1977 in sports

yearbox
in?=in sports
cp=19th century
c=20th century
cf=21st century

yp1=1974
yp2=1975
yp3=1976
year=1977
ya1=1978
ya2=1979
ya3=1980
dp3=1940s
dp2=1950s
dp1=1960s
d=1970s
da=0
dn1=1980s
dn2=1990s
dn3=2000s|

Athletics

:"For an extensive coverage see 1977 in athletics (track and field)"

Marathon

* August 27 — flagicon|NED Enschede Marathon, Netherlands
**Men's Winner: Brian Maxwell (CAN) 2:15:14

* December 4 — flagicon|JPN Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
**Men's Winner: Bill Rodgers (USA) 2:10:56

Auto racing

*Stock car racing:
**NASCAR Championship - Cale Yarborough
**Cale Yarborough won the Daytona 500 on February 20
*USAC Racing - Tom Sneva wins the season championship
**Indianapolis 500 - won by A.J. Foyt. Janet Guthrie became first female qualifier
*Formula One Champion - Niki Lauda of Austria
*24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Jean-Pierre Laussaud / Didier Pironi won, driving a Renault-Alpine 442
*Rally racing:
** The team of Sandro Munari / Silvio Maiga won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Lancia Stratos HF
** Andrew Cowan won the Singapore Airlines London to Sydney Rally driving a Mercedes
*Drag racing:
**Shirley Muldowney won the NHRA Top Fuel championship.
**Dennis Baca won Top Fuel at the NHRA World Finals
*Touring car racing: Allan Moffat and Jacky Ickx won the Bathurst 1000, driving a Ford Falcon

Baseball

* January 19: Ernie Banks is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He won back-to-back MVP awards, but is best remembered for his famous line, "Let's play two".
* Sparky Lyle breaks Ron Perranoski's major league record for left-handers of 179 career saves.
* The Major League Baseball expansion Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays make their debuts (both are American League teams).
* World Series: The New York Yankees defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers. This is the Series in which Reggie Jackson becomes known as "Mr. October"."

Basketball

*NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
**Marquette wins 67-59 over North Carolina

*NBA Finals:
**Portland Trail Blazers won 4 games to 2 over the Philadelphia 76ers

Boxing

*After 13 years and 82 contests, including 14 title defences, World Middleweight Champion Carlos Monzon retired undefeated.

Cricket

*12 March-17 March, Melbourne - Centenary Test played between Australia and England to commemorate 100th anniversary of first Test match. Australia won by 45 runs, exactly the same margin as the first Test match.
*World Series Cricket begins playing games in competition to official International Cricket Council sanctioned matches.

Cycling

*Giro d'Italia won by Michel Pollentier of Belgium
*Tour de France - Bernard Thévenet of France
*World Cycling Championship: Francesco Moser of Italy

Dogsled racing

*Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
**Rick Swenson won with lead dogs: "Andy" & "O.B." ("Old Buddy")

Field Hockey

* Men's World Cup Qualifier Tournament in Rome, Italy
** Gold Medal: Poland
** Silver Medal: Ireland
** Bronze Medal: Soviet Union

*March 5 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium,England. New Zealand beat England 1-0.

Figure skating

*World Figure Skating Championships:
**Men's champion: Vladimir Kovalev, Soviet Union
**Ladies' champion: Linda Fratianne, United States
**Pair skating champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexander Zaitsev, Soviet Union
**Ice dancing champions: Irina Moiseyeva & Andrei Minenkov, Soviet Union

=Football (American)=

*Super Bowl XI: Oakland Raiders won 32-14 over the Minnesota Vikings
*October 9 - Eddie Brown sets NFL record for punt returns in a game (11).

Football (Australian rules football)

* Victorian Football League
** North Melbourne wins the 81st VFL Premiership (North Melbourne 9.22 (76) drew Collingwood Football Club 10.16 (76), replay North Melbourne 21.25 (151) d Collingwood 19.10 (124))
** Brownlow Medal awarded to Graham Teasdale (South Melbourne)

Football (Canadian Football League)

* Grey Cup: Montreal Alouettes won 41-6 over the Edmonton Eskimos
* Vanier Cup: Western Ontario Mustangs win 48-15 over the Acadia Axmen

Football (rugby league)

* NSWRL: St. George and Parramatta draw 9-9 in the Grand Final, St. George take the title by winning the replay 22-0.

Football (Soccer)

::"For an extensive coverage see 1977 in football (soccer)"
*England - FA Cup: Manchester United won 2-1 over Liverpool
*October 1 - Pelé played the final game of his storied career at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. He played the first half for his current club, the New York Cosmos, and the second half for his old Brazilian club Santos.

Golf

Men's professional
*April 7-10 - Masters Tournament - Tom Watson
*June 16-19 - U.S. Open - Hubert Green
*July 6-9 - British Open - Tom Watson
*August 11-14 - PGA Championship - Lanny Wadkins
*PGA Tour money leader - Tom Watson - $310,653
*Ryder Cup - United States won 12½ -7½ over Britain & Ireland in team golf. This was the last Ryder Cup to feature a side exclusively from the British Isles; the U.S. opponents in the next Ryder Cup, held in 1979 at White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, would be drawn from all of Europe. The U.S.-Europe format has continued ever since.Men's amateur
*British Amateur - Peter McEvoy
*U.S. Amateur - John FoughtWomen's professional
*June 9-12 - LPGA Championship - Chako Higuchi
*July 21-24 - U.S. Women's Open - Hollis Stacy
*LPGA Tour money leader - Judy Rankin - $122,890

=Thoroughbred Horse Racing=

*Australia - Melbourne Cup - Gold and Black
*Canada - Queen's Plate - Sound Reason
*France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Alleged
*Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - The Minstrel
*United Kingdom - Grand National - Red Rum

*English Triple Crown Races:
*#2,000 Guineas Stakes - Nebbiolo
*#Epsom Derby - The Minstrel
*#St. Leger Stakes - Dunfermline

*Seattle Slew, ridden by jockey Jean Cruguet, wins the United States Triple Crown Races:
*#May 7 - Kentucky Derby - Seattle Slew
*#Preakness Stakes - Seattle Slew
*#Belmont Stakes - Seattle Slew

=Harness Racing=

*United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
*#Cane Pace - Jade Prince
*#Little Brown Jug - Governor Skipper
*#Messenger Stakes - Governor Skipper

*United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
*#Hambletonian - Green Speed
*#Yonkers Trot - Green Speed
*#Kentucky Futurity - Texas

*Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
**Pacers: Stanley Rio

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 defeat the Boston Bruins 4 games to 0.

*World Hockey Championship
** Men's champion: Czechoslovakia defeated Sweden
** Junior Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Canada

Radiosport

*Eighth Amateur Radio Direction Finding European Championship held in Skopje, Yugoslavia.
*First IARU Radiosport Championship held in July.

Skiing

*Alpine Skiing
**The men's overall season champion: Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden
**The women's overall season champion: Lise-Marie Morerod, Switzerland

Snooker

*World Snooker Championship: John Spencer beats Cliff Thorburn 25-12
*World rankings: Ray Reardon remains world number one for 1977/78.

Strength athletics

*Bruce Wilhelm wins the first World's Strongest Man contest in Universal Studios , California

Swimming

* July 3 — USA's Joseph Bottom sets a world record in the 50m freestyle at a swimming meet in Etobicoke, Ontario (Canada), clocking 23.74.

Tennis

*Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
*#Australian Open - January: Roscoe Tanner - December: Vitas Gerulaitis
*#French Open - Guillermo Vilas
*#Wimbledon championships - Björn Borg
*#US Open - Guillermo Vilas

*Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
*#Australian Open: January: Evonne Goolagong - December: Kerry Reid
*#French Open - Mima Jausovec
*#Wimbledon championships - Virginia Wade
*#US Open - Chris Evert

*Davis Cup: Australia won 3-1 over Italy in world tennis.

