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Recap of the year 1989 in sports

Auto Racing[]

  • Stock car racing:
    • Darrell Waltrip won the Daytona 500
    • NASCAR Championship - Rusty Wallace
  • CART Racing - season championship won by Emerson Fittipaldi
    • Indianapolis 500 - Emerson Fittipaldi
  • Formula One Championship - Alain Prost of France
  • 24 hours of Le Mans:
    • won by the team of Jochen Mass / Manuel Reuter / Stanley Dickens driving a Sauber-Mercedes
  • Rally racing - Miki Biasion in a Lancia won the World Rally Championship
    • the team of Miki Biasion / Tiziano Siviero won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Lancia Delta HF Integrale
  • Drag racing - Gary Ormsby won the NHRA "Top Fuel" championship.

Baseball[]

  • April 8 - One-handed pitcher Jim Abbott makes his major-league debut with the California Angels, without spending a single day in the minor leagues. He went on to a 12-12 record for the season.
  • August 10 - Ten months after undergoing surgery for cancer in his pitching arm, San Francisco Giants pitcher Dave Dravecky returns to the major leagues, winning his comeback 4-3.
  • August 15 - Dave Dravecky's comeback bid ends tragically when his pitching arm breaks in the sixth inning of his second start. Two years later, the cancer-stricken arm would be amputated.
  • August 24 - Following an investigation that he gambled on baseball, superstar player Pete Rose is banned from baseball for life.

See also 1989 in baseball

Basketball[]

Boxing[]

  • February 11 - In Grenoble, France, Rene Jacquot won a 12 round decision over Donald Curry to win the World Welterweight Championship

Cycling[]

  • Giro d'Italia won by Laurent Fignon of France
  • Tour de France - Greg LeMond of the United States
  • World Cycling Championship: Greg LeMond of the United States

Dogsled racing[]

  • Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
    • Joe Runyan won with lead dogs: Rambo & Ferlin the Husky

Field Hockey[]

  • Men's World Cup Qualifier Tournament in Madison, United States
    • Gold Medal: The Netherlands
    • Silver Medal: Canada
    • Bronze Medal: India
  • Men's Champions Trophy in Berlin, West Germany
    • Gold Medal: Australia
    • Silver Medal: West Germany
    • Bronze Medal: The Netherlands
  • Women's World Cup Qualifier Tournament in New Delhi, India
    • Gold Medal: South Korea
    • Silver Medal: China
    • Bronze Medal: Spain
  • Women's Champions Trophy in Frankfurt, West Germany
    • Gold Medal: South Korea
    • Silver Medal: Australia
    • Bronze Medal: West Germany

Figure Skating[]

  • World Figure Skating Championships:
    • Men's champion: Kurt Browning, Canada
    • Women's champion: Midori Ito, Japan
    • Pairs champions: Ekaterina Gordeeva & Sergei Grinkov, Soviet Union

Football (American)[]

Football (Australian Rules)[]

  • Victorian Football League
    • Hawthorn wins the 93rd VFL Premiership (Hawthorn 21.18 (144) d Geelong 21.12 (138))
    • Brownlow Medal awarded to Paul Couch (Geelong)

Football (Canadian)[]

  • Grey Cup: Saskatchewan Roughriders won 43-40 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
  • Vanier Cup: Western Ontario Mustangs won 35-10 over the Saskatchewan Huskies

Football (Soccer)[]

For fuller coverage, see: 1989 in football (soccer)

Gaelic Athletic Association[]

  • Camogie
    • All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Kilkenny
    • National Camogie League: Kilkenny
  • Gaelic football
    • All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Cork 0-17 d. Mayo 1-11
    • National Football League: Cork 0-15 d. Dublin 0-12
  • Ladies' Gaelic football
    • All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Kerry
    • National Football League: Kerry
  • Hurling
    • All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Tipperary 4-24 d. Antrim 3-9
    • National Hurling League:

Golf[]

Men's Golf

  • Major championship results:
    1. April - The Masters - Nick Faldo
    2. June - US Open - Curtis Strange
    3. July - British Open - Mark Calcavecchia
    4. August - PGA Championship - Payne Stewart
  • PGA Tour leading money winner for the year: Tom Kite - $1,395,278
  • Champions Tour leading money winner: Bob Charles - $725,887
  • Ryder Cup: Europe and the United States teams tied 14-14 in world golf.

