Sporting Highlights for 1974
The major events of 1974 were the FIFA World Cup, won by hosts Germany, and the Commonwealth Games (called the British Commonwealth Games) in New Zealand.
1974 World Cup Game between the Netherlands and UruguayIt was the 10th edition of the FIFA World Cup in which the host nation West Germany defeated the Netherlands by 2-1. In other football results, Liverpool beat Newcastle United 3–0 in the FA Cup.
UCLA was riding an 88-game winning streak, which started three years ago in 1971, heading into a match against Notre Dame which they lost to bring the longest streak ever in NCAA history to an end. The streak stood as the longest in college sports until UConn women's basketball team put together a 90 game win streak.
Chris Evert won her first grand slam as a 19yr old at the French Open and immediately followed it up with a Wimbledon win en-route to a stellar career with 18 grand slam titles. Jimmy Connors had a spectacular year with three grand slam titles. He was not allowed to participate in the French Open that year which he would not play in until 1978. He reached the world no.1 ranking in July that year after his Wimbledon win which he retained for a then record of 160 weeks.
Australian Cricketing brothers Greg and Ian Chappell dominated the drawn 1st Test vs NZ in Wellington. Greg made 247no and 133 in each innings; while his brother Ian made 145 and 121 to also score twin centuries.
Sandra Haynie won the LPGA Championship and U.S. Women's Open for her third and fourth major. Gary Player who had already won six majors till then took the Masters Tournament and The Open Championship. He would finish his career with a total of eight majors. Lee Trevino won the PGA Championship for the fifth out of his six total major wins.
About 50 fans were crushed to death before a football friendly match at the Zamalek Stadium in Cairo between Zamalek SC of Egypt and Dukla Prague of Czechoslovakia.
See videos from the world of sport in 1974.
Below is a timeline of some significant results in the world of sport for the year 1974.
| Date | Results |
|---|---|
| Dec 26 1973 - Jan 1 1974 | Tennis Australia Open singles titles won by Jimmy Connors (USA) and Evonne Goolagong (Australia) |
| Jan 13 | Super Bowl held in Houston won by Miami |
| Jan 24 - Feb 2 | Commonwealth Games held in Christchurch, New Zealand. |
| April 11-14 | Golf Masters won by Gary Player (2nd win) |
| Jun 3-16 | Tennis French Open won by Bjorn Borg and Chris Evert |
| Jun 3-16 | Golf US Open won by Hale Irwin |
| Jun 13 - Jul 7 | FIFA World Cup (Football) tournament was held in Germany, won by Germany. |
| Jun 24 - Jul 6 | Tennis Wimbledon won by Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert |
| Jun 27 - Jul 21 | Cycling Tour de France won by Eddy Merckx |
| July 10-13 | Golf The Open Championship won by Gary Player |
| Aug 8-11 | Golf US PGA won by Lee Trevino |
| Aug 26 - Sep 8 | Tennis US Open won by Jimmy Connors and Billie Jean King |
| Oct 12-17 | The Baseball World Series won by Oakland Athletics |
If you have a correction or know of events that should be included here, please let me know.
Related Pages
- 50 Years Ago In Sport – Blog reflecting on the World Sporting Events of 1974
- Ballon D'or Winners for 1974
- Timeline (all years) in the world of sport
- For future sporting events, see the Calendar of Major Sporting Events
- More about the World of Sport
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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