Professional Sports 1976

Baseball 1976

Chicago Cubs outfielder Rick Monday rescued an American flag about to be burned in the Los Angeles Dodger outfield by a protestor William Thomas and his 11 year old son. RICK MONDAY... YOU MADE A GREAT PLAY

World Series: The Cincinnati Reds now known as The Big Red Machine sweep the New York Yankees, 4 games to 0. World Champions two years in a row with Johnny Bench batting .533 for the series, the Yankees resurgent under George Steinbrenner with Billy Martin managing were embarrassed losing the series on their home turf . World Series Hall of Fame 1976

Football 1976

1977 Super Bowl XI
Date Played: January 9, 1977
Teams: Oakland Raiders vs. Minnesota Vikings
Winner: RAIDERS
Final Score: 32-14
Location: Pasadena, California
Game MVP: Oakland and Wide Receiver Frank Biletnikoff
Half Time Show: Walt Disney "It's a Small World" featuring the L A Unified All-City Band
30 second commercial: $125000.

John Madden &Super Bowl XI History

Seattle Seahawks founded.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers founded.

Game 5 video: Last second shot in the 2nd Overtime by John Havlicek wins by 1 point! Celtic fans take to the court and attack a referee and a Suns Player. Referees put 1 second back on the clock. Suns call a timeout they did not have giving a free throw to the Celtics who make it and are now 2 points a head with 1 second on the clock. The Suns get the ball half court and make the shot! 3rd Overtime! Celtics go on to win the game and the series.

NBA Finals: Boston Celtics win 4 games to 2 over the Phoenix Suns, with game 5 historically going into 3 overtimes. The 76 season at NBA.COM.

American Basketball Association merges with the National Basketball Association; Virginia Squires fold and Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis are bought out

Golf 1976

Masters Tournament - Raymond Floyd
U.S. Open - Jerry Pate
British Open - Johnny Miller
PGA Championship - Dave Stockton
PGA Tour money leader - Jack Nicklaus - $266,439

LPGA Championship - Betty Burfeindt
U.S. Women's Open - JoAnne Carner
LPGA Tour money leader - Judy Rankin - $150,734, she is the first to ever earn more than $100,000 in a season.

Horse Racing 1976

Kentucky Derby - Bold Forbes
Preakness Stakes - Elocutionist
Belmont Stakes - Bold Forbes

NHL - Hockey 1976

Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens

Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Bobby Clarke - Philadelphia Flyers

Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 0 over the Philadelphia Flyers

World Hockey Championship: Men's champion: Czechoslovakia defeated the Soviet Union

Athletes of the Year 1976

ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year: Nadia Comaneci, Gymnastics

Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Nadia Comaneci, Gymnastics

Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Bruce Jenner, Track and field

The 1976 Winter Olympics

The 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.

Nation.............. Gold ...Silver Bronze Total
Soviet Union.........13 ........6 ..........8 ...........27
East Germany ........8 ........5 ..........7 ..........19
United States .........3 ........3 ..........1 ............7

Norway ....................3 ........3 ..........1 ...........7

American Dorothy Hammil takes the gold in Woman's Figure Skating. Dorothy Hamill wedge haircut media darling

The 1976 Summer Olympics

The 1976 Summer Olympics begin in Montreal, Canada.

The 1976 Montreal Games were boycotted by the continent of African in protest to New Zealand's Rugby team touring in Apartheid South Africa.

Five American boxers - Sugar Ray Leonard, Leon Spinks, Michael Spinks, Leo Randolph and Howard Davis Jr. won gold medals in boxing

Nation.............. Gold ...Silver Bronze Total
Soviet Union......49 .......41..........35...........125
East Germany ..40........25...........25............90
United States ...34.......35 ..........25 ............94

West Germany...10 ......12 ..........17 ...........39

14-year-old Nadia Comăneci of Romania scored seven perfect 10s and won three gold medals, including the prestigious All Around.

Boxing 1976

Yankee Stadium in New York City found Muhammad Ali keeping his World Heavyweight title by beating Ken Norton in l close 15-round decision. The Bronx fight Controversy

College Sports 1976

College Football 1976

1976 Heisman: RB Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh

1976 ROSE BOWL #3 USC Trojans 14 #2 Michigan Wolverines 6

1976 SUGAR BOWL #1 Pittsburgh Panthers 27 #5 Georgia Bulldogs 3

1976 COTTON BOWL #6 Houston Cougars 30 #4 Maryland Terrapins 21

1976 ORANGE BOWL #11 Ohio State Buckeyes 27 #12 Colorado Buffaloes 10

1976 LIBERTY BOWL #16 Alabama Crimson Tide 36 #7 UCLA Bruins 6

Pittsburgh Panthers are voted NCAA Football National Champions.

College Basketball 1976

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship: Indiana wins 86-68 over Michigan