Year 1985 in Sports History

Events in Sport

Events 1 - 100 of 227

• Jan 1 71st Rose Bowl: #18 Southern California beats #6 Ohio State, 20-17
• Jan 1 51st Sugar Bowl: #5 Nebraska beats #11 LSU, 28-10

• Jan 1 14th Fiesta Bowl: #14 UCLA beats #13 Miami, 39-37
• Jan 1 51st Orange Bowl: #4 Washington beats #2 Oklahoma, 28-17
• Jan 2 Nevada Las Vegas basketball gives coach Jerry Tarkanian his 600th career victory with a 142-140 win over Utah State in triple overtime; total of 282 points breaks NCAA men's record of 275 set in 1976
• Jan 3 Future Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin scores 110 on debut in drawn 3rd Test against England in Kolkata

• Jan 6 AFC Championship, Miami Orange Bowl: Miami Dolphins beat Pittsburgh Steelers, 45-28
• Jan 6 NFC Championship, Candlestick Park, SF: San Francisco 49ers beat Chicago Bears, 23-0
• Jan 7 Lou Brock & Hoyt Wilhelm are elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame
• Jan 9 Flames set NHL record 264th regular season game without being shut-out

• Jan 13 23rd Tennis Fed Cup: Czech beats USA in Nagoya Japan (2-1)
• Jan 13 99 year old Otto Bucher from Switzerland becomes oldest man to record a hole-in-one at Spanish GC La Manga's 130-yard 12th hole
• Jan 13 Blackhawk Doug Wilson failed on 12th penalty shot against Islanders

• Jan 15 Mike Gatting (207) and Graeme Fowler (201) become first pair of England batsmen to complete double centuries in the same innings during 9-wicket 4th cricket Test win against India at Madras

• Jan 21 Dennis Potvin ties Bobby Orr's career record of 270 NHL goals
• Jan 26 Edmonton Oiler Wayne Gretzky scores 50th goal in 49th game of season
• Jan 27 Mark Mckoy cycles world record 50m hurdles indoor (5.25)
• Jan 27 NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: AFC beats NFC, 22-14; MVP: Mark Gastineau, NY Jets, DE
• Jan 28 Houston's Bill Fitch becomes the 6th coach in NBA history to post 600 wins as the Rockets beat the New Jersey Nets, 97-93

• Feb 1 Patient innings from Dilip Vengsarkar (137) and Mohammad Azharuddin (122) set India up for 5th cricket Test draw vs England in Kanpur; Azharuddin, 3 centuries in 1st 3 Tests
• Feb 7 NY Devil Don Lever becomes 57th NHLer to score 300 goals
• Feb 8 1st-class cricket debut of Jimmy Adams (age 17), Jamaica v Barbados
• Feb 8 Bruce Morris, Marshall Univ, makes a 92' 5½" basketball shot
• Feb 8 Michael Gross swims world record 800m freestyle (7:38.75)
• Feb 10 35th NBA All-Star Game, Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis: West beats East, 140-129; MVP: Ralph Sampson, Houston Rockets, C
• Feb 11 Kent Hrbek signs 5-year $6 million contract with Minnesota Twins
• Feb 11 Wasim Akram takes 10 wickets in his 2nd Test Cricket, NZ still wins

• Feb 12 West Indies beat Australia 2-1 to win cricket's World Series Cup (Australian Tri-Series)

• Feb 16 Largest NBA crowd to date, 43,816, sees Philadelphia at Detroit
• Feb 16 Livingston Bramble defeats Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini to win WBA champ
• Feb 16 NJ Devils score their fastest hat trick in 42 seconds
• Feb 17 Dutch speed skater Hein Vergeer becomes World Allround champion
• Feb 17 27th Daytona 500: After taking pole at then-record speed of 205.114 mph Bill Elliott dominates race leading 136 of 200 laps
• Feb 20 After defending his WBC flyweight championship, Sot Chitalada's check for $104,000 is stolen by a ringside pickpocket
• Feb 21 Largest NBA crowd to date 44,970 (Atlanta at Detroit)

• Feb 23 Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight throws a chair during a game

• Mar 1 Milwaukee businessman Herb Kohl purchases NBA's Milwaukee Bucks for $18 million
• Mar 3 Bill Shoemaker becomes 1st jockey to win $100 million

• Mar 6 Enos Slaughter & Arky Vaughan are elected to baseball Hall of Fame

• Mar 8 Ice Dance Championship at Tokyo won by Bestemianova & Bukin (URS)
• Mar 8 6th Big East Men's Basketball Tournament: Georgetown beats St. John's, 92-80
• Mar 9 26th SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Auburn beats Alabama, 53-49
• Mar 10 Dallas Maverick coach Dick Motta is 4th NBA coach to win 700 games
• Mar 10 India beat Pakistan to win "World Championship of Cricket"
• Mar 10 32nd ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: Georgia Tech beats North Carolina, 57-54

• Mar 16 MLB Pitcher Denny McLain, convicted of racketeering, sentenced to 25 yrs
• Mar 17 Matti Nykanen of Finland set a world ski jump record of 623'

• Mar 19 NSW wins cricket Sheffield Shield by beating Queensland by 1 wicket

• Mar 24 Norman Gifford makes cricket ODI debuts at age 44 (v Aust, Sharjah)
• Mar 24 Third straight WTA Tour Championship for tennis legend Martina Navratilova; beats Helena Suková 6–3, 7–5, 6–4 at Madison Square Garden, NYC
• Mar 29 Wayne Gretzky breaks own NHL season record with 126th assist
• Mar 30 139th Grand National: Welsh jockey Hywel Davies aboard 11-year old 50/1 outsider Last Suspect wins by 1½ lengths from Mr. Snugfit
• Mar 30 Ireland beats England, 13-10 at Lansdowne Road, Dublin to clinch it's 10th outright Five Nations Rugby Championship and 6th triple Crown
• Mar 31 4th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Old Dominion beats Georgia, 70-65; Monarchs' Tracy Claxton, MOP
• Mar 31 PGA Tournament Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Calvin Peete shoots final round 66 to win by 3 strokes from D. A. Weibring; Peete only player to break par in all 4 rounds
• Apr 1 47th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Villanova beats Georgetown, 84-75; Wildcats lowest-seeded team to win tournament (8)
• Apr 2 Edmonton center Wayne Gretzky sets an NHL record with his 34th career hat trick as the Oilers beat the Kings 6-4 in Los Angeles
• Apr 2 Quebec's Czech center Peter Stastny scores his 100th NHL point of the season for the 5th straight year, with an assist for the Nordiques in a 6-4 win over the Boston Bruins in Quebec City
• Apr 2 The NCAA Rules Committee adopts a 45-second shot clock for men’s basketball to begin in the 1986 season in an effort to eliminate stalling
• Apr 4 Tulane University cancels its basketball season amidst scandal
• Apr 7 Nabisco Dinah Shore Women's Golf, Mission Hills CC: Alice Miller shoots a final round 67 (−5) to win her only major title, 3 strokes ahead of Jan Stephenson of Australia
• Apr 9 White Sox pitcher Tom Seaver starts a record 15th opening day game
• Apr 13 "TASS" denounces US boycott of Moscow Olympics
• Apr 13 Katrin Dörre wins 1st female World Cup marathon (2:33:30)

• Apr 14 Ahmed Salah wins 1st World Cup marathon (2:08:09)
• Apr 15 89th Boston Marathon: Englishman Geoff Smith repeats as men's champion in 2:14:05; American Lisa Larsen Weidenbach takes women's title in 2:34:06
• Apr 20 Carlos Lopes runs world record marathon (2:07:12)
• Apr 21 Ingrid Kristiansen wins London Marathon in a record 2:21:06
• Apr 23 Brooklyn College soccer team wins Nepal's invitational
• Apr 25 For 2nd time, Wayne Gretzky, scores 7 points in a Cup game (3 goals, 4 assists)
• Apr 28 Billy Martin named NY Yankee manager for 4th time
• Apr 29 Tony Tubbs TKOs Greg Page in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
• Apr 30 NFL Draft: Virginia Tech defensive end Bruce Smith first pick by Buffalo Bills
• May 4 111th Kentucky Derby: Angel Cordero Jr on Spend A Buck wins 2:00.2
• May 11 56 die and at least 265 are injured at Bradford City football ground in the worst fire in English football history

• May 13 Carlton Fisk becomes 5th catcher to steal 100 bases
• May 15 Everton of England wins 25th European Cup Winner's Cup against Rapid Wien of Austria 3-1 in Rotterdam

• May 16 NHL Prince of Wales Conference Final: Philadelphia Flyers beat Quebec Nordiques, 4 games to 2
• May 16 NHL Clarence Campbell Conference Final: Edmonton Oilers beat Chicago Black Hawks, 4 games to 2
• May 18 110th Preakness: Pat Day aboard Tank's Prospect wins in 1:53.4

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Birthdays in Sport

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 244

• Jan 1 Steven Davis, Northern Irish soccer midfielder (117 caps [2019]; Rangers, Southampton), born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland
• Jan 1 Jeff Carter, Canadian ice hockey center (Stanley Cup 2012, 14; NHL All-Star 2009, 17; Philadelphia Flyers, LA Kings), born in London, Ontario
• Jan 1 Tiago Splitter, Brazilian basketball forward and coach (NBA C'ship 2014, San Antonio Spurs; All-EuroLeague Team selection 2008-10), born in Blumenau, Brazil
• Jan 2 Heather O'Reilly, American soccer midfielder (231 caps; FIFA Women's World Cup 2015; Olympic gold 2004, 08, 12), born in East Brunswick, New Jersey
• Jan 4 Fernando Rees, Brazilian race car driver, born in São Paulo, Brazil
• Jan 4 Al Jefferson, American basketball player, born in Monticello, Mississippi
• Jan 6 R. P. Singh, Indian cricketer, born in Raebareli District, India

• Jan 11 Kazuki Nakajima, Japanese racing driver, born in Aichi Prefecture, Japan
• Jan 12 Artem Milevskiy, Ukrainian footballer, born in Minsk, Belarus
• Jan 15 Kenneth Emil Petersen, Danish footballer, born in Solrød Strand, Denmark
• Jan 18 Riccardo Montolivo, Italian soccer player, born in Milan, Italy
• Jan 19 Benny Feilhaber, American soccer player, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Jan 19 Esteban Guerrieri, Argentine racing driver, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Jan 21 Alex Pérez, Spanish footballer
• Jan 21 Matt Unicomb, Australian basketball player
• Jan 21 Adrian Lewis, English darts player (PDC World Champion 2011-12), born in Stoke-on-Trent, England
• Jan 22 Mohamed Sissoko, Malian footballer, born in Mont-Saint-Aignan, France
• Jan 23 Dong Fangzhuo, Chinese football player, born in Dalian, China
• Jan 25 Acie Law IV, American basketball player, born in Dallas, Texas
• Jan 28 Arnold Mvuemba, French footballer
• Jan 29 Marc Gasol, Spanish basketball player, born in Barcelona, Spain
• Jan 30 Trae Williams, American football player, born in South Brisbane, Australia
• Jan 31 Adam Federici, Australian football player, born in Nowra, Australia
• Jan 31 Mario Williams, American football defensive end, born in Richlands, North Carolina
• Feb 1 Dean Shiels, Irish soccer midfielder (14 caps, Northern Ireland; Hibernian, Rangers), born in Magherafelt, Northern Ireland
• Feb 5 Laurence Maroney, American football player, born in St. Louis, Missouri

