- Jan 1 11th Fiesta Bowl: #7 Penn State beats #8 Southern California, 26-10
- Jan 1 48th Orange Bowl: #1 Clemson beats #4 Nebraska, 22-15
- Jan 1 48th Sugar Bowl: #10 Pittsburgh beats #2 Georgia, 24-20
- Jan 1 68th Rose Bowl: #12 Washington beats #13 Iowa, 28-0
- Jan 2 "The Epic in Miami", in 85 degree heat (Fahrenheit), the San Diego Chargers defeat the Miami Dolphins 41-38 in overtime in the AFC Divisional Playoff Game, a game that set numerous playoff scoring records
Navratilova Wins
Jan 2 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Martina Navratilova wins her 1st of 3 Australian singles crowns; beats Chris Evert-Lloyd 6-7, 6-4, 7-5
- Jan 2 New York Islanders beat Philadelphia Flyers, 3-1 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum to start 23 NHL game undefeated home streak (21-0-2), 14 straight wins
- Jan 3 Australian Open Men's Tennis: South African Johan Kriek wins first career Grand Slam title; beats American Steve Denton 6-2, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4
Sittler Leaves Maple Leafs
Jan 5 Star center Darryl Sittler leaves the Toronto Maple Leafs on medical advice because of mental depression; trade request was taking too long
Trottier's 10th Hat Trick
Jan 7 Islander's Bryan Trottier's 10th career hat trick
- Jan 10 AFC Championship, Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati: Cincinnati Bengals beat San Diego Chargers, 27-7 in the "Freezer Bowl"
The Catch
Jan 10 NFC Championship, Candlestick Park, SF: San Francisco 49ers beat Dallas Cowboys, 28-27; "The Catch" - iconic moment in NFL history - Dwight Clark makes fingertip catch for a TD from Joe Montana with 58" remaining; SF goes on to win Super Bowl
- Jan 10 Petra Schneider swims world record 1500 m freestyle (15:43.31)
Baseball Hall of Fame
Jan 13 Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Fuhr's Unbeaten Streak Ends
Jan 16 Edmonton's rookie goaltender Grant Fuhr has his 23-game unbeaten streak end with a 7-1 Oilers' defeat in Toronto
Lendl's 1st ATP
Jan 17 Czech tennis star Ivan Lendl scores a 6–7, 2–6, 7–6, 6–2, 6–4 win over American Vitas Gerulaitis to claim his first of 5 ATP Masters Grand Prix titles at Madison Square Garden, NYC
- Jan 20 Future Hockey Hall of Fame center Darryl Sittler is traded by the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Rich Costello, a 2nd round draft pick and future considerations
- Jan 21 NY Islanders begin then NHL record 15 game winning streak with a 6-1 win over Pittsburgh Penguins at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
- Jan 24 Super Bowl XVI, Pontiac Silverdome, Detroit, MI: San Francisco 49ers beat Cincinnati Bengals, 26-21; MVP: Joe Montana, SF, QB
- Jan 26 In a 9-2 NHL win over Pittsburgh Penguins, the NY Islanders score 4 goals within 1:38, 5 within 2:37 in a 6 goal 1st period
- Jan 27 Los Angeles Kings set an NHL record with their 6th consecutive tied game, a 4-4 deadlock against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers
Phillies Trade Two for DeJesus
Jan 27 Philadelphia Phillies trade shortstop Larry Bowa & infielder Ryne Sandberg to Chicago Cubs for 2nd baseman Ivan DeJesus
- Jan 27 West Indies beat Australia 3-1 to win cricket's World Series Cup
- Jan 29 Old Dominion ends Louisiana Tech's women's basketball record 54-game winning streak
- Jan 29 Wayne Garland, baseball 1st millionaire free agent, waived by Indians
Benitez vs. Durán
Jan 30 WBC super welterweight champion Wilfred Benitez of Puerto Rico defeats boxing legend Roberto Durán of Panama in a 15-round unanimous decision at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas
32nd NBA All-Star Game
Jan 31 32nd NBA All-Star Game, Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ: East beats West, 120-118; MVP - Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
- Jan 31 NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: AFC beats NFC, 16-13; MVPs: Co-MVPs: Kellen Winslow, San Diego Chargers, TE; Lee Roy Selmon, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, DE
Hamilton US Champion
Jan 31 US male Figure Skating championship won by Scott Hamilton
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions