1987 in sports - Definition and Overview

See also: 1986 in sports, other events of 1987, 1988 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.

Auto Racing

• Stock car racing:
  • Bill Elliott won the Daytona 500
  • NASCAR Championship - Dale Earnhardt
• CART Racing - Bobby Rahal won the season championship
  • Indianapolis 500 - Al Unser, Sr.
• Formula One Championship - Nelson Piquet of Brazil
• 24 hours of Le Mans: won by the team of Derek Bell / Hans-Joachim Stuck / Al Holbert driving a Porsche 962C
• Rally racing - Juha Kankkunen in a Lancia won the World Rally Championship
  • the team of Miki Biasion / Tiziano Siviero won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Lancia Delta HF 4x4
• Drag racing:
  • Dick LaHaie won the NHRA "Top Fuel" championship.
  • Darrell Gwynn won Top Fuel at the NHRA Winston Finals

Baseball

• January 14: Catfish Hunter and Billy Williams are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Hunter made his name as the ace of the Oakland A's staff in their championship years and made his fortune as one of the first free agents. Williams set an National League record by playing in 1,117 consecutive games and accumulating 426 home runs and a batting title.

• August 3: Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Niekro is suspended for 10 days for possessing a nail file on the pitcher's mound. Niekro claimed he had been filing his nails in the dugout and put the file in his back pocket when the inning started.

• World Series: Minnesota Twins won 4 games to 3 over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Series MVP was Frank Viola, Minnesota

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
  • Indiana wins 74-73 over Syracuse

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

Boxing

• March 7 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Mike Tyson adds the WBA heavyweight title to his WBC belt when he beats James Smith in a 12 round decision.

• April 6 - Sugar Ray Leonard beats Marvin Hagler for boxing's world Middleweight championship.

Cricket

• Cricket World Cup - Final: Australia beat England by 7 runs

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Stephen Roche of Ireland
• Tour de France - Stephen Roche of Ireland
• World Cycling Championship: Stephen Roche of Ireland

Field Hockey

• March 21 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium,England. England beat the United States of America 3-1.
• June 19 - 26 - Ninth Men's Champions Trophy held in Amstelveen won by Germany for the second consecutive time.

Figure Skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Brian Orser, Canada
  • Women's champion: Katarina Witt, Germany
  • Pairs champions: Jekaterina Gordejewa & Sergej Grinkow, Soviet Union

Football (American)

• Super Bowl XXI: New York Giants won 39-20 over the Denver Broncos

Football (Australian Rules)

• Victorian Football League
  • The West Coast Eagles and the Brisbane Bears join the league.
  • Carlton wins the 91st VFL Premiership (Carlton 15.14 (104) d Hawthorn 9.17 (71))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Tony Lockett (St Kilda) and John Platten (Hawthorn)

Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos won 38-36 over the Toronto Argonauts
• Vanier Cup: McGill Redmen won 47-11 over the UBC Thunderbirds

Football (Soccer)

• England - FA Cup: Coventry won 3-2 (aet) over Tottenham Hotspur

Golf

Men's Golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. May - The Masters - Larry Mize
  2. June - US Open - Scott Simpson
  3. July - British Open - Nick Faldo
  4. August - PGA Championship - Larry Nelson

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Curtis Strange - $925,941
• PGA Champions Tour leading money winner Chi Chi Rodriguez - $509,145
• Ryder Cup: Europe won 15-13 over the United States in world team golf.

Women's Golf

• US Women's Open - Laura Davies
• LPGA Championship - Jane Geddes
• Ayako Okamoto: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $466,034

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Kensei
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Market Control
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Trempolino
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Sir Harry Lewis

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Don't Forget Me
  2. Epsom Derby - Reference Point
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Reference Point

• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Alysheba
  2. Preakness Stakes - Alysheba
  3. Belmont Stakes - Bet Twice

• Breeders' Cup:
  1. Breeders' Cup Classic - Ferdinand
  2. Breeders' Cup Distaff - Sacahuista
  3. Breeders' Cup Juvenile - Success Express
  4. Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies - Epitome
  5. Breeders' Cup Mile - Miesque
  6. Breeders' Cup Sprint - Very Subtle
  7. Breeders' Cup Turf - Theatrical

Harness Racing

• The North America Cup - Runnymede Lobell

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace - Righteous Bucks
  2. Little Brown Jug - Jaguar Spur
  3. Messenger Stakes - Redskin

• United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian - Mack Lobell
  2. Yonkers Trot - Mack Lobell
  3. Kentucky Futurity - Napoletano

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Lightning Blue
  • Trotters: Tussle

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: Edmonton Oilers won 4 games to 3 over the Philadelphia Flyers

• World Hockey Championship:
  • Men's champion: Sweden defeated the Soviet Union
  • Junior Men's champion: Finland defeated Czechoslovakia

Skiing

• Alpine Skiing
  • The men's overall season champion: Pirmin Zurbriggen, Switzerland
  • The women's overall season champion: Maria Walliser, Switzerland

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship: Steve Davis beats Joe Johnson 18-14
• World rankings: Steve Davis remains world number one for 1987/88

Tennis

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

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

• Davis Cup: Sweden won 5-0 over India in world tennis.

General sporting events

• Rugby Union World Cup
  • First World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand, won by New Zealand

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

Births

• April 19 - Maria Sharapova, Russian tennis star

Deaths

• March 11 - Woody Hayes, football coach at Ohio State University
• March 23 - Dean Paul Martin 29, tennis pro killed in plane crash, son of singer Dean Martin
• April 15 - Northern Dancer, thoroughbred race horse
• May 31 - Dequinha, Brazilian soccer star
• May 31 - Jerry Adair, Major League Baseball player, (1958-1970)
• June 17 - Dick Howser, Major League Baseball player (1961-1968) and manager (1980-1986)
• August 16 - Nick Vanos, NBA basketball player, died in a plane crash
• November 17 - Paul Derringer, Major League Baseball pitcher, (1931-1945)
• November 18 - Jacques Anquetil, great French cyclist