1989 in sports

1989 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

Years in sports
← 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 →
1989 in sports
Air sports American football Aquatic sports Association football Athletics Badminton Baseball Basketball Canadian football Chess Climbing Combat sports Sumo Cricket 1988–89 1989 1989–90 Cycling Dance sports Darts Equestrianism Esports Field hockey Flying disc Golf Gymnastics Handball Ice hockey Ice sports Korfball Lumberjack sports Mind sports Modern pentathlon Motorsport Orienteering Paralympic sports Precision sports Shooting Racquetball Roller sports Sailing Skiing Speedway Rugby league‎ Rugby union Snooker 1988–89 1989–90 Strength sports Weightlifting Squash Table tennis Tennis Triathlon Volleyball

Alpine skiing

• Alpine Skiing World Cup
  • Men's overall season champion: Marc Girardelli, Luxembourg
  • Women's overall season champion: Vreni Schneider, Switzerland

American football

• Super Bowl XXIII – the San Francisco 49ers (NFC) won 20–16 over the Cincinnati Bengals (AFC)
  • Location: Joe Robbie Stadium
  • Attendance: 75,129
  • MVP: Jerry Rice, WR (San Francisco)
• January 2 - Fiesta Bowl (1988 season):
  • The Notre Dame Fighting Irish won 34-21 over the West Virginia Mountaineers to win the national championship

Artistic gymnastics

• World Artistic Gymnastics Championships –
  • Men's all-around champion: Igor Korobchinsky, USSR
  • Women's all-around champion: Svetlana Boginskaya, USSR
  • Men's team competition champion: USSR
  • Women's team competition champion: USSR

Association football

Australian rules football

• Victorian Football League
  • May 6 – Geelong kicks the highest losing score in VFL/AFL history, kicking 25.13 (163) to Hawthorn’s 26.15 (171)
  • June 24 – Essendon kicks the lowest winning score since the 1927 Grand Final, beating Footscray 3.10 (28) to 3.5 (23).
  • Hawthorn wins the 93rd VFL Premiership beating Geelong 21.18 (144) d 21.12 (138)
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Paul Couch (Geelong)

Baseball

• April 8 – One-handed pitcher Jim Abbott makes his major-league debut with the California Angels, without spending a single day in the minor leagues. He went on to a 12–12 record for the season.
• August 10 – Ten months after undergoing surgery for cancer in his pitching arm, San Francisco Giants pitcher Dave Dravecky returns to the major leagues, winning his comeback 4–3.
• August 15 – Dave Dravecky's comeback bid ends when his pitching arm breaks in the sixth inning of his second start. Two years later, the cancer-stricken arm would be amputated.
• August 24 – Following an investigation that he gambled on baseball, superstar player Pete Rose is banned from baseball for life.
• World Series – Oakland Athletics won 4 games to 0 over the San Francisco Giants in a series that was delayed because of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The Series MVP was Dave Stewart, Oakland.
• Taiwan Professional Baseball League, officially founded on October 23.^{[citation needed]}

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship –
  • Michigan wins 80–79 over Seton Hall in overtime
• NBA Finals –
  • The Detroit Pistons win 4 games to 0 over the Los Angeles Lakers to win the franchise's first championship.
• National Basketball League (Australia) Finals:
  • North Melbourne Giants defeated the Canberra Cannons 2–1 in the best-of-three final series.

Boxing

• February 11 – In Grenoble, France, Rene Jacquot won a 12-round decision over Donald Curry to win the World Welterweight Championship
• May 29 to June 3 – 28th European Amateur Boxing Championships held in Athens, Greece

Canadian football

• Grey Cup – Saskatchewan Roughriders won 43–40 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
• Vanier Cup – Western Ontario Mustangs won 35–10 over the Saskatchewan Huskies

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Laurent Fignon of France
• Tour de France – Greg LeMond of the United States
• UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race – Greg LeMond of the United States

Dogsled racing

• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion –
  • Joe Runyan won with lead dogs: Rambo & Ferlin the Husky

Field hockey

• Men's Champions Trophy: Australia
• Women's Champions Trophy: South Korea

Figure skating

• World Figure Skating Championships –
  • Men's champion: Kurt Browning, Canada
  • Ladies’ champion: Midori Ito, Japan
  • Pair skating champions: Ekaterina Gordeeva & Sergei Grinkov, Soviet Union
  • Ice dancing champions: Marina Klimova / Sergei Ponomarenko, Soviet Union

Gaelic Athletic Association

• Camogie
  • All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Kilkenny
  • National Camogie League: Kilkenny
• Gaelic football
  • All-Ireland Senior Football Championship – Cork 0–17 died Mayo 1–11
  • National Football League – Cork 0–15 died Dublin 0–12
• Ladies' Gaelic football
  • All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Kerry
  • National Football League: Kerry
• Hurling
  • All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship – Tipperary 4–24 died Antrim 3–9
  • National Hurling League – Galway 2–16 beat Tipperary 4–8

Golf

Men's professional

• Masters Tournament – Nick Faldo
• U.S. Open – Curtis Strange
• British Open – Mark Calcavecchia
• PGA Championship – Payne Stewart
• PGA Tour money leader – Tom Kite – $1,395,278
• Senior PGA Tour money leader – Bob Charles – $725,887
• Ryder Cup – Europe and the United States teams tied 14–14 in team golf.