• Feb 6 Yang Yu, Chinese swimmer, born in Hangzhou, China
• Feb 6 Joji Kato, Japanese speed skater, born in Yamagata, Japan
• Feb 6 Kris Humphries, American basketball player, born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Feb 10 Anette Sagen, Norwegian ski jumper, born in Mosjøen, Norway
• Feb 11 Mike Richards, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Kenora, Canada
• Feb 13 Alexandros Tziolis, Greek footballer, born in Katerini, Greece
• Feb 13 David Padgett, US basketball player, born in Reno, Nevada
• Feb 14 Philippe Senderos, Swiss footballer, born in Geneva, Switzerland
• Feb 14 Tyler Clippard, American baseball player, born in Lexington, Kentucky
• Feb 16 Zoi Dimoschaki, Greek swimmer
• Feb 16 Stacy Lewis, American golfer (ANA Inspiration 2011, Women's British Open 2013), born in Toledo, Ohio
• Feb 18 Anton Ferdinand, English footballer, born in Peckham, London
• Feb 20 Ryan Sweeney, American baseball player
• Feb 21 Georgios Samaras, Greek footballer, born in Heraklion, Greece
• Feb 22 Hameur Bouazza, Algerian footballer, born in Essonne, France
• Feb 25 Benji Marshall, New Zealand rugby player
• Feb 25 Joakim Noah, American basketball player
• Feb 27 Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Russian footballer, born in Moscow, Russia
• Feb 28 Jelena Janković, Serbian tennis player, born in Belgrade, Serbia
• Mar 1 Jeremy Jacob "J" Leman, Champaign Illinois, American Football Player
• Mar 2 Reggie Bush, American NFL running back (Heisman Trophy 2005 [later forfeited], USC; Super Bowl 2009, New Orleans Saints), born in Spring Valley, California
• Mar 3 Sam Morrow, Northern Irish footballer
• Mar 4 Chinedum Ndukwe, American football player
• Mar 9 Parthiv Patel, Indian Cricket Player, born in Ahmedabad, India
• Mar 10 Lassana Diarra, French footballer
• Mar 11 Derek Schouman, American football player
• Mar 11 Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Australian soccer player
• Mar 12 Bradley Wright-Phillips, English footballer
• Mar 12 Tosh Townend, American skateboarder
• Mar 13 Alcides [Alcides Eduardo Mendes de Araújo Alves], Brazilian football player, born in São José do Rio Preto, Brazil
• Mar 13 Austin Scott, American football player, born in Allentown, Pennsylvania
• Mar 15 Antti Autti, Finnish snowboarder (Gold 2005 Winter X Games), born in Finland
• Mar 15 Tom Chilton, British racing driver, born in Reigate, England
• Mar 16 Colin O'Brady, American athlete and adventurer, first to cross Antarctica solo unassisted, born in Olympia, Washington
• Mar 18 Vince Lia, Australian Footballer
• Mar 18 Gennaro Esposito, Italian footballer
• Mar 19 Ernesto Viso, Venezuelan racing driver
• Mar 21 Adrian Peterson, American Football player
• Mar 22 Mike Jenkins, German-born American NFL cornerback (Pro Bowl 2009; Dallas Cowboys), born in Neuenburg am Rhein, Germany
