1978 in sports

See also: 1977 in sports, other events of 1978, 1979 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.

Auto racing

• USAC – A J Foyt won final season championship under USAC.
  • CART, Championship Auto Racing Teams open wheel racing established in the United States.
  • Indianapolis 500 – won by Al Unser Snr

Baseball

• World Series: New York Yankees win 4 games to 2 over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Series MVP is Bucky Dent, New York

Basketball

• Wilt Chamberlain is elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, along with coaches Sam Barry, Eddie Hickey, John McLendon, Ray Meyer and Pete Newell, and referee Jim Enright
• NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
  • Kentucky wins 94–88 over Duke
• NBA Finals:
  • Washington Bullets won 4 games to 3 over the Seattle SuperSonics
• FIBA World Championship
  • Yugoslavia World Champion

Boxing

• February 15: Leon Spinks defeats Muhammad Ali by decision in 15 rounds to win the world's Heavyweight title.

• September 15: Muhammad Ali recovers the world's Heavyweight title, beating Leon Spinks by decision in their rematch. It is the first time a boxer wins the world Heavyweight title for a third time.

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Johan de Muynck of Belgium
• Tour de France – Bernard Hinault of France
• World Cycling Championship: Gerrie Knetemann of Netherlands

Field hockey

• March 11 – In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium,England. England drew with the United States of America 2–2.
• Women's Field Hockey World Cup – The Netherlands are the World Champions.
• November 17 – 24: Champions Trophy first held in Lahore, Pakistan won by Pakistan.

Figure skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Charles Tickner, United States
  • Women's champion: Anett Pötzsch, Germany
  • Pairs champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexander Saizew, Soviet Union

Football (American)

• Super Bowl XII: Dallas Cowboys won 27–10 over the Denver Broncos

Football (Australian Rules)

• Victorian Football League
  • Hawthorn wins the 82nd VFL Premiership (Hawthorn 18.13 (121) d North Melbourne 15.13 (103))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Malcolm Blight (North Melbourne)

Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos win 20–13 over the Montreal Alouettes
• Vanier Cup: Queen's Golden Gaels win 16–3 over the UBC Thunderbirds

Football (Soccer)

• Football World Cup: Argentina wins 3–1 over the Netherlands
• England – FA Cup: Ipswich Town won 1–0 over Arsenal

Golf

Men's golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. May – The Masters – Gary Player
  2. June – US Open – Andy North
  3. July – British Open – Jack Nicklaus
  4. August – PGA Championship – John Mahaffey
• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Tom Watson – $362,429

Women's golf

• US Women's Open – Hollis Stacy
• LPGA Championship – Nancy Lopez
• Nancy Lopez: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $189,213.

Thoroughbred horse racing

• Australia – Melbourne Cup – Arwon
• Canada – Queen's Plate – Regal Embrace
• France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe – Alleged
• Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes – Shirley Heights

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes – Roland Gardens
  2. Epsom Derby – Shirley Heights
  3. St. Leger Stakes – Julio Mariner

• July 13: At Belmont Park, Elmont, New York, star jockey, Ron Turcotte is injured in a racing accident ending his career, leaving him a paraplegic.

• Affirmed, ridden by jockey Steve Cauthen, wins the United States Triple Crown Races by narrowly defeating Alydar in all three races:
  1. Kentucky Derby – Affirmed, Alydar
  2. Preakness Stakes – Affirmed, Alydar
  3. Belmont Stakes – Affirmed, Alydar

Harness racing

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace – Armbro Tiger
  2. Little Brown Jug – Happy Escort
  3. Messenger Stakes – Abercrombie

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

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Markovina
  • Trotters: Derby Royale

Ice hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens

• Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens

• Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 2 over the Boston Bruins

• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia
  • Junior Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
  • Note: In the early years of the Junior tournament, Canada did not send a true National Junior team to the event. Instead, the Memorial Cup champions usually went to represent Canada. The exception was 1978 in Montreal, when an "all-star" team was put together.

Skiing

• Alpine Skiing
  • The men's overall season champion: Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden
  • The women's overall season champion: Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship: Ray Reardon beats Perrie Mans 25–18
• World rankings: Ray Reardon remains world number one for 1978/79.

Speed skating

• First ISU Short Track Speed Skating Championships for men and ladies held in Solihull, UK

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open – Guillermo Vilas
  2. French Open – Björn Borg
  3. Wimbledon championships – Björn Borg
  4. US Open – Jimmy Connors

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open – Chris O'Neil
  2. French Open – Virginia Ruzici
  3. Wimbledon championships – Martina Navratilova
  4. US Open – Chris Evert

• Davis Cup: United States won 4–1 over Great Britain in world tennis.
• US Open moves to hard courts of the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York.
• Total prize money at US Open exceeds US $500,000.

General sporting events

• British Commonwealth Games held in Edmonton, Canada

• First Ironman Triathlon held in Hawaii

• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
  • Dick Mackey won with lead dogs: Skipper & Shrew

Births

• January 28 – Gianluigi Buffon, Italian football player
• June 19 – Dirk Nowitzki, German NBA player
• August 23 – Kobe Bryant, NBA player
• October 20 – Virender Sehwag, Indian cricketer
• December 2 – Louisa Walter, German field hockey goalkeeper
• December 21 – Jackie Stiles, WNBA player
• December 29 – Kieron Dyer, English football player

Deaths

• January 13 – Joe McCarthy, baseball manager
• January 21 – Dit Clapper, NHL star, Boston Bruins
• September 3 – Alexander Belov, 26, USSR Olympic basketball player
• September 23 – Lyman Bostock, Major League Baseball player