See also: 1977 in sports, other events of 1978, 1979 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.

Auto racing

• USAC - A J Foyt won final season championship under USAC.
  • CART, Championship Auto Racing Teams open wheel racing established in the United States.
  • Indianapolis 500 - won by Al Unser Snr

Baseball

• World Series: New York Yankees win 4 games to 2 over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Series MVP is Bucky Dent, New York

Basketball

• Wilt Chamberlain is elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, along with coaches Sam Barry, Eddie Hickey, John McLendon , Ray Meyer and Pete Newell, and referee Jim Enright
• NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
  • Kentucky wins 94-88 over Duke
• NBA Finals:
  • Washington Bullets won 4 games to 3 over the Seattle SuperSonics

Boxing

• February 15: Leon Spinks defeats Muhammad Ali by decision in 15 rounds to win the world's Heavyweight title.

• September 15: Muhammad Ali recovers the world's Heavyweight title, beating Leon Spinks by decision in their rematch. It is the first time a boxer wins the world Heavyweight title for a third time.

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Johan de Muynck of Belgium
• Tour de France - Bernard Hinault of France
• World Cycling Championship: Gerrie Knetemann of Netherlands

Field hockey

• March 11 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium,England. England drew with the United States of America 2-2.
• Women's Field Hockey World Cup - The Netherlands are the World Champions.
• November 17 - 24: Champions Trophy first held in Lahore, Pakistan won by Pakistan.

Figure skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Charles Tickner , United States
  • Women's champion: Anett Pötzsch , Germany
  • Pairs champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexander Saizew , Soviet Union

Football (American)

• Super Bowl XII: Dallas Cowboys won 27-10 over the Denver Broncos

Football (Australian Rules)

• Victorian Football League
  • Hawthorn wins the 82nd VFL Premiership (Hawthorn 18.13 (121) d North Melbourne 15.13 (103))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Malcolm Blight (North Melbourne)

Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos win 20-13 over the Montreal Alouettes
• Vanier Cup: Queen's Golden Gaels win 16-3 over the UBC Thunderbirds

Football (Soccer)

• Football World Cup: Argentina wins 3-1 over the Netherlands
• England - FA Cup: Ipswich Town won 1-0 over Arsenal

Golf

Men's golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. May - The Masters - Gary Player
  2. June - US Open - Andy North
  3. July - British Open - Jack Nicklaus
  4. August - PGA Championship - John Mahaffey
• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Tom Watson - $362,429

Women's golf

• US Women's Open - Hollis Stacy
• LPGA Championship - Nancy Lopez
• Nancy Lopez: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $189,213.

Thoroughbred horse racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Arwon
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Regal Embrace
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Alleged
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Shirley Heights

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Roland Gardens
  2. Epsom Derby - Shirley Heights
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Julio Mariner

• July 13: At Belmont Park, Elmont , New York, star jockey, Ron Turcotte is injured in a racing accident ending his career, leaving him a paraplegic.

• Affirmed, ridden by jockey Steve Cauthen, wins the United States Triple Crown Races by narrowly defeating Alydar in all three races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Affirmed, Alydar
  2. Preakness Stakes - Affirmed, Alydar
  3. Belmont Stakes - Affirmed, Alydar

Harness racing

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace - Armbro Tiger
  2. Little Brown Jug - Happy Escort
  3. Messenger Stakes - Abercrombie

• United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian - Speedy Somolli
  2. Yonkers Trot - Speedy Somolli
  3. Kentucky Futurity - Doublemint

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Markovina
  • Trotters: Derby Royale

Ice hockey

• 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: Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens

• Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 2 over the Boston Bruins

• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia
  • Junior Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
  • Note: In the early years of the Junior tournament, Canada did not send a true National Junior team to the event. Instead, the Memorial Cup champions usually went to represent Canada. The exception was 1978 in Montreal, when an "all-star" team was put together.

Skiing

• Alpine Skiing
  • The men's overall season champion: Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden
  • The women's overall season champion: Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship: Ray Reardon beats Perrie Mans 25-18
• World rankings: Ray Reardon remains world number one for 1978/79.

Speed skating

• First ISU Short Track Speed Skating Championships for men and ladies held in Solihull, UK

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - Guillermo Vilas
  2. French Open - Björn Borg
  3. Wimbledon championships - Björn Borg
  4. US Open - Jimmy Connors

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Chris O'Neil
  2. French Open - Virginia Ruzici
  3. Wimbledon championships - Martina Navratilova
  4. US Open - Chris Evert

• Davis Cup: United States won 4-1 over Great Britain in world tennis.
• US Open moves to hard courts of the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York.
• Total prize money at US Open exceeds US $500,000.

General sporting events

• British Commonwealth Games held in Edmonton, Canada

• First Ironman Triathlon held in Hawaii

• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
  • Dick Mackey won with lead dogs: Skipper & Shrew

Births

• January 28 - Gianluigi Buffon, Italian football player
• June 19 - Dirk Nowitzki, German NBA player
• August 23 - Kobe Bryant, NBA player
• October 20 - Virender Sehwag, Indian cricketer
• December 2 - Louisa Walter , German field hockey goalkeeper
• December 21 - Jackie Stiles, WNBA player
• December 29 - Kieron Dyer, English football player

Deaths

• January 13 - Joe McCarthy, baseball manager
• January 21 - Dit Clapper, NHL star, Boston Bruins
• September 3 - Alexander Belov , 26, USSR Olympic basketball player
• September 23 - Lyman Bostock, Major League Baseball player