• Mar 23 Maurice Jones-Drew, American football player
• Mar 26 Prosper Utseya, Zimbabwean cricket captain
• Mar 27 Dario Baldauf, Austrian football player, born in Bregenz, Austria
• Mar 27 Stijn De Smet, Belgian football player, born in Bruges, Belgium
• Mar 28 Stan Wawrinka, Swiss tennis player (3-time Grand Slam winner), born in Lausanne, Switzerland
• Mar 29 Maxim Lapierre, Canadian ice hockey forward
• Mar 29 Mickey Pimentel, National Football League linebacker
• Apr 1 Beth Tweddle, English gymnast (World C'ship gold 2006, 09, 10; Olympic bronze 2012), born in Johannesburg, South Africa
• Apr 2 Thom Evans, Scottish rugby union winger (10 caps; London Wasps, Glasgow Warriors), born in Harare, Zimbabwe
• Apr 2 Stéphane Lambiel, Swiss figure skater (World C'ship gold men's singles 2005, 06; Olympic silver 2006; Grand Prix Final champion 2005, 07), born in Martigny, Switzerland
• Apr 4 Rudy Fernández, Spanish basketball player (Real Madrid), born in Palma de Mallorca, Spain
• Apr 6 Clarke MacArthur, Canadian-born ice hockey player
• Apr 10 Dion Phaneuf, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
• Apr 10 Eddie Castro, Panamanian jockey (record 9 wins in one race meeting 2005), born in Los Santos Province, Panama
• Apr 12 Ted Ginn Jr., American football player, born in Ohio
• Apr 15 John Danks, American baseball player
• Apr 15 Aaron Laffey, American baseball player
• Apr 16 Luol Deng, Sudanese-born British basketball player, born in Wau, South Sudan
• Apr 17 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, French tennis player (Australian Open 2008 runner-up; Davis Cup 2017; Hopman Cup 2014), born in Le Mans, France
• Apr 18 Łukasz Fabiański, Polish football goalkeeper (Poland national team), born in Kostrzyn nad Odrą, Poland
• Apr 18 Karl Reindler, Australian racing driver, born in Perth, Australia
• Apr 19 Valon Behrami, Swiss footballer (Switzerland national team), born in Mitrovica, Yugoslavia
• Apr 25 Giedo van der Garde, Dutch racing driver, born in Rhenen, Netherlands
• Apr 26 John Isner, American tennis player, born in Greensboro, North Carolina
• May 2 Kyle Busch, American auto racer, (NASCAR Cup Series Champion 2015), born in Las Vegas, Nevada
• May 2 Sarah Hughes, American figure skater, born in Great Neck, New York
• May 2 David Nugent, English footballer, born in Huyton, England
• May 2 Jarrod Saltalamacchia, American baseball player, born in West Palm Beach, Florida
• May 4 Ravi Bopara, English cricketer, born in Forest Gate, London
• May 5 Terrence Wheatley, American football player (New England Patriots), born in Walnut Creek, California
• May 5 P. J. Tucker, American basketball player (Houston Rockets), born in Raleigh, North Carolina
• May 6 Chris Paul, American basketball point guard (9-time NBA All Star), born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• May 7 Drew Neitzel, American college basketball player

