1978

Auto racing

 * USAC - A J Foyt won final season championship under USAC.
 * CART, Championship Auto Racing Teams open wheel racing established in the United States.
 * Indianapolis 500 - won by Al Unser Snr

Baseball

 * 1978 World Series: New York Yankees win 4 games to 2 over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Series MVP is Bucky Dent, New York

Basketball

 * Wilt Chamberlain is elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, along with coaches Sam Barry, Eddie Hickey, John McLendon, Ray Meyer and Pete Newell, and referee Jim Enright
 * 1978 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament:
 * Kentucky wins 94-88 over Duke
 * NBA Finals:
 * Washington Bullets won 4 games to 3 over the Seattle SuperSonics
 * FIBA World Championship
 * Yugoslavia World Champion

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

Dogsled racing

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

Field hockey

 * Men's World Cup in Buenos Aires, Argentina
 * Gold Medal: Pakistan
 * Silver Medal: The Netherlands
 * Bronze Medal: Australia


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


 * Men's Champions Trophy in Lahore, Pakistan
 * Gold Medal: Pakistan
 * Silver Medal: Australia
 * Bronze Medal: Great Britain


 * Women's World Cup in Madrid, Spain
 * Gold Medal: The Netherlands
 * Silver Medal: West Germany
 * Bronze Medal: Argentina / Belgium


 * March 11 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium, London. England drew with the United States of America: 2-2.

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 (American)

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

Football (Australian Rules)

 * Victorian Football League
 * Hawthorn wins the 82nd VFL Premiership (Hawthorn 18.13 (121) d North Melbourne 15.13 (103))
 * Brownlow Medal awarded to Malcolm Blight (North Melbourne)

Football (Canadian)

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

Football (Soccer)

 * Football World Cup: Argentina wins 3-1 (after extra time) over the Netherlands
 * England - FA Cup: Ipswich Town won 1-0 over Arsenal
 * England - League: Nottingham Forest won the championship as well as the League Cup

Golf
Men's golf
 * Grand Slam of golf results:
 * May - The Masters - Gary Player
 * June - US Open - Andy North
 * July - British Open - Jack Nicklaus
 * 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:
 * Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Roland Gardens
 * Epsom Derby - Shirley Heights
 * 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 by narrowly defeating Alydar in all three races:
 * Kentucky Derby - Affirmed, Alydar
 * Preakness Stakes - Affirmed, Alydar
 * Belmont Stakes - Affirmed, Alydar

Harness racing

 * United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
 * Cane Pace - Armbro Tiger
 * Little Brown Jug - Happy Escort
 * Messenger Stakes - Abercrombie


 * United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
 * Hambletonian - Speedy Somolli
 * Yonkers Trot - Speedy Somolli
 * 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

Snooker

 * World Snooker Championship: Ray Reardon beats Perrie Mans 25-18
 * World rankings: Ray Reardon remains world number one for 1978/79.

Speed skating

 * First ISU Short Track Speed Skating Championships for men and ladies held in Solihull, UK

Tennis

 * Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
 * Australian Open - Guillermo Vilas
 * French Open - Björn Borg
 * Wimbledon championships - Björn Borg
 * US Open - Jimmy Connors


 * Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
 * Australian Open - Chris O'Neil
 * French Open - Virginia Ruzici
 * Wimbledon championships - Martina Navratilova
 * US Open - Chris Evert


 * Davis Cup: United States won 4-1 over Great Britain in world tennis.
 * US Open moves to hard courts of the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York.
 * Total prize money at US Open exceeds US $500,000.

Triathlon

 * First Ironman Triathlon held in Hawaii

Water Polo

 * Men's World Championship in Berlin, West Germany
 * Gold Medal: Italy
 * Silver Medal: Hungary
 * Bronze Medal: Yugoslavia

