1976 in sports

[Alpine skiing]

• Alpine Skiing World Cup
• * Men's overall season champion: Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden
• * Women's overall season champion: Rosi Mittermaier, West Germany

  [American football]

• January 18 – Super Bowl X: Pittsburgh Steelers won 21−17 over the Dallas Cowboys
• * Location: Miami Orange Bowl
• * Attendance: 80,187
• Lee Roy Selmon is selected as the first overall pick in the NFL Draft.
• Seattle Seahawks founded.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers founded.
• Orange Bowl :
• * The Oklahoma Sooners won 14–6 over the Michigan Wolverines to win the college football national championship
• Tony Dorsett is awarded the Heisman Trophy.

  [Association football]

• England – FA Cup – Southampton won 1–0 over Manchester United
• Stevenage F.C. were established
• Italy – Torino win Serie A for the first time since the Superga air disaster wiped out the team 27 years before.
• 1976 European Championship – Czechoslovakia beat West Germany 5–3 on penalties to win, after the game had ended 2-2 after extra time.

  Athletics">sport of athletics">Athletics

• July – Athletics at the 1976 Summer Olympics held at Montreal

  [Australian rules football]

• Victorian Football League
• * Hawthorn wins the 80th VFL Premiership d North Melbourne 10.10 )
• * Brownlow Medal awarded to Graham Moss

  [Baseball]

• April 17 – Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies hits four consecutive home runs in a game against the Chicago Cubs.
• April 25 – Chicago Cubs outfielder Rick Monday rescues an American flag just as two protesters are about to burn it in the outfield during a game at Dodger Stadium.
• Seattle Mariners, officially founded in Washington state on August 24.
• Sparky Lyle of the New York Yankees breaks Hoyt Wilhelm's American League record of 154 career saves.
• World Series – The Cincinnati Reds sweep the New York Yankees, 4 games to 0, to win their second straight championship.

  [Basketball]

• NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship –
• * Indiana wins 86–68 over Michigan
• NBA Finals –
• * Boston Celtics win 4 games to 2 over the Phoenix Suns
• 1976 ABA Playoffs –
• * New York Nets defeat Denver Nuggets 4 games to 2
• American Basketball Association merges with the National Basketball Association; Virginia Squires fold, Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis are bought out, and the remaining four teams join the NBA

  [Boxing]

• May 22 – death of Oscar Bonavena, Argentinian heavyweight, who was shot in Reno, Nevada
• September 28 in Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York Muhammad Ali won a controversial 15-round decision over Ken Norton to keep his World Heavyweight title.
• October 8 in São Paulo, Brazil, former world featherweight champion Eder Jofre fought his last fight, outpointing Mexico's Octavio Gomez in ten rounds.

  [Canadian football]

• Grey Cup – Ottawa Rough Riders won 23–20 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders
• Vanier Cup – Western Ontario Mustangs won 29–13 over the Acadia Axemen

  [Cycling]

• Giro d'Italia won by Felice Gimondi of Italy
• Tour de France – Lucien Van Impe of Belgium
• UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race – Freddy Maertens of Belgium

  [Dogsled racing]

• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion –
• * Gerald Riley won with lead dogs: Puppy & Sugar

  [Field hockey]

• Olympic Games in Montreal won by New Zealand
• Women's World Cup in Berlin won by West Germany

  [Figure skating]

• World Figure Skating Championships –
• * Men's champion: John Curry, Britain
• * Ladies' champion: Dorothy Hamill, United States
• * Pair skating champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexander Zaitsev, Soviet Union
• * Ice dancing champions: Lyudmila Pakhomova & Alexandr Gorshkov, Soviet Union

  [Golf]

• Masters Tournament – Raymond Floyd
• U.S. Open – Jerry Pate
• British Open – Johnny Miller
• PGA Championship – Dave Stockton
• PGA Tour money leader – Jack Nicklaus – $266,439

• British Amateur – Dick Siderowf
• U.S. Amateur – Bill Sander

• LPGA Championship – Betty Burfeindt
• U.S. Women's Open – JoAnne Carner
• LPGA Tour money leader – Judy Rankin – $150,734, she is the first to ever earn more than $100,000 in a season.

  [Harness racing]

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races –
• # Cane Pace – Keystone Ore
• # Little Brown Jug – Keystone Ore
• # Messenger Stakes – Windshield Wiper
• United States Trotting Triple Crown races –
• # Hambletonian – Steve Lobell
• # Yonkers Trot – Steve Lobell
• # Kentucky Futurity – Quick Pay
• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
• *Pacers: Carclew
• *Trotters: Bay Johnny

  [Horse racing]

• Cheltenham Gold Cup – Royal Frolic
• Grand National – Rag Trade

• Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Van der Hum
• Canada – Queen's Plate won by Norcliffe
• France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Ivanjica
• Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Malacate
• English Triple Crown Races:
• # 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Wollow
• # The Derby – Empery
• # St. Leger Stakes – Crow
• United States Triple Crown Races:
• # Kentucky Derby – Bold Forbes
• # Preakness Stakes – Elocutionist
• # Belmont Stakes – Bold Forbes

  [Ice hockey]

• Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens
• Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Bobby Clarke – Philadelphia Flyers
• Stanley Cup – Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 0 over the Philadelphia Flyers
• World Hockey Championship –
• * Men's champion: Czechoslovakia defeated the Soviet Union
• Avco World Trophy – Winnipeg Jets win 4 games to 0 over the Houston Aeros
• NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship – University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Golden Gophers defeat Michigan Technological University Huskies 6–4 in Denver, Colorado

  [Motorsport]

[Rugby league]

• 29 June – the World Club Challenge concept is trialled as English champions St. Helens travel to Sydney to play Australian champions Eastern Suburbs. Easts defeat St Helens 25–2 in the one-off match.
• 18 August – the 1976 Amco Cup tournament culminates in Balmain's 21–7 win over North Sydney in the final
• 18 September – the 1976 NSWRFL season culminates in Manly-Warringah's 13–10 win over Parramatta in the Grand Final

  [Rugby union]

• 82nd Five Nations Championship series is won by Wales who complete the Grand Slam

  [Snooker]

• World Snooker Championship – Ray Reardon beats Alex Higgins 27-16
• World rankings are introduced. Ray Reardon becomes the first world number one, for 1976/77.

  Swimming">swimming (sport)">Swimming

• July 18 to July 25 – XXI Olympic Games, held in Montreal
• August 14 – United States's Jonty Skinner sets the first official world record in the 50m freestyle in Philadelphia, clocking 23.86

  [Tennis]

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
• # Australian Open – Mark Edmondson
• # French Open – Adriano Panatta
• # Wimbledon championships – Björn Borg
• # US Open – Jimmy Connors
• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
• # Australian Open – Evonne Goolagong Cawley
• # French Open – Sue Barker
• # Wimbledon championships – Chris Evert
• # US Open – Chris Evert
• Davis Cup – Italy wins 4–1 over Chile in world tennis.

  [Water polo]

• Water polo at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montréal won by Hungary

  General sporting events

• 1976 Summer Olympics takes place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• * USSR wins the most medals, and the most gold medals.
• 1976 Winter Olympics takes place in Innsbruck, Austria
• * USSR wins the most medals, and the most gold medals.
• Fifth Pan Arab Games held in Damascus, Syria

  Awards

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Caitlyn Jenner, Track and field
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Nadia Comăneci, Gymnastics
• ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year: Nadia Comăneci, Gymnastics