Women's Golf

  • US Women's Open - Betsy King
  • LPGA Championship - Nancy Lopez
  • Betsy King: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $654,132.

Thoroughbred Horse Racing[]

  • Australia - Melbourne Cup - Tawriffic
  • Canada - Queen's Plate - With Approval
  • France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Carroll House
  • Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Old Vic
  • English Triple Crown Races:
    1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Nashwan
    2. Epsom Derby - Nashwan
    3. St. Leger Stakes - Michelozzo
  • United States Triple Crown Races:
    1. Kentucky Derby - Sunday Silence
    2. Preakness Stakes - Sunday Silence
    3. Belmont Stakes - Easy Goer
  • Breeders' Cup:
    1. Breeders' Cup Classic - Sunday Silence
    2. Breeders' Cup Distaff - Bayakoa
    3. Breeders' Cup Juvenile - Rhythm
    4. Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies - Go for Wand
    5. Breeders' Cup Mile - Steinlen
    6. Breeders' Cup Sprint - Dancing Spree
    7. Breeders' Cup Turf - Prized

Harness Racing[]

  • North America Cup - Quite A Sensation
  • United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
    1. Cane Pace - Dancing Master
    2. Little Brown Jug - Goalie Jeff
    3. Messenger Stakes - Sandman Hanover
  • United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
    1. Hambletonian - Park Ave Joe & Probe (dead heat)
    2. Yonkers Trot - Valley Victory
    3. Kentucky Futurity - Peace Corps
  • Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
    • Pacers: Jodie's Babe
    • Trotters: Yankee Loch

Ice Hockey[]

  • World Hockey Championship
    • Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Canada
    • Junior Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden

Radiosport[]

  • Second European High Speed Telegraphy Championship held in Hannover, Germany.

Skiing[]

  • Alpine Skiing
    • The men's overall season champion: Marc Girardelli, Luxembourg
    • The women's overall season champion: Vreni Schneider, Switzerland

Snooker[]

Tennis[]

  • Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
    1. Australian Open - Ivan Lendl
    2. French Open - Michael Chang
    3. Wimbledon championships - Boris Becker
    4. US Open - Boris Becker
  • Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
    1. Australian Open - Steffi Graf
    2. French Open - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
    3. Wimbledon championships - Steffi Graf
    4. US Open - Steffi Graf
  • Davis Cup: Germany F.R. won 3-2 over Sweden in world tennis.

General sporting events[]

  • Third World Games held in Karlsruhe, West Germany
  • 15th Summer Universiade held in Duisburg, West Germany
  • Fourteenth Winter Universiade held in Sofia, Bulgaria

Births[]

  • January 9Michaëlla Krajicek, Dutch tennis player
  • June 2Freddy Adu, Ghana-born football (soccer) player from America
  • June 3Katie Hoff, American swimmer
  • July 23Donald Young, American tennis player
  • July 31Victoria Azarenka, Belarusian tennis player
  • October 11Michelle Wie, American golf prodigy
  • November 12Jana Bieger, German gymnast

Deaths[]

  • February 10Dan Kelly, NHL sportscaster
  • March 18Piet Kruiver, Dutch soccer player
  • April 12Sugar Ray Robinson, boxing champion
  • June 17John Matuszak (38), NFL player with Oakland Raiders
  • June 22Lee Calhoun, Olympic Gold Medal hurdler
  • July 18Donnie Moore (35), Major League Baseball pitcher, suicide
  • August 13Tim Richmond, NASCAR driver
  • August 18Bert Oosterbosch (32), Dutch cyclist, world professional pursuit champion
  • September 1A. Bartlett Giamatti, 7th Major League Baseball commissioner, heart attack
  • September 10Jeff Stollmeyer, President, West Indies Cricket Board, murdered
  • September 15Harry Cave, New Zealand cricketer
  • October 4Secretariat, thoroughbred race horse, 1973 Triple Crown winner, two-time Horse of the Year
  • October 4Norman Yardley, English cricketer
  • November 13Victor Davis, 1984 Olympic and World swimming champion
  • December 25Billy Martin, New York Yankees manager, auto accident
  • December 26Doug Harvey, National Hockey League superstar defenseman (1947-1969)
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