See also: 1973 in sports, other events of 1974, 1975 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.

Artistic Gymnastics

• World Artistic Gymnastics Championships:
  • Men's all-around champion: Shigeru Kasamatsu, 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:
  • Richard Petty won the Daytona 500
  • NASCAR Championship - Richard Petty
  • IROC Championship - inaugural year won by Mark Donohue
• Indianapolis 500 - Johnny Rutherford
• USAC Racing - Bobby Unser
• Formula One Championship - Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil
• 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Henri Pescarolo / Gérard Larrousse won, driving a Matra MS670B
• Rally racing - In the first rally to cross the Sahara Desert, the Australian team of Ken Tubman, Andre Welenski, and Jim Reddiex won the "World Cup Rally" driving a Citroën.
• Drag racing - Don Garlits won "Top Fuel" at the NHRA World Finals

Baseball

• January 16: Former Yankees teammates Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford are inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Mantle becomes only the seventh player to make it in his first try. His 536 home runs with the Yankees ranked second only to Babe Ruth and he played in more games (2,401) than any other pinstriper, including Lou Gehrig. Ford was arguably the greatest Yankees pitcher of all time, retiring with more wins (236), more innings (3,171), more strikeouts (1,956), and more shutouts (45) than anyone in club history.

• Frank Robinson becomes the first African-American manager in Major League Baseball.

• April 8: Hank Aaron hit home run# 715 in the fourth inning off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing breaking Babe Ruth's career home run record.

• June 4 - The Cleveland Indians hosted "Ten Cent Beer Night", but had to forfeit the game to the Texas Rangers due to drunken and unruly fans.

• World Series: Oakland Athletics win 4 games to 1 over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
  • North Carolina State wins 76-64 over Marquette
    • In the semifinals of this tournament, NC State defeated UCLA 80-77 in overtime, ending UCLA's record streak of seven national titles. The last previous tournament not won by the Bruins was the 1966 tournament.

• NBA Finals:
  • Boston Celtics win 4 games to 3 over the Milwaukee Bucks

• FIBA World Championship
  • USSR World Champion

• January 19 – Notre Dame defeats UCLA 71-70, ending the Bruins' record 88-game winning streak.

Boxing

• February 9 in Paris, Carlos Monzon retains his world Middleweight title by a knockout in round seven over world Welterweight champion Jose Napoles.

• October 30 in Kinshasa, Zaire, Muhammad Ali regained the World Heavyweight title by knocking out George Foreman in the eighth round of what was called The Rumble in the Jungle.

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Eddy Merckx of Belgium
• Tour de France - Eddy Merckx of Belgium
• World Cycling Championship: Eddy Merckx of Belgium

Field Hockey

• Men's European Nations Cup in Madrid, Spain
  • Gold Medal: Spain
  • Silver Medal: West Germany
  • Bronze Medal: The Netherlands

• Women's World Cup in Mandelieu, France
  • Gold Medal: The Netherlands
  • Silver Medal: Argentina
  • Bronze Medal: West Germany

• March 9 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium,England. The Netherlands beat England 2-0.

Figure Skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Jan Hoffmann, Germany
  • Women's champion: Christine Errath, Germany
  • Pairs champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexander Saizew, Soviet Union

Football (American)

• Super Bowl VIII: The Miami Dolphins won 24-7 over the Minnesota Vikings
• Oklahoma Sooners - college football championship.

Football (Australian Rules)

• Victorian Football League
  • Richmond wins the 78th VFL Premiership (Richmond 18.20 (128) d North Melbourne 13.9 (87))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Keith Greig (North Melbourne)

Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Montreal Alouettes won 20-7 over the Edmonton Eskimos
• Vanier Cup: Western Ontario Mustangs won 19-15 over the Toronto Varsity Blues

Football (Soccer)

• June 9 - FIFA gives to Colombia the right to host the Football World Cup 1986 , but for economic reasons rejects to organize in late´s 1982.
• July 7 - Football World Cup: West Germany won 2-1 over the Netherlands.
• May 4 - England - FA Cup: Liverpool won 3-0 over Newcastle United.

Golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. May - The Masters - Gary Player
  2. June - US Open - Hale Irwin
  3. July - British Open - Gary Player
  4. August - PGA Championship - Lee Trevino

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Johnny Miller - $353,022

Women's Golf

• US Women's Open - Sandra Haynie
• LPGA Championship - Sandra Haynie
• JoAnne Carner: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $87,094.

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Think Big
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Amber Herod
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Allez France
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - English Prince

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Nonoalco
  2. Epsom Derby - Snow Knight
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Bustino

• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Cannonade
  2. Preakness Stakes - Little Current
  3. Belmont Stakes - Little Current

Harness Racing

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace - Boyden Hanover
  2. Little Brown Jug - Armbro Omaha
  3. Messenger Stakes - Armbro Omaha

• United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian - Christopher T.
  2. Yonkers Trot
  3. Kentucky Futurity

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Hondo Grattan

Ice Hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins

• Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Phil Esposito - Boston Bruins

• Stanley Cup - Philadelphia Flyers win 4 games to 2 over the Boston Bruins

• World Hockey Championship:
  • Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia

Lacrosse

• The 2nd World Lacrosse Championship is held in Melbourne, Australia. The United States win, and there is a 3-way tie for the runner-up position.
• The National Lacrosse League of 1974 and 1975 is formed. It is not related to the modern National Lacrosse League.
• The Rochester Griffens defeat the Philadelphia Wings in the six game National Lacrosse League (1974-75) championship, 4 games to 2 games.
• The New Westminster­ Salmonbellies win the Mann Cup.
• The Whitby Transporters win the Founders Cup.
• The Peterborough PCO's win the Minto Cup.

Skiing

• Alpine Skiing
  • The men's overall season champion: Piero Gros, Italy
  • The women's overall season champion: Annemarie Pröll, Austria

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship: Ray Reardon beats Graham Miles 22-12

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - Jimmy Connors
  2. French Open - Björn Borg
  3. Wimbledon championships - Jimmy Connors
  4. US Open - Jimmy Connors

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Evonne Goolagong
  2. French Open - Chris Evert
  3. Wimbledon championships - Chris Evert
  4. US Open - Billie Jean King

• Davis Cup: South Africa wins over India (Walkover) in world tennis.
• Last year in which US Open was played on grass courts

General sporting events

• Asian Games held in Teheran, Iran

• British Commonwealth Games held in Christchurch, New Zealand

• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
  • Carl Huntington won with lead dog: Nugget

• International Olympic Committee choose Moscow to host the 1980 Summer Olympics

Births

January

• January 3 — Robert-Jan Derksen, Dutch golfer
• January 3 — Mike Ireland, Canadian long track speed skater
• January 4 — Armin Zöggeler, Italian luger
• January 21 — Arthémon Hatungimana, Burundian middle distance runner
• January 25 — Utkirbek Haydarov, Uzbek boxer
• January 25 — Daniel Sproule, Australian field hockey defender
• January 27 — Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Norwegian biathlete
• January 30 — Nataliya Burdeyna, archery star

February

• February 1 — David Meca, Spanish long distance swimmer
• February 3 — Konrad Gałka, Polish butterfly swimmer
• February 3 — Daniel Igali, Nigeria-born Canadian freestyle wrestler
• February 4 — Mijntje Donners, Dutch field hockey player
• February 5 — Nadine Ernsting-Krienke, German field hockey striker
• February 7 — Steve Nash, Canadian NBA player
• February 9 — Jordi Cruyff, Dutch football player, son of Johan Cruijff
• February 12 — Martin Annen, Swiss bobsledder
• February 12 — Marianne Illing, waterpolo player
• February 18 — Yevgeni Kafelnikov, Russian tennis player
• February 18 — Béla Szabados, Hungarian freestyle swimmer
• February 26 — Martin Hersman, Dutch speed skater
• February 27 — Hiroyasu Shimizu, Japanese speed skater
• February 28 — Katie Allen, Australian field hockey player

