- Jan 1 68th Rose Bowl: #12 Washington beats #13 Iowa, 28-0
- Jan 1 48th Sugar Bowl: #10 Pittsburgh beats #2 Georgia, 24-20
- Jan 1 11th Fiesta Bowl: #7 Penn State beats #8 Southern California, 26-10
- Jan 1 48th Orange Bowl: #1 Clemson beats #4 Nebraska, 22-15
- Jan 2 New York Islanders beat Philadelphia Flyers, 3-1 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum to start 23 NHL game undefeated home streak (21-0-2), 14 straight wins
- Jan 2 "The Epic in Miami", in 85 degree heat (Fahrenheit), the San Diego Chargers defeat the Miami Dolphins 41-38 in overtime in the AFC Divisional Playoff Game, a game that set numerous playoff scoring records
Australian Open Women's Tennis
Jan 2 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Martina Navratilova wins her 1st of 3 Australian singles crowns; beats Chris Evert-Lloyd 6-7, 6-4, 7-5
Martina Navratilova
Chris Evert
- Jan 3 Australian Open Men's Tennis: South African Johan Kriek wins first career Grand Slam title; beats American Steve Denton 6-2, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4
Event of Interest
Jan 5 Star center Darryl Sittler leaves the Toronto Maple Leafs on medical advice because of mental depression; trade request was taking too long
Darryl Sittler
NHL Record
Jan 7 Islander's Bryan Trottier's 10th career hat trick
Bryan Trottier
- Jan 10 Petra Schneider swims world record 1500 m freestyle (15:43.31)
NFC Championship
Jan 10 NFC Championship, Candlestick Park, SF: San Francisco 49ers beat Dallas Cowboys, 28-27; "The Catch" - iconic moment in NFL history - Dwight Clark makes fingertip catch for a TD from Joe Montana with 58" remaining; SF goes on to win Super Bowl
Joe Montana
- Jan 10 AFC Championship, Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati: Cincinnati Bengals beat San Diego Chargers, 27-7 in the "Freezer Bowl"
Hall of Fame
Jan 13 Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson elected to Hall of Fame
Hank Aaron
Frank Robinson
Event of Interest
Jan 16 Edmonton's rookie goaltender Grant Fuhr has his 23-game unbeaten streak end with a 7-1 Oilers' defeat in Toronto
Grant Fuhr
Event of Interest
Jan 17 Czech tennis star Ivan Lendl scores a 6–7, 2–6, 7–6, 6–2, 6–4 win over American Vitas Gerulaitis to claim his first of 5 ATP Masters Grand Prix titles at Madison Square Garden, NYC
Ivan Lendl
- Jan 20 Future Hockey Hall of Fame center Darryl Sittler is traded by the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Rich Costello, a 2nd round draft pick and future considerations
- Jan 21 NY Islanders begin then NHL record 15 game winning streak with a 6-1 win over Pittsburgh Penguins at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
- Jan 24 Super Bowl XVI, Pontiac Silverdome, Detroit, MI: San Francisco 49ers beat Cincinnati Bengals, 26-21; MVP: Joe Montana, SF, QB
- Jan 26 In a 9-2 NHL win over Pittsburgh Penguins, the NY Islanders score 4 goals within 1:38, 5 within 2:37 in a 6 goal 1st period
- Jan 27 Philadelphia trades Larry Bowa & Ryne Sandberg to Cubs for Ivan DeJesus
- Jan 27 West Indies beat Australia 3-1 to win cricket's World Series Cup
- Jan 27 Los Angeles Kings set an NHL record with their 6th consecutive tied game, a 4-4 deadlock against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers
- Jan 29 Old Dominion ends Louisiana Tech's women's basketball record 54-game winning streak
- Jan 29 Wayne Garland, baseball 1st millionaire free agent, waived by Indians
- Jan 30 WBC super welterweight champion Wilfred Benitez of Puerto Rico defeats boxing legend Roberto Durán of Panama in a 15-round unanimous decision at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas
- Jan 31 NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: AFC beats NFC, 16-13; MVPs: Co-MVPs: Kellen Winslow, San Diego Chargers, TE; Lee Roy Selmon, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, DE
Event of Interest
Jan 31 US male Figure Skating championship won by Scott Hamilton
Scott Hamilton
NBA All-Star Game
Jan 31 32nd NBA All-Star Game, Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ: East beats West, 120-118; Larry Bird, Boston Celtics, F
Larry Bird
- Feb 8 Dodgers trade Davey Lopes to A's breaking up the longest-playing infield (Cey-Russell-Lopes-Garvey)
NHL All-Star Game
Feb 9 34th NHL All-Star Game, Capital Centre, Landover: Wales Conference beats Campbell Conference, 4-2; MVP: Mike Bossy, NY Islanders, RW
Mike Bossy
NHL Record
Feb 12 Wayne Gretzky scores 153rd point of season, breaking NHL record
Wayne Gretzky
- Feb 13 Islander's Bryan Trottier scores 5 goals against Flyers
- Feb 14 24th Daytona 500: Bobby Allison wins with margin of victory over Cale Yarborough an impressive 23 seconds, more than half a lap
- Feb 15 Dan Issel (NBA-Nuggets), begins streak of 63 consecutive free throw
- Feb 17 Commencement of Sri Lanka's 1st Test Cricket match, v England
- Feb 20 NY Islanders win then NHL record 15th straight game by beating Colorado Rockies, 3-2 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
- Feb 24 Boston Celtics begin an 18 NBA game winning streak
- Feb 24 Wayne Gretzky scores NHL-record 78th goal of season en route to 92
Event of Interest
Feb 26 Test Cricket debut of batsman Martin Crowe, playing for New Zealand v Australia in Wellington, run out for 9
Martin Crowe
- Feb 27 Dan Issel (NBA-Nuggets), hits on 63rd consecutive free throw
- Mar 5 Gaylord Perry (with 297 wins) signs with Seattle Mariners
- Mar 6 NBA highest scoring game: San Antonio beat Milwaukee 171-166 (3 OT)
- Mar 6 23rd SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Alabama beats Kentucky, 48-46
- Mar 7 NCAA Tournament Selection televised live for 1st time
- Mar 7 29th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: North Carolina beats Virginia, 47-45
- Mar 10 Saleem Malik scores 100 in 2nd inning of Test Cricket debut (v SL)
- Mar 11 Detroit Pistons play the Chicago Bulls, with final score of Detroit 152 to Chicago 144 and Detroit having 20 blocked shots
Event of Interest
Mar 13 Ice Dance Championship at Copenhagen won by Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean (GBR)
Christopher Dean
Jayne Torvill
- Mar 13 Men's Figure Skating Champions in Copenhagen won by Scott Hamilton (USA)
- Mar 13 Worlds Ladies' Figure Skating Champs in Copenhagen won by Elaine Zayak (USA) who lands 6 triple jumps
- Mar 14 Sidath Wettimuny scores Sri Lanka's 1st Test Cricket century
- Mar 20 France beats Ireland, 22-9 at the Parc des Princes, Paris but the Irish take the Five Nations Rugby Championship with a 3-1 record and also their 5th Triple Crown
- Mar 21 Jerry Pate celebrates golf win by jumping into the water hazard
- Mar 21 PGA Tournament Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Jerry Pate shoots a final round 67 to win by 2 strokes over runners-up Scott Simpson and Brad Bryant
- Mar 23 Isle's Mike Bossy's 20th career hat trick-4 goals
- Mar 25 Wayne Gretzky becomes 1st NHL to score 200 points in a season
- Mar 27 Imran takes 14-116 for cricket match v Sri Lanka at Lahore
- Mar 28 1st NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Louisiana Tech beats Cheney, 76-62; Lady Techsters' forward Janice Lawrence tournament MOP
- Mar 28 Last AIAW Women's Basketball Championship, Rutgers beat Texas 83-77 in Philadelphia
Event of Interest
Mar 29 44th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: North Carolina beats Georgetown, 63-62; Tar Heels' future Hall of Fame small forward James Worthy named Tournament Most Outstanding Player
James Worthy
- Mar 31 NBA and Players Association reach a 4-year agreement that includes a 53% revenue-sharing plan in return for minimum & maximum payrolls; first of its kind in team sports
- Apr 1 Quebec center Peter Stastny scores his 4th career hat trick and 4 assists, and his brother Marian adds 5 assists to lead the Nordiques to an 8-5 win at Boston
- Apr 3 Buffalo Sabre Gil Perrault scores his 1,000th NHL point
- Apr 3 136th Grand National: 48 year old Dick Saunders wins aboard 7/1 favourite Grittar; oldest jockey to win the event
