60 Fun Facts About 1980s Sports

The Miracle on Ice took place at which 1980 Winter Olympics?

The US beat the Soviet Union 4-3 and then had to beat Finland two days later to secure the gold.

Which broadcaster asked "Do you believe in miracles?" as the clock ran out on the US-Soviet game?

Sports Illustrated later named the game the top sports moment of the 20th century.

Which team did the US have to beat after the Soviets to clinch the 1980 hockey gold?

The 4-2 win came two days later; the Soviets took silver by thrashing Sweden 9-2.

Why did the United States and 65 other countries boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics?

The Soviets returned the favour by boycotting Los Angeles in 1984.

How many Eastern Bloc countries boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics?

Romania was the only Soviet-aligned state to attend, and the Games still turned a $232.5 million profit.

Whose 1936 feat of four track and field golds did Carl Lewis match in Los Angeles in 1984?

100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and long jump; Owens's granddaughter carried the torch into the Coliseum.

Which event was held for women for the first time at the 1984 Olympics?

American Joan Benoit won it.

Who became the first American woman to win the Olympic gymnastics all-around title in 1984?

The 16-year-old from Fairmont, West Virginia, was inspired by watching Nadia Comaneci in 1976.

Barefoot runner Zola Budd famously tangled with which American in the 1984 Olympic 3,000m?

Romania's Maricica Puica won the race while the two rivals' collision made the headlines.

Which drug did Ben Johnson test positive for after winning the Seoul 1988 100m in a world-record 9.79?

The Canadian was stripped of gold and the world record.

Florence Griffith Joyner's 1988 world record over which distance still stands?

Her 21.34 in Seoul is untouched; her 100m record of 10.49 from the US trials also still stands.

What did Steffi Graf achieve in 1988 that no tennis player had before?

Tennis had only just returned to the Olympics in Seoul.

How old was Boris Becker when he became the youngest men's Wimbledon champion in 1985?

He was also unseeded and the first German to win it.

How many consecutive singles majors did Martina Navratilova win across 1983 and 1984?

She went 86-1 in 1983 and holds the longest winning streak on all surfaces, 74 matches.

Against which country did Diego Maradona score the Hand of God goal in 1986?

Four minutes later he scored the Goal of the Century in the same quarter-final in Mexico City.

How did the scorer describe his controversial first goal in the 1986 quarter-final?

He later called it symbolic revenge for the Falklands War.

How old was Mike Tyson when he became the youngest heavyweight champion in history in 1986?

He unified the WBA, WBC and IBF belts and knocked out Michael Spinks in 91 seconds in 1988.

How long did Tyson need to knock out Michael Spinks in 1988?

It made him the lineal champion as well as the undisputed one.

Which boxer turned away and quit in the eighth round of the 1980 "No Más" fight?

It was the rematch of his win over Leonard in Montreal five months earlier, held at the Superdome.

The 1985 middleweight fight known as "The War" lasted how many rounds?

Marvin Hagler stopped Thomas Hearns in what are often called the greatest three rounds in boxing.

What was the 1985 Chicago Bears' regular-season record?

The only loss was to Miami on Monday Night Football; they then crushed New England 46-10 in Super Bowl XX.

By what score did the Bears win Super Bowl XX?

The 36-point margin was a Super Bowl record until the 49ers beat Denver 55-10 four years later.

Who caught "The Catch" from Joe Montana in the January 1982 NFC Championship Game?

The 6-yard leaping grab beat Dallas 28-27 and launched the 49ers dynasty.

Doug Flutie's 1984 Hail Mary pass beat which defending national champion?

Gerard Phelan caught it at the Orange Bowl; Flutie won the Heisman that season.

How many touchdown passes did Dan Marino throw in his record 1984 season?

He also threw for 5,084 yards; both marks stood for two decades.

To which team was Wayne Gretzky traded on August 9, 1988?

Edmonton got Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, $15 million and three first-round picks; Canada treated it as a national tragedy.

How many Stanley Cups did Gretzky win with the Edmonton Oilers?

The Oilers won a fifth in 1990 without him.

Larry Bird won three consecutive NBA MVP awards in which years?

He remains the only forward ever to win three in a row.

How many NBA titles did Magic Johnson win with the Showtime Lakers?

He was drafted first overall in 1979 after beating Bird's Indiana State in the NCAA final.

Which two players were drafted ahead of Michael Jordan in 1984?

Houston won a coin flip for the first pick; Portland took Bowie second with a pick acquired from Indiana.

When was the first Air Jordan shoe released to the public?

It was designed by Peter Moore, and Jordan had nearly signed with Adidas instead.

Which eighth-seeded team beat Georgetown in the 1985 NCAA final in "The Perfect Game"?

It was the first 64-team tournament and Villanova remains the lowest seed ever to win.

Whose buzzer-beating dunk won NC State the 1983 NCAA title over Houston?

Whittenburg's 30-foot heave fell short and Charles slammed it home; Jim Valvano ran around looking for someone to hug.

Bill Buckner's infamous error came in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series against which team?

The tenth-inning grounder went through his legs; Boston's title drought ran on until 2004.

Off which pitcher did the injured Kirk Gibson hit his walk-off homer in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series?

It was his only plate appearance of the series; the Dodgers beat Oakland in five.

What interrupted the 1989 World Series between the Athletics and Giants before Game 3?

It struck at 5:04 pm on October 17, damaged the Bay Bridge and delayed the series ten days; Oakland swept.

Why was Pete Rose banned from baseball for life in August 1989?

He is still MLB's all-time hits leader with 4,256.

How old was Jack Nicklaus when he won his sixth Masters and 18th major in 1986?

He shot 30 on the back nine on Sunday to beat Tom Kite and Greg Norman by one.

Who became the first non-European to win the Tour de France, in 1986?

He was accidentally shot while hunting in 1987 and still came back to win the 1989 Tour by eight seconds.

Bo Jackson won the 1985 Heisman Trophy at which university?

He remains the only athlete named an All-Star in two major American sports, with the Royals and Raiders.

Which two unlikely stories from the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics became Hollywood films?

Cool Runnings came in 1993 and Eddie the Eagle in 2016; Edwards finished last in both ski jumps.

Which Briton won the Olympic 1,500m in both 1980 and 1984?

His 1981 800m world record stood until 1997.

Which Czech-born player spent 270 weeks at world number one in the 1980s but never won Wimbledon?

He reached a record eight straight US Open finals and won eight majors in all.

How much profit did the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics make, unheard of at the time?

Peter Ueberroth used existing venues and made sponsors pay at least $4 million each.

How many golds did Florence Griffith Joyner win at Seoul in 1988?

100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay, plus a silver in the 4x400m.

How many golds did Finnish ski jumper Matti Nykänen win at Calgary 1988?

Dutch skater Yvonne van Gennip matched him with three individual golds.

How many individual gold medals did speed skater Eric Heiden win at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics?

He swept every event from sprint to 10,000 m, more golds than any nation at those Games except the USSR and East Germany.

Torvill and Dean's perfect-score gold at Sarajevo 1984 was skated to which piece of music?

Every judge gave 6.0 for artistic impression, and more than 24 million Britons watched on television.

How many consecutive 400 m hurdles finals did Edwin Moses win between 1977 and 1987?

Counting heats it was 122 straight races; he also set the world record four times and won Olympic gold in 1976 and 1984.

Which English decathlete won Olympic gold in both 1980 and 1984 and went nine years unbeaten?

He broke the decathlon world record four times and is widely rated the greatest all-round athlete ever.

In which city did Sergey Bubka become the first pole vaulter to clear six metres, in July 1985?

He went on to break the world record 35 times and cleared six metres or better on 45 occasions.

How many of the 16 Grands Prix did McLaren's Senna and Prost win between them in 1988?

Senna took his first title by three points after a then-record eight wins in the Honda-powered MP4/4.

By what margin did Niki Lauda beat teammate Alain Prost to the 1984 Formula One title, the closest ever?

Prost had won seven races to Lauda's five; it was the Austrian's third title and first since 1977.

Doug Williams became the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl in January 1988 by routing which team?

He threw four touchdowns in a single quarter of the 42-10 win, a day after six hours of root-canal surgery.

Which country won the 1983 Cricket World Cup, staged in England and Wales?

Matches were 60 overs a side, played in whites with red balls, and West Indies were the two-time defending champions.

Whom did New Zealand beat 29–9 in the final of the first Rugby World Cup in 1987?

The All Blacks won every match comfortably at a tournament co-hosted with Australia; South Africa was excluded over apartheid.

Who beat Steve Davis on the final black of the deciding frame in the 1985 World Snooker final?

Davis had led 9–1 before the Northern Irishman clawed back to 17–17 in the best-of-35 match.

Rosie Ruiz lost her 1980 Boston Marathon women's title after it emerged she had done what?

No runner recalled seeing her, and Jacqueline Gareau, who had led at 18 miles, was declared the winner.

In the 1983 Pine Tar Game, which Yankees manager had the umpires inspect George Brett's bat?

Brett's go-ahead homer off Goose Gossage was nullified, sparking his famous charge from the dugout.

What was the score of the epic fourth-set tiebreak in the 1980 Wimbledon final between Borg and McEnroe?

McEnroe saved seven championship points before Borg finally won 8–6 in the fifth for a fifth straight title.