Year 1978 in Sports History

Events in Sport

• Jan 1 NFC Championship, Texas Stadium, Irving: Dallas Cowboys beat Minnesota Vikings, 23-6

• Jan 2 64th Rose Bowl: #13 Washington beats #4 Michigan, 27-20
• Jan 2 44th Sugar Bowl: #3 Alabama beats #9 Ohio State, 35-6
• Jan 2 44th Orange Bowl: #6 Arkansas beats #2 Oklahoma, 31-6
• Jan 3 Indian cricket spin bowler B. S. Chandrasekhar becomes first in Test history to register identical figures in both innings (6 for 52) in Indian innings win over Australia in 3rd Test in Melbourne

• Jan 15 Super Bowl XII, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA: Dallas Cowboys beat Denver Broncos, 27-10; MVP: Harvey Martin, Dallas, DE & Randy White, Dallas, DT
• Jan 19 Eddie Mathews elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
• Jan 21 Panamanian boxer Roberto Durán becomes undisputed world lightweight champion with a 12th-round TKO of Esteban De Jesus at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas; defends his WBA title for 12th time, also takes De Jesus’ WBC title
• Jan 23 NFL Pro Bowl, Tampa Stadium: NFC beats AFC, 14-13; MVP: Walter Peyton, Chicago Bears, RB
• Jan 24 31st NHL All-Star Game, Buffalo Municipal Auditorium, Buffalo, NY: Wales beats Campbell, 3-2 (OT); MVP: Billy Smith, NY Islanders, G
• Jan 25 Padres trade pitcher Dave Tomlin & $125,000 to Rangers for Gaylord Perry (He wins 1978 Cy Young Award)
• Jan 28 Ranger's Don Murdoch failed on 4th penalty shot against Islanders
• Jan 29 Joanne Carner wins Colgate Triple Crown Match-Play Golf Championship
• Jan 30 Addie Joss & Larry MacPhail elected to Baseball Hall of Fame


• Feb 5 Fred Newman makes 88 consecutive basketball free throws blindfolded
• Feb 5 28th NBA All-Star Game, Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Ga: East beats West, 133-125; MVP: Randy Smith, SD Clippers, G

• Feb 14 In girls' HS basketball, Chicago Latin beats Harvard St George
• Feb 15 England all out 64 for 1st loss to NZ in cricket (Geoffrey Boycott captain)

• Feb 18 1st Iron Man Triathlon (swim, bike ride, marathon) held, Kona, Hawaii
• Feb 19 20th Daytona 500: Bobby Allison takes lead with 11 laps remaining; lowest starting position (33rd) for winner until 2007
• Feb 24 Kevin Porter, NJ, sets NBA record with 29 assists in a game

• Mar 3 1st day of Test cricket for Desmond Haynes (WI v Australia)
• Mar 4 25th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: Duke beats Wake Forest, 85-77
• Mar 7 Canuck's Ron Sedlbauer fails on 5th penalty shot against Islanders
• Mar 9 Ice Dance Championship at Ottawa Canada won by Linichuk & Karponosov
• Mar 14 NFL permanently adds 7th official (side judge)
• Mar 18 Wales beats France, 16-7 at the National Stadium, Cardiff to clinch its 20th outright Five Nations Rugby Championship, a record 8th Grand Slam and record 3rd consecutive Triple Crown

• Mar 20 Flyers' Rick MacLeash scores on 6th penalty shot against Islanders
• Mar 21 Padres fire Al Dark (2nd manager ever fired during spring training)
• Mar 27 40th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Kentucky beats Duke, 94-88; Wildcats 5th title; forward Jack Givens scores 41 points


• Apr 1 132nd Grand National: Bob Davies aboard 14/1 chance Lucius wins by half a length from Sebastian V

• Apr 2 Jamaican batsman Basil Williams scores 100 on debut for the West Indies in Australia's 3 wicket 3rd Test victory in Georgetown, Guyana

• Apr 9 Brewers sweep Orioles 11-3, 16-3, & 13-5 (each with a grand slam)

• Apr 10 Formation of Major Indoor Soccer League announced
• Apr 13 NY Yanks defeat White Sox 4-2 in home opener on Reggie Candy Bar Day
• Apr 16 St Louis Card Bob Forsch no-hits Phillies, 5-0
• Apr 17 82nd Boston Marathon: US double; Bill Rodgers wins his 2nd men's title in 2:10:13; Gayle Barron women's champion in 2:44:52

• Apr 25 Phillie Phanatic makes 1st appearance
• May 2 NBA championship: Portland Trailblazers win in 4 games
• May 2 1978 NFL Draft: Earl Campbell from University of Texas first pick by Houston Oilers
• May 3 Last cricket test match appearance for Bobby Simpson, at Kingston
• May 3 WI all set to lose cricket test v Aust at Kingston till riots end game

• May 6 104th Kentucky Derby: Steve Cauthen wins aboard Affirmed - first and only Derby victory and 1st-leg of Triple Crown
• May 10 22nd European Cup: Liverpool beats Club Brugge 1-0 at London
• May 20 103rd Preakness: Steve Cauthen wins aboard Affirmed for the 2nd-leg of the Triple Crown
• May 23 AL approves transfer of Red Sox to Jean Yawkey for $15M
• May 25 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: 3-peat for Montreal Canadiens; beat Boston Bruins, 4-1 as Mario Tremblay scores twice; 4-2 series victory
• May 28 Indianapolis 500: Al Unser became 5th to win the race 3 times
• Jun 1 Future England cricket captain David Gower makes his Test debut in 1st Test against Pakistan in Birmingham; England win by an innings and 57 runs
• Jun 3 Phillies Dave Johnson is 1st to hit 2 pinch hit grand slams in a year
• Jun 7 32nd NBA Championship: Wash Bullets beat Sea Supersonics, 4 games to 3
• Jun 8 Braves draft Bob Horner #1

• Jun 10 110th Belmont: Steve Cauthen wins aboard Affirmed to wrap up the Triple Crown

• Jun 16 Cincinnati Red Tom Seaver no-hits St Louis Cards, 4-0

• Jun 19 Ian Botham takes 8-34 v Pakistan, his best Test cricket bowling
• Jun 20 1st 6 teams of Women's Pro Basketball League (WBL) granted-Iowa, NJ, Milwaukee, Chicago, Minnesota & Dayton
• Jun 25 FIFA World Cup Final, El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina: Striker Mario Kempes scores 2 goals as Argentina beats the Netherlands, 3-1 after extra time
• Jun 30 Larry Doby becomes manager of Chicago White Sox
• Jul 2 MLB pitcher Ron Guidry beats Detroit 3-2 for a NY Yankee record 13-0 start to the season
• Jul 7 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Martina Navratilova wins her first Grand Slam singles title beating Chris Evert 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
• Jul 7 NBA approves franchise swap; Buffalo Braves owner John Y. Brown and Harry Mangurian acquire Boston Celtics, while the Celtics owner Irv Levin gets Braves, later moved to San Diego to become the Clippers
• Jul 8 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Björn Borg of Sweden wins his 3rd straight Wimbledon singles crown; beats American Jimmy Connors 6-2, 6-2, 6-3
• Jul 11 49th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 7-3 at San Diego Stadium
• Jul 11 All star MVP: Steve Garvey (LA Dodgers) collects his second award
• Jul 14 Umpire Doug Harvey ejects Don Sutton after discovering 3 scuffed balls
• Jul 15 British Open Men's Golf, St Andrews: Jack Nicklaus completes 3rd career grand slam; wins by 2 strokes from Ben Crenshaw & Ray Floyd

• Jul 23 US Open Women's Golf, CC of Indianapolis: Hollis Stacy successfully defends title by 1 stroke from Sally Little and JoAnne Carner
• Jul 23 Phillies Steve Carlton becomes 78th pitcher to win 200
• Jul 23 Mayence returns to helps Yankees win their 5th straight game
• Jul 23 65th Tour de France won by Bernard Hinault of France
• Jul 24 Pete Rose ties NL hitting streak of 37 games
• Jul 25 Cincinnati Red Pete Rose sets NL record hitting in 38 consecutive games

• Jul 29 On Old Timer's Day, NY Yankees announce that Billy Martin will return as NY Yankee manager in 1980 and Bob Lemon will become GM
• Jul 30 Expos crush Braves, 19-0, collecting 28 hits & NL-record-tying 8 HRs
• Jul 31 Cincinnati infielder Pete Rose singles off Phil Niekro to extend his hitting streak to 44 games as Reds edge Atlanta Braves, 3-2; ties Willie Keeler's 81-year-old NL record
• Aug 1 Atlanta Braves trounce Cincinnati Reds, 16-4 and halt Pete Rose's NL record hitting streak at 44 games
• Aug 5 New Orleans Saints beat Philadelphia Eagles 14-7 in an NFL exhibition at Mexico City's Olympic Stadium
• Aug 5 The first all-seater stadium is opened in Aberdeen, Scotland; Aberdeen & London club Tottenham Hotspurs play a friendly to inaugurate the Pittodrie Stadium

• Aug 7 Eddie Mathews, Addie Joss and Larry MacPhail are inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY
• Aug 9 Yanks score 5 in bottom of 9th beat Brewers 8-7

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Birthdays in Sport

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 382

• Jan 1 Philip Mulryne, Northern Irish soccer midfielder (27 caps; Norwich City) and Dominican friar and priest, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
• Jan 4 Dominik Hrbatý, Slovakian tennis player, born in Bratislava, Slovakia
• Jan 5 Franck Montagny, French Formula One driver, born in Feurs, France
• Jan 6 Steve Hartsell, American pairs skater (& Danielle Hartsell), born in Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Jan 6 Casey Fossum, American baseball player, born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey
• Jan 7 Kevin Mench, American baseball player, born in Wilmington, Delaware
• Jan 8 Boris Avrukh, Israeli chess grandmaster, born in Karaganda, Kazakhstan
• Jan 9 Gennaro Gattuso, Italian footballer, born in Corigliano Calabro, Italy
• Jan 9 Mathieu Garon, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Chandler, Canada
• Jan 9 Chad Johnson, American football player, born in Miami, Florida
• Jan 11 Michael Duff, Northern Irish footballer, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
• Jan 11 Emile Heskey, English footballer, born in Leicester, United Kingdom
• Jan 12 Bonaventure Kalou, Ivorian footballer, born in Oumé, Côte d’Ivoire
• Jan 12 Luis Ayala, Mexican baseball pitcher, born in Los Mochis, Mexico
• Jan 14 Shawn Crawford, American sprinter, born in Van Wyck, South Carolina
• Jan 15 Franco Pellizotti, Italian cyclist, born in Latisana, Italy
• Jan 16 Alfredo Amézaga, Mexican baseball player, born in Ciudad Obregón, Mexico
• Jan 18 Thor Hushovd, Norwegian former professional road bicycle racer widely considered the greatest Norwegian cyclist of all time, born in Grimstad, Norway
• Jan 18 Brian Falkenborg, American baseball player, born in Newport Beach, California
• Jan 20 Sonja Kesselschläger, German heptathlete, born in Finsterwalde, Germany
• Jan 20 Allan Søgaard, Danish football player, born in Brædstrup, Denmark
• Jan 21 Faris al-Sultan, German-Iraqi triathlete
• Jan 21 Andrei Zyuzin, Russian ice hockey player
• Jan 22 Chone Figgins, American baseball player, born in Leary, Georgia
• Jan 25 Charlene Princess of Monaco [Charlene Wittstock], Zimbabwean South African born wife of Prince Albert II, and Olympic swimmer, born in Bulawayo, Rhodesia
• Jan 25 Denis Menchov, Russian cyclist, born in Oryol, Russia
• Jan 25 Jason Roberts, English-born footballer, born in London, United Kingdom
• Jan 25 Derrick Turnbow, American baseball player, born in Union City, Tennessee
• Jan 26 Estéban Germán, Dominican baseball player, born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
• Jan 26 Corina Morariu, American tennis player, born in Detroit, Michigan
• Jan 27 Pete Laforest, Canadian baseball player
• Jan 28 Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
• Jan 28 Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese footballer
• Jan 28 Jamie Carragher, English footballer
• Jan 29 Martin Schmitt, German ski jumper, born in Villingen-Schwenningen, West Germany
• Jan 29 Rob Bironas, American football player, born in Louisville, Kentucky
• Jan 30 John Patterson, American baseball player, born in Orange, Texas
• Jan 31 Fabián Caballero, Argentine footballer, born in Misiones Province, Argentina
• Feb 2 Annabel Ellwood, Canberra Australia, tennis star (1995 Futures NC)
• Feb 2 Barry Ferguson, Scottish football player
• Feb 5 Brian Russell, American football player, born in Scotland, United Kingdom
• Feb 7 Daniel Van Buyten, Belgian footballer
• Feb 7 Endy Chávez, baseball player
• Feb 8 Christa Williams, softball pitcher (Olympic gold 1996), born in Houston, Texas
• Feb 9 Airton Daré, Brazilian racing driver
• Feb 12 Brett Hodgson, Australian rugby league footballer, born in Liverpool, Australia
• Feb 14 Laurie Schwoy, American soccer forward (Olympics 1996)