General sporting events

 * Third All-Africa Games held in Algiers, Algeria


 * Eighth Asian Games held in Bangkok, Thailand


 * British Commonwealth Games held in Edmonton, Canada


 * Ninth Winter Universiade held in Špindlerův Mlýn, Czechoslovakia

January

 * January 4 &mdash; Dominik Hrbaty, Slovakian tennis player
 * January 8 &mdash; Gennaro Gattuso, Italian football player
 * January 12 &mdash; Bonaventura Kalou, Ivorian football (soccer) player
 * January 14 &mdash; Shawn Crawford, American athlete
 * January 17 &mdash; Petra Mandula, Hungarian tennis player
 * January 18 &mdash; Thor Hushovd, Norwegian cyclist
 * January 18 &mdash; Bogdan Lobont, Romanian football (soccer) player
 * January 18 &mdash; Stev Theloke, German swimmer
 * January 19 &mdash; Zbigniew Malkowski, Polish football (soccer) player
 * January 19 &mdash; Megan Sargeant, Australian field hockey player
 * January 20 &mdash; Lim Jung-Woo, South Korean field hockey player
 * January 26 &mdash; Corina Morariu, American tennis player
 * January 27 &mdash; Dipsy Selolwane, Botswana football (soccer) player
 * January 28 &mdash; Gianluigi Buffon, Italian football (soccer) player
 * January 28 &mdash; Takumo Sato, Japanese Formula 1-driver
 * January 28 &mdash; Paul Wettlaufer, Canadian field hockey player
 * January 31 &mdash; Clemens Arnold, German field hockey goalkeeper

February

 * February 3 &mdash; Beat Hefti, Swiss bobsledder
 * February 6 &mdash; Rustam Saidov, Uzbek boxer
 * February 17 &mdash; Amir Hadad, Israeli tennis player
 * February 28 &mdash; Benjamin Raich, Austrian skier
 * February 28 &mdash; Mariano Zabaleta, Argentinian tennis player

March

 * March 8 &mdash; Johanna Sjöberg, Swedish swimmer
 * March 14 &mdash; Pieter van den Hoogenband, Dutch swimmer
 * March 18 &mdash; Brooke Hanson, Australian swimmer
 * March 21 &mdash; Ronnie Jagday, Canadian field hockey player
 * March 24 &mdash; Eric Pacome N'Dri, Ivorian athlete
 * March 26 &mdash; Ron van der Hoff, Dutch archer

April

 * April 2 &mdash; Chiel Warners, Dutch athlete
 * April 3 &mdash; Tommy Haas, German tennis player
 * April 5 &mdash; Franziska van Almsick, German swimmer
 * April 7 &mdash; Vladimir Voltchkov, Belarussian tennis player
 * April 11 &mdash; Victor Sikora, Dutch football player
 * April 13 &mdash; Carles Puyol, Spanish football player
 * April 13 &mdash; Raemon Sluiter, Dutch tennis player
 * April 16 &mdash; Noam Okun, Israeli tennis player
 * April 20 &mdash; David Sánchez, Spanish tennis player
 * April 29 &mdash; Bob and Mike Bryan, American twins and tennis players

May

 * May 1 &mdash; Tracey Larson, American field hockey midfielder
 * May 2 &mdash; Matthew Wells, Australian field hockey defender
 * May 3 &mdash; Dai Tamesue, Japanese athlete
 * May 7 &mdash; Peter Wessels, Dutch tennis player
 * May 15 &mdash; Sue Rolph, British swimmer
 * May 26 &mdash; Dan Parks, Scottish rugby union footballer
 * May 29 &mdash; Sebastien Grosjean, French tennis player

June

 * June 1 &mdash; Aleksandar Šapić, Serbian water polo player
 * June 7 &mdash; Tomás MacCormik, Argentine field hockey midfielder
 * June 15 &mdash; Wilfred Bouma, Dutch football player
 * June 18 &mdash; Pablo ("Pol") Amat Escudé, Spanish field hockey striker
 * June 19 &mdash; Dirk Nowitzki, German NBA player
 * June 22 &mdash; José Meolans, Argentinian swimmer
 * June 24 &mdash; Shunsuke Nakamura, Japanese football player
 * June 24 &mdash; Juan Román Riquelme, Argentinian football player
 * June 26 &mdash; Mark Veens, Dutch swimmer

July

 * July 1 &mdash; Vladimer Tchanturia, Georgian boxer
 * July 4 &mdash; Fatima Moreiro de Melo, Dutch field hockey player
 * July 4 &mdash; Peter Mankoc, Slovenian swimmer
 * July 7 &mdash; Jana Toepel, American field hockey midfielder
 * July 11 &mdash; Massimiliano Rosolino, Italian swimmer
 * July 12 &mdash; Florien Cornelis, Dutch field hockey player
 * July 15 &mdash; Kim Baker, Canadian field hockey player
 * July 22 &mdash; Ishe Smith, American boxer
 * July 29 &mdash; Joseph Batangdon, Cameroonian sprints athlete
 * July 29 &mdash; Caroline Jack, South African field hockey goalkeeper

