- Jan 1 19th Fiesta Bowl: #5 Florida State beats #6 Nebraska, 41-17
- Jan 1 56th Orange Bowl: #4 Notre Dame beats #1 Colorado, 21-6
- Jan 1 56th Sugar Bowl: #2 Miami beats #7 Alabama, 33-25
- Jan 1 76th Rose Bowl: #12 Southern California beats #3 Michigan, 17-10
Spain's First Win
Jan 1 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Arantxa Sánchez Vicario beats American Pam Shriver 6-3, 6-3 to clinch 2-1 win for Spain's first title
Palmer and Morgan Elected
Jan 9 Jim Palmer & Joe Morgan elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Lafontaine's Sets Record
Jan 11 NHL New York Islander Pat Lafontaine sets team record by scoring goals in 11 straight games
Broncos Defeat Browns
Jan 14 AFC Championship, Mile High Stadium, Denver: Denver Broncos beat Cleveland Browns 37-21
- Jan 14 NFC Championship, Candlestick Park, SF: San Francisco 49ers beat Los Angeles Rams, 30-3
Forman vs. Cooney
Jan 15 42-year-old former world heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman stops Gerry Cooney in 2 rounds in Atlantic City in a non-title bout; Cooney's last fight
- Jan 15 Golden State coach Don Nelson becomes 2nd man in NBA history to appear in 1,000 games both as a player and coach (joining Lenny Wilkens) as the Warriors lose to the Indiana Pacers, 144-105
- Jan 15 In a bizarre twist in the NHL, Washington Capitals fire coach Brian Murray, who had been head coach since 1981; replace him with his brother Terry, who had been coaching in the minors
- Jan 15 In a shrewd move, Detroit Tigers sign 1st baseman Cecil Fielder who spent previous season in Japan; hits 51 homers this MLB season and becomes a premier power hitter for most of the 1990s
- Jan 17 MLB pitcher Dave Stewart signs record $3,500,000 per year Oakland A's contract
- Jan 19 Police break up protests in Johannesburg against the cricket players defying a boycott on playing in apartheid South Africa
41st NHL All-Star Game
Jan 21 41st NHL All-Star Game, Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA: Wales beats Campbell, 12-7; MVP: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins, C
- Jan 21 Bob Goodenow succeeds Alan Eagleson as NHL players association executive director
McEnroe Expelled
Jan 21 John McEnroe becomes 1st ever player to be expelled from the Australian Open
Akram Scores a Century
Jan 22 Wasim Akram scores test century (123) at Adelaide
- Jan 22 Will Clark, NL's MVP signs a $15M 4-year contract with SF Giants
- Jan 23 Australian cricketer Dean Jones scores twin test tons vs. Pakistan at Adelaide Oval
- Jan 24 LAs' Pat Riley becomes the 13th and fastest coach to reach the 500-victory plateau as the Lakers down the Indiana Pacers, 120-111; Riley (500-184) surpasses Don Nelson (500-317) to reach milestone
- Jan 26 Boston Red Sox hires Elaine Weddington as asst GM (highest-ranking African American female in a major-league front office)
Graf Beats Fernández
Jan 27 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Steffi Graf beats American Mary Joe Fernández 6-3, 6-4 for her 3rd consecutive Australian singles crown
Lendl's Last Grand Slam Title
Jan 28 Australian Open Men's Tennis: American-based Czech star Ivan Lendl of wins 8th and last career Grand Slam title; beats Stefan Edberg 4-6, 7-6, 5-2; Edberg retires injured
Super Bowl XXIV
Jan 28 Super Bowl XXIV, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA: San Francisco 49ers beat Denver Broncos, 55-10; MVP: Joe Montana, SF, QB
Gretzky's 100 Point Record
Jan 30 LA center Wayne Gretzky sets NHL record by scoring his 100th point of the season for the 11th straight season; milestone comes with an assist in a 5-2 Kings' win over visiting New Jersey Devils
- Jan 31 1st ever all-sports daily "National" begins publishing
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