What Happened on December 25, 1979

• 9th Fiesta Bowl: #10 Pittsburgh beats Arizona, 16-10
• Ballon d'Or: Hamburg's English forward Kevin Keegan wins his 2nd consecutive trophy as best football player in Europe; beats Bayern Munich forward Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Ajax sweeper Ruud Krol
• Soviet forces invade Afghanistan to prop up the Communist government, beginning a disastrous and failed ten-year war

• Joan Blondell, American actress (Real McCoys), dies of leukemia at 73
• Jordi Bonet, Quebec muralist and sculptor (b. 1932)
• Lee Bowman, American actor (Ellery Queen, Miami Undercover, The Impatient Years), dies from a heart attack at 64

Holidays: Christmas (India), Christmas Day (Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States)

• #1 Song: Escape (The Pina Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes
• #1 Song: Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2) - Pink Floyd