1980

Auto Racing

 * Stock car racing:
 * NASCAR Championship - Dale Earnhardt
 * Buddy Baker won the Daytona 500
 * CART Racing - Johnny Rutherford won the season championship
 * Indianapolis 500 - Johnny Rutherford
 * Formula One Champion - Alan Jones of Australia
 * 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Jean Rondeau / Jean-Pierre Jaussaud won, driving a Rondeau M379B
 * Rally racing - Walter Röhrl in a Fiat won the World Rally Championship
 * the team of Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdorfer won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Fiat 131 Abarth
 * Drag racing - Shirley Muldowney won the NHRA Top Fuel championship.

Baseball

 * September 18: Outfielder Gary Ward become the sixth Minnesota Twins player to hit for the cycle. The Twins lose 9-8 to the Milwaukee Brewers, wasting Ward's effort. On May 26, 2004 his son, Daryle Ward, will repeat the feat guiding the Pirates' 11-8 victory over the Cardinals. Ward joined his father to become the first father-son combination in major league history to hit for the cycle.


 * Rollie Fingers breaks Hoyt Wilhelm's major league record of 227 career saves.


 * 1980 World Series: The Philadelphia Phillies of the National League end 97 years of frustration by defeating the American League champion Kansas City Royals.


 * Japan's Sadaharu Oh retires from the Yomiuri Giants as the all time professional baseball home run king.

Basketball

 * NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament:
 * Louisville wins 59-54 over UCLA


 * NBA Finals:
 * Los Angeles Lakers won 4 games to 2 over the Philadelphia 76ers

Boxing

 * March 14 - 22 members of the United States Olympic boxing team died in a plane crash near Warsaw, Poland
 * June 20- Roberto Duran defeats Sugar Ray Leonard by a 15 round decision to win boxing's WBC world Welterweight title.
 * August 2- Thomas Hearns defeats Jose Pipino Cuevas by a knockout in round 2 to win boxing's WBA world Welterweight title and Yasutsune Uehara knocks out Samuel Serrano in round six to win the WBA's world Jr. Lightweight title in Detroit
 * In Cincinnati, Aaron Pryor defeats Antonio Kid Pambele Cervantes by a knockout in round four to win the WBA's world Jr. Welterweight title.
 * October 2- Larry Holmes defeats Muhammad Ali by a knockout in round eleven to retain boxing's WBC world Heavyweight title, in what would be Ali's last world title bout.
 * November 25- In The No Más Fight, in Montreal, Quebec, Sugar Ray Leonard recovers the WBC's world Welterweight championship with an eight round technical knockout of Roberto Duran.

Cycling

 * Giro d'Italia won by Bernard Hinault of France
 * Tour de France - Joop Zoetemelk of the Netherlands
 * World Cycling Championship: Bernard Hinault of France

Field Hockey

 * Men's Champions Trophy in Karachi, Pakistan
 * Gold Medal: Pakistan
 * Silver Medal: West Germany
 * Bronze Medal: Australia


 * Olympic Games (Men's Competition) in Moscow, Soviet Union
 * Gold Medal: India
 * Silver Medal: Spain
 * Bronze Medal: Soviet Union


 * March 8 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium,England. England beat Scotland 2-0.
 * August - In the first ever Olympic women's Field Hockey Final, Zimbabwe are the Olympic champions.

Figure Skating

 * World Figure Skating Championships:
 * Men's champion: Jan Hoffmann, Germany
 * Women's champion: Anett Pötzsch, Germany
 * Pairs champions: Marina Tscherkasowa & Sergej Schachrai, Soviet Union

Football (American)

 * Super Bowl XIV: Pittsburgh Steelers won 31-19 over the Los Angeles Rams

Football (Australian Rules)

 * Victorian Football League
 * Richmond wins the 84th VFL Premiership (Richmond 23.21 (159) d Collingwood 9.24 (78))
 * Brownlow Medal awarded to Kelvin Templeton (Footscray)

Football (Canadian)

 * Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos win 48-10 over the Hamilton Tigercats
 * Vanier Cup: Alberta Golden Bears win 40-21 over the Ottawa Gee Gees

Football (Soccer)

 * European Championship: West Germany 2-1 Belgium
 * European Cup: Nottingham Forest 1-0 Hamburg
 * UEFA Cup: 2 legs, Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-2 Eintracht Frankfurt; Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 Borussia Mönchengladbach, 3-3 on aggregate, Frankfurt win on away goals
 * Cup Winners' Cup: Valencia 0-0 Arsenal (AET), Valencia won 5-4 on penalties
 * England - FA Cup: West Ham United won 1-0 over Arsenal

Gaelic Athletic Association

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


 * Gaelic football
 * All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Kerry 1-9 d. Roscommon 1-6
 * National Football League: Cork 0-11 d. Kerry 0-10


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


 * Hurling
 * All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Galway 2-15 d. Limerick 3-9
 * National Hurling League:

Golf
Men's Golf
 * January - the Senior PGA Tour (Champions Tour) is founded.


 * Major championship results:
 * May - The Masters - Seve Ballesteros
 * June - US Open - Jack Nicklaus
 * July - British Open - Tom Watson
 * August - PGA Championship - Jack Nicklaus


 * PGA Tour leading money winner for the year: Tom Watson - $530,808
 * Champions Tour - In its first year, Don January is the leading money winner with earnings of $44,100.

Women's Golf
 * US Women's Open - Amy Alcott
 * LPGA Championship - Sally Little
 * Beth Daniel: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $231,000.

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

 * Australia - Melbourne Cup - Beldale Ball
 * Canada - Queen's Plate - Driving Home
 * France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Detroit
 * Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Tyrnavos


 * English Triple Crown Races:
 * Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Known Fact
 * Epsom Derby - Henbit
 * St. Leger Stakes - Light Cavalry


 * United States Triple Crown Races:
 * Kentucky Derby - Genuine Risk
 * Preakness Stakes - Codex
 * Belmont Stakes - Temperence Hill

Harness Racing

 * Superhorse, Niatross wins the United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
 * Cane Pace - Niatross
 * Little Brown Jug - Niatross
 * Messenger Stakes - Niatross


 * United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
 * Hambletonian - Burgomeister
 * Yonkers Trot
 * Kentucky Futurity


 * Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
 * Pacers: Koala King
 * Trotters: Hano Direct

Ice Hockey
See 1980 in ice hockey

Radiosport

 * First Amateur Radio Direction Finding World Championships held in Cetniewo, Poland.

Skiing

 * Alpine Skiing
 * The men's overall season champion: Andreas Wenzel, Liechtenstein
 * The women's overall season champion: Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein

January 12 - Canada’s Ken Read, the leader of the "Crazy Canucks" ski team, wins the Hahnenkamm downhill in Kitzbühel, Austria, becoming the first North American to ever win the classic race.

Snooker

 * World Snooker Championship: Cliff Thorburn beats Alex Higgins 18-16, becoming the first non-UK player to win the title
 * World rankings: Ray Reardon remains world number one for 1980/81

Tennis

 * Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
 * Australian Open - Brian Teacher
 * French Open - Björn Borg
 * Wimbledon championships - Björn Borg
 * US Open - John McEnroe


 * Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
 * Australian Open - Hana Mandlikova
 * French Open - Chris Evert
 * Wimbledon championships - Evonne Goolagong Cawley
 * US Open - Chris Evert


 * Davis Cup World tennis - Czechoslovakia defeated Italy 4-1.

General sporting events

 * 1980 Summer Olympics takes place in Moscow, USSR
 * USSR wins the most medals (195), and the most gold medals (80).


 * 1980 Winter Olympics takes place in Lake Placid, United States
 * GDR wins the most medals (23), and the USSR wins the most gold medals (10).


 * Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
 * Joe May won with lead dogs: Wilbur & Cora Gray

January

 * January 3 &mdash; Angela Ruggiero, American ice hockey defenseman
 * January 12 &mdash; Akiko Morigami, Japanese female tennis player
 * January 14 &mdash; Taeke Taekema, Dutch field hockey player
 * January 19 &mdash; Jenson Button, British Formula 1-driver
 * January 19 &mdash; Matic Osovnikar, Slovenian track and field athlete
 * January 25 &mdash; Xavi Hernández, Spanish football (soccer) player
 * January 25 &mdash; Christian Olsson, Swedish athlete
 * January 27 &mdash; Sherzod Husanov, Uzbek boxer
 * January 27 &mdash; Marat Safin, Russian tennis player
 * January 27 &mdash; Jiří Welsch, Czech basketball player

February

 * February 2 &mdash; Kyle Pontifex, New Zealand field hockey goalkeeper
 * February 3 &mdash; Craig Victory, Australian field hockey player
 * February 9 &mdash; Angelos Charisteas, Greek football (soccer) player
 * February 10 &mdash; Gordon D'Arcy, Irish rugby player
 * February 11 &mdash; Karin Ruckstuhl, Dutch athlete
 * February 12 &mdash; Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spanish tennis player
 * February 16 &mdash; Miguel Espino, American professional boxer
 * February 20 &mdash; Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby player
 * February 20 &mdash; Bram Som, Dutch athlete
 * February 24 &mdash; Roman Sloudnov, Russian swimmer
 * February 26 &mdash; Alex Fong, Hong Kong swimmer and actor
 * February 28 &mdash; Pascal Bosschaart, Dutch football (soccer) player

March

 * March 1 &mdash; Shahid Afridi, Pakistani cricketer
 * March 6 &mdash; Emma Igelström, Swedish swimmer
 * March 9 &mdash; Sofia Konoukh, Russian water polo player
 * March 12 &mdash; California Molefe, Botswanan athlete
 * March 15 &mdash; Deidra Graham, American gymnast
 * March 15 &mdash; Josefin Lillhage, Swedish swimmer
 * March 18 &mdash; Alexei Yagudin, Russian figure skater
 * March 21 &mdash; Ronaldinho, Brazilian football (soccer) player
 * March 27 &mdash; Toni Cronk, Australian field hockey goalkeeper
 * March 30 &mdash; Liriel Higa, American rhythmic gymnast
 * March 31 &mdash; Jenny Smith, Australian gymnast

April

 * April 1 &mdash; Maartje Scheepstra, Dutch field hockey player
 * April 2 &mdash; Suriya Prasathinphimai, Thai boxer
 * April 4 &mdash; Bekzat Sattarkhanov, Kazakhstani boxer
 * April 4 &mdash; Mark Tuitert, Dutch speed skater
 * April 6 &mdash; Tanja Poutiainen, Finnish alpine skier
 * April 9 &mdash; Kristin Lee, American rhythmic gymnast
 * April 10 &mdash; Andy Ram, Israeli tennis player
 * April 12 &mdash; Terence Parkin, South African swimmer
 * April 18 &mdash; Michael Lee, Canadian field hockey player
 * April 22 &mdash; Monica Flammer, American gymnast
 * April 25 &mdash; Phillip Burrows, New Zealand field hockey player

May

 * May 6 &mdash; Brooke Bennett, American swimmer
 * May 6 &mdash; Kasumi Takahashi, Australian rhythmic gymnast
 * May 7 &mdash; Johan Kenkhuis, Dutch swimmer
 * May 8 &mdash; Steven Ferguson, New Zealand swimmer and canoer
 * May 9 &mdash; Grant Hackett, Australian swimmer
 * May 9 &mdash; Angela Nikodinov, American figure skater
 * May 10 &mdash; Kate Walsh, English field hockey player
 * May 14 &mdash; Joe van Niekerk, South African rugby player
 * May 14 &mdash; Eugene Martineau, Dutch athlete
 * May 15 &mdash; Yvonne Hijgenaar, Dutch cyclist
 * May 16 &mdash; Nuria Llagostera Vives, Spanish female tennis player
 * May 18 &mdash; Michael Llodra, French tennis player
 * May 18 &mdash; Sam Rukundo, Ugandan boxer
 * May 23 &mdash; Sarah Catherwood, New Zealand swimmer
 * May 27 &mdash; Jessica Deglau, Canadian swimmer
 * May 31 &mdash; Edith Bosch, Dutch judoka

June

 * June 1 &mdash; Aghasi Mammadov, Azerbaijani boxer
 * June 2 &mdash; Shingo Suetsugu, Japanese track and field athlete
 * June 7 &mdash; Ed Moses, American swimmer
 * June 9 &mdash; Udonis Haslem, American basketball player
 * June 16 &mdash; Thijs Al, Dutch mountainbiker
 * June 17 &mdash; Brittney McConn, American figure skater
 * June 17 &mdash; Andee Pickens, American gymnast
 * June 17 &mdash; Venus Williams, American tennis player
 * June 19 &mdash; Sanjay Ayre, Jamaican athlete
 * June 23 &mdash; Manus Boonjumnong, Thai boxer
 * June 23 &mdash; Ramnaresh Sarwan, Guyanese cricketer
 * June 30 &mdash; Nourdin Boukhari, Moroccan-born footballe player

July

 * July 1 &mdash; Matthijs Brouwer, Dutch field hockey player
 * July 3 &mdash; Roland Mark Schoeman, South African swimmer
 * July 6 &mdash; Pau Gasol, Catalan NBA player
 * July 7 &mdash; Michelle Kwan, American figure skater
 * July 8 &mdash; Robbie Keane, Irish football player
 * July 10 &mdash; Adam Petty, fourth-generation NASCAR driver (d. 2000)
 * July 16 &mdash; Travis Brooks, Australian field hockey player
 * July 17 &mdash; Rashid Ramzi, Moroccan-born athlete
 * July 19 &mdash; Xavier Malisse, Belgian tennisplayer
 * July 21 &mdash; Tom Soetaers, Belgian football player
 * July 22 &mdash; Dirk Kuijt, Dutch football player
 * July 29 &mdash; Fernando González, Chilean tennis player

August

 * August 1 &mdash; Grant Schubert, Australian field hockey player
 * August 12 &mdash; Blair Hopping, New Zealand field hockey player
 * August 13 &mdash; Justus Scharowsky, German field hockey player
 * August 29 &mdash; Perdita Felicien, world champion track and field star
 * August 29 &mdash; Corina Ungureanu, Romanian gymnast
 * August 30 &mdash; Michael Boyce, Australian field hockey player
 * August 31 &mdash; Hayden Shaw, New Zealand field hockey player

September

 * September 1 &mdash; Ryan Archibald, New Zealand field hockey player
 * September 1 &mdash; Dawn Holden, English cricketer
 * September 6 &mdash; Samuel Peter, Nigerian heavyweight boxer
 * September 8 &mdash; Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, South African middle distance runner
 * September 10 &mdash; Timothy Goebel, American figure skater
 * September 10 &mdash; Tahar Tamsamani, Moroccan boxer
 * September 12 &mdash; Yao Ming, Chinese NBA player
 * September 13 &mdash; Daisuke Matsuzaka, Japanese baseball player
 * September 13 &mdash; Viren Rasquinha, Indian field hockey player
 * September 14 &mdash; Luis Horna, Peruvian tennis player
 * September 18 &mdash; Wendy Alcorn, Australian field hockey player
 * September 19 &mdash; Dimitri Yachvili, French rugby union player
 * September 20 &mdash; Vladimir Karpets, Russian cyclist
 * September 30 &mdash; Martina Hingis, Swiss tennis player
 * September 30 &mdash; Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz, Cuban boxer

October

 * October 2 &mdash; Amy Tran, American field hockey goalkeeper
 * October 3 &mdash; Sarah Collyer, English cricketer
 * October 7 &mdash; Andrei Kapralov, Russian swimmer
 * October 8 &mdash; Kasper Bøgelund, Danish football (soccer) player
 * October 10 &mdash; Megan Rivers, Australian field hockey player
 * October 13 &mdash; Scott Parker, English football player
 * October 15 &mdash; Tom Boonen, Belgian cyclist
 * October 19 &mdash; Anna-Karin Kammerling, Swedish swimmer
 * October 20 &mdash; Denise Durajski, Australian field hockey player
 * October 21 &mdash; Mike Danton, Canadian ice hockey player, accused of murder
 * October 26 &mdash; Christian Chivu, Romanian football (soccer) player
 * October 28 &mdash; Alfonso Gomez, Mexican boxer
 * October 31 &mdash; Geert-Jan Derikx, Dutch field hockey player

November

 * November 21 &mdash; Danielle Hartsell, American pairs skater
 * November 26 &mdash; Peter Manfredo, American boxer

December

 * December 2 &mdash; Nathan Eglington, Australian field hockey player
 * December 4 &mdash; Hicham Mesbahi, Moroccan boxer
 * December 4 &mdash; Sergio Mora, American boxer
 * December 18 &mdash; Marian Drăgulescu, Romanian gymnast
 * December 28 &mdash; Lomana LuaLua, Congolese football (soccer) player
 * December 29 &mdash; Andrea Lenders, Dutch gymnast

Deaths

 * January 1 &mdash; Frank Wykoff (70), American track and field athlete sprinter
 * January 12 &mdash; Hans Ebeling, Australian cricketer
 * January 25 &mdash; Peter Haughton, harness racing driver - auto accident
 * February 28 &mdash; Ian Peebles, English cricketer
 * March 18 &mdash; Herman Griffith, West Indian cricketer
 * March 21 &mdash; Marcel Boussac, French horse racing tycoon
 * March 31 &mdash; Jesse Owens, American athlete
 * April 2 &mdash; Dick Howorth, English cricketer
 * May 2 &mdash; Clarrie Grimmett, Australian cricketer
 * June 1 &mdash; Richard Marquard (90), US baseball pitcher
 * June 10 &mdash; Denys Morkel, South African cricketer
 * July 18 &mdash; Naoomal Jeoomal, Indian cricketer
 * August 2 &mdash; Verdun Scott, New Zealand cricketer
 * August 6 &mdash; Charles Urbanus (66), Dutch baseball player
 * August 21 &mdash; Jack Cheetham, South African cricketer
 * September 8 &mdash; Bruce Dooland, English cricketer
 * October 10 &mdash; Walter Keeton, English cricketer
 * October 25 &mdash; Victor Galindez, light heavyweight world champion boxing, in car race accident
 * December 4 &mdash; Stanisława Walasiewicz or Stella Walsh (69), Polish-American athlete (b. 1911)
 * December 5 &mdash; Don Taylor, New Zealand cricketer
 * December 28 &mdash; Amir Elahi, Pakistani cricketer
 * December 31 &mdash; Arthur Wellard, English cricketer