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Recap of the year 1983 in sports.


Athletics[]

  • February 27 - In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Ireland's Eamonn Coghlan set a new World Indoor Record for the mile, clocking 3:49.78.
  • First IAAF World Championships in Athletics held in Helsinki

Auto Racing[]

  • Stock car racing:
    • NASCAR Championship - Bobby Allison
    • Cale Yarborough won the Daytona 500
  • CART Racing - Al Unser won the season championship
    • Indianapolis 500 - Tom Sneva
  • Formula One Championship - Nelson Piquet of Brazil
  • 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Vern Schuppan / Al Holbert / Hurley Haywood won, driving a Porsche 956
  • Rally racing - Hannu Mikkola in an Audi won the World Rally Championship
    • the team of Walter Röhrl /Christian Geistdorfer won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Lancia 037
  • Drag racing - Gary Beck won the NHRA Top Fuel championship.

Baseball[]

  • January 12 - Brooks Robinson and Juan Marichal are elected to the Hall of Fame. Robinson, winner of 16 straight Gold Glove Awards and hero of the 1970 World Series, becomes the 14th player elected in his first year of eligibility. Marichal, the winningest Latin American pitcher in major league history, won 20 or more games six times and had an ERA of 2.50 or less six times.

See also 1983 in baseball

Basketball[]

Boxing[]

  • May 20 - For the first time ever, two world Heavyweight champions defend their titles the same night, at the same place: Larry Holmes retains the WBC title defeating future two time world champion Tim Witherspoon, and Michael Dokes retains his WBA title with a 15 round draw (tie) against former world champion Mike Weaver.
  • June 16 - Roberto Duran wins his third world title, knocking out WBA world Jr. Middleweight champion Davey Moore in eight rounds.
  • November 10 - Marvin Hagler retains his unified world Middleweight title with a 15 round unanimous decision over Roberto Duran. It was 1983's most anticipated bout.

Cricket[]

  • Cricket World Cup - India beat West Indies by 43 runs.
  • Asian Cricket Council formed.

Cycling[]

  • Giro d'Italia won by Giuseppe Saronni of Italy
  • Tour de France - Laurent Fignon of France
  • World Cycling Championship: Greg Lemond of the United States

Dogsled racing[]

  • Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
    • Rick Mackey won with lead dogs: Preacher & Jody

Field Hockey[]

  • Men's European Nations Cup in Amstelveen, The Netherlands
    • Gold Medal: The Netherlands
    • Silver Medal: Soviet Union
    • Bronze Medal: West Germany
  • Men's Champions Trophy in Karachi, Pakistan
    • Gold Medal: Australia
    • Silver Medal: Pakistan
    • Bronze Medal: West Germany
  • Pan American Games (Men's Competition) in Caracas, Venezuela
    • Gold Medal: Canada
    • Silver Medal: Argentina
    • Bronze Medal: Chile
  • Women's World Cup Qualifier Tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    • Gold Medal: Ireland
    • Silver Medal: Spain
    • Bronze Medal: Malaysia
  • Women's World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    • Gold Medal: The Netherlands
    • Silver Medal: Canada
    • Bronze Medal: Australia
  • March 12 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium, England. England beat West Germany 3-2.

Figure Skating[]

  • World Figure Skating Championships:
    • Men's champion: Scott Hamilton, (United States)
    • Women's champion: Rosalynn Sumners, (United States)
    • Pairs champions: Jelena Walowa & Oleg Wassiljew, (Soviet Union)
    • Ice Dance champions: Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean (Great Britain)

Football (American)[]

Football (Australian Rules)[]

  • Victorian Football League
    • Hawthorn wins the 87th VFL Premiership (Hawthorn 20.20 (140) d Essendon 8.9 (57))
    • Brownlow Medal awarded to Ross Glendinning (North Melbourne)

Football (Canadian)[]

  • Grey Cup: Toronto Argonauts won 18-17 over the B.C. Lions
  • Vanier Cup: Calgary Dinos won 31-21 over the Queen's Golden Gaels

Football (Soccer)[]

  • UEFA Champions League: Hamburg 1-0 Juventus
  • UEFA Cup: Two legs; 1st leg Anderlecht 1-0 Benfica; 2nd leg Benfica 1-1 Anderlecht; Anderlecht won 2-1 on aggregate
  • Cup Winners' Cup: Aberdeen 2-1 Real Madrid (AET)
  • Super Cup: Two legs; 1st leg Hamburg 0-0 Aberdeen; 2nd leg Aberdeen 2-0 Hamburg; Aberdeen won 2-0 on aggregate
  • Copa Libertadores de América: Two legs; 1st leg Peñarol 1-1 Grêmio; 2nd leg Grêmio 2-1 Peñarol; Grêmio won 3-2 on aggregate
  • League champions
  • England - FA Cup: Manchester United won 2 - 2 (aet); 4 - 0 (replay) over Brighton & Hove Albion
  • FIFA decided to give to Mexico the right to host the Football World Cup 1986 after Colombia announced the reject to celebrate the event.

Gaelic Athletic Association[]

  • Camogie
    • All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Cork
    • National Camogie League: Dublin
  • Gaelic football
    • All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Dublin 1-10 d. Galway 1-8
    • National Football League: Down 1-8 d. Armagh 0-8
  • Ladies' Gaelic football
    • All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Kerry
    • National Football League: Kerry
  • Hurling
    • All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Kilkenny 3-18 d. Cork 1-13
    • National Hurling League:

Golf[]

Men's Golf

  • Major championship results:
    1. April - The Masters - Seve Ballesteros
    2. June - US Open - Larry Nelson
    3. July - British Open - Tom Watson
    4. August - PGA Championship - Hal Sutton
  • PGA Tour leading money winner for the year: Hal Sutton - $426,668
  • Champions Tour leading money winner: Don January - $237,571
  • Ryder Cup: United States won 14 1/2 - 13 1/2 over Europe in world team golf.

Women's Golf

  • US Women's Open - Jan Stephenson
  • LPGA Championship - Patty Sheehan
  • JoAnne Carner:leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $291,404.

Thoroughbred Horse Racing[]

  • February 8 - the great Shergar was kidnapped from Ballymany Stud, near the Curragh in County Kildare, Ireland. No trace of the horse has ever been found.
  • Australia - Melbourne Cup - Kiwi
  • Canada - Queen's Plate - Bompago
  • France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - All Along
  • Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Shareef Dancer
  • English Triple Crown Races:
    1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Lomond
    2. Epsom Derby - Teenoso
    3. St. Leger Stakes - Sun Princess
  • United States Triple Crown Races:
  • Sunny's Halo becomes on the second Canadian bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby.
    1. Kentucky Derby - Sunny's Halo
    2. Preakness Stakes - Deputed Testamony
    3. Belmont Stakes - Caveat

Harness Racing[]

  • Ralph Hanover wins the United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
    1. Cane Pace - Ralph Hanover
    2. Little Brown Jug - Ralph Hanover
    3. Messenger Stakes - Ralph Hanover
  • United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
    1. Hambletonian - Duenna
    2. Yonkers Trot
    3. Kentucky Futurity
  • Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
    • Pacers: Gammalite
    • Trotters: Scotch Notch

Ice Hockey[]

  • Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
  • World Hockey Championship:
    • Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia
    • Junior Men's champion: USSR defetated Czechoslovakia

Radiosport[]

  • First European High Speed Telegraphy Championships held in Moscow, Russia.

Sailing[]

  • Alan Bond and his team from Australia defeated Dennis Conner and his team from the United States to capture the America's Cup of yacht racing. For 132 years, from 1850-1980, and through 25 challenges, the America's Cup had been held by the United States.
  • 61 year old potato farmer Cliff Young wins Sydney-Melbourne Foot Race

Skiing[]

  • Alpine Skiing
    • The men's overall season champion: Phil Mahre, USA
    • The women's overall season champion: Tamara McKinney, USA

Snooker[]

Tennis[]

  • Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
    1. Australian Open - Mats Wilander
    2. French Open - Yannick Noah
    3. Wimbledon championships - John McEnroe
    4. US Open - Jimmy Connors
  • Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
    1. Australian Open - Martina Navratilova
    2. French Open - Chris Evert
    3. Wimbledon championships - Martina Navratilova
    4. US Open - Martina Navratilova
  • Davis Cup: Australia won 3-2 over Sweden in world tennis.

General sporting events[]

  • Ninth Pan American Games held in Caracas, Colombia
  • Ninth Mediterranean Games held in Casablanca, Morocco
  • Twelfth Summer Universiade held in Edmonton, Canada
  • Eleventh Winter Universiade held in Sofia, Bulgaria
  • January 18 - The International Olympic Committee restores the medals to the family of Jim Thorpe

Births[]

January-April[]

  • January 7Marc Burns, Trinidad and Tobago athlete
  • January 13Marsha Marescia, South African field hockey player
  • January 16Marta Marrero, Spanish tennis player
  • January 25Brian Mayanja, Ugandan boxer
  • February 11Rafael van der Vaart, Dutch football (soccer) player
  • February 13Santi Freixa, Spanish field hockey striker
  • February 13 — Bradley Shaw, New Zealand field hockey player
  • February 14Bacary Sagna, French footballer
  • February 18Roberta Vinci, Italian tennis player
  • February 23Mido, Egyptian football (soccer) player
  • February 25Eduardo da Silva, Brazilian born Croatian footballer
  • February 26Floris Evers, Dutch field hockey player
  • February 27Duje Draganja, Croatian swimmer
  • March 10Elena Bovina, Russian tennis player
  • March 13Kaitlin Sandeno, American swimmer
  • March 14Bakhtiyar Artayev, Kazakh boxer
  • March 15Carlos José Tamara, Colombian boxer
  • April 12Jelena Dokic, Serbian tennis player
  • April 13Schalk Burger, South African rugby player
  • April 15Ilya Kovalchuk, Russian NHL player
  • April 17Miguel Cabrera, Major League Baseball player
  • April 23Daniela Hantuchova, Slovak tennis player

May-June[]

  • May 5Matt Naylor, Australian field hockey player
  • May 6Connor Grimes, Canadian field hockey player
  • May 7Marco Galiazzo, Italian archer
  • May 17Nicky Hofs, Dutch football player
  • May 17 — Danko Lazović, Serbian football player
  • May 21Diego Camacho, Bolivian tennis player
  • May 24Thomas Felten, Dutch swimmer
  • May 27Bobby Convey, American football player
  • June 6Joe Rokocoko, New Zealand rugby player
  • June 8Kim Clijsters, Belgian tennis player
  • June 12Christine Sinclair, Canadian soccer player
  • June 13Gerson Magraõ, Brazilian football player

July-September[]

  • July 5Jie Zheng, Chinese tennis player
  • July 14Igor Andreev, Russian tennis player
  • July 23Aaron Peirsol, American swimmer
  • July 26Naomi van As, Dutch field hockey player
  • August 6Robin van Persie, Dutch football player
  • August 12Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Dutch football player
  • August 18Georgina Bardach, Argentine swimmer
  • August 20Leonoor Voskamp, Dutch field hockey player
  • August 22Theo Bos, Dutch track cyclist
  • August 31Alex Blackwell, Australian cricketer
  • August 31 — Kate Blackwell, Australian cricketer
  • September 16Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabwean swimmer
  • September 22Glenn Loovens, Dutch football player
  • September 23Carly Piper, American swimmer
  • September 24Lyndon Ferns, South African swimmer
  • September 29Ricardo Quaresma, Portuguese football player
  • September 30Andreea Răducan, Romanian gymnast

October-December[]

  • October 2Prakash Amritraj, Indian tennis player
  • October 5Florian Mayer, German tennis player from
  • October 7José David Mosquera, Colombian boxer
  • October 11Ruslan Ponomariov, Ukrianian chess player
  • October 16Philipp Kohlschreiber, German tennis player
  • October 16 — Ramaz Nozadze, Georgian wrestler
  • October 24Brian Vickers, NASCAR driver
  • November 15John Heitinga, Dutch football player
  • November 15 — Fernando Verdasco, Spanish tennis player
  • November 17Jodie Henry, Australian swimmer
  • November 24André Bahia, Brazilian football player
  • December 6Bryan Habana, South African rugby player
  • December 13Otylia Jędrzejczak, Polish swimmer
  • December 21Niels Scheuneman, Dutch cyclist

Deaths[]

  • Adios Butlerharness racing horse
  • January 24Juan Carlos Zabala, Argentine athlete (b. 1911)
  • January 26Del Rice, Major League Baseball player
  • January 26 — Paul "Bear" Bryant college football coach at Alabama
  • February 1Tullio Campagnolo, Italian bicycle manufacturer
  • February 14Lina Radke (79), German athlete (b. 1903)
  • February 22Romain Maes, Belgian cyclist
  • March 13Louison Bobet, French cyclist
  • April 23Buster Crabbe, U.S. Olympic swimming gold medalist turned actor
  • April 24Rolf Stommelen, German racing driver, killed in an IMSA race
  • April 28Ron James, Australian cricketer
  • April 17Dutch Leonard, Major League Baseball player (b. 1909)
  • May 31Jack Dempsey, American world champion boxer
  • June 27Don Ida, balloonist, killed during a race
  • June 27 — Maxie Anderson, balloonist, killed during a race
  • June 29Joe Delaney, football player, Kansas City Chiefs, a true hero, after rescuing one boy, he drowned while attempting to rescue 2 more
  • July 7Vic Wertz, Major League Baseball player
  • July 28Alec Marks, Australian cricketer
  • August 12Henry Gifford Vivian, New Zealand cricketer
  • September 08Antonin Magne, French cylist
  • October 31George Halas, National Football League coach, Chicago Bears
  • November 15Charlie Grimm, Major League Baseball player
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