Sporting Highlights for 1978
Here are some of the sporting highlights in the world of sport for 1978. The major events of this year were the FIFA World Cup, won by the hosts Argentina, and the Commonwealth Games in Canada.
It was the year of the soccer World Cup which the host nation Argentina won by defeating the Netherlands 3-1. There was a controversy surrounding Argentina's win against Peru. With at least a four goal margin required to move to the next round, Argentina won the game 6-0, prompting accusations that Peru intentionally threw the game.
Tennis great Martina Navratilova won her first grand slam title by defeating the seven time grand slam winner Chris Evert in Wimbledon. Though it was considered as an upset at the time, it soon became evident that Martina was there to stay.
In men's tennis Guillermo Vilas won the Australian Open for the first time which he also repeated the following year for a total of four grand slam titles in his career. Bjorn Borg won Wimbledon for the third straight year, a streak that continued for two more years.
Jack Nicklaus won the Masters Tournament and the U.S. Open for his 10th and 11th major title. Nancy Lopez got the first of her three majors by winning the LPGA Championship.
The year's MLB season saw Boston Red Sox get crushed at the hands of New York Yankees in a series which was termed as the " Boston Massacre". The Yankees swept the four game series with a score differential of 42-9.
The Hawaii Iron Man Triathlon, considered as the toughest one day endurance race made its debut and has been contested every year since. Twelve athletes (out of 15 starters) finished the 2.4-mi (4 km) swim, 112-mi (191 km) cycle, and 26.2-mi (42 km) run.
Below is a timeline of some significant results in the world of sport for the year 1978.
| Date | Results |
|---|---|
| Jan | Super Bowl held in N Orleans won by Dallas |
| April | Golf Masters won by Gary Player (3rd win) |
| May | Tennis French Open won by Bjorn Borg and Virginia Ruzici |
| June | Golf US Open won by Andy North |
| June 1-25 | FIFA World Cup (Football) tournament was held in Argentina, won by Argentina. |
| July | the Cycling Tour de France won by Bernard Hinault |
| July | Tennis Wimbledon won by Bjorn Borg and Martina Navratilova |
| July | Golf The Open Championship won by Jack Nicklaus |
| Aug | Golf US PGA won by John Mahaffey |
| Aug 3-12 | Commonwealth Games held in Edmonton, Canada. |
| Sep | Tennis US Open won by Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert |
| Oct | The Baseball World Series won by New York Yankees |
| Dec | Tennis Australia Open won by Guillermo Vilas and Chris O'Neil |
Please note that the dates for past events are not always known, and are sometimes just placed in the month that the current event is held. If no exact date is listed, then it is just an estimated month that it was held.
If you have a correction or know of events that should be included here, please let me know.
Related Pages
- Ballon D'or Winners for 1978
- 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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