Year 1981 in Sports History

Events in Sport

Events 1 - 100 of 209

• Jan 1 67th Rose Bowl: #5 Michigan beats #16 Washington, 23-6
• Jan 1 47th Sugar Bowl: #1 Georgia beats #7 Notre Dame, 17-10

• Jan 1 47th Orange Bowl: #4 Oklahoma beats #2 Florida State, 18-17
• Jan 3 NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers retire jersey # 34, Austin Carr
• Jan 3 Australian cricket captain Greg Chappell scores a masterly 204 v India in the 1st Test in Sydney; home side wins by an innings and 4 runs

• Jan 4 Australian Open Men's Tennis: American Brian Teacher wins his first and only Grand Slam event; beats home favourite Kim Warwick 7-5, 7-6, 6-3
• Jan 11 AFC Championship, Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego: Oakland Raiders beat San Diego Chargers, 34-27
• Jan 11 NFC Championship, Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia: Philadelphia Eagles beat Dallas Cowboys, 20-7

• Jan 15 Pitcher Bob Gibson is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility; after a stellar 17 year career, polls 337 votes from Baseball Writers Association of America

• Jan 22 O A "Bum" Phillips becomes head coach of New Orleans Saints


• Jan 23 Mike Bossy becomes 1st in NHL to score 50 goals in 50 games
• Jan 23 Red Sox trade Fred Lynn to Angels for Frank Tanana and Joe Rudi
• Jan 24 Islanders scored 5 power play goals against Nordiques
• Jan 24 Kim Hughes scores 213 v India at Adelaide
• Jan 25 Super Bowl XV, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA: Oakland Raiders beat Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10; MVP: Jim Plunkett, Oakland, QB
• Jan 29 AL approves sale of White Sox to Jerry Reinsdorf & Eddie Einhorn for $20 million, & 80% of Mariners to George Argyros for $104 million
• Feb 1 NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: NFC beats AFC, 21-7; MVP: Eddie Murray, Detroit Lions, PK
• Feb 1 Australian cricket captain Greg Chappell sensationally instructs younger brother Trevor to bowl underarm to Brian McKechnie with NZ needing 6 from last ball to tie 3rd World Series ODI in Melbourne; Australia wins by 6

• Feb 3 Australia beats NZ 3-1 to win cricket's World Series Cup

• Feb 10 33rd NHL All-Star Game, The Forum, Inglewood: Campbell Conference beats Wales Conference, 4-1; MVP: Mike Liut, St. Louis Blues, G
• Feb 10 Dennis Lillee becomes Australian Cricket's top wicket-taker with 249
• Feb 12 Arbitrator Goetz declares Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk a free agent

• Feb 20 Quebec's Czech rookie brothers Peter and Anton Stastny each score first career NHL hat-tricks in Nordiques' 9-3 win at Vancouver; Peter adds 3 assists and Anton 2
• Feb 25 NHL most penalized game; Bruins vs Northstars, 84 penalties (392 mins)
• Feb 25 NY Islanders give up their most goals (11) vs Calgary Flames
• Feb 25 Exec Board of Baseball Players' Association votes unanimously to strike on May 29 if the issue of free-agent compensation remains unresolved


• Feb 26 84 penalties (406 mins) assessed for a brawl between NHL Minn & Bost
• Feb 28 Calvin Murphy (Hou), sets NBA record with 78 consecutive free throws
• Mar 1 Houston Rockets guard Calvin Murphy misses a free throw in a 102-86 loss in San Antonio, ending his NBA record consecutive free throw streak at 78
• Mar 3 Isle's Mike Bossy 9th & final hat trick of season-4 goals
• Mar 3 NY Islanders & Edmonton Oilers play to an 8-8 tie

• Mar 5 Men's Figure Skating Champions in Hartford won by Scott Hamilton (USA)
• Mar 6 Worlds Ladies' Figure Skating Champ in Hartford won by Denise Biellmann
• Mar 7 28th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: North Carolina beats Maryland, 61-60
• Mar 7 22nd SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Ole Miss beats Georgia, 66-62
• Mar 8 Dennis Lillee ct by Qld 12th man Dennis Lillie in Shield game
• Mar 11 Johnny Mize and Rube Foster are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
• Mar 14 NCAA St Joseph's upsets top seed DePaul 49-48
• Mar 17 FC Lisse, Dutch soccer team forms
• Mar 18 Buffalo Sabres sets NHL record of 9 goals in 1 period (vs Toronto)
• Mar 19 Buffalo Sabres beat Toronto Maple Leafs 14-4
• Mar 21 France beats England 16-12 at Twickenham, London for it's 7th outright Five Nations Rugby Championship and 3rd Grand Slam title

• Mar 24 Bombay beat Delhi by innings & 46 to win Ranji Cricket Trophy

• Mar 29 Tiina Lehtola ski jumps female record 110m
• Mar 29 AIAW Women's Basketball Championship, Louisiana Tech beat Tennessee 79-59 in Eugene

• Apr 1 Edmonton center Wayne Gretzky has an assist (his 103rd) in the Oilers 4-4 tie with Colorado Rockies to break Bobby Orr's 10-year mark for most assists in a single NHL season
• Apr 4 135th Grand National: Bob Champion aboard 10/1 hope Aldaniti wins by 4 lengths from 8/1 favourite Spartan Missile
• Apr 5 Philadelphia Flyers amass a record 2,621 penalty minutes
• Apr 8 Islanders scored 9 goals against Toronto in playoffs

• Apr 17 New York Islander Dennis Potvin's 3 playoff power-play goals vs Edmonton Oilers tie NHL record
• Apr 17 Ranger's Anders Hedberg is 2nd to score on a Stanley Cup penalty shot
• Apr 18 Longest game in Professional Baseball: Pawtucket Red Sox tie Rochester Red Wings 2-2 in 32 innings (game resumed 23rd June)
• Apr 19 Oakland A's runs record to 11-0
• Apr 20 85th Boston Marathon: Toshihiko Seko of Japan wins men's race in 2:09:26; Allison Roe of New Zealand takes women's title in 2:26:46
• Apr 22 Dodgers rookie Fernando Valenzuela tosses his 3rd shutout in 4 starts
• Apr 24 Bill Shoemaker wins his 8,000th race, 2000 more than any other jockey
• Apr 24 San Antonio blocks 20 Golden State shots to set NBA reg game record
• Apr 25 Seattle Mariners MLB manager Maury Wills is suspended for 2 games after ordering Kingdome grounds crew to enlarge batter's boxes by one foot
• Apr 27 1st female soccer official is hired by NASL

• Apr 29 NFL Draft: South Carolina running back George Rogers first pick by New Orleans Saints

• May 2 107th Kentucky Derby: Jorge Velásquez on Pleasant Colony wins in 2:02
• May 4 Yankee Ron Davis strikes out 8 consecutive Angels, ran record of 13 strikeouts of last 14 faced, also saved Gene Nelsons 1st win, 4-2
• May 5 16th and final MLB pre-season Mayor's Trophy Game prior to inter-league play; NY Mets beat NY Yankees, 4-1 to hold 8-7-1 edge
• May 10 Montreal Expo Charlie Lee no-hits SF Giants, 4-0
• May 12 NY Islanders tie own record with two shorthanded playoff goals in a pd vs Minn
• May 13 Dinamo Tbilisi wins 21st European Cup Winner's Cup against Carl Zeiss Jena of East Germany 2-1 in Düsseldorf
• May 14 35th NBA Championship: Bost Celtics beat Houston Rockets, 4 games to 2
• May 15 "Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island" airs
• May 16 106th Preakness: Jorge Velásquez aboard Pleasant Colony wins in 1:54.6
• May 16 Houston shortstop Craig Reynolds hits 3 triples as Astros beat Chicago Cubs, 6-1
• May 17 Islanders score 5 power play goals against Flyers in a playoff
• May 21 Stanley Cup Final, Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY: NY Islanders win back-to-back titles; beat Minnesota North Stars, 5-1 for 4 games to 1 series win
• May 23 Puerto Rican boxer Wilfred Benítez (22) becomes the youngest 3-division world champion in history by knocking out WBC World Super Welterweight champion Maurice Hope in 12 rounds in Las Vegas
• May 24 Indianapolis 500: Bobby Unser crosses finish line ahead of Mario Andretti; Unser disqualified for pit lane infraction, later reinstated for his 3rd race victory

• May 27 Lenny Randle tries to blow a slow roller foul but umpire says no
• May 27 25th European Cup: Liverpool beats Real Madrid 1-0 at Paris
• May 30 LA Dodgers are quickest to get 1,000,000 attendance in a season in only 22 games

• Jun 6 113th Belmont: George Martens aboard Summing wins in 2:29
• Jun 6 French Open Women's Tennis: Czech teenager Hana Mandlíková beats Sylvia Hanika of Germany 6-2, 6-4 for her only French singles crown

