1978 in Sport

Events in Sport

Events 1 - 100 of 174

• Jan 1 NFC Championship Game: 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 8 American Jimmy Connors beats Björn Borg of Sweden 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 to win his first and only season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis title at Madison Square Garden, NYC
• Jan 15 Super Bowl XII: Dallas Cowboys beat Denver Broncos, 27-10 in N Orleans Super Bowl MVP: Harvey Martin, Dallas, DE & Randy White, Dallas, DT
• Jan 19 Eddie Mathews elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
• Jan 23 NFL Pro Bowl: NFC beats AFC 14-13
• Jan 24 31st NHL All-Star Game: Wales beat Campbell 3-2 (OT) at Buffalo
• 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: East beats West 133-125 at Atlanta

• Feb 12 Debbie Austin wins LPGA American Cancer Society Golf Classic
• 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 wins (159.73 MPH)
• 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 19 Sally Little wins LPGA Kathryn Crosby/Honda Civic Golf Classic
• 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
• Apr 1 132nd Grand National: Bob Davies aboard Lucius wins
• Apr 2 Basil Williams scores 100 on Test Cricket debut, v Aust Georgetown
• Apr 2 Czech tennis star Martina Navratilova wins her first WTA Tour Championship; beats Evonne Goolagong Cawley of Australia 7-6, 6-4 at Oakland Coliseum Arena

• 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: Bill Rodgers of United States 1st man in 2:10:13 and Gayle Barron of United States 1st woman in 2:44:52

• Apr 25 Phillie Phanatic makes 1st appearance
• Apr 30 Janet Coles wins LPGA Natural Light Lady Tara Golf Classic
• 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: Montreal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 4 games to 2
• May 28 Indianapolis 500: Al Unser became 5th to win the race 3 times
• Jun 1 Cricket Test debut of David Gower, v Pakistan, Edgbaston, scores 58
• 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 18 78th US Golf Open: Andy North shoots a 285 at Cherry Hill CC in Denver
• 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: Striker Mario Kempes scores 2 goals as Argentina beats the Netherlands 3-1 a.e.t. in Buenos Aires, Argentina
• 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 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 beats 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 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 Pete Rose ties NL record hitting streak at 44
• 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
• Aug 20 Sandra Post wins LPGA Lady Stroh's Golf Open
• Aug 25 MLB baseball umpires stage a 1 day strike

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Birthdays in Sport

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 394

• Jan 1 Phillip Mulryne, Northern Irish footballer
• Jan 3 Mike York, American ice hockey player
• Jan 4 Dominik Hrbatý, Slovakian tennis player
• Jan 5 Franck Montagny, French Formula One driver
• Jan 6 Steve Hartsell, pairs skater (& Danielle Hartsell), born in Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Jan 6 Casey Fossum, Major League Baseball player
• Jan 7 Kevin Mench, American baseball player
• Jan 8 Boris Avrukh, Israeli chess grandmaster
• Jan 9 Gennaro Gattuso, Italian footballer
• Jan 9 Mathieu Garon, Canadian ice hockey player
• Jan 9 Chad Johnson, American football player
• 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
• Jan 12 Luis Ayala, Mexican baseball pitcher
• Jan 14 Shawn Crawford, American sprinter
• Jan 15 Franco Pellizotti, Italian cyclist
• Jan 16 Alfredo Amézaga, Mexican baseball player
• 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
• Jan 20 Sonja Kesselschläger, German heptathlete
• Jan 20 Allan Søgaard, Danish footballer
• Jan 21 Faris al-Sultan, German-Iraqi triathlete
• Jan 21 Andrei Zyuzin, Russian ice hockey player
• Jan 22 Chone Figgins, American baseball player
• 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, Major League Baseball Player, born in Union City, Tennessee
• Jan 26 Estéban Germán, Dominican baseball player
• Jan 26 Corina Morariu, American tennis player
• 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
• Jan 29 Rob Bironas, American football player
• Jan 30 Lnd Girchoukevitch, NHL goaltender (Belarus, Olympics 1998)
• Jan 30 John Patterson, American baseball player
• Jan 31 Fabián Caballero, Argentine footballer
• 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
• 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, soccer forward (Olympics 1996)
• Feb 14 Richard Hamilton, American basketball player
• Feb 14 Darius Songaila, basketball player
• Feb 16 Caroline Hunt, rhythmic gymnast (US team-96), born in Chicago, Illinois
• Feb 16 Tia Hellebaut, Belgian athlete
• Feb 16 Wasim Jaffer, Indian Cricketer
• Feb 18 Josip Šimunić, Croatian footballer
• 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
• Feb 26 Marc Hynes, British racing driver
• Feb 27 James Beattie, English footballer, born in Lancaster, England
• Feb 28 Benjamin Raich, Austrian Olympic skier
• Feb 28 Jamaal Tinsley, American basketball player
• Feb 28 Mariano Zabaleta, Argentine tennis player
• Mar 2 Giannis Skopelitis, Greek footballer
• 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 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 footballer
• Mar 31 Stephen Clemence, English footballer
• Apr 1 Jean-Pierre Dumont, Canadian ice hockey player
• Apr 1 Miroslava Vavrinec, Swiss tennis player
• Apr 2 John Gall, American baseball player, MLB left fielder, born in Stanford, California
• 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)

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Weddings in Sport

Deaths in Sport

• Jan 6 Burt Munro, New Zealand motorcycle racer (b. 1899)
• Jan 9 Eddie Gilbert, cricket (Aboriginal Qld quick got Don for a duck), dies
• Jan 13 Joseph V McCarthy, baseball manager (NY Yankees), dies at 96
• Jan 14 Harold Abrahams, British athlete (b. 1899)
• 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 Mustafa Guard, cricketer (3 wkts in 2 Tests for India), dies
• 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 29 Jayasinghrao Mansinghrao Ghorpade, Indian cricketer (8 Tests for India 1952-59 with little impact), 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 27 John Doeg, American tennis champ (US Open-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 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 founder of sportswear company Adidas, dies at 78
• Sep 10 Ronnie Peterson, Swedish race car driver (b. 1944)
• Sep 11 Mike Gazella, American baseball player (NY Yankees), dies at 82
• Sep 11 Ronnie Peterson, Swedish F1 driver (b. 1944)
• Sep 23 Lyman Bostock, outfielder (Angels), shot & killed at 27
• Oct 8 Jim Gilliam, coach (LA Dodgers), dies at 49
• Oct 18 Frank Woolley, cricketer (58,969 1st-class runs), dies
• 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 13 George Hearne, South African cricketer (open bat in 3 Tests 1922-24), dies
• Dec 11 Paul O'Dea, American baseball player (b. 1920)

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