- Jan 1 42nd Orange Bowl: #3 Oklahoma beats #5 Michigan, 14-6
Paul Brown Retires
Jan 1 After 45 years of coaching, Paul Brown (Cleveland Browns; Cincinnati Bengals) announces his retirement from the National Football League
Goolagong's 3rd Win
Jan 3 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Australian Evonne Goolagong Cawley beats Renata Tomanova of Czechoslovakia 6-2, 6-2 for her 3rd straight home singles title
Steelers Defeat Raiders
Jan 4 AFC Championship, Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Oakland Raiders, 16-10
Edmondson Defeats Newcombe
Jan 4 Australian Open Men's Tennis: In an all-Australian final Mark Edmondson upsets John Newcombe 6-7, 6-3, 7-6, 6-1 for his first and only Grand Slam title
- Jan 4 NFC Championship, LA Memorial Coliseum: Dallas Cowboys beat Los Angeles Rams, 37-7
Chappell's 182 Not Out
Jan 5 Greg Chappell scores 182* for Australia at SCG against West Indies
Turner Buys Atlanta Braves
Jan 6 Ted Turner purchases Atlanta Braves for reported $12 million
Trottier's Penalty Fail
Jan 9 Bryan Trottier failed in 4th Islander penalty shot
Hamill's 3rd Championship
Jan 11 Dorothy Hamill wins her 3rd consecutive national figure skating championship
- Jan 13 Future undisputed world middleweight boxing champion Marvin Hagler suffers his first career loss in a controversial 10-round majority decision to Bobby Watts at the Philadelphia Spectrum
- Jan 14 Ted Turner becomes CEO of Atlanta Braves
- Jan 18 Super Bowl X, Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, FL: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Dallas Cowboys, 21-17; MVP: Lynn Swann, Pittsburgh, WR
- Jan 20 29th NHL All-Star Game, Spectrum, Philadelphia: Wales Conference beats Campbell Conference, 7-5; MVP: Peter Mahovlich, Montreal, C
- Jan 23 Ian Redpath hits his only 2 sixes in Cricket Tests, v WI Adelaide
- Jan 23 Washington Capitals end 25 game winless streak (0-22-3) beat NY Rangers 7-5
- Jan 24 Cleveland Cavaliers score their biggest margin of victory to date (43 points), when they beat Milwaukee 132-89
Foreman vs. Lyle
Jan 24 Former world heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman KOs Ron Lyle in 5th round at Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas; Foreman knocked down twice in 4th; 'The Ring' Fight of the Year
- Jan 26 NFL Pro Bowl, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans: NFC beats AFC, 23-20; MVP: Billy Johnson, Houston Oilers, WR
Richards' 1st Test Century
Jan 27 Viv Richards scores his 1st Test century against Australia
- Jan 28 NBA Atlanta Hawks begin a 28 game road losing streak
- Jan 30 1st-class debut of Australian cricketer Dav Whatmore, in Johannesburg, South Africa
- Jan 31 In his final Test, West Indian cricket spin bowler Lance Gibbs dismisses Australian opener Ian Redpath for 101 in 6th Test in Melbourne; becomes highest Test wicket-taker at 308
- Feb 1 62nd Rose Bowl: #11 UCLA beats #1 Ohio State, 23-10
- Feb 2 Roger Connor, Fred Lindstrom & umpire Cal Hubbard elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
- Feb 3 26th NBA All-Star Game, Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pa: East beats West, 123-109; MVP: Dave Bing, Washington Bullets, PG
- Feb 4 XII Winter Olympic Games open in Innsbruck, Austria
- Feb 5 Last day of Test cricket for West Indian spin bowler Lance Gibbs & Australian opening batsman Ian Redpath, 6th Test in Melbourne
Sittler's 10 Points
Feb 7 Toronto center Darryl Sittler sets NHL record with 10 points in a Maple Leafs' 11-4 win over Boston at Maple Leaf Gardens; 6 goals, 4 assists
- Feb 9 Oscar Charleston selected to baseball's Hall of Fame
- Feb 11 John Curry wins Britain's first Olympic gold medal in figure skating at Innsbruck Winter Games; finishes men's singles ahead of Soviet skater Vladimir Kovalyov and Canadian Toller Cranston
- Feb 13 American Dorothy Hamill wins the free skate to clinch the women's figure-skating gold medal at the Innsbruck Winter Olympics
Daytona 500
Feb 15 18th Daytona 500: David Pearson makes contact with Richard Petty just yards from finish line into a wall and to infield; Petty stalls whilst Pearson restarts to win
- Feb 15 XII Winter Olympic Games close in Innsbruck, Austria
- Feb 17 NZ scores their 1st innings win in Test Cricket, v India
Sports History
Feb 17 Richard Hadlee takes 7-23 New Zealand v India, his 1st match-winning spell
Ali KOs Coopman
Feb 20 Muhammad Ali's bout against Belgian boxer Jean Pierre Coopman in San Juan, Puerto Rico is often regarded as a glorified sparring session; Ali wins by 5th round KO
- Feb 29 American driver Richard Petty wins the only Winston Cup race run on Leap Day, taking the Carolina 500 at Rockingham by 2 laps over Darrell Waltrip
PGA Players Championship
Mar 1 PGA Tournament Players Championship, Inverrary CC: Jack Nicklaus wins his second TPC title, 3 strokes ahead of runner-up J. C. Snead
- Mar 4 MLB's San Francisco Giants are bought for $8 million by Bob Lurie and Bud Herseth
- Mar 6 23rd ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: Virginia beats North Carolina, 67-62
- Mar 6 European Men's Figure Skating Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden won by John Curry (Great Britain)
- Mar 6 Ice Dance Championship at Gothenburg won by Pakhomova & Gorshkov (URS)
Sports History
Mar 6 In his 10th title defense, WBA light welterweight champion Antonio Cervantes of Colombia is beaten by 17-year-old Puerto Rican boxer Wilfred Benítez in a 15-round split decision in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Benitez youngest ever world champion
- Mar 6 Wales clinch their 7th Five Nations Rugby Championship title, 7th Grand Slam and 13th Triple Crown with a 19-13 win over France at the National Stadium, Cardiff
- Mar 6 Worlds Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Gothenburg won by American Dorothy Hamill
Sports History
Mar 14 Jockey Bill Shoemaker wins his 7,000th race
- Mar 17 Boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter is retried in the US after being convicted of murder in 1967 (sentence is upheld but overturned 1985)
- Mar 28 AIAW Women's Basketball Tournament, Delta States beat Immaculata, 69-64 at Pennsylvania State University
- Mar 29 38th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Indiana beats Michigan, 86-68; first time 2 teams from same conference (Big Ten) play in title game
- Mar 31 Cleveland Cavaliers beat Jazz, 110-101 in New Orleans to clinch club's first ever NBA playoff berth
Baseball Trade
Apr 2 Oakland Athletics trade 2 key members from recent World Series C'ship team, sending outfielder Reggie Jackson and pitcher Ken Holtzman to Baltimore Orioles in exchange for outfielder Don Baylor and pitchers Mike Torrez and Paul Mitchell
- Apr 3 130th Grand National: John Burke wins aboard Rag Trade; equal record 4th winner trained by Fred Rimell and 2nd winner owned by Pierre Raymond Bessone
- Apr 3 Philadelphia Flyers win record tying 20th straight NHL home game
- Apr 8 1976 NFL Draft: Lee Roy Selmon from University of Oklahoma first pick by Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Apr 10 Brewers' Don Money's grand slammer disallowed-Yanks win 9-7
- Apr 10 Cleveland Cavaliers win their 1st NBA Central Division title
US Masters Golf
Apr 11 40th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Raymond Floyd wins his only Masters title, 8 strokes ahead of runner-up Ben Crenshaw
Sports History
Apr 17 Australian tennis star Evonne Goolagong Cawley wins her second WTA Tour Championship at the Los Angeles Sports Arena; beats Chris Evert 6–3, 5–7, 6–3
Baseball Record
Apr 17 NL greatest comeback: trailing 12-1, Philadelphia Phillies beat Chicago Cubs, 18-16 in 10 innings at Wrigley Field; Mike Schmidt hits 4 consecutive HRs
- Apr 19 80th Boston Marathon: US double; Jack Fultz is men's winner in 2:20:19; Kim Merritt takes women's section in 2:47:10
- Apr 30 Muhammad Ali beats Jimmy Young in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
Kentucky Derby
May 1 102nd Kentucky Derby: Puerto Rican jockey Ángel Cordero Jr wins aboard Bold Forbes, the second of 3 Derby successes
Stanley Cup
May 16 Stanley Cup Final, The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA: Guy Lafleur and Pete Mahovlich each have a goal and 2 assists as Montreal Canadiens beat Philadelphia Flyers, 5-3 for a 4 games series sweep
- May 22 St Louis Cardinal Reggie Smith hits 3 HR
- May 24 Muhammad Ali TKOs Richard Dunn in 5 for heavyweight boxing title in Munich
