1981 VFL Grand Final, Match summary
The grand final was the final one played with the old MCG scoreboard. It was given to Manuka Oval in 1982 after the MCG installed a new colour video scoreboard. The old scoreboard still resides at Manuka Oval today.


1981 VFL Grand Final, Match summary
It was one of the last (if not the last) times the players swapped guernseys after the grand final (although not all players did.)


1981 VFL draft
The 1981 Victorian Football League (VFL) draft was the first annual national draft held by the VFL, the leading Australian rules football league.


1981 VFL draft
Held on 8 October 1981, all twelve VFL clubs participated in the draft, each having two picks, with the team finishing last in the 1981 VFL season having first choice, followed by the other eleven clubs in reverse finishing position order. Wooden spooners Melbourne named Perth wingman Alan Johnson as the first pick of the draft.


1981 VFL season
The 1981 Victorian Football League season was the 85th season of the elite Australian rules football competition. Twelve teams competed in the league, which had remained unchanged since 1925. The season was the last to be competed between exclusively Victoria-based clubs, as South Melbourne would relocate to Sydney in 1982. The season commenced with the first games played on Saturday, 28 March, and concluded with the 1981 VFL Grand Final on Saturday, 26 September.


1981 VFL season, Night series
Essendon defeated Carlton 9.11 (65) to 6.5 (41) in the final.


1981 Vanderbilt Commodores football team
The 1981 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Commodores were led by head coach George MacIntyre in his third season and finished the season with a record of four wins and seven losses (4–7 overall, 1–5 in the SEC).


1981 Venezuelan Primera División season
The 1981 season of the Venezuelan Primera División, the top category of Venezuelan football, was played by 12 teams. The national champions were Deportivo Táchira.


1981 Vienna synagogue attack
The 1981 Vienna synagogue attack was a terror attack that occurred 29 August 1981. The incident took place in the Stadttempel of Vienna, Austria carried out by two terrorists of the Abu Nidal Organization.


1981 Vienna synagogue attack, Attack
The  mass shooting and grenade attack killed two people and wounded 18 others attending a Bar mitzvah service at the Stadttempel in Vienna on August 29, 1981. Two terrorists entered the 155-year-old Israelite Temple in the central Vienna area of Seitenstettengasse, posing as Jews. The terrorists then came into a fire exchange with the two already wounded policemen.


1981 Vienna synagogue attack, Attack
A bodyguard of a local Jewish business owner arrived quickly at the synagogue and pointed his gun directly at one of the perpetrators, shooting him and subdued the other. Police cordoned off the entire area and began a house to house search for possible accomplices and hidden bombs.


1981 Vienna synagogue attack, Attack
According to early reports, three terrorists had been involved in the attack. The Austrian police later said this was not correct and that the only two who had stormed the synagogue were involved. The police were detaining a third person who was arrested in a Vienna apartment shortly after the attack, but no details were available regarding the suspect. Two civilians, a 25-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man were shot and killed in the attack, and several others were critically wounded, amongst two of the policemen.


1981 Vienna synagogue attack, Attack
In connection with the attack, the two Palestinian assailants, Marwan Hasan, 25 years old, of Jordan, and Hesham Mohammed Rajeh, 21, born in Iraq, were convicted of terrorist charges and attempted murder. Rajeh was also indicted for the May 1 murder of Heinz Nittel, head of the Austrian-Israel Society. Both men received life sentences.


1981 Vietnamese legislative election
Parliamentary elections were held in Vietnam on 26 April 1981. The Vietnamese Fatherland Front was the only party to contest the election and nominated forward 614 candidates for the 496 seats. Voter turnout was reported to be 98%.


1981 Virginia Cavaliers football team
The 1981 Virginia Cavaliers football team represented the University of Virginia during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cavaliers were led by sixth-year head coach Dick Bestwick and played their home games at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia. They competed as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, finishing in last. At the conclusion of a 1–10 campaign, Bestwick was fired. He had a record of 16–49–1 at Virginia.


1981 Virginia House of Delegates election
The Virginia House of Delegates election of 1981 was held on Tuesday, November 3. Primary elections were held on September 8, 1981.


1981 Virginia House of Delegates election
The districts were established by the Assembly Act of August 11, 1981 (Acts of Assembly, 1981 Special Session, Chapter 5). They were challenged in Federal District Court, which found the map unconstitutional in Cosner v. Dalton. The Court allowed the 1981 elections to proceed under the August 11, 1981 Act, but for a one-year term only. A new general election would thus be held in November 1982, under a new map.


1981 Virginia House of Delegates election
The 50 multi-member districts, electing 100 delegates in total, were as follows (52, without a 31st or 40th district):


1981 Virginia Tech Hokies football team
The 1981 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Bill Dooley.


1981 Virginia gubernatorial election
In the 1981 Virginia gubernatorial election, Republican incumbent Governor John N. Dalton was unable to seek re-election due to term limits. Chuck Robb, the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, was nominated by the Democratic Party to run against the Republican nominee, state Attorney General J. Marshall Coleman.


1981 Virginia lieutenant gubernatorial election
The 1981 Virginia lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1981. Democratic nominee Dick Davis defeated Republican nominee Nathan H. Miller with 55.44% of the vote.


1981 Volta a Catalunya
The 1981 Volta a Catalunya was the 61st edition of the Volta a Catalunya cycle race and was held from 3 September to 10 September 1981. The race started in Platja d'Aro and finished at Manresa. The race was won by Faustino Rupérez of the Zor team.


1981 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
The 1981 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana was the 39th edition of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana road cycling stage race, which was held from 3 March to 8 March 1981. The race started in Vinaròs and finished in Valencia. The race was won by Alberto Fernández of the Teka–Campagnolo team.


1981 Volvo International
The 1981 Volvo International was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts in North Conway, New Hampshire in the United States and was part of the 1981 Volvo Grand Prix. The tournament ran from July 28 through August 3, 1981. José Luis Clerc won the singles title.


1981 Volvo International, Finals, Doubles
Heinz Günthardt /  Peter McNamara defeated  Pavel Složil /  Ferdi Taygan 6–7, 7–5, 6–4


1981 Volvo International – Doubles
Jimmy Connors and Brian Gottfried were the defending champions but did not compete that year.


1981 Volvo International – Doubles
Heinz Günthardt and Peter McNamara won in the final 7–5, 6–4 against Pavel Složil and Ferdi Taygan.


1981 Volvo International – Doubles, Seeds
Champion seeds are indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which those seeds were eliminated.


1981 Volvo International – Singles
Jimmy Connors was the defending champion but lost in the third round to José Higueras.


1981 Volvo International – Singles
José Luis Clerc won in the final 6–3, 6–2 against Guillermo Vilas.


1981 Volvo International – Singles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.


1981 Volvo Masters
The 1981 Masters (also known as the 1981 Volvo Masters for sponsorship reasons) was a men's tennis tournament held in Madison Square Garden, New York City, United States between 13–17 January 1982. It was the year-end championship of the 1981 Volvo Grand Prix tour.


1981 Volvo Masters, Finals, Singles
Ivan Lendl defeated  Vitas Gerulaitis, 6–7(5–7), 2–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–2, 6–4.


1981 Volvo Masters, Finals, Doubles
Peter Fleming and  John McEnroe defeated  Kevin Curren and  Steve Denton 6–3, 6–3.


1981 Volvo Masters – Doubles
Peter Fleming and John McEnroe won in the final 6–3, 6–3 against Kevin Curren and Steve Denton.


