Alpine Skiing World Cup:
Men's overall season champion: Andreas Wenzel, Liechtenstein
Women's overall season champion: Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein
January 12 – Canada's Ken Read, the leader of the "Crazy Canucks" ski team, wins the Hahnenkamm downhill in Kitzbühel, Austria, becoming the second North American to ever win the classic race.
Super Bowl XIV – Pittsburgh Steelers won 31–19 over the Los Angeles Rams at the Rose Bowl
Sugar Bowl (1979 season):
Alabama Crimson Tide won 24-9 over the Arkansas Razorbacks to claim the college football national championship
December 21: The New Orleans Saints became the NFL's first ever 1-15 team
European Championship – West Germany 2–1 Belgium
European Cup – Nottingham Forest 1–0 Hamburg
UEFA Cup – 2 legs, Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–2 Eintracht Frankfurt; Eintracht Frankfurt 1–0 Borussia Mönchengladbach, 3–3 on aggregate, Frankfurt win on away goals
Cup Winners' Cup – Valencia 0–0 Arsenal (AET), Valencia won 5–4 on penalties
England – FA Cup – West Ham United won 1–0 over Arsenal
Newport County AFC win Welsh Cup for first time.
March 31 – death of Jesse Owens, American sprinter who won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics in 1936
June 12 – Soviet Union's Nadezhda Olizarenko sets the world record in the women's 800 metres, clocking 1:54.85 at Moscow
July 27 – Nadezhda Olizarenko betters her own world record in the women's 800 metres at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, clocking 1:53.43.
Victorian Football League
Richmond wins the 84th VFL Premiership (Richmond 23.21 (159) d Collingwood 9.24 (78))
Brownlow Medal awarded to Kelvin Templeton (Footscray)
September 18 – Outfielder Gary Ward become the sixth Minnesota Twins player to hit for the cycle. The Twins lose 9–8 to the Milwaukee Brewers, wasting Ward's effort. On May 26, 2004 his son, Daryle Ward, will repeat the feat guiding the Pirates' 11–8 victory over the Cardinals. Ward joined his father to become the first father-son combination in major league history to hit for the cycle.
Rollie Fingers breaks Hoyt Wilhelm's major league record of 250 saves
1980 World Series – The Philadelphia Phillies of the National League end 97 years of frustration by defeating the American League champion Kansas City Royals four games to two, for the Phillies' first-ever World Championship.
Japan's Sadaharu Oh retires from the Yomiuri Giants as the all time professional baseball home run king.
NBA Finals
Los Angeles Lakers win four games to two over the Philadelphia 76ers
National Basketball League (Australia) Finals
St. Kilda Saints defeated the West Adelaide Bearcats 113–88 in the final.
March 14–22 members of the United States Olympic boxing team died in a plane crash near Warsaw, Poland
June 20- Roberto Durán defeats Sugar Ray Leonard by a 15-round decision to win boxing's WBC world Welterweight title.
August 2- Thomas Hearns defeats Jose Pipino Cuevas by a knockout in round 2 to win boxing's WBA world Welterweight title and Yasutsune Uehara knocks out Samuel Serrano in round six to win the WBA's world Jr. Lightweight title in Detroit
In Cincinnati, Aaron Pryor defeats Antonio Kid Pambele Cervantes by a knockout in round four to win the WBA's world Jr. Welterweight title.
October 2- Larry Holmes defeats Muhammad Ali by a knockout in round eleven to retain boxing's WBC world Heavyweight title, in what would be Ali's last world title bout.
November 25- In The No Más Fight, in New Orleans, Louisiana, Sugar Ray Leonard recovers the WBC's world Welterweight championship with an eight-round technical knockout of Roberto Durán.
Grey Cup – Edmonton Eskimos win 48–10 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Vanier Cup – Alberta Golden Bears win 40–21 over the Ottawa Gee-Gees
Giro d'Italia won by Bernard Hinault of France
Tour de France – Joop Zoetemelk of the Netherlands
UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race – Bernard Hinault of France
Disc ultimate league play begins in Toronto with the formation of the Toronto Ultimate League
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion –
Joe May won with lead dogs: Wilbur & Cora Gray
Men's Champions Trophy held in Karachi and won by Pakistan
Olympic Games (Men's Competition) won by India
Olympic Games (Women's Competition) won by Zimbabwe
World Figure Skating Championships –
Men's champion: Jan Hoffmann, Germany
Ladies' champion: Anett Pötzsch, Germany
Pair skating champions: Marina Cherkasova & Sergei Shakhrai, Soviet Union
Ice dancing champions: Krisztina Regőczy & András Sallay, Hungary
Camogie
All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Cork
National Camogie League: Kilkenny
Gaelic football
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship – Kerry 1–9 died Roscommon 1–6
National Football League – Cork 0–11 died Kerry 0–10
Ladies' Gaelic football
All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Tipperary
National Football League: Kerry
Hurling
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship – Galway 2–15 died Limerick 3–9
National Hurling League –
Men's professional
The Senior PGA Tour (now called Champions Tour) is founded.
Masters Tournament – Seve Ballesteros
U.S. Open – Jack Nicklaus
British Open – Tom Watson
PGA Championship – Jack Nicklaus
PGA Tour money leader – Tom Watson – $530,808
Senior PGA Tour – money leader – Don January – $44,100
Men's amateur
British Amateur – Duncan Evans
U.S. Amateur – Hal Sutton
Women's professional
LPGA Championship – Sally Little
U.S. Women's Open – Amy Alcott
Classique Peter Jackson Classic – Pat Bradley
LPGA Tour money leader – Beth Daniel – $231,000
Superhorse, Niatross wins the United States Pacing Triple Crown races –
- Cane Pace – Niatross
- Little Brown Jug – Niatross
- Messenger Stakes – Niatross
United States Trotting Triple Crown races –
- Hambletonian – Burgomeister
- Yonkers Trot
- Kentucky Futurity
Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
Pacers: Koala King
Trotters: Hano Direct
New York Islanders win Stanley Cup on Bobby Nystrom's overtime goal in Game 6 of the Finals over the Philadelphia Flyers.he
The United States Men's Olympic hockey team win the gold medal after defeating the USSR in the medal round and then Finland in the Gold Medal Round in what is called the "Miracle on Ice".
Steeplechases
Cheltenham Gold Cup – Master Smudge
Grand National – Ben Nevis
Flat races
Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Beldale Ball
Canada – Queen's Plate won by Driving Home
France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Detroit
Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Tyrnavos
English Triple Crown Races:
- 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Known Fact
- Epsom Derby – Henbit
- St. Leger Stakes – Light Cavalry
United States Triple Crown Races:
- Kentucky Derby – Genuine Risk
- Preakness Stakes – Codex
- Belmont Stakes – Temperance Hill
Stock car racing –
NASCAR Championship – Dale Earnhardt
Buddy Baker won the Daytona 500
CART Racing – Johnny Rutherford won the season championship
Indianapolis 500 – Johnny Rutherford
Formula One Champion – Alan Jones of Australia
24 hours of Le Mans – the team of Jean Rondeau / Jean-Pierre Jaussaud won, driving a Rondeau M379B
Rally racing – Walter Röhrl in a Fiat won the World Rally Championship
The team of Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdörfer won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Fiat 131 Abarth
Drag racing – Shirley Muldowney won the NHRA Top Fuel championship.
Touring car racing – Peter Brock and Jim Richards won their third consecutive Bathurst 1000, driving a Holden Torana
1980 Summer Olympics takes place in Moscow, USSR
USSR wins the most medals (195), and the most gold medals (80).
1980 Winter Olympics takes place in Lake Placid, United States
GDR wins the most medals (23), and the USSR wins the most gold medals (10).
First Amateur Radio Direction Finding World Championships held in Cetniewo, Poland.
8 July – The inaugural 1980 State of Origin game is won by Queensland who defeat New South Wales 20–10 at Lang Park
1980 European Rugby League Championship
1980 New Zealand rugby league season
1979–80 Northern Rugby Football League season
1980 NSWRFL season
1980–81 Rugby Football League season
1980 Tooth Cup
86th Five Nations Championship series is won by England who complete the Grand Slam
World Snooker Championship – Cliff Thorburn beats Alex Higgins 18–16, becoming the first non-UK player to win the title
World rankings – Ray Reardon remains world number one for 1980/81
XXII Olympic Games, held in Moscow, Soviet Union (July 20 – July 27)
February 2 – USA's Chris Cavanaugh sets a world record in the 50m freestyle (long course) at a swimming meet in Amersfoort, Netherlands, shaving off 0.04 of the previous record (23.70) set by Germany's Klaus Steinbach nearly a year ago: 23.66.
April 10 – Chris Cavanaugh betters his own world record in the 50m freestyle (long course) at a swimming meet in Austin, Texas (USA): 23.12. At the same event (and on the same day), two other swimmers from the United States, Rowdy Gaines and Bruce Stahl, go under his time, clocking 22.96 and 22.83 respectively.
August 15 – USA's Joe Bottom betters the world record in the 50m freestyle (long course) at a meet in Honolulu, Hawaii, shaving off 0.12 of the previous record (22.83) set by Bruce Stahl four months earlier: 22.71.
Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
- Australian Open – Brian Teacher
- French Open – Björn Borg
- Wimbledon championships – Björn Borg
- US Open – John McEnroe
Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
- Australian Open – Hana Mandlíková
- French Open – Chris Evert
- Wimbledon championships – Evonne Goolagong Cawley
- US Open – Chris Evert
Davis Cup World tennis – Czechoslovakia defeated Italy 4–1.
Water polo at the 1980 Summer Olympics won by USSR
The New York Yacht Club retains the America's Cup as Freedom defeats challenger Australia, of the Royal Perth Yacht Club, 4 races to 1
ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year: U.S. Olympic Hockey Team
Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – U.S. Olympic hockey team, Amateur Ice Hockey
Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Chris Evert, Tennis
