The 1980s: Sports: People in the News

THE 1980s: SPORTS: PEOPLE IN THE NEWS

Lev Alburt was the U.S. chess champion during 1984-1985.

Bobby Allison, Bill Elliott, and Cale Yarborough each won the Daytona 500 twice in the 1980s.

In 1985 Les Anderson caught a world-record (97 pounds, 4 ounces) chinook salmon in the Kenai River in Alaska.

Willie "Flipper" Anderson of the Los Angeles Rams gained 336 yards receiving against the New Orleans Saints in 1989 to set an NFL single-game record.

Racquetball player Cindy Baxter won a record four women's open titles in the 1980s.

Mookie Blaylock of the University of Oklahoma set an NCAA record for steals in a basketball season with 150 in 1988.

The 5-foot 3-inch Tyrone "Muggsy" Bogues, picked by the Washington Bullets in 1987, became the shortest player in NBA history.

The 7-foot 6-inch Manute Bol, picked by the Washington Bullets in 1985, became the tallest player in NBA history.

Dogsled racer Susan Butcher won the Iditarod in 1986, 1987, and 1988.

JoAnne Carner won the LPGA's Vare Trophy for the best annual scoring average three years in a row, beginning in 1981.

In 1982 Tracy Caulkins became the winningest swimmer in U.S. history when she broke Johnny Weissmuller's record of 36 national titles.

Julius "Dr. J" Erving concluded his basketball career in 1987 having scored 11,662 points in the American Basketball Association (1971-1976) and 18,364 points in the National Basketball Association (1976-1987).

Chris Evert retired from tennis in 1989, having won twenty-one Grand Slam titles.

Lewis Feild was the All-Around Cowboy champion from 1985 through 1987.

Carlton Fisk played in more games (1,063 compared to 945) and hit more home runs (174 compared to 144) for the Chicago White Sox in the 1980s than he did for the Boston Red Sox in the 1970s.

Dan Fouts ended his NFL career with the San Diego Chargers in 1987, having passed for 43,040 yards (second all-time) and 254 touchdowns (fourth all-time).

Defensive lineman Mark Gastineau of the New York Jets set an NFL record with 22 sacks in 1984.

Wayne Gretzky passed for seven assists in a hockey game three times in the 1980s.

In 1986 Harriet Hamilton was named the athletic director of Fisk University, the first African American woman to hold the post in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

In 1988 Orel Hershiser of the Los Angeles Dodgers won the National League Championship Series MVP, the World Series MVP, and the National League Cy Young award.

Whitey Herzog managed the St. Louis Cardinals to three National League pennants in 1982, 1985, and 1987.

In the 1980s Bo Jackson hit 81 home runs for the Kansas City Royals and rushed for 2,084 yards and scored 13 touchdowns for the Los Angeles Raiders.

In 1981 Sharon Richardson Jones was named director of outreach activities for the Oakland Athletics, thus becoming the first African American woman in the front office of a Major League Baseball team.

Bowler Thomas Jordan set a world record for the highest individual score, 899, for three games in 1989.

Instructor Jan Kemp successfully sued the University of Georgia for firing her because she had protested against giving academic favoritism to student-athletes.

LeChandra LeDay of the Grambling State University women's basketball team averaged 30.4 points a game in 1988, an NCAA women's single-season record.

Greg LeMond won the Tour de France bicycle race in 1986, 1989, and 1990. His margin of victory in 1989 was eight seconds, the closest Tour de France in history.

Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe were each rated number one by the ATP at the end of the year four times in the 1980s.

Basketball player Lisa Leslie won the 1989 Dial Award, which is presented annually to the national high-school athlete-scholar of the year.

Carl Lewis won seven Olympic track-and-field medals in the 1980s, six of them gold.

Nancy Lopez won five consecutive golf tournaments she entered in 1987.

Boston Celtics forward Kevin McHale won the NBA's sixth man award twice, in 1984 and 1985.

Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins passed for 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns in 1984, NFL single-seas on records.

Rick Mears won the Indianapolis 500 in 1984 and 1988.

Art Monk of the Washington Redskins caught an NFL record 106 receptions in 1984.

Swimmer Pablo Morales set U.S. national records in the 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly.

First baseman Eddie Murray led the major leagues in runs batted in during the 1980s, with 996.

Paula Newby-Fraser won the women's Triathlon championships in 1986, 1988, and 1989.

Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton finished his career in 1987 with 16,726 yards rushing, an NFL all-time record.

Gaylord Perry was ejected for the only time in his career for throwing a spitball in 1982, the same season he won his 300th career game.

In 1988 Pam Postema, a minor-league umpire, was almost chosen to become the first female Major League Baseball umpire.

Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers caught 22 touch-down passes in 1987.

Nolan Ryan struck out 2,167 batters over the course of the 1980s. In 1989, when he was forty-two, Ryan averaged 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State University set NCAA single-season records for touchdowns (39) and rushing yards (2,628) in 1988.

Dave Scott won six Ironman Triathlon championships in the 1980s.

Hockey players Peter and Anton Stastny of the Quebec Nordiques each scored eight points in a 1981 game against the Washington Capitals.

Bill Walsh coached the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl wins in the 1980s.

Tom Watson was the PGA's Player of the Year three times in the 1980s.

Using a sabre, fencer Peter Westbrook won nine U.S. national championships in the 1980s.

Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers led the major leagues in base hits during the 1980s with 1,731.