1986 in sports

1986 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

Alpine skiing

 * Alpine Skiing World Cup –
 * Men's overall season champion: Marc Girardelli, Luxembourg
 * Women's overall season champion: Maria Walliser, Switzerland

American football

 * Super Bowl XX – the Chicago Bears (NFC) won 46–10 over the New England Patriots (AFC)
 * Location: Superdome
 * Attendance: 73,818
 * MVP: Richard Dent, DE (Chicago)
 * Linebacker Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants wins the NFL Most Valuable Player Award
 * January 1 – Orange Bowl (1985 season):
 * The Oklahoma Sooners won 25–10 over the Penn State Nittany Lions to win the national championship
 * Quarterback Vinny Testaverde of the Miami Hurricanes is awarded the Heisman Trophy

Association football

 * 1986 FIFA World Cup – In the final, Argentina defeated West Germany 3–2 and won their second World Cup title. It was played for the second time in Mexico City, Azteca Stadium.
 * UEFA Champions League – Steaua București 0–0 F.C. Barcelona; Steaua București won 2–0 on penalties
 * UEFA Cup –Two legs; 1st leg Real Madrid C.F. 5–1 1. FC Köln; 2nd leg 1.FC Köln 2–0 Real Madrid CF. Real Madrid CF won 5–3 on aggregate
 * Cup Winners' Cup – Dinamo Kiev 3–0 Atlético Madrid
 * Super Cup – Steaua București 1–0 Dinamo Kiev
 * Copa Libertadores de América – Two legs; 1st leg América de Cali 1–2 River Plate; 2nd leg River Plate 1–0 América. River Plate won 3–1 on aggregate
 * November 6 – Alex Ferguson is appointed manager of Manchester United F.C.
 * Milk Cup Final held at Wembley Stadium – Oxford United 3–0 QPR
 * Intercontinental Cup – River Plate 1–0 Steaua București

Australian rules football

 * Victorian Football League
 * Hawthorn wins the 90th VFL Premiership (Hawthorn 16.14 (110) d Carlton 9.14 (68))
 * Brownlow Medal awarded to Greg Williams (Sydney Swans) and Robert DiPierdomenico (Hawthorn)
 * The national draft is held for the first time.

Baseball

 * Major League Baseball
 * American League defeats the National League 3–2 in the 1986 Major League Baseball All-Star Game played in Houston, Texas. Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox is named the game's Most Valuable Player.
 * All-Star Game: American League Manager Dick Howser is diagnosed with brain cancer after mixing up signals during the game.
 * Dave Righetti saves 46 games for the New York Yankees, breaking a record shared by Dan Quisenberry and Bruce Sutter.
 * October 27 – World Series – The New York Mets win 4 games to 3 over the Boston Red Sox.  The series is best remembered for Game 6, when the Red Sox were one out away from the Series victory but blew a 2-run lead with the bases empty and 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th inning; the game's final play was a groundball that rolled through the legs of first baseman Bill Buckner.
 * Jeff King of the University of Arkansas is the #1 overall pick in the 1986 MLB draft selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates
 * Arizona Wildcats defeat Florida State Seminoles 10–2 in College World Series

Basketball

 * NCAA Men's Basketball Championship –
 * Louisville Cardinals wins 72–69 over Duke Blue Devils
 * Duke Blue Devils Guard Johnny Dawkins is named Naismith College Player of the Year
 * NBA Finals
 * June – Boston Celtics win 4 games to 2 over the Houston Rockets
 * Boston Celtics Forward Larry Bird is awarded NBA Most Valuable Player Award
 * National Basketball League (Australia) Finals:
 * Adelaide 36ers defeated the Brisbane Bullets 2–1 in the best-of-three final series.
 * FIBA World Championship
 * United States World Champion

Boxing

 * March 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada – Marvin Hagler retains the World Middleweight Championship with an 11th-round knockout of John Mugabi.
 * May 8 to 18 – Fourth World Amateur Boxing Championships are held in Reno, United States
 * November 22 – Mike Tyson knocks out Trevor Berbick in round 2 to become the youngest world heavyweight-boxing champion at 20 years and 4 months old

Canadian football

 * Grey Cup – Hamilton Tiger-Cats won 39–15 over the Edmonton Eskimos
 * Vanier Cup – UBC Thunderbirds won 25–23 over the Western Ontario Mustangs

Cricket

 * Sri Lanka defeats Pakistan to win the 1986 Asia Cup, the second edition of the Asia Cup.
 * Pakistan national cricket team defeats India in the final to win the 1986 Austral-Asia Cup, the inaugural edition of the Austral-Asia Cup.

Cycling

 * Giro d'Italia won by Roberto Visentini of Italy
 * Tour de France – Greg LeMond is the first winner from the United States
 * UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race – Moreno Argentin of Italy

Dogsled racing

 * Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion –
 * Susan Butcher won with lead dogs: Granite & Mattie

Field hockey

 * Men's World Cup held in London won by Australia
 * Women's World Cup held in Amstelveen won by the Netherlands
 * Men's Champions Trophy held in Karachi won by West Germany

Figure skating

 * World Figure Skating Championships –
 * Men's champion: Brian Boitano, United States
 * Ladies' champion: Debi Thomas, United States
 * Pair skating champions: Ekaterina Gordeeva / Sergei Grinkov, Soviet Union
 * Ice dancing champions: Natalia Bestemianova / Andrei Bukin, Soviet Union

Gaelic Athletic Association

 * Camogie
 * All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Kilkenny
 * National Camogie League: Cork
 * Gaelic football
 * All-Ireland Senior Football Championship – Kerry 2–15 died Tyrone 1–10
 * National Football League – Laois 2–6 died Monaghan 2–5
 * Ladies' Gaelic football
 * All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Kerry
 * National Football League: Wexford
 * Hurling
 * All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship – Cork 4–13 died Galway 2–15
 * National Hurling League – Kilkenny 2–10 beat Galway 2–6

General

 * 17 October – The IOC votes that the 1992 Olympic Summer Games will be held in Barcelona, Spain.

Golf
Men's professional Men's amateur Women's professional
 * Masters Tournament – Jack Nicklaus becomes the oldest Masters winner (age 46), and wins his last major golf championship (excluding the Senior PGA Tour).
 * U.S. Open – Raymond Floyd
 * British Open – Greg Norman
 * PGA Championship – Bob Tway
 * PGA Tour money leader – Greg Norman – $653,296
 * Senior PGA Tour money leader – Bruce Crampton – $454,299
 * British Amateur – David Curry
 * U.S. Amateur – Buddy Alexander
 * European Amateur – Anders Haglund
 * Nabisco Dinah Shore – Pat Bradley
 * LPGA Championship – Pat Bradley
 * U.S. Women's Open – Jane Geddes
 * Classique du Maurier Classic – Pat Bradley
 * LPGA Tour money leader – Pat Bradley – $492,021

Harness racing

 * North America Cup – Quite A Sensation
 * United States Pacing Triple Crown races –
 * Cane Pace – Barberry Spur
 * Little Brown Jug – Barberry Spur
 * Messenger Stakes – Amity Chef
 * United States Trotting Triple Crown races –
 * Hambletonian – Nuclear Kosmos
 * Yonkers Trot – Gunslinger Spur
 * Kentucky Futurity – Sugarcane Hanover
 * Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
 * Pacers: Village Kid

Horse racing
Steeplechases Flat races
 * Cheltenham Gold Cup – Dawn Run
 * Grand National – West Tip
 * Australia – Melbourne Cup won by At Talaq
 * Canada – Queen's Plate won by Golden Choice
 * France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Dancing Brave
 * Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Shahrastani
 * Japan – Japan Cup won by Jupiter Island
 * English Triple Crown Races:
 * 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Dancing Brave
 * The Derby – Shahrastani
 * St. Leger Stakes – Moon Madness
 * United States Triple Crown Races:
 * Kentucky Derby – Ferdinand
 * Preakness Stakes – Snow Chief
 * Belmont Stakes – Danzig Connection
 * Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships:
 * Breeders' Cup Classic – Skywalker
 * Breeders' Cup Distaff – Lady's Secret
 * Breeders' Cup Juvenile – Capote
 * Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies – Brave Raj
 * Breeders' Cup Mile – Last Tycoon
 * Breeders' Cup Sprint – Smile
 * Breeders' Cup Turf – Manila

Ice hockey

 * Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
 * Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
 * Stanley Cup – Montreal Canadiens won 4 games to 1 over the Calgary Flames
 * World Hockey Championship –
 * Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
 * Junior Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Canada

Lacrosse

 * The 5th World Lacrosse Championship is held in Toronto. The United States win, and Canada is the runner-up.
 * The first Japanese lacrosse team is formed at Keio University.
 * The Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL) is formed as the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League.
 * The New Westminster Salmonbellies win the Mann Cup.
 * Mississauga wins the Founders Cup.
 * The Peterborough Maulers win the Minto Cup.

Radiosport

 * Third Amateur Radio Direction Finding World Championship held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.

Rugby league

 * 1986 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France
 * 1986 National Panasonic Cup
 * 1986 New Zealand rugby league season
 * 1986 NSWRL season
 * 1986 Pacific Cup
 * 1986–87 Rugby Football League season / 1985–86 Rugby Football League season
 * 1986 State of Origin series
 * 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup

Rugby union

 * 92nd Five Nations Championship series is shared by France and Scotland

Snooker

 * World Snooker Championship – Joe Johnson beats Steve Davis 18–12
 * World rankings – Steve Davis remains world number one for 1986/87

Swimming

 * The fifth FINA World Championships held in Madrid, Spain
 * June 26 – Matt Biondi clocks 22.33 to take the world record from fellow American Tom Jager (22.40) in the 50m freestyle (long course)

Tennis

 * Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
 * Australian Open – no tournament held
 * French Open – Ivan Lendl
 * Wimbledon championships – Boris Becker
 * U.S. Open – Ivan Lendl
 * Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
 * Australian Open – no tournament held
 * French Open – Chris Evert
 * Wimbledon championships – Martina Navratilova
 * U.S. Open – Martina Navratilova
 * Davis Cup – Australia won 3–2 over Sweden in world tennis.

Volleyball

 * Men's World Championship held in Paris won by USA
 * Women's World Championship held in Prague won by China

Water polo

 * Men's World Championship held in Madrid won by Yugoslavia
 * Women's World Championship held in Madrid won by Australia

Multi-sport events

 * Asian Games held in Seoul, South Korea
 * Winter Asian Games held in Sapporo, Japan
 * Central American and Caribbean Games held in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic
 * Commonwealth Games held in Edinburgh, Scotland
 * Summer Goodwill Games held in Moscow, Soviet Union

Awards

 * ABC Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year – Debi Thomas, Figure Skating
 * Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Larry Bird, NBA Finals NBA basketball
 * Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Martina Navratilova, Tennis
 * Joe Paterno is named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year