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1976 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

• Alpine Skiing World Cup
  • Men's overall season champion:Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden
  • Women's overall season champion:Rosi Mittermaier,West Germany

• January 18 –Super Bowl X: thePittsburgh Steelers (AFC) won 21−17 over theDallas Cowboys (NFC)
  • Location:Miami Orange Bowl
  • Attendance: 80,187
  • MVP:Lynn Swann, WR (Pittsburgh)
• Lee Roy Selmon is selected as the first overall pick in theNFL draft. (April 8)
• Seattle Seahawks founded.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers founded.
• Orange Bowl (1975 season):
  • TheOklahoma Sooners won 14–6 over theMichigan Wolverines to win the college footballnational championship
• Tony Dorsett is awarded theHeisman Trophy (November 30).

• England – FA Cup –Southampton won 1–0 overManchester United
• Stevenage F.C. were established
• Italy –Torino winSerie A for the first time since theSuperga air disaster wiped out the team 27 years before.
• 1976 European Championship –Czechoslovakia beatWest Germany 5–3 onpenalties to win, after the game had ended 2-2 after extra time.

• July –Athletics at the 1976 Summer Olympics held at Montreal

• Victorian Football League
  • Hawthorn wins the 80thVFL Premiership (Hawthorn 13.22 (100) dNorth Melbourne 10.10 (70))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded toGraham Moss (Essendon)

• April 17 –Mike Schmidt of thePhiladelphia Phillies hits four consecutive home runs in a game against the Chicago Cubs.
• April 25 –Chicago Cubs outfielderRick Monday rescues anAmerican flag just as two protesters are about toburn it in the outfield during a game atDodger Stadium.
• Sparky Lyle of theNew York Yankees breaksHoyt Wilhelm's American League record of 154 career saves.
• World Series – TheCincinnati Reds (aka the "Big Red Machine") sweep theNew York Yankees, 4 games to 0, to win their second straight championship.

• NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship –
  • Indiana wins 86–68 overMichigan
• NBA Finals –
  • Boston Celtics win 4 games to 2 over thePhoenix Suns
• 1976 ABA Playoffs –
  • New York Nets defeatDenver Nuggets 4 games to 2
• American Basketball Association merges with theNational Basketball Association. Of the seven remaining teams in the ABA, theVirginia Squires fold,Kentucky Colonels andSpirits of St. Louis are bought out, and the remaining four teams (San Antonio Spurs,Denver Nuggets,New York Nets, andIndiana Pacers) join the NBA

• May 22 – death ofOscar Bonavena (34), Argentinian heavyweight, who was shot in Reno, Nevada
• September 28 inYankee Stadium,Bronx,New YorkMuhammad Ali won a controversial 15-round decision overKen Norton to keep his World Heavyweight title.
• October 8 inSão Paulo, Brazil, former world featherweight championEder Jofre fought his last fight, outpointingMexico'sOctavio (Famoso) Gomez in ten rounds.

• Grey Cup –Ottawa Rough Riders won 23–20 over theSaskatchewan Roughriders
• Vanier Cup –Western Ontario Mustangs won 29–13 over theAcadia Axemen

• Giro d'Italia won byFelice Gimondi of Italy
• Tour de France –Lucien Van Impe of Belgium
• UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race –Freddy Maertens of Belgium

• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion –
  • Gerald Riley won with lead dogs:Puppy &Sugar

• Olympic Games (Men's Competition) in Montreal won by New Zealand
• Women's World Cup in Berlin won by West Germany

• World Figure Skating Championships –
  • Men's champion:John Curry, Britain
  • Ladies' champion:Dorothy Hamill, United States
  • Pair skating champions:Irina Rodnina &Alexander Zaitsev, Soviet Union
  • Ice dancing champions:Lyudmila Pakhomova &Alexandr Gorshkov, Soviet Union

Men's professional

• Masters Tournament –Raymond Floyd
• U.S. Open –Jerry Pate^[1]
• British Open –Johnny Miller
• PGA Championship –Dave Stockton
• PGA Tour money leader –Jack Nicklaus – $266,439

Men's amateur

• British Amateur –Dick Siderowf
• U.S. Amateur –Bill Sander

Women's professional

• LPGA Championship –Betty Burfeindt
• U.S. Women's Open –JoAnne Carner
• LPGA Tour money leader –Judy Rankin – $150,734, she is the first to ever earn more than $100,000 in a season.

