Events in Sport
Boxing Title Fight
Dec 3 After losing his world welterweight boxing titles to Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns wins WBC Super Welterweight crown in a majority points decision over Wilfred Benitez at Superdome, New Orleans
- Dec 4 48th Heisman Trophy Award: Herschel Walker, Georgia (RB)
- Dec 5 NFL Cleveland Browns' Brian Sipe sets club record with 33 pass completions
- Dec 5 Ingrid Berghmans (Neth) retains judo's world championship
- Dec 5 Mel Gray ends NFL streak of 121 consecutive game receptions
- Dec 5 PGA Seniors' Championship Men's Golf, PGA National GC: Don January wins his lone Champions Tour major title by 1 stroke over Julius Boros
- Dec 9 World Boxing Council first to reduce the length of championship fights from 15 to 12 rounds, and allows referees to order standing 8-count for fighters in trouble
Boxing Title Fight
Dec 10 Heavyweight Michael Doakes KOs Mike Weaver in 1:03 in Las Vegas
Australian Open Women's Tennis
Dec 12 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Chris Evert-Lloyd wins her first Australian title; beats Martina Navratilova 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
- Dec 13 Australian Open Men's Tennis: South African Johan Kriek wins 2nd straight Australian title; repeats previous year's win over American Steve Denton 6-3, 6-3, 6-2
Sports History
Dec 14 LA Kings' Marcel Dionne becomes 9th NHLer to score 500 goals
Sports History
Dec 15 Bill Parcells becomes 12th head coach of NY Giants
- Dec 24 Chaminade, with a student body of only 850 students, beats #1 ranked Virginia 77-72 in a Honolulu holiday basketball classic
Sports History
Dec 25 Mudassar Nazar scores 119 in Pakistan's 2nd innings 452 before Imran Khan takes 6 Indian wickets in 2nd Test in Karachi; he finished with 8/60 on the final day
- Dec 27 Imran Khan 8-60 to bring innings victory v India at Karachi
- Dec 28 Ballon d'Or: Juventus striker Paolo Rossi is named best European football player; beats Bordeaux midfielder Alain Giresse and Juventus' Polish midfielder Zbigniew Boniek
- Dec 29 American college football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant ends his career with University of Alabama (323 wins)
- Dec 30 England defeat Australia by three runs at cricket MCG
Birthdays in Sport
- Dec 3 Michael Essien, Ghanaian soccer midfielder (58 caps; Chelsea, Lyon), born in Accra, Ghana
- Dec 4 Ho-Pin Tung, Dutch-Chinese auto racer (FIA World Endurance C'ship 2017, 18-19, 19-20 runner-up), born in Velp, Netherlands
- Dec 4 Waldo Ponce, Chilean soccer defender (42 caps; Universidad de Chile), born in Los Andes, Chile
- Dec 5 Trai Essex, American football player, born in Fort Wayne, Indiana
- Dec 6 Alberto Contador, Spanish cyclist and Tour de France winner (2007, 09), born in Pinto, Madrid, Spain
- Dec 6 Sean Ervine, Zimbabwean cricketer (played for Zimbabwe in the 2003 Cricket World Cup), born in Harare, Zimbabwe
- Dec 6 Robbie Gould, American football player (San Francisco 49ers), born in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania
- Dec 8 Dee Dee Trotter, American athlete, born in California, United States
- Dec 8 Hamit Altintop, German-born Turkish football player (identical twin brother of Halil Altintop), born in Gelsenkirchen, Germany
- Dec 8 Halil Altintop, German-born Turkish football player (identical twin brother of Hamit Altintop), born in Gelsenkirchen, Germany
- Dec 9 Tamilla Abassova, Russian cyclist, born in Moscow, Russia
- Dec 9 Nathalie De Vos, Belgian athlete, born in Ghent, Belgium
- Dec 10 Matt Stutzman, American archer (WR longest accurate shot in archery - despite having no arms), born in Kansas City, Kansas
- Dec 11 Pablo Pérez Companc, Argentine racing driver, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Dec 12 Dmitry Tursunov, Russian tennis player, born in Moscow
- Dec 13 Ricky Nolasco, American baseball player, born in Corona, California
- Dec 13 Tuka Rocha, Brazilian racing driver, born in São Paulo, Brazil
- Dec 13 Dominik Werling, German footballer, born in Ludwigshafen, Germany
- Dec 14 Josh Fields, American baseball player, born in Ada, Oklahoma
- Dec 14 Steve Sidwell, English footballer, born in Wandsworth, England
- Dec 16 Antrel Rolle, National Football League defensive back
- Dec 17 Josh Barfield, American baseball player
- Dec 17 Stephane Lasme, Gabonese basketball player
- Dec 19 Mo Williams, American basketball point guard (NBA C'ship 2016, NBA All Star 2009 Cleveland Cavaliers) and coach (Alabama State), born in Jackson, Mississippi
- Dec 19 Tero Pitkamaki, Finnish javelin thrower
- Dec 20 Mohammed Asif, Pakistani cricket player, born in Sheikhupura, Pakistan
- Dec 20 Kasper Klausen, Danish footballer, born in Denmark
- Dec 20 David Wright, American baseball player (New York Mets), born in Norfolk, Virginia
- Dec 21 Mike Gansey, American basketball player, born in Olmsted Falls, Ohio
- Dec 21 Philip Humber, American baseball player, born in Nacogdoches, Texas
- Dec 21 Iljo Keisse, Belgian cyclist, born in Ghent, Belgium
- Dec 25 Shawn Andrews, American football offensive lineman (Pro Bowl 2006, 07; First-team All-Pro 2006; Philadelphia Eagles), born in Littleton, Massachusetts
- Dec 28 Cedric Benson, American football player, born in Midland, Texas
- Dec 28 François Gourmet, Belgian decathlete, born in Libramont-Chevigny, Belgium
- Dec 30 Dawan Landry, American football player
- Dec 30 Dathan Ritzenhein, American runner
- Dec 31 Julio DePaula, Dominican baseball player, born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- Dec 31 Luke Schenscher, Australian basketball player, born in South Australia, Australia
- Dec 31 Craig Gordon, Scottish footballer, born in Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Deaths in Sport
- Dec 2 Giovanni Ferrari, Italian soccer midfielder and manager (44 caps; Juventus, Internazionale; mgr Italy), dies at 74
- Dec 3 Dutch Meyer, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (National C'ship 1935, 38; TCU), dies at 84
- Dec 8 Bertus de Harder, Dutch soccer star (Bordeaux), dies
- Dec 13 Jack Badcock, Australian cricketer (7 Tests, 1 century but inconsistent), dies at 68
- Dec 18 Ray Emery, New Zealand cricketer (2 Tests NZ v WI 1952, 46 runs, 2 wkts), dies at 67
- Dec 18 Bernard Malivoire, French rower (Olympic gold coxed pair 1952), dies at 44