Volleyball

*European Championship in Finland
**Men's Tournament
***Gold Medal: vb|URS
***Silver Medal: vb|POL
***Bronze Medal: vb|ROU|1965
**Women's Tournament
***Gold Medal: vbw|URS
***Silver Medal: vbw|GDR
***Bronze Medal: vbw|HUN|1957

Yacht racing

*The New York Yacht Club retains the America's Cup as media mogul Ted Turner skippers "Courageous" to victory over challenger "Australia", of the Sun City Yacht Club, 4 races to 0

General sporting events

* Ninth Summer Universiade held in Sofia, Bulgaria

Awards

*Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Steve Cauthen, Horse racing
*Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Chris Evert, Tennis
*ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year: Steve Cauthen, Horse Racing

Births

January

* January 2 — Stefan Koubek, Austrian tennis player
* January 3 — Rod White, American archer
* January 4 — Konstantin Dubrovin, Ukraine-born German freestyle swimmer
* January 5 — Okka Rau, German beach volleyball player
* January 6 — Stacey Gartrell, Australian long-distance freestyle swimmer
* January 7 — Lu Bin, Chinese freestyle swimmer
* January 10 — Anni Friesinger, German speed skater
* January 12 — Eithan Urbach, Israeli backstroke swimmer
* January 15 — Marja Vis, Dutch ice speed skater
* January 16 — Ariel Zeevi, Israeli judoka
* January 19 — Lauren Etame Mayer, Cameroonian football (soccer) player
* January 24 — Minke Booij, Dutch field hockey player
* January 25 — Hatem Trabelsi, Tunesian football (soccer) player
* January 26 — Dean Butler, Australian field hockey player
* January 26 — Justin Gimelstob, American tennis player
* January 28 — Takuma Sato, Japanese Formula 1 driver
* January 31 — Courtney Meldrum, American long-distance runner

February

* February 1 — Timothy Beck, Dutch athlete and bobsledder
* February 3 — Venceslav Simeonov, Bulgarian-Italian volleyball player
* February 3 — Mario Valles, Colombian judoka
* February 5 — Ben Ainslie, British sailor
* February 5 — Ahmad Merritt, American NFL player
* February 7 — Mariusz Pudzianowski, Polish strength athlete
* February 11 — Jessica Carlson, American archer
* February 11 — Stephanie Richardson, Canadian swimmer
* February 13 — Randy Moss, American NFL player
* February 16 — Anne-Marie Irving, New Zealand field hockey goalkeeper
* February 16 — Trina Jackson, American freestyle swimmer
* February 19 — Teo Đogaš, Croatian water polo player
* February 20 — Bartosz Kizierowski, Polish freestyle swimmer
* February 22 — Leandro Ruiz Machado, Brazilian water polo player
* February 25 — Joanne Banning, Australian field hockey international
* February 25 — Désiré Mbonabucya, Rwandan football (soccer) striker

March

* March 1 — Rens Blom, Dutch athlete
* March 2 — Stephen Parry, British middle-distance swimmer
* March 5 — Taismary Agüero, Cuban-born Italian volleyball player
* March 5 — John Larbi, Swedish boxer
* March 6 — Francisco Javier Fernández, Spanish race walker
* March 7 — Ronan O'Gara, Irish rugby union player
* March 7 — Mitja Zastrow, German-born swimmer from Holland
* March 8 — Fernando Vicente, Spanish tennis player
* March 10 — Koo Ki-Lan, South Korean volleyball player
* March 14 — Helen Mary, Indian field hockey goalkeeper
* March 15 — Imke Bartels, Dutch equestrian
* March 15 — Frédéric Serrat, French boxer
* March 15 — Natalya Uryadova, Russian beach volleyball player
* March 16 — Ralf van der Rijst, Dutch speed skater
* March 16 — Thomas Rupprath, German swimmer
* March 18 — Johan Wallberg, Swedish freestyle swimmer
* March 21 — Ilse Heylen, Belgian judoka
* March 21 — Mark Pearn, English field hockey striker
* March 22 — Bevan George, Australian field hockey player
* March 23 — Maxim Marinin, Russian figure skater
* March 26 — Iván Ruíz, Cuban volleyball player
* March 28 — Fredrik Jonsson, Swedish tennis player
* March 28 — Trevor Stewardson, Canadian boxer
* March 31 — Domenico Fioravanti, Italian swimmer

April

* April 5 — Jonathan Erlich, Israeli tennis player
* April 5 — Zach Whitmarsh, Canadian track and field athlete
* April 5 — Ilja Wiederschein, German volleyball player
* April 10 — Waseem Ahmad, Pakistan field hockey player
* April 13 — Michelle Vizzuso, American field hockey player
* April 17 — Chad Hedrick, American inline speed skater
* April 18 — Sue Tingley, Canadian field hockey midfielder
* April 21 — Darius Grigalionis, Lithuanian backstroke swimmer
* April 21 — Rick Hofstra, Dutch darts player
* April 21 — Mette Schjoldager, Danish female badminton player
* April 22 — Anthony Lurling, Dutch football (soccer) player
* April 22 — Mark van Bommel, Dutch football (soccer) player
* April 22 — Robert Hunter, South African cyclist
* April 23 — Bram Schmitz, Dutch cyclist
* April 24 — Carlos Beltrán, Puerto Rican baseball player
* April 25 — Sylviane Berthod, Swiss alpine skier
* April 26 — Janneke Schopman, Dutch field hockey player
* April 29 — Li Hua, Chinese beach volleyball player
* April 29 — Margriet Matthijsse, Dutch sailor

May

* May 1 — Vera Lischka, Austrian breaststroke swimmer
* May 1 — Diógenes Luna, Cuban boxer
* May 1 — Guillermo Saputo, Argentina light middleweight boxer
* May 6 — Odelvis Dominico, Cuban volleyball player
* May 6 — Shannon Shakespeare, Canadian freestyle swimmer
* May 6 — Trent Steed, Australian medley swimmer
* May 8 — Pepe Sánchez, Argentine basketball player
* May 11 — Janne Ahonen, Finnish ski jumper
* May 11 — Caimin Douglas, Dutch athlete
* May 11 — Paul Kutscher, Uruguayan freestyle swimmer
* May 11 — Denílson Lourenço, Brazilian judoka
* May 11 — Victor Matfield, South African rugby player
* May 12 — Leonardo Costa, Brazilian swimmer
* May 17 — Maarten Froger, Dutch field hockey striker
* May 17 — Zsolt Gáspár, Hungarian butterfly swimmer
* May 23 — Denise Marston-Smith, British field hockey international
* May 23 — Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skating champion
* May 24 — Tom Bertram, English field hockey defender
* May 24 — Eduardo Lorente, Spanish freestyle swimmer
* May 30 — Fabrice Akwa, Angolan soccer striker

June

* June 1 — Paul Woolford, New Zealand field hockey goalkeeper
* June 3 — Jan-Michael Gambill, American tennis player
* June 4 — Ingrid Visser, Dutch volleyball player
* June 6 — Paola Cavallino, Italian butterfly swimmer
* June 9 — Sohail Abbas, Pakistani field hockey defender
* June 9 — Peja Stojakovic, Serbian basketball player
* June 9 — Wioletta Janowska, Polish athlete
* June 10 — Gijs Ronnes, Dutch beach volleyball player
* June 12 — Antony Matkovich, Australian freestyle swimmer
* June 12 — Idrissa Sanou, Burkinabé athlete
* June 12 — Andrea Schwartz, Canadian butterfly and freestyle swimmer
* June 14 — Francesco Coco, Italian football (soccer) player
* June 16 — Addy Engels, Dutch cyclist
* June 16 — Martine Janssen, Dutch breaststroke swimmer
* June 18 — Razvan Sabau, Romanian tennis player
* June 19 — Stéphan Perrot, French breaststroke swimmer
* June 22 — José Miguel Cotto, Puerto Rican boxer
* June 22 — Frédéric Weis, French basketball player
* June 24 — Nina Zhivanevskaya, Russian-born swimmer
* June 25 — Marcin Kaczmarek, Polish butterfly swimmer
* June 25 — Marco Mazza, Italian long-distance runner
* June 26 — Sebastian Świderski, Polish volleyball player
* June 27 — Raúl, Spanish football (soccer) player
* June 27 — Kristen Taunton, Canadian field hockey forward
* June 29 — Alan Villafuerte, Dutch gymnast
* June 30 — Fernando Zylberberg, Argentine field hockey midfielder

July

* July 2 — José Rivera, Puerto Rican volleyball player
* July 3 — Natascha Keller, German field hockey player
* July 4 — Marian Velicu, Romanian boxer
* July 6 — Li Jinyu, Chinese football (soccer) player
* July 15 — Paul Korir, Kenyan middle distance athlete
* July 19 — Zuzanna Szwed, Polish figure skater
* July 20 — Patricio Calero, Ecuadorian boxer
* July 21 — Llewellyn Herbert, South African athlete
* July 21 — Allison Wagner, American medley swimmer
* July 22 — Denzil Dolley, South African field hockey player
* July 23 — Gail Emms, British badminton player
* July 24 — Arnold Bruggink, Dutch football (soccer) player
* July 24 — Vratislav Greško, Slovak football (soccer) player
* July 28 — Manu Ginobili, Argentine basketball player
* July 30 — Jerson Ravelo, Dominican boxer
* July 31 — Gustavo Valderrama, Venezuelan volleyball player

August

* August 1 — Andres Manzanillo, Venezuelan volleyball player
* August 3 — Óscar Pereiro, Spanish road bicycle racer
* August 8 — Kelly Rezansoff, Canadian field hockey player
* August 12 — Jesper Grønkjær, Danish football (soccer) player
* August 12 — Iva Majoli, Croatian tennis player
* August 17 — Thierry Henry, French football (soccer) player
* August 19 — Iban Mayo, Spanish cyclist
* August 20 — Felipe and Manuel Contepomi, Argentine rugby players
* August 20 — Harry Tañamor, Filipino amateur boxer
* August 24 — Murray Grapentine, Canadian volleyball player
* August 26 — Therese Alshammar, Swedish swimmer
* August 27 — Deco, Portuguese football (soccer) player
* August 30 — Félix Sánchez, Dominican athlete
* August 30 — Cosiri Rodriguez, Dominican volleyball player

eptember

* September 1 — David Albelda, Spanish football (soccer) player
* September 1 — Henry Collins, Australian boxer
* September 1 — Simona Rinieri, Italian volleyball player
* September 8 — Gavin Meadows, British freestyle swimmer
* September 11 — Vitaly Grusac, Moldovan boxer
* September 12 — Marja Heikkilä, Finnish freestyle swimmer
* September 12 — Yuliya Pakhalina, Russian diver
* September 17 — Juan Antonio Flecha, Argentine-born Spanish cyclist
* September 17 — Simona Gioli, Italian volleyball player
* September 17 — Lieve van Kessel, Dutch field hockey player
* September 17 — Simone Perrotta, Italian football (soccer) midfielder
* September 19 — Damien Greaves, British track and field athlete
* September 19 — Emil Sutovsky, Israeli chess grandmaster
* September 23 — Magomed Aripgadjiev, Belarusian boxer
* September 25 — Smiljana Marinović, Croatian breaststroke swimmer
* September 26 — Michael McCann, Australian field hockey player
* September 28 — Mark Boswell, Jamaica-born Canadian high jumper
* September 28 — Se Ri Pak, South Korean golfer

October

* October 1 — Alejandro Hernandez, Mexican tennis player
* October 1 — William Priddy, American volleyball player
* October 2 — Didier Défago, Swiss alpine skier
* October 6 — Anthony Cosmo, Canadian lacrosse player
* October 7 — Melanie Twitt, Australian field hockey player
* October 7 — Ivan Usov, Russian freestyle swimmer
* October 8 — Madelon Baans, Dutch breaststroke swimmer
* October 10 — Alberto Cisolla, Italian volleyball player
* October 14 — Francisco ("Kiko") Fábregas, Spanish field hockey player
* October 15 — Troy Elder, Australian field hockey player
* October 15 — Bernardino Herrera, Spanish field hockey goalkeeper
* October 17 — Manuela Zanchi, Italian water polo player
* October 18 — Amy Tong, American judoka
* October 20 — Ana Belén Palomo, Spanish freestyle swimmer
* October 24 — Guillermo Falasca, Spanish volleyball player
* October 25 — Mitică Pricop, Romanian canoer
* October 25 — Birgit Prinz, German football (soccer) player
* October 27 — Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lankan cricketer
* October 31 — Sylviane Felix, French track and field sprint athlete

November

* November 1 — Gabrielle Rose, Brazilian/American swimmer
* November 3 — Cathleen Rund, German backstroke and medley swimmer
* November 7 — Andres Oper, Estonian football (soccer) striker
* November 12 — Benni McCarthy, South African football (soccer) striker
* November 12 — Davide Rummolo, Italian swimmer
* November 13 — María Pelaez, Spanish butterfly swimmer
* November 16 — Oksana Baiul, Ukrainian figure skater
* November 17 — Jon MacKinnon, Canadian field hockey goalkeeper
* November 17 — Ryk Neethling, South African swimmer
* November 17 — Laura Wilkinson, American freediver
* November 19 — Kerri Strug, American gymnast
* November 22 — Oxana Verevka, Russian medley swimmer
* November 24 — Dilip Tirkey, Indian field hockey defender
* November 25 — Guillermo Cañas, Argentine tennis player
* November 25 — Regan Harrison, Australian breaststroke swimmer
* November 26 — Ivan Basso, Italian cyclist
* November 26 — Dalixia Fernández, Cuban beach volleyball player
* November 26 — Zhang Jun, Chinese badminton player
* November 27 — Laura Newton, English cricketer
* November 29 — Younis Khan, Pakistani cricketer

December

* December 3 — Adam Małysz, Polish ski jumper
* December 5 — Deb Cuthbert, Scotland-born Canadian field hockey player
* December 6 — Andrew Flintoff, English cricketer
* December 6 — Peta Gallagher, Australian field hockey player
* December 7 — Fernando Vargas, American boxer
* December 8 — Sébastien Chabal, French rugby player
* December 8 — Ryan Newman, American NASCAR driver
* December 10 — Luiz Lima, Brazilian freestyle swimmer
* December 12 — Courtney Shealy, American freestyle swimmer
* December 17 — Arnaud Clement, French tennis player
* December 17 — Jackline Maranga, Kenyan middle distance runner
* December 22 — Claudia van Thiel, Dutchh volleyball player
* December 24 — Glen Salmon, South African football (soccer) player
* December 26 — Liana Mesa, Cuban volleyball player
* December 29 — Christin Petelski, Canadian breaststroke swimmer
* December 30 — Laila Ali, American boxer, daughter of Muhammad Ali

Deaths

* January 18 — Luciano Re Cecconi (28), Italian football (soccer) player (b. 1948)
* January 22 — Pascual Nicolás Pérez (50), Argentine flyweight boxer (b. 1926)
*March 19 — José Carlos Pace (32), Brazilian champion race car driver (b. 1944)
*July 17 — Billy Gonsalves (68), American football (soccer player) (b. 1908)