Gourt Home::Gourt :: 1970 in sports
See also: 1969 in sports, other events of 1970, 1971 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.
Artistic Gymnastics
- World Artistic Gymnastics Championships:
- Men's all-around champion: Eizo Kenmotsu, Japan
- Women's all-around champion: Ludmilla Tourischeva, USSR
- Men's team competition champion: Japan
- Women's team competition champion: USSR
Auto Racing
- Stock car racing:
- Indianapolis 500 - Al Unser, Sr.
- USAC Racing - Al Unser, Sr. won the season championship
- Formula One Championship - Jochen Rindt of Austria
- 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Hans Herrmann / Richard Attwood won, driving a Porsche 917
- Rally racing - the team of Bjorn Waldegard / Lars Helmer won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Porsche 911S.
- Drag racing - the NHRA launches the "Supernationals". Rick Ramsey wins "Top Fuel"
Baseball
- January 16: Gold Glove outfielder Curt Flood files a civil lawsuit challenging baseball's reserve clause, a suit that will have historic implications. Flood refused to report to the Phillies after he was traded by the Cardinals, contending the baseball rule violates federal antitrust laws.
- January 17: The Sporting News names Willie Mays as Player of the Decade for the 1960s.
- January 20: Lou Boudreau is elected to the Hall of Fame, receiving 232 of a possible 300 votes from the BBWAA.
- June 12: Dock Ellis of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres. It is later revealed that he did so while under the influence of LSD.
- Robert W. Peterson's book Only the Ball was White is published. The book brings pressure on Major League Baseball to recognize the African-American players from Negro league baseball by honoring its stars in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
- World Series: The American League's Baltimore Orioles win their second World Title by defeating the National League's Cincinnati Reds, 4 games to 1.
Basketball
- NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
- UCLA wins 80-69 over Jacksonville
- NBA Finals:
- New York Knicks won 4 games to 3 over the Los Angeles Lakers
- FIBA World Championship:
- Yugoslavia World Champion
Boxing
- February 15 - Carlos Cruz, Featherweight Boxing Champion died in a plane crash
- February 16 - Joe Frazier starts a heavyweight world boxing champion winning streak with the knock out of Jimmy Ellis in five rounds.
Cricket
- International Cricket Council votes to suspend South Africa from international cricket indefinitely because of its government's apartheid policy.
Cycling
- Giro d'Italia won by Eddy Merckx of Belgium
- Tour de France - Eddy Merckx of Belgium
- World Cycling Championship: Jean-Pierre Monseré of Belgium
Field Hockey
- Men's European Nations Cup in Bruxelles, Belgium
- Gold Medal: West Germany
- Silver Medal: The Netherlands
- Bronze Medal: Spain
Figure Skating
- World Figure Skating Championships:
- Men's champion: Tim Wood, United States
- Women's champion: Gabrielle Seyfert, Germany
- Pairs champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexej Ulanow, Soviet Union
Football (American)
- Super Bowl IV: Kansas City Chiefs won 23-7 over the Minnesota Vikings
- Nebraska Cornhuskers win the college football national championship.
Football (Australian Rules)
- Victorian Football League
- Carlton wins the 74th VFL Premiership (Carlton 17.9 (111) d Collingwood 14.17 (101))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Peter Bedford (South Melbourne)
Football (Canadian)
- Grey Cup: Montreal Alouettes win 23-10 over the Calgary Stampeders
- Vanier Cup: Manitoba Bisons win 38-11 over the Ottawa Gee Gees
Football (Soccer)
- World Cup held in Mexico: Brazil won final 4-1 over Italy
- European Cup: Feyenoord become the first Dutch team to win the trophy, beating Celtic 2-1.
- England - FA Cup: Chelsea won 2-1 over Leeds United
Golf
Men's Golf
- Grand Slam of golf results:
- May - The Masters - Billy Casper
- June - US Open - Tony Jacklin
- July - British Open - Jack Nicklaus
- August - PGA Championship - Dave Stockton
- PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Lee Trevino - $157,037
- US Open - Donna Caponi
- LPGA Championship - Shirley Englehorn
- Kathy Whitworth: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $30,235
Thoroughbred Horse Racing
- Australia - Melbourne Cup - Baghdad Note
- Canada - Queen's Plate - Almoner
- France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Sassafrás
- Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Nijinsky II
- Nijinsky II wins the English Triple Crown Races:
Harness Racing
- Fresh Yankee was named "Horse of the Year" by the U.S. Trotting Association and the U.S. Harness Writers Association.
Ice Hockey
- Art Ross Memorial Trophy - Bobby Orr becomes the first defenseman in the history of the National Hockey League to lead the league in scoring.
- Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
- Stanley Cup: Boston Bruins win the Cup for the first time in 29 years, defeating the St. Louis Blues 4 games to 0. Defenseman, Bobby Orr is awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the series MVP (most valuable player).
- World Hockey Championship
- Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
Lacrosse
- STX is founded by Richard B.C. Tucker Sr.
- The New Westminster Salmonbellies win the Mann Cup.
- The Whitby Transporters win the Castrol Cup.
- The Lakeshore Maple Leafs win the Minto Cup.
Skiing
- Alpine Skiing
- The men's overall season champion: Karl Schranz, Austria
- The women's overall season champion: Michèle Jacot, France
Snooker
- World Snooker Championship: Ray Reardon beats John Pulman 37-33
Speed skating
- First ISU Sprint Speed Skating Championships for Men and Ladies held in West Allis, U.S.A.
Tennis
- Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
- Davis Cup: United States wins 5-0 over Germany F.R. in world tennis.
General sporting events
- Sixth Asian Games held in Bangkok, Thailand
- Sixth Summer Universiade held in Turin, Italy
- Sixth Winter Universiade held in Rovaniemi, Finland
Births
January
- January 2 — Andreas Wecker, German gymnast
- January 5 — Chris Wilkinson, British tennis player
- January 5 — Yury Kovtun, Russian football (soccer) defender
- January 10 — Marek Bajor, Polish football (soccer) player
- January 13 — Daphne Touw, Dutch field hockey goalkeeper
- January 19 — Zeeshan Ali, Indian tennis player
- January 19 — Tim Foster, British rower and coach
- January 19 — Donald Haddow, Canadian freestyle swimmer
- January 25 — Brigita Bukovec, Slovenian hurdler
- January 25 — Cheikh Touré, Senegalese-born French athlete
- January 29 — Jörg Hoffmann, German freestyle swimmer
- January 29 — Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Indian sport shooter
February
- February 6 — Jeff Rouse, American swimmer
- February 11 — Alistair Brown, English cricket player
- February 11 — Jason Allyn Scott, US rower
- February 11 — Bernardo Segura, Mexican race walker
- February 12 — Lee Bodimeade, Australian field hockey player and coach
- February 12 — Mojca Cater, Canadian butterfly swimmer
- February 14 — Guillaume Raoux, French tennis player
- February 15 — Mark Warnecke, German breaststroke swimmer
- February 23 — Marc Wauters, Belgian cyclist
- February 24 — Cameron Grant, Canadian breaststroke swimmer
- February 26 — Ben Maruquin, American field hockey sweeper
March
- March 1 — Jaime Amat, Spanish field hockey player
- March 5 — Li Gwang-Sik, North Korean boxer
- March 6 — Stefano Battistelli, Italian backstroke and medley swimmer
- March 14 — Julie McDonald, Australian swimmer
- March 15 — Diego Nargiso, Italian tennis player
- March 15 — Derek Parra, Mexican-American speed skater
- March 18 — Ian Bird, Canadian field hockey player
- March 25 — Magnus Larsson, Swedish tennis player
- March 30 — Secretariat, two-time Horse of the Year, 1973 Triple Crown winner (d. 1989)
- March 31 — Stuart Carruthers, Australian field hockey player
April
- April 4 — Laszlo Markovits, Hungarian tennis player
- April 4 — Jason Stoltenberg, Australian tennis player and coach
- April 5 — Boris Alterman, Israeli chess player
- April 7 — Jordi Arnau, Spanish field hockey player
- April 7 — Piet Norval, South African tennis player
- April 9 — Nicole Colaco, Kenya-born field hockey player from Canada
- April 10 — Leonard Doroftei, Romanian boxer
- April 10 — Doug Flach, American tennis player
- April 11 — KC Boutiette, American speed skater
- April 13 — Rintje Ritsma, Dutch speed skater
- April 18 — Ramón Jufresa, Spanish field hockey goalkeeper
- April 19 — Kelly Holmes, UK athlete
- April 21 — Vadim Alexeev, Kazakhstan-born swimmer from Israel
- April 29 — Andre Agassi, American tennis player
May
- May 2 — Dan Kutler, US-born butterfly swimmer from Israel
- May 12 — Mike Weir, Canadian golfer
- May 16 — Gabriela Sabatini, Argentinian tennis player
- May 17 — Renzo Furlan, Italian tennis player
- May 24 — Cristiano Caratti, Italian tennis player
- May 24 — Jeff Zgonina, US American football player
- May 27 — Michael Blackburn, Australian sailor
- May 31 — Claus Thomsen, Danish football (soccer) player
June
- June 2 — Patricia Noall, Canadian freestyle swimmer
- June 5 — Eran Groumi, Israeli swimmer
- June 10 — Miklos Molnar, Danish football (soccer) player
- June 11 — Arkhom Chenglai, Thai boxer
- June 13 — Mikael Ljungberg, Swedish wrestler (d. 2004)
- June 16 — Jaime Oncins, Brazilian tennis player
- June 20 — Russell Garcia, British field hockey player
- June 20 — Maia Lewis, New Zealand cricketer
- June 25 — Erki Nool, Estonian decathlete
- June 26 — Paul Bitok, Kenyan long-distance runner
- June 26 — Marina Lobatch, Soviet rhythmic gymnast
- June 26 — Pawel Nastula, Polish judoka and heavyweight fighter
- June 26 — Mark Pinger, German freestyle swimmer
- June 27 — John Eales, Australian rugby union footballer
- June 27 — Lars Jonsson, Swedish tennis player
July
- July 3 — Yona Kosashvili, Georgian-Israeli chess player
- July 5 — Valentí Massana, Spanish race walker
- July 11 — Frederik Fetterlein, Danish tennis player
- July 13 — Sandon Stolle, Australian tennis player
- July 14 — Natalia Mishkutenok, Russian pairs figure skater
- July 27 — Stephan Veen, Dutch field hockey player
August
- August 1 — Mark Petchey, British tennis player
- August 3 — Elena Carrión, Spanish field hockey goalkeeper
- August 7 — Eric Namesnik, American swimmer (d. 2006)
- August 8 — Johann Mühlegg, German-born Spanish cross-country skier
- August 13 — Alan Shearer, England and Newcastle soccer player
- August 14 — Sláva Doseděl, Czech tennis player
September
- September 1 — Barbara Paulus, Austrian tennis player
- September 7 — Keltie Duggan, Canadian breaststroke swimmer
- September 10 — Belinda Clarke, Australian cricketer
- September 15 — Juan-Carlos Bianchi, Venezuelan tennis player
- September 22 — Marc-Kevin Goellner, Brazil-born German tennis player
- September 28 — Isabelle Brasseur, figure skating world champion
- September 28 — Kimiko Date, Japanese tennis player
- September 29 — Nicolas Pereira, Venezuelan tennis player
October
- October 1 — Gaston Taument, Dutch football (soccer) player
- October 3 — Justine Sowry, Australian field hockey goalkeeper
- October 10— Mohammed Mourhit, Morocco-born Belgian long-distance runner
- October 10 — Matthew Pinsent, British rower
- October 17 — Anil Kumble, Indian cricketer
- October 22 — Winston Bogarde, Dutch football (soccer) player
- October 26 — Tom Vano, US field hockey goalkeeper
- October 28 — Anthony Bonsante, American boxer
November
- November 6 — Joyce Chepchumba, Kenyan long distance athlete
- November 7 — Kris Fillat, American field hockey player
- November 7 — Mohammad Shafqat, Pakistani field hockey player
- November 8 — Pablo Moreira, Argentinian field hockey goalkeeper
- November 9 — Nelson Diebel, American swimmer
- November 9 — Bill Guerin, US NHL hockey player
- November 12 — Tonya Harding, US figure skater
- November 15 — Uschi Disl, German biathlete
- November 15 — Jeffrey Adams, Canadian wheelchair athlete
- November 19 — Eleanor Race, American field hockey player
- November 20 — Tracey Robb, Scottish field hockey goalkeeper
- November 25 — Elisabeth Maragall, Spanish field hockey player
- November 30 — Yayuk Basuki, Indonesian tennis player
December
- December 3 — Christian Karembeu, French football player
- December 14 — Vladimir Grbic, Serbian volleyball player
- December 17 — Pavel Padrnos, Czech cyclist
- December 19 — Jonathan Cleveland, Canadian breaststroke swimmer
- December 21 — Tomislav Karlo, Croatian backstroke swimmer
- December 28 — Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, Dutch tennis player
Deaths
- January 17 — Lindley Murray, American tennis player (b. 1892)
- February 6 — Abe Attell, World Champion and Hall of Fame boxer
- February 15 — Carlos Cruz, Featherweight Champion boxer
- May 19 — Ray Schalk, Major League Baseball player (1912-1929)
- May 31 — Terry Sawchuk, ice hockey goalie
- June 2 — Bruce McLaren, race car driver
- June 12 — Percy Rees, British field hockey player (b. 1883)
- June 16 — Brian Piccolo, American football star
- May 31 — Terry Sawchuk, Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender
- July 4 — Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, 3-time America's Cup winner
- September 3 — Vince Lombardi, National Football League coach, Super Bowl trophy and Rotary Lombardi Award named for him
- September 5 — Jochen Rindt, Austrian Formula One racing driver
- September 19 — Greville Stevens, English cricketer
- November 5 — Charley Root, Major League Baseball pitcher (1923-1941)
- November 27 — Helene Madison, American swimmer (b. 1913)
- December 30 — Sonny Liston, American boxer (1932-1970)
"1970 in sports"