1987 in sports

Alpine skiing

Alpine Skiing World Cup

Men's overall season champion: Pirmin Zurbriggen, Switzerland

Women's overall season champion: Maria Walliser, Switzerland

American football

Super Bowl XXI – New York Giants won 39-20 over the Denver Broncos

January 2 – Fiesta Bowl (1986 season):

The Penn State Nittany Lions won 14-10 over the Miami Hurricanes to win the national championship

Arena football has its demonstration season—its first season— played with four teams.

February 25 – The Southern Methodist University Mustangs football team becomes the first college football program to be given the Death Penalty by the NCAA Committee on Rules Infractions

Artistic gymnastics

World Artistic Gymnastics Championships –

Men's all-around champion: Dmitry Bilozerchev, USSR

Women's all-around champion: Aurelia Dobre, Romania

Men's team competition champion: USSR

Women's team competition champion: Romania

Association football

FA Cup final – Coventry City defeated Tottenham Hotspur 3-2

Automatic relegation is introduced from the Football League, with Lincoln City F.C. relegated

Australian rules football

Victorian Football League

The West Coast Eagles and the Brisbane Bears join the league.

Carlton wins the 91st VFL Premiership (Carlton 15.14 (104) d Hawthorn 9.17 (71))

Brownlow Medal awarded to Tony Lockett (St Kilda) and John Platten (Hawthorn)

Athletics

August–September – 1987 World Championships in Athletics held in Rome

Baseball

January 14 – Catfish Hunter and Billy Williams are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Hunter made his name as the ace of the Oakland A's staff in their championship years and made his fortune as one of the first free agents. Williams set a National League record by playing in 1,117 consecutive games and accumulating 426 home runs and a batting title.

August 3 – Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Niekro is suspended for 10 days for possessing a nail file on the pitcher's mound. Niekro claimed he had been filing his nails in the dugout and put the file in his back pocket when the inning started.

World Series – Minnesota Twins won 4 games to 3 over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Series MVP was Frank Viola, Minnesota

Lowest regular-season record of any World Series champion (85-77, .525) until 2006 (Cardinals 83-78, .516)

First World Series game played indoors (Game 1 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome)

First World Series where the home team won every game

Basketball

NCAA Men's Basketball Championship –

Indiana won 74-73 over Syracuse

NBA Finals –

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

National Basketball League (Australia) Finals:

Brisbane Bullets defeated the Perth Wildcats 2-0 in the best-of-three final series.

Boxing

March 7 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Mike Tyson adds the WBA heavyweight title to his WBC belt when he beats James Smith in a 12 round decision.

April 6 - Sugar Ray Leonard beats Marvin Hagler for boxing's world Middleweight championship.

Canadian football

Grey Cup – Edmonton Eskimos won 38-36 over the Toronto Argonauts

Vanier Cup – McGill Redmen won 47-11 over the UBC Thunderbirds

Cricket

1987 Cricket World Cup - Final: Australia beat England by 7 runs

Cycling

Giro d'Italia won by Stephen Roche of Ireland

Tour de France – Stephen Roche of Ireland

UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race – Stephen Roche of Ireland

Dogsled racing

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion –

Susan Butcher won with lead dogs: Granite & Mattie

Field hockey

Men's Champions Trophy won by West Germany

Women's Champions Trophy won by the Netherlands

Men's European Nations Cup won by the Netherlands

Women's European Nations Cup won by the Netherlands

Figure skating

World Figure Skating Championships –

Men's champion: Brian Orser, Canada

Ladies' champion: Katarina Witt, Germany

Pair skating champions: Ekaterina Gordeeva / Sergei Grinkov, 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 – Meath 1-14 died Cork 0-11

National Football League – Dublin 1-11 died Kerry 0-11

Ladies' Gaelic football

All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Kerry

National Football League: Kerry

Hurling

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship – Galway 1-12 died Kilkenny 0-9

National Hurling League –

Golf

Men's professional

Masters Tournament - Larry Mize

U.S. Open - Scott Simpson

British Open - Nick Faldo

PGA Championship - Larry Nelson

PGA Tour money leader - Curtis Strange - $925,941

Senior PGA Tour money leader - Chi Chi Rodriguez - $509,145

Ryder Cup - Europe won 15-13 over the United States in team golf.

Men's amateur

British Amateur - Paul Mayo

U.S. Amateur - Billy Mayfair

Women's professional

Nabisco Dinah Shore - Betsy King

LPGA Championship - Jane Geddes

U.S. Women's Open - Laura Davies

Classique du Maurier Classic - Jody Rosenthal

LPGA Tour money leader - Ayako Okamoto - $466,034

Harness racing

The North America Cup - Runnymede Lobell

United States Pacing Triple Crown races –

– Cane Pace - Righteous Bucks

– Little Brown Jug - Jaguar Spur

– Messenger Stakes - Redskin

United States Trotting Triple Crown races –

– Hambletonian - Mack Lobell

– Yonkers Trot - Mack Lobell

– Kentucky Futurity - Napoletano

Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –

Pacers: Lightning Blue

Trotters: Tussle

Horse racing

Steeplechases

Cheltenham Gold Cup – The Thinker

Grand National – Maori Venture

Flat races

Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Kensei

Canada – Queen's Plate won by Market Control

France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Trempolino

Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Sir Harry Lewis

Japan – Japan Cup won by Le Glorieux

English Triple Crown Races:

1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Don't Forget Me
2. Epsom Derby – Reference Point
3. St. Leger Stakes – Reference Point

United States Triple Crown Races:

1. Kentucky Derby – Alysheba
2. Preakness Stakes – Alysheba
3. Belmont Stakes – Bet Twice

Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships:

1. Breeders' Cup Classic – Ferdinand
2. Breeders' Cup Distaff – Sacahuista
3. Breeders' Cup Juvenile – Success Express
4. Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies – Epitome
5. Breeders' Cup Mile – Miesque
6. Breeders' Cup Sprint – Very Subtle
7. Breeders' Cup Turf – Theatrical

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 won 4 games to 3 over the Philadelphia Flyers

World Hockey Championship –

Men's champion: Sweden defeated the Soviet Union

Junior Men's champion: Finland defeated Czechoslovakia after a bench clearing brawl occurred between Canada and the Soviet Union

Lacrosse

Inaugural season of the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League (later the National Lacrosse League)

Championship won by the Baltimore Thunder

Motor racing

Stock car racing –

Bill Elliott won the Daytona 500

NASCAR Championship - Dale Earnhardt

CART Indy Car World Series - Bobby Rahal won the season championship

Indianapolis 500 - Al Unser Sr.

Formula One - Nelson Piquet of Brazil

Sports car racing

The Tom Walkinshaw Racing Jaguar factory team won the World Sportscar Championship.

24 hours of Le Mans – won by the team of Derek Bell / Hans-Joachim Stuck / Al Holbert driving a Porsche 962C

Rally racing

Juha Kankkunen in a Lancia won the World Rally Championship

Miki Biasion / Tiziano Siviero won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Lancia Delta HF 4x4

Ari Vatanen / Bernard Giroux won the Paris–Dakar Rally in cars, whereas Cyril Neveu won in motorcycles.

Drag racing –

Dick LaHaie won the NHRA "Top Fuel" championship.

Darrell Gwynn won Top Fuel at the NHRA Winston Finals

Touring car racing –

Steve Soper and Pierre Dieudonné won the Bathurst 1000 endurance race in Australia, only to have their Eggenberger Motorsport Ford Sierra (as well that of second-place team-mates Klaus Ludwig and Klaus Niedzwiedz) disqualified for illegal wheel arches. Peter Brock, David Parsons and Peter McLeod in a Holden Commodore VL, who finished third, were awarded the victory. It was Brock's 9th and final Bathurst win.

That disqualification changed the result of the one-off Group A World Touring Car Championship, taking it from Ludwig and Niedzwiedz and giving it to Roberto Ravaglia who drove a BMW M3 for Schnitzer Motorsport.

Rugby league

1987 National Panasonic Cup

1987 NSWRL season

1987 New Zealand rugby league season

1986–87 Rugby Football League season / 1987–88 Rugby Football League season

1987 State of Origin series

1987 World Club Challenge

1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup

Rugby union

93rd Five Nations Championship series is won by France who complete the Grand Slam

Inaugural Rugby Union World Cup is held in Australia and New Zealand. The winners are New Zealand.

Snooker

World Snooker Championship – Steve Davis beats Joe Johnson 18-14

World rankings – Steve Davis remains world number one for 1987/88

Swimming

Tenth Pan American Games held in Indianapolis, United States (August 9 – August 15)

Second Pan Pacific Championships held in Brisbane, Australia (August 13 – August 16)

August 13 – Tom Jager regains the world record from fellow American Matt Biondi (22.33) in the 50m freestyle (long course) at the 1987 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Brisbane, Australia, clocking 22.32.

Taekwondo

World Championships held in Barcelona, Spain

Tennis

Grand Slam in tennis men's results:

– Australian Open - Stefan Edberg

– French Open - Ivan Lendl

– Wimbledon championships - Pat Cash

– US Open - Ivan Lendl

Grand Slam in tennis women's results:

– Australian Open - Hana Mandlíková

– French Open - Steffi Graf

– Wimbledon championships - Martina Navratilova

– US Open - Martina Navratilova

Davis Cup

Sweden defeats India (5-0) in the final

Volleyball

Asia Volleyball Championships won by Japan (men) and China (women)

European Volleyball Championships in Gent, Belgium won by USSR (men) and DDR (women)

Pan American Games Volleyball in Indianapolis won by USA (men) and Cuba (women)

Water polo

Men's World Cup held in Thessaloniki won by Yugoslavia

Men's event at Pan American Games held in Indianapolis won by USA

Men's European European Championship held in Strasbourg won by USSR

Women's European Championship held in Strasbourg won by the Netherlands

Yacht racing

The America's Cup returns to the United States as challenger Stars & Stripes '87, of the San Diego Yacht Club, beats Australian defender Kookaburra III, from the Royal Perth Yacht Club, 4 races to 0.

Multi-sport events

Tenth Pan American Games held in Indianapolis, United States

Fourth All-Africa Games held in Nairobi, Kenya

Tenth Mediterranean Games held in Latakia, Syria

Fourteenth Summer Universiade held in Zagreb, Yugoslavia

Thirteenth Winter Universiade held in Štrbské Pleso, Czechoslovakia

Awards

Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Ben Johnson, Track and field

Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Track and field