1982 in sports
See also: 1981 in sports, other events of 1982, 1983 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.
- Stock car racing:
- CART Racing - Rick Mears won the season championship
- Formula One Champion - Keke Rosberg of Finland
- 24 hours of Le Mans:
- won by the team of Jacky Ickx / Derek Bell driving a Porsche 956
- Rally racing - Walter Röhrl in an Opel won the World Rally Championship
- Walter Rohrl / Christian Geistdorfer won the Monte Carlo Rally driving an Opel Ascona 400
- Drag racing - Shirley Muldowney won the NHRA Top Fuel championship.
- July 13: Montreal hosts the first MLB All-Star Game outside the United States. Reds SS Dave Concepción hits a 2-run home run in the 2nd inning to spark the National League to its 11th consecutive win over the American League 4-1. The NL has now won 19 of the last 20 contests. Concepción was named the MVP.
- World Series: St. Louis Cardinals won 4 games to 3 over the Milwaukee Brewers. The Series MVP was Cardinals catcher Darrell Porter.
- NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
- North Carolina wins 63-62 over Georgetown
- NBA Finals:
- Los Angeles Lakers won 4 games to 2 over the Philadelphia 76ers
- FIBA World Championship
- USSR World Champion
- June 11 Larry Holmes defeats Gerry Cooney for the WBC Heavyweight title. Cooney, a white challenger, was dubbed "The White Hope" in what builded up to be a very racially toned fight, see Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney.
- November 12 Aaron Pryor defeats Alexis Arguello in what would later be called the fight of the decade. Pryor retained the WBA's world Jr. Welterweight title with a 14th round knockout
- November 13 Ray Mancini defeats Duk Koo Kim by knockout in 14 rounds in a tragic fight. Kim died five days later and the fight's outcome brought many new resolutions to boxing.
- December 3 the Carnival of Champions
- Graham Gooch leads a "rebel" team of players on tour of South Africa, banned from official cricket since 1970 because of apartheid.
- Giro d'Italia won by Bernard Hinault of France
- Tour de France - Bernard Hinault of France
- World Cycling Championship: Giuseppe Saronni of Italy
- Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
- Rick Swenson won with lead dog: Andy
- Men's World Cup in Bombay, India
- Gold Medal: Pakistan
- Silver Medal: West Germany
- Bronze Medal: Australia
- Men's Champions Trophy in Amstelveen, The Netherlands
- Gold Medal: The Netherlands
- Silver Medal: Australia
- Bronze Medal: India
- March 20: In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium,England. The Netherlands beat England 4-2.
- World Figure Skating Championships:
- Men's champion: Scott Hamilton, (United States)
- Women's champion: Elaine Zayak, (United States)
- Pairs champions: Sabine Baess & Tassilo Thierbach, (Germany)
- Ice Dance champions: Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean (Great Britain)
- Super Bowl XVI: San Francisco 49ers won 26-21 over the Cincinnati Bengals
- NCAA Football: Clemson Tigers defeat Nebraska Cornhuskers 22-15 in the Orange Bowl, voted 1981 College Football National Champion in AP and UPI polls.
- Strike: First regular season strike by NFL players ends on November 16 after 57 days.
- Victorian Football League
- Carlton wins the 86th VFL Premiership (Carlton 14.19 (103) d Richmond 12.13 (83))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Brian Wilson (Melbourne)
- The inaugural VFL Players Association Most Valuable Player Award goes to Leigh Matthews (Hawthorn). The award would be renamed the Leigh Matthews Trophy in his honour in 2002.
- Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos won 32-16 over the Toronto Argonauts, the Eskimos' record fifth consecutive Grey Cup victory.
- Vanier Cup: UBC Thunderbirds won 39-14 over the Western Ontario Mustangs
- Five Nations Championship: Ireland win the Triple Crown for the first time since 1948.
The Sydney New South Wales Rugby League premiership expanded its competition for the very first time in its seventy four year history out of the state of New South Wales. Nine teams contested the initial season back in 1908, but to date the NSWRL consists of fourteen teams.
