1980 in sports

See also: 1979 in sports, other events of 1980, 1981 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.

Auto Racing

Stock car racing:

NASCAR Championship - Dale Earnhardt
Buddy Baker won the Daytona 500

CART Racing - Johnny Rutherford won the season championship

Indianapolis 500 - Johnny Rutherford

Formula One Champion - Alan Jones of Australia
24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Jean Rondeau / Jean-Pierre Jaussaud won, driving a Rondeau M379B
Rally racing - Walter Rohrl in a Fiat won the World Rally Championship

the team of Walter Rohrl / Christian Geistdorfer won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Fiat 131 Abarth

Drag racing - Shirley Muldowney won the NHRA Top Fuel championship.

Baseball

September 18: Outfielder Gary Ward become the sixth Minnesota Twins player to hit for the cycle. The Twins lose 98 to the Milwaukee Brewers, wasting Ward's effort. On May 26, 2004 his son, Daryle Ward, will repeat the feat guiding the Pirates' 11-8 victory over the Cardinals. Ward joined his father to become the first father-son combination in major league history to hit for the cycle.

Rollie Fingers breaks Hoyt Wilhelm's major league record of 227 career saves.

World Series: The Philadelphia Phillies of the National League end 97 years of frustration by defeating the American League champion Kansas City Royals.

Japan's Sadaharu Oh retires from the Yomiuri Giants as the all time professional baseball home run king.

Basketball

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:

Louisville wins 59-54 over UCLA

NBA Finals:

Los Angeles Lakers won 4 games to 2 over the Philadelphia 76ers

Boxing

March 14 - 22 members of the United States Olympic boxing team died in a plane crash near Warsaw, Poland
June 20- Roberto Duran defeats Sugar Ray Leonard by a 15 round decision to win boxing's WBC world Welterweight title.
August 2- Thomas Hearns defeats Jose Pipino Cuevas by a knockout in round 2 to win boxing's WBA world Welterweight title and Yasutsune Uehara knocks out Samuel Serrano in round six to win the WBA's world Jr. Lightweight title in Detroit
In Cincinnati, Aaron Pryor defeats Antonio Kid Pambele Cervantes by a knockout in round four to win the WBA's world Jr. Welterweight title.
October 2- Larry Holmes defeats Muhammad Ali by a knockout in round eleven to retain boxing's WBC world Heavyweight title, in what would be Ali's last world title bout.
November 25- In The No Ms Fight, in Montreal, Quebec, Sugar Ray Leonard recovers the WBC's world Welterweight championship with an eight round technical knockout of Roberto Duran.

Cycling

Giro d'Italia won by Bernard Hinault of France
Tour de France - Joop Zoetemelk of the Netherlands
World Cycling Championship: Bernard Hinault of France

Field Hockey

January 3 - 11 - 2nd Champions Trophy held in Lahore, Pakistan won by Pakistan.
March 8 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium,England. England beat Scotland 2-0.
August - In the first ever Olympic women's Field Hockey Final,Zimbabwe are the Olympic champions.

Figure Skating

World Figure Skating Championships:

Men's champion: Jan Hoffmann, Germany
Women's champion: Anett Ptzsch, Germany
Pairs champions: Marina Tscherkasowa & Sergej Schachrai, Soviet Union

Football (American)

Super Bowl XIV: Pittsburgh Steelers won 31-19 over the Los Angeles Rams

Football (Australian Rules)

Victorian Football League

Richmond wins the 84th VFL Premiership (Richmond 23.21 (159) d Collingwood 9.24 (78))
Brownlow Medal awarded to Kelvin Templeton (Footscray)

Football (Canadian)

Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos win 48-10 over the Hamilton Tigercats
Vanier Cup: Alberta Golden Bears win 40-21 over the Ottawa Gee Gees

Football (Soccer)

European Championship: West Germany 2-1 Belgium
Champions' Cup: Nottingham Forest 1-0 Hamburger SV
UEFA Cup: 2 legs, Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-2 Eintracht Frankfurt; Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 Borussia Moenchengladbach, 3-3 on aggregate, Frankfurt win on away goals rule
Cup Winners' Cup: Valencia 0-0 Arsenal (AET), Valencia won 5-4 on penalties
England - FA Cup: West Ham United won 1-0 over Arsenal

Golf

Men's Golf

January - the Senior PGA Tour (Champions Tour) is founded.

Grand Slam of golf results:

May - The Masters - Seve Ballesteros
June - US Open - Jack Nicklaus
July - British Open - Tom Watson
August - PGA Championship - Jack Nicklaus

PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Tom Watson - $530,808
PGA Champions Tour - In its first year, Don January is the leading money winner with earnings of $44,100.

Women's Golf

US Women's Open - Amy Alcott
LPGA Championship - Sally Little
Beth Daniel: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $231,000.

Horse racing

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

Australia - Melbourne Cup - Beldale Ball
Canada - Queen's Plate - Driving Home
France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Detroit
Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Tyrnavos

English Triple Crown Races:

United States Triple Crown Races:

Harness Racing

Superhorse, Niatross wins the United States Pacing Triple Crown races:

United States Trotting Triple Crown races:

Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:

Pacers: Koala King
Trotters: Hano Direct

Ice Hockey

See 1980 in ice hockey

Skiing

Alpine Skiing

The men's overall season champion: Andreas Wenzel, Liechtenstein
The women's overall season champion: Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein

January 12 - Canada’s Ken Read, the leader of the "Crazy Canucks" ski team, wins the Hahnenkamm downhill in Kitzbhel, Austria, becoming the first North American to ever win the classic race.