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Birthdays in Sport

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 409

• Jan 1 Zsolt Baumgartner, Hungarian auto racer (German Formula Renault C'ship 1999), born in Debrecen, Hungary
• Jan 2 Maxi Rodríguez, soccer midfielder (57 caps; Atlético Madrid, Newell's Old Boys), born in Rosario, Argentina

• Jan 3 Chris Blais, American off-road racing rider (Motorcycle San Felipe 250 2005; Dakar Rally 2007 3rd overall), born in Apple Valley, California
• Jan 5 Corey Flynn, New Zealand rugby union footballer, born in Invercargill, New Zealand
• Jan 6 Asante Samuel, National Football League Defensive Back, born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Jan 7 Alex Auld, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Cold Lake, Canada
• Jan 7 Marquis Daniels, American basketball player, born in Jasper, Florida
• Jan 8 Jeff Francis, Canadian baseball player, born in Vancouver, British Columbia
• Jan 8 Xie Xingfang, Chinese badminton player, born in Guangzhou, China
• Jan 9 Euzebiusz Smolarek, Polish footballer, born in Łódź, Poland
• Jan 12 Dan Klecko, American football player, born in Chester, Pennsylvania
• Jan 13 Reggie Brown, American football player
• Jan 13 Darrell Rasner, American baseball player
• Jan 15 El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese footballer, born in Dakar, Senegal
• Jan 15 Sean Lamont, Scottish rugby union footballer, born in Perth, United Kingdom
• Jan 16 Bobby Zamora, English footballer, born in Barking, United Kingdom
• Jan 17 Warren Feeney, Northern Irish footballer, born in Belfast, United Kingdom
• Jan 18 Khari Stephenson, Jamaican footballer, born in Kingston, Jamaica
• Jan 18 Olivier Rochus, Belgian tennis player, born in Namur, Belgium
• Jan 19 Asier Del Horno, Spanish footballer, born in Barakaldo, Spain
• Jan 19 Lucho González, Argentine footballer, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Jan 20 Freddy Guzmán, Dominican baseball player, born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
• Jan 20 Owen Hargreaves, English football player & television pundit, born in Calgary, Canada
• Jan 21 Ivan Ergić, Serbian footballer
• Jan 21 Jamie Dalrymple, English cricketer
• Jan 21 Dany Heatley, Canadian ice hockey player
• Jan 22 Ibrahima Sonko, French footballer, born in Bignona, Senegal
• Jan 23 Rob Friend, Canadian football player, born in Rosetown, Canada
• Jan 23 Greg Smith, American UFC fighter, born in Vallejo, California
• Jan 24 Travis Hanson, American baseball player, born in Seattle, Washington
• Jan 25 Francis Jeffers, English footballer, born in Liverpool, United Kingdom
• Jan 26 Juan Jose Haedo, Argentinian cyclist, born in Chascomús, Argentina
• Jan 27 Alicia Molik, Australian tennis player
• Jan 28 Rick Razzano, American football player
• Jan 30 Dimitar Berbatov, Bulgarian footballer, born in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria
• Jan 30 Mathias Lauda, Austrian racing driver, born in Salzburg, Austria
• Jan 30 Peter Crouch, English footballer, born in Macclesfield, United Kingdom
• Jan 31 Julio Arca, Argentinian football player, born in Quilmes, Argentina
• Feb 1 Luis Lamá, Angolan soccer goalkeeper (56 caps; Petro Luanda), born in Luanda, Angola
• Feb 1 Graeme Smith, South African cricket batsman, captain and broadcaster (117 Tests, 9,265 runs @ 48.25, 27 x 100s; 197 ODIs), born in Johannesburg, South Africa
• Feb 1 Rob Austin, British auto racer (British GT Championship - GT4 runner-up 2008), born in Evesham, England
• Feb 2 Jason Kapono, American basketball player
• Feb 3 Maurice Ross, Scottish footballer
• Feb 4 Tom Mastny, Indonesian baseball player, born in Bontang, Indonesia
• Feb 4 Johan Van Summeren, Belgian cyclist, born in Lommel, Belgium
• Feb 4 Ben Hendrickson, American baseball player, born in St. Cloud, Minnesota
• Feb 4 Jason Kapono, America professional basketball player, born in Long Beach, California
• Feb 5 Loukas Vyntra, Greek football player, born in Město Albrechtice, Czechia
• Feb 6 Ty Warren, American football defensive lineman, born in Bryan, Texas
• Feb 9 Joël Camathias, Swiss racing driver
• Feb 10 Andrew Johnson, English footballer, born in Bedford, United Kingdom
• Feb 11 Scot Thompson, American soccer player, born in NYC, New York
• Feb 13 Luisão [Ânderson Luís da Silva], Brazilian footballer, born in São Paulo, Brazil
• Feb 13 Liam Miller, Irish soccer midfielder (21 caps; Sunderland, Hibernian), born in Cork, Republic of Ireland (d. 2018)
• Feb 13 Luke Ridnour, US basketball player, born in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
• Feb 15 Diego Martínez, Mexican footballer, born in Mexico City, Mexico
• Feb 16 Jay Howard, British racing driver
• Feb 16 Jerry Owens, American baseball player
• Feb 16 Qyntel Woods, American basketball player
• Feb 17 Donielle Thompson, American gymnast (World-bronze-95, Olympics 1996), born in Wheat Ridge, Colorado
• Feb 17 Lisa Skinner, Australian gymnast (Olympics 1996), born in Queensland, Australia
• Feb 18 Andrei Kirilenko, Russian basketball player, born in Izhevsk, Russia
• Feb 18 Ivan Sproule, Irish footballer, born in Castlederg, United Kingdom
• Feb 18 Alex Rios, American baseball player, born in Coffee County, Alabama
• Feb 19 Gil Reyes, American boxer
• Feb 19 Nicky Shorey, English footballer
• Feb 20 Tony Hibbert, English footballer
• Feb 22 Fredson Camara, Brazilian footballer, born in Monção, Brazil
• Feb 23 Gareth Barry, English footballer (West Bromwich Albion F.C.), born in Hastings, United Kingdom
• Feb 23 Charles Tillman, American football cornerback, born in Chicago, Illinois
• Feb 24 Lleyton Hewitt, Australian tennis player (US Open 2001, Wimbledon 2002), born in Adelaide, Australia
• Feb 24 Mohammad Sami, Pakistani cricketer
• Feb 25 Park Ji-Sung, South Korean footballer
• Feb 26 Kertus Davis, American auto racer (competition director NASCAR team JD Motorsports), born in Gaffney, South Carolina
• Feb 27 Elodie Ouédraogo, Belgian athlete, born in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Belgium
• Feb 28 Florent Serra, French tennis player, born in Bordeaux, France
• Mar 1 Will Power, Australian auto racer (Indianapolis 500 2018), born in Toowoomba, Queensland
• Mar 3 Dusty Dvoracek, American football player
• Mar 3 Emmanuel Pappoe, Ghanaian footballer
• Mar 5 Andreas Wiig, Norwegian snowboarder
• Mar 5 Paul Martin, American ice hockey player
• Mar 8 Michael Beauchamp, Australian footballer
• Mar 9 Antonio Bryant, American football player, born in Miami, Florida
• Mar 9 Anders Nøhr, Danish footballer, born in Ikast, Denmark
• Mar 9 Clay Rapada, American baseball player, born in Chesapeake, Virginia
• Mar 10 Samuel Eto'o, Cameroonian footballer
• Mar 10 Efthimios Kouloucheris, Greek footballer
• Mar 10 Steven Reid, English-born footballer
• Mar 11 Lee Evans, American football player
• Mar 13 Stephen Maguire, Scottish snooker player, born in Glasgow, Scotland
• Mar 14 Bobby Jenks, American baseball player
• Mar 15 Mikael Forssell, Finnish footballer
• Mar 16 Curtis Granderson, American baseball player
• Mar 16 Yoav Ziv, Israeli footballer
• Mar 16 Andrew Bree, Irish swimmer
• Mar 17 Kyle Korver, American Basketball Player
• Mar 17 Servet Çetin, Turkish Football Player
• Mar 18 Tora Berger, Norwegian biathlete
• Mar 18 Kasib Powell, American basketball player