- May 29 Only HR of Joe Niekro's 22-year career, comes off brother Phil
- May 30 Indianapolis 500: Polesitter Johnny Rutherford awarded race after taking the lead on lap 80, and leading when rain halted the race on lap 103; shortest Indy 500 in history
- May 30 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, Pine Ridge GC: Betty Burfeindt wins her only major title, 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Judy Rankin
- Jun 3 Test Cricket debut of Mike Brearley v West Indies (0 & 17)
- Jun 5 108th Belmont: Puerto Rican jockey Ángel Cordero Jr., riding Bold Forbes wins his only Belmont classic
- Jun 6 30th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat Phoenix Suns, 4 games to 2
- Jun 8 Houston Astros draft Floyd Bannister #1
Golf Major
Jun 13 Canadian Open Golf (Peter Jackson Classic), Cedar Brae CC: Donna Caponi wins in a playoff with Judy Rankin
- Jun 13 French Open Women's Tennis: Sue Barker of England claims her lone major singles title; beats Renáta Tomanová of Czechoslovakia 6-2, 0-6, 6-2
- Jun 13 German sprinter Inge Helten runs female WR 100m (11.04) at Fürth, West Germany
- Jun 14 French Open Men's Tennis: Adriano Panatta of Italy beats American Harold Solomon 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 for his lone Grand Slam singles title
- Jun 15 In a blockbuster MLB trade, NY Yankees send May, Martinez, Pagan, MacGregor & Demsey to Baltimore Orioles for Holtzman, Alexander, Grant Jackson, Elrod Henrick & Jim Freeman
- Jun 15 Rain out! Astrodome cancels game heavy rains make it difficult for visiting team and umpires to get through flooded streets to the stadium
- Jun 17 ABA (Nets, Pacers, Nuggets & Spurs) merges into NBA
Sports History
Jun 18 Bowie Kuhn voids Oakland A's sales of players, totaling $35 million - Joe Rudi & Rollie Fingers to Boston Red Sox, and Vida Blue to NY Yankees
- Jun 20 UEFA European Championship Final, Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Yugoslavia: Czechoslovakia upsets West Germany, 5-3 on penalties following 2-2 draw a.e.t
- Jun 20 US Open Men's Golf, Atlanta AC: Tour rookie Jerry Pate wins his only major title, 2 strokes ahead of runners-up Al Geiberger and Tom Weiskopf
- Jun 22 SD Padre pitcher Randy Jones ties record of 68 innings without a walk
- Jun 25 Texas Ranger Toby Harrah is only shortstop not to handle a fielding chance in doubleheader
- Jun 26 Japanese professional wrestler Antonio Inoki fights American boxer Muhammad Ali, at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan [1]
- Jun 26 Washington Senators player Toby Harrah plays an entire doubleheader at shortstop without a single chance in the field
- Jul 2 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: American Chris Evert beats Evonne Goolagong Cawley of Australia 6-3, 4-6, 8-6 for second of 3 Wimbledon singles titles
Wimbledon Men's Tennis
Jul 3 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Sweden's Björn Borg beats Ilie Năstase of Romania 6-4, 6-2, 9-7 for the first of 5 straight Wimbledon titles
British Golf Open
Jul 10 British Open Men's Golf, Royal Birkdale GC: American Johnny Miller wins his only Open championship, 6 strokes clear of Seve Ballesteros and Jack Nicklaus; Miller's second and last major title
- Jul 11 1st US football club in Austria forms (FAAFC-1st Austrian American)
US Women's Golf Open
Jul 11 US Open Women's Golf, Rolling Green GC: JoAnne Carner wins in a playoff with Sandra Palmer
- Jul 13 47th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 7-1 at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia
- Jul 13 All star MVP: George Foster (Cincinnati Reds)
- Jul 13 Last day of Test Cricket for English all-rounder Brian Close, aged 45
- Jul 17 21st modern Olympic games opens in Montreal: 25 African teams (later rising to 33 nations) boycott the games due to New Zealand playing rugby in apartheid South Africa
Sports History
Jul 17 Walter Alston becomes the fifth MLB manager to win 2,000 games as Los Angeles Dodgers defeat visiting Chicago Cubs, 5-2
- Jul 18 63rd Tour de France won by Lucien Van Impe of Belgium
Olympic Games
Jul 18 Nadia Comăneci (14) becomes the first gymnast in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 score (doing so 7 times) at Montreal Games
Baseball Record
Jul 20 Hank Aaron hits 755th and last home run off Angels Dick Drago
- Jul 23 42nd NFL Chicago All Star Game: Pittsburgh 24, All Stars 0 (52,895)
- Jul 23 Baltimore Oriole Reggie Jackson homers in 6th straight game
- Jul 25 Annegret Richter runs 100m (11.01)
- Jul 28 White Sox John Odom (5 inn) & Francisco Barrios (4 inn) no-hits A's
Olympic Gold
Jul 30 Future TV personality ('Keeping Up with the Kardashians') and transgender figure, Bruce Jenner (now Caitlin Jenner) sets WR 8,618 points to win decathlon gold at Montreal Olympics
- Jul 30 Japanese beat Russian for Olympic gold in woman's volleyball
- Jul 31 East German runner Waldemar Cierpinski beats American Frank Shorter by 50 seconds to win the Olympic Games marathon in 2:09:55 in Montreal
Sports History
Aug 1 Reigning world F1 champion Niki Lauda of Austria suffers a near fatal crash during the German Grand Prix at The Nürburgring motorsports complex, Nürburg, Germany
- Aug 1 Seattle Seahawks take the field for the first time in pre-season game v SF 49ers at the newly constructed Kingdome in Seattle
- Aug 1 XXI Summer Olympic Games, Montreal, Canada: Officially close
- Aug 4 England beats Australia by 8 wickets in the limited overs cricket international at Lord's; first time women are permitted to play on the main square at 'the home of cricket'
- Aug 8 Chicago White Sox suit up in shorts
- Aug 9 Clive Lloyd scores double-ton in 120 mins, WI v Glamorgan
- Aug 9 Pitt Pirate John Candelaria no-hits LA Dodgers, 2-0
PGA Championship
Aug 16 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Congressional CC: Dave Stockton wins 2nd PGA C'ship in a Monday bad weather finish; by 1 stroke from Ray Floyd & Don January
- Aug 16 St. Louis Cardinals beat San Diego Chargers, 20-10 in Tokyo, Japan (NFL Expo)
- Aug 25 Yanks beat Twins 5-4 in 19 innings
- Aug 27 Transsexual Renee Richards barred from competing in US Tennis Open
- Aug 28 Toronto Metros-Croatia beat the Minnesota Kicks to the win the 1976 North American Soccer League championship
- Sep 11 Minnie Minoso bats for White Sox after a 12-year hiatus (hitless)
- Sep 11 US Open Women's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Chris Evert retains her title; dominates Evonne Goolagong Cawley of Australia 6-3, 6-0
- Sep 12 Seattle Seahawks play 1st regular-season game (St L 30, Sea 24)
US Men's Tennis Open
Sep 12 US Open Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Jimmy Connors wins his second US title; beats Björn Borg of Sweden 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4
- Sep 13 2nd Enterprise, approach & lands Test Cricket (ALT) flight (5m28s)
Sports History
Sep 18 MLB Cleveland Indians player-manager Frank Robinson's last game as a player
- Sep 26 Phillies clinch their 1st NL East Division title
- Sep 28 Muhammad Ali beats Ken Norton in a 15 round unanimous points decision for the WBA, WBC and The Ring heavyweight boxing titles
- Sep 29 San Francisco Giant John Montefusco no-hits Atlanta Braves, 9-0
Sports History
Sep 29 Tommy Lasorda replaces Walter Alston as Los Angeles Dodgers manager
- Oct 1 Muhammad Ali visits Istanbul, Turkey, praying alongside Deputy Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan at Sultan Ahmet mosque [1]
- Oct 3 Future Baseball Hall of Fame right fielder Hank Aaron singles in his last MLB at-bat & drives in his 2,297th run as Milwaukee Brewers lose, 5-2 v Detroit Tigers
- Oct 5 MLB expansion draft: Seattle Mariners & Toronto Blue Jays pick 30 unprotected AL players; Ruppert Jones OF (Seattle) & Bob Bailor OF (Toronto) are first picks
- Oct 6 John Hathaway completes 50,600 mile bicycle tour of every continent
- Oct 9 Peter Petherick takes hat-trick on cricket debut New Zealand v Pakistan Javed 1st wkt
- Oct 9 Test Cricket debut of Javed Miandad (Pakistan), scores 163 on 1st day
- Oct 9 Yanks 1st AL Championship game, beat Royals 4-1
- Oct 10 Giant's Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey opens with the NY Giants going down 24–14 to the Dallas Cowboys in from of 76,042 fans
- Oct 10 Greece's 98 year-old Dimitrion Yordanidis, is oldest man to compete in a marathon; he finishes in 7:33
- Oct 12 MLB National League Championship: Cincinnati Reds beat Philadelphia Phillies, 3 games to 0
- Oct 14 Chris Chambliss' 9th inning lead off homer gives NY Yanks pennant #30
- Oct 14 MLB American League Championship: New York Yankees beat Kansas City Royals, 3 games to 2
- Oct 16 Toronto Maple Leaf Lanny McDonald scores a hat trick in 2 min 54 sec
- Oct 17 Coldest World Series game; Reds beat NY Yankees, 4-3 in Game 2 at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati; 39 degrees F (until 1997)
- Oct 20 NY Nets Julius "Dr J" Erving sold to Philadelphia 76ers
World Series
Oct 21 Baseball World Series: defending champions Cincinnati Reds sweep NY Yankees; beat Bombers, 7-2 in Game 4 at Yankee Stadium; MVP: Reds catcher Johnny Bench
Sports History
Oct 21 NY Knicks retire 1st number, # 19, Willis Reed
Sports History
Oct 22 Rick Barry (San Francisco), begins then longest NBA free throw streak of 60
- Oct 24 English McLaren driver James Hunt finishes 4th in the season ending Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway to win his first Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by 1 point from Niki Lauda
New York City Marathon
Oct 24 New York City Marathon: American Bill Rodgers wins his first title in 2:10:10; Miki Gorman takes out women's race in 2:39:11
- Oct 24 Sadiq & Mushtaq Mohammad score hundreds in same Test Cricket innings v NZ
Sports History
Oct 28 Billy Martin named AL Manager of Year (NY Yankees)
- Oct 31 Pakistani cricketer Javed Miandad scores 206 v NZ, aged 19 yrs 141 days (29 fours 1 six)
- Nov 4 1st mass-market free-agent reentry draft, Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi, Gullett, Tenace, Fingers, Baylor, Grich & McCovey, available
Sports History
Nov 5 Baltimore Orioles Jim Palmer wins AL Cy Young Award
- Nov 6 Former Twins relief ace Bill Campbell is 1st free-agent to sign with a new team, joining the Red Sox for $1 million over 4 years
- Nov 9 Oakland A's release Billy Williams, ending his Hall of Fame baseball career
- Nov 14 Cleveland Browns' Jerry Sherk sets club record with 4 sacks
- Nov 16 Rick Barry (San Francisco), ends then longest NBA free throw streak of 60
- Nov 18 MLB New York Yankees sign free agent pitcher Don Gullett
Yarborough Wins Sprint Cup
Nov 21 26th NASCAR Sprint Cup: Cale Yarborough wins
Morgan's Second NL MVP
Nov 24 Reds Joe Morgan wins his 2nd straight NL MVP Award
O. J. Simpson
Nov 25 O.J. Simpson gains 273 yards for Buffalo vs Detroit
- Nov 27 41st Iron Bowl: Alabama beats Auburn 38-7 in Birmingham
- Nov 28 CFL Grey Cup, CNE Stadium, Toronto: Ottawa Rough Riders defeat Saskatchewan Roughriders, 23-20 in a thriller; 53,467 Grey Cup record attendance
- Nov 29 NY Yankees sign free agent Reggie Jackson to 5-year contract
- Nov 30 42nd Heisman Trophy Award: Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh (RB)
Namath's Last Game
Dec 12 Quarterback Joe Namath plays his last game with the NY Jets
- Dec 12 Spaniard Manuel Orantes beats Wojtek Fibak of Poland 5–7, 6–2, 0–6, 7–6, 6–1 to win his first and only season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis title in Houston, Texas
- Dec 16 Charlie Finley's $10 million damage suit against Bowie Kuhn begins
- Dec 19 Davis Cup Men's Tennis, Santiago, Chile: Paolo Bertolucci & Adriano Panatta give Italy unassailable 3-0 lead; beat Patricio Cornejo & Jaime Fillol of Chile 6-3, 2-6, 9-7, 6-3; ends, 4-1
- Dec 19 John Lever takes 7-46 in 1st Test Cricket innings, v India Delhi
- Dec 19 Piper Cherokee plane crashes into Baltimore Memorial Stadium upper stands, 10 minutes after Colts lose 40-14 to Pittsburgh Steelers, no one seriously hurt
- Dec 25 6th Fiesta Bowl: #8 Oklahoma beats Wyoming, 41-7
- Dec 26 AFC Championship, Oakland Coliseum: Oakland Raiders beat Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-7
- Dec 26 NFC Championship, Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington: Minnesota Vikings beat Los Angeles Rams, 24-13
Ballon d'Or
Dec 28 Ballon d'Or: Bayern Munich defender Franz Beckenbauer wins title of Europe's best football player for a 2nd time; beats Anderlecht winger Rob Rensenbrink and Dukla Prague goalkeeper Ivo Viktor
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions