1985 in sports

Alpine skiing

Alpine Skiing World Cup:

Men's overall season champion: Marc Girardelli, Luxembourg

Women's overall season champion: Michela Figini, Switzerland

American football

January 20 Super Bowl XIX – San Francisco 49ers won 38-16 over the Miami Dolphins

Baltimore Stars win USFL Championship 28-24 over Oakland Invaders—USFL folds shortly thereafter

Artistic gymnastics

World Artistic Gymnastics Championships –

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

Women's all-around champions: Oksana Omelianchik, USSR, Yelena Shushunova, USSR

Men's team competition champion: USSR

Women's team competition champion: USSR

Association football

NASL announces suspension of operations and hopes to return in 1986. It never did.

England - FA Cup – Manchester United won 1-0 (aet) over Everton. Kevin Moran of MU receives first-ever red card in an FA Cup final.

Everton are crowned English champions for the eighth time, setting a then record points total for a 42 game programme under three points for a win.

Australian rules football

Victorian Football League

Essendon wins the 89th VFL Premiership (Essendon 26.14 (170) d Hawthorn 14.8 (92))

Brownlow Medal awarded to Brad Hardie (Footscray)

Baseball

Cincinnati Reds' player/manager Pete Rose breaks Ty Cobb's All-Time Hit Record of 4,191 hits. Rose's record-breaking single was off of San Diego Padres pitcher Eric Show (September 11)

Tom Seaver of the Chicago White Sox and Phil Niekro of the New York Yankees become the 17th and 18th pitchers to join the 300 win club on August 4 and October 6 respectively.

Rollie Fingers breaks Sparky Lyle's American League career record of 232 saves.

World Series – The Kansas City Royals defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 3, becoming the first team to win the World Series after losing the first two games at home.

Books published:

Bill James, The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract: A seminal volume of baseball history by the leading sabermetrician of the day. He revised the book into a new edition in 2001.

Basketball

April 1NCAA Men's Basketball Championship –

Villanova wins 66-64 over Georgetown

NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship

Old Dominion wins 70–65 over Georgia

National Basketball Association

1985 NBA Draft

NBA Finals

Los Angeles Lakers win 4 games to 2 over the Boston Celtics

Team Moves

Kansas City Kings franchise moves, 1985–86 NBA season first Sacramento Kings season.

National Basketball League (Australia) Finals:

Brisbane Bullets defeated the Adelaide 36ers 121-95 in the final.

United States Basketball League ( USBL ) was founded

Michael Jordan competes in his first dunk contest, wearing the first edition of his now famous line of "Air" Jordan basketball shoes.

Boxing

April 15 - The War: Marvin Hagler knocks out Thomas Hearns in three rounds to retain the world's Middleweight title.

August 10 - Héctor Camacho defeats José Luis Ramírez to lift the WBC's world Lightweight title.

September 21 - Michael Spinks beats Larry Holmes by a decision in 15 rounds to become the first world Light Heavyweight champion to win a world Heavyweight title.

Canadian football

Grey Cup – B.C. Lions win 37-24 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Vanier Cup – Calgary Dinos win 25-6 over the Western Ontario Mustangs

Cricket

Kim Hughes leads a "rebel" team of players on tour of South Africa, banned from official cricket since 1970 because of apartheid

Cycling

Giro d'Italia won by Bernard Hinault of France

Tour de France - Bernard Hinault of France

UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race – Joop Zoetemelk of the Netherlands

'In 1983 India won the world cup

Dogsled racing

Libby Riddles with her lead dogs, Axle & Dugan, becomes the first woman to ever win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

Field hockey

Men's Champions Trophy held in Perth, Western Australia won by Australia

Figure skating

World Figure Skating Championships –

Men's champion: Alexander Fadeev, Soviet Union

Ladies' champion: Katarina Witt, East Germany

Pair skating champions: Elena Valova / Oleg Vasiliev, Soviet Union

Ice dancing champions: Natalia Bestemianova / Andrei Bukin, Soviet Union

Gaelic Athletic Association

Camogie

All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Kilkenny

National Camogie League: Kilkenny

Gaelic football

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship – Kerry 2-12 died Dublin 2-8

National Football League – Monaghan 1-11 died Armagh 0-9

Ladies' Gaelic football

All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Kerry

National Football League: Kerry

Hurling

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship – Offaly 2-11 died Galway 1-12

National Hurling League –

Golf

Men's professional

Masters Tournament - Bernhard Langer

U.S. Open - Andy North

British Open - Sandy Lyle

PGA Championship - Hubert Green

PGA Tour money leader - Curtis Strange - $542,321

Senior PGA Tour money leader - Peter Thomson - $386,724

Ryder Cup - Europe won 16½ to 11½ over the United States in team golf.

Men's amateur

British Amateur - Garth McGimpsey

U.S. Amateur - Sam Randolph

Women's professional

Nabisco Dinah Shore - Alice Miller

LPGA Championship - Nancy Lopez

U.S. Women's Open - Kathy Baker

Classique du Maurier Classic - Pat Bradley

LPGA Tour money leader - Nancy Lopez - $416,472

Harness racing

North America Cup - Staff Director

United States Pacing Triple Crown races –

1. Cane Pace - Chairmanoftheboard
2. Little Brown Jug - Nihilator
3. Messenger Stakes - Pershing Square

United States Trotting Triple Crown races –

1. Hambletonian - Prakas
2. Yonkers Trot -
3. Kentucky Futurity - Flak Bait

Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –

Pacers: Preux Chevalier

Trotters: Scotch Notch

Horse racing

Steeplechases

Cheltenham Gold Cup – Forgive 'n Forget

Grand National – Last Suspect

Flat races

Australia – Melbourne Cup won by What A Nuisance

Canada – Queen's Plate won by La Lorgnette

France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Rainbow Quest

Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Law Society

Japan – Japan Cup won by Symboli Rudolf

English Triple Crown Races:

1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Shadeed
2. Epsom Derby – Slip Anchor
3. St. Leger Stakes – Oh So Sharp

United States Triple Crown Races:

1. Kentucky Derby – Spend a Buck
2. Preakness Stakes – Tank's Prospect
3. Belmont Stakes – Creme Fraiche

Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships:

1. Breeders' Cup Classic – Proud Truth
2. Breeders' Cup Distaff – Life's Magic
3. Breeders' Cup Juvenile – Tasso
4. Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies – Twilight Ridge
5. Breeders' Cup Mile – Cozzene
6. Breeders' Cup Sprint – Precisionist
7. Breeders' Cup Turf – Pebbles

Ice hockey

Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers

Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers

Stanley Cup – Edmonton Oilers win 4 games to 1 over the Philadelphia Flyers

World Hockey Championship –

Men's champion: Czechoslovakia defeated Canada

Junior Men's champion: Canada defeated Czechoslovakia

Motor racing

Stock car racing –

Bill Elliott won the Daytona 500 as well as the Winston Million after winning the 1985 Winston 500 and that year's Southern 500

NASCAR Championship - Darrell Waltrip

Ken Schrader enters NASCAR

CART Racing - Al Unser Sr won the season championship

Indianapolis 500 - Danny Sullivan

Formula One Championship - Alain Prost of France

24 hours of Le Mans – the team of Klaus Ludwig / Paolo Barilla / "John Winter" (Louis Krages) won, driving a Porsche 956

Rally racing - Timo Salonen in a Peugeot won the World Rally Championship

the team of Ari Vatanen / Terry Harryman won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Peugeot 205T16

Drag racing –

Don Garlits won the NHRA Top Fuel championship

Gary Beck won Top Fuel at the NHRA World Finals

Rugby league

1985 National Panasonic Cup

1985 New Zealand rugby league season

1985 NSWRL season

1984–85 Rugby Football League season / 1985–86 Rugby Football League season

1985 State of Origin series

1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup

Rugby union

91st Five Nations Championship series is won by Ireland

Snooker

World Snooker Championship – Dennis Taylor beats Steve Davis 18-17 in one of the greatest snooker matches of all time

World rankings – Steve Davis remains world number one for 1985/86

Swimming

First Pan Pacific Championships held in Tokyo (August 15 – August 18)

July 21 – Switzerland's Dano Halsall swims a world record in the 50m freestyle (long course) at a swimming meet in Bellinzona, shaving off 0.02 of the previous record (22.54) set by USA's Robin Leamy four years ago: 22.52.

December 6 – USA's Tom Jager takes the world record from Dano Halsall (22.52) in the 50m freestyle (long course) at a swimming meet in Austin, Texas, clocking 22.40.

Tennis

Grand Slam in tennis men's results:

1. Australian Open - Stefan Edberg
2. French Open - Mats Wilander
3. Wimbledon championships - Boris Becker
4. US Open - Ivan Lendl

Grand Slam in tennis women's results:

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

Davis Cup – Sweden wins 3-2 over Germany F.R. in world team tennis.

Volleyball

Men and Women's European Volleyball Championships held in the Netherlands: both men's and women's tournaments won by USSR

Water polo

1985 FINA Men's Water Polo World Cup held in Duisburg won by West Germany

1985 Men's European Water Polo Championship held in Sofia, Bulgaria won by USSR

1985 Women's European Water Polo Championship held in Oslo, Norway won by the Netherlands

Multi-sport events

Sixth Pan Arab Games held in Rabat, Morocco

Second World Games held in London, United Kingdom

Thirteenth Summer Universiade held in Kobe, Japan

Twelfth Winter Universiade held in Belluno, Italy

Awards

Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Dwight Gooden, Major League Baseball

Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Nancy Lopez, LPGA golf

ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the year: Pete Rose Major League Baseball