- Fourteen Teams competing
| Team | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | For | Against | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parramatta Eels | 26 | 21 | 0 | 5 | 619 | 242 | 42 |
| Manly Sea Eagles | 26 | 17 | 0 | 9 | 530 | 411 | 34 |
| North Sydney Bears | 26 | 16 | 1 | 9 | 399 | 360 | 33 |
| Eastern Suburbs Roosters | 26 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 437 | 304 | 32 |
| Western Suburbs Magpies | 26 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 412 | 349 | 32 |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | 26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 395 | 400 | 29 |
| Newtown Jets | 26 | 13 | 2 | 11 | 406 | 309 | 28 |
| Cronulla Sharks | 26 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 400 | 336 | 27 |
| Canterbury Bulldogs | 26 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 399 | 361 | 27 |
| St. George Dragons | 26 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 408 | 402 | 24 |
| Balmain Tigers | 26 | 10 | 1 | 15 | 383 | 427 | 21 |
| Penrith Panthers | 26 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 375 | 441 | 15 |
| Illawarra Steelers | 26 | 6 | 0 | 20 | 344 | 572 | 12 |
| Canberra Raiders | 26 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 269 | 862 | 8 |
- Parramatta Eels win their second title, defeating Manly Sea Eagles 21-8 in the final.
- World Cup: Italy (hosts: Spain)
- Champions' Cup: Aston Villa 1-0 Bayern München
- UEFA Cup: Two legs; 1st leg IFK Göteborg 1-0 Hamburger SV; 2nd leg Hamburger SV 0-3 IFK Göteborg. IFK Göteborg won 4-0 on aggregate
- Cup Winners' Cup: Barcelona 2-1 Standard Liège
- Super Cup: Two legs; 1st leg Barcelona 1-0 Aston Villa; 2nd leg Aston Villa 3-0 Barcelona. Aston Villa won 3-1 on aggregate
- Copa Libertadores de América: Two legs; 1st leg Peñarol 0-0 Cobreloa; 2nd leg Cobreloa 0-1 Peñarol. Peñarol win 1-0 on aggregate
- League champions
- Argentina: Ferro Carril Oeste (National Championship) and Estudiantes (Metropolitan Championship)
- Brazil: Flamengo
- England: Liverpool
- France: AS Monaco
- Italy: Juventus
- Netherlands: Ajax
- Portugal: Sporting Lisbon
- Scotland: Celtic
- Spain: Real Sociedad
- West Germany: Hamburger SV
- England - FA Cup: Tottenham Hotspur won 1-0 over Queens Park Rangers
- Gaelic football
- All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Offaly 1-15 d. Kerry 0-17
- National Football League: Kerry 1-9 d. Cork 0-5 (replay)
- Major championship results:
- May - The Masters - Craig Stadler
- June - US Open - Tom Watson
- July - British Open - Tom Watson
- August - PGA Championship - Ray Floyd
- PGA Tour leading money winner for the year: Craig Stadler - $446,462
- Champions Tour leading money winner: Miller Barber - $106,890
- US Women's Open - Janet Anderson
- LPGA Championship - Jan Stephenson
- JoAnne Carner: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $310,399.
- Australia - Melbourne Cup - Gurner's Lane
- Canada - Queen's Plate - Son of Briartic
- France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Akiyda
- Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Assert
- Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
- Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
- Stanley Cup: New York Islanders win 4-0 over the Vancouver Canucks
- World Hockey Championship:
- Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia
- Junior Men's champion: Canada defeated Czechoslovakia
- Alpine Skiing
- The men's overall season champion: Phil Mahre, USA
- The women's overall season champion: Erika Hess, Switzerland
- World Snooker Championship: Alex Higgins beats Ray Reardon 18-15
- World rankings: Ray Reardon becomes world number one for 1982/83
- Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
- Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
- Davis Cup: United States won 4-1 over France in world tennis.
- Billy Jean King makes her final singles appearance at the US Open, losing in the first round.
- Total prize money at US Open exceeds 1 million US dollars.
- Men's World Championship in Guayaquil, Ecuador
- Gold Medal: Soviet Union
- Silver Medal: Hungary
- Bronze Medal: West Germany
- Asian Games held in New Delhi, India
- First Gay Games held in San Francisco, California
Births
January
- January 1 — Ahmed Khaddour, Lebanese born Danish boxer
- January 1 — Joseph Lubega, Ugandan boxer
- January 1 — David Nalbandian, Argentinian tennis player
- January 1 — Sebastián Pardo, Chilean football player
- January 2 — Athanasia Tsoumeleka, Greek race walker
- January 5 — Janica Kostelic, Croatian alpine skier
- January 5 — Vadims Vasiļevskis, Latvian athlete
- January 7 — Joachim Johansson, Swedish tennis player
- January 7 — Hannah Stockbauer, German swimmer
- January 12 — Sherzod Abdurahmonov, Uzbek boxer
- January 13 — Guillermo Coria, Argentinian tennis player
- January 15 — Benjamin Agosto, American skater
- January 17 — Dwyane Wade, NBA player
- January 20 — Serghei Covalciuc, Moldovan football (soccer) midfielder
- January 29 — Adam van Koeverden, Canadian kayaker
February
- February 2 — Dorcus Inzikuru, Ugandan athlete
- February 2 — Filippo Magnini, Italian swimmer
- February 6 — Bojan Djordjic, Swedish football (soccer) player
- February 6 — Jade Edmistone, Australian swimmer
- February 9 — Zersenay Tadesse, Eritrean athlete
- February 10 — Justin Gatlin, American athlete
- February 14 — Marian Gaborik, Slovak ice hockey player
- February 17 — Adriano, Brazilian football (soccer) player
- February 19 — Camelia Potec, Romanian swimmer
- February 19 — Hamit Şare, Turkish skier
- February 23 — Malia Metella, French swimmer
- February 25 — Flavia Pennetta, Italian tennis player
- February 26 — Li Na, Chinese tennis player
- February 26 — Andrew Sewnauth, Scottish field hockey player
- February 28 — Thijs de Greeff, Dutch field hockey player
March
- March 2 — Henrik Lundqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
- March 2 — Joel Lundqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
- March 5 — Daniel Carter, New Zealand rugby player
- March 9 — Matias Paredes, Argentine field hockey midfielder
- March 17 — Steven Pienaar, South African football player
- March 21 — Klete Keller, American swimmer
April
- April 2 — David Ferrer, Spanish tennis player
- April 5 — Donna-Lee Patrick, Australian field hockey player
- April 8 — Gennadiy Golovkin, Kazakh boxer
- April 13 — Ria Male, Welsh field hockey goalkeeper
- April 22 — Kaká (Ricardo Iczecson Santos Leite), Brazilian football player
May
- May 1 — Tommy Robredo, Spanish tennis player
- May 4 — Markus Rogan, Austrian swimmer
- May 5 — Pavel Vorobiev, Kazakhstani ice hockey right winger
- May 6 — Kyle Shewfelt, Canadian gymnast
- May 8 — Ugur Yildirim, Dutch football player
- May 14 — Ai Shibata, Japanese swimmer
- May 15 — Veronica Campbell, Jamaican athlete
- May 17 — Tony Parker, French NBA player
- May 18 — Timo Glock, German race driver
- May 18 — Roderick Weusthof, Dutch field hockey player
- May 22 — Apolo Anton Ohno, US short track speed skater
- May 24 — DaMarcus Beasley, American football player
- May 26 — Mikel Arteta, Spanish football player
June
- June 1 — Justine Henin-Hardenne, Belgian tennis player
- June 3 — Yelena Isinbayeva, Russian athlete
- June 8 — Nadia Petrova, Russian tennis player
- June 11 — Diana Taurasi, WNBA player
- June 13 — Kenenisa Bekele, Ethiopian distance runner
- June 24 — Serginho Greene, Dutch football player
- June 25 — Mikhail Youzhny, Russian tennis player
July
- July 3 — Manon van Rooijen, Dutch swimmer
- July 9 — Rebecca Sanders, Australian field hockey international
- July 21 — Katy Sexton, British swimmer
- July 31 — Anabel Medina Garrigues, Spanish tennis player
August
- August 5 — Brian Johns, Canadian swimmer
- August 7 — Yana Klochkova, Ukrainian swimmer
- August 7 — Marco Melandri, Italian motorcyclist
- August 10 — Shaun Murphy, English snooker player
- August 12 — Andrew Hurd, Canadian swimmer
- August 12 — Even Wetten, Norwegian speed skater
- August 13 — Shani Davis, American speedskater
- August 24 — Kim Källström, Swedish footbll player
- August 25 — Rob Derikx, Dutch field hockey player
- August 28 — Thiago Motta, Brazilian football (soccer) player
- August 30 — Andy Roddick, American tennis player
- August 31 — Ian Crocker, American swimmer
- August 31 — Lien Huyghebaert, Belgian athlete
September
- September 11 — Elvan Abeylegesse, Ethiopian-born Turkish track and field athlete
- September 11 — Tom Prinsen, Dutch long track speedskater
- September 13 — Nenê, Brazilian NBA player
- September 19 — Eleni Daniilidou, Greek tennis player
- September 21 — Danny Kass, American snowboarder
- September 22 — Kosuke Kitajima, Japanese swimmer
- September 22 — Maarten Stekelenburg, Dutch football (soccer) goalkeeper
- September 24 — Paul Hamm, US gymnast
- September 27 — Fabian Estoyanoff, Uruguay football (soccer) player
- September 27 — Markus Rosenberg, Swedish football (soccer) player
- September 28 — Anderson Varejão, Brazilian basketball player
October
- October 8 — Glenn Kirkham, English field hockey player
- October 11 — Lucas Rey, Argentine field hockey midfielder
- October 11 — Helen Wardlaw, English cricketer
- October 11 — Matthias Witthaus, German field hockey player
- October 12 — Frédéric Michalak, French rugby union player
- October 13 — Ian Thorpe, Australian swimmer
- October 19 — Chantal Groot, Dutch swimmer
- October 22 — Isaac Ekpo, Nigerian boxer
- October 22 — Melinda Czink, Hungarian tennis player
November
- November 3 — Moniek Kleinsman, Dutch speed skater
- November 9 — Andy Souwer, Dutch shoot boxer and kickboxer
- November 11 — Asafa Powell, Jamaican athlete
- November 15 — Giaan Rooney, Australian swimmer
- November 16 — Amare Stoudemire, NBA player
- November 17 — Andriy Serdinov, Ukrainian swimmer
- November 24 — Jakob Jóhann Sveinsson, Icelandic swimmer
- November 30 — Igor Alborov, Uzbek boxer
- November 30 — Dilshod Mahmudov, Uzbek boxer
December
- December 9 — Tamilla Abassova, Russian cyclist
- December 11 — Darren Gilford, Maltese athlete
- December 13 — Tsoanelo Pholo, South African field hockey striker
Deaths
- January 07 - Bert Oosterhuis, Dutch motor racer
- January 20 - Marc Demeyer, 31, Belgian cyclist
- April 26 - Ville Ritola, Finnish Olympic gold medal runner
- May 7 - Claudio "Tripa" Barrientos, 45, Chilean boxer
- May 8 - Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian F1-race driver
- June 8 - Satchel Paige, baseball great
- August 12 - Salvador Sanchez, world champion boxer
- October 3 - Roger Claessen, Belgian soccer player
- November 13 - Dorothy Round, English tennis player
- November 17 - Duk Koo Kim, South Korean boxer
- November 26 - Hub Walker, Major League Baseball player
- December 16 - Anthony Chapman, English Formula One race driver