1981 in sports

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Auto Racing

Stock car racing:
- NASCAR Championship - Darrell Waltrip
- Richard Petty won the Daytona 500
CART Racing - Rick Mears won the season championship
- May 25 - Indianapolis 500 - Bobby Unser
Formula One Champion - Nelson Piquet of Brazil
24 hours of Le Mans:
- teammates Jacky Ickx / Derek Bell won, driving a Porsche 936
Rally racing - Ari Vatanen in a Ford won the World Rally Championship
- the team of Jean Ragnotti / Jean-Marc Andrie won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Renault 5 Turbo
Drag racing: Gary Beck won "Top Fuel" at the NHRA World Finals

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Baseball

For a Venezuelans baseball player´s strike the Caribbean World Series of this year is cancelled.
January 15 - In his first year of eligibility, former Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson is the only player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Gibson won 20 games five times, struck out 3,117 batters, and captured the Cy Young Award and MVP in 1968 with a 1.12 ERA. Players falling short of the 301 votes needed for election include Don Drysdale (243), Gil Hodges (241), Harmon Killebrew (239), Hoyt Wilhelm (238), and Juan Marichal (233). All except Hodges would subsequently gain election.
April 18 - An International League game between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the visiting Rochester Red Wings set the record for the most innings ever played in a single professional baseball game, at 33 innings (24 extra innings). The game was suspended after 32 innings on the morning of April 19, and was concluded on June 23 with a 3-2 Pawtucket victory.
June 12 - Major League Baseball players begin a 49 day strike over the issue of free-agent compensation.
World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers win 4 games to 2 over the New York Yankees. The Series MVP is a tie between Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager, Los Angeles

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Basketball

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
- Indiana wins 63-50 over North Carolina

NBA Finals:
- Boston Celtics won 4 games to 2 over the Houston Rockets

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Boxing

April 11: Larry Holmes defeats Trevor Berbick by a unanimous decision to retain the WBC heavyweight title.

August 21: Salvador Sanchez defeats Wilfredo Gomez by knockout in round eight to retain boxing's WBC world Featherweight title.(see: Salvador Sanchez vs. Wilfredo Gomez)

September 16: Sugar Ray Leonard defeats Thomas Hearns by knockout in round 14 to unify boxing's world Welterweight title.

october 3: Mike Weaver defeats James (Quick) Tillis by a unanimous decisin to retain the WBA/World Boxing Association heavyweight title.

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Cycling

Giro d'Italia won by Giovanni Battaglin of Italy
Tour de France - Bernard Hinault of France
1981 - Freddy Maertens, (Belgium)

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Field Hockey

Men's World Cup Qualifier Tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Gold Medal: Soviet Union
- Silver Medal: Malaysia
- Bronze Medal: New Zealand

Men's Champions Trophy in Karachi, Pakistan
- Gold Medal: The Netherlands
- Silver Medal: Australia
- Bronze Medal: West Germany

Women's World Cup in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Gold Medal: West Germany
- Silver Medal: The Netherlands
- Bronze Medal: Soviet Union

March 21 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium, England. England beat Wales 2-1.

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Figure Skating

World Figure Skating Championships:
- Men's champion: Scott Hamilton, United States
- Women's champion: Denise Biellmann, Switzerland
- Pairs champions: Irina Worobjewa & Igor Lisowski, Soviet Union
- Ice Dance champions: Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean (Great Britain)

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Football (American)

January 25 - Super Bowl XV: Oakland Raiders won 27-10 over the Philadelphia Eagles

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Football (Australian Rules)

Victorian Football League
- Richmond wins the 85th VFL Premiership (Richmond 12.20 (92) d Collingwood 10.12 (72))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Barry Round (South Melbourne) and Bernie Quinlan (Fitzroy)
- At the end of the season, South Melbourne relocates to Sydney and is renamed the Sydney Swans.

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Football (Canadian)

Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos won 26-23 over the Ottawa Rough Riders
Vanier Cup: Acadia Axemen won 18-12 over the Alberta Golden Bears

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Football (Soccer)

UEFA Champions League: Liverpool 1-0 Real Madrid
UEFA Cup: Two legs. 1st leg Ipswich Town F.C. 3-0 AZ '67 (Alkmaar); 2nd leg AZ '67 4-2 Ipswich Town. Ipswich Town won 7-2 on aggregate
Cup Winners' Cup: Dynamo Tbilisi 2-1 Carl Zeiss Jena
League champions
- Argentina: Boca Juniors
- Brazil: Grêmio
- France: Saint-Étienne
- England: Aston Villa
- Italy: Juventus
- Netherlands: Ajax
- Portugal: Benfica
- Scotland: Celtic
- Spain: Real Sociedad
- West Germany: Bayern Munich
England - FA Cup: Tottenham Hotspur won 3-2 over Manchester City

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Gaelic Athletic Association

Camogie
- All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Kilkenny
- National Camogie League: Dublin

Gaelic football
- All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Kerry 1-12 d. Offaly 0-8
- National Football League: Galway 1-11 d. Roscommon 1-3

Ladies' Gaelic football
- All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Offaly
- National Football League: Kerry

Hurling
- All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Offaly 2-12 d. Galway 0-15
- National Hurling League:

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Golf

Men's Golf

Major championship results:
1. April - The Masters - Tom Watson
2. June - US Open - David Graham
3. July - British Open - Bill Rogers
4. August - PGA Championship - Larry Nelson

PGA Tour leading money winner for the year: Tom Kite - $375,699
Champions Tour leading money winner: Miller Barber - $83,136
Ryder Cup: United States won 18 1/2 to 9 1/2 over Europe in world team golf.

Women's Golf

US Women's Open - Pat Bradley
LPGA Championship - Donna Caponi
Beth Daniel:leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $206,977.

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Thoroughbred Horse Racing

August 30 - John Henry becomes the first horse to win a million dollar race, the Inaugural Arlington Million, at Arlington Park in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois.