1981 in sports

Alpine skiing

Alpine Skiing World Cup –

Men's overall season champion: Phil Mahre, USA

Women's overall season champion: Marie-Theres Nadig, Switzerland

American football

Sugar Bowl (1980 season)

The Georgia Bulldogs won 17-10 over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to win the national championship

January 25 - Super Bowl XV – Oakland Raiders win 27-10 over the Philadelphia Eagles

October 11 - LeRoy Irvin sets NFL record for most punt return yards in a game (207).

Artistic gymnastics

World Artistic Gymnastics Championships –

Men's all-around champion: Yuri Korolev, USSR

Women's all-around champion: Olga Bicherova, USSR

Men's team competition champion: USSR

Women's team competition champion: USSR

Association football

UEFA Champions League – Liverpool FC 1-0 Real Madrid

UEFA Cup – two leg final: 1st leg Ipswich Town F.C. 3-0 AZ '67 (Alkmaar); 2nd leg AZ '67 4-2 Ipswich Town. Ipswich Town win 5-4 on aggregate

Cup Winners' Cup – Dynamo Tbilisi 2-1 Carl Zeiss Jena

Copa Libertadores de América – Flamengo 2-0 Cobreloa

World Club Championship – Flamengo 3-0 Liverpool FC

Aston Villa win English League Championship

FA Cup – Tottenham Hotspur win 3-2 over Manchester City

Australian rules football

Victorian Football League

May 23 – A protest by Richmond against the eligibility of defender Doug Cox to play for St. Kilda led to the Saints temporarily losing the points for their first two wins. They were reinstated later due to changes in the relevant rules, but a fine of $5000 remained.

June 6 – Richmond’s Kevin Bartlett became the first to play 350 VFL games.

Carlton win the 85th VFL Premiership, beating Collingwood 12.20 (92) to 10.12 (72)

Brownlow Medal awarded to Barry Round (South Melbourne) and Bernie Quinlan (Fitzroy)

At the end of the season, South Melbourne relocate to Sydney and are renamed the Sydney Swans.

Baseball

For a Venezuelans baseball player's strike the Caribbean World Series of this year is cancelled.

January 15 - In his first year of eligibility, former Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson is the only player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Gibson won 20 games five times, struck out 3,117 batters, and captured the Cy Young Award and MVP in 1968 with a 1.12 ERA. Players falling short of the 301 votes needed for election include Don Drysdale (243), Gil Hodges (241), Harmon Killebrew (239), Hoyt Wilhelm (238), and Juan Marichal (233). All except Hodges would subsequently gain election.

April 18 - An International League game between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the visiting Rochester Red Wings set the record for the most innings ever played in a single professional baseball game, at 33 innings (24 extra innings). The game was suspended after 32 innings on the morning of April 19, and was concluded on June 23 with a 3-2 Pawtucket victory.

June 12 - Major League Baseball players begin a 49-day strike over the issue of free-agent compensation.

World Series – Los Angeles Dodgers win 4 games to 2 over the New York Yankees. The Series MVP is a tie between Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager, Los Angeles

Basketball

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship –

Indiana wins 63-50 over North Carolina

NBA Finals –

Boston Celtics won 4 games to 2 over the Houston Rockets

National Basketball League (Australia) Finals:

Launceston Casino City defeated the Nunawading Spectres 75-54 in the final.

Boxing

April 11 – Larry Holmes defeats Trevor Berbick by a unanimous decision to retain the WBC heavyweight title.

August 21 – Salvador Sánchez defeats Wilfredo Gómez by knockout in round eight to retain boxing's WBC world Featherweight title.(see: The Battle of the Little Giants)

September 16 – Sugar Ray Leonard defeats Thomas Hearns by knockout in round 14 to unify boxing's world Welterweight title.

October 3 – Mike Weaver defeats James (Quick) Tillis by a unanimous decision to retain the WBA/World Boxing Association heavyweight title.

Canadian football

Grey Cup – Edmonton Eskimos win 26-23 over the Ottawa Rough Riders

Vanier Cup – Acadia Axemen win 18-12 over the Alberta Golden Bears

Cycling

Giro d'Italia won by Giovanni Battaglin of Italy

Tour de France - Bernard Hinault of France

Dogsled racing

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion –

Rick Swenson won with lead dogs: Andy & Slick

Field hockey

Men's World Cup held in Kuala Lumpur won by USSR

Men's Champions Trophy held in Karachi won by the Netherlands

Women's World Cup held in Buenos Aires won by West Germany

Figure skating

World Figure Skating Championships –

Men's champion: Scott Hamilton, United States

Ladies' champion: Denise Biellmann, Switzerland

Pair skating champions: Irina Vorobeva & Igor Lisovski, Soviet Union

Ice dancing champions: Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean, Great Britain

Gaelic Athletic Association

Camogie

All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Kilkenny

National Camogie League: Dublin

Gaelic football

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship – Kerry 1-12 died Offaly 0-8

National Football League – Galway 1-11 died Roscommon 1-3

Ladies' Gaelic football

All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Kerry 1-12 died Offaly 0-8

National Football League: Galway 1-11 died Roscommon 1-3

Hurling

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship – Offaly 2-12 died Galway 0-15

National Hurling League – Cork 3-11 died Offaly 2-8

Golf

Men's professional

Masters Tournament - Tom Watson

U.S. Open - David Graham

British Open - Bill Rogers

PGA Championship - Larry Nelson

PGA Tour money leader - Tom Kite - $375,699

Senior PGA Tour money leader - Miller Barber - $83,136

Ryder Cup - United States win 18½ to 9½ over Europe in team golf.

Men's amateur

British Amateur - Phillipe Ploujoux

U.S. Amateur - Nathaniel Crosby

Women's professional

LPGA Championship - Donna Caponi

U.S. Women's Open - Pat Bradley

Classique Peter Jackson Classic - Jan Stephenson

LPGA Tour money leader - Beth Daniel - $206,998

Harness racing

United States Pacing Triple Crown races –

1. Cane Pace - Wildwood Jeb
2. Little Brown Jug - Fan Hanover (Filly)
3. Messenger Stakes - Seahawk Hanover

United States Trotting Triple Crown races –

1. Hambletonian - Shiaway St. Pat
2. Yonkers Trot - Mo Bandy
3. Kentucky Futurity - Filet of Sole

Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –

Pacers: San Simeon

Horse racing

August 30 – John Henry becomes the first horse to win a million dollar race, the inaugural Arlington Million, at Arlington Park in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois.

November – inaugural running of the Japan Cup, the most prestigious horse race in Japan, at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo. Its distance is about 1½ miles on turf and it is the world's richest turf race.

Steeplechases

Cheltenham Gold Cup – Little Owl

Grand National – Aldaniti

Flat races

Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Just A Dash

Canada – Queen's Plate won by Fiddle Dancer Boy

France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Gold River

Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Shergar

Japan – Japan Cup won by Mairzy Doates

English Triple Crown Races:

1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes – To–Agori–Mou
2. Epsom Derby – Shergar
3. St. Leger Stakes – Cut Above

United States Triple Crown Races:

1. Kentucky Derby – Pleasant Colony
2. Preakness Stakes – Pleasant Colony
3. Belmont Stakes – Summing

Ice hockey

May 10 - Cornwall Royals defeat the Kitchener Rangers to win the 1981 Memorial Cup

May 21 - New York Islanders defeat the Minnesota North Stars to win the 1981 Stanley Cup

Ice Hockey World Championships:

Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden

Junior Men's champion: Sweden defeated Finland

August 27 – death of Valeri Kharlamov (33), Russian player, in a car crash

Motor racing

Stock car racing –

NASCAR Championship - Darrell Waltrip

Richard Petty won the Daytona 500

CART Racing - Rick Mears won the season championship

May 25 - Indianapolis 500 - Bobby Unser

Formula One Champion - Nelson Piquet of Brazil

24 hours of Le Mans –

teammates Jacky Ickx / Derek Bell won, driving a Porsche 936

Rally racing - Ari Vatanen in a Ford won the World Rally Championship

the team of Jean Ragnotti / Jean-Marc Andrie won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Renault 5 Turbo

Drag racing – Gary Beck won "Top Fuel" at the NHRA World Finals

Rugby league

1981 European Rugby League Championship

1981 New Zealand rugby league season

1981 NSWRFL season

1981 Craven Mild Cup

1981 Tooth Cup

1980–81 Rugby Football League season/1981–82 Rugby Football League season

1981 State of Origin game

Rugby union

87th Five Nations Championship series is won by France who complete the Grand Slam

The 1981 Springbok Tour causes major controversy and riots in New Zealand

Snooker

World Snooker Championship – Steve Davis beats Doug Mountjoy 18-12

World rankings – Cliff Thorburn becomes world number one for 1981/82

Swimming

August 15 – USA's Robin Leamy of UCLA sets a world record time of 22.54 in the 50m freestyle (long course) at Brown Deer, Wisconsin, shaving 0.17 off the previous record (22.71) set by Joseph Bottom exactly one year ago in Honolulu, Hawaii

Tennis

Grand Slam in tennis men's results:

1. Australian Open - Johan Kriek
2. French Open - Björn Borg
3. Wimbledon championships - John McEnroe
4. US Open - John McEnroe

Grand Slam in tennis women's results:

1. Australian Open - Martina Navratilova
2. French Open - Hana Mandlíková
3. Wimbledon championships - Chris Evert
4. US Open - Tracy Austin

Davis Cup – United States wins 3-1 over Argentina in world tennis.

Volleyball

Men and Women's European Volleyball Championships held in Bulgaria and won by USSR (men) and Bulgaria (women)

Water polo

1981 FINA Men's Water Polo World Cup in Long Beach, California won by USSR

1981 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup in Brisbane, Australia won by Canada

Multi-sport events

First World Games held in Santa Clara, United States

Eleventh Summer Universiade held in Bucharest, Romania

Tenth Winter Universiade held in Jaca, Spain

Awards

Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – John McEnroe, Tennis

Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Tracy Austin, Tennis