1986 in sports

yearbox
in?=in sports
cp=19th century
c=20th century
cf=21st century

yp1=1983
yp2=1984
yp3=1985
year=1986
ya1=1987
ya2=1988
ya3=1989
dp3=1950s
dp2=1960s
dp1=1970s
d=1980s
da=0
dn1=1990s
dn2=2000s
dn3=2010s|

Athletics

:"For an extensive coverage see 1986 in athletics (track and field)"

=Auto Racing=

*Stock car racing:
**February- Geoff Bodine won the Daytona 500
**NASCAR Championship - Dale Earnhardt
*CART Racing - Bobby Rahal
**June - Indianapolis 500 - Bobby Rahal Note: this race was run on a Saturday 6 days after the race was rained out.
*Formula One Championship - Alain Prost of France
*24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Derek Bell / Hans-Joachim Stuck / Al Holbert won, driving a Porsche 962C
*Rally racing - Juha Kankkunen in a Peugeot won the World Rally Championship
**the team of Henri Toivonen / Sergio Cresto won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Lancia Delta S4
*Drag racing:
**Don Garlits won the NHRA "Top Fuel" championship
**Darrell Gwynn won Top Fuel at the NHRA Winston Finals

Baseball

* All-Star Game: American League Manager Dick Howser is diagnosed with brain cancer after mixing up signals during the game.
* Dave Righetti saves 46 games for the New York Yankees, breaking a record shared by Dan Quisenberry and Bruce Sutter.
* October 27 - World Series: The New York Mets win 4 games to 3 over the Boston Red Sox. Note: The series is forever remembered in Game 6 when the Red Sox blew a 2-run lead with 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th as the game and eventually the series went through the legs of Bill Buckner.

Basketball

*NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
**Louisville wins 72-69 over Duke
*NBA Finals Finals:
**June - Boston Celtics win 4 games to 2 over the Houston Rockets
*National Basketball League (Australia) Finals:
**Adelaide 36ers defeated the Brisbane Bullets 2-1 in the best-of-three final series.
*FIBA World Championship
**USA World Champion

Boxing

*March 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada – Marvin Hagler retained the World Middleweight Championship with an 11th round knockout of John Mugabi.
* May 8 to 18 – Fourth World Amateur Boxing Championships held in Reno, United States
**"Light Flyweight (– 48 kg):" Juan Torres Odelin (Cuba)
**"Flyweight (– 51 kg):" Pedro Orlando Reyes (Cuba)
**"Bantamweight (– 54 kg):" Moon Sung-Kil (South Korea)
**"Featherweight (– 57 kg):" Kelcie Banks (United States)
**"Lightweight (– 60 kg):" Adolfo Horta (Cuba)
**"Light Welterweight (– 63,5 kg):" Vassili Shyshov (Soviet Union)
**"Welterweight (– 67 kg):" Kenneth Gould (United States)
**"Light Middleweight (– 71 kg):" Angel Espinosa (Cuba)
**"Middleweight (– 75 kg):" Darrin Allen (United States)
**"Light Heavyweight (– 81 kg):" Pablo Romero (Cuba)
**"Heavyweight (– 91 kg):" Félix Savón (Cuba)
**"Super Heavyweight (> 91 kg):" Teófilo Stevenson (Cuba)
* November 22 – Mike Tyson knocks-out Trevor Berbick in a round 2 fight, becoming the youngest world heavyweight-boxing champion (He 20 years, 4 months old).

Cycling

*Giro d'Italia won by Roberto Visentini of Italy
*Tour de France - Greg LeMond is the first winner from the United States
*World Cycling Championship: Moreno Argentin of Italy

Dogsled racing

*Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
**Susan Butcher won with lead dogs: "Granite" & "Mattie"

Field Hockey

* Men's World Cup in London, England
** Gold Medal: Australia
** Silver Medal: England
** Bronze Medal: West Germany

* Men's Champions Trophy in Karachi, Pakistan
** Gold Medal: West Germany
** Silver Medal: Australia
** Bronze Medal: Pakistan

* Women's World Cup in Amstelveen, The Netherlands
** Gold Medal: The Netherlands
** Silver Medal: West Germany
** Bronze Medal: Canada

Figure skating

*World Figure Skating Championships:
**Men's champion: Brian Boitano, United States
**Ladies' champion: Debi Thomas, United States
**Pair skating champions: Ekaterina Gordeeva / Sergei Grinkov, Soviet Union
**Ice dancing champions: Natalia Bestemianova / Andrei Bukin, Soviet Union

=Football (American)=

*January 26 - Super Bowl XX: Chicago Bears won 46-10 over the New England Patriots

Football (Australian rules football)

* Victorian Football League
** Hawthorn wins the 90th VFL Premiership (Hawthorn 16.14 (110) d Carlton 9.14 (68))
** Brownlow Medal awarded to Greg Williams (Sydney Swans) and Robert DiPierdomenico (Hawthorn)
** The national draft is held for the first time.

=Football (Canadian)=

*Grey Cup: Hamilton Tiger-Cats won 39-15 over the Edmonton Eskimos
*Vanier Cup: UBC Thunderbirds won 25-23 over the Western Ontario Mustangs

Football (Soccer)

::"For an extensive coverage see 1986 in football (soccer)"
*1986 World Cup: In the final, played for second time in Mexico City, Azteca Stadium, Argentina defeated West Germany 3-2 and won their second World Cup title.
*UEFA Champions League: Steaua Bucureşti 0-0 F.C. Barcelona; Steaua Bucureşti won 2-0 on penalties
*UEFA Cup:Two legs; 1st leg Real Madrid C.F. 5-1 1. FC Köln; 2nd leg 1.FC Köln 2-0 Real Madrid CF. Real Madrid CF won 5-3 on aggregate
*Cup Winners' Cup: Dinamo Kiev 3-0 Atlético Madrid
*Super Cup: Steaua Bucureşti 1-0 Dinamo Kiev
*Copa Libertadores de América: Two legs; 1st leg América de Cali 1-2 River Plate; 2nd leg River Plate 1-0 América. River Plate won 3-1 on aggregate
* November 6 - Alex Ferguson is appointed manager of Manchester United F.C.
*Milk Cup Final held at Wembley Stadium: Oxford United 3-0 QPR

Gaelic Athletic Association

*Camogie
**All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Kilkenny
**National Camogie League: Cork

*Gaelic football
**All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Kerry 2-15 d. Tyrone 1-10
**National Football League: Laois 2-6 d. Monaghan 2-5

*Ladies' Gaelic football
**All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Kerry
**National Football League: Wexford

*Hurling
**All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Cork 4-13 d. Galway 2-15
**National Hurling League:

Golf

Men's professional
*April 10-13 - Masters Tournament - Jack Nicklaus becomes the oldest Masters winner (age 46), and wins his last major golf championship (excluding the Senior PGA Tour).
*June 12-15 - U.S. Open - Raymond Floyd
*July 15-18 - British Open - Greg Norman
*August 7-11 - PGA Championship - Bob Tway
*PGA Tour money leader - Greg Norman - $653,296
*Senior PGA Tour money leader - Bruce Crampton - $454,299Men's amateur
*British Amateur - David Curry
*U.S. Amateur - Buddy AlexanderWomen's professional
*Nabisco Dinah Shore - Pat Bradley
*LPGA Championship - Pat Bradley
*U.S. Women's Open - Jane Geddes
*Classique du Maurier Classic - Pat Bradley
*LPGA Tour money leader - Pat Bradley - $492,021

=Thoroughbred Horse Racing=

*Australia - Melbourne Cup - At Talaq
*Canada - Queen's Plate - Golden Choice
*France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Dancing Brave
*Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Shahrastani

*English Triple Crown Races:
*#2,000 Guineas Stakes - Dancing Brave
*#Epsom Derby - Shahrastani
*#St. Leger Stakes - Moon Madness

*United States Triple Crown Races:
*#May 3 - Kentucky Derby - Ferdinand
*#Preakness Stakes - Snow Chief
*#Belmont Stakes - Danzig Connection

*Breeders' Cup:
*#Breeders' Cup Classic - Skywalker
*#Breeders' Cup Distaff - Lady's Secret
*#Breeders' Cup Juvenile - Capote
*#Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies - Brave Raj
*#Breeders' Cup Mile - Last Tycoon
*#Breeders' Cup Sprint - Smile
*#Breeders' Cup Turf - Manila

=Harness Racing=

*North America Cup - Goalie Jeff

*United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
*#Cane Pace - Barberry Spur
*#Little Brown Jug - Barberry Spur
*#Messenger Stakes - Amity Chef

*United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
*#Hambletonian - Nuclear Kosmos
*#Yonkers Trot - Gunslinger Spur
*#Kentucky Futurity - Sugarcane Hanover

*Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
**Pacers: Village Kid

Ice Hockey

*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: Montreal Canadiens won 4 games to 1 over the Calgary Flames

*World Hockey Championship:
** Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
** Junior Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Canada

Lacrosse

* The 5th World Lacrosse Championship is held in Toronto, Ontario. The United States win, and Canada is the runner-up.
* The first Japanese lacrosse team is formed at Keio University.
* The Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL) is formed as the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League.
* The New Westminster­ Salmonbellies win the Mann Cup.
* Mississauga wins the Founders Cup.
* The Peterborough Maulers win the Minto Cup.

Radiosport

*Third Amateur Radio Direction Finding World Championship held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.

Skiing

*Alpine Skiing
**The men's overall season champion: Marc Girardelli, Luxembourg
**The women's overall season champion: Maria Walliser, Switzerland

Snooker

*World Snooker Championship: Joe Johnson beats Steve Davis 18-12
*World rankings: Steve Davis remains world number one for 1986/87

Swimming

Events

* The fifth FINA World Championships held in Madrid, Spain

Records

* June 26 — Matt Biondi takes the world record from fellow American Tom Jager (22.40) in the 50m freestyle (long course) at a swimming meet in Orlando, Florida, clocking 22.33.

Tennis

*Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
*#Australian Open - no tournament held
*#French Open - Ivan Lendl
*#Wimbledon championships - Boris Becker
*#September - US Open - Boris Becker

*Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
*#Australian Open - no tournament held
*#French Open - Chris Evert
*#Wimbledon championships - Martina Navratilova
*#September - US Open - Martina Navratilova

*Davis Cup: Australia won 3-2 over Sweden in world tennis.

Volleyball

* Men's World Championship in Paris, France
** Gold Medal: United States
** Silver Medal: Soviet Union
** Bronze Medal: Bulgaria

* Women's World Championship in Prague, Czechoslovakia
** Gold Medal: PR China
** Silver Medal: Cuba
** Bronze Medal: Peru

Water Polo

Men's Competition

* Men's World Championship in Madrid, Spain
** Gold Medal: wp|YUG
** Silver Medal: wp|ITA
** Bronze Medal: wp|URS

Women's Competition

* Women's World Championship in Madrid, Spain
** Gold Medal: wpw|AUS
** Silver Medal: wpw|NED
** Bronze Medal: wpw|USA

Multi-sport events

*Asian Games held in Seoul, South Korea

* Winter Asian Games held in Sapporo, Japan

* Central American and Caribbean Games held in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic

*British Commonwealth Games held in Edinburgh, Scotland

* Summer Goodwill Games held in Moscow, Soviet Union

* Gay Games held in San Francisco, California

Awards

*Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Larry Bird, NBA Finals NBA basketball
*Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Martina Navratilova, Tennis

Births

January

* January 8 — Shuai Peng, Chinese tennis player
* January 9 — Saša Imprić, Croatian medley swimmer
* January 11 — Nancy Carrillo, Cuban volleyball player
* January 16 — Marta Domachowska, Polish tennis player
* January 20 — Krystina Alogbo, Canadian water polo player
* January 26 — Thiago Pereira, Brazilian medley swimmer

February

* February 1 — Pablo Cuevas, Uruguayan tennis player
* February 6 — Mathew Tait, English rugby union player
* February 11 — Bob Altena, Dutch decathlete
* February 14 — Aschwin Wildeboer, Dutch-Spanish backstroke swimmer
* February 19 — Marta, Brazilian footballer
* February 26 — Katia Pisetsky, Ukraine-born gymnast from Israel

March

* March 5 — Braulio Ávila, Mexican boxer
* March 8 — Maria Borodakova, Russian volleyball player
* March 11 — Amanda Weir, American swimmer
* March 17 — Corney Swanepoel, South African-born butterfly swimmer from New Zealand
* March 21 — Romanos Alyfantis, Greek breaststroke swimmer
* March 26 — Ellen Hoog, Dutch field hockey player
* March 26 — Emma Laine, Finnish tennis player
* March 28 — Barbora Strýcová, Czech tennis player
* March 30 — Yanelis Santos, Cuban volleyball player

April

* April 1 — Ireen Wüst, Dutch long track speed skater
* April 2 — Ibrahim Afellay, Moroccan-born football player from Holland
* April 4 — Richard Petherick, New Zealand field hockey player
* April 9 — Mirna Jukić, Croatia-born swimmer from Austra
* April 10 — Diana MacManus, American backstroke swimmer
* April 15 — Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, Dutch football player
* April 16 — Bronwen Knox, Australian water polo player
* April 19 — Candace Parker, American basketball player
* April 23 — Sven Kramer, Dutch speed skater
* April 26 — Gu Wei, Chinese weightlifter
* April 27 — Dinara Safina, Russian tennis player

May

* May 12 — Im Dong-hyun, South Korean archer
* May 16 — Karla Echenique, Dominican Republic volleyball player
* May 23 — Alice Mills, Australian swimmer

June

* June 3 — Rafael Nadal, Spanish tennis player
* June 9 — Caroline Bruce, US swimmer
* June 12 — Stanislava Komarova, Russian swimmer

July

* July 4 — Rafael Arevalo, Salvadoran tennis player
* July 12 — JP Pietersen, South African rugby player
* July 13 — Mirat Sarsembayev, Kazakhstani boxer
* July 22 — Oriol Camejo, Cuban volleyball player
* July 23 — Muhammet Kızılarslan, Turkish cross-country skier
* July 31 — Paola Espinosa, Mexican diver

August

* August 7 — Juan de la Rosa, Mexican boxer
* August 19 — Saori Kimura, Japanese volleyball player
* August 21 — Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter
* August 23 — Lucas Vila, Argentinian field hockey striker

eptember

* September 1 — Gaël Monfils, French tennis player
* September 1 — Lisseth Orozco, Colombian judoka
* September 3 — Shaun White, American snow- and skateboarder
* September 15 — Sanja Jovanović, Croatian backstroke swimmer
* September 24 — Tomás Argento, Argentine field hockey striker

October

* October 4 — Simon Sjödin, Swedish swimmer
* October 9 — Laure Manaudou, French swimmer
* October 10 — Nathan Jawai, Australian basketball player
* October 21 — Alexi Spann, American breaststroke swimmer
* October 22 — Kara Lang, Canadian soccer player

November

* November 11 — François Trinh-Duc, French rugby player
* November 15 — Sania Mirza, Indian tennis player
* November 19 — Jessicah Schipper, Australian swimmer
* November 27 — Suresh Raina, Indian cricketer
* November 30 — Evgenia Linetskaya, Russian tennis player

December

* December 8 — Amir Khan, British boxer
* December 14 — Atagün Yalçınkaya, Turkish boxer
* December 29 — Prisilla Rivera, Dominican Republic volleyball player

Deaths

*January 1 — Alfredo Binda, Italian cyclist
*February 17 — Red Ruffing, Major League Baseball pitcher (1924-1947)
*February 27 — Jacques Plante, NHL ice hockey star
*April 6 — Bill Cook, NHL star, New York Rangers
*June 19 — Len Bias, top draft pick of the Boston Celtics, cocaine-induced seizure
*June 27 — Don Rogers, football player, Cleveland Browns, cocaine poisoning
*July 2 — Peanuts Lowrey, Major League Baseball player (1942-1955)
*July 15 — Billy Haughton, Hall of Fame harness-racing driver
*July 25 — Ted Lyons, Major League Baseball pitcher (1923-1946)
*September 4 — Hank Greenberg, Detroit Tigers baseball great (1930-1947)
*October 12 — Norm Cash, Detroit Tigers baseball great (1958-1974)
*December 1 — Bobby Layne, football player, Detroit Lions