1981 Volvo Masters – Singles
Björn Borg was the defending champion, but did not participate. Ivan Lendl won in the final 6–7(5), 2–6, 7–6(6), 6–2, 6–4 against Vitas Gerulaitis.


1981 Volvo Masters – Singles, Draw, Group A
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) Number of matches; 3) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 4) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 5) Steering Committee decision-


1981 Volvo Masters – Singles, Draw, Group B
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) Number of matches; 3) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 4) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 5) Steering Committee decision.


1981 Volvo Women's Cup
The 1981 Volvo Women's Cup was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey in the United States, It was part of the Toyota International Series circuit of the 1981 WTA Tour and classified as a Category 3 event. It was the fourth edition of the tournament and was held from August 24 through August 30, 1981. Second-seeded Hana Mandlíková won her second consecutive singles title at the event and earned $20,000 first-prize money.


1981 Volvo Women's Cup, Finals, Doubles
Rosie Casals /  Wendy Turnbull defeated  Candy Reynolds /  Betty Stöve 6–2, 6–1


1981 Vuelta a España
The 36th Edition Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 21 April to 10 May 1981. It consisted of 19 stages covering a total of 3,446 km (2,141 mi), and was won by Giovanni Battaglin of the Inoxpran cycling team.


1981 Vuelta a España
Regis Clere won the prologue of the race and kept the leader’s jersey until the mountain time trial where on the very long climb to Sierra Nevada, Giovanni Battaglin won the stage and took over the leader’s jersey. The only threat to Battaglin’s lead was Pedro Muñoz. The entire Teka team withdrew from the race withdrawing potential favourites Marino Lejarreta and Alberto Fernández. Battaglin and his Inoxpran team withstood the challenge from the Spanish and brought Battaglin to his first grand tour victory. Three days later after Battaglin’s triumph in Spain, he began the 1981 Giro d'Italia which he would win becoming the second rider after Eddy Merckx to win the Vuelta-Giro double.


1981 Vuelta a España, Prologue to Stage 9
The 1981 Vuelta a España was the 36th edition of the Vuelta a España, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Vuelta began in Santander, with a prologue individual time trial on 21 April, and Stage 9 occurred on 30 April with a stage to Murcia. The race finished in Madrid on 10 May.


1981 Vuelta a España, Prologue to Stage 9, Prologue
21 April 1981 — Santander to Santander, 6.3 km (3.9 mi) (ITT)


1981 Vuelta a España, Prologue to Stage 9, Stage 1
22 April 1981 — Santander to Avilés, 221 km (137 mi)


1981 Vuelta a España, Prologue to Stage 9, Stage 2
23 April 1981 — Avilés to León, 159 km (99 mi)


1981 Vuelta a España, Prologue to Stage 9, Stage 3
24 April 1981 — León to Salamanca, 195 km (121 mi)


1981 Vuelta a España, Prologue to Stage 9, Stage 4
25 April 1981 — Salamanca to Cáceres, 206 km (128 mi)


1981 Vuelta a España, Prologue to Stage 9, Stage 5
26 April 1981 — Cáceres to Mérida, 152 km (94 mi)


1981 Vuelta a España, Prologue to Stage 9, Stage 6
27 April 1981 — Mérida to Seville, 199 km (124 mi)


1981 Vuelta a España, Prologue to Stage 9, Stage 7
28 April 1981 — Écija to Jaén, 181 km (112 mi)


1981 Vuelta a España, Prologue to Stage 9, Stage 8a
29 April 1981 — Jaén to Granada, 100 km (62 mi)


1981 Vuelta a España, Prologue to Stage 9, Stage 8b
29 April 1981 — Granada to Sierra Nevada, 30.5 km (19.0 mi) (ITT)


1981 Vuelta a España, Prologue to Stage 9, Stage 9
30 April 1981 — Baza to Murcia, 204 km (127 mi)


1981 Vuelta a España, Stage 10 to Stage 19
The 1981 Vuelta a España was the 36th edition of the Vuelta a España, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Vuelta began in Santander, with a prologue individual time trial on 21 April, and Stage 10 occurred on 1 May with a stage from Murcia. The race finished in Madrid on 10 May.


1981 Vuelta a España, Stage 10 to Stage 19, Stage 10
1 May 1981 — Murcia to Almussafes, 223 km (139 mi)


1981 Vuelta a España, Stage 10 to Stage 19, Stage 11
2 May 1981 — Almussafes to Peniscola, 193 km (120 mi)


1981 Vuelta a España, Stage 10 to Stage 19, Stage 12
3 May 1981 — Peniscola to Esparreguera, 217 km (135 mi)


1981 Vuelta a España, Stage 10 to Stage 19, Stage 13
4 May 1981 — Esparreguera to Rasos de Peguera, 187 km (116 mi)


1981 Vuelta a España, Stage 10 to Stage 19, Stage 14
5 May 1981 — Gironella to Balaguer, 197 km (122 mi)


1981 Vuelta a España, Stage 10 to Stage 19, Stage 15a
6 May 1981 — Balaguer to Alfajarín, 146 km (91 mi)


1981 Vuelta a España, Stage 10 to Stage 19, Stage 15b
6 May 1981 — Zaragoza to Zaragoza, 11.3 km (7.0 mi) (ITT)


1981 Vuelta a España, Stage 10 to Stage 19, Stage 16
7 May 1981 — Calatayud to Torrejón de Ardoz, 209 km (130 mi)


1981 Vuelta a España, Stage 10 to Stage 19, Stage 17
8 May 1981 — Torrejón de Ardoz to Segovia, 150 km (93 mi)


1981 Vuelta a España, Stage 10 to Stage 19, Stage 18
9 May 1981 — Segovia – Los Ángeles de San Rafael, 175 km (109 mi)


1981 Vuelta a España, Stage 10 to Stage 19, Stage 19
10 May 1981 — Madrid to Madrid, 84 km (52 mi)


1981 WAFL season
The 1981 WAFL season was the 97th season of the West Australian Football League in its various incarnations. The season opened on 11 April and concluded on 3 October with the 1981 WAFL Grand Final between Claremont and South Fremantle. It was the last WAFL season to begin in April and end in October; from 1982 the league shifted the schedule of the season forward by a week and in later years by another.


1981 WAFL season
The 1981 WAFL season is famous because of its prodigious scoring, chiefly by premiers Claremont and runners-up South Fremantle. The Claremont trio of Warren Ralph, and brothers Jimmy and Phil Krakouer broke numerous records related to scoring in single matches and seasons. (It was to be the Krakouer brothers' last season at Claremont, before a move to  North Melbourne, where they introduced an attacking style of football to the VFL.) During 1981, the 1979 record score by Swan Districts was broken twice, with the last round record by South Fremantle still remaining as the highest score in senior WAFL history.


1981 WAFL season
The average score of 123 points per team per game is the highest in WAFL history and as much as ten points higher than the VFL/AFL maximum during 1982, whilst tailender Perth set the unenviable record of conceding 157 points per match, allowing under 100 only on a very wet day against East Perth.


1981 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 3
East Fremantle’s unusual policy of playing four roving forwards gives Old Easts an open forward line that completely outplays the Cardinals, as shown by a match total of ninety-three effective handballs to West Perth's fifty.


1981 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 4
Six third quarter goals by Demon flanker Doug Simms brings the match to life despite the Demons being thrashed for the fourth successive week and finishing with a percentage of 49.87.


1981 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 6
East Perth’s gamble to rely on bold attacking play fails as Swan Districts win the toss with a stiff easterly and later dominate the final quarter against this breeze.


1981 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 8
Led by Les Fong in this 150th match, West Perth, despite a serious knee injury to John Duckworth, come back from 32 points down during the third quarter to win a thriller over their rivals.


1981 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 12
With young Laurie Keene kicking nine goals, Subiaco make a charge for fourth place against the struggling Royals, for whom no one does much in attack against Mitch Fussell’s speed.


1981 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 13
Subiaco lose full-back Fussell with a compound left leg fracture and this loss combined with their on-field loss to South Fremantle ends the Lions hopes of a finals berth.


1981 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 15
West Perth suffer another big loss to Swan Districts and again fall out of the four. The Cardinals do not goal between the five-minute mark of the opening quarter and the twenty-minute mark of the second as Swans’ waves of speed move down the field to produce eleven of their own.


1981 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 16
An unfashionable but brilliant centreline and the move of John Hayes to full-forward where he kicks 7.1 (43) allows East Perth to beat finals rival West Perth and move a game plus percentage clear inside the four.


1981 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 20
East Fremantle kick only 1.9 (15) in dry (but windy) conditions after quarter-time, not goalling in the second or third quarters — a first in the WA(N)FL since Subiaco in Round 11 of 1976. Their wasteful short-kicking game allows the Tigers to recover from Old Easts’ ferocious tackling in the first quarter.


1981 WAFL season, Finals series, First semi-final
Despite a heavy knock, Bruce Monteath kicks 6.2 (38) of 6.4 (40) to avoid a potential upset by the Royals. He had no recollection of equalling the WA(N)FL record of nine goals in a final.


1981 WAFL season, Finals series, Second semi-final
A wayward Claremont win with surprising ease owing to Swan Districts’ roving weakness in windy conditions combined with the overlooked power of Claremont’s defence.


1981 WAFL season, Finals series, Preliminary final
South Fremantle gain the opportunity to defend their 1980 premiership with a brilliant twenty-goal second half after being sixteen points behind late in the second quarter. Rover Noel Carter rivals his last-round eleven-goal display and Monteath is again superb – this time at centre half-forward.


1981 WAFU Club Championship
The 1981 WAFU Club Championship was the fifth football club tournament season that took place for the runners-up of each West African country's domestic league, the West African Club Championship. It was won by Stella Club d'Adjamé in two-legged final victory against AS Police of Dakar, Senegal. Runner-up was AS Police of Senegal. Originally to be an 18 match season, after the forfeiture of Ghana's Eleven Wise, it was reduced to a 16 match season. A total of 34 goals were scored.


1981 WAFU Club Championship, Preliminary round
The matches took place from May 31 to June 14.


1981 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 1981 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 22nd conference playoff in league history. The tournament was played between March 6 and March 15, 1981. All games were played at home team campus sites, including each of the two regional final series. By winning the regional tournaments, both Michigan Tech and Minnesota received automatic bids to the 1981 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.


1981 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Though not official designations, Michigan Tech is considered as the East Regional Champion† and Minnesota as the West Regional Champion‡.


1981 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
This was the final year that the WCHA crowned two teams as tournament champions. (as of 2014)


1981 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The top eight teams in the WCHA, according to their final conference standings, were eligible for the tournament and were seeded No. 1 through No. 8. In the first round the first and eighth seeds, the second and seventh seeds, the third and sixth seeds and the fourth and fifth seeds were matched in two-game series where the school that scored the higher number of goals was declared the winner. After the first round the remaining teams were reseeded No. 1 through No. 4 according to their final conference standings and advanced to the second round. In the second round the first and fourth seeds and the second and third seeds competed in an additional two-game, total goal series with the winners of each being declared as co-conference champions. The Tournament Champions each received automatic bids to the 1981 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.


1981 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format, Conference Standings
Note: GP = Games Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against


1981 WCT Tournament of Champions
The 1981 WCT Tournament of Champions was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City in the United States and part of the 1981 Grand Prix circuit. It was the fifth edition of the tournament and was held from May 4 through May 10, 1981. The event was open to players who had won a tournament worth at least $25,000 during the previous 12 months. Tenth-seeded Eddie Dibbs won the singles title and the accompanying first prize of $100,000 plus $3,050 in bonus money.


1981 WCT Tournament of Champions, Finals, Doubles
Peter Fleming /  John McEnroe defeated  John Fitzgerald /  Andy Kohlberg 6–4, 6–4


1981 WCT World Doubles
The 1981 WCT World Doubles was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at Olympia in London, England that was part of the 1981 Volvo Grand Prix. It was the tour finals for the doubles season of the WCT Tour section. The tournament was held from January 6 through January 11, 1981.


1981 WCT World Doubles, Final, Doubles
Peter McNamara /  Paul McNamee defeated  Victor Amaya /  Hank Pfister 6–3, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2


1981 WIBC season
The Women's Interstate Basketball Conference (WIBC) was the inaugural season of what would become the Australian Women's National Basketball League (WNBL).


1981 WIBC season, History
On 4 October 1980, during the Australian Women’s Club Championship in Sydney, a meeting of delegates from six of the leading clubs in Australian women’s basketball was held. The clubs were North Adelaide Rockets, West Adelaide Bearcats and Glenelg from South Australia and CYMS (Catholic Young Men's Society), Melbourne Telstars and St. Kilda Saints from Victoria.


1981 WIBC season, History
The meeting resolved to form a two-round competition between these teams to be held in July and August in 1981. The basis for the idea was that many of the top sides in both states wanted a varied competition from their standard state leagues as well as a suitable preparation for the Australian Club Championship, which was held on an annual basis for the top 24 teams in the country. With the formation of the men's National Basketball League in 1979, the women felt that one of the best ways to develop the game was to provide more opportunities for the best players and clubs to play against each other more regularly.


1981 WIBC season, History
A major consideration was finance and with this in mind the competition was formed with the six teams with a full home and away series between all teams with three games on one weekend to save costs. The New South Welsh teams of Bankstown Bruins and Sutherland Sharks were not happy due to costs and offered to pay their own way to Melbourne and Adelaide where they would play each team once for double points.


1981 WIBC season, History
In 1981, the Australian Institute of Sport was also opened and the men's head coach Dr. Adrian Hurley contacted the clubs and asked whether the AIS could also participate in the competition to commence later that year.


1981 WIBC season, History
The competition commenced on 19 June 1981 with the first game to be played in Adelaide between the AIS and West Adelaide Bearcats.


1981 WIBC season, History
The competition was named the Women’s Interstate Basketball Conference with each the teams paying the sum of $25 to be a part of the WIBC – giving a central fund of $200 to conduct the competition.


1981 WIBC season, Finals
The inaugural winner was St. Kilda Saints defeating North Adelaide Rockets 77 points to 58. St. Kilda Saints also went on to win the Victorian State Championship and the Australian Club Championship in Melbourne defeating Bankstown Bruins in the final. St. Kilda Saints had three Australian representatives in Tracy Morris, Karen Ogden and Patricia Cockrem.


1981 WTA German Open
The 1981 WTA German Open was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Rot-Weiss Tennis Club in West Berlin in West Germany that was part of the Toyota Series Category 3 tier of the 1981 WTA Tour. It was the 12th edition of the tournament and was held from 18 May through 24 May 1981. Eighth-seeded Regina Maršíková won the singles title and earned $20,000 first-prize money.


1981 WTA German Open, Finals, Doubles
Rosalyn Fairbank /  Tanya Harford defeated  Sue Barker /  Renáta Tomanová 6–3, 6–4


1981 WTA Tour
The 1981 Avon Championships World Championship Series was the 10th season since the foundation of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 4, 1981, and concluded on December 19, 1981, after 36 events. The Avon Championships World Championship Series was the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). The year is divided into two sponsors with the first three months sponsored by Avon Series and the latter part by Toyota Series. It included the four Grand Slam tournaments and a series of other events. ITF tournaments were not part of the tour, although they awarded points for the WTA World Ranking.


1981 WTA Tour, Schedule
The table below shows the 1981 Avon Championships World Championship Series schedule.


1981 WTA Tour, Toyota Series, Points system
The 31 Toyota Series tournaments were divided into eight point categories. The highest points were allocated to the Grand Slam tournaments; French Open, the Wimbledon Championships, the US Open and the Australian Open. Points were allocated based on these categories and the finishing position of a player in a tournament. The points allocation, with doubles points listed in brackets, is as follows:


1981 WTA Tour, Rankings
Below are the 1981 WTA year-end rankings (December 31, 1981) in both singles and doubles competition:


1981 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team
The 1981 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team was an American football team that represented Wake Forest University during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first season under head coach Al Groh, the Demon Deacons compiled a 4–7 record and finished in sixth place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.


1981 Walker Cup
The 1981 Walker Cup, the 28th Walker Cup Match, was played on August 28 and 29, 1981, at Cypress Point Club, Pebble Beach, California. The event was won by the United States 15 to 9.


1981 Walker Cup
The United States led 8–4 after the first day but Great Britain and Ireland won 3 of the 4 second-day foursomes to reduce the American lead to 9–7. Although Roger Chapman beat Hal Sutton in the top singles match, the United States won 5 and halved the other 2 of the remaining 7 matches for a comfortable victory.


1981 Walker Cup, Format
The format for play on Friday and Saturday was the same. There were four matches of foursomes in the morning and eight singles matches in the afternoon. In all, 24 matches were played.


1981 Walker Cup, Format
Each of the 24 matches was worth one point in the larger team competition. If a match was all square after the 18th hole extra holes were not played. Rather, each side earned ½ a point toward their team total. The team that accumulated at least 12½ points won the competition. If the two teams were tied, the previous winner would retain the trophy.


1981 Walker Cup, Teams
Ten players for the United States and Great Britain & Ireland participated in the event plus one non-playing captain for each team.


1981 Warrington by-election
The Warrington by-election, 1981 was held on 16 July 1981.


1981 Warrington by-election
The by-election was caused by the appointment of Thomas Williams, Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Warrington, as a High Court Judge.


1981 Warrington by-election
Warrington had been held by the Labour Party since the 1945 general election, and by Williams since the 1961 Warrington by-election. It had long been regarded as a safe seat for the party, and even in 1979, generally a year of poor results for Labour, Williams won with a majority of 32.8%. Labour expected to hold the seat comfortably, and selected Doug Hoyle, the former MP for Nelson and Colne, who had lost his seat in 1979.


1981 Warrington by-election
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) was formed by prominent figures on the right of the Labour Party in early 1981, known as the "Gang of Four" – Shirley Williams, Roy Jenkins, David Owen and Bill Rodgers. Of the four, Williams and Jenkins lacked Parliamentary seats, and were keen to stand in by-elections as candidates under their new party label. Following the agreement of an electoral pact with the Liberal Party exactly a month earlier, who had come a distant third in Warrington in 1979, with less than 10% of the vote, the two parties agreed to support Jenkins as the SDP's first Parliamentary candidate.


1981 Warrington by-election
The Conservative Party had taken second place in Warrington in 1979, with 28.8% of the votes cast. In mid-term government and behind in the polls, they did not expect to advance and stood Stanley Sorrell, a London-based bus driver, and unusually for a Conservative, an active trade unionist.


1981 Warrington by-election
Curiously, a member of an unconnected Social Democratic Party, founded in Manchester by Donald Kean, had contested the seat in 1979. Lacking any profile, he won only 0.5% of the vote. However, the party determined to stand again, against the better known SDP, which they were hoping to force to change their name.


1981 Warrington by-election
Several other candidates stood. The then little-known Ecology Party stood Neil Chantrell. Perennial by-election candidate Bill Boaks stood as a Democratic Monarchist. Iain Leslie, an administrator for the Inner London Education Authority, stood on a platform of legalised CB Radio. Tom Keen stood for the Campaign for a More Prosperous Britain. John Fleming stood on a platform opposing immigration and the Trident nuclear weapon system, while also calling for British troops to withdraw from Northern Ireland. Daniel Hussey stood as the "United Democratic Labour Party" candidate and Harry Wise stood as the "English Democratic Party" candidate. With eleven candidates, this equalled the most for any British by-election, set at the 1978 Lambeth Central by-election.


1981 Warrington by-election, Result
Hoyle only narrowly held the seat for the Labour Party. Jenkins came from nowhere to win 42.4% of the vote, taking a close second place. Sorrell dropped to a distant third, losing three-quarters of the Conservative vote. None of the minor candidates were able to make an impact, all winning less than 1% of the vote, and Keen equalled the record low of only ten votes.


1981 Warrington by-election, Result
According to the next day's edition of The Glasgow Herald Roy Jenkins had "emerged as a triumphant loser", coming close to victory and taking votes from both the Conservatives and Labour. Reacting to the result Jenkins noted that in his career he had fought 12 election and this was the first that he had lost in 35 years.


1981 Warrington by-election, Result
However he said "But in losing, it is by far the greatest victory in which I have participated" going on to claim that the figures made it possible that an SPD-Liberal government would be returned at the next election with a large majority. Jenkins returned to Parliament at the 1982 Glasgow Hillhead by-election, subsequently becoming the SDP party leader.


1981 Warrington by-election, Result
The Warrington seat was split at the 1983 general election. Hoyle won Warrington North, holding the seat until his retirement in 1997, while a Conservative won Warrington South.


1981 Washington Huskies football team
The 1981 Washington Huskies football team was an American football team that represented the University of Washington during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its seventh season under head coach Don James, the team compiled a 10–2 record, finished first in the Pacific-10 Conference, shut out Iowa in the Rose Bowl, and outscored its opponents 281 to 171.


1981 Washington Huskies football team
Linebacker Mark Jerue was selected as the team's most valuable player; Jerue, James Carter, Vince Coby, and Fletcher Jenkins were the team captains.


1981 Washington Huskies football team, Game summaries, Washington State
The Cougars entered the Apple Cup with an 8–1–1 record and a road win over Washington at Husky Stadium would clinch the Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl berth, WSU's first bowl game in 51 years. The Huskies prevailed at home, 23–10, for their eighth straight win over the Cougs, who were invited to the Holiday Bowl.


1981 Washington Huskies football team, Game summaries, Washington State
Conference leader UCLA lost by a point to rival USC, which gave Washington the Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl berth; the top five teams in the Pac-10 had two losses each in league play.


1981 Washington Huskies football team, NFL Draft selections
Two University of Washington Huskies were selected in the 1982 NFL Draft which lasted twelve rounds with 334 selections.


1981 Washington Redskins season
The 1981 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 50th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 44th in Washington, D.C.. The team improved on their 6–10 record from 1980 and finished with an 8–8 record, but missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. This was Joe Gibbs' first season as head coach. The team slumped early, losing its first 5 games before upsetting the Chicago Bears 24-7 in Chicago before losing to the Dolphins to sit at 1-6.


1981 Washington Redskins season
The Redskins would do better in the second half, as they would win their next 4 games to sit at 5-6 and looking like they were going to reach the playoffs. However, losses to the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills eliminated the Redskins from any hopes at reaching the playoffs. The team would win its final 3 games of the season to end the season 8-8. Among these three wins was a close victory at RFK Stadium against the defending Super Bowl finalist Eagles, 15-13.


1981 Washington Star International
The 1981 Washington Star International was a men's tennis tournament and was played on outdoor clay courts. The event was part of the 1981 Grand Prix circuit. It was the 13th edition of the tournament and was held at Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. from July 20 through July 26, 1981. Third-seeded José Luis Clerc won the singles title.


1981 Washington Star International, Finals, Doubles
Raúl Ramírez /  Van Winitsky defeated  Pavel Složil /  Ferdi Taygan 5–7, 7–6(9–7), 7–6(8–6)


1981 Washington State Cougars football team
The 1981 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth season under head coach Jim Walden, the Cougars compiled an 8–3–1 record (5–2–1 in Pac-10, tied for fourth), and outscored their opponents 297 to 197.


1981 Washington State Cougars football team
The team's statistical leaders included Clete Casper with 939 passing yards, Tim Harris with 915 rushing yards, and Jeff Keller with 495 receiving yards.


1981 Washington State Cougars football team
The Cougars entered the Apple Cup with an 8–1–1 record and a win over Washington at Husky Stadium would clinch the Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl berth, their first in 51 years. The Huskies prevailed again at home, and then shut out Iowa in the Rose Bowl. The Cougars went to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, and lost a close, entertaining game to Brigham Young of the WAC, led by consensus All-American quarterback Jim McMahon, the fifth overall selection of the 1982 NFL Draft.


1981 Waterford Senior Hurling Championship
The 1981 Waterford Senior Hurling Championship was the 81st staging of the Waterford Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Waterford County Board in 1897.


1981 Waterford Senior Hurling Championship
On 4 October 1981, Mount Sion won the championship after a 4-13 to 1-14 defeat of Dunhill in the final. This was their 25th championship title overall and their first title since 1975.


1981 Wells Fargo Open
The 1981 Wells Fargo Open was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego, California in the United States that was part of the Toyota Series of the 1981 WTA Tour. It was the fourth edition of the tournament and was held from July 27 through August 2, 1981. First-seeded Tracy Austin won the singles title, her third consecutive at the event, and earned $22,000 first-prize money.


1981 Wells Fargo Open, Finals, Doubles
Kathy Jordan /  Candy Reynolds defeated  Rosie Casals /  Pam Shriver 6–1, 2–6, 6–4


1981 Welsh Professional Championship
The 1981 Woodpecker Welsh Professional Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place in February 1981.


1981 Welsh Professional Championship
Ray Reardon won the tournament defeating Cliff Wilson 9–6 in the final.


1981 Wentworth by-election
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Wentworth on 11 April 1981. This was triggered by the resignation of Liberal MP Robert Ellicott.


1981 Wentworth by-election
Future Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull was unsuccessful for Liberal preselection, with the by-election won by the preselected Liberal candidate Peter Coleman.


1981 Wentworth by-election, Results, Distribution of Preferences
Peter Coleman attained a quota (an absolute majority of formal votes) when two other candidates were left in the count, meaning that no two-party-preferred figure was attained.


1981 West Bend tornado
In the early morning hours of April 4, 1981, an unusual and fatal anticyclonic F4 tornado struck West Bend, Wisconsin. It killed three people, and injured another 53. The tornado was largely unexpected and the storm that produced it did not display features of a typical severe storm. Because of this, the National Weather Service issued only a Severe Thunderstorm Warning prior to the tornado, causing local law enforcement to not sound the tornado sirens in time for residents to take shelter.


1981 West Bend tornado, Meteorological synopsis
During the early morning on April 4, 1981, meteorological conditions in Wisconsin were conducive for severe weather. At around 12:00am CST (0600 UTC) a thunderstorm developed and rapidly began to grow over south central Wisconsin. The growing storm caused a downburst near the village of Clyman and then continued on towards West Bend. The storm however did not appear to be severe, thunderstorm tops were measured to only be 26,000 feet (7,900 m) and a weak bow echo was observed by a radar in Neenah.


1981 West Bend tornado, Meteorological synopsis
Only a few minutes after midnight (local time), while the storm was weakening the tornado touched down. The tornado was extremely narrow, but it still managed to produce F3 and F4 damage only a few seconds after touching down. It cut a swath of destruction through the city, killing several and injuring many more. Post storm analysis determined that not only was the tornado an extremely rare occurrence given the storm's strength, but also that it was an anticyclonic tornado. The F4 tornado is the only violent and the strongest anticyclonic tornado ever recorded.


1981 West Bend tornado, Impact
The West Bend Tornado killed three people and injured another 53. It was the most intense tornado to strike Wisconsin in 1981, and caused $25.0 Million in damages. Following the tornado the American Red Cross determined that around 139 structures were damaged or destroyed by the storm. With many residents left homeless and the threat of more storms looming, Governor Lee S. Dreyfus declared a state of emergency freeing up the area for aid. The campus of the Moraine Park Technical Institute was severely damaged by the tornado and classes were disrupted.


1981 West Bend tornado, Aftermath
It was determined that the West Bend police did not activate the city's siren system before or during the tornado. The National Weather Service in Milwaukee issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for the area that only mentioned a confirmed tornado touchdown. However, because no Tornado Warning was issued for the storm, local police failed to activate the siren. Nearby Dodge County did activate their siren system after damage reports. The tornado showed the problems with operational meteorology or "nowcasting". The storm did not display the typical features of a severe storm and the tornado that was produced formed while the storm was weakening, an almost unheard of event.


1981 West Midlands County Council election
Local elections to the West Midlands County Council, a Metropolitan County Council encompassing the West Midlands, were held on 7 May 1981, resulting in large swings to Labour, giving them control of the council.


1981 West Midlands County Council election
This was the last election to the West Midlands County Council, after metropolitan county councils were scrapped on 31 March 1986 under the Local Government Act 1985 by the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher. The councils' abolition followed several high profile clashes between mostly Labour metropolitan county councils and the Conservative government over issues, including spending and rates charges.


1981 West Texas State Buffaloes football team
The 1981 West Texas State Buffaloes football team was an American football team that represented West Texas State University (now known as West Texas A&M University) as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth year under head coach Bill Yung, the team compiled a 7–4 record (3–3 in the MVC).


1981 West Virginia Mountaineers football team
The 1981 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Mountaineers' 89th overall season and they competed as a Division I-A Independent. The team was led by head coach Don Nehlen, in his second year, and played their home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season with a record of nine wins and three losses (9–3 overall) and with a victory over Florida in the Peach Bowl.


1981 West Virginia Mountaineers football team, Season recap
Oliver Luck was the starting quarterback for the Mountaineers. He led the team with 2448 passing yards and 16 touchdowns. Leading the team in rushing was Curlin Beck with 537 net yards. Rich Hollins led the team in receiving with 37 receptions for 764 yards.


1981 West Virginia Mountaineers football team, Season recap
The first game pitted the Mountaineers against the Virginia Cavaliers. The Mountaineers won the opener 32–18 in Charlottesville. WVU then traveled to College Park, where they took on the Maryland Terrapins. WVU held on for a 17–13 road victory.


1981 West Virginia Mountaineers football team, Season recap
Their home opener was against Colorado State, who they thrashed 49–3. They then traveled to Boston College, where they won 38–10. Their first loss of the season came at the hands of archrival Pitt 17–0 at home. They rebounded with a resounding 27–6 win over Virginia Tech. They played at Penn State, but lost 7–30, to the number 1 team in the nation.


1981 West Virginia Mountaineers football team, Season recap
The Mountaineers returned home for a game with East Carolina, in which they won 20–3. They later on beat Temple by a 24–19 margin. Rutgers was next up, and lost 20–3.


1981 West Virginia Mountaineers football team, Season recap
West Virginia barely lost on the road to Syracuse, 24–27, but more than made up for it with a 26–6 thumping of the Florida Gators in the Peach Bowl.


1981 West Yorkshire County Council election, Ward Results
The full results for all counties are available here: Local Elections Handbook 1981


1981 Western Michigan Broncos football team
The 1981 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their seventh and final season under head coach Elliot Uzelac, the Broncos compiled a 6–5 record (5–4 against MAC opponents), finished in a tie for fifth place in the MAC, and outscored their opponents, 206 to 170. The team played its home games at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan.


1981 Western Michigan Broncos football team
The team's statistical leaders included Tom George with 1,419 passing yards, Shawn Faulkner with 701 rushing yards, and Bob Phillips with 809 receiving yards. Reggie Hinton and linebacker John Schuster were the team captains. Split end Bob Phillips received the team's most outstanding player award.


1981 Western Michigan Broncos football team
On November 24, 1981, coach Uzelac was fired as the Broncos' head football coach. Athletic director Tom Wonderling said at the time: "The program has progressed tremendously under Elliot, but I think at the present time we need a change." Wonderling was also critical of Uzelac's conservative offense, saying: "We're not like the Big Ten; we have to have something more." In seven years at Western, Uzelac compiled a 38–39 record.


1981 Westmorland earthquake
The 1981 Westmorland earthquake occurred at 05:31 Pacific Daylight Time (12:31 UTC) on April 26. The moderate strike-slip shock took place in the Imperial Valley of Southern California, just north of the Mexico–United States border. No injuries or deaths occurred, but damage was estimated at $1–3 million. With a Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong), this was one of fifteen intensity VII or greater shocks in the Imperial Valley that were observed in the 20th century up until April 1981. The region experiences large stand-alone events and earthquake swarms due to its position in an area of complex conditions where faulting transitions from strike-slip movement to the north and divergence to the south.


1981 Westmorland earthquake, Preface
The Imperial Valley of Southern California is very active seismically and has been subject to numerous destructive earthquakes since communities began to form in this desert area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Records of events prior to this period do not exist due to a lack of settlers in the area. Fifteen shocks of intensity VII or higher were recorded prior to April 1981 and beginning with the intensity VIII shock of April 18, 1906, which was a triggered event following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.


1981 Westmorland earthquake, Tectonic setting
The Gulf of California Rift Zone underlies the Gulf of California from the mouth of the Colorado River in Baja California and stretching to the southeast. It contains numerous right-lateral transform faults and rift zones that make up the Pacific–North American plate boundary. The southern portion has matured into seafloor spreading, and at the northern end of the province is the Salton Trough, which is considered to be an onshore spreading center. The rift zone is covered by thick layers of sediment from the Colorado River drainage basin.


1981 Westmorland earthquake, Tectonic setting
The region experiences large stand-alone events and earthquake swarms due to its position in an area of complex faulting where it transitions from the strike-slip movement of the San Andreas Fault system to that of the divergent Gulf of California Rift Zone, which is an area of active seafloor spreading.


1981 Westmorland earthquake, Earthquake
The Global Centroid Moment Tensor Database shows a NNW strike on a nearly vertical fault, with a rake angle that is within 45 degrees of being pure strike-slip.


1981 Westmorland earthquake, Earthquake, Intensity
Calipatria and Westmorland both experienced intensity VII shaking (Very strong), which was the maximum observed intensity for the event. At these locations, roads and house foundations were cracked, interior and exterior walls experienced partial collapse, chimneys fell, windows were broken, and underground water pipes burst. The shock was felt over an area of 73,500 km2, and the communities of Encino and Cedar Glen in California, and Bouse in Arizona were at the outermost extremity of the felt area in the United States.


1981 Whitbread Awards
The Whitbread Awards (1971–2005), called Costa Book Awards since 2006, are literary awards in the United Kingdom, awarded both for high literary merit but also for works considered enjoyable reading. This page gives details of the awards given in the year 1981.


1981 Wichita State Shockers football team
The 1981 Wichita State Shockers football team was an American football team that represented  Wichita State as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third year under head coach Willie Jeffries, the team compiled a 4–6–1 record.


1981 Wightman Cup
The 1981 Wightman Cup was the 53rd edition of the annual women's team tennis competition between the United States and Great Britain. It was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois in the United States.


1981 Wildwater Canoeing World Championships
The 1981 Wildwater Canoeing World Championships was the 12th edition of the global wildwater canoeing competition, Wildwater Canoeing World Championships, organised by the International Canoe Federation.


1981 William & Mary Tribe football team
The 1981 William & Mary Tribe football team represented the College of William & Mary as an independent during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Jimmye Laycock in his second year as head coach, William & Mary finished the season with a record of 5–6.


1981 Wiltshire County Council election
Elections to Wiltshire County Council were held on Thursday, 7 May 1981, following boundary changes to the county's electoral divisions. The whole council of seventy-four members was up for election and the result was that the Conservatives retained their control, winning forty seats. Labour ended with twenty county councillors, the Liberals twelve, and Independents two, including one Ratepayer.


1981 Wimbledon Championships
The 1981 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament ran from 22 June until 4 July. It was the 95th staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the second Grand Slam tennis event of 1981.


1981 Wimbledon Championships
For the first time in the tournament's history there are no seeded British players.


1981 Wimbledon Championships, Prize money
The total prize money for 1981 championships was £322,136. The winner of the men's title earned £21,600 while the women's singles champion earned £19,440. However, the ladies champion was additionally presented with a diamond necklace, donated to the club, valued at £3,000.00, which technically made the ladies prize higher than the gentleman's for the only time in the championships history.


1981 Wimbledon Championships, Champions, Seniors, Men's Doubles
Peter Fleming /  John McEnroe defeated  Bob Lutz /  Stan Smith, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4


1981 Wimbledon Championships, Champions, Seniors, Women's Doubles
Martina Navratilova /  Pam Shriver defeated  Kathy Jordan /  Anne Smith, 6–3, 7–6(8–6)


1981 Wimbledon Championships, Champions, Seniors, Mixed Doubles
Frew McMillan /  Betty Stöve defeated  John Austin /  Tracy Austin, 4–6, 7–6(7–2), 6–3


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Boys' Singles
Matt Anger defeated Pat Cash in the final, 7–6(7–3), 7–5 to win the Boys' Singles tennis title at the 1981 Wimbledon Championships.


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Boys' Singles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' Singles
Zina Garrison defeated Rene Uys in the final, 6–4, 3–6, 6–0 to win the Girls' Singles tennis title at the 1981 Wimbledon Championships.


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' Singles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Doubles
Peter McNamara and Paul McNamee were the defending champions but lost in the semifinals to Bob Lutz and Stan Smith.


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Doubles
Peter Fleming and John McEnroe defeated Lutz and Smith in the final, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 to win the Gentlemen's Doubles title at the 1981 Wimbledon Championships. It earned McEnroe his first singles and doubles title in the same year.


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Doubles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles
John McEnroe defeated the five-time defending champion Björn Borg in a rematch of the previous year's final, 4–6, 7–6(7–1), 7–6(7–4), 6–4, to win the Gentlemen's Singles tennis title at the 1981 Wimbledon Championships. Borg was attempting to equal William Renshaw's record of six consecutive Wimbledon titles and Roy Emerson's all-time record of 12 major titles.


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles
During this tournament, McEnroe famously shouted "You cannot be serious!" to the chair umpire in response to a serve being called "out." The disagreement took place on June 22 during his first round match against Tom Gullikson.


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles, Seeds
Gene Mayer withdrew due to injury. He was replaced in the draw by Lucky Loser Mike Estep.


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles Qualifying
Players who neither had high enough rankings nor received wild cards to enter the main draw of the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championships participated in a qualifying tournament held one week before the event. Several players withdrew from the main draw after qualifying had commenced, leading to the highest ranked players who lost in the final qualifying round to be entered into the main draw as lucky losers.


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Mixed Doubles
Frew McMillan and Betty Stöve defeated the defending champions John and Tracy Austin in the final, 4–6, 7–6(7–2), 6–3 to win the Mixed Doubles tennis title at the 1981 Wimbledon Championships.


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Mixed Doubles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Doubles
Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver defeated the defending champions Kathy Jordan and Anne Smith in the final, 6–3, 7–6(8–6) to win the Ladies' Doubles tennis title at the 1981 Wimbledon Championships.


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Doubles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles
Chris Evert Lloyd defeated Hana Mandlíková in the final, 6–2, 6–2 to win the Ladies' Singles tennis title at the 1981 Wimbledon Championships. The win was her 12th Grand Slam singles title, surpassing Margaret Court's record of 11 titles in the open era. Evonne Goolagong Cawley was the reigning champion, but did not compete due to her second pregnancy.


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles, Seeds
Hana Mandlíková was seeded second, higher than her then current ranking of 5th at the start of the championship, due to her victories in the previous two grand slam singles events in Australia and France. Although perfectly within their remit and rights to alter the seedings from the rankings as they saw fit, the All England Club were petitioned by the WTA, which complained about the arrangement.


1981 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles Qualifying
Players who neither had high enough rankings nor received wild cards to enter the main draw of the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championships participated in a qualifying tournament held one week before the event.


1981 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season
The 1981 Winnipeg Blue Bombers finished in 2nd place in the West Division with an 11–5 record. They appeared in the West Semi-Final but lost 15–11 to the BC Lions.


1981 Winston Western 500 (January)
The 1981 Winston Western 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on January 11, 1981, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.


1981 Winston Western 500 (January)
This race would be the final race where 115-inch wheelbase cars were eligible to run; the field was a mix of 1977 racecars and 1981 models. Dale Earnhardt drove a 1981 Pontiac while race winner Bobby Allison drove a 1977 Monte Carlo. During the early 1980s, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series was plagued with top teams running big engines and finishing in third place to avoid inspection.


1981 Winston Western 500 (January), Summary
While January 11, 1981, started out as a typical rainy day on the West Coast during the winter months, the showers had disappeared around the time of the race.


1981 Winston Western 500 (January), Summary
There were 36 drivers on the grid; all of them were American-born except for Canadian Roy Smith. The last place finisher was Cecil Gordon in his Chevrolet due to engine problems on lap 2 out of 119. Bobby Allison defeated Terry Labonte in front of 35,000 spectators. There were 15 lead changes and six cautions for 31 laps; making the race last three hours and sixteen minutes in length. Darrell Waltrip would qualify for the pole position with a speed of 114.711 miles per hour (184.609 km/h) while the average race speed was 95.263 miles per hour (153.311 km/h). The other drivers in the top ten were: Dale Earnhardt, Richard Childress, Richard Petty, Jim Robinson, Jody Ridley, Elliott Forbes-Robinson, Buddy Arrington, and Don Waterman. Robinson was declared the winner of the West Series division of this combination race.


1981 Winston Western 500 (January), Summary
Notable crew chiefs who actively participated in the race included Junie Donvaley, Jake Elder, Joey Arrington, Darrell Dieringer, Darrell Bryant, Dale Inman, Waddell Wilson, Bud Moore, and Kirk Shelmerdine.


1981 Winston Western 500 (January), Summary
Ricky Rudd would start his "Ironman" streak of being in the NASCAR Cup Series for 24 seasons without missing a single race. The next race after this one would see cars become boxier and smaller; like the compact cars that were trendy in America during the 1980s. West Coast racer John Borneman, a registered West Series driver, finished 12th in this combination race, earning a third-place finish in the West Series standings under NASCAR's combination race policy.


1981 Winston Western 500 (January), Summary
Though it would be his last Cup start, Borneman (whose son would later race at the national level) was primarily a regular at San Diego's Cajon Speedway. This was the final time in NASCAR history that a race would take place prior to the Daytona 500. Also, this race would be the last time that a car owned by a member of the Petty family would have Chevrolet as a manufacturer until the year 2018.


1981 Winston Western 500 (January), Summary
Road course ringer Bob Bondurant made his first Cup race. Harry Dinwiddie and Don Sprouse failed to qualify for the race.


1981 Winston Western 500 (November)
The 1981 Winston Western 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that was held on November 22, 1981, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California. NASCAR ran three Cup Series races at Riverside in 1981.


1981 Winston Western 500 (November)
Richard Childress decided to run a second Junior Johnson car if Darrell Waltrip were to have trouble or if he needed a car to win the championship. However, this was not needed because Darrell Waltrip would clinch his first Winston Cup series championship at this race over Bobby Allison. He would become the first champion not from the Carolinas since Virginia's Joe Weatherly in 1963.


1981 Winston Western 500 (November)
Dave Marcis finished the 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season at Riverside in a Pontiac, after racing in a Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, Dodge, and Chrysler throughout the year.


1981 Winston Western 500 (November), Race report
This race at Riverside during the 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season was used to make up for the loss of the season-ending race at Ontario Motor Speedway. In previous years Riverside had the opening date in January and a race in June. Then they changed it leaving the June Riverside race and putting the second race as the finale from 1982 to 1986 before Atlanta got the finale until 2000. Riverside kept its two races until its last race in June 1988 and the dates went to Sonoma and Phoenix. Then they added a second Pocono race in 1982 but then lost Texas World Speedway. It would be the last time a circuit would have three Cup Series races in a single season until Darlington Raceway earned three dates in the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


1981 Winston Western 500 (November), Race report
It took three hours and sixteen seconds for Bobby Allison to defeat Joe Ruttman by 0.24 seconds in front of 46000 spectators driving Harry Ranier’s No. 28 Hardee’s Buick. There was a battle between Allison and Ruttman for the last 20 laps. Bobby passed Joe with nine laps to go and Ruttman got back alongside Allison several times but was never able to complete the pass. Ruttman got his first of three 2nd-place finishes. Bobby Allison would get his sixth and final NASCAR road course win. All of his victories on the twisty circuits came here at Riverside during a 10-year period from 1971 to 1981. He had 25 top-10s here in 43 starts overall.


