1994 in sports - Definition and Overview

See also: 1993 in sports, other events of 1994, 1995 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.

Auto Racing

• Stock car racing:
  • Sterling Marlin won the Daytona 500
  • NASCAR Championship - Dale Earnhardt
• CART Racing - season championship won by Al Unser, Jr
  • Indianapolis 500 - Al Unser, Jr.
• Formula One Championship - Michael Schumacher of Germany (F1 World Champions)
  • Ayrton Senna of Brasil die in San Marino grand prix
• 24 hours of Le Mans: Yannick Dalmas / Hurley Haywood / Mauro Baldi won, driving a Porsche 962LM
• Rally racing - Didier Auriol won the World Rally Championship
  • the team of Francois Delecour / Daniel Grataloup won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Ford Escort RS Cosworth
• Drag racing - Scott Kalitta won the NHRA "Top Fuel" championship.

Baseball

• January 12: Steve Carlton, winner of 329 games and four Cy Young Awards, is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

• June 22: OF Ken Griffey Jr. leads the Mariners to a 12-3 win over the Angels by stroking his 31st home run of the season. In doing so, Griffey Jr. breaks Babe Ruth's record for most home runs before the end of June.

• September 14: A labor strike by baseball players results in the premature termination of the season, and the cancellation of the World Series for the first time since 1904.

• Mets pitcher John Franco breaks Dave Righetti's major league record for left-handers of 252 career saves.

• The Winnipeg Goldeyes win the Northern League championship.

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
  • Arkansas wins 76-72 over Duke

• NBA Finals:
  • Houston Rockets win 4 games to 3 over the New York Knicks to win the franchise's first championship.

Boxing

• January 29 - Frankie Randall causes Julio Cesar Chavez his first defeat in 91 professional bouts, winning the WBC world Jr. Welterweight title in the process, by a split decision in 12 rounds.
• November 5 - Forty-five year old George Foreman becomes boxing's oldest heavyweight champion when he knocked out Michael Moorer in the 10th round of a Las Vegas, Nevada fight.

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Eugeni Berzin of Russia
• Tour de France - Miguel Induraín of Spain
• World Cycling Championship: Luc Leblanc of France

Field Hockey

• March 17 - 25 - Champions Trophy held in Lahore, Pakistan won by hosts. Germany finish second.

Figure Skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Elvis Stojko, Canada
  • Women's champion: Yuka Sato, Japan
  • Pairs champions: Jewgenja Schischkowa & Wadim Naumow, Russia

Football (American)

• Super Bowl XXVIII: Dallas Cowboys won 30-13 over the Buffalo Bills

Football (Australian Rules)

• Australian Football League
  • The West Coast Eagles win the 98th AFL premiership (West Coast Eagles 20.23 (143) d Geelong 8.15 (63))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Greg Williams (Carlton)

Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: B.C. Lions win 26-23 over the Baltimore Stallions
• Vanier Cup: Western Ontario Mustangs win 50-40 over the Saskatchewan Huskies

Football (Soccer)

• World Cup: - Brazil wins its record fourth world cup, defeating Italy in the final at Pasadena, California. Superstar Diego Maradona was suspended from Cup competition after being caught with drugs.

• England - FA Cup: Manchester United won 4-0 over Chelsea.

Golf

Men's Golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. May - The Masters - Jose Maria Olazabal
  2. June - US Open - Ernie Els
  3. July - British Open - Nick Price
  4. August - PGA Championship - Nick Price

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Nick Price - $1,499,927
• PGA Champions Tour leading money winner: Dave Stockton - $1,402,519

• Tiger Woods becomes the youngest man ever to win the U.S. Amateur, at age 18.

Women's Golf

• US Women's Open - Patty Sheehan
• LPGA Championship - Laura Davies
• Laura Davies: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $687,201.

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Jeune
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Basqueian
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Carnegie
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Balanchine

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Mister Baileys
  2. Epsom Derby - Erhaab
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Moonax

• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Go for Gin
  2. Preakness Stakes - Tabasco Cat
  3. Belmont Stakes - Tabasco Cat

• Breeders' Cup:
  1. Breeders' Cup Classic - Concern
  2. Breeders' Cup Distaff - One Dreamer
  3. Breeders' Cup Juvenile - Timber Country
  4. Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies - Flanders
  5. Breeders' Cup Mile - Barathea
  6. Breeders' Cup Sprint - Cherokee Run
  7. Breeders' Cup Turf - Tikkanen

Harness Racing

• North America Cup - Cam's Card Shark

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace - Falcons Future
  2. Little Brown Jug - Magical Mike
  3. Messenger Stakes - Cam's Card Shark

• United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian - Victory Dream
  2. Yonkers Trot -
  3. Kentucky Futurity - Bullville Victory

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Weona Warrior
  • Trotters: Diamond Field

Ice Hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings

• Hart Memorial Trophy: for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Sergei Fedorov - Detroit Red Wings

• Stanley Cup: New York Rangers won 4 games to 3 over the Vancouver Canucks

• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Canada defeated Finland
  • Junior Men's champion: Canada defeated Sweden
  • Women's champion: Canada defeated the United States

Skiing

• Alpine Skiing
  • The men's overall season champion: Kjetil Andre Aamodt, Norway
  • The women's overall season champion: Vreni Schneider, Switzerland

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship: Stephen Hendry beats Jimmy White 18-17
• World rankings: Stephen Hendry remains world number one for 1994/95

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - Pete Sampras
  2. French Open - Sergi Bruguera
  3. Wimbledon championships - Pete Sampras
  4. US Open - Andre Agassi

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Steffi Graf
  2. French Open - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
  3. Wimbledon championships - Conchita Martinez
  4. US Open - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario

• Davis Cup: Sweden won 4-1 over Russia in world tennis.

General sporting events

• 1994 Winter Olympics takes place in Lillehammer, Norway
  • Norway wins the most medals (26), and the Russian Federation wins the most gold medals (11).

• A strike by baseball players results in the premature termination of the season and the cancellation of the Baseball/World Series, for the first time since 1904.

• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
  • Martin Buser wins with lead dogs: D2 & Dave

• February 20: At Boston, Massachusetts, in a remarkable athletic achievement, Ireland's 41-year-old Eamonn Coghlan becomes the first man over the age of 40 to run a sub-four minute mile when he clocked 3min.58.15sec.

Births

Deaths

• January 5 - Brian Johnston, English cricketer, BBC radio commentator
• January 5 - Eliska Junkova (Elizabeth Junek), Grand Prix motor racing driver
• January 8 - Harvey Haddix, MLB baseball great, pitched 12 perfect innings for Pittsburgh Pirates
• January 9 - Johnny Temple, Major League Baseball player (1952-1964)
• January 29 - Ulrike Maier 26, Austrian World Cup skier, skiing accident
• July 14 - César Tovar, Major League Baseball player (1965-1976)
• November 12 - Wilma Rudolph, American track and field star
• February 5 - Fred de Bruyne, Flemish cyclist
• February 19 - Renske Vellinga, Dutch 19, speed-skater, auto-accident
• February 25 - Jersey Joe Walcott, World Heaveyweight Boxing Champion
• April 15 - John Curry, English Olympic figure skating champion
• April 30 - Roland Ratzenberger 31, Austrian race car driver
• May 1 - Ayrton Senna, F1 race car driver
• May 19 - Luis Ocaña, Spanish cyclist, Tour de France winner, suicide
• May 28 - Julius Boros, American golfer, US Open champion
• July 2 - Andrés Escobar, Colombian World Cup soccer star, murdered by unhappy fan(s)
• July 3 - Lew Hoad, Australian tennis star, Wimbledon champion
• July 10 - Otto Bonsema, Dutch soccer star/trainer
• July 17 - Jean Borotra, French tennis star
• August 5 - Terry Hibbitt, English soccer star
• August 10 - Kay Petre, Canadian-born pioneer driver in British auto racing
• August 17 – Jack Sharkey, World champion heavyweight boxer
• August 24 - Jason McRoy 23, downhill mountain bike racer
• September 2 - Detlef Macha, champion German cyclist
• September 3 - Billy Wright, English soccer player
• September 18 - Vitas Gerulaitis, tennis player