1971 In Sport
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1971 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.


Alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

* Alpine Skiing World Cup ** Men's overall season champion: Gustav Thöni, Italy ** Women's overall season champion: Annemarie Pröll, Austria


American football

* 17 January − Super Bowl V: the
Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...
(AFC) won 16–13 over the Dallas Cowboys (NFC) ** Location: Miami Orange Bowl ** Attendance: 79,204 ** MVP: Chuck Howley, LB (Dallas) * 25 December – The Miami Dolphins defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in a divisional playoff game. The double-overtime contest is the longest game in
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
history, and the Chiefs' last home game at Municipal Stadium. * Orange Bowl (1970 season): ** The
Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...
won 17–12 over the Louisiana State Tigers to win the AP Poll national championship after the previous #1 Texas Longhorns lost in the Cotton Bowl and the #2 Ohio State Buckeyes lost in the Rose Bowl. * 24 October – death of Chuck Hughes,
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
wide receiver


Association football

* 2 January – At the end of a
Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
match at
Ibrox Park Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Rangers Football Club, Ibrox is the third largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated capacity of . O ...
in Glasgow, barriers at Stairway 13 give way under a mass of fans, killing 66 and injuring over 200 others. * 30 June – death of Georgi Asparuhov (28), Bulgarian international * Atlético Mineiro wins the first
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian"), and also known as Brasileirão Assaí due to sponsorship with Assaí Atacadista, is a Br ...
*
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
are the English First Division champions * England – FA Cup
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
won 2–1 over Liverpool to win The Double * European Championship Cup Final: Ajax –
Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
2–0


Athletics

* August – Athletics at the 1971 Pan American Games held in Cali, Colombia * August –
1971 European Athletics Championships The 10th (X) European Athletics Championships were held from 10 August to 15 August 1971 in the Olympic Stadium of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald. Men's results ...
held at Helsinki


Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

* Victorian Football League **
Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...
wins the 75th VFL Premiership (Hawthorn 12.10 (82) d St Kilda 11.9 (75)) ** Brownlow Medal awarded to Ian Stewart (
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...
) * SANFL ** North Adelaide 10.19 (79) defeated
Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...
9.5 (59)


Bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...

*
1971 Bandy World Championship The 1971 Bandy World Championship was the seventh Bandy World Championship and was contested between four men's Bandy playing nations. The championship was played in Sweden from 3–14 March 1971. The Soviet Union became champions. Teams * * * * ...
is held in Sweden and won by .


Baseball

* World Series
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
won 4 games to 3 over the Baltimore Orioles. Game four, played on 13 October at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, was the first night game in World Series history.


Basketball

* NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship – ** UCLA wins 68–62 over Villanova ** Indiana University Hires
Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (born October 25, 1940) is an American former basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-ti ...
as their head basketball coach. *
NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...
– ** Milwaukee Bucks win 4 games to 0 over the Baltimore Bullets *
1971 ABA Finals The 1971 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1970-1971 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion Utah Stars defeating the Eastern Division champion Kentucky Colonels, four ...
– ** Utah Stars defeat
Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...
4 games to 3; Stars defeat
Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...
in division finals while Colonels defeat
Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...
.


Boxing

* 8 March –
Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011), nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. He was known for his strength, durability, formidable left hand, and relentless pressure fi ...
defeats
Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...
at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
, in the first of three epic bouts between the two, to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.


Canadian football

*
Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...
Calgary Stampeders won 14–11 over the Toronto Argonauts * Vanier CupWestern Ontario Mustangs won 15–14 over the Alberta Golden Bears


Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

* 5 January, Melbourne – first-ever
One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...
is played after a Test match is abandoned because of rain, Australia beating England by 5 wickets.


Cycling

* Giro d'Italia won by Gösta Pettersson of Sweden * Tour de FranceEddy Merckx of Belgium * UCI Road World Championships – Men's road raceEddy Merckx of Belgium


Field hockey

* Men's World Cup in Barcelona, Spain ** Gold Medal: Pakistan ** Silver Medal: Spain ** Bronze Medal: India * Pan American Games (Men's Competition) in
Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...
,
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
** Gold Medal: Argentina ** Silver Medal: Mexico ** Bronze Medal: Canada


Figure skating

* World Figure Skating Championships – ** Men's champion: Ondrej Nepela, Czechoslovakia ** Ladies' champion: Trixi Schuba, Austria ** Pair skating champions: Irina Rodnina &
Alexei Ulyanov Alexei Nikolaevich Ulanov (russian: Алексей Николаевич Уланов; born 4 November 1947) is a retired pair skater who represented the Soviet Union. With Irina Rodnina, he is the 1972 Olympic champion and a four-time (1969 ...
, Soviet Union ** Ice dancing champions: Lyudmila Pakhomova & Alexandr Gorshkov, Soviet Union


Golf

Men's professional * PGA Championship
Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...
*
Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...
Charles Coody * U.S. Open
Lee Trevino Lee Buck Trevino (born December 1, 1939) is an American retired professional golfer who is regarded as one of the greatest players in golf history. He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Trevino won six major championships and ...
* British Open
Lee Trevino Lee Buck Trevino (born December 1, 1939) is an American retired professional golfer who is regarded as one of the greatest players in golf history. He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Trevino won six major championships and ...
* PGA Tour money leader –
Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...
– $244,491 *
Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...
– United States won 18½ to 13½ over Britain in team golf Men's amateur * British Amateur
Steve Melnyk Steven Nicholas Melnyk (born February 26, 1947) is a former American professional golfer and golf sportscaster best known for his success as an amateur golfer. Melnyk won both the U.S. Amateur and British Amateur. Early years Melnyk was bor ...
* U.S. Amateur
Gary Cowan Gary Cowan (born October 28, 1938) is a Canadian golfer who has achieved outstanding results at the highest class in amateur competition. Biography Cowan was born in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. He began to play golf at the municipal golf course ...
Women's professional *
LPGA Championship The Women's PGA Championship (branded as the KPMG Women's PGA Championship for sponsorship reasons) is a women's professional golf tournament. First held in 1955, it is one of five majors on the LPGA Tour. It is not recognized as a major by the ...
Kathy Whitworth *
U.S. Women's Open The U.S. Women's Open, one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, W ...
JoAnne Carner – this win made her the first person ever to win three different USGA individual championship events. *
Titleholders Championship The Titleholders Championship was a women's golf tournament played from in 1937 to 1966 and again in 1972. It was later designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour. History The Titleholders Championship was founded in 1937. Like the Masters ...
– not played * LPGA Tour money leader – Kathy Whitworth – $41,181


Harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...

* United States Pacing Triple Crown races – *# Cane Pace
Albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacifi ...
*# Little Brown Jug
Nansemond The Nansemond are the indigenous people of the Nansemond River, a 20-mile long tributary of the James River in Virginia. Nansemond people lived in settlements on both sides of the Nansemond River where they fished (with the name "Nansemond" meanin ...
*#
Messenger Stakes The Messenger Stakes is an American harness racing event for 3-year-old pacing horses. It was organized in 1956 at Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury, New York (on suburban Long Island) to join with the Cane Pace and the Little Brown Jug to create ...
Albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacifi ...
* United States Trotting Triple Crown races – *# HambletonianSpeedy Crown *# Yonkers TrotQuick Pride *#
Kentucky Futurity The Kentucky Futurity is a stakes race for three-year-old trotters, held annually at The Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky since 1893. It is part of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters. In the 2007 race, Donato Hanover's winning time ...
Savoir *
Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship :''for winners of the Inter Dominion see: Inter Dominion Pacing Championship and Inter Dominion Trotting Championship'' The Inter Dominion is a harness racing competition that has been contested since 1936 in Australia and New Zealand. It is of ...
– ** Pacers: Stella Frost ** Trotters: Geffini


Horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

Steeplechases * Cheltenham Gold Cup
L'Escargot L’Escargot may refer to: *L'Escargot (restaurant), a London restaurant * L'Escargot (horse), a race horse *L'Escargot (TV series) ''L'Escargot'' is a 2012 Hong Kong television drama inspired by the 2009 Chinese television drama '' Dwelling ...
* Grand National
Specify Specify (foaled 1962) was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing and is noted for winning the 1971 Grand National. Background Specify was a bay gelding bred in Norwich, England by Alan Parker. He was initiall ...
Flat races * Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Silver Knight * Canada – Queen's Plate won by Kennedy Road * France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Mill Reef * Ireland –
Irish Derby Stakes The Irish Derby (Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 ...
won by
Irish Ball Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
*
English Triple Crown Races The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for Thoroughbreds, often restricted to three-year-olds. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplis ...
: *#
2,000 Guineas Stakes The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...
Brigadier Gerard *# The DerbyMill Reef *# St. Leger Stakes
Athens Wood Athens Wood (foaled 1968 in Ireland) was a Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning a British Classic, the St. Leger Stakes. Background Athens Wood was bred by Kilcarn Stud near Navan in County Meath, Irelandbr>His sire was Celtic Ash, ...
* United States Triple Crown Races: *#
Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...
Canonero II Cañonero II (April 24, 1968 – November 11, 1981) was a Venezuelan champion Thoroughbred race horse that may be best remembered for winning the first two legs of the 1971 U.S. Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. After t ...
*# Preakness Stakes
Canonero II Cañonero II (April 24, 1968 – November 11, 1981) was a Venezuelan champion Thoroughbred race horse that may be best remembered for winning the first two legs of the 1971 U.S. Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. After t ...
*#
Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...
Pass Catcher Pass Catcher (foaled April 6, 1968 in Kentucky) was a United States Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 103rd running of the Belmont Stakes. Background Pass Catcher, a bay colt was bred and raced by Peter Kissel's October House Farm. His sire wa ...


Ice hockey

* 13 April – death of
Michel Brière Michel Edouard Brière (October 21, 1949 – April 13, 1971) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player for one season in the National Hockey League (NHL). Following his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Brière was involved in a car ...
(21), Canadian player with Pittsburgh Penguins *
Art Ross Trophy The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the National Hockey League (NHL) player who leads the league in points at the end of the regular season. It was presented to the league by former player, General Manager, and head coach Art Ross. The trophy has ...
as the
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
's leading scorer during the regular season: Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins * Hart Memorial Trophy for the
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
's Most Valuable Player: Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins *
Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 3 over the
Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
*
World Hockey Championship The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annua ...
** Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia * NCAA Men's Ice Hockey ChampionshipBoston University Terriers defeat
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. T ...
Golden Gophers 4–2 in
Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
* World Hockey Association (WHA) is formed as an alternative North American professional hockey league to the
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...


Lacrosse

*
Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
beats Maryland 12–6 to win the first NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship. * The Brantford Warriors win the Mann Cup. * The Richmond Roadrunners win the Minto Cup. * The Victoria win the Castrol Cup.


Motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...


Radiosport Radiosport (or radio sport) is formal competition among amateur radio operators in any of three amateur radio activities, ARDF, DXing, and Contesting. The Friendship Radiosport Games is an international multi-sport event that includes all thre ...

* Sixth Amateur Radio Direction Finding European Championship held in Duisburg, Federal Republic of Germany.


Rugby league

* 18 September – the
1971 NSWRFL season The 1971 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the sixty-fourth season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. Twelve teams, including six foundation clubs and another six admitted since 1908, ...
culminates in a Grand Final victory for South Sydney, defeating
St George Saint George (Greek language, Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin language, Latin: Georgius, Arabic language, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christians, Christian who is venerated as a sa ...
16–10 * 1971 New Zealand rugby league season *
1970–71 Northern Rugby Football League season The 1970–71 Rugby Football League season was the 76th season of rugby league football. Season summary Sunday afternoon rugby was allowed for the first time by the RFL on 17 December 1967. Initially most clubs chose not to switch away from Satu ...
/
1971–72 Northern Rugby Football League season The 1971–72 Northern Rugby Football League season was the 77th season of rugby league football. This season saw the entry of rugby league's first sponsors: Joshua Tetley and John Player. Season summary This season saw the introduction of the L ...


Rugby union

* 77th Five Nations Championship series is won by Wales who complete the Grand Slam


Snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...

* World Snooker ChampionshipJohn Spencer beats Warren Simpson 37–29


Swimming

* 27 August – US swimmer Mark Spitz recaptures the world record in the men's 200m butterfly (long course), clocking 2:03.9 at a meet in Houston, Texas. * 31 August – Four days after Mark Spitz broke the world record in the men's 200m butterfly (long course), West Germany's
Hans-Joachim Fassnacht Hans-Joachim Fassnacht (; born 28 November 1950) is a retired German swimmer. He competed at the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics in various freestyle and butterfly events and won a silver medal in the 4 × 200 m freestyle in 1972. In 1972 he also ...
betters the time to 2:03.3 at a meet in
Landskrona Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona t ...
, Sweden.


Tennis

* Grand Slam in tennis men's results: *#
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
Ken Rosewall *#
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...
Jan Kodeš Jan Kodeš (born 1 March 1946) is a Czech former professional tennis player. A three-time major singles champion, Kodeš was one of the premier players in the early 1970s. Kodeš's greatest success was achieved on the clay courts of the French ...
*# Wimbledon championships
John Newcombe John David Newcombe AO OBE (born 23 May 1944) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He is one of the few men to have attained a world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles. At the majors, he won seven singles titles, a fo ...
*# U.S. Open
Stan Smith Stanley Roger Smith (born December 14, 1946) is an American former professional tennis player. Smith is best known to non-tennis players as the namesake of a popular brand of tennis shoes. A world No. 1 player and two-time major singles cham ...
* Grand Slam in tennis women's results: *#
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
Margaret Court *#
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...
Evonne Goolagong *# Wimbledon championshipsEvonne Goolagong *# U.S. Open
Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was a member of the victorious United States ...
*
Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...
– United States wins 3–2 over Romania in world tennis. * Sixteen-year-old
Chris Evert Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954), known as Chris Evert Lloyd from 1979 to 1987, is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. Evert won 18 major singles titles, including a record seven French Open titles and a joint-record ...
makes her US Open debut reaching the semifinals where she is defeated by eventual champion Billie Jean King. * First time in 16 years that Americans won both the men's and women's title at the US Open.


Volleyball

* Men and Women's European Volleyball Championship held in Italy **
1971 Men's European Volleyball Championship The 1971 Men's European Volleyball Championship was the eighth edition of the event, organized by Europe's governing volleyball body, the Confédération Européenne de Volleyball. It was hosted in several cities in Italy from September 23 to Oc ...
won by the USSR **
1971 Women's European Volleyball Championship The 1971 Women's European Volleyball Championship was the eighth edition of the event, organised by Europe's governing volleyball body, the Confédération Européenne de Volleyball. It was hosted in several cities in Italy from 23 September to ...
won by the USSR * Volleyball at the 1971 Pan American Games held in Cali, Colombia ** Men's and women's tournaments both won by Cuba


Multi-sport events

* Sixth
Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...
held in Cali, Colombia * Sixth
Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fir ...
held in İzmir, Turkey


Awards

*
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year: Lee Trevino, Golf * Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year
Lee Trevino Lee Buck Trevino (born December 1, 1939) is an American retired professional golfer who is regarded as one of the greatest players in golf history. He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Trevino won six major championships and ...
,
PGA golf PGA is an acronym or initialism that may stand for: Aviation * IATA code for Page Municipal Airport, Coconino County, Arizona * ICAO designator for Portugália, regional airline based in Lisbon, Portugal * Abbreviation for Prince George Airpo ...
*
Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year The first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press (AP) in 1931. At a time when women in sports were not given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award ...
Evonne Goolagong, Tennis


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1971 in Sports Sports by year