58 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 US beat the Soviets at Olympic hockey in 1980?

Al Michaels made the call for ABC, but American viewers heard it only that evening: the afternoon game was shown on tape delay.

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

Finland were beaten on 24 February 1980, two days after the Soviet game, to clinch the gold; the Americans had begun the tournament by rescuing a 2-2 draw with Sweden 27 seconds from the end.

Why did the United States lead a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics?

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 led President Carter to call the boycott; the Soviet Union and its allies retaliated by staying away from Los Angeles in 1984.

Which Warsaw Pact country defied the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics?

Romania was the only Warsaw Pact nation to go, and with its Eastern Bloc rivals absent it won 53 medals, more than any country except the United States and West Germany.

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 sprint relay in Berlin; Lewis, kept out of the 1980 Games by the US boycott, won the same four at his first Olympics.

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

The marathon for women made its debut in Los Angeles, and Joan Benoit won it months after qualifying at the US trials just 17 days after knee surgery.

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 fell after the collision and did not finish, while Budd led for a while longer before fading to finish seventh.

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.

Which American sprinter set the women's 100m and 200m world records in 1988?

Florence Griffith Joyner ran 10.49 at the US trials, then broke the 200m record twice in one day in Seoul, with 21.56 in the semi-final and 21.34 in the final.

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

Four majors and Olympic gold made up the first 'Golden Slam': Graf, 19, won the singles in Seoul, where tennis was a medal sport again for the first time since 1924.

Which unseeded 17-year-old became the youngest men's Wimbledon champion in 1985?

Boris Becker beat Kevin Curren in four sets to become Wimbledon's first unseeded and first German men's champion; Curren had knocked out the defending champion in straight sets.

Who won six straight Grand Slam singles titles across 1983 and 1984?

Martina Navratilova won every major from Wimbledon 1983 to the 1984 US Open; the run, and a 74-match winning streak, ended when Helena Suková beat her in that December's Australian Open semi-finals.

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

England's Peter Shilton was beaten when Maradona punched the ball in; the referee thought he had headed it, and minutes later Maradona dribbled from midfield through the defence to score again.

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

Gary Lineker scored all three goals of a 3-0 win over Poland inside 36 minutes, finished the tournament with six and joined Barcelona that summer.

Which trainer became Mike Tyson's legal guardian but died a year before his 1986 title win?

Cus D'Amato took the teenage Tyson in from a reform school and taught him his peek-a-boo style; a year after his death Tyson, 20, stopped Trevor Berbick to become the youngest heavyweight champion.

Which unbeaten rival did Mike Tyson knock out in 91 seconds in June 1988?

Michael Spinks had never lost as a professional and held his own claim to the heavyweight title; after those 91 seconds he never fought again.

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

Roberto Durán turned his back and quit late in the eighth round, five months after taking the title from Leonard; he insists he never said 'no más' and that broadcaster Howard Cosell coined it.

Which head coach led the 1985 Chicago Bears?

Mike Ditka's Bears went 15-1, released a rap single, The Super Bowl Shuffle, before the regular season had ended, then allowed only 10 points in three playoff games.

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

Dwight Clark's leaping catch of Joe Montana's pass at the back of the end zone beat Dallas in the final minute and sent the 49ers on to the franchise's first Super Bowl win.

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

Miami were beaten when Flutie's 48-yard pass was caught in the end zone as time ran out; the Boston College quarterback went on to win that season's Heisman Trophy.

Which quarterback threw a record 48 touchdown passes in the 1984 NFL season?

Dan Marino, in only his second season, shattered the old record of 36 touchdown passes, then lost what proved his only Super Bowl 38-16 to Joe Montana's 49ers.

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

The Los Angeles Kings paid US$15 million in cash, plus players and draft picks, to an Oilers owner, Peter Pocklington, who is said to have needed the money; Gretzky had just won his fourth Stanley Cup in Edmonton.

Whose run of four straight Stanley Cups did Gretzky's Oilers end in the 1984 final?

The New York Islanders had swept Edmonton in the 1983 final, but a year later the Oilers beat them for the first of four Stanley Cups in five seasons with Gretzky.

Which player won three straight NBA Most Valuable Player awards from 1984 to 1986?

Larry Bird, the first non-centre to win three in a row, had walked out of Indiana University as a freshman and gone home to French Lick before starting again at Indiana State.

Which rookie was named Most Valuable Player of the 1980 NBA Finals?

Magic Johnson, a point guard, started the deciding game at centre in place of the injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and scored 42 points; it was the first of his five titles with the Lakers.

Which centre did Portland draft second in 1984, one pick ahead of Michael Jordan?

Sam Bowie went second because Portland already had Clyde Drexler and Jim Paxson at Jordan's position; he arrived with a history of leg injuries from Kentucky, and more cut his career short.

Which brand did Michael Jordan want to sign with before Nike won him over in 1984?

Adidas was the brand Jordan wanted, but Nike built a signature line around him instead, and the first Air Jordan reached the shops in April 1985.

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

Villanova, a No. 8 seed, made 78.6% of its shots and missed only once in the second half to win 66-64 in the first year of the 64-team tournament.

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

Lorenzo Charles caught Dereck Whittenburg's desperate long shot as it fell short and dunked it; coach Jim Valvano then ran around the court looking for Whittenburg to hug.

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

The New York Mets stole Game 6 when a tenth-inning ground ball rolled through Buckner's legs at first base, then came from behind again to win Game 7 and the Series.

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, was one out from winning when the hobbling Gibson, sent up as a pinch hitter, hit a two-run homer to right for a 5-4 Dodgers win.

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?

Gambling on games, including his own team's, is what baseball's investigators found Rose had done as Reds manager; he denied it for 15 years, then admitted in a 2004 book that he had bet on baseball.

Which 46-year-old won his sixth Masters and 18th major in 1986?

Jack Nicklaus had not won a major since 1980; his sixth Green Jacket came 23 years after his first and made him 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?

Auburn's Bo Jackson beat Iowa's Chuck Long in what was then the closest Heisman vote, then spurned Tampa Bay, who drafted him first overall, to play baseball for Kansas City.

Which country did ski jumper Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards represent when he finished last at Calgary 1988?

Great Britain's first Olympic ski jumper, a plasterer from Cheltenham, finished last in both events yet went home a celebrity.

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

Sebastian Coe was favourite for the 800m in Moscow but lost it to Steve Ovett, then beat him in the 1,500m, the race Ovett was expected to win; he kept the title in Los Angeles.

Which 1980s star spent 270 weeks at world number one but never won Wimbledon?

Ivan Lendl won eight majors, but grass never suited his baseline game: he lost the Wimbledon finals of 1986 and 1987 and never took the title.

Which organiser of the profit-making 1984 Los Angeles Olympics was named Time's Man of the Year?

Peter Ueberroth leaned on corporate sponsors and existing venues such as the 1932 Coliseum, and the Games turned a profit of more than $200 million.

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

Greg Louganis needed stitches in his head, won the springboard the next day and the platform a week later, and revealed in 1995 that he had been HIV-positive at the time.

Yvonne van Gennip's three golds at Calgary 1988 upset the favoured speed skaters of which country?

East Germany's women were heavily favoured, but the Netherlands' Yvonne van Gennip, in hospital with a foot problem two months earlier, won the 1,500m, 3,000m and 5,000m.

Which American speed skater won all five men's events at the 1980 Winter Olympics?

Eric Heiden set an Olympic record in every race, quit skating that year, turned professional cyclist and later became an orthopaedic surgeon.

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

Ravel's Boléro could not be cut below 4 minutes 28 seconds, 18 over the limit, so they swayed to the music before skating: the clock started only once they moved off.

Which American 400m hurdler won 107 consecutive finals between 1977 and 1987?

Edwin Moses, a physics graduate, worked out that 13 strides between hurdles was the fastest way to run the race, and went almost ten years without losing.

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

Daley Thompson's great rival, West Germany's Jürgen Hingsen, came to Los Angeles as world record holder but never beat him when it mattered; Thompson stayed unbeaten until 1987.

Which pole vaulter became the first to clear six metres, in Paris in July 1985?

Sergey Bubka went on to break the world record 35 times and win six straight world titles, yet took only one Olympic medal, the gold at Seoul in 1988.

Which driver won eight races and his first world title in 1988, his first season with McLaren?

Ayrton Senna beat team-mate Alain Prost to the title in a car that lost only once all year, at Monza, where Senna tangled with a backmarker two laps from the end.

Who beat team-mate Alain Prost to the 1984 Formula One title by just half a point?

Niki Lauda won five races to Prost's seven yet took his third title; the half point came from Monaco, where rain stopped the race early and only half points were awarded.

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, less than 24 hours after root canal surgery.

Which country won the 1983 Cricket World Cup?

India were 66-1 outsiders and made only 183 in the final, yet bowled out the two-time champions West Indies to win.

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

France had beaten co-hosts Australia in the semi-finals, but New Zealand, who won every match of the tournament comfortably, dominated the final from start to finish.

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?

Ruiz joined the course near the finish, officials concluded: no one could remember seeing her during the race, and the title passed to Jacqueline Gareau.

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.

Who won the 18–16 fourth-set tiebreak of the 1980 Wimbledon final, only to lose the match?

John McEnroe saved five match points in the 34-point tiebreak, but Björn Borg won the fifth set 8-6 for his fifth straight Wimbledon title.