- Apr 5 43 year old St. Louis reliever Jim Kaat pitches 1 inning for the Cardinals in a season-opening, 14-3 rout of Houston; sets a MLB record for pitchers by playing in his 24th consecutive season
- Apr 6 Largest crowd ever to see a baseball game in Minnesota 52,279
- Apr 8 Tracy Caulkins, 19, wins her 36th US swimming title
- Apr 9 LA Lakers block 21 Denver shots setting NBA regulation game record
- Apr 10 LA Kings losing 5-0 to Edmonton in 3rd period, win in OT 6-5
- Apr 11 46th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Craig Stadler wins his only major title by defeating Dan Pohl on the 1st hole of a sudden-death playoff
- Apr 18 Atlanta Braves win record 11th straight opening game (beat Astros)
- Apr 19 86th Boston Marathon: American Alberto Salazar claims men's title in 2:08:51; Charlotte Teske of West Germany wins women's section in 2:29:33
- Apr 19 Rosie Ruiz, marathon race cheater, arrested for forgery
- Apr 20 Atlanta Braves become 1st team to win 1st 12 games of the season
- Apr 21 Atlanta Braves win their 13th straight game
- Apr 22 Atlanta Braves lose after winning 1st 13 games of season
- Apr 24 Cards win 12th game in a row; 7-4 over Phillies
- Apr 25 Yanks fire manager Bob Lemon & replaces him with Gene Michael
- Apr 26 Gene Michael becomes NY Yankee manager for 2nd time
- Apr 27 NFL Draft: University of Texas defensive end Kenneth Sims first pick by New England Patriots
- Apr 30 Atlanta Braves win record 12th straight from beginning of season
- May 1 108th Kentucky Derby: Ed Delahoussaye wins aboard Gato Del Sol, the first of consecutive Derby victories (1983 Sunny's Halo)
- May 4 Twins rookie outfielder Jim Eisenreich, who suffers from Tourette's Syndrome, removes himself, due to taunts from Red Sox bleacher fans
- May 4 NHL Prince of Wales Conference Final: New York Islanders beat Quebec Nordiques, 4 games to 0
- May 6 Seattle Mariner Gaylord Perry becomes 15th pitcher to win 300 games
- May 6 NHL Clarence Campbell Conference Final: Vancouver Canucks beat Chicago Black Hawks, 4 games to 1
- May 7 Californian federal jury rules NFL violates antitrust laws in preventing Oakland Raiders move to Los Angeles Coliseum
- May 12 FC Barcelona of Spain win 22nd European Cup Winner's Cup against Standard Liège of Belgium 2-1 in Barcelona
- May 13 Chicago Cubs win their 8,000th (beat Astros)
- May 15 107th Preakness: Jack Kaenel aboard Aloma's Ruler wins in 1:55.4
- May 16 Stanley Cup Final, Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, BC: 3-peat for NY Islanders; sweep Vancouver Canucks in 4 games with a 3-1 Game 4 win
- May 18 Tigers outfielder Larry Herndon is 14th to hit 4 consecutive HRs
- May 25 Ferguson Jenkins becomes 7th pitcher to strike out 3,000 batters
- May 26 26th European Cup: Aston Villa beats Bayern Munich 1-0 at Rotterdam
- May 27 New owners headed by John McMullen buy NHL's Colorado Rockies and move the team to the New Jersey Meadowlands under the new name NJ Devils
- May 30 Closest Indy 500, Gordon Johncock beats Rick Mears by 0.16 seconds
Baseball Record
Jun 1 Oakland A's left fielder Rickey Henderson steals 2 bases in 3-2 win over Boston Red Sox to become fastest to reach 50 stolen bases in a MLB season
Rickey Henderson
- Jun 5 114th Belmont: Laffit Pincay Jr.aboard Conquistador Cielo wins in 2:28
- Jun 5 French Open Women's Tennis: Martina Navratilova beats American teenager Andrea Jaeger 7-6, 6-1 for her first French singles crown
French Open Men's Tennis
Jun 6 French Open Men's Tennis: Mats Wilander of Sweden wins his first career Grand Slam title; beats Guillermo Vilas of Argentina 1-6, 7-6, 6-0, 6-4
Mats Wilander
Guillermo Vilas
Event of Interest
Jun 7 LA Dodger Steve Garvey is 5th to play in 1,000 consecutive games
Steve Garvey
Event of Interest
Jun 7 NY Mets draft Dwight Gooden, Roger McDowell & Randy Myers
Dwight Gooden
- Jun 7 Steve Garvey plays in his 1,000th consecutive game & goes 0-for-4
- Jun 8 36th NBA Championship: LA Lakers beat Philadelphia 76ers, 4 games to 2