August

 * August 5 &mdash; Kim Gevaert, Belgian athlete
 * August 5 &mdash; Harel Levy, Israeli tennis player
 * August 9 &mdash; Wesley Sonck, Belgian football player
 * August 11 &mdash; Jermain Taylor, American boxer
 * August 12 &mdash; Jesse Mahieu, Dutch field hockey player
 * August 20 &mdash; Alberto Martin, Spanish tennis player
 * August 22 &mdash; Kutre Dulecha, Ethiopian middle distance runner
 * August 23 &mdash; Kobe Bryant, American basketball player
 * August 26 &mdash; Hestrie Cloete, South African high jumper
 * August 29 &mdash; Jens Boden, German speed skater

September

 * September 3 &mdash; Sam Oud, Dutch canoer
 * September 6 &mdash; Amy Agulay, Canadian field hockey player
 * September 10 &mdash; Jyoti Sunita Kullu, Indian field hockey player
 * September 13 &mdash; Jill Orbinson, Irish field hockey midfielder
 * September 15 &mdash; Kew Jaliens, Dutch football (soccer) player
 * September 21 &mdash; Alexander Heath, South African alpine skier
 * September 24 &mdash; Wietse van Alten, Dutch archer
 * September 26 &mdash; Gert-Jan Liefers, Dutch athlete
 * September 26 &mdash; Judith Meulendijks, Dutch badminton player
 * September 29 &mdash; Karel Klaver, Dutch field hockey player

October

 * October 3 &mdash; Claudio Pizarro, Peruvian football (soccer) striker
 * October 4 &mdash; Daniël Mensch, Dutch rower
 * October 8 &mdash; Ewout Holst, Dutch swimmer
 * October 9 &mdash; Jacob Carstensen, Danish swimmer
 * October 9 &mdash; Kristy Kowal, American swimmer
 * October 10 &mdash; Caroline Evers-Swindell, New Zealand rower
 * October 14 &mdash; Paul Hunter, British snooker player
 * October 16 &mdash; Andria Shannon, Canadian field hockey player
 * October 19 &mdash; Ruslan Chagaev, Uzbek boxer
 * October 20 &mdash; Virender Sehwag, Indian cricketer
 * October 25 &mdash; Matt Shirvington, Australian athlete
 * October 29 &mdash; Alwin de Prins, Luxembourgish swimmer
 * October 31 &mdash; Emmanuel Izonritei, Nigerian boxer
 * October 31 &mdash; Martin Verkerk, Dutch tennis player

November

 * November 1 &mdash; Andrew Smith, Australian field hockey striker
 * November 2 &mdash; Christian Gyan, Ghanaian football player
 * November 2 &mdash; Alexander Östlund, Swedish football player
 * November 6 &mdash; Dean Kent, New Zealand swimmer
 * November 7 &mdash; Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Dutch football player
 * November 8 &mdash; Tim de Cler, Dutch football player
 * November 12 &mdash; Eric Addo, Ghanaian football player
 * November 15 &mdash; Paul Miller, Australian boxer
 * November 22 &mdash; Francis Obikwelu, Nigerian-born athlete
 * November 27 &mdash; Radek Štěpánek, Czech tennis player

December

 * December 2 &mdash; Sven Coster, Dutch sailor
 * December 2 &mdash; Louisa Walter, German field hockey goalkeeper
 * December 9 &mdash; Gaston Gaudio, Argentinian tennis player
 * December 12 &mdash; Kassim Ouma, Ugandan boxer
 * December 14 &mdash; Patty Schnyder, Swiss tennis player
 * December 15 &mdash; Christophe Rochus, Belgian tennis player
 * December 16 &mdash; Rachel Imison, Australian field hockey goalkeeper
 * December 20 &mdash; Lechedzani Luza, Botswanan boxer
 * December 21 &mdash; Emiliano Brembilla, Italian swimmer
 * December 21 &mdash; Jackie Stiles, WNBA player
 * December 22 &mdash; Kristal Timmer, Canadian field hockey player
 * December 27 &mdash; Antje Buschschulte, German swimmer
 * December 29 &mdash; Kieron Dyer, English football player
 * December 29 &mdash; Wayne Fernandes, Canadian field hockey player
 * December 29 &mdash; Brian Pinas, Dutch football player

Deaths

 * January 13 &mdash; Joe McCarthy, baseball manager
 * January 21 &mdash; Dit Clapper, NHL player, Boston Bruins
 * March 20 &mdash; Jacques Brugnon, French tennis player (b. 1895)
 * March 27 &mdash; Sverre Farstad, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1920)
 * September 3 &mdash; Alexander Belov (26), USSR Olympic basketball player
 * September 15 &mdash; Ricardo Zamora (77), Spanish football player
 * September 23 &mdash; Lyman Bostock, Major League Baseball player
 * November 28 &mdash; Fernando Peyroteo (60), Angola-born Portuguese football player (b. 1918)