- Jan 1 53rd Orange Bowl: #3 Oklahoma beats #9 Arkansas, 42-8
- Jan 1 53rd Sugar Bowl: #6 Nebraska beats #5 LSU, 30-15
- Jan 1 73rd Rose Bowl: #7 Arizona State beats #4 Michigan, 22-15
- Jan 2 16th Fiesta Bowl: #2 Penn State beats #1 Miami, 14-10
- Jan 2 Indiana Pacers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 116-106 to give coach Jack Ramsay his 800th NBA victory; at the time Ramsey is one of only 2 coaches (with Red Auerbach) to reach milestone
- Jan 8 Jack Sikma (Milwaukee) begins NBA free throw streak of 51 games
AFC Championship
Jan 11 AFC Championship, Cleveland Stadium: Denver Broncos beat Cleveland Browns 23-20 (OT)
- Jan 11 Largest crowd (76,633) at NFL NY Giant Stadium (beat Wash 17-0)
- Jan 11 NFC Championship, Giants Stadium, East Rutherford: New York Giants beat Washington Redskins, 17-0
- Jan 14 Catfish Hunter and Billy Williams are elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Larry Bird's Double Accolade
Jan 15 Champion Boston Celtics NBA forward Larry Bird is named Man of the Year by 'The Sporting News' and Athlete of the Year by 'Associated Press'; first time one athlete gains both distinctions
Mandlíková Defeats Navratilova
Jan 24 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Hana Mandlíková of Czechoslovakia wins her 4th and final Grand Slam singles crown; beats Martina Navratilova 7-5, 7-6
Edberg Defeats Cash
Jan 25 75th Australian Open Men's Tennis: Stefan Edberg of Sweden wins 2nd career Grand Slam title and 2nd Australian title; beats home town favourite Pat Cash 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3
- Jan 25 Super Bowl XXI, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA: NY Giants beat Denver Broncos, 39-20; MVP: Phil Simms, NY Giants, QB
- Jan 28 Wrestler Jim Neidhart indicted for assaulting a flight attendant
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions