1985 in sports

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

yp1=1982
yp2=1983
yp3=1984
year=1985
ya1=1986
ya2=1987
ya3=1988
dp3=1950s
dp2=1960s
dp1=1970s
d=1980s
da=0
dn1=1990s
dn2=2000s
dn3=2010s|

Artistic Gymnastics

*World Artistic Gymnastics Championships:
**Men's all-around champion: Yuri Korolev, USSR
**Women's all-around champions: Oksana Omelianchik, USSR, Yelena Shushunova, USSR
**Men's team competition champion: USSR
**Women's team competition champion: USSR

Athletics

:"For an extensive coverage see 1985 in athletics (track and field)"

=Auto Racing=

*Stock car racing:
**Bill Elliott won the Daytona 500
**NASCAR Championship - Darrell Waltrip
**Ken Schrader enters NASCAR
*CART Racing - Al Unser Sr won the season championship
***Indianapolis 500 - Danny Sullivan
*Formula One Championship - Alain Prost of France
*24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Klaus Ludwig / Paolo Barilla / "John Winter" (Louis Krages) won, driving a Porsche 956
*Rally racing - Timo Salonen in a Peugeot won the World Rally Championship
**the team of Ari Vatanen / Terry Harryman won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Peugeot 205T16
*Drag racing:
**Don Garlits won the NHRA Top Fuel championship
**Gary Beck won Top Fuel at the NHRA World Finals

Baseball

* Cincinnati Reds' player/manager Pete Rose breaks Ty Cobb's All-Time Hit Record of 4,191 hits. Rose's record-breaking single was off of San Diego Padres pitcher Eric Show (September 11)
* Rollie Fingers breaks Sparky Lyle's American League career record of 232 saves.
* World Series: The Kansas City Royals defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 3, becoming the first team to win the World Series after losing the first two games at home.
* Books published:
** Bill James, "The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract": A seminal volume of baseball history by the leading sabermetrician of the day. He revised the book into a new edition in 2001.

Basketball

*April 1NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
**Villanova wins 66-64 over Georgetown

* NBA Finals Draft
**Patrick Ewing was drafted, adding the final piece of the puzzle to the NBA, increasing its already immense popularity.

* NBA Finals|NBA Finals:
**Los Angeles Lakers win 4 games to 2 over the Boston Celtics

*National Basketball League (Australia) Finals:
**Brisbane Bullets defeated the Adelaide 36ers 121-95 in the final.

* the United States Basketball League ( USBL ) was founded

Boxing

*April 15 - "The War": Marvin Hagler knocks out Thomas Hearns in three rounds to retain the world's Middleweight title.
*August 10 - Hector Camacho defeats Jose Luis Ramirez to lift the WBC's world Lightweight title.
*September 21 - Michael Spinks beats Larry Holmes by a decision in 15 rounds to become the first world Light Heavyweight champion to win a world Heavyweight title.

Cricket

*Kim Hughes 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
*World Cycling Championship: Joop Zoetemelk of the Netherlands

Dogsled racing

*Libby Riddles with her lead dogs, "Axle" & "Dugan", becomes the first woman to ever win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

Field Hockey

World Competitions

* Men's World Cup Qualifier Tournament in Barcelona, Spain
** Gold Medal: Spain
** Silver Medal: New Zealand
** Bronze Medal: Poland

* Men's Champions Trophy in Perth, Australia
** Gold Medal: Australia
** Silver Medal: Great Britain
** Bronze Medal: West Germany

* Women's World Cup Qualifier Tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina
** Gold Medal: Soviet Union
** Silver Medal: Argentina
** Bronze Medal: South Korea

Regional Competitions

* Men's Asia Cup in Dhaka, Bangladesh
** Gold Medal: Pakistan
** Silver Medal: India
** Bronze Medal: South Korea
March 9 – In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium in England, England beat Scotland 3-0.

Figure skating

*World Figure Skating Championships:
**Men's champion: Alexander Fadeev, Soviet Union
**Ladies' champion: Katarina Witt, East Germany
**Pair skating champions: Elena Valova / Oleg Vasiliev, Soviet Union
**Ice dancing champions: Natalia Bestemianova / Andrei Bukin, Soviet Union

=Football (American)=

*January 20 Super Bowl XIX: San Francisco 49ers won 38-16 over the Miami Dolphins
*Oklahoma Sooners - college football championship.
*Baltimore Stars win USFL Championship 28-24 over Oakland Invaders -- USFL folds shortly thereafter

Football (Australian rules football)

* Victorian Football League
** Essendon wins the 89th VFL Premiership (Essendon 26.14 (170) d Hawthorn 14.8 (92))
** Brownlow Medal awarded to Brad Hardie (Footscray)

=Football (Canadian)=

* Grey Cup: B.C. Lions win 37-24 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
* Vanier Cup: Calgary Dinos win 25-6 over the Western Ontario Mustangs

Football (Soccer)

::"For an extensive coverage see 1985 in football (soccer)"
*The NASL announced that it was suspending operations and hoped to return in 1986; it never did.

