1971 in sports

See also: 1970 in sports, other events of 1971, 1972 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.

Auto Racing

• Stock car racing:
  • Richard Petty won the Daytona 500
  • NASCAR Championship – Richard Petty
• Indianapolis 500 – Al Unser, Sr.
• USAC Racing – Joe Leonard
• Formula One Championship – Jackie Stewart of Great Britain
• 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Helmut Marko / Gijs van Lennep won, driving a Porsche 917
• Rally racing – the team of Ove Andersson / David Stone won the Monte Carlo Rally driving an Alpine-Renault A110
• Drag racing:
  • The NHRA announces the first "Grandnational" in Canada at Sanair International Drag Strip, near Montreal, Quebec.
  • Hank Johnson won Top Fuel at the NHRA Supernationals.

Baseball

• World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates won 4 games to 3 over the Baltimore Orioles. Game two was the first night game in World Series history.

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
  • UCLA wins 68–62 over Villanova

• NBA Finals:
  • Milwaukee Bucks win 4 games to 0 over the Baltimore Bullets

Boxing

• March 8 – Joe Frazier defeats Muhammad Ali in the first of three epic bouts. Frazier defends the World Heavyweight Championship in a star-studded Madison Square Garden.

Cricket

• 5 January, Melbourne – First one-day international, played bion after a Test match abandoned because of rain. Australia won by 5 wickets.

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Gosta Pettersson of Sweden
• Tour de France – Eddy Merckx of Belgium
• World Cycling Championship: Eddy Merckx of Belgium

Figure Skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Ondrej Nepala, Czechoslovakia
  • Women's champion: Beatrix Schuba, Austria
  • Pairs champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexei Ulyanov, Soviet Union

Football (American)

• Super Bowl V: Baltimore Colts won 16–13 over the Dallas Cowboys

• December 25 – The Miami Dolphins defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in a divisional playoff game. The double-overtime contest is the longest game in NFL history, and the Chiefs' last-ever home game at Municipal Stadium.

Football (Australian Rules)

• Victorian Football League
  • Hawthorn wins the 75th VFL Premiership (Hawthorn 12.10 (82) d St Kilda 11.9 (75))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Ian Stewart (Richmond)

Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Calgary Stampeders won 14–11 over the Toronto Argonauts
• Vanier Cup: Western Ontario Mustangs won 15–14 over the Alberta Golden Bears

Football (Soccer)

• Arsenal are the English First Division champions

• England – FA Cup: Arsenal won 2–1 over Liverpool to win The Double

• European Championship Cup Final: Ajax – Panathinaikos 2–0

• January 2 – At the end of a Rangers-Celtic match at Ibrox Park in Glasgow, Scotland, barriers at Stairway 13 give way under a mass of fans, killing 66 and injuring over 200 others.

Golf

Men's Golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. May – The Masters – Charles Coody
  2. June – US Open – Lee Trevino
  3. July – British Open – Lee Trevino
  4. August – PGA Championship – Jack Nicklaus

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Jack Nicklaus – $244,491

• Ryder Cup: United States won 18 1/2 to 13 1/2 over Britain in world team golf

Women's Golf

• US Women's Open – JoAnne Carner
• LPGA Championship – Kathy Whitworth
• Kathy Whitworth: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $41,181

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia – Melbourne Cup – Silver Knight
• Canada – Queen's Plate – Kennedy Road
• France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe – Mill Reef
• Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes – Irish Ball

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes – Brigadier Gerard
  2. Epsom Derby – Mill Reef
  3. St. Leger Stakes – Athens Wood

• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby – Canonero II
  2. Preakness Stakes – Canonero II
  3. Belmont Stakes – Pass catcher

Harness Racing

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace – Albatross
  2. Little Brown Jug – Nansemond
  3. Messenger Stakes – Albatross

• United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian – Speedy Crown
  2. Yonkers Trot
  3. Kentucky Futurity

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Stella Frost
  • Trotters: Geffini

Ice Hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins

• Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins

• Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 3 over the Chicago Blackhawks

• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia

Skiing

• Alpine Skiing
  • The men's overall season champion: Gustavo Thoeni, Italy
  • The women's overall season champion: Annemarie Pröll, Austria

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship: John Spencer beats Warren Simpson 37–29

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open – Ken Rosewall
  2. French Open – Jan Kodes
  3. Wimbledon championships – John Newcombe
  4. US Open – Stan Smith

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open – Margaret Smith Court
  2. French Open – Evonne Goolagong
  3. Wimbledon championships – Evonne Goolagong
  4. US Open – Billie Jean King

• Davis Cup: United States wins 3–2 over Romania in world tennis.

• Sixteen year old Chris Evert makes her US Open debut reaching the semifinals where she is defeated by eventual champion Billie Jean King.
• First time in 16 years that Americans won both the men's and women's title at the US Open.

General sporting events

Births

• January 2 – Karina Massota, Argentinian field hockey international
• January 4 – Melanie Cremer, German field hockey international
• March 31 – Pavel Bure, ice hockey player
• April 2 – Todd Woodbridge, tennis player
• April 10 – Helen Clarke, New Zealand field hockey goalkeeper
• June 21 – Irene Van Dyk, netballer
• July 9 – Hilary Rose, British field hockey goalkeeper
• August 4 – Jeff Gordon, NASCAR driver
• August 10 – Roy Keane, Irish international footballer
• August 12 – Pete Sampras, tennis player
• August 26 – Lisa Keightley, Australian cricketer
• August 28 – Janet Evans, Olympic swimming champion
• September 1 – Hakan Şükür, Turkish international footballer
• September 18 – Lance Armstrong, cyclist
• September 20 – Henrik Larsson, Swedish international footballer
• October 25 – Pedro Martinez, Major League Baseball player
• November 27 – Sam Smith, British tennis player
• December 17 – Antoine Rigaudeau, French Basketball player

Deaths

• January 6 – Sonny Liston (date he was found dead)
• March 15 – Jean-Pierre Monser, age 22‚ Flemish cyclist
• April 4 – Carl Mays, Major League Baseball pitcher (1915–1929)
• April 13 – Michel Briere 21, star rookie ice-hockey player, Pittsburgh Penguins
• April 7 – Charles Pahud de Mortanges, Dutch 2 time Olympic Equestrian gold medalist
• May 12 – Heinie Manush, Major League Baseball player (1923–1939)
• May 15 – Goose Goslin, Major League Baseball player (1921–1938)
• June 17 – C. Christopher Morris, American cricketer
• October 24 – Chuck Hughes, Detroit Lions wide receiver collapsed during a game