title: 1975 in sports
text: # 1975 in sports
  
  1975 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
  
  ## Alpine skiing
  
  * Alpine Skiing World Cup
     * Men's overall season champion: Gustav Thöni, Italy
     * Women's overall season champion: Annemarie Pröll, Austria
  
  ## American football
  
  * January 12 − Super Bowl IX: the Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC) won 16−6 over the Minnesota Vikings (NFC)
     * Location: Tulane Stadium
     * Attendance: 80,997
     * MVP: Franco Harris, FB (Pittsburgh)
  * Birmingham Vulcans win the final season of WFL competition, had best overall record when league ceased after first twelve weeks of regular season.
  
  ## Association football
  
  * Brazil – Internacional wins the Campeonato Brasileiro
  * England – the League Championship – Derby County took the title for the second time in four seasons, finishing two points clear of Liverpool and Ipswich Town.
  * England – FA Cup – West Ham United beat Fulham 2–0 at Wembley Stadium in front of 100,000 people. Alan Taylor was the scorer of both goals.
  * England – League Cup – Aston Villa beat Norwich City 1–0 at Wembley Stadium.
  * European Cup – Bayern Munich defeated Leeds United 2–0 in a controversial final at the Parc des Princes, Paris.
  * European Cup Winners' Cup – Dynamo Kiev beat Ferencváros 3–0 in Basle, Switzerland.
  * UEFA Cup – Borussia Mönchengladbach beat FC Twente 5–1 on aggregate, with a leg played at each team's home stadium.
  * Ecuador – Ecuadorian Serie A Champions: Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito
  
  ## Athletics
  
  * August 12 – New Zealand's John Walker set a new world record in Gothenburg, Sweden, becoming the first man to break 3:50 for the mile when he clocked 3:49.4.
  * October – Athletics at the 1975 Pan American Games held in Mexico City
  
  ## Australian rules football
  
  * Victorian Football League
     * North Melbourne wins the 79th VFL Premiership (North Melbourne 19.8 (122) d Hawthorn 9.13 (67))
     * Brownlow Medal awarded to Gary Dempsey (Footscray)
  * South Australian National Football League:
     * August 23: Glenelg kick the all-time record score for a major Australian Rules competition, kicking 49.23 (317) to Central District's 11.13 (79). It beat the previous record by an amazing 91 points.
  
  ## Baseball
  
  * January 23 – Slugger Ralph Kiner is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
  * September 16 – Pirates second baseman Rennie Stennett ties Wilbert Robinson's ML record, set June 10, 1892, by going 7-for-7 in a 9-inning game. He scored five of his club's runs in a 22–0 massacre of the Cubs, a major-league record for the biggest score in a shutout game in the 20th century.
  * World Series – Cincinnati Reds win 4 games to 3 over the Boston Red Sox. Often described as one of the most memorable of all World Series.
  
  ## Basketball
  
  * April 9 – Asia's first professional basketball league, the Philippine Basketball Association played its first game at the Araneta Coliseum.
  * Darryl Dawkins becomes the first NBA player drafted out of high school.
  * NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship –
     * UCLA wins 92–85 over Kentucky in John Wooden's final game as Bruins coach.
  * NBA Finals –
     * Golden State Warriors win 4 games to 0 over the Washington Bullets
  * 1975 ABA Finals –
     * Kentucky Colonels defeat Indiana Pacers 4 games to 1
  
  ## Boxing
  
  * October 1 in Manila, Philippines Muhammad Ali defeated Joe Frazier to maintain the Heavyweight Championship of the world. Known as the Thrilla In Manila, many regard it as the greatest fight in boxing history.
  
  ## Canadian football
  
  * Grey Cup – Edmonton Eskimos won 9–8 over the Montreal Alouettes
  * Vanier Cup – Ottawa Gee-Gees won 14–9 over the Calgary Dinos
  
  ## Cricket
  
  * 1975 Cricket World Cup, the first to be held. West Indies beat Australia by 17 runs.
  
  ## Cycling
  
  * Giro d'Italia won by Fausto Bertoglio of Italy
  * Tour de France – Bernard Thévenet of France
  * UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race – Hennie Kuiper of Netherlands
  
  ## Disc sports
  
  * The first disc ultimate games in Canada are played as exhibition games at the Canadian Open Frisbee Championships on Toronto Islands.
  * Ultimate is played as an exhibition of a new sport at the World Frisbee Championships (WFC) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
  
  ## Dogsled racing
  
  * Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion –
     * Emmitt Peters won with lead dogs: Nugget & Digger
  
  ## Field hockey
  
  * Men's World Cup held in Kuala Lumpur and won by India
  * 1975 Pan American Games men's competition held in Mexico City and won by Argentina
  
  ## Figure skating
  
  * World Figure Skating Championships –
     * Men's champion: Sergey Nikolayevich Volkov, Soviet Union
     * Ladies' champion: Dianne de Leeuw, Netherlands
     * Pair skating champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexander Zaitsev, Soviet Union
     * Ice dancing champions: Irina Moiseyeva & Andrei Minenkov, Soviet Union
  
  ## Golf
  
  Men's professional
  
  * Masters Tournament – Jack Nicklaus
  * U.S. Open – Lou Graham
  * British Open – Tom Watson
  * PGA Championship – Jack Nicklaus
  * PGA Tour money leader – Jack Nicklaus – $298,149
  * Ryder Cup – United States wins 21–11 over Britain & Ireland in team golf.
  
