1982 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

Alpine skiing

• Alpine Skiing World Cup:
  • Men's overall season champion: Phil Mahre, United States
  • Women's overall season champion: Erika Hess, Switzerland

American football

• Super Bowl XVI – the San Francisco 49ers (NFC) won 26–21 over the Cincinnati Bengals (AFC)
  • Location: Pontiac Silverdome
  • Attendance: 81,270
  • MVP: Joe Montana, QB (San Francisco)
• Orange Bowl (1981 season):
  • The Clemson Tigers won 22-15 over the Nebraska Cornhuskers to win the college football national championship
• Strike – First regular season strike by NFL players ends on November 16 after 57 days.

Association football

• World Cup in Spain – Italy beats West Germany 3-1 for their third title.
• Champions' Cup – Aston Villa 1-0 Bayern München
• UEFA Cup – Two legs; 1st leg IFK Göteborg 1-0 Hamburger SV; 2nd leg Hamburger SV 0-3 IFK Göteborg. IFK Göteborg won 4-0 on aggregate. 66 fans died in the Luzhniki disaster during the UEFA Cup second round match between FC Spartak Moscow and HFC Haarlem in Moscow on 20 October.
• Cup Winners' Cup – Barcelona 2-1 Standard Liège
• Super Cup – Two legs; 1st leg Barcelona 1-0 Aston Villa; 2nd leg Aston Villa 3-0 Barcelona. Aston Villa won 3-1 on aggregate
• Copa Libertadores de América – Two legs; 1st leg Peñarol 0-0 Cobreloa; 2nd leg Cobreloa 0-1 Peñarol. Peñarol win 1-0 on aggregate
• England – FA Cup – Tottenham Hotspur won 1-0 over Queens Park Rangers

Athletics

• September – 1982 European Athletics Championships held in Athens
• October – 1982 Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane, Australia
• December – 1982 Asian Games held in New Delhi, India

Australian rules football

• Victorian Football League
  • Carlton wins the 86th VFL Premiership (Carlton 14.19 (103) d Richmond 12.13 (83))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Brian Wilson (Melbourne)
  • The inaugural VFL Players Association Most Valuable Player Award goes to Leigh Matthews (Hawthorn). The award would be renamed the Leigh Matthews Trophy in his honour in 2002.

Baseball

• March 27 – KBO League, a professional baseball league in South Korea, a first officially game held.^{[citation needed]}
• May 30 – Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles plays the first of what will become a record-breaking 2,632 consecutive games
• July 13 – Montreal hosts the first MLB All-Star Game outside the United States. Reds SS Dave Concepción hits a 2-run home run in the 2nd inning to spark the National League to its 11th consecutive win over the American League 4-1. The NL has now won 19 of the last 20 contests. Concepción was named the MVP.
• August 18 – Pete Rose sets record with his 13,941st plate appearance.
• World Series – St. Louis Cardinals won 4 games to 3 over the Milwaukee Brewers to claim their first World Championship since 1967. The Series MVP was Cardinals catcher Darrell Porter.
• The Salem Angels won the Northwest League championship.

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship –
  • North Carolina wins 63-62 over Georgetown
• NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship
  • Louisiana Tech wins 76–62 over Cheyney State
• NBA Finals –
  • Los Angeles Lakers won 4 games to 2 over the Philadelphia 76ers
• National Basketball League (Australia) Finals:
  • West Adelaide Bearcats defeated the Geelong Cats 80-74 in the final.
• FIBA World Championship
  • USSR World Champion

Boxing

• May 4 to May 15 – 1982 World Amateur Boxing Championships held in Munich
• June 11 – Larry Holmes defeats Gerry Cooney for the WBC Heavyweight title. Cooney, a white challenger, was dubbed "The White Hope" in what built up to be a very racially toned fight: see Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney.
• November 12 – Aaron Pryor defeats Alexis Argüello in what would later be called the fight of the decade. Pryor retained the WBA's world Jr. Welterweight title with a 14th round knockout
• November 13 – Ray Mancini defeats Duk Koo Kim by knockout in 14 rounds in a tragic fight. Kim died four days later and the fight's outcome brought many new resolutions to boxing.
• December 3 – The Carnival of Champions; Wilfredo Gomez defeats Lupe Pintor by a 14th round knockout and Thomas Hearns defeats Wilfred Benitez by a 15 rounds majority decision; all four boxers are later enshrined as members of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Canadian football

• Grey Cup – Edmonton Eskimos won 32–16 over the Toronto Argonauts, the Eskimos' record fifth consecutive Grey Cup victory.
• Vanier Cup – UBC Thunderbirds won 39–14 over the Western Ontario Mustangs

Cricket

• Graham Gooch leads a "rebel" team of players on tour of South Africa, banned from official cricket since 1970 because of apartheid.

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Bernard Hinault of France
• Tour de France – Bernard Hinault of France
• UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race – Giuseppe Saronni of Italy

Dogsled racing

• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion –
  • Rick Swenson won with lead sled dog – Andy

Field hockey

• Men's World Cup held in Bombay won by Pakistan
• Men's Champions Trophy held at Amstelveen in the Netherlands and won by the host nation

Figure skating

• World Figure Skating Championship –
  • Men's champion: Scott Hamilton, United States
  • Ladies' champion: Elaine Zayak, United States
  • Pair skating champions: Sabine Baeß & Tassilo Thierbach, Germany
  • Ice dancing champions: Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean, Great Britain

Gaelic Athletic Association

• Camogie
  • All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Cork
  • National Camogie League: Kilkenny
• Gaelic football
  • All-Ireland Senior Football Championship – Offaly 1-15 died Kerry 0-17
  • National Football League – Kerry 1-9 died Cork 0-5 (replay)
• Ladies' Gaelic football
  • All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Kerry
  • National Football League: Kerry
• Hurling
  • All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship – Kilkenny 3-18 died Cork 1-13
  • National Hurling League – Kilkenny 2–14 beat Wexford 1–11

Golf

Men's professional

• Masters Tournament – Craig Stadler
• U.S. Open – Tom Watson
• British Open – Tom Watson
• PGA Championship – Raymond Floyd
• PGA Tour money leader – Craig Stadler – $446,462
• Senior PGA Tour money leader – Miller Barber – $106,890

Men's amateur

• British Amateur – Martin Thompson
• U.S. Amateur – Jay Sigel

Women's professional

• LPGA Championship – Jan Stephenson
• U.S. Women's Open – Janet Anderson
• Classique Peter Jackson Classic – Sandra Haynie
• LPGA Tour money leader – JoAnne Carner – $310,400

Harness racing

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races –
  1. Cane Pace – Cam Fella
  2. Little Brown Jug – Merger
  3. Messenger Stakes – Cam Fella
• United States Trotting Triple Crown races –
  1. Hambletonian – Speed Bowl
  2. Yonkers Trot – Mystic Park
  3. Kentucky Futurity – Jazz Cosmos
• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
  • Pacers: Rhett's Law

Horse racing

Steeplechases

• Cheltenham Gold Cup – Silver Buck
• Grand National – Grittar

Flat races

• Australia – Melbourn Cup won by Gurner's Lane
• Canada – Queen's Plate won by Son of Briartic
• France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Akiyda
• Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Assert
• Japan – Japan Cup won by Half Iced
• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Zino
  2. The Derby – Golden Fleece^[1]
  3. St. Leger Stakes – Touching Wood
• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby – Gato Del Sol
  2. 1982 Preakness Stakes – Aloma's Ruler
  3. Belmont Stakes – Conquistador Cielo

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 – New York Islanders win 4-0 over the Vancouver Canucks
• World Hockey Championship –
  • Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia
  • Junior Men's champion: Canada defeated Czechoslovakia

Motorsport

Rugby league

• 1982 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France
• 1982 KB Cup
• 1982 New Zealand rugby league season
• 1982 NSWRFL season – Parramatta Eels win their second title, defeating Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 21-8 in the final.
• 1981–82 Rugby Football League season / 1982–83 Rugby Football League season
• 1982 State of Origin series

Rugby union

• 88th Five Nations Championship series is won by Ireland

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship – Alex Higgins beats Ray Reardon 18-15
• World rankings – Ray Reardon becomes world number one for 1982/83

Swimming

• The fourth FINA World Championships held in Guayaquil, Ecuador

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open – Johan Kriek
  2. French Open – Mats Wilander
  3. Wimbledon championships – Jimmy Connors
  4. U.S. Open – Jimmy Connors
• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open – Chris Evert
  2. French Open – Martina Navratilova
  3. Wimbledon championships – Martina Navratilova
  4. U.S. Open – Chris Evert
• Davis Cup – United States won 4-1 over France in world tennis.
• Billie Jean King makes her final singles appearance at the US Open, losing in the first round.
• Total prize money at US Open exceeds 1 million US dollars.

Volleyball

• 1982 FIVB Men's World Championship held in Buenos Aires, Argentina won by USSR
• 1982 FIVB Women's World Championship held in Lima, Peru won by China

Water polo

• Men's World Championship held in Guayaquil, Ecuador, won by USSR

Multi-sport events

• Asian Games held in New Delhi, India
• Central American and Caribbean Games held in Havana, Cuba
• Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane, Australia^[2]

Awards

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Wayne Gretzky, NHL ice hockey
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Mary Decker, Track and field
• ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year: Wayne Gretzky