• Feb 14 Richard Hamilton, American basketball player, born in Coatesville, Pennsylvania
• Feb 14 Darius Songaila, Lithuanian basketball player, born in Marijampolė, Lithuania
• Feb 16 Tia Hellebaut, Belgian athlete
• Feb 16 Wasim Jaffer, Indian Cricketer
• Feb 18 Josip Šimunić, Croatian footballer, born in Canberra, Australia
• Feb 19 Michalis Konstantinou, Greek-Cypriot footballer
• Feb 20 Andrea Moody, Abbotsford BC, 4X100 swimmer (Olympics 1996)
• Feb 23 Karolina Rantamaki, Finnish ice hockey left wing (Finland, Olympics 1998), born in Espoo, Finland
• Feb 26 Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye, Senegalese footballer, born in Dakar, Senegal
• Feb 26 Marc Hynes, British racing driver, born in Guildford, United Kingdom
• Feb 27 James Beattie, English footballer, born in Lancaster, England
• Feb 28 Benjamin Raich, Austrian alpine ski racer, born in Innsbruck, Austria
• Feb 28 Jamaal Tinsley, American basketball player, born in Brooklyn, New York
• Feb 28 Mariano Zabaleta, Argentine tennis player, born in Tandil, Argentina
• Mar 1 Ken Harvey, American baseball first baseman (MLB All Star 2004; KC Royals), born in Los Angeles, California
• Mar 2 Tomáš Kaberle, Czech ice hockey defenceman (4 x NHL All Star; Toronto Maple Leafs; Stanley Cup 2011, Boston Bruins; World C'ship gold 2005), born in Rakovník, Czech Republic
• Mar 3 Matt Diaz, American baseball player
• Mar 4 Denis Dallan, Italian rugby union footballer
• Mar 4 Nate Ackerman, British-American logician and wrestler
• Mar 4 Pierre Dagenais, Canadian ice hockey player
• Mar 5 Mike Hessman, American baseball player
• Mar 6 Sage Rosenfels, American Football Player
• Mar 9 Lucas Neill, Australian footballer, born in Sydney
• Mar 11 Didier Drogba, Ivorian football player (Chelsea, Phoenix Rising FC, Ivorian national team), born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
• Mar 11 Albert Luque, Spanish footballer
• Mar 12 Tara Mounsey, ice hockey defenseman (USA, Olympics 1998)
• Mar 12 Casey Mears, American auto racer
• Mar 13 Tom Danielson, American road racing cyclist, born in East Lyme, Connecticut
• Mar 13 Kenny Watson, American football player, born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
• Mar 14 Ron Dayne, American College Football Hall of Fame running back (Heisman Trophy 1999, University of Wisconsin; NY Giants), born in Lynchburg, Virginia
• Mar 14 Pieter van den Hoogenband, Dutch swimmer
• Mar 18 Dionne Bainbridge, Brisbane QLD Aust, NZ 200m swimmer (Olympics 1996)
• Mar 18 Jonas Wallerstedt, Swedish footballer
• Mar 18 Yoshie Takeshita, Japanese volleyball player
• Mar 21 Cristian Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
• Mar 22 Tom Poti, professional hockey player
• Mar 23 Walter Samuel, Argentine footballer
• Mar 26 Anastasia Kostaki, Greek basketball player (Panathinaikos), born in Athens, Greece
• Mar 30 Chris Paterson, Scottish rugby player and coach, born in Edinburgh, Scotland
• Mar 31 Jérôme Rothen, French soccer winger (France 13 caps, Paris SG, Caen, Monaco), born in Châtenay-Malabry, France
• Apr 1 Jean-Pierre Dumont, Canadian ice hockey right wing (World C'ship gold 2004; Buffalo Sabres, Nashville Predators), born in Montreal, Quebec
• Apr 1 Miroslava Vavrinec, Swiss tennis player (married to Roger Federer), born in Bojnice, Slovakia
• Apr 1 Antonio de Nigris, Mexican soccer striker (16 caps; Monterrey, Villarreal), born in Monterrey, Mexico (d. 2009)
• Apr 3 Tommy Haas, German tennis player, born in Hamburg, Germany
• Apr 3 John Smit, South African rugby player, born in Polokwane, South Africa
• Apr 4 Jason Ellison, American baseball player, born in Quincy, California
• Apr 4 Alan Mahon, Irish footballer (Tranmere Rovers), born in Dublin
• Apr 5 Franziska van Almsick, German swimmer
• Apr 5 Stephen Jackson, American basketball player
• Apr 6 Tim Hasselbeck, American football player
• Apr 6 Blaine Neal, American baseball player
• Apr 7 Siobhan Drake-Brockman, Bunbury Aust, tennis star (1994 Port Pirie)
• Apr 7 Vladimir Voltchkov, Belarusian tennis player

