1982 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

Alpine skiing

  • Alpine Skiing World Cup:
  • Men's overall season champion: Phil Mahre, United States
  • Women's overall season champion: Erika Hess, Switzerland

American football

  • Super Bowl XVI – the San Francisco 49ers (NFC) won 26–21 over the Cincinnati Bengals (AFC)
  • Location: Pontiac Silverdome
  • Attendance: 81,270
  • MVP: Joe Montana, QB (San Francisco)
  • Orange Bowl (1981 season):
  • The Clemson Tigers won 22-15 over the Nebraska Cornhuskers to win the college football national championship
  • Strike – First regular season strike by NFL players ends on November 16 after 57 days.

Association football

  • World Cup in Spain – Italy beats West Germany 3-1 for their third title.
  • Champions' Cup – Aston Villa 1-0 Bayern München
  • UEFA Cup – Two legs; 1st leg IFK Göteborg 1-0 Hamburger SV; 2nd leg Hamburger SV 0-3 IFK Göteborg. IFK Göteborg won 4-0 on aggregate. 66 fans died in the Luzhniki disaster during the UEFA Cup second round match between FC Spartak Moscow and HFC Haarlem in Moscow on 20 October.
  • Cup Winners' Cup – Barcelona 2-1 Standard Liège
  • Super Cup – Two legs; 1st leg Barcelona 1-0 Aston Villa; 2nd leg Aston Villa 3-0 Barcelona. Aston Villa won 3-1 on aggregate
  • Copa Libertadores de América – Two legs; 1st leg Peñarol 0-0 Cobreloa; 2nd leg Cobreloa 0-1 Peñarol. Peñarol win 1-0 on aggregate
  • England – FA Cup – Tottenham Hotspur won 1-0 over Queens Park Rangers

Athletics

  • September – 1982 European Athletics Championships held in Athens
  • October – 1982 Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane, Australia
  • December – 1982 Asian Games held in New Delhi, India

Australian rules football

  • Victorian Football League
  • Carlton wins the 86th VFL Premiership (Carlton 14.19 (103) d Richmond 12.13 (83))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Brian Wilson (Melbourne)
  • The inaugural VFL Players Association Most Valuable Player Award goes to Leigh Matthews (Hawthorn). The award would be renamed the Leigh Matthews Trophy in his honour in 2002.

Baseball

  • March 27 – KBO League, a professional baseball league in South Korea, a first officially game held.
  • May 30 – Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles plays the first of what will become a record-breaking 2,632 consecutive games
  • July 13 – Montreal hosts the first MLB All-Star Game outside the United States. Reds SS Dave Concepción hits a 2-run home run in the 2nd inning to spark the National League to its 11th consecutive win over the American League 4-1. The NL has now won 19 of the last 20 contests. Concepción was named the MVP.
  • August 18 – Pete Rose sets record with his 13,941st plate appearance.
  • World Series – St. Louis Cardinals won 4 games to 3 over the Milwaukee Brewers to claim their first World Championship since 1967. The Series MVP was Cardinals catcher Darrell Porter.
  • The Salem Angels won the Northwest League championship.

Basketball

  • NCAA Men's Basketball Championship –
  • North Carolina wins 63-62 over Georgetown
  • NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship
  • Louisiana Tech wins 76–62 over Cheyney State
  • NBA Finals –
  • Los Angeles Lakers won 4 games to 2 over the Philadelphia 76ers
  • National Basketball League (Australia) Finals:
  • West Adelaide Bearcats defeated the Geelong Cats 80-74 in the final.
  • FIBA World Championship
  • USSR World Champion

Boxing

  • May 4 to May 15 – 1982 World Amateur Boxing Championships held in Munich
  • June 11 – Larry Holmes defeats Gerry Cooney for the WBC Heavyweight title. Cooney, a white challenger, was dubbed "The White Hope" in what built up to be a very racially toned fight.
  • November 12 – Aaron Pryor defeats Alexis Argüello in what would later be called the fight of the decade. Pryor retained the WBA's world Jr. Welterweight title with a 14th round knockout
  • November 13 – Ray Mancini defeats Duk Koo Kim by knockout in 14 rounds in a tragic fight. Kim died four days later and the fight's outcome brought many new resolutions to boxing.
  • December 3 – The Carnival of Champions; Wilfredo Gomez defeats Lupe Pintor by a 14th round knockout and Thomas Hearns defeats Wilfred Benitez by a 15 rounds majority decision; all four boxers are later enshrined as members of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Canadian football

  • Grey Cup – Edmonton Eskimos won 32–16 over the Toronto Argonauts, the Eskimos' record fifth consecutive Grey Cup victory.
  • Vanier Cup – UBC Thunderbirds won 39–14 over the Western Ontario Mustangs

Cricket

  • Graham Gooch leads a "rebel" team of players on tour of South Africa, banned from official cricket since 1970 because of apartheid.

