1981 in sports
See also: 1980 in sports, other events of 1981, 1982 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.
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Auto Racing
- Stock car racing:
- CART Racing - Rick Mears won the season championship
- Formula One Champion - Nelson Piquet of Brazil
- 24 hours of Le Mans:
- teammates Jacky Ickx / Derek Bell won, driving a Porsche 936
- Rally racing - Ari Vatanen in a Ford won the World Rally Championship
- the team of Jean Ragnotti / Jean-Marc Andrie won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Renault 5 Turbo
- Drag racing: Gary Beck won "Top Fuel" at the NHRA World Finals
Baseball
- January 15 - In his first year of eligibility, former Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson is the only player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Gibson won 20 games five times, struck out 3,117 batters, and captured the Cy Young Award and MVP in 1968 with a 1.12 ERA. Players falling short of the 301 votes needed for election include Don Drysdale (243), Gil Hodges (241), Harmon Killebrew (239), Hoyt Wilhelm (238), and Juan Marichal (233). All except Hodges would subsequently gain election.
- April 18 - An International League game between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the visiting Rochester Red Wings set the record for the most innings ever played in a single professional baseball game, at 33 innings (24 extra innings). The game was suspended after 32 innings on the morning of April 19, and was concluded on June 23 with a 3-2 Pawtucket victory.
- June 12 - Major League Baseball players begin a 49 day strike over the issue of free-agent compensation.
- World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers win 4 games to 2 over the New York Yankees. The Series MVP is a tie between Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager, Los Angeles
Basketball
- NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
- Indiana wins 63-50 over North Carolina
- NBA Finals:
- Boston Celtics won 4 games to 2 over the Houston Rockets
Boxing
- August 21: Salvador Sanchez defeats Wilfredo Gomez by knockout in round eight to retain boxing's WBC world Featherweight title.(see: Salvador Sanchez vs. Wilfredo Gomez)
- September 16: Sugar Ray Leonard defeats Thomas Hearns by knockout in round 14 to unify boxing's world Welterweight title.
Cycling
- Giro d'Italia won by Giovanni Battaglin of Italy
- Tour de France - Bernard Hinault of France
- 1981 - Freddy Maertens, (Belgium)
Field Hockey
- January 9 - 16 - Third Men's Champions Trophy in Karachi first time won by the Netherlands, Australia finish second.
- March 21 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium,England.England beat Wales 2-1.
Figure Skating
- World Figure Skating Championships:
- Men's champion: Scott Hamilton, United States
- Women's champion: Denise Biellmann, Switzerland
- Pairs champions: Irina Worobjewa & Igor Lisowski, Soviet Union
Football (American)
- Super Bowl XV: Oakland Raiders won 27-10 over the Philadelphia Eagles
Football (Australian Rules)
- Victorian Football League
- Richmond wins the 85th VFL Premiership (Richmond 12.20 (92) d Collingwood 10.12 (72))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Barry Round (South Melbourne) and Bernie Quinlan (Fitzroy)
- At the end of the season, South Melbourne relocates to Sydney and is renamed the Sydney Swans.
Football (Canadian)
- Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos won 26-23 over the Ottawa Rough Riders
- Vanier Cup: Acadia Axemen won 18-12 over the Alberta Golden Bears
Football (Soccer)
- Champions' Cup: Liverpool 1-0 Real Madrid
- UEFA Cup: Two legs. 1st leg Ipswich Town F.C. 3-0 AZ '67 (Alkmaar); 2nd leg AZ '67 4-2 Ipswich Town. Ipswich Town won 7-2 on aggregate
- Cup Winners' Cup: Dynamo Tbilisi 2-1 Carl Zeiss Jena
- League champions
- Argentina: Boca Juniors
- Brazil: Grêmio
- France: Saint-Étienne
- England: Aston Villa
- Italy: Juventus
- Netherlands: Ajax
- Portugal: Benfica
- Scotland: Celtic
- Spain: Real Sociedad
- West Germany: Bayern Munich
- England - FA Cup: Tottenham Hotspur won 3-2 over Manchester City
Golf
- Grand Slam of golf results:
- May - The Masters - Tom Watson
- June - US Open - David Graham
- July - British Open - Bill Rogers
- August - PGA Championship - Larry Nelson
- PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Tom Kite - $375,699
- PGA Champions Tour leading money winner: Miller Barber - $83,136
- Ryder Cup: United States won 18 1/2 to 9 1/2 over Europe in world team golf.
- US Women's Open - Pat Bradley
- LPGA Championship - Donna Caponi
- Beth Daniel:leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $206,977.
Thoroughbred Horse Racing
- August 30 - John Henry becomes the first horse to win a million dollar race, the Inaugural Arlington Million, at Arlington Park in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois.
- Australia - Melbourne Cup - Just a Dash
- Canada - Queen's Plate - Fiddle Dancer Boy
- France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Gold River
- Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Shergar
- English Triple Crown Races:
- Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - To-Agori-Mou
- Epsom Derby - Shergar
- St. Leger Stakes - Cut Above
- United States Triple Crown Races:
- Kentucky Derby - Pleasant Colony
- Preakness Stakes - Pleasant Colony
- Belmont Stakes - Summing
Harness Racing
- United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
- Cane Pace - Wildwood Jeb
- Little Brown Jug - Fan Hanover (Filly)
- Messenger Stakes - Seahawk Hanover
- United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
- Hambletonian - Shiaway St. Pat
- Yonkers Trot - Mo Bandy
- Kentucky Futurity - Filet of Sole
- Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
- Pacers: San Simeon
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 - New York Islanders win 4 games to 1 over the Minnesota North Stars
- World Hockey Championship
- Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
- Junior Men's champion: Sweden defeated Finland
Rugby union
- The 1981 Springbok Tour caused major controversy and riots in New Zealand.
Skiing
- Alpine Skiing
- The men's overall season champion: Phil Mahre, USA
- The women's overall season champion: Marie-Therese Nadig, Switzerland
Snooker
- World Snooker Championship: Steve Davis beats Doug Mountjoy 18-12
- World rankings: Cliff Thorburn becomes world number one for 1981/82
Tennis
- Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
- Australian Open - Johan Kriek
- French Open - Björn Borg
- Wimbledon championships - John McEnroe
- US Open - John McEnroe
- Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
- Davis Cup: United States wins 3-1 over Argentina in world tennis.
General sporting events
- Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
- Rick Swenson won with lead dogs: Andy & Slick
Births
- January 15 - El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese football star
- February 18 - Andrei Kirilenko, Russian NBA star
- February 24 - Lleyton Hewitt, Australian tennis star
- May 11 - Lauren Jackson, Australian basketball player
- August 8 - Roger Federer, Swiss tennis star
- September 18 - Helen Richardson, British field hockey international
- September 26 - Serena Williams, US tennis star
- October 15 - Elena Dementieva, Russian tennis player
Deaths
- Canonero II - champion thoroughbred race horse
- August 17 - 33-year-old Russian ice hockey superstar, Valery Kharlamov dies in an automobile accident.