1974 in sports

Auto Racing

• Stock car racing:
  • Richard Petty won the Daytona 500
  • NASCAR Championship - Richard Petty
• Indianapolis 500 - Johnny Rutherford
• USAC Racing - Bobby Unser
• Formula One Championship - Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil
• 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Henri Pescarolo / Gérard Larrousse won, driving a Matra MS670B
• Rally racing - In the first rally to cross the Sahara Desert, the Australian team of Ken Tubman, Andre Welenski, and Jim Reddiex won the "World Cup Rally" driving a Citroen.
• Drag racing - Don Garlits won "Top Fuel" at the NHRA World Finals

Baseball

• Frank Robinson becomes the first African-American manager in Major League Baseball.

• April 8 - Hank Aaron hit home run # 715 in the fourth inning off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing breaking Babe Ruth's career home run record.

• World Series: Oakland Athletics win 4 games to 1 over the Los Angeles Dodgers

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
  • North Carolina State wins 76-64 over Marquette

• NBA Finals:
  • Boston Celtics win 4 games to 3 over the Milwaukee Bucks

Boxing

• February 9 in Paris, Carlos Monzon retains his world Middleweight title by a knockout in round seven over world Welterweight champion Jose Napoles.

• October 30 in Kinshasa, Zaire, Muhammad Ali regained the World Heavyweight title by knocking out George Foreman in the eight round of what was called The Rumble in The Jungle.

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Eddy Merckx of Belgium
• Tour de France - Eddy Merckx of Belgium
• World Cycling Championship: Eddy Merckx of Belgium

Figure Skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Jan Hoffmann, Germany
  • Women's champion: Christine Errath, Germany
  • Pairs champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexander Saizew, Soviet Union

Football (Soccer)

• Football World Cup: West Germany won 2-1 over the Netherlands
• England - FA Cup: Liverpool won 3-0 over Newcastle United

Football (American)

• Super Bowl VIII: The Miami Dolphins won 24-7 over the Minnesota Vikings

Canadian Football League

• Grey Cup: Montreal Alouettes won 20-7 over the Edmonton Eskimos
• Vanier Cup: Western Ontario Mustangs won 19-15 over the Toronto Varsity Blues

Golf

Men's Golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. May - The Masters - Gary Player
  2. June - US Open - Hale Irwin
  3. July - British Open - Gary Player
  4. August - PGA Championship - Lee Trevino

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Johnny Miller - $353,022

Women's Golf

• US Women's Open - Sandra Haynie
• LPGA Championship - Sandra Haynie
• JoAnne Carner: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $87,094.

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Think Big
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Amber Herod
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Allez France
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - English Prince

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Nonoalco
  2. Epsom Derby - Snow Knight
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Bustino

• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Cannonade
  2. Preakness Stakes - Little Current
  3. Belmont Stakes - Little Current

Harness Racing

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace - Boyden Hanover
  2. Little Brown Jug - Armbro Omaha
  3. Messenger Stakes - Armbro Omaha

• United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian - Christopher T.
  2. Yonkers Trot
  3. Kentucky Futurity

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Hondo Grattan

Ice Hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins

• Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Phil Esposito - Boston Bruins

• Stanley Cup - Philadelphia Flyers win 4 games to 2 over the Boston Bruins

• World Hockey Championship:
  • Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia

Skiing

• Alpine Skiing
  • The men's overall season champion: Piero Gros, Italy
  • The women's overall season champion: Annemarie Pröll, Austria

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - Jimmy Connors
  2. French Open - Bjorn Borg
  3. Wimbledon championships - Jimmy Connors
  4. US Open - Jimmy Connors

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Evonne Goolagong
  2. French Open - Chris Evert
  3. Wimbledon championships - Chris Evert
  4. US Open - Billie Jean King

• Davis Cup: South Africa wins over India (Walkover) in world tennis.

General sporting events

• British Commonwealth Games held in Christchurch, New Zealand

• Ray Reardon won the World Professional Snooker Championship

• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
  • Carl Huntington won with lead dog: Nugget

Births

• February 7 - Steve Nash, Canadian NBA star
• March 5 - Jens Jeremies, football player, German National Team
• March 20 - Carsten Ramelow, football player, German National Team
• April 4 - Dave Mirra, extreme sports champion
• December 21 - Karrie Webb, golf champion

Deaths

• February 21 - Tim Horton, NHL ice hockey player, Hockey Hall of Famer, founder of Tim Hortons doughnut shops
• March 22 - Peter Revson 35, U.S. race car driver
• April 23 - Cy Williams, Major League Baseball player (1912-1930)
• July 17 - Dizzy Dean, MLB baseball player/broadcaster (1930-1947)
• September 19 - Zack Taylor, MLB baseball player
• October 13 - Sam Rice, Major League Baseball player (1915-1934)
• November 1 - Joe Bush, Major League Baseball pitcher (1912-1928)
• December 5 - Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, tennis player, U.S. Open champion
• December 18 - Harry Hooper, Major League Baseball player (1909-1925)

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