1976 in sports
| Years in sports: | 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 |
| Centuries: | 19th century · 20th century · 21st century |
| Decades: | 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s |
| Years: | 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 |
Athletics
- For an extensive coverage see 1976 in athletics (track and field)
Marathon
- May —
Boston Marathon, Boston, United States
- Men's Winner: Jack Fultz (USA) 2:20:19
- July 31 —
Olympic Marathon, Montreal, Canada
- Men's Winner: Waldemar Cierpinski (GDR) 2:09:55
- December 5 —
Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
- Men's Winner: Jerome Drayton (CAN) 2:12:35
Auto Racing
- Stock car racing:
- February 15 David Pearson won the Daytona 500 in a memorable last-lap duel with Richard Petty
- NASCAR Championship - Cale Yarborough
- Indianapolis 500 - Johnny Rutherford in a rain-shortened 255-mile event.
- USAC Racing - Gordon Johncock won the season championship
- Formula One Championship:
- James Hunt of Britain
- Niki Lauda's famous accident occurred during the German Grand Prix at Nürburgring.
- 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Jacky Ickx / Gijs van Lennep won, driving a Porsche 936
- Rally racing - the team of Sandro Munari / Mario Manucci won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Lancia Stratos HF
- Drag racing: Shirley Muldowney won "Top Fuel" at the NHRA World Finals
- Touring car racing: Bob Morris and John Fitzpatrick won the Bathurst 1000, driving a Holden Torana
Baseball
- April 25 - Chicago Cubs outfielder Rick Monday rescues an American flag just as two protestors are about to burn it in the outfield during a game at Dodger Stadium.
- Sparky Lyle breaks Hoyt Wilhelm's American League record of 154 career saves.
- World Series: The Cincinnati Reds (aka the "Big Red Machine") sweep the New York Yankees, 4 games to 0, to win their second straight championship.
Basketball
- NCAA Men's Division I 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 and Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis are bought out
Boxing
- 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 (Famoso) Gomez in ten rounds.
Cycling
- Giro d'Italia won by Felice Gimondi of Italy
- Tour de France - Lucien Van Impe of Belgium
- World Cycling Championship: Freddy Maertens of Belgium
Dogsled racing
- Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
- Gerald Riley won with lead dogs: Puppy & Sugar
Field Hockey
- Olympic Games (Men's Competition) in Montreal, Canada
- Gold Medal: New Zealand
- Silver Medal: Australia
- Bronze Medal: Pakistan
- Women's World Cup in Berlin, West Germany
- Gold Medal: West Germany
- Silver Medal: Argentina
- Bronze Medal: The Netherlands
- March 13 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium,England. England beat Scotland 3-0.
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
Football (American)
- Super Bowl X:January 18 Pittsburgh Steelers won 21-17 over the Dallas Cowboys
- Pittsburgh Panthers are voted NCAA Football National Champions.
- Seattle Seahawks founded.
Football (Australian rules football)
- Victorian Football League
- Hawthorn wins the 80th VFL Premiership (Hawthorn 13.22 (100) d North Melbourne 10.10 (70))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Graham Moss (Essendon)
Football (Canadian)
- Grey Cup: Ottawa Rough Riders won 23-20 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders
- Vanier Cup: Western Ontario Mustangs won 29-13 over the Acadia Axmen
Football (Soccer)
- For an extensive coverage see 1976 in football (soccer)
- England - FA Cup: Southampton won 1-0 over Manchester United
- 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.
Golf
- Grand Slam of golf results:
- April 8-11 - The Masters - Ray Floyd
- June 17-20 - US Open - Jerry Pate
- July 7-10 - British Open - Johnny Miller
- August 13-16 - PGA Championship - Dave Stockton
- PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Jack Nicklaus - $266,439
- US Women's Open - JoAnne Carner
- LPGA Championship - Betty Burfeindt
- Judy Rankin is the leading money winner on the LPGA tour. With total earnings of $150,734, she is the first to ever earn more than $100,000 in a season.
Thoroughbred Horse Racing
- Australia - Melbourne Cup - Van der Hum
- Canada - Queen's Plate - Norcliffe
- France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Ivanjica
- Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Malacate
- English Triple Crown Races:
- 2,000 Guineas Stakes - Wollow
- Epsom Derby - Empery
- St. Leger Stakes - Crow
Harness Racing
- Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
- Pacers: Carclew
- Trotters: Bay Johnny
Ice Hockey
- Art Ross Memorial 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
- NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Golden Gophers defeat Michigan Technological University Huskies 6-4 in Denver, CO
Skiing
- Alpine Skiing
- The men's overall season champion: Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden
- The women's overall season champion: Rosi Mittermaier, W. Germany
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
Events
- XXI Olympic Games, held in Montreal, Canada (July 18 – July 25)
Records
- August 14 — USA's Jonty Skinner sets the first official world record in the 50m freestyle at a swimming meet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, clocking 23.86.
Tennis
- Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
- Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
Water polo
Men's Competition
- Olympic Games in Montréal, Canada
- Gold Medal:
Hungary - Silver Medal:
Italy - Bronze Medal:
Netherlands
- Gold Medal:
General sporting events
- 1976 Summer Olympics takes place in Montreal, Canada
- USSR wins the most medals (125), and the most gold medals (49).
- 1976 Winter Olympics takes place in Innsbruck, Austria
- USSR wins the most medals (27), and the most gold medals (13).
- Fifth Pan Arab Games held in Damascus, Syria
Awards
- Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Bruce Jenner, Track and field
- Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Nadia Comaneci, Gymnastics
- ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year: Nadia Comaneci, Gymnastics
Births
January
- January 1 — Ikumi Narita, Japanese volleyball player
- January 2 — Danilo Di Luca, Italian cyclist
- January 4 — Erika Olivera, Chilean marathon runner
- January 4 — Ezequiel Paulón, Argentine field hockey defender
- January 6 — Melanie Clewlow, British field hockey player
- January 6 — Amy Gillett, Australian rower and cyclist (d. 2005)
- January 6 — Chun Lee-kyung, South Korean short track speed skater
- January 6 — Jeremy Linn, American swimmer
- January 7 — Éric Gagné, Canadian baseball player
- January 7 — Vic Darchinyan, Armenian-born Australian boxer
- January 10 — Remy Bonjasky, Surinam-born K1-fighter from The Netherlands
- January 11 — Bindi Kullar, Canadian field hockey player
- January 12 — Krešimir Čač, Croatian butterfly swimmer
- January 16 — Martina Moravcová, Slovak swimmer
- January 16 — Germán Orozco, Argentine field hockey defender
- January 18 — Lars Paaske, Danish badminton player
- January 20 — Fabio Bencivenga, Italian water polo player
- January 20 — Mónica Rueda, Spanish field hockey defender
- January 20 — Gretha Smit, Dutch speed skater
- January 21 — Erik Seegerer, Brazilian water polo player
- January 22 — Stefan van Dijk, Dutch cyclist
- January 23 — Phillip Boudreault, Canadian boxer
- January 29 — Karsten Kroon, Dutch cyclist
- January 31 — Simone Rosalba, Italian volleyball player
February
- February 2 — Steven Dewick, Australian backstroke swimmer
- February 2 — James Hickman, English swimmer
- February 3 — Cătălin Hâldan, Romanian football (soccer) player (d. 2000)
- February 5 — Sione Jongstra, Dutch triathlete
- February 5 — Attila Sávolt, Hungarian tennis player
- February 6 — Nelson Mora, Venezuelan swimmer
- February 8 — Sissy van Alebeek, Dutch female cyclist
- February 13 — Chantal de Bruijn, Dutch field hockey player
- February 15 — Óscar Freire, Spanish cyclist
- February 16 — Xavier Ribas, Spanish field hockey defender
- February 16 — Tuomas Sammelvuo, Finnish volleyball player
- February 18 — Chanda Rubin, American tennis player
- February 26 — Anna Bennett, English field hockey player
- February 26 — Attila Vári, Hungarian water polo player
- February 27 — Ludovic Capelle, Belgian cyclist
- February 28 — Adam Pine, Australian freestyle and butterfly swimmer
March
- March 1 — Valerio Vermiglio, Italian volleyball player
- March 4 — Hiram Bocachica, Puerto Rican Major League Baseball player
- March 4 — Thierry Renaer, Belgian field hockey defender
- March 4 — Vic Wunderle, American archer
- March 5 — Wayne Denne, South African field hockey player
- March 5 — Sarunas Jasikevicius, Lithuanian basketball player
- March 5 — Sergey Mihaylov, Uzbek boxer
- March 6 — Antoine Dénériaz, French alpine skier
- March 7 — Agnaldo Nunes, Brazilian boxer
- March 9 — Anier García, Cuban athlete
- March 9 — Alexis Valido, Spanish volleyball player
- March 10 — Vanessa Atkinson, England-born Dutch squash player
- March 10 — Lieja Tunks, Dutch athlete
- March 14 — Brendon Dedekind, South African swimmer
- March 14 — Sarah Ulmer, New Zealand cyclist
- March 17 — Álvaro Recoba, Uruguay football (soccer) player
- March 19 — Mukhtarkhan Dildabekov, Kazakh boxer
- March 19 — Franziska Gude, German field hockey midfielder
- March 19 — Alessandro Nesta, Italian football (soccer) player
- March 20 — Julia Zwehl, German field hockey goalkeeper
- March 21 — Han Hyung-Bae, South Korean field hockey player
- March 22 — Teun de Nooijer, Dutch field hockey player
- March 24 — Peyton Manning, American NFL player
- March 24 — Aaron Brooks, American NFL player
- March 25 — Wladimir Klitschko, Ukrainian heavyweight boxer
- March 26 — Maddalena Musumeci, Italian water polo player
- March 29 — Igor Astarloa, Spanish cyclist
- March 29 — Jennifer Capriati, American tennis player
- March 31 — Graeme Smith, Scottish freestyle swimmer
April
- April 1 — Clarence Seedorf, Dutch football (soccer) player
- April 3 — Nicolas Escudé, French tennis player
- April 5 — Aleksei Budõlin, Estonian judoka
- April 5 — Kim Collins, Saint Kitts and Nevis athlete
- April 5 — David Staniforth, South African field hockey goalkeeper
- April 8 — Tieme Klompe, Dutch football (soccer) player
- April 10 — John van Lottum, Dutch tennis player
- April 13 — Nami Miyazaki, Japanese field hockey goalkeeper
- April 14 — Baeden Choppy, Australian field hockey striker
- April 18 — Andrew Ilie, Romanian-born tennis player from Australia
- April 20 — Big Ben, world champion show-jumping horse
- April 24 — Steve Finnan, Irish football (soccer) player
- April 25 — Tim Duncan, basketball player, two-time NBA MVP
- April 25 — Rainer Schüttler, German tennis player
- April 26 — Wijan Ponlid, Thai boxer
- April 26 — Peter Short, Canadian field hockey player
- April 23 — Dirk van 't Klooster, Dutch baseball player
- April 27 — Olaf Tufte, Norwegian rower
- April 27 — Walter Pandiani, Uruguay football (soccer) player
- April 28 — Sylwia Nowak, Polish figure skater
May
- May 1 — Patricia Stokkers, Dutch swimmer
- May 3 — Juan Pablo Hourquebie, Argentine field hockey defender
- May 5 — Maria Marques, Brazilian water polo player
- May 6 — Adam Commens, Australian field hockey midfielder and coach
- May 6 — Ivan de la Peña, Spanish football (soccer) player
- May 8 — Kim Christiansen, Norwegian snowboarder
- May 9 — Manuela Leggeri, Italian volleyball player
- May 9 — Mitesh Patel, New Zealand field hockey player
- May 10 — Romain Barnier, French freestyle swimmer
- May 13 — Hamid Ait Bighrade, Moroccan boxer
- May 13 — Bobbi Jo Steadward, Canadian field hockey defender
- May 15 — Tyler Walker, American baseball player
- May 17 — Daniel Komen, Kenyan runner
- May 17 — Kirsten Vlieghuis, Dutch freestyle swimmer
- May 20 — Naoko Imoto, Japanese freestyle swimmer
- May 21 — Graham Dunlop, Scottish field hockey player
- May 24 — Noémi Tóth, Hungarian-Italian water polo player
- May 25 — Stefan Holm, Swedish athlete
- May 27 — Bianca Netzler, Australian field hockey player
- May 29 — Sergei Liakhovich, Belarusian boxer
- May 31 — Mashona Washington, American tennis player
June
- June 1 — Niniwa Roberts, New Zealand field hockey striker
- June 1 — Lars Conrad, German freestyle swimmer
- June 3 — Jens Kruppa, German swimmer
- June 4 — Nenad Zimonjić, Serbian tennis player
- June 6 — Hamza Yerlikaya, Turkish Greco-Roman style wrestler
- June 8 — Lindsay Davenport, American tennis player
- June 8 — Jennifer Rodriguez, Cuban-American speed skater
- June 8 — Josep Sánchez, Spanish field hockey player
- June 9 — Laurence Godfrey, British archer
- June 13 — Mark Versfeld, Canadian backstroke swimmer
- June 17 — Carolina Pascual, Spanish rhythmic gymnast
- June 17 — Jenny Pavley, American beach volleyball player
- June 21 — Sander van der Weide, Dutch field hockey player
- June 22 — Bulcsú Székely, Hungarian water polo player
- June 23 — Edwin Kempes, Dutch tennis player
- June 23 — Paola Suarez, Argentine tennis player
- June 23 — Patrick Vieira, French football (soccer) player
- June 25 — Michelle Bowyer, Canadian field hockey forward
- June 25 — Neil Walker, American swimmer
- June 27 — Alvydas Duonėla, Lithuanian flatwater canoer
- June 28 — Shinobu Asagoe, Japanese tennis player
- June 28 — Fuad Aslanov, Azerbaijani boxer
July
- July 1 — Patrick Kluivert, Dutch football (soccer) player
- July 1 — Ruud van Nistelrooy, Dutch football (soccer) player
- July 2 — Derya Büyükunçu, Turkish backstroke and butterfly swimmer
- July 4 — Marcelo Romero, Uruguay football (soccer) player
- July 5 — Nuno Gomes, Portuguese football (soccer) player
- July 5 — Brent Livermore, Australian field hockey midfielder
- July 6 — Nikki Hudson, Australian field hockey striker
- July 7 — Luis Pedro Suela, Spanish volleyball player
- July 9 — Jochem Uytdehaage, Dutch speed skater
- July 15 — Roberto Seabra, Brazilian water polo player
- July 16 — Anna Smashnova, Belarusian-born tennis player from Israel
- July 17 — Dimitar Stilianov, Bulgarian boxer
- July 22 — Moira Senior, New Zealand field hockey striker
- July 23 — Judit Polgár, Hungarian chess player
- July 25 — Carlos Barreto, Venezuelan boxer (d. 1999)
- July 30 — Renata Kolbovic, Czech-Canadian tennis player
- July 31 — Louise Jöhncke, Swedish swimmer
- July 31 — Paulo Wanchope, Costarican football (soccer) player
August
- August 2 — Reyes Estévez, Spanish athlete
- August 4 — Paul Goldstein, American tennis player
- August 6 — Zoila Barros, Cuban volleyball player
- August 6 — Luke Milligan, English tennis player
- August 7 — Neisser Bent, Cuban backstroke swimmer
- August 7 — Timme Hoyng, Dutch field hockey player
- August 9 — Rogier Wassen, Dutch tennis player
- August 12 — Baljit Singh Saini, Indian field hockey player
- August 15 — Boudewijn Zenden, Dutch football (soccer) player
- August 18 — Thomas Malchow, US swimmer
- August 23 — LaTasha Colander, US track and field sprint athlete
- August 23 — Edinanci Silva, Brazilian judoka
- August 24 — Shamek Pietucha, Polish-Canadian butterfly swimmer
- August 25 — Céline Lebrun, French judoka
- August 26 — Sébastien Vieilledent, French rower
- August 27 — Carlos Moya, Spanish tennis player
- August 27 — Mark Webber, Australian Formula 1-driver
- August 29 — Jon Dahl Tomasson, Danish football (soccer) player
- August 29 — Chris Renaud, Canadian backstroke swimmer
- August 30 — Aoibhinn Grimes, Canadian field hockey forward
September
- September 1 — Ivano Brugnetti, Italian race walker
- September 3 — Suzy Powell, American discus thrower
- September 6 — Francisco Sánchez, Venezuelan swimmer
- September 7 — Carmel Bakurski, Australian field hockey player
- September 8 — Sjeng Schalken, Dutch tennis player
- September 10 — Gustavo Kuerten, Brazilian tennis player
- September 10 — Reinder Nummerdor, Dutch volleybal player
- September 12 — Jolanda Čeplak, Slovenian middle distance athlete
- September 14 — Joshua Ilika, Mexican swimmer
- September 20 — Michael Ballack, German football (soccer) player
- September 22 — Ronaldo, Brazilian football (soccer) player
- September 23 — James Nation, New Zealand field hockey player
- September 25 — Melissa Collins, Canadian water polo player
- September 27 — Francesco Totti, Italian football (soccer) player
- September 29 — Oscar Sevilla, Spanish cyclist
- September 29 — Andriy Shevchenko, Ukrainian football (soccer) player
October
- October 2 — Anita Kulcsár, Hungarian handball player (d. 2005)
- October 2 — Angus Shelford, New Zealand boxer
- October 3 — Tommy Kafri, Hungary-born track and field athlete from Israel
- October 3 — Denys Sylant'yev, Ukrainian swimmer
- October 4 — Danilo Ikodinović, Serbian water polo player
- October 4 — Kjell Schneider, German beach volleyball player
- October 5 — Giulio and Nicola Ciotti, Italian high jumpers
- October 6 — Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov, Russian boxer
- October 8 — Galo Blanco, Spanish tennis player
- October 8 — Renate Groenewold, Dutch ice speed skater
- October 10 — Bob Burnquist, Brazilian skateboarder
- October 12 — Julie Towers, Australian field hockey player
- October 16 — Marcela Acuña, Argentine female boxer
- October 14 — Nataša Kejžar, Slovenian swimmer
- October 17 — Máximo Rigondeaux, Cuban javelin thrower
- October 18 — Kjell Carlström, Finnish cyclist
- October 19 — Chris DeBow, American field hockey defender
- October 19 — Ranjeev Deol, Canadian field hockey player
- October 20 — Vanessa Menga, Brazilian tennis player
- October 22 — Alexander Abt, Russian figure skater
- October 23 — Julie Howard, Canadian swimmer
- October 26 — Corrie de Bruin, Dutch discus thrower
November
- November 4 — Alexander Popp, British-born tennis player
- November 6 — Atsushi Fujita, Japanese long-distance runner
- November 7 — Mark Philippoussis, Australian tennis player
- November 7 — Zahir Raheem, American boxer
- November 8 — Sylvia Karres, Dutch field hockey player
- November 13 — Bob de Jong, Dutch speed skater
- November 13 — Albina Akhatova, Russian biathlete
- November 14 — Jesse Brinkley, American boxer
- November 14 — Ramon Delgado, Paraguayan tennis player
- November 15 — Jessica Amey, Canadian butterfly swimmer
- November 16 — Martijn Zuijdweg, Dutch swimmer
- November 18 — Matt Welsh, Australian swimmer
- November 22 — Kate Barber, American field hockey player
- November 24 — Bernice Orwig, American water polo player
- November 26 — Kelson Santos, Brazilian boxer
- November 28 — Gordan Kožulj, Croatian swimmer
- November 29 — Lindsay Benko, American swimmer
- November 30 — Gail Miller, Australian water polo player
December
- December 1 — Jackson Kabiga, Kenyan long-distance runner
- December 6 — Eduardo Aguilar, Spanish field hockey midfielder
- December 6 — Paola Paggi, Italian volleyball player
- December 11 — László Bodrogi, Hungarian cyclist
- December 11 — Timmy Simons, Belgian football player
- December 14 — Petter Hansson, Swedish football player
- December 14 — Peter Gade, Danish badminton player
- December 15 — Kanako Omura, Japanese volleyball player
- December 19 — Redouane Bouchtouk, Moroccan boxer
- December 19 — Theo Lucius, Dutch football player
- December 20 — Jordi Casas, Spanish field hockey player
- December 22 — Stephen Mowlam, Australian field hockey goalkeeper
- December 23 — Joanna Hayes, American athlete
- December 24 — Marion Rodewald, German field hockey defender
- December 25 — Percy Isenia, Dutch baseball player
- December 28 — Trond Nymark, Norwegian race walker
- December 29 — Timothy Cherigat, Kenyan long-distance runner
- December 30 — Hadi Al Somayli, Saudi Arabian athlete
- December 30 — Rhoshii Wells, American boxer
Deaths
- January 5 — Károly Takács (65), Hungarian pistol shooter (b. 1910)
- January 18 – Ad Verhoeven, Dutch football (soccer) player
- February 2 – Harry Elliott, English cricket wicketkeeper (b. 1891)
- March 6 – Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Rosenbloom, American boxer and actor (b. 1903)
- March 11 – Larry Gardner, Major League Baseball player (1908-1924)
- May 22 – Oscar Bonavena, Argentinian heavyweight boxer (b. 1942)
- May 30 – Max Carey, Major League Baseball player (1910-1929)
- June 15 – Jimmy Dykes, Major League Baseball player (1918-1939)
- June 22 — Tibor Csík (48), Hungarian boxer (b. 1927)
- July 5 — Kevin O'Halloran (39), Australian freestyle swimmer (b. 1937)
- September 25 – Red Faber, Major League Baseball, pitcher (1914-1933)