Boxing Title Fight
Jun 11 Larry Holmes TKOs Gerry Cooney in 13 for heavyweight boxing title
Larry Holmes
- Jun 13 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, Jack Nicklaus GC: Jan Stephenson of Australia wins by 2 strokes from JoAnne Carner
US Golf Open
Jun 20 US Open Men's Golf, Pebble Beach GL: Tom Watson wins his only US Open by 2 strokes from Jack Nicklaus
Tom Watson
Jack Nicklaus
- Jun 22 Pete Rose gets his 3,772nd hit, moves past Aaron into 2nd place
- Jun 30 New Jersey NHL franchise officially named Devils by fan balloting; legend of the Jersey Devil, a creature that allegedly inhabited the Pine Barrens of South Jersey
- Jul 1 PEC Zwolle '82 soccer club renamed when purchased by Dutch businessman Marten Eibrink
Event of Interest
Jul 1 Cal Ripken Jr. makes the first of his record 2,216 consecutive MLB starts at shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles.
Cal Ripken Jr
- Jul 3 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Martina Navratilova beats Chris Evert 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 for the first of 6-straight Wimbledon singles titles
Golf Tournament
Jul 4 Canadian Open Women's Golf (Peter Jackson Classic), St George's CC: Sandra Haynie wins by 1 shot from Beth Daniel
Beth Daniel
Wimbledon Men's Tennis
Jul 4 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: In an all-American classic final, Jimmy Connors beats John McEnroe 3-6, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 for his second and final Wimbledon title
Jimmy Connors
John McEnroe
- Jul 7 English athlete David Moorcroft beats Kenyan Henry Rono's 5000m world record by nearly 5 seconds, 13:00.41 in Oslo, Norway
- Jul 8 Billy Martin records his 1,000th career win as a manager
- Jul 11 US Senior Open Men's Golf, Portland GC: Miller Barber wins by 4 strokes from Dan Sykes & Gene Littler; his first of 3 Senior Open titles
- Jul 11 FIFA World Cup Final, Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain: Italy beats West Germany, 3-1 in front of 90,000
- Jul 13 53rd All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 4-1 at Olympic Stadium, Montreal
- Jul 13 All star MVP: Dave Conception (Cincinnati Reds)
- Jul 18 British Open Men's Golf, Royal Troon: American Tom Watson wins his 4th Open Championship, 1 stroke clear of Peter Oosterhuis and Nick Price
- Jul 19 1st annual Cracker Jack Oldtimers Classic 75-year-old Luke Appling hits a 250-foot HR off Warren Spahn, AL beats NL 7-2
- Jul 25 20th Tennis Fed Cup: USA beats Germany in Santa Clara USA (3-0)
- Jul 25 US Open Women's Golf, Del Paso CC: Janet Anderson shoots final round 68 (−4) to claim her only LPGA Tour win, 6 strokes ahead of Beth Daniel, Donna White, JoAnne Carner and Sandra Haynie
- Jul 25 69th Tour de France won by Bernard Hinault of France
- Jul 30 Atlanta Braves remove Chief Noc-A-Homa to make room for more seats
Event of Interest
Aug 1 American Greg Louganis becomes 1st diver to score 700 (752.67) in 11 dives in winning 3m springboard gold, World Championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador
Greg Louganis
- Aug 1 East German swimmer Petra Schneider breaks her own 400m medley world record by 0:19 (4:36.10) at the World Championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador
- Aug 1 After the first 13 runnings of the midsummer classic, Darryl Waltrip becomes the first driver the win the Talladega 500 twice
- Aug 2 Oakland outfielder Rickey Henderson steals his 100th MLB base of the season in 6-5 win v Seattle, first to steal 100 twice in modern era
- Aug 3 Pitching coach Clyde King becomes NY Yankees 3rd manager of the season replacing Gene Michaels after Yanks swept at home by Chicago WS
- Aug 4 Outfielder Joel Youngblood becomes only MLB player to get hits for 2 different teams in 2 different cities on the same day; singles for Mets in Chicago day game; traded, then singles for Expos in Philadelphia night game
PGA Championship
Aug 5 PGA Championship, Southern Hills CC: Raymond Floyd fires an opening round 9-under-par 63, tying the tournament 18-hole record
Ray Floyd
- Aug 6 Curtis Cup Golf, Denver CC: United States beats Great Britain & Ireland 14½-3½
- Aug 8 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Southern Hills CC: Ray Floyd wins his second PGA C'ship by 3 shots from fellow American Lanny Wadkins
- Aug 14 Atlanta snaps an 11-game losing streak with a 6-5 win over Padres
- Aug 14 Pete Rose (Phillies) 12,365 at bat sets record (passes Aaron)
- Aug 17 LA Dodgers beat Chicago Cubs, 6-5, in 21 innings (game completed 8/18)
- Aug 18 Pete Rose sets record with his 13,941st plate appearance
- Aug 18 Longest baseball game at Wrigley Field in Chicago IL, ends after 22 innings - before LA Dodgers beat Cubs 2-1 (game started Aug 17th)
- Aug 19 Renaldo Nehemiah of US sets record for 110 m hurdles, 12.93 sec
- Aug 20 Don Lever becomes first captain of NHL New Jersey Devils
- Aug 21 Rollie Fingers (Brewers) becomes 1st pitcher to get save #300
- Aug 23 Seattle Mariner pitcher Gaylord Perry ejected for throwing a spitter
- Aug 24 KCs' John Wathan steals 31st en route to 36 base for catcher's record
- Aug 27 Rickey Henderson steals 119th base of season breaks Lou Brock's mark
Baseball Record
Aug 29 George Brett gets his 1,500th hit
George Brett
- Sep 5 US Men's Amateur Golf Championship, The Country Club: Jay Sigel wins 8 & 7 over David Tolley
Event of Interest
Sep 6 Pittsburgh Pirates retire Willie Stargell's #8
Willie Stargell
US Open Women's Tennis
Sep 11 US Open Women's Tennis: Chris Evert wins her 6th and final US title, beating Hana Mandlíková 6-3, 6-1
Chris Evert
Hana Mandlikova
- Sep 12 Gerard Nijboer (2:15:16) & Rosa Mota (2:36:04) win marathon
- Sep 12 US Open Men's Tennis: Jimmy Connors wins his 4th US title; beats Czech star Ivan Lendl 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
- Sep 13 Joe Lefevre gets 6 hits in one baseball game
- Sep 14 Trevor Baxter sets skateboard high jump record of 5' 5.7"
- Sep 19 New Orleans Saints 1st road shutout victory beating Chicago Bears 10-0
- Sep 21 2,251 turn out to see Expos play NY Mets at Shea Stadium
- Sep 21 NFL players begin a 57 day strike
- Sep 22 Duleep Mendis completes twin cricket tons for Sri Lanka v India
- Sep 25 Keke Rosberg becomes the first Fin to win the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship when he finishes 5th in season ending Caesars Palace Grand Prix in Las Vegas; wins by 5 points from Didier Pironi
- Oct 3 Centre fielder Robin Yount homers twice as Milwaukee whips Baltimore, 10-2 at Memorial Stadium to win the Brewers only AL East Championship
- Oct 5 First regular season NHL game is played in New Jersey (Newark; NJ Devils play a 3-3 tie against Pittsburgh Penguins at Brendan Byrne Arena; Don Lever scores first Devils' goal
- Oct 5 Pakistan cricket leg-spin bowler Abdul Qadir takes 7-142 as Australia is dismissed for 330 in 2nd Test in Faisalabad; Greg Ritchie scores maiden Test century (106 no) but home side prevails by an innings & 3 runs
- Oct 8 New Jersey Devils 1st NHL victory; beat New York Rangers 3-2 at Meadowlands
- Oct 10 MLB National League Championship: St. Louis Cardinals beat Atlanta Braves, 3 games to 0
- Oct 10 MLB American League Championship: Milwaukee Brewers beat California Angels, 3 games to 2
- Oct 12 Milwaukee Brewer Paul Molitor gets World series record 5 hits
Olympic Gold
Oct 13 IOC Executive Committee approves the reinstatement of Jim Thorpe's gold medals from the 1912 Olympics
Jim Thorpe
- Oct 14 Islanders assessed 108 penalty minutes, Penguins 125 (233 total)
- Oct 14 NY Islanders greatest shutout margin (9-0) vs Pittsburgh Penguins
- Oct 17 Robin Yount is 1st to have 2 4-hit games in a World Series
- Oct 20 Billy Martin fired as manager of Oakland A's
- Oct 20 St Louis Cards beat Milwaukee Brewers, 4 games to 3 in 79th World Series
- Oct 20 During the UEFA Cup match between FC Spartak Moscow and HFC Haarlem, 66 people are crushed to death in the Luzhniki disaster.
- Oct 24 12th NYC Women's Marathon won by Grete Waitz in 2:27:14
- Oct 24 13th NYC Marathon won by Alberto Salazar in 2:09:29
Event of Interest
Oct 24 Steffi Graf plays her 1st pro tennis match
Steffi Graf
- Oct 25 David Hookes scores Cricket century in 34 balls 43 mins, SA v Victoria
Event of Interest
Oct 26 Steve Carlton became 1st pitcher to win 4 Cy Young awards
Steve Carlton
Appointment of Interest
Nov 1 MLB owners vote not to renew Commissioner Bowie Kuhn's contract; AL owners vote for Kuhn, 11-3, and NL, 7-5, 2 shy of 3/4 majority required for re-election; eventually replaced by Peter Ueberroth
Peter Ueberroth
Baseball Record
Nov 3 Pitcher Pete Vuckovich becomes Milwaukee Brewers' second consecutive American League Cy Young Award winner; edges Jim Palmer of the Baltimore Orioles; Vuckovich, 18-6 with 105 strikeouts and 3.34 ERA
Jim Palmer
- Nov 3 San Diego guard Randy Smith plays his 845th consecutive game in Clippers' 130-111 loss in Philadelphia; passes Johnny “Red” Kerr's NBA record; goes on to play in 906 straight games
- Nov 5 Cleveland Cavaliers lose 24th consecutive game (NBA record)
- Nov 9 Brewers' Robin Yount wins AL MVP unanimously
Event of Interest
Nov 9 Sugar Ray Leonard retires for 1st time
Sugar Ray Leonard
- Nov 11 Joe Altobelli succeeds retiring Earl Weaver as Baltimore Orioles manager
- Nov 12 Zaheer Abbas gets his 100th 100 in Test Cricket for Pakistan v India, goes to 215
- Nov 12 Aaron Pryor scores a 14th round KO of Alexis Argüello in Miami to retain his WBA super lightweight boxing title in the first of 2 meetings between the Hall of Famers; The Ring’s 'Fight of the Decade'
- Nov 13 WBA lightweight champion Ray Mancini beats South Korean challenger Duk Koo Kim by TKO in 14th round in Las Vegas; Kim collapses, falls into a coma and dies 4 days later; as a result, WBC shortens title bouts to 12 rounds; WBA & WBO follow in 1988, and IBF in 1989
- Nov 18 South Korean boxer Duk Koo Kim dies from injuries sustained during a 14-round beating by Ray Mancini in Las Vegas; WBC shortens title bouts to 12 rounds; WBA and WBO follow in 1988, and IBF in 1989
- Nov 21 32nd NASCAR Sprint Cup: Darrell Waltrip wins
- Nov 24 Orioles Cal Ripken is named AL Rookie of Year
- Nov 26 Clyde King named Yankee manager
- Nov 27 Kepler Wessels scores century in 1st Test Cricket (162 v England)
Davis Cup
Nov 27 Davis Cup, Grenoble, France: US takes unassailable, 3-0 lead over France as John McEnroe & Peter Flemming take the doubles 6-3, 6-4, 9-7 over Henri Leconte & Yannick Noah; tie ends 4-1
John McEnroe
Henri Leconte
Event of Interest
Nov 28 Germany's Sylvia Hanika stages remarkable comeback to upset tennis icon Martina Navratilova 1–6, 6–3, 6–4 and win her only WTA Tour Championship in NYC
Sylvia Hanika
Martina Navratilova
- 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