Editing 1979 in sports

{{Short description|Sports-related events of 1979}}
'''1979 in sports''' describes the year's events in world sport.
{{Year nav sports topic5|1979|sports}}

==[[Alpine skiing]]==
* [[1978–79 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup|Alpine Skiing World Cup]]
** Men's overall season champion: [[Peter Lüscher]], Switzerland
** Women's overall season champion: [[Annemarie Moser-Pröll]], Austria

==[[American football]]==
* [[Super Bowl XIII]] – the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] (AFC) won 35−31 over the [[Dallas Cowboys]] (NFC)
** Location: [[Miami Orange Bowl]]
** Attendance: 79,484
** MVP: [[Terry Bradshaw]], QB (Pittsburgh)
* [[1979 Sugar Bowl|Sugar Bowl]] (1978 season):
** The [[Alabama Crimson Tide]] won 14–7 over the [[Penn State Nittany Lions]] to claim [[AP Poll]] [[1978 NCAA Division I-A football season|national championship]]
* August 4 – Opening game of the ''[[American Football Bundesliga]]'' played between [[Frankfurter Löwen]] and [[Düsseldorf Panther]], first-ever league game of [[American football]] in Germany.<ref name="Turn" >[https://books.google.com/books?id=Q__8CmcZBZMC&dq=Frankfurter+L%C3%B6wen+American+football&pg=PA224 Google book review: Turnen and sport: transatlantic transfers] author: Annette R. Hofmann, accessed: 12 January 2010</ref>
* November 10 – [[German Bowl|German Bowl I]] – [[Frankfurter Löwen]] defeated the [[Ansbach Grizzlies]] 14–8.<ref name="Bowl">[http://www.gfl.info/text.php?Inhalt=bowls#German_Bowl Bowls] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929171113/http://gfl.info/text.php?Inhalt=bowls |date=2015-09-29 }} [[German Football League]] website, accessed: 16 January 2011</ref>

==[[Artistic gymnastics]]==
* [[1979 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|World Artistic Gymnastics Championships]] –
** Men's all-around champion: [[Alexander Dityatin]], [[USSR]]
** Women's all-around champion: [[Nellie Kim]], [[USSR]]
** Men's team competition champion: [[USSR]]
** Women's team competition champion: [[Romania]]

==[[Association football]]==
* May 12 – [[1979 FA Cup Final|England – FA Cup]] – [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] win 3–2 over [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]
* [[Sport Club Internacional]] win the [[1979 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A|Brazilian Championship]] undefeated

==[[Australian rules football]]==
* [[Victorian Football League (1897–1989)|Victorian Football League]]
** April 28: [[Collingwood Football Club|Collingwood]] beats a 70-year-old record for the greatest winning margin in VFL football when they beat [[St Kilda Football Club|St. Kilda]] by 178 points 31.21 (207) to 3.11 (29)
** July 28: [[Fitzroy Football Club|Fitzroy]] beats Collingwood's three-month-old record when they beat [[Melbourne Football Club|Melbourne]] 36.22 (238) to 6.12 (48) with [[Bob Beecroft]] kicking ten goals
** [[Carlton Football Club|Carlton]] win the 83rd [[1979 VFL season|VFL Premiership]] (Carlton 11.16 (82) d [[Collingwood Football Club|Collingwood]] 11.11 (77))
** [[Brownlow Medal]] awarded to [[Peter Moore (Australian rules footballer)|Peter Moore]] (Collingwood)

==[[Baseball]]==
{{main|1979 in baseball}}
* January 23 – [[Willie Mays]] receives 409 of 432 votes in the BBWAA election to earn enshrinement in the [[Baseball|Hall of Fame]].
* July 12 – [[Disco Demolition Night]] at [[Comiskey Park]] between the [[Chicago White Sox]] and [[Detroit Tigers]]
* August 2 – death of [[Thurman Munson]], New York Yankees catcher, in an air crash
* [[1979 World Series|World Series]] – [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] won 4 games to 3 over the [[Baltimore Orioles]]. The Series MVP was [[Willie Stargell]], Pittsburgh.  The Pirates become the only team in sports history to come back from a three games to one deficit in a championship series twice, having also achieved the comeback in the [[1925 World Series]].

==[[Basketball]]==
* [[1979 NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Game|NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship]] –
** [[Michigan State Spartans|Michigan St.]] wins 75–64 over [[Indiana State Sycamores|Indiana St.]]
* [[1979 NBA Finals|NBA Finals]] –
** [[Seattle SuperSonics]], coached by [[Lenny Wilkens]], won 4 games to 1 over the [[Washington Bullets]] for the only finals win in Seattle SuperSonics history.
* [[National Basketball League (Australia)]] –
** The Australian NBL was founded. The [[St Kilda Saints (NBL)|St Kilda Saints]] became the first [[1979 NBL season|champions]] by defeating the [[Canberra Cannons]] 94–93 in the final.

==[[Boxing]]==
* September 28 in [[Las Vegas]], [[Larry Holmes]] retains his World Heavyweight title with an 11th-round TKO of [[Earnie Shavers]].
* November 30 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 world title, beating [[World Boxing Council|WBC]] world Welterweight champion [[Wilfred Benítez]] by [[knockout]] in round 15.

==[[Canadian football]]==
* [[67th Grey Cup|Grey Cup]] – [[Edmonton Eskimos]] win 17–9 over the [[Montreal Alouettes]]
* [[15th Vanier Cup|Vanier Cup]] – [[Acadia Axemen]] win 34–12 over the [[Western Ontario Mustangs]]

==[[Cricket]]==
* [[1979 Cricket World Cup|Cricket World Cup]] – [[West Indies cricket team|West Indies]] beat England by 92 runs
* [[World Series Cricket]] rival competition to official [[International Cricket Council]] matches is disbanded.

==[[Cycle sport|Cycling]]==
* [[1979 Giro d'Italia|Giro d'Italia]] – won by [[Giuseppe Saronni]] of Italy
* [[1979 Tour de France|Tour de France]] – [[Bernard Hinault]] of France
* [[1979 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race]] – [[Jan Raas]] of Netherlands

==[[Dogsled racing]]==
* [[Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race|Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion]] –
** [[Rick Swenson]] won with lead dogs: ''Andy'' & ''O.B.'' (''Old Buddy'')

==[[Field hockey]]==
* [[1979 Pan American Games]] [[Field hockey at the 1979 Pan American Games|men's competition]] held in [[San Juan, Puerto Rico]] and won by Argentina
* August – The 2nd Women's World Field Hockey Championships are held at Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada with the Netherlands as the champions.

==[[Figure skating]]==
* [[1979 World Figure Skating Championships|World Figure Skating Championships]] –
** Men's champion: [[Vladimir Kovalev]], Soviet Union
** Ladies' champion: [[Linda Fratianne]], United States
** Pair skating champions: [[Tai Babilonia]] & [[Randy Gardner (figure skater)|Randy Gardner]], United States
** Ice dancing champions: [[Natalia Linichuk]] & [[Gennadi Karponossov]], Soviet Union

==[[Golf]]==
'''Men's professional'''
* [[1979 Masters Tournament|Masters Tournament]] – [[Fuzzy Zoeller]] defeats [[Ed Sneed]] and [[Tom Watson (golfer)|Tom Watson]] in the second hole of a sudden-death playoff, the first time the Masters used a sudden-death format.
* [[1979 U.S. Open (golf)|U.S. Open]] – [[Hale Irwin]]
* [[1979 Open Championship|British Open]] – [[Seve Ballesteros]] becomes the first golfer from [[Continental Europe]] to win a major since [[Arnaud Massy]] of France won this event in 1907.
* [[1979 PGA Championship|PGA Championship]] – [[David Graham (golfer)|David Graham]]
* [[PGA Tour]] money leader – [[Tom Watson (golfer)|Tom Watson]] – $462,636
* [[1979 Ryder Cup|Ryder Cup]] – United States won 17–11 over Europe in the first Ryder Cup to feature a side representing all of Europe.
'''Men's amateur'''
* [[The Amateur Championship|British Amateur]] – [[Jay Sigel]]
* [[United States Amateur Championship (men's golf)|U.S. Amateur]] – [[Mark O'Meara]]
'''Women's professional'''
* [[1979 LPGA Championship|LPGA Championship]] – [[Donna Caponi]]
* [[1979 U.S. Women's Open|U.S. Women's Open]] – [[Jerilyn Britz]]
* [[1979 Peter Jackson Classic|Classique Peter Jackson Classic]] – [[Amy Alcott]]
* [[LPGA|LPGA Tour]] money leader – [[Nancy Lopez]] – $197,489

==[[Harness racing]]==
* The [[Hambletonian Stakes|Hambletonian]] is awarded to [[Meadowlands Racetrack]], starting in 1981.
* [[Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers|United States Pacing Triple Crown races]] –
*# [[Cane Pace]] – [[Happy Motoring]]
*# [[Little Brown Jug (horse racing)|Little Brown Jug]] – [[Hot Hitter]]
*# [[Messenger Stakes]] – [[Hot Hitter]]
* [[Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters|United States Trotting Triple Crown races]] –
*# [[Hambletonian Stakes|Hambletonian]] – [[Legend Hanover]]
*# [[Yonkers Trot]] – Mo Bandy
*# [[Kentucky Futurity]] – Filet of Sole
* [[Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship]] –
** Pacers: [[Rondel (horse)|Rondel]]
** Trotters: [[No Response]]

==[[Horse racing]]==
'''Steeplechases'''
* [[Cheltenham Gold Cup]] – [[Alverton (horse)|Alverton]]
* [[1979 Grand National|Grand National]] – [[Rubstic]]
'''Flat races'''
* Australia – [[Melbourne Cup]] won by [[Hyperno]]
* Canada – [[Queen's Plate]] won by [[Steady Growth]]
* France – [[1979 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe|Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe]] won by [[Three Troikas]]
* Ireland – [[Irish Derby Stakes]] won by [[Troy (horse)|Troy]]
* [[Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing|English Triple Crown Races]]:
*# [[2,000 Guineas Stakes]] – [[Tap On Wood]]
*# [[1979 Epsom Derby|The Derby]] – [[Troy (horse)|Troy]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Epsom Derby {{!}} History, Winners, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/sports/Derby-horse-race |website=www.britannica.com |access-date=3 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
*# [[St. Leger Stakes]] – [[Son of Love]]
* [[Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing|United States Triple Crown Races]]:
*# [[1979 Kentucky Derby|Kentucky Derby]] – [[Spectacular Bid]]
*# [[1979 Preakness Stakes|Preakness Stakes]] – [[Spectacular Bid]]
*# [[Belmont Stakes]] – [[Coastal (horse)|Coastal]]

==[[Ice hockey]]==
* [[Art Ross Trophy]] as the [[National Hockey League|NHL]]'s leading scorer during the regular season: [[Bryan Trottier]], [[New York Islanders]]
* [[Hart Memorial Trophy]] for the [[National Hockey League|NHL]]'s Most Valuable Player: [[Bryan Trottier]], [[New York Islanders]]
* [[1979 Stanley Cup Finals|Stanley Cup]] – [[Montreal Canadiens]] win 4 games to 1 over the [[New York Rangers]]
* [[1979 Ice Hockey World Championships|World Hockey Championship]]
** Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated [[Czechoslovakia]]
** [[1979 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships|Junior Men's champion]]: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
* [[Réal Cloutier]] of the [[Quebec Nordiques]] became the second [[National Hockey League|NHL]] player to score a [[hat trick]] in his debut [[National Hockey League|NHL]] game.
* [[Avco World Trophy]] – [[Winnipeg Jets]] won 4 games to 2 over the [[Edmonton Oilers]]

==[[Motorsport]]==
{{main|1979 in motorsport|List of 1979 motorsport champions}}

==[[Rugby league]]==
*[[1979 Amco Cup]]
*[[1979 European Rugby League Championship]]
*[[1979 New Zealand rugby league season]]
*[[1978–79 Northern Rugby Football League season]] / [[1979–80 Northern Rugby Football League season]]
*[[1979 NSWRFL season]]

