Jan Derikx, Dutch field hockey player
November[]
- November 21 — Danielle Hartsell, American pairs skater
- November 26 — Peter Manfredo, American boxer
December[]
- December 2 — Nathan Eglington, Australian field hockey player
- December 4 — Hicham Mesbahi, Moroccan boxer
- December 4 — Sergio Mora, American boxer
- December 18 — Marian Drăgulescu, Romanian gymnast
- December 28 — Lomana LuaLua, Congolese football (soccer) player
- December 29 — Andrea Lenders, Dutch gymnast
Deaths[]
- January 1 — Frank Wykoff (70), American track and field athlete sprinter
- January 12 — Hans Ebeling, Australian cricketer
- January 25 — Peter Haughton, harness racing driver - auto accident
- February 28 — Ian Peebles, English cricketer
- March 1 — Dixie Dean, English footballer
- March 18 — Herman Griffith, West Indian cricketer
- March 21 — Marcel Boussac, French horse racing tycoon
- March 31 — Jesse Owens, American athlete
- April 2 — Dick Howorth, English cricketer
- May 2 — Clarrie Grimmett, Australian cricketer
- June 1 — Richard Marquard (90), US baseball pitcher
- June 10 — Denys Morkel, South African cricketer
- July 18 — Naoomal Jeoomal, Indian cricketer
- August 2 — Verdun Scott, New Zealand cricketer
- August 6 — Charles Urbanus (66), Dutch baseball player
- August 21 — Jack Cheetham, South African cricketer
- September 8 — Bruce Dooland, English cricketer
- October 10 — Walter Keeton, English cricketer
- October 25 — Victor Galindez, light heavyweight world champion boxing, in car race accident
- December 4 — Stanisława Walasiewicz or Stella Walsh (69), Polish-American athlete (b. 1911)
- December 5 — Don Taylor, New Zealand cricketer
- December 28 — Amir Elahi, Pakistani cricketer
- December 31 — Arthur Wellard, English cricketer