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Weddings in Sport

• Dec 14 "The Cosby Show" actress Phylicia Rashad (37) weds former NFL wide receiver and sportscaster Ahmad Rashad (36)

Divorces in Sport

Deaths in Sport

• Jan 9 Don Brennan, cricket wicket-keeper (England in 2 Tests 1951), dies
• Jan 13 Adam Walsh, American College Football Hall of Fame center and coach (Notre Dame; Bowdoin), dies at 83
• Feb 7 Uday Merchant, cricket (bro of Vijay, prolific scorer), dies
• Feb 10 Johnny Mokan, baseball player (b. 1895)
• Feb 12 Van Lingle Mungo, American baseball pitcher (Dodgers, Giants), dies at 73
• Mar 2 John Kelly Jr, American rower (Olympic bronze single sculls 1956; president US Olympic Committee) and brother of Grace Kelly, dies at 57

• Mar 17 Dattu Phadkar, Indian cricketer (Indian all-rounder, 31 Tests 1947-58), dies at 59
• Apr 5 Tyrell Johnson, cricketer (WI left-arm quickie, one Test 1939), dies
• Apr 11 Bunny Ahearne, British ice hockey promoter, dies at 84
• May 2 Attilio Bettega, Italian rallydriver (b.1951)
• May 6 Pete Desjardins, American platform and springboard diver (Olympic gold 1928), dies at 78
• May 18 Harald Andersson, Swedish discus thrower (world record 52.42m 1934), dies at 78
• May 29 39 people die in a confrontation at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium when Juventus and Italian fans are crushed against a wall escaping a breach by Liverpool fans
• Jun 10 Bob Prince, American sportscaster (Monday Night Baseball, Pittsburgh Pirates), dies of cancer at 68
• Jun 15 Len Hopwood, cricketer (took 0-155 in two Tests Eng v Aust 1934), dies
• Jun 15 Percy Fender, English cricketer (13 Tests for England, 380 runs 29 wkts), dies at 92
• Jun 15 Andy Stanfield, American athlete (b. 1927)
• Jun 28 Jimmy Thomson, Scottish golfer (US Open 1935, PGA C'ship 1936 runner-up), dies at 76
• Jul 2 David Purley, British Formula 1 driver (b. 1945)
• Jul 3 Frank Selke, Canadian ice hockey manager, dies at 92
• Jul 3 Cooney Weiland, Canadian NHL forward (Boston Bruins), dies at 80
• Jul 5 Jack Robertson, South African cricket spinner (3 Tests v Aust 1935-36), dies
• Jul 23 Johnny Wardle, English cricketer (b. 1923)
• Jul 27 Smoky Joe Wood, American baseball pitcher (Boston Red Sox), dies at 95
• Jul 31 Murray Chapple, New Zealand cricketer (NZ Test batsman through the 1950's), dies at 55
• Aug 2 Sandy Bell, South African cricket pace bowler (16 Tests), dies at 79
• Aug 9 Clive Churchill, Australian rugby league footballer (b. 1927)
• Aug 12 Manfred Winkelhock, German race car driver (b. 1951)
• Aug 22 Ginty Lush, Australian cricketer (NSW quickie of 30's), dies at 71
• Sep 1 Stefan Bellof, German race car driver (b. 1957)
• Sep 1 Jay Youngblood, American wrestler (b. 1955)
• Sep 2 Abe Lenstra, Dutch soccer star, dies at 64
• Sep 10 Jock Stein, Scottish footballer and manager, dies at 62
• Oct 13 Jack Wilson, Australian cricket spin bowler (1 Test; 43 wickets on England Tour 1956), dies at 64
• Oct 24 Richie Evans, American NASCAR driver, dies in a car crash at 44
• Oct 31 Anton Christoforidis, Greek boxer (NBA light heavyweight title 1941), dies of a heart attack at 68
• Nov 1 Arnold Pihlak, Estonian soccer forward (44 caps; FK Austria Wien), dies at 83
• Nov 2 Fred Enke, American College basketball coach (University of Arizona 1925–1961, record 522–344), dies at 88
• Nov 8 Nicolas Frantz, Luxembourgish road cyclist (Tour de France 1927-28), dies at 86
• Nov 8 Masten Gregory, American auto racer (24 Hours of Le Mans 1961, 65 [Jochen Rindt]), dies at 53
• Nov 10 Pelle Lindbergh, goalie (Philadelphia Flyers), dies in drunk driving accident
• Nov 19 Lall Singh, cricketer (Test for India 1932), dies
• Nov 21 Ramnath Kenny, cricketer (5 Tests for India 1958-60), dies
• Nov 25 Ray Jablonski, American baseball player (b. 1926)
• Nov 28 Johnny "Blood" McNally, American Pro Football Hall of Fame halfback and coach (NFL champion 1929-31, 36; Green Bay Packers), dies from a stroke at 82
• Dec 6 Burleigh Grimes, American baseball player, dies at 92

• Dec 14 Charlie Bachman, American College Football Hall of Fame guard & coach (Notre Dame, Florida, Michigan State), dies at 93
• Dec 16 Dick Pollard, cricketer (England fast-medium bowler 1946-48), dies
• Dec 16 Merv Waite, cricketer (2 Tests for Aust 1938, 1 wkt avg 190), dies
• Dec 27 Harry Hopman, Australian tennis player, coach (Davis Cup captain 1939-67, won 16), dies of a heart attack at 79
• Dec 31 Alexander Matheson, cricketer (2 wickets/2 Tests for NZ 1930-31), dies

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