Men's amateur

• British Amateur – Stephen Dodd
• U.S. Amateur – Chris Patton
• European Amateur – David Ecob

Women's professional

• Nabisco Dinah Shore – Juli Inkster
• LPGA Championship – Nancy Lopez
• U.S. Women's Open – Betsy King
• Classique du Maurier – Tammie Green
• LPGA Tour money leader – Betsy King – $654,132

Harness racing

• North America Cup – Goalie Jeff
• United States Pacing Triple Crown races –
  1. Cane Pace – Dancing Master
  2. Little Brown Jug – Goalie Jeff
  3. Messenger Stakes – Sandman Hanover
• United States Trotting Triple Crown races –
  1. Hambletonian – Park Ave Joe & Probe (dead heat)
  2. Yonkers Trot – Valley Victory
  3. Kentucky Futurity – Peace Corps
• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
  • Pacers: Jodie's Babe
  • Trotters: Yankee Loch

Horse racing

Steeplechases

• Cheltenham Gold Cup – Desert Orchid
• Grand National – Little Polveir

Flat races

• Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Tawrrific
• Canadian Triple Crown Races:
  1. Queen's Plate – With Approval
  2. Prince of Wales Stakes – With Approval
  3. Breeders' Stakes – With Approval
  • With Approval becomes the first horse to win the Canadian Triple Crown since 1963.
• France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Carroll House
• Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Old Vic
• Japan – Japan Cup won by Horlicks
• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Nashwan
  2. The Derby – Nashwan^[1]
  3. St. Leger Stakes – Michelozzo
• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. May 6 – Kentucky Derby – Sunday Silence
  2. Preakness Stakes – Sunday Silence
  3. Belmont Stakes – Easy Goer
• Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships:
  1. Breeders' Cup Classic – Sunday Silence
  2. Breeders' Cup Distaff – Bayakoa
  3. Breeders' Cup Juvenile – Rhythm
  4. Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies – Go for Wand
  5. Breeders' Cup Mile – Steinlen
  6. Breeders' Cup Sprint – Dancing Spree
  7. Breeders' Cup Turf – Prized

Ice hockey

• Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
• March 22 – St. Louis Blues’ Steve Tuttle slits the jugular vein of Buffalo Sabres’ goaltender Clint Malarchuk, with a total of 300 stitches needed to close the wound thanks to trainer Jim Pizzutelli.
• Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL’s Most Valuable Player: Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings
• Stanley Cup – The Calgary Flames won 4 games to 2 over the Montreal Canadiens. This constitutes the only time that the visiting team won the cup at the Montreal Forum against the Canadiens.
• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Canada
  • Junior Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden

Lacrosse

• The Philadelphia Wings defeat the New York Saints to win the Major Indoor Lacrosse League championship

Motorsport

Radiosport

• Second European High Speed Telegraphy Championship held in Hanover, Germany.

Rugby league

• June 7 – 1989 Panasonic Cup tournament final: Brisbane Broncos 22–20 Illawarra Steelers at Parramatta Stadium
• June 14 – 1989 State of Origin title is wrapped up by Queensland in Game Two of the three-match series against New South Wales at the Sydney Football Stadium before 40,000.
• July 23 – first of the 1989–1992 World Cup's twenty tournament matches is won by Australia 22–14 over New Zealand at Mount Smart Stadium before 15,000
• September 24 – 1989 NSWRL season Grand Final: Canberra Raiders 19–14 Balmain Tigers at Sydney Football Stadium before 40,500.
• October 4 – 1989 World Club Challenge match is won by Widnes who defeats Canberra Raiders 30–18 at Old Trafford before 30,768

Rugby union

• 95th Five Nations Championship series is won by France

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship – Steve Davis beats John Parrott 18–3
• World rankings – Steve Davis remains world number one for 1989/90

Swimming

• Third Pan Pacific Championships, held in Tokyo, Japan (August 17 – 20)
• August 20 – Tom Jager once again regains the world record (22.14) in the 50m freestyle (long course) during 1989 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, with a time of 22.12.

Taekwondo

• World Championships held in Seoul, South Korea

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open – Ivan Lendl
  2. French Open – Michael Chang
  3. Wimbledon championships – Boris Becker
  4. U.S. Open – Boris Becker
• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open – Steffi Graf
  2. French Open – Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
  3. Wimbledon championships – Steffi Graf
  4. U.S. Open – Steffi Graf
• Davis Cup – Germany F.R. won 3–2 over Sweden in world tennis.

Triathlon

• 1989 ITU Triathlon World Championships held in Avignon, France
• ETU European Championships held in Cascais, Portugal

Volleyball

• 1989 FIVB Men's World Cup won by Cuba
• 1989 FIVB Women's World Cup won by Cuba
• 1989 Men's European Volleyball Championship won by Italy
• 1989 Women's European Volleyball Championship won by USSR

Water polo

• Men's Water Polo World Cup won by Yugoslavia
• Men's European Water Polo Championship won by West Germany
• Women's European Water Polo Championship won by the Netherlands

Multi-sport events

• Third World Games held in Karlsruhe, West Germany
• 15th Summer Universiade held in Duisburg, West Germany
• Fourteenth Winter Universiade held in Sofia, Bulgaria

Awards

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Joe Montana, National Football League
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Steffi Graf, Tennis
• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Decade: Wayne Gretzky, National Hockey League

References