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Weddings in Sport

Deaths in Sport

• Jan 6 Burt Munro, New Zealand motorcycle racer, dies at 78 (b. 1899)
• Jan 9 Eddie Gilbert, cricket (Aboriginal Qld quick got Don for a duck), dies
• Jan 13 Joe McCarthy, American baseball manager (New York Yankees), dies at 96
• Jan 14 Harold Abrahams, British athlete (Olympic gold & silver 1924), dies at 78
• Jan 22 Herbert Sutcliffe, cricketer (54 Tests for England 4555 runs), dies
• Jan 25 Tango Duke, dies in Australia at 42; oldest known thoroughbred horse
• Feb 9 Costante Girardengo, Italian cyclist (b. 1893)
• Feb 14 Paul Governali, American professional football player (b. 1921)
• Mar 7 Steve Bilko, American baseball player, dies at 49
• Mar 12 Theresa Weld Blanchard, American figure skating champion (1914, 1920-24), dies at 84
• Mar 13 Ghulam Guard, Indian cricketer (lefty pace bowler in 2 Tests for India 1959), dies at 52
• Mar 17 George Dickinson, cricketer (8 wickets in 3 Tests for NZ), dies
• Mar 27 Dutch Zwilling, American baseball outfielder (Federal League HR all-time leader), dies at 89
• Mar 29 Jayasinghrao Ghorpade, Indian cricket batsman (8 Tests @ 15.26), dies at 47
• Mar 30 George Paine, lefty cricket spinner (for England in WI 1935), dies
• Mar 30 Harold Gimblett, cricketer (Batted in 3 Tests for England), suicide
• Apr 8 Ford C Frick, baseball commissioner, dies at 83
• Apr 9 Vivian McGrath, Australian tennis player (Australian C'ship 1937), dies at 62
• Apr 27 John Doeg, American tennis player (US Nat C'ship 1930), dies at 69
• May 5 Alfred (Harold] Gilligan, English cricketer (4 Tests for England), dies at 81
• May 6 Ethelda Bleibtrey, US swimmer (Olympics 3 gold-1920), dies at 76
• May 13 Alby Roberts, New Zealand cricketer (5 Tests for NZ, 7 wickets), dies at 68
• May 19 George Gladstone, cricketer (one Test WI v England 1930), dies
• May 29 Carl Reynolds, American baseball outfielder (2nd player in MLB history to hit home runs in 3 consecutive innings 1930; Chicago WS), dies at 75
• May 31 József Bozsik, Hungarian footballer (b. 1925)
• Jul 10 Joe Davis, English snooker player (World Champion 1927-40, 1946), dies at 77
• Aug 21 Vinoo Mankad, Indian cricketer (44 Tests for India, 2,109 runs), dies at 61
• Aug 26 José Manuel Moreno, Argentine footballer, dies at 62
• Sep 6 Adolf Dassler, German entrepreneur (founder sportswear company Adidas), dies at 78
• Sep 10 Ronnie Peterson, Swedish auto racer (World F1 runner-up 1971, 78), dies in crash during Italian F1 GP at 34
• Sep 11 Mike Gazella, American baseball player (NY Yankees), dies at 82
• Sep 23 Lyman Bostock, outfielder (Angels), shot & killed at 27
• Oct 3 Alfred Strange, English soccer right half (20 caps, 3 as captain; Sheffield Wednesday, 253 games), dies at 78
• Oct 8 Jim Gilliam, coach (LA Dodgers), dies at 49
• Oct 10 Ralph Metcalfe, American athlete, politician (Rep-D-Ill; joint world record 100m, Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1936), dies of a heart attack at 68
• Oct 18 Frank Woolley, English cricketer (58,969 1st-class runs), dies at 91
• Oct 26 George "Jackie" Grant, West Indian cricketer (West Indian captain 1930-35), dies at 71
• Nov 6 Heiri Suter, Swiss cyclist, dies at 79
• Nov 7 Gene Tunney, American boxer, heavyweight boxing champion (1926-28), dies at 80
• Nov 11 Bennie Borgmann, American Basketball Hall of Fame forward and coach (Kingston Colonials, Original Celtics; coach Syracuse Nationals), dies at 77
• Nov 13 George Hearne, South African cricketer (open bat in 3 Tests 1922-24), dies
• Nov 15 Dick Chapman, American golfer (1940 US amateur, 1951 British amateur), dies of a stroke at 67
• Dec 11 Paul O'Dea, American baseball player (b. 1920)

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