March

• March 2 — Hayley Lewis, Australian swimmer
• March 4 — Karol Kucera, Slovak tennis player
• March 4 — Ariel Ortega, Argentine football player
• March 5 — Jens Jeremies, German football player
• March 6 — Benno Kuipers, Dutch swimmer
• March 6 — Dmitri Tomashevich, Uzbek tennis player
• March 13 — Thomas Enqvist, Swedish tennis player
• March 16 — Heath Streak, Zimbabwean cricketer
• March 20 — Carsten Ramelow, German football player
• March 21 — Kristine Holzer, American speed skater
• March 24 — Sergey Klyugin, Russian high jumper
• March 26 — Irina Spirlea, Romanian tennis player
• March 27 — Gaizka Mendieta, Spanish football player
• March 28 — Camilla Martin, Danish badminton player
• March 29 — Marc Gené, Formula 1-driver
• March 31 — Jani Sievinen, Finnish swimmer

April

• April 1 — Paolo Bettini, Italian cyclist
• April 1 — Sandra Völker, German swimmer
• April 4 — Vassiliy Jirov, Kazakh boxer
• April 4- Dave Mirra, extreme sports champion
• April 9 — Sule Ladipo, Nigerian tennis player
• April 11 — Alex Corretja, Spanish tennis player
• April 12 — Dinu Pescariu, Romanian tennis player
• April 13 — Chad Carvin, American freestyle swimmer
• April 17 — Eric van der Linden, Dutch triathlete
• April 19 — Gerald Sibon, Dutch football player
• April 24 — Gabby Logan, British television sports presenter
• April 28 — Richel Hersisia, Dutch boxer
• April 30 — Carlos Manuel Baldomir, Argentine boxer

May

• May 9 — Neli Boteva, badminton player
• May 21 — Martin Doktor, Czech canoer
• May 21 — Margje Teeuwen, Dutch field hockey player
• May 26 — Lars Frölander, Swedish swimmer
• May 26 — Barbara de Loor, Dutch speed skater
• May 26 — Oleg Saitov, Russian boxer
• May 28 — Cora Campbell, waterpolo player

June

• June 1 — Michael Rasmussen, Danish cyclist
• June 7 — Mahesh Bhupathi, Indian tennis player
• June 8 — Pål Arne Fagernes, Norwegian athlete (d. 2003)
• June 13 — Elli Overton, Canada-born medley swimmer from Australia
• June 13 — Jimmy Wallis, English field hockey midfielder
• June 19 — Marina Yakusheva, Russian badminton player
• June 20 — Attila Czene, Hungarian medley swimmer

July

• July 1 — Jefferson Pérez, Ecuadorian track and field athlete
• July 1 — Pornchai Thongburan, Thai boxer
• July 3 — Kenneth Jonassen, Danish badminton player
• July 11 — Michelle Edwards, badminton player
• July 4 — Jill Craybas, American tennis player
• July 4 — Denis Pankratov, Russian swimmer
• July 5 — Jimi Lewis, English field hockey goalkeeper
• July 7 — Cyrille Mubiala Kitambala, Congolese football player
• July 10 — Andrea Nuyt, Dutch speed skater
• July 11 — André Ooijer, Dutch football (soccer) player
• July 13 — Jarno Trulli, Italian Formula 1-driver
• July 17 — Tonny de Jong, Dutch speed skater
• July 17 — Claudio López, Argentine football (soccer) player
• July 23 — Maurice Greene, American athlete
• July 29 — Robin Korving, Dutch athlete
• July 29 — Brenda Starink, Dutch swimmer

August

• August 3 — Blaine Wilson, American gymnast
• August 6 — Adrian Voinea, Romanian tennis player
• August 9 — Dillianne van den Boogaard, Dutch field hockey player
• August 11 — Audrey Mestre, Free-diving world record holder (d. 2002)
• August 16 — Didier Cuche, Swiss alpine skier
• August 16 — Raimkul Malakhbekov, Russian boxer
• August 28 — Paola Vukojicic, Argentine field hockey goalkeeper
• August 16 — Krisztina Egerszegi, Hungarian backstroke and medley swimmer
• August 30 — Péter Horváth, Hungarian butterfly swimmer
• August 30 — Florin Popescu, Romanian flatwater canoer
• August 31 — Andrei Medvedev, Ukrainian tennis player

September

• September 4 — Yeo Woon-Kon, South Korean field hockey player
• September 6 — Tim Henman, British tennis player
• September 7 — Greg Newton, Canadian basketball player
• September 8 — Yaw Preko, Ghanaian football (soccer) striker
• September 9 — Miriam Oremans, Dutch tennis player
• September 10 — Ben Wallace, NBA player
• September 14 — Hicham El Guerrouj, Moroccan athlete
• September 15 — Stephen Holt, Australian field hockey player
• September 16 — Lorenzo Manta, Swiss tennis player
• September 16 — Ji Seung-Hwan, South Korean field hockey player
• September 18 — Sol Campbell, English football (soccer) player
• September 23 — Félix Mantilla, Spanish tennis player
• September 26 — Gary Hall Jr, American swimmer
• September 30 — Tycho van Meer, Dutch field hockey player

October

• October 1 — Aleksandr Averbukh, Russian-born Israeli athlete
• October 3 — Marianne Timmer, Dutch speed skater
• October 6 — Fernando Scherer, Brazilian swimmer
• October 10 — Dale Earnhardt, Jr., NASCAR driver
• October 17 — Nicole Grether, badminton player
• October 17 — Jan Kroslak, Slovak tennis player
• October 18 — Paul Palmer, British swimmer
• October 19 — Joanne Fenn, British athlete
• October 23 — Sander Westerveld, Dutch football (soccer) goalkeeper
• October 24 — Gabor Babos, Hungarian football player
• October 26 — Aki Parviainen, Finnish javelin thrower
• October 31 — Rob Cordemans, Dutch baseball player

November

• November 2 — Zsófia Polgár, Hungarian-Israeli chess player
• November 4 — Gaston Etlis, Argentine tennis player
• November 6 — Frank Vandenbroucke, Belgian cyclist
• November 8 — Penny Heyns, South African swimmer
• November 9 — Alessandro Del Piero, Italian football (soccer) player
• November 13 — Indrek Zelinski, Estonian football (soccer) player
• November 14 — Jenita Hulzebosch-Smit, Dutch speed skater
• November 15 — Sergio Conceição, Portuguese football (soccer) player
• November 20 — Marina Andrievskaya, badminton player
• November 20 — Drew Ginn, Australian rower
• November 21 — Karen Rolton, Australian cricketer

December

• December 4 — Anke Huber, German tennis player
• December 7 — Manuel Martínez, Spanish shot putter
• December 7 — Alex Radulescu, Romanian-born tennis player from Germany
• December 11 — Maarten Lafeber, Dutch golfer
• December 12 — Nolberto Solano, Peruvian football (soccer) player
• December 16 — Edgardo Simon, Argentine track and road bicycle racer
• December 18 — Bram de Groot, Dutch cyclist
• December 21 — Karrie Webb, golf champion
• December 24 — Marcelo Salas, Chilean football (soccer) player
• December 31 — Mario Aerts, Belgian cyclist

Deaths

• February 21 — Tim Horton, NHL ice hockey player, Hockey Hall of Famer, founder of Tim Hortons doughnut shops
• March 22 — Peter Revson, American F1 race car driver
• April 23 — Cy Williams, Major League Baseball player (1912-1930)
• July 17 — Dizzy Dean, Major League Baseball player and broadcaster (1930-1947)
• September 19 — Zack Taylor, Major League Baseball player
• October 13 — Sam Rice, Major League Baseball player (1915-1934)
• November 1 — Joe Bush, Major League Baseball pitcher (1912-1928)
• November 4 — Bert Patenaude (65), American soccer player (b. 1909)
• December 5 — Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, American tennis player
• December 18 — Harry Hooper, Major League Baseball player (1909-1925)

1974 in sports | 1974

1974 en sport | 1974年のスポーツ | Sportåret 1974