  Men's amateur
  
  * British Amateur – Vinny Giles
  * U.S. Amateur – Fred Ridley
  
  Women's professional
  
  * LPGA Championship – Kathy Whitworth
  * U.S. Women's Open – Sandra Palmer
  * LPGA Tour money leader – Sandra Palmer – $76,374
  
  ## Harness racing
  
  * United States Pacing Triple Crown races –
     * Cane Pace – Nero
     * Little Brown Jug – Seatrain
     * Messenger Stakes – Bret's Champ
  * United States Trotting Triple Crown races –
     * Hambletonian – Bonefish
     * Yonkers Trot – Surefire Hanover
     * Kentucky Futurity – Noble Rogue
  * Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
     * Pacers: Young Quinn
  
  ## Horse racing
  
  * footy July 6 – In what was billed as the "Battle of the Sexes", Kentucky Derby winner, Foolish Pleasure went head to head in a match race against the undefeated filly, Ruffian. In the lead, Ruffian broke a leg and, after an unsuccessful operation to save her, the horse widely believed to have been the greatest thoroughbred filly ever was humanely put down.
  
  Steeplechases
  
  * Cheltenham Gold Cup – Ten Up
  * Grand National – L'Escargot
  
  Flat races
  
  * Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Think Big
  * Canada – Queen's Plate won by L'Enjoleur
  * France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Star Appeal
  * Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Grundy
  * English Triple Crown Races:
     * 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Bolkonski
     * The Derby – Grundy
     * St. Leger Stakes – Bruni
  * United States Triple Crown Races:
     * Kentucky Derby – Foolish Pleasure
     * Preakness Stakes – Master Derby
     * Belmont Stakes – Avatar
  
  ## Ice hockey
  
  * Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins.
  * Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers
  * Stanley Cup – Philadelphia Flyers defeat the Buffalo Sabres 4 games to 2
  * World Hockey Championship –
     * Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia
  * Avco World Trophy – Houston Aeros win 4 games to 0 over the Quebec Nordiques
  * SM-liiga, the Finnish professional ice hockey league, launched its first season 1975–1976
  * NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship – Michigan Technological University Huskies defeat University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Golden Gophers 6–1 in St. Louis, Missouri
  
  ## Lacrosse
  
  * The National Lacrosse League of 1974 and 1975 play their 2nd and last season.
  * The Quebec Caribous defeat the Montreal Québécois 4 games to 2 to win the National Lacrosse League (1974–75) Championship.
  * The Vancouver Burrards win the Mann Cup.
  * The Windsor Warlocks win the Founders Cup.
  * The Peterborough Gray Munros win the Minto Cup.
  
  ## Orienteering
  
  * First Ski Orienteering World Championships held in Hyvinkää, Finland.
  
  ## Rugby league
  
  * 1975 Amco Cup
  * 1975 European Rugby League Championship
  * 1975 New Zealand rugby league season
  * 1975 NSWRFL season
  * 1975 Pacific Cup
  * 1974–75 Northern Rugby Football League season / 1975–76 Northern Rugby Football League season
  * 1975 Rugby League World Cup
  
  ## Rugby union
  
  * 81st Five Nations Championship series is won by Wales
  
  ## Snooker
  
  * World Snooker Championship – Ray Reardon beats Eddie Charlton 31-30
  
  ## Swimming
  
  * The second FINA World Championships held in Cali, Colombia
  
  ## Tennis
  
  * Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
     * Australian Open – John Newcombe
     * French Open – Björn Borg
     * Wimbledon championships – Arthur Ashe
     * U.S. Open – Manuel Orantes
  * Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
     * Australian Open – Evonne Goolagong
     * French Open – Chris Evert
     * Wimbledon championships – Billie Jean King
     * U.S. Open – Chris Evert
  * Davis Cup – Sweden wins 3–2 over Czechoslovakia in world tennis.
  * Eighteen-year-old Martina Navratilova of Czechoslovakia announces her defection to the United States
  
  ## Volleyball
  
  * Asian Men's Volleyball Championship held in Melbourne: won by Japan
  * Asian Women's Volleyball Championship held in Melbourne: won by Japan
  * Men and Women's European Volleyball Championship held in Yugoslavia: men's and women's tournaments both won by USSR
  * Volleyball at the 1975 Pan American Games held in Mexico City: men's and women's tournaments both won by Cuba
  
  ## Water polo
  
  * 1975 FINA Men's World Water Polo Championship held in Cali, Colombia, and won by USSR.
  
  ## General sporting events
  
  * Seventh Pan American Games held in Mexico City, Mexico
  * Seventh Mediterranean Games held in Algiers, Algeria
  * Eighth Summer Universiade held in Rome, Italy
  * Eighth Winter Universiade held in Livigno, Italy
  
  ## Awards
  
  * Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Fred Lynn, Major League Baseball
  * Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Chris Evert, Tennis
  