1978 in sports

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Years in sports:	1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981
Centuries:	19th century · 20th century · 21st century
Decades:	1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
Years:	1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981

Contents 1 Artistic Gymnastics 2 Athletics 2.1 Marathon 3 Auto racing 4 Baseball 5 Basketball 6 Boxing 7 Cycling 8 Dogsled racing 9 Field hockey 10 Figure skating 11 Football (American) 12 Football (Australian rules football) 13 Football (Canadian) 14 Football (Soccer) 15 Golf 16 Thoroughbred horse racing 17 Harness racing 18 Ice hockey 19 Skiing 20 Snooker 21 Speed skating 22 Swimming 22.1 Events 22.2 Records 23 Tennis 24 Triathlon 25 Water Polo 26 General sporting events 27 Awards 28 Births 28.1 January 28.2 February 28.3 March 28.4 April 28.5 May 28.6 June 28.7 July 28.8 August 28.9 September 28.10 October 28.11 November 28.12 December 29 Deaths

[edit] Artistic Gymnastics

• World Artistic Gymnastics Championships:
  • Men's all-around champion: Nikolai Andrianov, USSR
  • Women's all-around champion: Elena Mukhina, USSR
  • Men's team competition champion: Japan
  • Women's team competition champion: USSR

[edit] Athletics

[edit] Marathon

• August 11 — Commonwealth Games Marathon, Edmonton, Canada
  • Men's Winner: Gidamis Shahanga (TAN) 2:15:40

• September 3 — European Championships Marathon, Prague, Czechoslovakia
  • Men's Winner: Leonid Moseyev (URS) 2:11:58

• December 3 — Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
  • Men's Winner: Toshihiko Seko (JPN) 2:10:21

• December 17 — Asian Games Marathon, Bangkok, Thailand
  • Men's Winner: Mineteru Sakamoto (JPN) 2:15:30

[edit] Auto racing

• USAC - A J Foyt won final season championship under USAC.
  • CART, Championship Auto Racing Teams open wheel racing established in the United States.
  • Indianapolis 500 - won by Al Unser Snr
• Touring car racing: Peter Brock and Jim Richards won the Bathurst 1000, driving a Holden Torana

[edit] Baseball

• World Series: New York Yankees win 4 games to 2 over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Series MVP is Bucky Dent, New York

[edit] Basketball

• Wilt Chamberlain is elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, along with coaches Sam Barry, Eddie Hickey, John McLendon, Ray Meyer and Pete Newell, and referee Jim Enright
• NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
  • Kentucky wins 94-88 over Duke
• NBA Finals:
  • Washington Bullets won 4 games to 3 over the Seattle SuperSonics
• FIBA World Championship
  • Yugoslavia World Champion

[edit] Boxing

• February 15 – Leon Spinks defeats Muhammad Ali by decision in 15 rounds to win the world's Heavyweight title.

• May 6 to 20 – Second World Amateur Boxing Championships held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia
  • Light Flyweight (– 48 kg): Stephen Muchoki (Kenya)
  • Flyweight (– 51 kg): Henryk Średnicki (Poland)
  • Bantamweight (– 54 kg): Adolfo Horta (Cuba)
  • Featherweight (– 57 kg): Ángel Herrera (Cuba)
  • Lightweight (– 60 kg): Andeh Davidson (Nigeria)
  • Light Welterweight (– 63,5 kg): Valery Lvov (Soviet Union)
  • Welterweight (– 67 kg): Valery Rachkov (Soviet Union)
  • Light Middleweight (– 71 kg): Viktor Savchenko (Soviet Union)
  • Middleweight (– 75 kg): José Gómez (Cuba)
  • Light Heavyweight (– 81 kg): Sixto Soria (Cuba)
  • Heavyweight (> 81 kg): Teófilo Stevenson (Cuba)

• September 15 – Muhammad Ali recovers the world's Heavyweight title, beating Leon Spinks by decision in their rematch. It is the first time a boxer wins the world Heavyweight title for a third time.

[edit] Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Johan de Muynck of Belgium
• Tour de France - Bernard Hinault of France
• World Cycling Championship: Gerrie Knetemann of Netherlands

[edit] Dogsled racing

• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
  • Dick Mackey won with lead dogs: Skipper & Shrew

[edit] Field hockey

• Men's World Cup in Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Gold Medal: Pakistan
  • Silver Medal: The Netherlands
  • Bronze Medal: Australia

• Men's European Nations Cup in Hannover, West Germany
  • Gold Medal: West Germany
  • Silver Medal: The Netherlands
  • Bronze Medal: England

• Men's Champions Trophy in Lahore, Pakistan
  • Gold Medal: Pakistan
  • Silver Medal: Australia
  • Bronze Medal: Great Britain

• Women's World Cup in Madrid, Spain
  • Gold Medal: The Netherlands
  • Silver Medal: West Germany
  • Bronze Medal: Argentina / Belgium

• March 11 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium, London. England drew with the United States of America: 2-2.

[edit] Figure skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Charles Tickner, United States
  • Ladies' champion: Anett Pötzsch, Germany
  • Pair skating champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexander Zaitsev, Soviet Union
  • Ice dancing champions: Natalia Linichuk & Gennadi Karponossov, Soviet Union

[edit] Football (American)

• Super Bowl XII: Dallas Cowboys won 27-10 over the Denver Broncos

[edit] Football (Australian rules football)

• Victorian Football League
  • Hawthorn wins the 82nd VFL Premiership (Hawthorn 18.13 (121) d North Melbourne 15.13 (103))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Malcolm Blight (North Melbourne)

[edit] Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos win 20-13 over the Montreal Alouettes
• Vanier Cup: Queen's Golden Gaels win 16-3 over the UBC Thunderbirds

[edit] Football (Soccer)

For an extensive coverage see 1978 in football (soccer)

• Football World Cup: Argentina wins 3-1 (after extra time) over the Netherlands
• England - FA Cup: Ipswich Town won 1-0 over Arsenal
• England - League: Nottingham Forest won the championship as well as the League Cup
• The Major Indoor Soccer League begins operations in the United States.

[edit] Golf

Men's golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. May - The Masters - Gary Player
  2. June - US Open - Andy North
  3. July - British Open - Jack Nicklaus
  4. August - PGA Championship - John Mahaffey
• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Tom Watson - $362,429

Women's golf

• US Women's Open - Hollis Stacy
• LPGA Championship - Nancy Lopez
• Nancy Lopez: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $189,213.

[edit] Thoroughbred horse racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Arwon
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Regal Embrace
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Alleged
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Shirley Heights

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Roland Gardens
  2. Epsom Derby - Shirley Heights
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Julio Mariner

• July 13: At Belmont Park, Elmont, New York, star jockey Ron Turcotte is injured in a racing accident that leaves him a paraplegic, ending his riding career.

• Affirmed, ridden by jockey Steve Cauthen, wins the United States Triple Crown Races by narrowly defeating Alydar in all three races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Affirmed, Alydar
  2. Preakness Stakes - Affirmed, Alydar
  3. Belmont Stakes - Affirmed, Alydar

[edit] Harness racing

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace - Armbro Tiger
  2. Little Brown Jug - Happy Escort
  3. Messenger Stakes - Abercrombie

• United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian - Speedy Somolli
  2. Yonkers Trot - Speedy Somolli
  3. Kentucky Futurity - Doublemint

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Markovina
  • Trotters: Derby Royale

[edit] Ice hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens

• Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens

• Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 2 over the Boston Bruins

• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia
  • Junior Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
  • Note: In the early years of the Junior tournament, Canada did not send a true National Junior team to the event. Instead, the Memorial Cup champions usually went to represent Canada. The exception was 1978 in Montreal, when an "all-star" team was put together.

[edit] Skiing

• Alpine Skiing
  • The men's overall season champion: Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden
  • The women's overall season champion: Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein

[edit] Snooker

• World Snooker Championship: Ray Reardon beats Perrie Mans 25-18
• World rankings: Ray Reardon remains world number one for 1978/79.

[edit] Speed skating

• First ISU Short Track Speed Skating Championships for men and ladies held in Solihull, UK

[edit] Swimming

[edit] Events

• The third FINA World Championships held in West-Berlin, West Germany

[edit] Records

• July 29 — USA's Ron Manganiello sets a world record in the 50m freestyle at a swimming meet in Miami, Florida (United States), shaving off 0.02 of the previous record (23.74) set by Joe Bottom a year ago: 23.72.

[edit] Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - Guillermo Vilas
  2. French Open - Björn Borg
  3. Wimbledon championships - Björn Borg
  4. US Open - Jimmy Connors

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Chris O'Neil
  2. French Open - Virginia Ruzici
  3. Wimbledon championships - Martina Navratilova
  4. US Open - Chris Evert

• Davis Cup: United States won 4-1 over Great Britain in world tennis.
• US Open moves to hard courts of the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York.
• Total prize money at US Open exceeds US $500,000.

[edit] Triathlon

• First Ironman Triathlon held in Hawaii

[edit] Water Polo

• Men's World Championship in West-Berlin, West Germany
  • Gold Medal: Italy
  • Silver Medal: Hungary
  • Bronze Medal: Yugoslavia

[edit] General sporting events

• Third All-Africa Games held in Algiers, Algeria

• Eighth Asian Games held in Bangkok, Thailand

• British Commonwealth Games held in Edmonton, Canada

• Ninth Winter Universiade held in Špindlerův Mlýn, Czechoslovakia

[edit] Awards

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Ron Guidry, Major League Baseball
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Nancy Lopez, LPGA golf

[edit] Births

[edit] January

• January 4 — Dominik Hrbaty, Slovakian tennis player
• January 8 — Lovrenco Franičević, Croatian butterfly swimmer
• January 8 — Gennaro Gattuso, Italian football player
• January 12 — Bonaventure Kalou, Ivorian football (soccer) player
• January 13 — Nenad Buljan, Croatian freestyle swimmer
• January 14 — Shawn Crawford, American athlete
• January 17 — Petra Mandula, Hungarian tennis player
• January 18 — Thor Hushovd, Norwegian cyclist
• January 18 — Bogdan Lobont, Romanian football (soccer) player
• January 18 — Stev Theloke, German swimmer
• January 19 — Zbigniew Malkowski, Polish football (soccer) player
• January 19 — Megan Sargeant, Australian field hockey player
• January 20 — Lim Jung-Woo, South Korean field hockey player
• January 26 — Corina Morariu, American tennis player
• January 27 — Dipsy Selolwane, Botswana football (soccer) player
• January 28 — Gianluigi Buffon, Italian football (soccer) player
• January 28 — Takumo Sato, Japanese Formula 1-driver
• January 28 — Paul Wettlaufer, Canadian field hockey player
• January 31 — Clemens Arnold, German field hockey goalkeeper

[edit] February

• February 3 — Beat Hefti, Swiss bobsledder
• February 6 — Rustam Saidov, Uzbek boxer
• February 17 — Amir Hadad, Israeli tennis player
• February 28 — Benjamin Raich, Austrian skier
• February 28 — Mariano Zabaleta, Argentinian tennis player

[edit] March

• March 3 — Núria Camón, Spanish field hockey player
• March 4 — César Morales, Mexican bantamweight boxer
• March 8 — Johanna Sjöberg, Swedish swimmer
• March 12 — Cristina Teuscher, American swimmer
• March 14 — Pieter van den Hoogenband, Dutch swimmer
• March 17 — Patrick López, Venezuelan boxer
• March 18 — Brooke Hanson, Australian swimmer
• March 18 — Antonio Margarito, Mexican boxer
• March 20 — Egbert Ho, Dutch field hockey midfielder
• March 20 — Julien Sicot, French freestyle swimmer
• March 21 — Ronnie Jagday, Canadian field hockey player
• March 21 — Sally Barsosio, Kenyan distance runner
• March 21 — Anders Lyrbring, Swedish freestyle swimmer
• March 23 — György Kozmann, Hungarian canoer
• March 24 — Eric Pacome N'Dri, Ivorian athlete
• March 26 — Ron van der Hoff, Dutch archer

[edit] April

• April 2 — Chiel Warners, Dutch athlete
• April 3 — Tommy Haas, German tennis player
• April 5 — Franziska van Almsick, German swimmer
• April 7 — Vladimir Voltchkov, Belarussian tennis player
• April 9 — Naman Keita, French track and field athlete
• April 11 — Victor Sikora, Dutch football player
• April 13 — Carles Puyol, Spanish football player
• April 13 — Raemon Sluiter, Dutch tennis player
• April 16 — Noam Okun, Israeli tennis player
• April 20 — David Sánchez, Spanish tennis player
• April 20 — Edvaldo Valério, Brazilian freestyle swimmer
• April 24 — Willy Blain, French boxer
• April 26 — Elson Becerra, Colombian football (soccer) player (d. 2006)
• April 29 — Bob and Mike Bryan, American twins and tennis players