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Weddings in Sport

Deaths in Sport

• Jan 1 Ceferino Garcia, Filipino boxer (World Middleweight champion 1939-40), dies at 74
• Jan 1 Mauri Rose, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1941, 47-48), dies at 74
• Jan 17 Loukas Panourgias, Greek footballer (b. 1899)
• Feb 5 Barend Barendse, Dutch sports reporter and actor (Zeskamp, Oebele), dies at 73
• Feb 15 Jack Crapp, English cricketer (7 Tests for England 1948-49, 319 runs), dies at 68
• Mar 2 Tony Gulotta, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1927 3rd), dies at 78
• Mar 6 George Geary, English cricket fast bowler (14 Tests, 46 wickets), dies at 87
• Mar 7 Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling, German tennis player (Wimbledon 1931, 1936 runner-up), dies at 72
• Mar 14 Ken Barrington, cricketer (82 Tests for England, 6806 runs), dies
• Mar 17 Paul Dean, American baseball player (St. Louis Cardinals), dies at 68
• Mar 19 Frank Lane, American MLB executive (GM Chicago WS, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, KC Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers), dies at 85
• Mar 23 Mike Hailwood, MBE GM, British motorcycle road racer (World C'ships: 250cc – 1961, 66, 67; 350cc – 1966, 67; 500cc –1962, 63, 64, 65; 76 Grand Prix wins), dies in a car accident at 40
• Mar 26 Tim Wall, Australian cricketer (SA v NSW 1933 is Sheffield Shield record), dies at 76
• Mar 30 Noel Harford, New Zealand cricketer (8 Tests for NZ 1955-58), dies at 50
• Apr 2 Delfo Cabrera, Argentine distance runner (Olympic gold marathon 1948), dies in a car accident at 62

• Apr 16 Eric Hollies, English cricket spin bowler (13 Tests, 44 wickets; dismissed Donald Bradman for 0 in his final Test innings), dies at 68
• Apr 21 Harry Lee, cricketer (scored 18 & 1 in only Test for England), dies
• Apr 28 Mickey Walker, American boxer (World Welterweight Champion 1922-26; World Middleweight Champion 1926-29), dies at 79
• Apr 28 Cliff Battles, American football halfback (First-team All-Pro 1933, 34, 36; Boston Braves/Redskins, Washington Redskins), dies at 70
• May 8 Maurice Fernandes, cricket captain (WI in 1st Test win, 1930 v Eng), dies
• May 9 Nip Pellew, Australian cricketer (10 Tests 484 runs at 37), dies at 87
• May 25 Roy Brown, American boxer/rocker, dies of a heart attack at 55
• May 30 Don Ashby, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1955)
• Jun 3 Eric Dalton, South African cricket batsman (15 Tests, top score 117), dies at 74
• Jun 28 Terry Fox, Canadian one-legged distance runner (Marathon of Hope 1980), dies of cancer at 22
• Aug 2 Stefanie Clausen, Danish diver (Olympic gold 10m platform 1920), dies at 81
• Aug 14 Dudley Nourse, South African cricketer (34 Tests for South Africa, 2960 runs), dies at 70
• Aug 15 Pappy Waldorf, American College Football Hall of Fame tackle and coach (Northwestern, California), dies at 78
• Aug 27 Valery Kharlamov, Soviet ice hockey player (b. 1948)
• Aug 28 Béla Guttmann, Hungarian footballer and coach (Benfica, 100 year curse), dies at 82
• Aug 28 Paul Anspach, Belgian fencer (Olympic gold individual epée, team epée 1912), dies at 99
• Aug 31 Victor Trumper Jr, Australian cricketer (7 games for NSW, 74 runs 12 wkts), dies at 67
• Sep 9 Phiroz Edulji Palia, cricket (2 Tests for India, 29 runs & 0-13), dies
• Sep 29 Bill Shankly, Scottish football manager (Liverpool, 1959-74) dies of a heart attack at 68
• Oct 2 Fidel LaBarba, American boxer (Olympic gold flyweight 1924; world flyweight title 1927), dies of heart failure at 76
• Oct 4 Fred Lindstrom, American Baseball Hall of Fame utility (New York Giants), dies at 75
• Oct 15 Philip Fotheringham-Parker, British racing driver (b. 1907)
• Oct 30 Lew Jenkins, American boxer (World Lightweight Champion 1940-41), dies at 64
• Nov 14 Robert Bradford, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1941)
• Nov 22 Jack Fingleton, Australian cricket batsman (18 Tests, 1,189 runs @ 42.46, 5 x 100s), dies at 73
• Nov 25 Morris Kirksey, American 4 X 100m (Olympic gold 1920), dies at 86
• Nov 26 Max Euwe, Dutch world chess champion (1935-37), dies at 80
• Dec 2 Hershy Kay, American composer (Olympic Hymn, A Chorus Line), dies at 62