Events in Sport
- 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
Event of Interest
Jan 5 Bryan Trottier failed on 9th Islander penalty shot
Bryan Trottier
- 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
Event of Interest
Jan 10 Lenny Wilkens becomes first to coach in 1,000 NBA games when his Seattle SuperSonics defeat the Golden State Warriors, 89-86
Lenny Wilkens
Event of Interest
Jan 13 John McEnroe repeats previous year's result with a 7–5, 6–0, 6–4 win over Ivan Lendl to claim back-to-back season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis titles at Madison Square Garden, NYC
John McEnroe
Ivan Lendl
Event of Interest
Jan 13 Playing in his 436th career game, Edmonton center Wayne Gretzky scores his 400th career NHL goal and adds 2 assists in a 5-4 Oilers' win over the Sabres in Buffalo
Wayne Gretzky
Event of Interest
Jan 14 Martina Navratilova is 3rd to win 100 tennis tournaments (Connors & Evert)
Martina Navratilova
Super Bowl
Jan 20 Super Bowl XIX, Stanford Stadium, Stanford, CA: San Francisco 49ers beat Miami Dolphins, 38-16; MVP: Joe Montana, SF, QB
Joe Montana
- 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
Event of Interest
Jan 29 Jari Kurri of Edmonton Oilers scores 100th pt of season in game 39
Jari Kurri
Birthdays in Sport
- 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
Lewis Hamilton
Jan 7 Lewis Hamilton, English auto racer (World Formula 1 Drivers Champion 2008, 14-15, 17-20), born in Stevenage, England
Lewis Hamilton
- 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
Weddings in Sport
Wedding of Interest
Jan 5 Baseball player Darryl Strawberry (22) weds Lisa Andrews
Darryl Strawberry
Wedding of Interest
Jan 5 NFL football player Reggie White (23) weds Sara Copeland
Reggie White
Wedding of Interest
Jan 30 NFL Quarterback Dan Marino (23) weds Claire Veazey at St. Regis Roman Catholic Church in Pennsylvania
Dan Marino
