March 1980 in Sports History

Events in Sport

Sports History

Mar 4 40th hat trick in Islander history-Mike Bossy

Mar 8 Greg Chappell 235 & Yallop 172, for 217 stand at Faisalabad
Mar 11 Rod Marsh bowls 10 overs for 51 runs in dull Aust v Pak cricket draw
Mar 12 NY Islanders 3rd scoreless tie, vs Pittsburgh Penguin

World Record

Mar 13 American speed skater Eric Heiden sets world record 1000m (1:13.60)

Mar 14 Ice Dance Championship at Dortmund West Germany won by Regoczy & Sallay
Mar 14 Polish airliner crash kills all 87 aboard (22 are US amateur boxers)
Mar 15 England beats Scotland, 30-18 at Murrayfield, Edinburgh to claim it's 18th outright Five Nations Rugby Championship, 8th Grand Slam and 15th Triple Crown

Sports History

Mar 23 18-year old American tennis star Tracy Austin wins her only WTA Tour Championship; upsets Martina Navratilova in the final 6–2, 2–6, 6–2 in NYC

Cricket History

Mar 23 Australian cricketer Allan Border becomes the first and only batsman to reach 150 in each innings of a test, in the 3rd test vs Pakistan in Lahore

PGA Players Championship

Mar 23 PGA Tournament Players Championship, Sawgrass Country Club (Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida): Lee Trevino wins by 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Ben Crenshaw

Mar 24 42nd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Louisville beats UCLA, 59-54; Cardinals' first title in first title game
Mar 29 134th Grand National: American amateur rider Charlie Fenwick wins aboard 40/1 outsider Ben Nevis; only 4 from 30 starters finish race

Boxing Title Fight

Mar 31 Almost concurrent heavyweight boxing championship fights: Larry Holmes TKOs Leroy Jones in 8 for WBC title in Las Vegas, NV whilst Mike Weaver KOs John Tate in 15 for WBA belt in Knoxville, TN

WBA World Heavyweight Champion Mike Weaver

Birthdays in Sport

Mar 1 Abdur Rehman, Pakistani cricket spin bowler (22 Tests, 99 wickets; 31 ODIs), born in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan
Mar 1 Djimi Traoré, Malian soccer defender (6 caps; Liverpool, Monaco), born in Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, France
Mar 1 Shahid Afridi, Pakistan cricket all-rounder (27 Tests, 5 x 100s; 398 ODIs, record 100 in 37 balls in 1st ODI innings; 99 T20I), born in Khyber, Pakistan
Mar 3 Mason Unck, American football player
Mar 4 Arash Markazi, American sportswriter
Mar 4 Jack Hannahan, American baseball player
Mar 4 Omar Bravo, Mexican footballer
Mar 11 Dan Uggla, American baseball player
Mar 11 Paul Scharner, Austrian footballer
Mar 12 Douglas Murray, Swedish ice-hockey player
Mar 13 Caron Butler, American basketball small forward (NBA C'ship 2011 Dallas Mavericks; 2 × NBA All-Star 2007, 08 Washington Wizards), born in Racine, Wisconsin
Mar 14 Ben Herring, New Zealand rugby union footballer
Mar 14 Matteo Grassotto, Italian racing driver
Mar 15 Freddie Bynum, American baseball player
Mar 16 Felipe Reyes, Spanish basketball player
Mar 16 Todd Heap, American football player

Mar 17 Danny Califf, American soccer player
Mar 18 Sébastien Frey, French soccer goalkeeper (2 caps; Parma, Fiorentina), born in Thonon-les-Bains, France
Mar 20 Jamal Crawford, American basketball player
Mar 21 Marit Bjørgen, Norwegian cross-country skier, 15 Olympic medals, 18 World Championship medals, born in Trondheim, Norway

Ronaldinho (43 years old)

Mar 21 Brazilian soccer midfielder (97 caps; FIFA World Cup 2002; Paris SG; FC Barcelona, AC Milan, Flamengo), born in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Mar 22 Pamela O'Connor, Scottish ice dancer, born in Glasgow, Scotland
Mar 24 Tassos Venetis, Greek footballer
Mar 28 Luke Walton, American basketball head coach (Sacramento Kings 2019; LA Lakers 2016-18; NBA C'ships 2009-10, LA Lakers), born in San Diego, California
Mar 28 Stiliani Pilatou, Greek long jumper
Mar 30 Liriel Higa, American rhythmic gymnast (Olympics 1996), born in Los Angeles, California
Mar 30 Ricardo Osorio, Mexican soccer defender (82 caps; CF Cruz Azul, VfB Stuttgart, CF Monterrey), born in Huajuapan de León, Mexico
Mar 31 Chien-Ming Wang, Taiwanese MLB pitcher (NY Yankees, AL wins leader 2006), born in Tainan City, Taiwan

Deaths in Sport

Mar 1 Dixie Dean, English soccer striker (16 caps; Everton), dies from a heart attack at 73
Mar 1 Emmett Ashford, American baseball umpire (first certified black umpire), dies from a heart attack at 65
Mar 12 Arthur Charles Dobson, British racing driver (b. 1914)
Mar 15 Gerald Abrahams, English author (Teach Yourself Chess), dies at 72
Mar 18 Herman Griffith, West Indian cricket fast bowler (13 Tests; 44 wickets; best 6-103), dies at 86