1978 in sports

Baseball

• World Series: New York Yankees win 4 games to 2 over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Series MVP is Bucky Dent, New York

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
  • Kentucky wins 94-88 over Duke

• NBA Finals:
  • Washington Wizards won 4 games to 3 over the Seattle Supersonics

Boxing

• February 15: Leon Spinks defeats Muhammad Ali by decision in 15 rounds to win the world's Heavyweight title.

• September 15: Muhammad Ali recovers the world's Heavyweight title, beating Leon Spinks by decision in their rematch. It is the first time a boxer wins the world Heavyweight title for a third time.

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Johan de Muynck of Belgium
• Tour de France - Bernard Hinault of France
• World Cycling Championship: Gerrie Knetemann of Netherlands

Field Hockey

• November 17 - 24: Champions Trophy first held in Lahore, Pakistan won by Pakistan

Figure Skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Charles Tickner, United States
  • Women's champion: Anett Pötzsch, Germany
  • Pairs champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexander Saizew, Soviet Union

Football (Soccer)

• Football World Cup: Argentina wins 3-1 over the Netherlands
• England - FA Cup: Ipswich Town won 1-0 over Arsenal

Football (American)

• Super Bowl XII: Dallas Cowboys won 27-10 over the Denver Broncos

Canadian Football League

• Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos win 20-13 over the Montreal Alouettes
• Vanier Cup: Queen's Golden Gaels win 16-3 over the UBC Thunderbirds

Golf

Men's Golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. May - The Masters - Gary Player
  2. June - US Open - Andy North
  3. July - British Open - Jack Nicklaus
  4. August - PGA Championship - John Mahaffey

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Tom Watson - $362,429

Women's Golf

• US Women's Open - Hollis Stacy
• LPGA Championship - Nancy Lopez
• Nancy Lopez: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $189,213.

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Arwon
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Regal Embrace
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Alleged
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Shirley Heights

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Roland Gardens
  2. Epsom Derby - Shirley Heights
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Julio Mariner

• July 13: At Belmont Park, Elmont, New York, star jockey, Ron Turcotte is injured in a racing accident ending his career, leaving him a paraplegic.

• Affirmed, ridden by jockey Steve Cauthen, wins the United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Affirmed
  2. Preakness Stakes - Affirmed
  3. Belmont Stakes - Affirmed

Harness Racing

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace - Armbro Tiger
  2. Little Brown Jug - Happy Escort
  3. Messenger Stakes - Abercrombie

• United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian - Speedy Somolli
  2. Yonkers Trot - Speedy Somolli
  3. Kentucky Futurity - Doublemint

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Markovina
  • Trotters: Derby Royale

Ice Hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens

• Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens

• Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 2 over the Boston Bruins

• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia
  • Junior Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
  • Note: In the early years of the Junior tournament, Canada did not send a true National Junior team to the event. Instead, the Memorial Cup champions usually went to represent Canada. The exception was 1978 in Montreal, when an "all-star" team was put together.

Skiing

• Alpine Skiing
  • The men's overall season champion: Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden
  • The women's overall season champion: Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein

Tennis

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

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Chris O'Neil
  2. French Open - Virginia Ruzici
  3. Wimbledon championships - Martina Navratilova
  4. US Open - Chris Evert

• Davis Cup: United States won 4-1 over Great Britain in world tennis.

General sporting events

• British Commonwealth Games held in Edmonton, Canada

• First Ironman Triathlon held in Hawaii

• Embassy World Snooker Championship:
  • Ray Reardon won 25-18 over Perrie Mans

• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
  • Dick Mackey won with lead dogs: Skipper & Shrew

Births

• June 19 - Dirk Nowitzki, German NBA star
• August 23 - Kobe Bryant, NBA star

Deaths

• January 13 - Joe McCarthy, baseball manager
• January 21 - Dit Clapper, NHL star, Boston Bruins
• September 3 - Alexander Belov 26, USSR Olympic basketball star
• September 23 - Lyman Bostock, Major League Baseball player

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