1978 In Sports ,
Other Events Of 1979 ,
1980 In Sports and the
List Of 'years In Sports' .
- receives 409 of 432 votes in the BBWAA election to earn enshrinement in the Hall Of Fame .
- March 10 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium,England.England drew 0-0 with Ireland.
- August - The 2nd Women's World Field Hockey Championships was held at Vancouver, Canada with the Netherlands as the champions.
Men's Golf
- won 17-11 over Europe in the first Ryder Cup to feature a side representing all Europe.
Women's Golf
- wins 5-0 over Italy in world tennis.
- September 7 - The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network ( ESPN ) makes its debut.
- January 2 — Hanna Ljungberg , Swedish football (soccer) player
- January 3 — Brooke Morrison , Australian field hockey player
- January 7 — Fabiola Zuluaga , Colombian tennis player
- January 9 — Kate Wilson-Smith , Australian badminton player
- January 11 — Olga Jarkova , Russian curler
- January 14 — Whynter Lamarre , Canadian water polo goalie
- January 15 — Marie-Helene Chisholm , Canadian judoka
- January 16 — Helen Grant , English field hockey player
- January 17 — Oleg Lisogor , Ukrainian swimmer
- January 21 — Brian O'Driscoll , Irish rugby player
- January 24 — Amanda Levens , American basketball player
- January 25 — Pi Hongyan , China-born badminton player from France
- January 26 — Joris Keizer , Dutch swimmer
- January 27 — Barbara Schwartz , Austrian tennis player
- January 30 — Luis Amaranto Perea , Colombian football (soccer) defender
- January 30 — Karen Smith , Australian field hockey player
- February 2 — Fani Halkia , Greek athlete
- February 9 — Irina Slutskaya , Russian figure skater
- February 9 — Luka Špik , Slovenian rower
- February 13 — Rafael Márquez , Mexican football (soccer) player
- February 15 — Alenka Kejžar , Slovenian swimmer
- February 16 — Valentino Rossi , Italian motorcyclist
- February 17 — Cara Black , Zimbabwean tennis player
- February 19 — Sarah Schleper , American alpine skier
- February 20 — Cindy Morgan , Australian field hockey player
- February 21 — Nathalie Dechy , French tennis player
- February 28 — Gareth Brooks , New Zealand field hockey player
- March 1 — Magui Serna , Spanish tennis player
- March 4 — Geoff Huegill , Australian swimmer
- March 12 — Jamie Dwyer , Australian field hockey player
- March 12 — Nidia Guenard , Puerto Rican wrestler
- March 13 — Cédric Van Branteghem , Belgian athlete
- March 14 — Nicolas Anelka , French football (soccer) player
- March 14 — Gao Ling , Chinese female badminton player
- March 16 — Suzie Faulkner , Australian field hockey player
- March 21 — Ben Bishop , Australian field hockey player
- March 22 — Minke Smabers , Dutch field hockey player
- March 23 — Natalya Baranovskaya , Belarusian swimmer
- March 23 — Misty Hyman , American swimmer
- March 26 — Almudena Gallardo , Spanish archer
- April 5 — Emily Halliday , Australian field hockey player
- April 6 — Jana Salat , Canadian waterpolo player
- April 7 — Michel Kratochvil , Swiss tennis player
- April 12 — Mateja Kezman , Serbian football (soccer) player
- April 13 — Meghann Shaughnessy , American tennis player
- April 16 — Christijan Albers , Dutch Formula 1-driver
- April 18 — Ngaire Smith , Australian field hockey player
- April 18 — Pawina Thongsuk , Thai weightlifter
- April 19 — Candice Forword , South African field hockey forward
- April 24 — Ronald Brouwer , Dutch field hockey player
- April 27 — Alison Bradley , Canadian softball player
- April 30 — Kip Carpenter , American speed skater
- April 30 — Gerardo Torrado , Mexican football (soccer) player
- May 1 — Ann Dow , Canadian waterpolo player
- May 1 — Lars Berger , Norwegian biathlete
- May 5 — Muideen Ganiyu , Nigerian boxer
- May 9 — Rubens Bertogliati , Swiss road cyclist
- May 11 — Javier Bruses , Spanish field hockey goalkeeper
- May 15 — Ravi Kahlon , Canadian field hockey player
- May 16 — Jonas Lennart Andersson , Swedish archer
- May 18 — Justin Sheriff , Irish field hockey forward
- May 19 — Diego Forlán , Uruguay football (soccer) player
- May 24 — Tracy McGrady , NBA star
- May 24 — Natalya Nazarova , Russian athlete
- May 25 — Jonny Wilkinson , English rugby union player
- May 27 — Salem Mubarak Al-Yami , Saudi Arabian athlete
- May 29 — Angela Platt , Irish field hockey goalkeeper
- May 31 — Said Saif Asaad , Qatari weightlifter
- June 6 — Solenne Figues , French swimmer
- June 6 — Lisanne De Roever , Dutch field hockey player
- June 7 — Kevin Hofland , Dutch football (soccer) player
- June 11 — Ali Boussaboun , Moroccan-born football (soccer) player
- June 11 — Patricia Miranda , US wrestler
- June 15 — Yulia Nesterenko , Belarusian athlete
- June 16 — Hüsnü Koçabas , Dutch boxer
- June 20 — Todd Matthews-Jouda , Sudanese track and field athlete
- June 22 — Joey Cheek , American speed skater
- June 24 — Fanny Letourneau , Canadian synchronised swimmer
- June 27 — Ehud Vaks , Israeli judoka
- June 29 — Marleen Veldhuis , Dutch swimmer
- July 5 — Amélie Mauresmo , French tennis player
- July 7 — Alexandra Fouace , French archer
- July 7 — Matias Vila , Argentine field hockey midfielder
- July 8 — Olesya Krasnomovets , Russian athlete
- July 9 — Andrea Dewar , Canadian waterpolo player
- July 13 — Saralee Thungthongkam , Thai badminton player
- July 16 — Mai Nakamura , Japanese swimmer
- July 16 — Kim Rhode , American shooter
- July 17 — Juan Manuel Vivaldi , Argentine field hockey goalkeeper
- July 20 — Gijs Damen , Dutch swimmer
- July 20 — Miklós Fehér , Hungarian football (soccer) player (d. 2004 )
- July 21 — Tine Rasmussen , Danish badminton player
- July 25 — Mylanie Barre , Canadian canoeist
- July 31 — Carlos Marchena , Spanish football (soccer) player
- December 5 — Khumiso Ikgopoleng , Botswanan boxer
- December 7 — Nigella Saunders , Jamaican badminton player
- December 8 — Christian Wilhelmsson , Swedish football (soccer) player
- December 12 — Razundara Tjikuzu , Namibian football (soccer) player
- December 14 — Michael Owen , English football player
- December 17 — Charlotte Edwards , English cricketer
- December 17 — Thum Ping Tjin , Singaporean swimmer
- December 20 — Michael Rogers , Australian cyclist
- December 21 — Stephen Lambert , Australian field hockey goalkeeper
- December 24 — Lucilla Wright , British field hockey player
- December 26 — Aleksander Rodić , Slovenian football (soccer) player
- December 30 — Angela Lichty , Canadian softball player
- December 30 — Abi Oyepitan , British athlete
- February 21 – Glendon Gibbs , Australian cricketer
- March 8 – Gérard Blitz , Belgian swimmer and water polo player (b. 1901 )
- April 6 – M Marie Widlow , Hall of Fame softball pitcher
- May 31 – Nigel Howard , English cricketer
- June 22 – Louis Chiron , Grand Prix motor racing champion
- July 5 – Elizabeth Ryan , tennis player, won nineteen Wimbledon titles
- July 9 – Betty Evans Grayson , Hall of Fame softball pitcher
- July 21 – Sandor Kocsis , Hungarian soccer player
- July 22 – Tony "Two-Ton" Galento , boxer and actor
- August 2 – Thurman Munson , New York Yankees catcher (1969-1979), plane crash
- August 21 – Giuseppe Meazza , Italian soccer player
- October 22 – Clint Hodgins , Hall of Fame harness-racing driver
- December 15 – Stan Hack , Major League Baseball player (1932-1947)
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