60 Fun Facts About 1980s Sports

The Miracle on Ice took place at which 1980 Winter Olympics?

Lake Placid, New York, hosted the 1980 Winter Olympics, where a US team of college players beat the Soviet Union 4-3 on 22 February 1980.

Which broadcaster asked "Do you believe in miracles?" as the clock ran out on the US-Soviet game?

Al Michaels, calling the game for ABC, shouted 'Do you believe in miracles? Yes!' as the final seconds of the 4-3 win ran out.

Which team did the US have to beat after the Soviets to clinch the 1980 hockey gold?

The US beat Finland 4-2 on 24 February 1980, scoring three third-period goals after trailing 2-1, to take the gold ahead of the Soviet Union.

Why did the United States and 65 other countries boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics?

President Carter led the boycott after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979; the Soviet Union answered by boycotting Los Angeles in 1984.

How many Eastern Bloc countries boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics?

14 countries, led by the Soviet Union and East Germany, stayed away from Los Angeles in 1984; Romania was the only Warsaw Pact member to attend.

Whose 1936 feat of four track and field golds did Carl Lewis match in Los Angeles in 1984?

Jesse Owens won the 100m, 200m, long jump and 4x100m relay at Berlin in 1936; Lewis took the same four events in Los Angeles 48 years later.

Which event was held for women for the first time at the 1984 Olympics?

The women's marathon debuted at Los Angeles in 1984; American Joan Benoit won it in 2:24:52, with Norway's Grete Waitz second.

Who became the first American woman to win the Olympic gymnastics all-around title in 1984?

Mary Lou Retton, a 16-year-old from Fairmont, West Virginia, scored a perfect 10 on the vault to win the 1984 all-around by 0.05 points.

Barefoot runner Zola Budd famously tangled with which American in the 1984 Olympic 3,000m?

Mary Decker, the reigning world 1,500m and 3,000m champion, fell after tangling with Budd, and Romania's Maricica Puica went on to win the race.

Which drug did Ben Johnson test positive for after winning the Seoul 1988 100m in a world-record 9.79?

Johnson's sample showed the anabolic steroid stanozolol; he was stripped of the gold and the 9.79 record, and Carl Lewis was awarded the title.

Florence Griffith Joyner ran a world-record 21.34 seconds in 1988 over which distance?

Griffith Joyner ran 21.34 in the 200m final at Seoul on 29 September 1988, a world record; her 100m mark of 10.49 came at the US trials that July.

What did Steffi Graf achieve in 1988 that no tennis player had before?

Tennis had only just returned to the Olympics in Seoul.

How old was Boris Becker when he became the youngest men's Wimbledon champion in 1985?

Becker was 17 years and 227 days old when he beat Kevin Curren in the 1985 final, also becoming the first unseeded champion and the first German winner.

How many consecutive singles majors did Martina Navratilova win across 1983 and 1984?

Navratilova won 6 straight majors: Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open in 1983, then the French, Wimbledon and the US Open in 1984, before Helena Sukova stopped her in Melbourne.

Against which country did Diego Maradona score the Hand of God goal in 1986?

Maradona punched the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton in the Mexico City quarter-final of 22 June 1986, then scored the Goal of the Century four minutes later.

Which England striker won the Golden Boot at the 1986 World Cup with six goals?

Gary Lineker scored six goals at Mexico 1986, including a hat-trick against Poland, to win the Golden Boot and earn a move to Barcelona.

How old was Mike Tyson when he became the youngest heavyweight champion in history in 1986?

Tyson was 20 years and 4 months old when he stopped Trevor Berbick in two rounds on 22 November 1986 to take the WBC title.

How long did Tyson need to knock out Michael Spinks in 1988?

Tyson knocked Spinks out in 91 seconds of the first round at Atlantic City on 27 June 1988, adding Spinks's lineal title to his undisputed belts.

Which boxer turned away and quit in the eighth round of the 1980 "No Más" fight?

Roberto Durán turned away saying 'no más' in the eighth round at the New Orleans Superdome on 25 November 1980, five months after beating Leonard in Montreal.

The 1985 middleweight fight known as "The War" lasted how many rounds?

Marvin Hagler stopped Thomas Hearns in what are often called the greatest three rounds in boxing.

What was the 1985 Chicago Bears' regular-season record?

