1985 in sports

Table of contents

1 Auto Racing 2 Baseball 3 Basketball 4 Boxing 5 Cricket 6 Cycling 7 Field Hockey 8 Figure Skating 9 Football (Soccer) 10 Football (American) 11 Canadian Football League 12 Golf 13 Thoroughbred Horse Racing 14 Harness Racing 15 Ice Hockey 16 Skiing 17 Snooker 18 Tennis 19 General sporting events 20 Births 21 Deaths

Auto Racing

• Stock car racing:
  • Bill Elliott won the Daytona 500
  • NASCAR Championship - Darrell Waltrip
  • Ken Schrader enters NASCAR
• CART Racing - Al Unser Sr won the season championship
  • • Indianapolis 500 - Danny Sullivan
• Formula One Championship - Alain Prost of France
• 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Klaus Ludwig / Paolo Barilla / John Winter won, driving a Porsche 956
• Rally racing - Timo Salonen in a Peugeot won the World Rally Championship
  • the team of Ari Vatanen / Terry Harryman won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Peugeot 205T16
• Drag racing:
  • Don Garlits won the NHRA Top Fuel championship
  • Gary Beck won Top Fuel at the NHRA World Finals

• Rollie Fingers breaks Sparky Lyle's American League career record of 232 saves.
• World Series: The Kansas City Royals defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 3, becoming the first team to come back from a 3 to 0 deficit to win a series in baseball.
• Books published:
  • Bill James, The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract: A seminal volume of baseball history by the leading sabermetrician of the day. He revised the book into a new edition in 2001.

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
  • Villanova wins 66-64 over Georgetown

• NBA Finals:
  • Los Angeles Lakers win 4 games to 2 over the Boston Celtics

• April 15 - The War: Marvin Hagler knocks out Thomas Hearns in three rounds to retain the world's Middleweight title.
• August 10 - Hector Camacho defeats Jose Luis Ramirez to lift the WBC's world Lightweight title.
• September 21 - Michael Spinks beats Larry Holmes by a decision in 15 rounds to become the first world Light Heavyweight champion to win a world Heavyweight title.

• Kim Hughes 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: Joop Zoetemelk of the Netherlands

• November 16 - 24 - Seventh Men's Champions Trophy held for the first time in Australia at Perth won by hosts Australia. Great Britain finished second, their best show till then.

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Alexander Fadejew, (Soviet Union)
  • Women's champion: Katarina Witt, (Germany)
  • Pairs champions: Jelena Walowa & Oleg Wassiljew, (Soviet Union)

• England - FA Cup: Manchester United won 1-0 (aet) over Everton

• Super Bowl XIX: San Francisco 49ers won 38-16 over the Miami Dolphins

• Grey Cup: B.C. Lions win 37-24 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
• Vanier Cup: Calgary Dinos win 25-6 over the Western Ontario Mustangs

Men's Golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. May - The Masters - Bernhard Langer
  2. June - US Open - Andy North
  3. July - British Open - Sandy Lyle
  4. August - PGA Championship - Hubert Green

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Curtis Strange - $542,321
• PGA Champions Tour leading money winner: Peter Thomson - $386,724
• Ryder Cup: Europe won 16 1/2 to 11 1/2 over the USA in world team golf

• US Women's Open - Kathy Baker
• LPGA Championship - Nancy Lopez
• Nancy Lopez: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $416,472

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - What A Nuisance
• Canada - Queen's Plate - La Lorgnette
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Rainbow Quest
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Law Society

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Shadeed
  2. Epsom Derby - Slip Anchor
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Oh So Sharp

• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Spend a Buck
  2. Preakness Stakes - Tank's Prospect
  3. Belmont Stakes - Creme Fraiche

• Breeders' Cup:
  1. Breeders' Cup Classic - Proud Truth
  2. Breeders' Cup Distaff - Life's Magic
  3. Breeders' Cup Juvenile - Tasso
  4. Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies - Twilight Ridge
  5. Breeders' Cup Mile - Cozzene
  6. Breeders' Cup Sprint - Precisionist
  7. Breeders' Cup Turf - Pebbles

• North America Cup - Staff Director

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace - Chairmanoftheboard
  2. Little Brown Jug - Nihilator
  3. Messenger Stakes - Pershing Square

• United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian - Prakas
  2. Yonkers Trot -
  3. Kentucky Futurity - Flak Bait

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Preux Chevalier
  • Trotters: Scotch Notch

• 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: Edmonton Oilers win 4 games to 1 over the Philadelphia Flyers

• World Hockey Championship:
  • Men's champion: Czechoslovakia defeated Canada
  • Junior Men's champion: Canada defeated Czechoslovakia

• Alpine Skiing
  • The men's overall season champion: Marc Girardelli, Luxembourg
  • The women's overall season champion: Michela Figini, Switzerland

• World Snooker Championship: Dennis Taylor beats Steve Davis 18-17 in one of the greatest snooker matches of all time
• World rankings: Steve Davis remains world number one for 1985/86

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - Stefan Edberg
  2. French Open - Mats Wilander
  3. Wimbledon championships - Boris Becker
  4. US Open - Ivan Lendl

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Martina Navratilova
  2. French Open - Chris Evert
  3. Wimbledon championships - Martina Navratilova
  4. US Open - Hana Mandlikova

• Davis Cup: Sweden wins 3-2 over Germany F.R in world team tennis.

• Libby Riddles with her lead dogs, Axle & Dugan, becomes the first woman to ever win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

• February 5 - Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese football star
• May 2 - Sarah Hughes, figure skater
• June 30 - Michael Phelps, American swimmer
• October 24 - Wayne Rooney, English football star

• August 12 - Manfred Winkelhock, auto racing driver
• November 13 - Pelle Lindbergh, NHL goaltender Philadelphia Flyers
• December 14 - Roger Maris, Major League Baseball player