1981 in sports

World Artistic Gymnastics Championships:
- Men's all-around champion: Yuri Korolev, USSR
- Women's all-around champion: Olga Bicherova, USSR
- Men's team competition champion: USSR
- Women's team competition champion: USSR

For a Venezuelans baseball player´s strike the Caribbean World Series of this year is cancelled.
January 15 - In his first year of eligibility, former Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson is the only player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Gibson won 20 games five times, struck out 3,117 batters, and captured the Cy Young Award and MVP in 1968 with a 1.12 ERA. Players falling short of the 301 votes needed for election include Don Drysdale (243), Gil Hodges (241), Harmon Killebrew (239), Hoyt Wilhelm (238), and Juan Marichal (233). All except Hodges would subsequently gain election.
April 18 - An International League game between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the visiting Rochester Red Wings set the record for the most innings ever played in a single professional baseball game, at 33 innings (24 extra innings). The game was suspended after 32 innings on the morning of April 19, and was concluded on June 23 with a 3-2 Pawtucket victory.
June 12 - Major League Baseball players begin a 49 day strike over the issue of free-agent compensation.
World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers win 4 games to 2 over the New York Yankees. The Series MVP is a tie between Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager, Los Angeles

April 11: Larry Holmes defeats Trevor Berbick by a unanimous decision to retain the WBC heavyweight title.

August 21: Salvador Sanchez defeats Wilfredo Gomez by knockout in round eight to retain boxing's WBC world Featherweight title.(see: Salvador Sanchez vs. Wilfredo Gomez)

September 16: Sugar Ray Leonard defeats Thomas Hearns by knockout in round 14 to unify boxing's world Welterweight title.

Men's World Cup Qualifier Tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Gold Medal: Soviet Union
- Silver Medal: Malaysia
- Bronze Medal: New Zealand

Men's Champions Trophy in Karachi, Pakistan
- Gold Medal: The Netherlands
- Silver Medal: Australia
- Bronze Medal: West Germany

Women's World Cup in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Gold Medal: West Germany
- Silver Medal: The Netherlands
- Bronze Medal: Soviet Union

March 21 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium, England. England beat Wales 2-1.

Victorian Football League
- Richmond wins the 85th VFL Premiership (Richmond 12.20 (92) d Collingwood 10.12 (72))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Barry Round (South Melbourne) and Bernie Quinlan (Fitzroy)
- At the end of the season, South Melbourne relocates to Sydney and is renamed the Sydney Swans.

UEFA Champions League: Liverpool 1-0 Real Madrid
UEFA Cup: Two legs. 1st leg Ipswich Town F.C. 3-0 AZ '67 (Alkmaar); 2nd leg AZ '67 4-2 Ipswich Town. Ipswich Town won 7-2 on aggregate
Cup Winners' Cup: Dynamo Tbilisi 2-1 Carl Zeiss Jena
League champions
- Argentina: Boca Juniors
- Brazil: Grêmio
- France: Saint-Étienne
- England: Aston Villa
- Italy: Juventus
- Netherlands: Ajax
- Portugal: Benfica
- Scotland: Celtic
- Spain: Real Sociedad
- West Germany: Bayern Munich
England - FA Cup: Tottenham Hotspur won 3-2 over Manchester City

Camogie
- All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Kilkenny
- National Camogie League: Dublin

Gaelic football
- All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Kerry 1-12 d. Offaly 0-8
- National Football League: Galway 1-11 d. Roscommon 1-3

Ladies' Gaelic football
- All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Kerry 1-12 d. Offaly 0-8
- National Football League: Galway 1-11 d. Roscommon 1-3

Hurling
- All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Offaly 2-12 d. Galway 0-15
- National Hurling League: Cork 3-11 d. Offaly 2-8

August 30 - John Henry becomes the first horse to win a million dollar race, the Inaugural Arlington Million, at Arlington Park in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois.