1975 in sports
# 1975 in sports

1975 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

## Alpine skiing

* Alpine Skiing World Cup
   * Men's overall season champion: Gustav Thöni, Italy
   * Women's overall season champion: Annemarie Pröll, Austria

## American football

* January 12 − Super Bowl IX: the Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC) won 16−6 over the Minnesota Vikings (NFC)
   * Location: Tulane Stadium
   * Attendance: 80,997
   * MVP: Franco Harris, FB (Pittsburgh)
* Birmingham Vulcans win the final season of WFL competition, had best overall record when league ceased after first twelve weeks of regular season.

## Association football

* Brazil – Internacional wins the Campeonato Brasileiro
* England – the League Championship – Derby County took the title for the second time in four seasons, finishing two points clear of Liverpool and Ipswich Town.
* England – FA Cup – West Ham United beat Fulham 2–0 at Wembley Stadium in front of 100,000 people. Alan Taylor was the scorer of both goals.
* England – League Cup – Aston Villa beat Norwich City 1–0 at Wembley Stadium.
* European Cup – Bayern Munich defeated Leeds United 2–0 in a controversial final at the Parc des Princes, Paris.
* European Cup Winners' Cup – Dynamo Kiev beat Ferencváros 3–0 in Basle, Switzerland.
* UEFA Cup – Borussia Mönchengladbach beat FC Twente 5–1 on aggregate, with a leg played at each team's home stadium.
* Ecuador – Ecuadorian Serie A Champions: Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito

## Athletics

* August 12 – New Zealand's John Walker set a new world record in Gothenburg, Sweden, becoming the first man to break 3:50 for the mile when he clocked 3:49.4.
* October – Athletics at the 1975 Pan American Games held in Mexico City

## Australian rules football

* Victorian Football League
   * North Melbourne wins the 79th VFL Premiership (North Melbourne 19.8 (122) d Hawthorn 9.13 (67))
   * Brownlow Medal awarded to Gary Dempsey (Footscray)
* South Australian National Football League:
   * August 23: Glenelg kick the all-time record score for a major Australian Rules competition, kicking 49.23 (317) to Central District's 11.13 (79). It beat the previous record by an amazing 91 points.

## Baseball

* January 23 – Slugger Ralph Kiner is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
* September 16 – Pirates second baseman Rennie Stennett ties Wilbert Robinson's ML record, set June 10, 1892, by going 7-for-7 in a 9-inning game. He scored five of his club's runs in a 22–0 massacre of the Cubs, a major-league record for the biggest score in a shutout game in the 20th century.
* World Series – Cincinnati Reds win 4 games to 3 over the Boston Red Sox. Often described as one of the most memorable of all World Series.

## Basketball

* April 9 – Asia's first professional basketball league, the Philippine Basketball Association played its first game at the Araneta Coliseum.
* Darryl Dawkins becomes the first NBA player drafted out of high school.
* NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship –
   * UCLA wins 92–85 over Kentucky in John Wooden's final game as Bruins coach.
* NBA Finals –
   * Golden State Warriors win 4 games to 0 over the Washington Bullets
* 1975 ABA Finals –
   * Kentucky Colonels defeat Indiana Pacers 4 games to 1

## Boxing

* October 1 in Manila, Philippines Muhammad Ali defeated Joe Frazier to maintain the Heavyweight Championship of the world. Known as the Thrilla In Manila, many regard it as the greatest fight in boxing history.

## Canadian football

* Grey Cup – Edmonton Eskimos won 9–8 over the Montreal Alouettes
* Vanier Cup – Ottawa Gee-Gees won 14–9 over the Calgary Dinos

## Cricket

* 1975 Cricket World Cup, the first to be held. West Indies beat Australia by 17 runs.

## Cycling

* Giro d'Italia won by Fausto Bertoglio of Italy
* Tour de France – Bernard Thévenet of France
* UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race – Hennie Kuiper of Netherlands

## Disc sports

* The first disc ultimate games in Canada are played as exhibition games at the Canadian Open Frisbee Championships on Toronto Islands.
* Ultimate is played as an exhibition of a new sport at the World Frisbee Championships (WFC) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

## Dogsled racing

* Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion –
   * Emmitt Peters won with lead dogs: Nugget & Digger

## Field hockey

* Men's World Cup held in Kuala Lumpur and won by India
* 1975 Pan American Games men's competition held in Mexico City and won by Argentina

## Figure skating

* World Figure Skating Championships –
   * Men's champion: Sergey Nikolayevich Volkov, Soviet Union
   * Ladies' champion: Dianne de Leeuw, Netherlands
   * Pair skating champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexander Zaitsev, Soviet Union
   * Ice dancing champions: Irina Moiseyeva & Andrei Minenkov, Soviet Union

## Golf

Men's professional

* Masters Tournament – Jack Nicklaus
* U.S. Open – Lou Graham
* British Open – Tom Watson
* PGA Championship – Jack Nicklaus
* PGA Tour money leader – Jack Nicklaus – $298,149
* Ryder Cup – United States wins 21–11 over Britain & Ireland in team golf.

Men's amateur

* British Amateur – Vinny Giles
* U.S. Amateur – Fred Ridley

Women's professional

* LPGA Championship – Kathy Whitworth
* U.S. Women's Open – Sandra Palmer
* LPGA Tour money leader – Sandra Palmer – $76,374

## Harness racing

* United States Pacing Triple Crown races –
   * Cane Pace – Nero
   * Little Brown Jug – Seatrain
   * Messenger Stakes – Bret's Champ
* United States Trotting Triple Crown races –
   * Hambletonian – Bonefish
   * Yonkers Trot – Surefire Hanover
   * Kentucky Futurity – Noble Rogue
* Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
   * Pacers: Young Quinn

## Horse racing

* footy July 6 – In what was billed as the "Battle of the Sexes", Kentucky Derby winner, Foolish Pleasure went head to head in a match race against the undefeated filly, Ruffian. In the lead, Ruffian broke a leg and, after an unsuccessful operation to save her, the horse widely believed to have been the greatest thoroughbred filly ever was humanely put down.

Steeplechases

* Cheltenham Gold Cup – Ten Up
* Grand National – L'Escargot

Flat races

* Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Think Big
* Canada – Queen's Plate won by L'Enjoleur
* France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Star Appeal
* Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Grundy
* English Triple Crown Races:
   * 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Bolkonski
   * The Derby – Grundy
   * St. Leger Stakes – Bruni
* United States Triple Crown Races:
   * Kentucky Derby – Foolish Pleasure
   * Preakness Stakes – Master Derby
   * Belmont Stakes – Avatar

## Ice hockey

* Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins.
* Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers
* Stanley Cup – Philadelphia Flyers defeat the Buffalo Sabres 4 games to 2
* World Hockey Championship –
   * Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia
* Avco World Trophy – Houston Aeros win 4 games to 0 over the Quebec Nordiques
* SM-liiga, the Finnish professional ice hockey league, launched its first season 1975–1976
* NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship – Michigan Technological University Huskies defeat University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Golden Gophers 6–1 in St. Louis, Missouri

## Lacrosse

* The National Lacrosse League of 1974 and 1975 play their 2nd and last season.
* The Quebec Caribous defeat the Montreal Québécois 4 games to 2 to win the National Lacrosse League (1974–75) Championship.
* The Vancouver Burrards win the Mann Cup.
* The Windsor Warlocks win the Founders Cup.
* The Peterborough Gray Munros win the Minto Cup.

## Orienteering

* First Ski Orienteering World Championships held in Hyvinkää, Finland.

## Rugby league

* 1975 Amco Cup
* 1975 European Rugby League Championship
* 1975 New Zealand rugby league season
* 1975 NSWRFL season
* 1975 Pacific Cup
* 1974–75 Northern Rugby Football League season / 1975–76 Northern Rugby Football League season
* 1975 Rugby League World Cup

## Rugby union

* 81st Five Nations Championship series is won by Wales

## Snooker

* World Snooker Championship – Ray Reardon beats Eddie Charlton 31-30

## Swimming

* The second FINA World Championships held in Cali, Colombia

## Tennis

* Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
   * Australian Open – John Newcombe
   * French Open – Björn Borg
   * Wimbledon championships – Arthur Ashe
   * U.S. Open – Manuel Orantes
* Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
   * Australian Open – Evonne Goolagong
   * French Open – Chris Evert
   * Wimbledon championships – Billie Jean King
   * U.S. Open – Chris Evert
* Davis Cup – Sweden wins 3–2 over Czechoslovakia in world tennis.
* Eighteen-year-old Martina Navratilova of Czechoslovakia announces her defection to the United States

## Volleyball

* Asian Men's Volleyball Championship held in Melbourne: won by Japan
* Asian Women's Volleyball Championship held in Melbourne: won by Japan
* Men and Women's European Volleyball Championship held in Yugoslavia: men's and women's tournaments both won by USSR
* Volleyball at the 1975 Pan American Games held in Mexico City: men's and women's tournaments both won by Cuba

## Water polo

* 1975 FINA Men's World Water Polo Championship held in Cali, Colombia, and won by USSR.

## General sporting events

* Seventh Pan American Games held in Mexico City, Mexico
* Seventh Mediterranean Games held in Algiers, Algeria
* Eighth Summer Universiade held in Rome, Italy
* Eighth Winter Universiade held in Livigno, Italy

## Awards

* Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Fred Lynn, Major League Baseball
* Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Chris Evert, Tennis