Cycling

  • Giro d'Italia won by Bernard Hinault of France
  • Tour de France – Bernard Hinault of France
  • UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race – Giuseppe Saronni of Italy

Dogsled racing

  • Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion –
  • Rick Swenson won with lead sled dog – Andy

Field hockey

  • Men's World Cup held in Bombay won by Pakistan
  • Men's Champions Trophy held at Amstelveen in the Netherlands and won by the host nation

Figure skating

  • World Figure Skating Championship –
  • Men's champion: Scott Hamilton, United States
  • Ladies' champion: Elaine Zayak, United States
  • Pair skating champions: Sabine Baeß & Tassilo Thierbach, Germany
  • Ice dancing champions: Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean, Great Britain

Gaelic Athletic Association

  • Camogie
  • All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Cork
  • National Camogie League: Kilkenny
  • Gaelic football
  • All-Ireland Senior Football Championship – Offaly 1-15 died Kerry 0-17
  • National Football League – Kerry 1-9 died Cork 0-5 (replay)
  • Ladies' Gaelic football
  • All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Kerry
  • National Football League: Kerry
  • Hurling
  • All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship – Kilkenny 3-18 died Cork 1-13
  • National Hurling League – Kilkenny 2–14 beat Wexford 1–11

Golf

Men's professional

  • Masters Tournament – Craig Stadler
  • U.S. Open – Tom Watson
  • British Open – Tom Watson
  • PGA Championship – Raymond Floyd
  • PGA Tour money leader – Craig Stadler – $446,462
  • Senior PGA Tour money leader – Miller Barber – $106,890

Men's amateur

  • British Amateur – Martin Thompson
  • U.S. Amateur – Jay Sigel

Women's professional

  • LPGA Championship – Jan Stephenson
  • U.S. Women's Open – Janet Anderson
  • Classique Peter Jackson Classic – Sandra Haynie
  • LPGA Tour money leader – JoAnne Carner – $310,400

Harness racing

  • United States Pacing Triple Crown races –
  • Cane Pace – Cam Fella
  • Little Brown Jug – Merger
  • Messenger Stakes – Cam Fella
  • United States Trotting Triple Crown races –
  • Hambletonian – Speed Bowl
  • Yonkers Trot – Mystic Park
  • Kentucky Futurity – Jazz Cosmos
  • Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
  • Pacers: Rhett's Law

Horse racing

Steeplechases

  • Cheltenham Gold Cup – Silver Buck
  • Grand National – Grittar

Flat races

  • Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Gurner's Lane
  • Canada – Queen's Plate won by Son of Briartic
  • France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Akiyda
  • Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Assert
  • Japan – Japan Cup won by Half Iced
  • English Triple Crown Races:
  • 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Zino
  • The Derby – Golden Fleece
  • St. Leger Stakes – Touching Wood
  • United States Triple Crown Races:
  • Kentucky Derby – Gato Del Sol
  • 1982 Preakness Stakes – Aloma's Ruler
  • Belmont Stakes – Conquistador Cielo

Ice hockey

  • Art Ross 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 4-0 over the Vancouver Canucks
  • World Hockey Championship –
  • Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia
  • Junior Men's champion: Canada defeated Czechoslovakia

Motorsport

Rugby league

  • 1982 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France
  • 1982 KB Cup
  • 1982 New Zealand rugby league season
  • 1982 NSWRFL season – Parramatta Eels win their second title, defeating Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 21-8 in the final.
  • 1981–82 Rugby Football League season / 1982–83 Rugby Football League season
  • 1982 State of Origin series

Rugby union

  • 88th Five Nations Championship series is won by Ireland

Snooker

  • World Snooker Championship – Alex Higgins beats Ray Reardon 18-15
  • World rankings – Ray Reardon becomes world number one for 1982/83

Swimming

  • The fourth FINA World Championships held in Guayaquil, Ecuador

Tennis

  • Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  • Australian Open – Johan Kriek
  • French Open – Mats Wilander
  • Wimbledon championships – Jimmy Connors
  • U.S. Open – Jimmy Connors
  • Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  • Australian Open – Chris Evert
  • French Open – Martina Navratilova
  • Wimbledon championships – Martina Navratilova
  • U.S. Open – Chris Evert
  • Davis Cup – United States won 4-1 over France in world tennis.
  • Billie Jean King makes her final singles appearance at the US Open, losing in the first round.
  • Total prize money at US Open exceeds 1 million US dollars.

Volleyball

  • 1982 FIVB Men's World Championship held in Buenos Aires, Argentina won by USSR
  • 1982 FIVB Women's World Championship held in Lima, Peru won by China

Water polo

  • Men's World Championship held in Guayaquil, Ecuador, won by USSR

Multi-sport events

  • Asian Games held in New Delhi, India
  • Central American and Caribbean Games held in Havana, Cuba
  • Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane, Australia

Awards

  • Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Wayne Gretzky, NHL ice hockey
  • Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Mary Decker, Track and field
  • ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year: Wayne Gretzky

References