==[[Rugby union]]==
* 85th [[1979 Five Nations Championship|Five Nations Championship]] series is won by [[Wales national rugby union team|Wales]]

==[[Snooker]]==
* [[1979 World Snooker Championship|World Snooker Championship]] – outsider [[Terry Griffiths]] beats [[Dennis Taylor]] 24-16
* [[Snooker world rankings|World rankings]] – [[Ray Reardon]] remains [[Snooker world number ones|world number one]] for 1979/80

==[[Swimming (sport)|Swimming]]==
* [[Swimming at the 1979 Pan American Games|Pan American Games]] in [[San Juan, Puerto Rico]]
* July 23 – [[West Germany]]'s [[Klaus Steinbach]] sets a world record in the [[World record progression 50m freestyle|50m freestyle]] at a swimming meet in [[Freiburg]], shaving off 0.02 of the previous record (23.72) set by [[Ron Manganiello]] nearly a year ago: '''23.70'''.

==[[Tennis]]==
* [[Grand Slam in tennis]] men's results:
*# [[1979 Australian Open – Men's singles|Australian Open]] – [[Guillermo Vilas]]
*# [[1979 French Open – Men's singles|French Open]] – [[Björn Borg]]
*# [[1979 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles|Wimbledon championships]] – July 7 – [[Björn Borg]]
*# [[1979 U.S. Open – Men's singles|U.S. Open]] – [[John McEnroe]]
* [[Grand Slam in tennis]] women's results:
*# [[1979 Australian Open – Women's singles|Australian Open]] – [[Barbara Jordan (tennis)|Barbara Jordan]]
*# [[1979 French Open – Women's singles|French Open]] – [[Chris Evert]]
*# [[1979 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|Wimbledon championships]] – July 7 – [[Martina Navratilova]]
*# [[1979 U.S. Open – Women's singles|U.S. Open]] – [[Tracy Austin]], youngest US Open Champion at the age of 16 years, 8 months and 28 days defeating 4-time defending champion Chris Evert 6–4, 6–3 in the final after defeating 2nd seeded Martina Navratilova in the semifinal making Evert lose for the first time in 32 matches.
* [[1979 Davis Cup|Davis Cup]] – United States wins 5–0 over Italy in world tennis.

==[[Volleyball]]==
* [[1979 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship|Asian Men's Volleyball Championship]]: won by China
* [[1979 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship|Asian Women's Volleyball Championship]]: won by China
* [[1979 Men's European Volleyball Championship|Men]] and [[1979 Women's European Volleyball Championship|Women's European Volleyball Championship]] held in France: both won by USSR
* [[Volleyball at the 1979 Pan American Games]] in [[San Juan, Puerto Rico]]: men's and women's tournaments both won by Cuba

==[[Water polo]]==
* [[1979 FINA Men's Water Polo World Cup]] held in Yugoslavia and won by Hungary
* [[1979 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup]] held in [[Merced, California|Merced]], California and won by USA

==[[Multi-sport event]]s==
* 8th [[1979 Pan American Games|Pan American Games]] held in [[San Juan, Puerto Rico]]<ref>{{cite web |title=FAQ: What are the Pan American Games? |url=https://olympic.ca/faq-what-are-the-pan-american-games/ |website=Team Canada - Official Olympic Team Website |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref>
* 8th [[1979 Mediterranean Games|Mediterranean Games]] held in [[Split (city)|Split]], [[Yugoslavia]]
* Tenth [[1979 Summer Universiade|Summer Universiade]] held in [[Mexico City]], [[Mexico]]
* September 7 – The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network ([[ESPN]]) makes its debut.

==Awards==
* [[Associated Press Athlete of the Year#List of award winners|Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year]] – [[Willie Stargell]], [[Major League Baseball]]
* [[Associated Press Athlete of the Year#List of award winners|Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year]] – [[Tracy Austin]], [[Tennis]]
* [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s [[Wide World of Sports (U.S. TV series)|Wide World of Sports]] Athlete of the Year: Willie Stargell, Major League Baseball

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Sports by year 1951 – 2000}}

[[Category:1979 in sports| ]]
[[Category:Sports by year]]