Events in Sport
- Jan 1 53rd Orange Bowl: #3 Oklahoma beats #9 Arkansas, 42-8
- Jan 1 53rd Sugar Bowl: #6 Nebraska beats #5 LSU, 30-15
- Jan 1 73rd Rose Bowl: #7 Arizona State beats #4 Michigan, 22-15
- Jan 2 16th Fiesta Bowl: #2 Penn State beats #1 Miami, 14-10
- Jan 2 Indiana Pacers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 116-106 to give coach Jack Ramsay his 800th NBA victory; at the time Ramsey is one of only 2 coaches (with Red Auerbach) to reach milestone
- Jan 8 Jack Sikma (Milwaukee) begins NBA free throw streak of 51 games
AFC Championship
Jan 11 AFC Championship, Cleveland Stadium: Denver Broncos beat Cleveland Browns 23-20 (OT)
- Jan 11 Largest crowd (76,633) at NFL NY Giant Stadium (beat Wash 17-0)
- Jan 11 NFC Championship, Giants Stadium, East Rutherford: New York Giants beat Washington Redskins, 17-0
- Jan 14 Catfish Hunter and Billy Williams are elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Sports History
Jan 15 Champion Boston Celtics NBA forward Larry Bird is named Man of the Year by 'The Sporting News' and Athlete of the Year by 'Associated Press'; first time one athlete gains both distinctions
Australian Open Women's Tennis
Jan 24 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Hana Mandlíková of Czechoslovakia wins her 4th and final Grand Slam singles crown; beats Martina Navratilova 7-5, 7-6
Australian Men's Tennis Open
Jan 25 75th Australian Open Men's Tennis: Stefan Edberg of Sweden wins 2nd career Grand Slam title and 2nd Australian title; beats home town favourite Pat Cash 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3
- Jan 25 Super Bowl XXI, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA: NY Giants beat Denver Broncos, 39-20; MVP: Phil Simms, NY Giants, QB
- Jan 28 Wrestler Jim Neidhart indicted for assaulting a flight attendant
Birthdays in Sport
- Jan 1 Meryl Davis, American ice dancer (Olympic gold with Charlie White 2014; World C'ships gold 2011, 2013), born in Royal Oak, Michigan
- Jan 7 Davide Astori, Italian footballer (Milan), born in San Giovanni Bianco, Italy (d. 2018)
- Jan 9 Lucas Pezzini Leiva, Brazilian football player, born in Dourados, Brazil
- Jan 9 Sam Bird, English racing driver, born in Roehampton, London
- Jan 10 César Cielo, Brazilian swimmer (Olympic gold 50m freestyle 2008; World C'ship gold x 6 2009, 11, 13; WR 50m freestyle 20.91, 100m freestyle 46.91 2009), born in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, Brazil
- Jan 11 Danuta Kozák, Hungarian sprint canoeist (5-time Olympic gold K-1, K-2, K-4 500m 2012, 16), born in Budapest, Hungary
Jamie Vardy (36 years old)
Jan 11 English football player (Leicester City, England), born in Sheffield, England
- Jan 11 Scotty Cranmer, US professional BMX rider, born in Jackson Township, New Jersey
- Jan 12 Salvatore Sirigu, Italian footballer, born in Nuoro, Italy
- Jan 15 David Knight, English footballer, born in Houghton-le-Spring, United Kingdom
- Jan 15 Greg Inglis, Australian rugby league player, born in Kempsey, Australia
- Jan 19 Edgar Manucharyan, Armenian footballer, born in Yerevan, Armenia
- Jan 20 Marco Simoncelli, Italian motorcycle racer (250cc World Championship 2008), born in Cattolica, Italy (d. 2011)
- Jan 21 Joe Ledley, Welsh footballer
- Jan 22 Astrid Jacobsen, Norwegian cross-country skier, born in Trondheim, Norway
- Jan 22 Shane Long, Irish soccer striker (fastest EPL goal 7.69s 2019), born in Gortnahoe, Republic of Ireland
Luis Suárez (36 years old)
Jan 24 Uruguayan soccer striker (Ajax, Liverpool, Barcelona 191 games, Atlético Madrid), born in Salto, Uruguay
Weddings in Sport
Mats Wilander
Jan 3 Swedish tennis player Mats Wilander (22) weds South African model Sonya Mulholland in South Africa
Divorces in Sport
Darryl Strawberry
Jan 29 Lisa files for separation from husband NY Met Darryl Strawberry
Deaths in Sport
- Jan 2 Jean de Gribaldy, French road cyclist & team director (Frimatic - Viva, Miko, Sem - France Loire), dies at 64
- Jan 4 Jack Martin, cricketer (Eng pace bowler, 1-111 & 0-18 in Test), dies
- Jan 5 Herman Smith-Johannsen, Norwegian-born Canadian cross-country skier (b. 1875)
- Jan 8 Nana Joshi, Indian cricket wicket-keeper (12 tests, 27 dismissals, 1 x 50; Maharashtra CC), dies at 60
- Jan 10 Håkan Malmrot, Swedish swimmer (Olympic gold 200m & 400m breaststroke 1920), dies at 86
- Jan 20 Tom Dollery, cricketer (4 Tests for Eng 1947-50), dies
- Jan 27 Allison Danzig, American sports writer (tennis specialist), dies at 88
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions