1986 in sports

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 won 46–10 over the New England Patriots
• *Location: Superdome
• *Attendance: 73,818
• *MVP: Richard Dent, DE
• Linebacker Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants wins the NFL [Most Valuable Player Award]
• January 1 – Orange Bowl :
• * 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 1986 FIFA [World Cup Final|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 Madrid C.F.">Madrid, Spain">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 d Carlton 9.14 )
• * Brownlow Medal awarded to Greg Williams and Robert DiPierdomenico
• * 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
• * 1986 All-Ireland [Senior Football Championship|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

• Masters Tournament – Jack Nicklaus becomes the oldest Masters winner, and wins his last major golf championship.
• 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

• 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 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 in the 50m freestyle

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