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races –
  1. Cane Pace –Keystone Ore
  2. Little Brown Jug –Keystone Ore
  3. Messenger Stakes –Windshield Wiper
• United States Trotting Triple Crown races –
  1. Hambletonian –Steve Lobell
  2. Yonkers Trot –Steve Lobell
  3. Kentucky Futurity –Quick Pay
• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
  • Pacers:Carclew
  • Trotters:Bay Johnny

Steeplechases

• Cheltenham Gold Cup –Royal Frolic
• Grand National –Rag Trade

Flat races

• Australia –Melbourne Cup won byVan der Hum
• Canada –Queen's Plate won byNorcliffe
• France –Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won byIvanjica
• Ireland –Irish Derby Stakes won byMalacate
• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes –Wollow
  2. The Derby –Empery^[2]
  3. St. Leger Stakes –Crow
• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby –Bold Forbes
  2. Preakness Stakes –Elocutionist
  3. Belmont Stakes –Bold Forbes

• Art Ross Trophy as theNHL's leading scorer during the regular season:Guy Lafleur,Montreal Canadiens
• Hart Memorial Trophy for theNHL's Most Valuable Player:Bobby Clarke –Philadelphia Flyers
• Stanley Cup –Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 0 over thePhiladelphia Flyers
• World Hockey Championship –
  • Men's champion:Czechoslovakia defeated the Soviet Union
• Avco World Trophy –Winnipeg Jets win 4 games to 0 over theHouston Aeros
• NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship –University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Golden Gophers defeatMichigan Technological University Huskies 6–4 inDenver, Colorado

• 29 June – theWorld Club Challenge concept is trialled as English championsSt. Helens travel to Sydney to play Australian championsEastern Suburbs. Easts defeat St Helens 25–2 in theone-off match.
• 18 August – the1976 Amco Cup tournament culminates inBalmain's 21–7 win overNorth Sydney in the final
• 18 September – the1976 NSWRFL season culminates inManly-Warringah's 13–10 win overParramatta in the Grand Final

• 82ndFive Nations Championship series is won byWales who complete theGrand Slam

• World Snooker Championship –Ray Reardon beatsAlex Higgins 27-16
• World rankings are introduced.Ray Reardon becomes the firstworld number one, for 1976/77.

• July 18 to July 25 –XXI Olympic Games, held in Montreal
• August 14 – United States'sJonty Skinner sets the first official world record in the50m freestyle in Philadelphia, clocking 23.86

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open –Mark Edmondson
  2. French Open –Adriano Panatta
  3. Wimbledon championships –Björn Borg
  4. U.S. Open –Jimmy Connors
• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open –Evonne Goolagong Cawley
  2. French Open –Sue Barker
  3. Wimbledon championships –Chris Evert
  4. U.S. Open –Chris Evert
• Davis Cup – Italy wins 4–1 overChile in world tennis.

• Water polo at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montréal won by Hungary

• 1976 Summer Olympics takes place inMontreal, Quebec, Canada
  • USSR wins the most medals (125), and the most gold medals (49).
• 1976 Winter Olympics takes place inInnsbruck, Austria
  • USSR wins the most medals (27), and the most gold medals (13).
• FifthPan Arab Games held inDamascus, Syria

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year –Caitlyn Jenner (then Bruce),^[a]Track and field
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year –Nadia Comăneci,Gymnastics
• ABC'sWide World of Sports Athlete of the Year: Nadia Comăneci, Gymnastics

• 1976 in sports
• Sports by year

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