*England - FA Cup: Manchester United won 1-0 (aet) over Everton - Kevin Moran, first red card in FA Cup history

Gaelic Athletic Association

*Camogie
**All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Kilkenny
**National Camogie League: Kilkenny

*Gaelic football
**All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Kerry 2-12 d. Dublin 2-8
**National Football League: Monaghan 1-11 d. Armagh 0-9

*Ladies' Gaelic football
**All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Kerry
**National Football League: Kerry

*Hurling
**All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Offaly 2-11 d. Galway 1-12
**National Hurling League:

Golf

Men's professional
*April 11-14 - Masters Tournament - Bernhard Langer
*June 13-16 - U.S. Open - Andy North
*July 18-21 - British Open - Sandy Lyle
*August 8-11 - PGA Championship - Hubert Green
*PGA Tour money leader - Curtis Strange - $542,321
*Senior PGA Tour money leader - Peter Thomson - $386,724
*Ryder Cup - Europe won 16 1/2 to 11 1/2 over the USA in team golf.Men's amateur
*British Amateur - Garth McGimpsey
*U.S. Amateur - Sam RandolphWomen's professional
*Nabisco Dinah Shore - Alice Miller
*LPGA Championship - Nancy Lopez
*U.S. Women's Open - Kathy Baker
*Classique du Maurier Classic - Pat Bradley
*LPGA Tour money leader - Nancy Lopez - $416,472

=Thoroughbred Horse Racing=

*Australia - Melbourne Cup - What A Nuisance
*Canada - Queen's Plate - La Lorgnette
*France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Rainbow Quest
*Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Law Society

*English Triple Crown Races:
*#2,000 Guineas Stakes - Shadeed
*#Epsom Derby - Slip Anchor
*#St. Leger Stakes - Oh So Sharp

*United States Triple Crown Races:
*#May 4 - Kentucky Derby - Spend a Buck
*#Preakness Stakes - Tank's Prospect
*#Belmont Stakes - Creme Fraiche

*Breeders' Cup:
*#Breeders' Cup Classic - Proud Truth
*#Breeders' Cup Distaff - Life's Magic
*#Breeders' Cup Juvenile - Tasso
*#Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies - Twilight Ridge
*#Breeders' Cup Mile - Cozzene
*#Breeders' Cup Sprint - Precisionist
*#Breeders' Cup Turf - Pebbles

=Harness Racing=

* North America Cup - Staff Director

*United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
*#Cane Pace - Chairmanoftheboard
*#Little Brown Jug - Nihilator
*#Messenger Stakes - Pershing Square

*United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
*#Hambletonian - Prakas
*#Yonkers Trot -
*#Kentucky Futurity - Flak Bait

*Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
**Pacers: Preux Chevalier
**Trotters: Scotch Notch

Ice Hockey

*Art Ross Memorial 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: Edmonton Oilers win 4 games to 1 over the Philadelphia Flyers

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

Skiing

*Alpine Skiing
**The men's overall season champion: Marc Girardelli, Luxembourg
**The women's overall season champion: Michela Figini, Switzerland

Snooker

*World Snooker Championship: Dennis Taylor beats Steve Davis 18-17 in one of the greatest snooker matches of all time
*World rankings: Steve Davis remains world number one for 1985/86

Swimming

Events

*First Pan Pacific Championships held in Tokyo (August 15 – August 18)

Records

* July 21 — Switzerland's Dano Halsall swims a world record in the 50m freestyle (long course) at a swimming meet in Bellinzona, shaving off 0.02 of the previous record (22.54) set by USA's Robin Leamy four years ago: 22.52.

* December 6 — USA's Tom Jager takes the world record from Dano Halsall (22.52) in the 50m freestyle (long course) at a swimming meet in Austin, Texas, clocking 22.40.

Tennis

*Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
*#Australian Open - Stefan Edberg
*#French Open - Mats Wilander
*#Wimbledon championships - Boris Becker
*#US Open - Ivan Lendl

*Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
*#Australian Open - Martina Navratilova
*#French Open - Chris Evert
*#Wimbledon championships - Martina Navratilova
*#US Open - Hana Mandlikova

*Davis Cup: Sweden wins 3-2 over Germany F.R. in world team tennis.

Volleyball

*European Championship in the Netherlands
**Men's Tournament
***Gold Medal: vb|URS
***Silver Medal: vb|TCH
***Bronze Medal: vb|FRA
**Women's Tournament
***Gold Medal: vbw|URS
***Silver Medal: vbw|GDR
***Bronze Medal: vbw|NED

Water polo

Men's Competition

* FINA World Cup in Duisburg, West Germany
** Gold Medal: wp|FRG
** Silver Medal: wp|USA
** Bronze Medal: wp|ESP

* European Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria
** Gold Medal: wp|URS
** Silver Medal: wp|YUG
** Bronze Medal: wp|FRG

Women's Competition

* European Championship in Oslo, Norway
** Gold Medal: wpw|NED
** Silver Medal: wpw|HUN|1957
** Bronze Medal: wpw|FRG

Multi-sport events

* Sixth Pan Arab Games held in Rabat, Morocco

* Second World Games held in London, United Kingdom

* Thirteenth Summer Universiade held in Kobe, Japan

* Twelfth Winter Universiade held in Belluno, Italy

Awards

*Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Dwight Gooden, Major League Baseball
*Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Nancy Lopez, LPGA golf

Births

January

* January 1 — Alex Danson, English field hockey player
* January 2 — Teng Haibin, Chinese gymnast
* January 4 — Yoandri Díaz, Cuban volleyball player
* January 8 — Karina Ocasio, Puerto Rican volleyball player
* January 15 — Bahodirjon Sooltonov, Uzbek boxer
* January 18 — Joel Julio, Colombian boxer
* January 24 — Fabiana Claudino, Brazilian volleyball player
* January 28 — Libby Lenton, Australian swimmer
* January 28 — Basharmal Sultani, Afghan boxer

February

* February 1 — Morgan Hentzen, American freestyle swimmer
* February 5 — Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese football (soccer) player
* February 6 — Joji Kato, Japanese speedskater
* February 11 — Šárka Záhrobská, Czech alpine skier
* February 13 — Hedwiges Maduro, Dutch football (soccer) player
* February 19 — Jūratė Ladavičiūtė, Lithuanian freestyle swimmer
* February 21 — Nienke Kremers, Dutch field hockey player
* February 21 — Svetlana Kryuchkova, Russian volleyball player
* February 24 — Gabrielle Domanic, American water polo player
* February 28 — Jelena Janković, Serbian tennis player

March

* March 2 — Celina Lemmen, Dutch swimmer
* March 3 — David Davies, Welsh long-distance swimmer
* March 11 — Anita Galić, Croatian freestyle swimmer
* March 11 — Kai Reus, Dutch cyclist
* March 15 — Mario Delač, Croatian freestyle swimmer
* March 16 — Teneal Attard, Australian field hockey player
* March 17 — Vassiliki Arvaniti, Greek beach volleyball player
* March 17 — Tuğba Karademir, Turkish figure skater
* March 29 — Emily Feher, American water polo goalkeeper
* March 29 — Christiane Fürst, German volleyball player
* March 30 — Chloe Rogers, English field hockey player

April

* April 1 — Elizabeth Tweddle, British gymnast
* April 4 — Dudi Sela, Israeli tennis player
* April 10 — Deborah Seilhamer, Puerto Rican volleyball player
* April 19 — Zhang Xi, Chinese beach volleyball player
* April 22 — Christian Glans, Norwegian swimmer

May

* May 2 — Sarah Hughes, American figure skater
* May 14 — Nicholas Sprenger, Australian freestyle swimmer
* May 15 — Antti Autti, Finnish snowboarder
* May 15 — Tania Cagnotto, Italian diver
* May 15 — Cristiane, Brazilian footballer
* May 16 — Stefanie Luiken, Dutch swimmer
* May 21 — Alexander Dale Oen, Norwegian swimmer
* May 21 — Susannah Harris, Australian field hockey player
* May 22 — Effiong Okon, Nigerian boxer

June

* June 4 — Anna-Lena Grönefeld, German tennis player
* June 6 — Sota Hirayama, Japanese football (soccer) player
* June 8 — Alexandre Despatie, French Canadian diver
* June 10 — Kaia Kanepi, Estonian tennis player
* June 17 — Ozge Gurler, Turkish track running athlete
* June 19 — Nataša Krsmanović, Serbian volleyball player
* June 19 — Ai Miyazato, Japanese golfer
* June 24 — Cregan Joseph, UAE-born Canadian field hockey player
* June 26 — Marina Sheshenina, Russian volleyball player
* June 27 — Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russian tennis player
* June 28 — Phil Bardsley, English football (soccer) player
* June 30 — Michael Phelps, American swimmer

July

* July 9 — Pawel Korzeniowski, Polish swimmer
* July 9 — Elena Gigli, Italian water polo goalkeeper
* July 22 — Takudzwa Ngwenya, American rugby player
* July 31 — Eva Yaneva, Bulgarian volleyball player

August

* August 2 — Gökçen Denkel, Turkish volleyball player
* August 5 — Salomon Kalou, Ivorian football (soccer) player
* August 9 — Kristel Köbrich, Chilean freestyle swimmer
* August 10 — Leisel Jones, Australian swimmer
* August 13 — Vilmarie Mojica, Puerto Rican volleyball player
* August 18 — Inge Dekker, Dutch swimmer
* August 19 — Lindsey Jacobellis, American snowboarder
* August 20 — Kobie McGurk, Australian field hockey player
* August 21 — Nicolás Almagro, Spanish tennis player
* August 23 — Marcus Piehl, Swedish freestyle swimmer

eptember

* September 21 — Larsen Jensen, American swimmer
* September 21 — Likar Ramos Concha, Colombian boxer
* September 21 — Pedro Ibarra, Argentine field hockey striker
* September 21 — Denis Calincov, Moldovan football (soccer) striker
* September 21 — Troyden Prinsloo, South African swimmer
* September 21 — Yevgeniy Natsvin, Russian swimmer

October

* October 2 — Casper Bouman, Dutch sailor
* October 12 — Boniface Kiprop Toroitich, Ugandan track and field athlete
* October 16 — Laura Sánchez, Mexican diver
* October 16 — Casey Stoner, Australian motorcycle racer
* October 17 — Collins John, Dutch football (soccer) player
* October 20 — Saeid Marouf, Iranian volleyball player
* October 23 — Sadat Tebazaalwa, Ugandan boxer
* October 24 — Wayne Rooney, English football (soccer) player
* October 26 — Jurgen Themen, Surinamese track and field sprinter
* October 30 — Anna Podolec, Polish volleyball player
* October 30 — Kayla Sharland, New Zealand field hockey striker

November

* November 8 — Elizabeth Hill, American freestyle swimmer
* November 10 — Elizabeth Ryan, New Zealand field hockey striker
* November 11 — Robin Uthappa, Indian cricketer
* November 13 — Simo-Pekka Olli, Finnish volleyball player
* November 20 — Caitlin McClatchey, Scottish swimmer
* November 23 — Ahn Hyun-Soo, South Korean short track skater
* November 30 — Madonna Blyth, Australian field hockey player

December

* December 3 — László Cseh, Hungarian swimmer
* December 13 — Marina Akulova, Russian volleyball player
* December 14 — Evgeny Lagunov, Russian swimmer
* December 15 — Jolly Katongole, Ugandan boxer
* December 23 — Emily Naylor, New Zealand field hockey midfielder
* December 27 — Telma Monteiro, Portuguese judoka
* December 30 — Lars Boom, Dutch cyclo-crosser
* December 30 — Viktória Pavuk, Hungarian figure skater

Deaths

*January 2 — Flash Elorde (49), Filipino boxer (b. 1935)
*March 4 — Sverre Strandli (59), Norwegian hammer thrower (b. 1925)
* April 6 — Terence Sanders (83), British rower (b. 1901)
*June 15 — Andy Stanfield (67), American track and field athlete (b. 1927)
*July 5 — Paulino Uzcudun (86), Spanish heavyweight boxer (b. 1899)
*August 12 — Manfred Winkelhock, auto racing driver
*August 20 — Ken Kennedy (72), Australian ice speed skater (b. 1913)
*September 22 — Robinsón Pitalúa (21), Colombian boxer (b. 1964)
*September 30 — Paul Berlenbach (84), American light heavyweight boxer (b. 1901)
*October 30 — Edgar Bruun (80), Norwegian race walker (b. 1905)
*November 13 — Pelle Lindbergh, NHL goaltender Philadelphia Flyers
*December 14 — Roger Maris, US Major League Baseball player
*December 22 — Eleoncio Mercedes (28), Dominican boxer (b. 1957)