1991 in sports

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

yp1=1988
yp2=1989
yp3=1990
year=1991
ya1=1992
ya2=1993
ya3=1994
dp3=1960s
dp2=1970s
dp1=1980s
d=1990s
da=0
dn1=2000s
dn2=2010s
dn3=2020s|

Artistic Gymnastics

*World Artistic Gymnastics Championships:
**Men's all-around champion: Grigory Misutin, USSR
**Women's all-around champion: Kim Zmeskal, USA
**Men's team competition champion: USSR
**Women's team competition champion: USSR

Athletics

:"For an extensive coverage see 1991 in athletics (track and field)"

Marathon

International Races

* January 27 — flagicon|JPN Osaka Marathon, Japan
**Women's Winner: Katrin Dörre (GER) 2:27:43

* February 2 — flagicon|USA Las Vegas Marathon, United States
**Men's Winner: Samuel Rotich (KEN) 2:16:03
**Women's Winner: Nadia Prasad (USA) 2:39:10

* February 10 — flagicon|JPN Tokyo Marathon, Japan
**Men's Winner: Abebe Mekonnen (JPN) 2:10:26

* March 3 — flagicon|USA Los Angeles Marathon, United States
**Men's Winner: Mark Plaatjes (RSA) 2:10:29
**Women's Winner: Cathy O'Brien (USA) 2:29:38

* April 15 — flagicon|USA Boston Marathon, United States
**Men's Winner: Ibrahim Hussein (KEN) 2:11:06
**Women's Winner: Wanda Panfil (POL) 2:24:18

* April 21 — flagicon|GBR London Marathon, United Kingdom
**Men's Winner: Yakov Tolstikov (URS) 2:09:17
**Women's Winner: Rosa Mota (POR) 2:26:14

* April 21 — flagicon|NED Rotterdam Marathon, Netherlands
**Men's Winner: Robert de Castella (AUS) 2:09:42
**Women's Winner: Joke Kleijweg (NED) 2:34:18

* May 26 — flagicon|GER Hamburg Marathon, Germany
**Men's Winner: Jörg Peter (GDR) 2:10:43
**Women's Winner: Annette Fincke (FRG) 2:35:48

* June 15 — flagicon|NED Enschede Marathon, Netherlands
**Men's Winner: Sergey Prorokov (URS) 2:15:04
**Women's Winner: Czesława Mentlewicz (POL) 2:41:48

* July 9 — flagicon|GRE Mediterranean Games Marathon, Athens, Greece
**Men's Winner: Salah Qoquaiche (MAR) 2:20:26

* August 3 — flagicon|CUB Pan American Games Marathon, Havana, Cuba
**Men's Winner: Alberto Cuba (CUB) 2:19:27
**Women's Winner: Olga Appell (MEX) 2:43:36

* August 25 — flagicon|JPN IAAF World Championships Marathon, Tokyo, Japan
**Women's Winner: Wanda Panfil (POL) 2:29:53

* September 1 — flagicon|JPN IAAF World Championships Marathon, Tokyo, Japan
**Men's Winner: Hiromi Taniguchi (JPN) 2:14:57

* September 15 — flagicon|NED Amsterdam Marathon, Netherlands
**Men's Winner: Tesfaye Tafa (ETH) 2:13:26
**Women's Winner: Mieke Hombergen (NED) 2:41:14

* September 29 — flagicon|GER Berlin Marathon, West Germany
**Men's Winner: Steve Brace (WAL) 2:10:57
**Women's Winner: Renata Kokowska (POL) 2:27:36

* October 13 — flagicon|NED Eindhoven Marathon, Netherlands
**Men's Winner: Vladimir Kotov (BLR) 2:14:03
**Women's Winner: Mieke Hombergen (NED) 2:46:28

* October 13 — flagicon|CHN Beijing Marathon, China PR
**Men's Winner: Negash Dube (ETH) 2:12:55
**Women's Winner: Deborah Noy (GBR) 2:35:18

* October 20 — flagicon|POR Lisbon Marathon, Portugal
**Men's Winner: Mario Sousa (POR) 2:15:21
**Women's Winner: Rita Borralho (POR) 2:38:39

* October 27 — flagicon|USA Chicago Marathon, United States
**Men's Winner: Joseildo da Silva (BRA) 2:14:33
**Women's Winner: Marie-Louise Hamrin (SWE) 2:36:21

* November 3 — flagicon|USA New York City Marathon, United States
**Men's Winner: Salvador García (MEX) 2:09:28
**Women's Winner: Liz McColgan (GBR) 2:27:32

* November 17 — flagicon|JPN Tokyo Marathon, Japan
**Women's Winner: Mari Tanigawa (JPN) 2:31:27

* December 1 — flagicon|JPN Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
**Men's Winner: Shuichi Morishita (JPN) 2:10:58

* December 15 — flagicon|USA Honolulu Marathon, United States
**Men's Winner: Benson Masya (KEN) 2:18:24
**Women's Winner: Ritva Lemettinen (FIN) 2:40:11

National Champions

* May 12 — flagicon|CAN Ottawa, Canada
**Men's Winner: Michael Petrocci — 2:23:44
**Women's Winner: Laura Konantz — 2:51:00

=Auto Racing=

*Stock car racing:
**Ernie Irvan won the Daytona 500
**NASCAR Championship - Dale Earnhardt
*CART Racing - Michael Andretti won the season championship
**Indianapolis 500 - Rick Mears
*Formula One Championship - Ayrton Senna of Brazil
*24 hours of Le Mans: won by Volker Weidler / Johnny Herbert / Bertrand Gachot driving a Mazda 787
*Rally racing - Juha Kankkunen in a Lancia won the World Rally Championship
**the team of Carlos Sainz / Luis Moya won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Toyota Celica GT4
*Drag racing - Joe Amato won the NHRA "Top Fuel" championship.

Baseball

* Dave Righetti breaks Sparky Lyle's major league record for left-handers of 238 career saves.
* July 28 - Dennis Martinez of the Montreal Expos pitches the 13th perfect game in major league history, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0.
* World Series: The Minnesota Twins win 4 games to 3 over the Atlanta Braves. The series MVP is Jack Morris of Minnesota.

Basketball

* NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Duke wins 72-65 over Kansas
* June 12 - NBA Finals: Chicago Bulls win 4 games to 1 over the Los Angeles Lakers to earn the franchise's first championship.
* November 7 - Basketball player Magic Johnson announces he tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS, thus ending his career in the NBA.
*National Basketball League (Australia) Finals: Perth Wildcats defeated the Eastside Melbourne Spectres 2-1 in the best-of-three final series.
* December 17 - The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Miami Heat 148 to 80, the largest margin of victory in any NBA game.

Boxing

* May 7 to 12 – 29th European Amateur Boxing Championships held in Gothenburg, Sweden
**"Light Flyweight (– 48 kg):" Ivailo Marinov (Bulgaria)
**"Flyweight (– 51 kg):" István Kovács (Hungary)
**"Bantamweight (– 54 kg):" Serafim Todorov (Bulgaria)
**"Featherweight (– 57 kg):" Paul Griffin (Ireland)
**"Lightweight (– 60 kg):" Vasile Nistor (Romania)
**"Light Welterweight (– 63.5 kg):" Konstantin Tszyu (Soviet Union)
**"Welterweight (– 67 kg):" Roberto Welin (Sweden)
**"Light Middleweight (– 71 kg):" Israel Akopkochyan (Soviet Union)
**"Middleweight (– 75 kg):" Sven Ottke (Germany)
**"Light Heavyweight (– 81 kg):" Dariusz Michalczewski (Germany)
**"Heavyweight (– 91 kg):" Arnold Vanderlyde (Netherlands)
**"Super Heavyweight (+ 91 kg):" Yevgeni Belousov (Soviet Union)
*June 1 at Palm Springs, California – Terry Norris knocked out Donald Curry in the 8th Round to win the WBC Super Welterweight Championship.
* August 2 to 18 – Pan American Games held in Havana, Cuba.
**"Light Flyweight (– 48 kg):" Rogelio Marcelo (Cuba)
**"Flyweight (– 51 kg):" José Ramos (Cuba)
**"Bantamweight (– 54 kg):" Enrique Carrion (Cuba)
**"Featherweight (– 57 kg):" Arnaldo Mesa (Cuba)
**"Lightweight (– 60 kg):" Julio Gonzáles (Cuba)
**"Light Welterweight (– 63.5 kg):" Steve Johnston (United States)
**"Welterweight (– 67 kg):" Juan Hernández Sierra (Cuba)
**"Light Middleweight (– 71 kg):" Juan Carlos Lemus (Cuba)
**"Middleweight (– 75 kg):" Ramón Garbey (Cuba)
**"Light Heavyweight (– 81 kg):" Orestes Solano (Cuba)
**"Heavyweight (– 91 kg):" Félix Savón (Cuba)
**"Super Heavyweight (+ 91 kg):" Roberto Balado (Cuba)

Cricket

*South Africa readmitted to the International Cricket Council following the abolition of apartheid, and play their first international game since 1970.

Cycling

*Giro d'Italia won by Franco Chiocciolo of Italy
*Tour de France - Miguel Indurain of Spain
*World Cycling Championship: Gianni Bugno of Italy

Dogsled racing

*Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
**Rick Swenson won with lead dog: "Goose"

Field Hockey

World Competitions

* Men's Olympic Qualifier Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand
** Gold Medal: Soviet Union
** Silver Medal: India
** Bronze Medal: New Zealand

* Men's Champions Trophy in Berlin, Germany
** Gold Medal: Germany
** Silver Medal: Pakistan
** Bronze Medal: The Netherlands

* Women's Olympic Qualifier Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand
** Gold Medal: Germany
** Silver Medal: New Zealand
** Bronze Medal: Canada

* Women's Champions Trophy in Berlin, Germany
** Gold Medal: Australia
** Silver Medal: Germany
** Bronze Medal: The Netherlands
March 16 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium, England. England were beaten by France 2-1. It was the last ever match to have taken place at Wembley Stadium.

Regional Competitions

* Men's European Nations Cup in Paris, France
** Gold Medal: Germany
** Silver Medal: The Netherlands
** Bronze Medal: England

* Pan American Games (Men's Competition) in Havana, Cuba
** Gold Medal: Argentina
** Silver Medal: Canada
** Bronze Medal: United States

* Women's European Nations Cup in Brussels, Belgium
** Gold Medal: England
** Silver Medal: Germany
** Bronze Medal: Soviet Union

* Pan American Games (Women's Competition) in Havana, Cuba
** Gold Medal: Argentina
** Silver Medal: Canada
** Bronze Medal: United States

Figure skating

*World Figure Skating Championships:
**Men's champion: Kurt Browning, Canada
**Ladies' champion: Kristi Yamaguchi, United States
**Pair skating champions: Natalia Mishkutenok & Artur Dmitriev, Soviet Union
**Ice dancing champions: Isabelle Duchesnay & Paul Duchesnay, France

=Football (American)=

*Super Bowl XXV: New York Giants won 20-19 over the Buffalo Bills
* NCAA Football Championship: Washington Huskies 12-0 (CNN/USA Today Coaches Poll) and Miami Hurricanes 12-0 (Associated Press Poll)
*World Bowl '91: London Monarchs won 21-0 over the Barcelona Dragons in the inaugural World Bowl.
*Minnesota State Championships : Burnsville Blaze

Football (Australian rules football)

* Australian Football League
** The Adelaide Crows join the league
** Hawthorn wins the 95th AFL premiership (Hawthorn 20.19 (139) d West Coast Eagles 13.8 (86))
** Brownlow Medal awarded to Jim Stynes (Melbourne)

=Football (Canadian)=

* Grey Cup: Toronto Argonauts win 36-21 over the Calgary Stampeders
* Vanier Cup: Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks win 25-18 over the Mount Allison Mounties

Football (Soccer)

::"For an extensive coverage see 1991 in football (soccer)"
*FIFA Women's World Cup - United States won 2-1 over Norway
*European Cup - FK Red Star beat Olympique de Marseille 5-3 on penalties (0-0 aet)

Football (Rugby)

* Australia wins the 1991 Rugby World Cup

Golf

Men's professional
*April 11-14 - Masters Tournament - Ian Woosnam
*June 13-17 - U.S. Open - Payne Stewart
*July 18-21 - British Open - Ian Baker-Finch
*August 8-11 - PGA Championship - John Daly
*PGA Tour money leader - Corey Pavin - $979,430
*Senior PGA Tour money leader - Mike Hill - $1,065,657
*Ryder Cup - United States team won 14½ - 13½ over the Europe in team golf.Men's amateur
*British Amateur - Gary Wolstenholme
*U.S. Amateur - Mitch Voges
*European Amateur - Jim Payne
*Tiger Woods, at age 15, won his first USGA title, the U.S. Junior Amateur.Women's professional
*Nabisco Dinah Shore - Amy Alcott
*June 27-30 - LPGA Championship - Meg Mallon
*July 11-14 - U.S. Women's Open - Meg Mallon
*Classique du Maurier - Nancy Scranton
*LPGA Tour money leader - Pat Bradley - $763,118

=Thoroughbred Horse Racing=

*Australia - Melbourne Cup - Let's Elope
*Canada - Queen's Plate - Dance Smartly
*France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Suave Dancer
*Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Generous

*English Triple Crown Races:
*#2,000 Guineas Stakes - Mystiko
*#Epsom Derby - Generous
*#St. Leger Stakes - Toulon

*United States Triple Crown Races:
*#May 4 - Kentucky Derby - Strike the Gold
*#Preakness Stakes - Hansel
*#Belmont Stakes - Hansel

*Breeders' Cup:
*#Breeders' Cup Classic - Black Tie Affair
*#Breeders' Cup Distaff - Dance Smartly
*#Breeders' Cup Juvenile - Arazi
*#Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies - Pleasant Stage
*#Breeders' Cup Mile - Opening Verse
*#Breeders' Cup Sprint - Sheikh Albadou
*#Breeders' Cup Turf - Miss Alleged

=Harness Racing=

*North America Cup - Precious Bunny

*United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
*#Cane Pace - Silky Stallone
*#Little Brown Jug - Precious Bunny
*#Messenger Stakes - Die Laughing

*United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
*#Hambletonian - Giant Victory
*#Yonkers Trot -
*#Kentucky Futurity - Whiteland Janice

*Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
**Pacers: Mark Ranover
**Trotters: Fraggle Rock

Ice Hockey

*Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings

*Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Brett Hull, St. Louis Blues

*Stanley Cup:
**Pittsburgh Penguins win 4 games to 2 over the Minnesota North Stars

*Conn Smythe Trophy: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins

*World Hockey Championship
** Men's champion: Sweden defeated Canada
** Junior Men's champion: Canada defeated the USSR

*Sheffield Steelers formed

Lacrosse

* The Detroit Turbos defeat the Baltimore Thunder to win the Major Indoor Lacrosse League championship

Radiosport

*The Friendship Radiosport Games held in Portland, Oregon, USA was the first international Amateur Radio Direction Finding competition held in the Americas.
*Third European High Speed Telegraphy Championship held in Neerpelt, Belgium.

Skiing

*Alpine Skiing
**The men's overall season champion: Marc Girardelli, Luxembourg
**The women's overall season champion: Petra Kronberger, Austria

Snooker

*World Snooker Championship: John Parrott beats Jimmy White 18-11
*World rankings: Stephen Hendry remains world number one for 1991/92

Swimming

International events

* The sixth FINA World Championships, held in Perth, Australia (January 3 – 13)
*Eleventh Pan American Games held in Havana, Cuba (August 12 – 18)
*20th European LC Championships, held in Athens, Greece (August 18 – 25)
*Fourth Pan Pacific Championships, held in Edmonton, Canada (August 22 – 25)
*First European Sprint Championships, held in Gelsenkirchen, Germany (December 6 – 8)

Records

* December 13 — Steve Crocker sets the first official world record in the men's 50m freestyle (short course) in Sheffield, United Kingdom, clocking 25.64.

Taekwondo

*World Championships held in Athens, Greece

Tennis

*Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
*#Australian Open - Boris Becker
*#French Open - Jim Courier
*#Wimbledon championships - Michael Stich
*#US Open - Stefan Edberg

*Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
*#Australian Open - Monica Seles
*#French Open - Monica Seles
*#Wimbledon championships - Steffi Graf
*#US Open - Monica Seles

*Davis Cup: France won 3-1 over the United States in world tennis.

Volleyball

Men's Competition

*FIVB World Cup in several cities in Japan
**Gold Medal: vb|URS
**Silver Medal: vb|CUB
**Bronze Medal: vb|USA
* FIVB World League – Final Four in Milan, Italy
** Gold Medal: vb|ITA
** Silver Medal: vb|CUB
** Bronze Medal: vb|URS
*Asian Championship in Perth, Australia
**Gold Medal: vb|JPN
**Silver Medal: vb|KOR
**Bronze Medal: vb|CHN
*Men's Tournament in Berlin, Germany
**Gold Medal: vb|URS
**Silver Medal: vb|ITA
**Bronze Medal: vb|NED
*Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba
**Gold Medal: vb|CUB
**Silver Medal: vb|BRA
**Bronze Medal: vb|ARG

Women's Competition

*FIVB World Cup in several cities in Japan
**Gold Medal: vbw|CUB
**Silver Medal: vbw|CHN
**Bronze Medal: vbw|URS
*Asian Championship in Bangkok, Thailand
**Gold Medal: vbw|CHN
**Silver Medal: vbw|JPN
**Bronze Medal: vbw|KOR
*Women's Tournament in Rome, Italy
**Gold Medal: vbw|URS
**Silver Medal: vbw|NED
**Bronze Medal: vbw|GER
*Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba
**Gold Medal: vbw|CUB
**Silver Medal: vbw|BRA
**Bronze Medal: vbw|PER

Water Polo

Men's Competition

* World Championship in Perth, Australia
** Gold Medal: wp|YUG
** Silver Medal: wp|ESP
** Bronze Medal: wp|HUN

* FINA World Cup in Barcelona, Spain
** Gold Medal: wp|USA
** Silver Medal: wp|YUG
** Bronze Medal: wp|ESP

* European Championship in Athens, Greece
** Gold Medal: wp|YUG
** Silver Medal: wp|ESP
** Bronze Medal: wp|URS

* Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba
** Gold Medal: wp|CUB
** Silver Medal: wp|USA
** Bronze Medal: wp|BRA

Women's Competition

* World Championship in Perth, Australia
** Gold Medal: wpw|NED
** Silver Medal: wpw|CAN
** Bronze Medal: wpw|USA

* European Championship in Athens, Greece
** Gold Medal: wpw|HUN
** Silver Medal: wpw|NED
** Bronze Medal: wpw|ITA

Multi-sport events

* Eleventh Pan American Games held in Havana, Cuba

* Fifth All-Africa Games held in Cairo, Egypt

* Eleventh Mediterranean Games held in Athens, Greece

* Sixteenth Summer Universiade held in Sheffield, United Kingdom

* Fifteenth Winter Universiade held in Sapporo, Japan

Awards

*Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Michael Jordan, NBA basketball
*Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Monica Seles, Tennis

Pro Wrestling

*Hulk Hogan, wins WWF/WWE's "Royal Rumble 1991"
*The WCW World Heavyweight Championship is created, but only is used for a year. It is re-used again in 1994 until 2001, until WWE bought out World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
*The American Wrestling Association goes bankrupt.

Births

*January 15 — Rubab Raza, Pakistani swimmer
*September 10 — Lisvel Elisa Eve, Dominican Republic volleyball player

Deaths

*January 1 — Inga Gentzel (82), Swedish athlete (b. 1908)
*January 3 — Luke Appling, American baseball player (1930-1950)
*January 21 — Red Grange, American National Football League player
*March 2 — James "Cool Papa" Bell, Negro League baseball player
*April 4 — Luc de Rijck, Belgian soccer player
*April 20 — Bucky Walters, American baseball pitcher (1934-1950)
*April 25 — Theo Laseroms, Dutch soccer player
*May 6 — Chucky Mullins, US football player
*May 14 — Aladár Gerevich (81), Hungarian fencer (b. 1910)
*May 20 — Pete Runnels, American baseball player (1951-1964)
*June 8 — Mary Bacon, jockey
*June 20 — Michael Westphal (26), German tennis player (b. 1965)
*August 10 — Ellen Braumüller (80), German track and field athlete (b. 1910)
*September 15 — Smoky Burgess, American baseball player (1949-1967)
*October 7 — Leo Durocher, American baseball player (1925-1945), and manager
*October 7 — Darren Millane, Australian Rules Football player (1984-91)
*October 23 — Július Torma (69), Slovak boxer (b. 1922)
*November 26 — Bob Johnson, American ice hockey coach
* December 5 — Hein van der Zee (62), Dutch boxer (b. 1929)
*December 16 — Horatio Luro, race horse trainer including Northern Dancer
*December 25 — Mahmood Hussain, Pakistani cricketer