July 1981 in Sports History

Events in Sport

Wimbledon Women's Tennis

Jul 3 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Chris Evert beats Hana Mandlíková 6-2, 6-2 for her third and final Wimbledon singles title

Tennis Player and Four-Time Major Champion Hana Mandlikova

Wimbledon Men's Tennis

Jul 4 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: John McEnroe ends Björn Borg's streak of 5 straight Wimbledon titles with a famous 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 victory

Golf Tournament

Jul 5 Canadian Open Women's Golf (Peter Jackson Classic), Summerlea GC: Jan Stephenson of Australia wins by 1 shot from Pat Bradley & Nancy Lopez

Sports History

Jul 7 England cricket captain Ian Botham resigned after no wins in 12 matches under his reign and a pair in the 2nd Test v Australia at Lord's

Sports History

Jul 11 Sebastian Coe of UK sets record for 1K (2:12.18)

Sports History

Jul 12 US Senior Open Men's Golf, Oakland Hills CC: Arnold Palmer comfortably wins 18-hole playoff against Billy Casper and Bob Stone

British Golf Open

Jul 19 British Open Men's Golf, Royal St George's GC: American Bill Rogers wins his only major title, 4 strokes ahead of runner-up Bernhard Langer of Germany

Jul 19 68th Tour de France won by Bernard Hinault of France
Jul 25 Anti-apartheid protesters in Hamilton, New Zealand, force the cancellation of a rugby test between New Zealand's All Blacks and South Africa’s Springboks by invading the pitch during the game
Jul 26 US Open Women's Golf, La Grange CC: Pat Bradley shoots final round 66 (−6) to finish 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Beth Daniel; second of Bradley's 6 major titles
Jul 29 Anti-apartheid protesters against the Springbok rugby tour are confronted by police who use batons to stop them marching to South Africa’s Consul in New Zealand
Jul 31 Mid-season strike by MLB players ends after 42 days causing cancellation of 713 games; players and owners come to an agreement on free agent compensation

Birthdays in Sport

Jul 2 Angel Pagán, Puerto Rican baseball player
Jul 2 Aaron Voros, Canadian hockey player
Jul 4 Francisco Cruceta, Dominican baseball player, born in La Vega, Dominican Republic
Jul 5 Jesse Crain, Canadian baseball player, born in Toronto, Ontario
Jul 6 Nicole Kantek, Australian gymnast (Olympics 1996), born in New South Wales, Australia
Jul 6 Nnamdi Asomugha, American football player, born in Lafayette, Louisiana

MS Dhoni

Jul 7 MS Dhoni, Indian cricket wicket-keeper and captain (90 Tests, 6 x 100, HS 224, 294 dismissals; Bihar, Jharkhand, Chennai Super Kings), born in Jharkhand, India

Jul 8 Anastasia Myskina, Russian tennis player (2004 French Open), born in Moscow, Russia
Jul 9 Kimveer Gill, Canadian spree shooter (Dawson College shooting) (d. 2006)
Jul 11 Mary Beth Arnold, gymnast (World-bronze-95), born in Reno, Nevada
Jul 11 Andre Johnson, American football player
Jul 19 Naomi Grabow, American pairs skater (with partner Benjamin Oberman), born in lLke Arrowhead California
Jul 19 Nené [Anderson Luiz de Carvalho], Brazilian footballer (La Liga), born in Jundiaí, Brazil
Jul 19 Jimmy Gobble, American baseball player
Jul 19 David Bernard, West Indian cricketer, born in Kingston, Jamaica
Jul 20 Damien Delaney, Irish footballer
Jul 21 Stefan Schumacher, German cyclist, born in Ostfildern, West Germany
Jul 21 Joaquín Sánchez, Spanish footballer, born in El Puerto de Santa María, Spain
Jul 21 Titus Bramble, English footballer, born in Ipswich, Engalnd
Jul 23 Jarkko Nieminen, Finnish tennis player, born in Masku, Finland
Jul 25 Conor Casey, American soccer player (Colorado Rapids), born in Dover, New Hampshire
Jul 25 Jani Rita, Finnish ice hockey player, born in Helsinki, Finland
Jul 27 Susan King Borchardt, American basketball player, born in Richfield, Minnesota
Jul 27 Collins Obuya, Kenyan cricket all-rounder (104 ODIs, 35 wickets, 11 x 50), born in Nairobi, Kenya
Jul 28 Michael Carrick, English footballer, born in Wallsend, England
Jul 29 Jennie Thompson, American gymnast (Jr Natl-champ-93, Olympics 1996), born in Wichita Falls, Texas

Fernando Alonso

Jul 29 Fernando Alonso, Spanish auto racer (World Formula 1 Drivers Champion 2005-06; 24 Hours of Le Mans 2018-19; FIA World Endurance C'ship 2018-19), born in Oviedo, Asturias, Spain

Jul 29 Andrés Madrid, Argentine footballer and manager (Braga), born in Mar del Plata, Argentina
Jul 29 Troy Perkins, American professional soccer goalkeeper, born in Springfield, Ohio
Jul 30 Nicky Hayden, American motorcycle racer (MotoGP Champion 2006), born in Owensboro, Kentucky (d. 2017)
Jul 30 Juan Smith, South African rugby player, born in Bloemfontein, South Africa