The Bears went 15-1 in 1985, their only loss coming 38-24 at Miami on Monday Night Football, which kept the 1972 Dolphins' perfect season unmatched.

By what score did the Bears win Super Bowl XX?

The Bears beat New England 46-10 in New Orleans on 26 January 1986; the 36-point margin stood as a Super Bowl record until the 49ers' 55-10 win four years later.

Who caught "The Catch" from Joe Montana in the January 1982 NFC Championship Game?

Dwight Clark leapt to take Montana's 6-yard pass at the back of the end zone with 51 seconds left, giving the 49ers a 28-27 win over Dallas on 10 January 1982.

Doug Flutie's 1984 Hail Mary pass beat which defending national champion?

Boston College beat Miami 47-45 at the Orange Bowl on 23 November 1984 when Gerard Phelan caught Flutie's 48-yard heave as time expired.

How many touchdown passes did Dan Marino throw in his record 1984 season?

Marino threw 48 touchdown passes and 5,084 yards in 1984; Peyton Manning finally broke the touchdown mark with 49 in 2004.

To which team was Wayne Gretzky traded on August 9, 1988?

The Los Angeles Kings sent Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, three first-round picks and US$15 million to Edmonton for Gretzky, Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski.

How many Stanley Cups did Gretzky win with the Edmonton Oilers?

Gretzky captained Edmonton to 4 Stanley Cups, in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988; the Oilers won a fifth in 1990 without him.

Larry Bird won three consecutive NBA MVP awards in which years?

Bird took the MVP in 1984, 1985 and 1986, matching the three straight awards of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, who were both centres.

How many NBA titles did Magic Johnson win with the Showtime Lakers?

Magic Johnson won 5 titles with the Lakers, in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988, taking Finals MVP as a rookie in 1980.

Which two players were drafted ahead of Michael Jordan in 1984?

Houston took Hakeem Olajuwon first after winning a coin flip, and Portland chose Sam Bowie second with a pick acquired from Indiana; Chicago took Jordan third.

When was the first Air Jordan shoe released to the public?

Peter Moore's Air Jordan 1 reached stores in April 1985 at $65 a pair, months after Jordan had begun wearing Nike on court in late 1984.

Which eighth-seeded team beat Georgetown in the 1985 NCAA final in "The Perfect Game"?

Villanova, an eighth seed, shot 22 of 28 from the field to beat Georgetown 66-64 on 1 April 1985, the first year of the 64-team tournament.

Whose buzzer-beating dunk won NC State the 1983 NCAA title over Houston?

Whittenburg's 30-foot heave fell short and Charles slammed it home; Jim Valvano ran around looking for someone to hug.

Bill Buckner's infamous error came in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series against which team?

Mookie Wilson's tenth-inning grounder went through Buckner's legs to give the New York Mets a 6-5 win at Shea Stadium; they took Game 7 two days later.

Off which pitcher did the injured Kirk Gibson hit his walk-off homer in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series?

Dennis Eckersley, Oakland's closer, gave up the two-run homer on a 3-2 backdoor slider to Gibson, whose only plate appearance of the series it was; the Dodgers won in five.

What interrupted the 1989 World Series between the Athletics and Giants before Game 3?

The magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake struck at 5:04 pm on 17 October 1989, minutes before Game 3 at Candlestick Park, and delayed the series ten days; Oakland swept.

Why was Pete Rose banned from baseball for life in August 1989?

He is still MLB's all-time hits leader with 4,256.

How old was Jack Nicklaus when he won his sixth Masters and 18th major in 1986?

Nicklaus, 46, shot 30 on the back nine on 13 April 1986 for a closing 65, beating Tom Kite and Greg Norman by one to become the oldest Masters champion.

Who became the first non-European to win the Tour de France, in 1986?

Greg LeMond won the 1986 Tour ahead of his La Vie Claire teammate Bernard Hinault; shot in a 1987 hunting accident, he returned to win the 1989 Tour by eight seconds.

Bo Jackson won the 1985 Heisman Trophy at which university?

Bo Jackson ran for 1,786 yards for Auburn in 1985 and beat Iowa's Chuck Long for the Heisman by 45 points, then the closest vote ever.

Which two unlikely stories from the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics became Hollywood films?

Cool Runnings (1993) told the Jamaican bobsled team's story and Eddie the Eagle (2016) told Michael Edwards's; Edwards finished last in both Calgary ski jumps.

Which Briton won the Olympic 1,500m in both 1980 and 1984?

Sebastian Coe beat Steve Ovett in Moscow in 1980 and Steve Cram in Los Angeles in 1984; his 1981 800m world record of 1:41.73 stood until 1997.

Which Czech-born player spent 270 weeks at world number one but never won Wimbledon?

Ivan Lendl won eight majors and reached eight straight US Open finals from 1982 to 1989, but lost the Wimbledon finals of 1986 and 1987.

How much profit did the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics make, unheard of at the time?

The Games run by Peter Ueberroth returned a surplus of $232.5 million by using existing venues and charging a few dozen sponsors at least $4 million each.

Which diver won two Seoul 1988 golds after striking his head on the springboard?

Greg Louganis hit his head on the springboard in the preliminaries, needed stitches, and still won both the springboard and platform golds, repeating his 1984 double.

Which Dutch speed skater won the 1,500m, 3,000m and 5,000m at Calgary 1988?

Yvonne van Gennip won all three distances at Calgary in 1988, setting world records in the 3,000m and 5,000m and denying the East German favourites.

How many individual gold medals did speed skater Eric Heiden win at the 1980 Winter Olympics?

Heiden won five golds, sweeping the 500, 1,000, 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 m, and set an Olympic record in every one of them.

Torvill and Dean's perfect-score gold at Sarajevo 1984 was skated to which piece of music?

Torvill and Dean's free dance to Ravel's Boléro on 14 February 1984 earned 6.0 for artistic impression from every judge and was watched by more than 24 million Britons.

How many consecutive 400 m hurdles finals did Edwin Moses win between 1977 and 1987?

Moses won 107 consecutive finals (122 races including heats) from August 1977 until Danny Harris beat him in Madrid in June 1987; he set four world records.

Which decathlete won Olympic gold in 1980 and 1984 and went nine years unbeaten?

Daley Thompson won in Moscow in 1980 and Los Angeles in 1984 and set four decathlon world records; he went unbeaten from 1978 until 1987.

In which city did Sergey Bubka become the first pole vaulter to clear six metres, in July 1985?

Bubka cleared 6.00 m in Paris on 13 July 1985; he went on to break the world record 35 times and topped six metres on 45 occasions.

How many of the 16 Grands Prix did McLaren's Senna and Prost win between them in 1988?

McLaren won 15 of 16 races in 1988, eight for Senna and seven for Prost; only Gerhard Berger's Ferrari win at Monza broke the sweep.

By what margin did Niki Lauda beat teammate Alain Prost to the 1984 Formula One title, the closest ever?

Lauda finished on 72 points to Prost's 71.5, the half point coming from the rain-shortened Monaco Grand Prix, which awarded only half points.

Doug Williams became the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl in January 1988 by routing which team?

Washington beat the Denver Broncos 42-10 in San Diego; Williams threw four touchdown passes in the second quarter alone, a day after a six-hour root canal.

Which country won the 1983 Cricket World Cup, staged in England and Wales?

Matches were 60 overs a side, played in whites with red balls, and West Indies were the two-time defending champions.

Whom did New Zealand beat 29–9 in the final of the first Rugby World Cup in 1987?

New Zealand beat France 29-9 at Eden Park, Auckland, on 20 June 1987, with David Kirk lifting the trophy; South Africa was excluded over apartheid.

Who beat Steve Davis on the final black of the deciding frame in the 1985 World Snooker final?

Dennis Taylor trailed 8-0 and 9-1 before clawing back to 17-17 and potting the final black after midnight on 29 April 1985, watched by 18.5 million BBC viewers.

Rosie Ruiz lost her 1980 Boston Marathon women's title after it emerged she had done what?

No runner recalled seeing her, and Jacqueline Gareau, who had led at 18 miles, was declared the winner.

In the 1983 Pine Tar Game, which Yankees manager had the umpires inspect George Brett's bat?

Billy Martin asked the umpires to measure the pine tar on Brett's bat after his two-run homer off Goose Gossage on 24 July 1983; the call was later overturned on appeal.

What was the score of the epic fourth-set tiebreak in the 1980 Wimbledon final between Borg and McEnroe?

McEnroe took the fourth-set tiebreak 18-16 after saving seven championship points, but Borg won the fifth set 8-6 for his fifth straight title on 5 July 1980.