1979 in sports (original) (raw)
See also: 1978 in sports, other events of 1979, 1980 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.
Auto Racing
- Stock car racing:
- Richard Petty wins the Daytona 500
- NASCAR Championship - Richard Petty
- USAC Racing was supplanted by the Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc
- Indianapolis 500 - Rick Mears
- CART Racing: Rick Mears won the season championship
- Formula One Championship - Jody Scheckter of South Africa
- 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Klaus Ludwig / Bill Whittington / Don Whittington win driving a Porsche 935
- Rally racing - the team of Bernard Darniche / Alain Mahe win the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Lancia Stratos HF
- Drag racing:
- Rob Bruins won the NHRA "Top Fuel" championship.
- Don Garlits won "Top Fuel" at the NHRA World Finals
Baseball
- World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates won 4 games to 3 over the Baltimore Orioles. The Series MVP was Willie Stargell, Pittsburgh
Basketball
- NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
- Michigan St. wins 75-64 over Indiana St.
- NBA Finals:
- Seattle Supersonics won 4 games to 1 over the Washington Wizards
Boxing
- September 28 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Larry Holmes retains his World Heavyweight title with an 11th round TKO of Earnie Shavers.
- November 3 also in Las Vegas, dual world championship undercard: Vito Antuofermo retains his world Middleweight title with a 15 round draw (tie) against Marvin Hagler, and Sugar Ray Leonard wins his first word title, beating WBC world Welterweight champion Wilfredo Benitez by knockout in round 15.
Cycling
- Giro d'Italia won by Giuseppe Saronni of Italy
- Tour de France - Bernard Hinault -France
- World Cycling Championship: Jan Raas of Netherlands
Figure Skating
- World Figure Skating Championships:
- Men's champion: Wladimir Kowalew, (Soviet Union)
- Women's champion: Linda Fratianne, (United States)
- Pairs champions: Tai Babilonia & Randy Gardner, (United States)
Football (Soccer)
- England - FA Cup: Arsenal won 3-2 over Manchester United
Football (American)
- Super Bowl XIII: Pittsburgh Steelers won 35-31 over the Dallas Cowboys
Canadian Football League
- Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos won 17-9 over the Montreal Alouettes
- Vanier Cup: Acadia Axmen won 34-12 over the Western Ontario Mustangs
Golf
- Grand Slam of golf results:
- May - The Masters - Fuzzy Zoeller
- June - US Open - Hale Irwin
- July - British Open - Seve Ballesteros
- August - PGA Championship - David Graham
- PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Tom Watson - $462,636
- Ryder Cup: United States won 17-11 over Europe in world team golf.
- US Women's Open - Jerilyn Britz
- LPGA Championship - Donna Caponi
- Nancy Lopez: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $189,213.
Thoroughbred Horse Racing
- Australia - Melbourne Cup - Hyperno
- Canada - Queen's Plate - Steady Growth
- France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Three Troikas
- Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Troy
- English Triple Crown Races:
- Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Tap On Wood
- Epsom Derby - Troy
- St. Leger Stakes - Son of Love
- United States Triple Crown Races:
- Kentucky Derby - Spectacular Bid
- Preakness Stakes - Spectacular Bid
- Belmont Stakes - Coastal
Harness Racing
- United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
- Cane Pace - Happy Motoring
- Little Brown Jug - Hot Hitter
- Messenger Stakes - Hot Hitter
- United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
- Hambletonian - Legend Hanover
- Yonkers Trot
- Kentucky Futurity
- Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
- Pacers: Rondel
- Trotters: No Response
Ice Hockey
- Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders
- Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders
- Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 1 over the New York Rangers
- World Hockey Championship
- Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia
- Junior Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
Skiing
- Alpine Skiing
- The men's overall season champion: Peter Luescher, Switzerland
- The women's overall season champion: Annemarie Moser-Pr�ll, Austria
Tennis
- Grand Slam in tennis mens results:
- Australian Open - Guillermo Vilas
- French Open - Bjorn Borg
- Wimbledon championships - Bjorn Borg
- US Open - John McEnroe
- Grand Slam in tennis womens results:
- Davis Cup: United States wins 5-0 over Italy in world tennis.
General sporting events
- Embassy World Snooker Championship:
- Terry Griffiths won 24-16 over Dennis Taylor
- Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
- Rick Swenson won with lead dogs: Andy & O.B. (Old Buddy)
- September 7 - The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) makes its debut.
Births
Deaths
- February 21 - Glendon Gibbs, Australian cricketer
- April 6 - M Marie Widlow, Hall of Fame softball pitcher
- May 31 - Nigel Howard, English cricketer
- July 5 - Elizabeth Ryan, tennis star, won 19 Wimbledon titles
- July 9 - Betty Evans Grayson, Hall of Fame softball pitcher
- July 21 - Sandor Kocsis, Hungarian soccer star
- July 22 - Tony "Two-Ton" Galento, boxer/actor
- August 2 - Thurman Munson, New York Yankees catcher (1969-1979), plane crash
- August 21 - Giuseppe Meazza, Italian, soccer star
- October 22 - Clint Hodgins, Hall of Fame harness-racing driver
- December 15 - Stan Hack, Major League Baseball player (1932-1947)