[edit] May

• May 1 — Tracey Larson, American field hockey midfielder
• May 2 — Matthew Wells, Australian field hockey defender
• May 3 — Dai Tamesue, Japanese athlete
• May 7 — Peter Wessels, Dutch tennis player
• May 8 — Danilo Turcios, Honduran football midfielder
• May 15 — Sue Rolph, British swimmer
• May 24 — Caroline Casaretto, German field hockey midfielder
• May 26 — Dan Parks, Scottish rugby union footballer
• May 29 — Sebastien Grosjean, French tennis player

[edit] June

• June 1 — Aleksandar Šapić, Serbian water polo player
• June 3 — María Olay, Spanish breaststroke swimmer
• June 7 — Tomás MacCormik, Argentine field hockey midfielder
• June 15 — Wilfred Bouma, Dutch football player
• June 18 — Pablo ("Pol") Amat Escudé, Spanish field hockey striker
• June 19 — Dirk Nowitzki, German basketball player
• June 22 — José Meolans, Argentinian swimmer
• June 24 — Shunsuke Nakamura, Japanese football player
• June 24 — Juan Román Riquelme, Argentinian football player
• June 25 — Miki Nakao, Japanese backstroke swimmer
• June 26 — Mark Veens, Dutch swimmer

[edit] July

• July 1 — Vladimer Tchanturia, Georgian boxer
• July 4 — Fatima Moreira de Melo, Dutch field hockey player
• July 4 — Peter Mankoc, Slovenian swimmer
• July 6 — Aiko Miyake, Japanese freestyle swimmer
• July 7 — Jana Toepel, American field hockey midfielder
• July 8 — Urmas Rooba, Estonian football (soccer) defender
• July 10 — Clarence Vinson, American boxer
• July 11 — Massimiliano Rosolino, Italian swimmer
• July 12 — Florien Cornelis, Dutch field hockey player
• July 15 — Kim Baker, Canadian field hockey player
• July 21 — Kyoko Iwasaki, Japanese breaststroke swimmer
• July 22 — Ishe Smith, American boxer
• July 23 — Takashi Yamamoto, Japanese swimmer
• July 26 — David Kosoof, New Zealand field hockey player
• July 29 — Joseph Batangdon, Cameroonian sprints athlete
• July 29 — Caroline Jack, South African field hockey goalkeeper

[edit] August

• August 5 — Matias Cammareri, Argentine field hockey midfielder
• August 5 — Kim Gevaert, Belgian athlete
• August 5 — Harel Levy, Israeli tennis player
• August 8 — Ioan Gherghel, Romanian butterfly swimmer
• August 9 — Wesley Sonck, Belgian football player
• August 11 — Jermain Taylor, American boxer
• August 12 — Jesse Mahieu, Dutch field hockey player
• August 14 — Marcel Fischer, Swiss fencer
• August 17 — Mehdi Baala, French middle-distance athlete
• August 20 — Alberto Martin, Spanish tennis player
• August 22 — Kutre Dulecha, Ethiopian middle distance runner
• August 23 — Kobe Bryant, American basketball player
• August 23 — Georgi Chilikov, Bulgarian football (soccer) player
• August 26 — Hestrie Cloete, South African high jumper
• August 29 — Jens Boden, German speed skater

[edit] September

• September 2 — Pietie Coetzee, South African field hockey striker
• September 3 — Sam Oud, Dutch canoer
• September 6 — Amy Agulay, Canadian field hockey player
• September 10 — Jyoti Sunita Kullu, Indian field hockey player
• September 11 — Robert Cheboror, Kenyan long-distance runner
• September 12 — Eri Yamanoi, Japanese freestyle swimmer
• September 13 — Jill Orbinson, Irish field hockey midfielder
• September 13 — Elisabeth Willebroordse, Dutch female judoka
• September 15 — Kew Jaliens, Dutch football (soccer) player
• September 20 — Sophie Simard, German-born swimmer from Canada
• September 21 — Alexander Heath, South African alpine skier
• September 24 — Wietse van Alten, Dutch archer
• September 25 — Laura Nicholls, Canadian freestyle swimmer
• September 26 — Gert-Jan Liefers, Dutch athlete
• September 26 — Judith Meulendijks, Dutch badminton player
• September 29 — Karel Klaver, Dutch field hockey player

[edit] October

• October 3 — Claudio Pizarro, Peruvian football (soccer) striker
• October 4 — Daniël Mensch, Dutch rower
• October 8 — Ewout Holst, Dutch swimmer
• October 9 — Jacob Carstensen, Danish swimmer
• October 9 — Kristy Kowal, American swimmer
• October 10 — Caroline Evers-Swindell, New Zealand rower
• October 14 — Paul Hunter, British snooker player
• October 16 — Andria Shannon, Canadian field hockey player
• October 19 — Ruslan Chagaev, Uzbek boxer
• October 20 — Virender Sehwag, Indian cricketer
• October 22 — Ricardo Monasterio, Venezuelan freestyle swimmer
• October 25 — Matt Shirvington, Australian athlete
• October 28 — Juan Manuel Esparis, Argentine field hockey forward
• October 29 — Alwin de Prins, Luxembourgish swimmer
• October 31 — Emmanuel Izonritei, Nigerian boxer
• October 31 — Martin Verkerk, Dutch tennis player

[edit] November

• November 1 — Cleiton Conceição, Brazilian boxer
• November 1 — Andrew Smith, Australian field hockey striker
• November 2 — Christian Gyan, Ghanaian football player
• November 2 — Alexander Östlund, Swedish football player
• November 6 — Dean Kent, New Zealand swimmer
• November 7 — Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Dutch football player
• November 8 — Tim de Cler, Dutch football player
• November 11 — Michael Halika, Israeli medley swimmer
• November 11 — Silke Müller, German field hockey midfielder
• November 12 — Eric Addo, Ghanaian football player
• November 15 — Paul Miller, Australian boxer
• November 22 — Magdalena Grzybowska, Polish tennis player
• November 22 — Francis Obikwelu, Nigerian-born athlete
• November 25 — Sameer Dad, Indian field hockey forward
• November 25 — Nate Dusing, American swimmer
• November 27 — Radek Štěpánek, Czech tennis player
• November 30 — Chris Thompson, American freestyle swimmer

[edit] December

• December 2 — Sven Coster, Dutch sailor
• December 2 — Louisa Walter, German field hockey goalkeeper
• December 9 — Gastón Gaudio, Argentinian tennis player
• December 10 — Tatiana Lemos, Brazilian freestyle swimmer
• December 12 — Kassim Ouma, Ugandan boxer
• December 14 — Patty Schnyder, Swiss tennis player
• December 15 — Christophe Rochus, Belgian tennis player
• December 16 — Rachel Imison, Australian field hockey goalkeeper
• December 18 — Marcelo Tomazini, Brazilian breaststroke swimmer
• December 20 — Lechedzani Luza, Botswanan boxer
• December 21 — Emiliano Brembilla, Italian swimmer
• December 21 — Rodrigo Castro, Brazilian swimmer
• December 21 — Kelli Gannon, US field hockey midfield player
• December 21 — Jackie Stiles, WNBA player
• December 22 — Kristal Timmer, Canadian field hockey player
• December 27 — Antje Buschschulte, German swimmer
• December 29 — Kieron Dyer, English football player
• December 29 — Wayne Fernandes, Canadian field hockey player
• December 29 — Brian Pinas, Dutch football player

[edit] Deaths

• January 13 — Joe McCarthy, baseball manager
• January 14 — Harold Abrahams (78), British athlete (b. 1899)
• January 21 — Dit Clapper, NHL player, Boston Bruins
• February 9 — Hans Stuck (77), German racing driver (b. 1900)
• March 20 — Jacques Brugnon, French tennis player (b. 1895)
• March 27 — Sverre Farstad, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1920)
• September 3 — Alexander Belov (26), USSR Olympic basketball player
• September 6 — Max Décugis (95), French tennis player (b. 1882)
• September 15 — Ricardo Zamora (77), Spanish football player
• September 23 — Lyman Bostock, Major League Baseball player
• November 28 — Fernando Peyroteo (60), Angola-born Portuguese football player (b. 1918)