1971 in sports

1971 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

 * 17 January − Super Bowl V: the Baltimore Colts (AFC) won 16–13 over the Dallas Cowboys (NFC)
 * Location: Miami Orange Bowl
 * Attendance: 79,204
 * MVP: Chuck Howley, LB (Dallas)
 * 25 December – The Miami Dolphins defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in a divisional playoff game. The double-overtime contest is the longest game in NFL history, and the Chiefs' last home game at Municipal Stadium.
 * Orange Bowl (1970 season):
 * The Nebraska Cornhuskers won 17–12 over the Louisiana State Tigers to win the AP Poll national championship after the previous #1 Texas Longhorns lost in the Cotton Bowl and the #2 Ohio State Buckeyes lost in the Rose Bowl.
 * 24 October – death of Chuck Hughes, Detroit Lions wide receiver

Association football

 * 2 January – At the end of a Rangers–Celtic match at Ibrox Park in Glasgow, barriers at Stairway 13 give way under a mass of fans, killing 66 and injuring over 200 others.
 * 30 June – death of Georgi Asparuhov (28), Bulgarian international
 * Atlético Mineiro wins the first Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
 * Arsenal are the English First Division champions
 * England – FA Cup – Arsenal won 2–1 over Liverpool to win The Double
 * European Championship Cup Final: Ajax – Panathinaikos 2–0

Athletics

 * August – Athletics at the 1971 Pan American Games held in Cali, Colombia
 * August – 1971 European Athletics Championships held at Helsinki

Australian rules football

 * Victorian Football League
 * Hawthorn wins the 75th VFL Premiership (Hawthorn 12.10 (82) d St Kilda 11.9 (75))
 * Brownlow Medal awarded to Ian Stewart (Richmond)
 * SANFL
 * North Adelaide 10.19 (79) defeated Port Adelaide 9.5 (59)

Bandy

 * 1971 Bandy World Championship is held in Sweden and won by.

Baseball

 * World Series – Pittsburgh Pirates won 4 games to 3 over the Baltimore Orioles. Game four, played on 13 October at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, was the first night game in World Series history.

Basketball

 * NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship –
 * UCLA wins 68–62 over Villanova
 * Indiana University Hires Bob Knight as their head basketball coach.
 * NBA Finals –
 * Milwaukee Bucks win 4 games to 0 over the Baltimore Bullets
 * 1971 ABA Finals –
 * Utah Stars defeat Kentucky Colonels 4 games to 3; Stars defeat Indiana Pacers in division finals while Colonels defeat Virginia Squires.

Boxing

 * 8 March – Joe Frazier defeats Muhammad Ali at Madison Square Garden, in the first of three epic bouts between the two, to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.

Canadian football

 * Grey Cup – Calgary Stampeders won 14–11 over the Toronto Argonauts
 * Vanier Cup – Western Ontario Mustangs won 15–14 over the Alberta Golden Bears

Cricket

 * 5 January, Melbourne – first-ever One Day International is played after a Test match is abandoned because of rain, Australia beating England by 5 wickets.

Cycling

 * Giro d'Italia won by Gösta Pettersson of Sweden
 * Tour de France – Eddy Merckx of Belgium
 * UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race – Eddy Merckx of Belgium

Field hockey

 * Men's World Cup in Barcelona, Spain
 * Gold Medal: Pakistan
 * Silver Medal: Spain
 * Bronze Medal: India
 * Pan American Games (Men's Competition) in Cali, Colombia
 * Gold Medal: Argentina
 * Silver Medal: Mexico
 * Bronze Medal: Canada

Figure skating

 * World Figure Skating Championships –
 * Men's champion: Ondrej Nepela, Czechoslovakia
 * Ladies' champion: Trixi Schuba, Austria
 * Pair skating champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexei Ulyanov, Soviet Union
 * Ice dancing champions: Lyudmila Pakhomova & Alexandr Gorshkov, Soviet Union

Golf
Men's professional Men's amateur Women's professional
 * PGA Championship – Jack Nicklaus
 * Masters Tournament – Charles Coody
 * U.S. Open – Lee Trevino
 * British Open – Lee Trevino
 * PGA Tour money leader – Jack Nicklaus – $244,491
 * Ryder Cup – United States won 18½ to 13½ over Britain in team golf
 * British Amateur – Steve Melnyk
 * U.S. Amateur – Gary Cowan
 * LPGA Championship – Kathy Whitworth
 * U.S. Women's Open – JoAnne Carner – this win made her the first person ever to win three different USGA individual championship events.
 * Titleholders Championship – not played
 * LPGA Tour money leader – Kathy Whitworth – $41,181

Harness racing

 * United States Pacing Triple Crown races –
 * Cane Pace – Albatross
 * Little Brown Jug – Nansemond
 * Messenger Stakes – Albatross
 * United States Trotting Triple Crown races –
 * Hambletonian – Speedy Crown
 * Yonkers Trot – Quick Pride
 * Kentucky Futurity – Savoir
 * Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
 * Pacers: Stella Frost
 * Trotters: Geffini

Horse racing
Steeplechases Flat races
 * Cheltenham Gold Cup – L'Escargot
 * Grand National – Specify
 * Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Silver Knight
 * Canada – Queen's Plate won by Kennedy Road
 * France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Mill Reef
 * Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Irish Ball
 * English Triple Crown Races:
 * 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Brigadier Gerard
 * The Derby – Mill Reef
 * St. Leger Stakes – Athens Wood
 * United States Triple Crown Races:
 * Kentucky Derby – Canonero II
 * Preakness Stakes – Canonero II
 * Belmont Stakes – Pass Catcher

Ice hockey

 * 13 April – death of Michel Brière (21), Canadian player with Pittsburgh Penguins
 * Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins
 * Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
 * Stanley Cup – Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 3 over the Chicago Black Hawks
 * World Hockey Championship
 * Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia
 * NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship – Boston University Terriers defeat University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Golden Gophers 4–2 in Syracuse, New York
 * World Hockey Association (WHA) is formed as an alternative North American professional hockey league to the NHL

Lacrosse

 * Cornell beats Maryland 12–6 to win the first NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship.
 * The Brantford Warriors win the Mann Cup.
 * The Richmond Roadrunners win the Minto Cup.
 * The Victoria win the Castrol Cup.

Radiosport

 * Sixth Amateur Radio Direction Finding European Championship held in Duisburg, Federal Republic of Germany.

Rugby league

 * 18 September – the 1971 NSWRFL season culminates in a Grand Final victory for South Sydney, defeating St George 16–10
 * 1971 New Zealand rugby league season
 * 1970–71 Northern Rugby Football League season / 1971–72 Northern Rugby Football League season

Rugby union

 * 77th Five Nations Championship series is won by Wales who complete the Grand Slam

Snooker

 * World Snooker Championship – John Spencer beats Warren Simpson 37–29

Swimming

 * 27 August – US swimmer Mark Spitz recaptures the world record in the men's 200m butterfly (long course), clocking 2:03.9 at a meet in Houston, Texas.
 * 31 August – Four days after Mark Spitz broke the world record in the men's 200m butterfly (long course), West Germany's Hans-Joachim Fassnacht betters the time to 2:03.3 at a meet in Landskrona, Sweden.

Tennis

 * Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
 * Australian Open – Ken Rosewall
 * French Open – Jan Kodeš
 * Wimbledon championships – John Newcombe
 * U.S. Open – Stan Smith
 * Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
 * Australian Open – Margaret Court
 * French Open – Evonne Goolagong
 * Wimbledon championships – Evonne Goolagong
 * U.S. Open – Billie Jean King
 * Davis Cup – United States wins 3–2 over Romania in world tennis.
 * Sixteen-year-old Chris Evert makes her US Open debut reaching the semifinals where she is defeated by eventual champion Billie Jean King.
 * First time in 16 years that Americans won both the men's and women's title at the US Open.

Volleyball

 * Men and Women's European Volleyball Championship held in Italy
 * 1971 Men's European Volleyball Championship won by the USSR
 * 1971 Women's European Volleyball Championship won by the USSR
 * Volleyball at the 1971 Pan American Games held in Cali, Colombia
 * Men's and women's tournaments both won by Cuba

Multi-sport events

 * Sixth Pan American Games held in Cali, Colombia
 * Sixth Mediterranean Games held in İzmir, Turkey

Awards

 * ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year: Lee Trevino, PGA Golf
 * Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Lee Trevino, PGA golf
 * Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Evonne Goolagong, Tennis
 * Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year - Lee Trevino, PGA golf