1981 Winston Western 500 (November), Race report
Richard Childress would make his final racing appearance here before devoting his career to running Richard Childress Racing. Former Formula One racer Bob Bondurant would retire from the NASCAR Cup Series after this race with his best career finish of 18th place. Seven cautions slowed the race for 33 laps on this road course that spanned 2.620 miles (4.216 km) per lap; for a grand total of 311.8 miles (501.8 km). Darrell Waltrip qualified for the pole position with a speed of 114.981 miles per hour (185.044 km/h) while the average race speed was 95.288 miles per hour (153.351 km/h). This would be the first time in 14 races that Waltrip failed to finish in the top three. Out of the entire 40-driver grid, 38 drivers were American while Roy Smith and Gary Kershaw were Canadians.


1981 Winston Western 500 (November), Race report
Ricky Rudd would finish last with an engine problem on the second lap in his Buick; earning $6,150 in prize winnings ($17,295.19 when inflation is taken into effect). J.D. McDuffie would finish in 11th place; a rarity for a driver with the most last-place finishes in NASCAR history. Joe Millikan would make his final "top five" finish in this race.


1981 Winston Western 500 (November), Race report
Notable crew chiefs for the race included Junie Donlavey, Joey Arrington, Elmo Langley, Jake Elder, Travis Carter, Waddell Wilson, Bud Moore, Tim Brewer, Kirk Shelmerdine, and Dale Inman.


1981 Winter Universiade
The 1981 Winter Universiade, the X Winter Universiade, took place in Jaca, Spain.


1981 Winter Universiade, Medal table
This winter sports-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .


1981 Wisconsin Badgers football team
The 1981 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 1981 Big Ten Conference football season.


1981 Wisconsin Badgers football team
Several Wisconsin players ranked among the Big Ten leaders, including the following:


1981 Wisconsin Badgers football team, Game summaries, Michigan
Wisconsin safety Matt Vanden Boom had three interceptions, including the game-clincher with two seconds left at his own 17. It was the Badgers first win against Michigan since 1962 and the first time they scored points against the Wolverines since 1976.


1981 Women's British Open Squash Championship
The 1981 Women's Pretty Polly British Open Squash Championships was held at the Coral Squash Club in Hove from 20–26 February 1981. The event was won by Vicki Hoffman who defeated Margaret Zachariah in the final.


1981 Women's College World Series
The 1981 AIAW Women's College World Series was held in Norman, Oklahoma on May 21–24. Sixteen Division I college softball teams met in the next-to-last AIAW fastpitch softball tournament of that organization's history. After playing their way through the regular season and regional tournaments, the 16 advancing teams met for the AIAW Division I college softball championship.


1981 Women's College World Series, Teams
Defending champion Utah State won its second national championship by defeating Cal State Fullerton, 4-3, in the "if necessary" game to become the first repeat winner since Arizona State in 1973.


1981 Women's European Volleyball Championship
The 1981 Women's European Volleyball Championship was the twelfth edition of the event, organised by Europe's governing volleyball body, the Confédération Européenne de Volleyball. It was hosted in several cities in Bulgaria from 19 to 27 September 1981, with the final round held in Sofia.


1981 Women's European Volleyball Championship, Format
The tournament was played in two different stages. In the first stage, the twelve participants were divided into three groups of four teams each. In the second stage, two groups were formed, one containing the winners and runners-up from all first stage groups (six teams in total) to contest the tournament title. A second group was formed by the remaining six teams which played for position places (7th to 12th). All groups in both stages played a single round-robin format.


1981 Women's Hockey World Cup
The 1981 Women's Hockey World Cup was the fourth edition of the Women's Hockey World Cup, a field hockey tournament. It was held from the 27 March to 5 April 1981 at the CeNARD in Buenos Aires, Argentina.


1981 Women's Hockey World Cup
West Germany won the tournament for a second time, defeating the Netherlands 3–1 in penalties after the final finished as a 1–1 draw. The Soviet Union finished in third place after defeating Australia 5–1.


1981 Women's Hockey World Cup, Teams
Including the host nation, Argentina, 12 teams participated in the tournament:


1981 Women's Hockey World Cup, Medallists
The following are the squads of the three medalling nations, as well as fourth placed Australia:


1981 Women's Hockey World Cup, Statistics, Final standings
As per statistical convention in field hockey, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.


1981 Women's Junior World Handball Championship
The 1981 Women's Junior World Handball Championship was the 3rd edition of the tournament which took place in Canada from 17 to 25 October.


1981 Women's Junior World Handball Championship
Eleven teams competed in the competition from three continents with three nations debuting in the competition. The gold medal went to the Soviet Union who finished top of the final group round-robin after winning their four games which included a two goal win over second place Yugoslavia. West Germany finished in third place.


1981 Women's Nordic Football Championship
1981 Women's Nordic Football Championship was the eighth edition of the Women's Nordic Football Championship tournament. It was held from 15 July to 19 July in Finland.


1981 Women's World Open (snooker)
The 1981 Women's World Open was a women's snooker tournament that took place in May 1981 at Thorness Bay, organised by the Women's Billiards Association and sponsored by Guinness. It is recognised as the 1981 edition of the World Women's Snooker Championship first held in 1976. Vera Selby defeated Mandy Fisher 3–0 in the final to win the title, receiving £2,000 prize money as champion.


1981 Women's World Open (snooker)
Defending champion Lesley McIlrath was beaten 2–3 in the quarter-finals by Sue Foster. Selby, the 1976 champion did not lose a frame during the tournament. In reaching the final she beat Mandy Walton 2–0, then recorded 3–0 wins over Grace Cayley, Maryann McConnell and Foster. Fisher had wins over Ann Johnson and Fran Lovis on her route to the final and received £1,000 as runner-up. Clive Everton wrote of the tournament "Mrs Selby's cool temperament, sure grasp of tactics and safety play overcame technically more gifted players."


1981 Women's World Open Squash Championship
The 1981 Women's World Open Squash Championship was the women's edition of the 1981 World Open, which serves as the individual world championship for squash players. The event took place in Toronto in Canada during October 1981. Rhonda Thorne won the World Open title, defeating Vicki Cardwell in the final.


1981 Women's World Team Squash Championships
The 1981 Women's W.I.S.R.F World Team Squash Championships were held in Canada and took place from October 25 until November 2, 1981.


1981 World 600
The 1981 World 600, the 22nd running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on May 24, 1981 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. Contested over 400 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) speedway, it was the 13th race of the 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Bobby Allison of Ranier-Lundy won the race.


1981 World 600, Background
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious World 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the National 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI).


1981 World 600, Race report
This race was the last Winston Cup start for 1970 Rookie of the Year Bill Dennis. Kyle Petty would get his first career top five finish. During the early 1980s, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series was plagued with top teams running big engines and finishing in third place to avoid inspection.


1981 World 600, Race report
Donnie Allison's career was effectively ended after he sustained a serious head injury when his car hit the wall on lap 146. Polesitter Neil Bonnett was the early leader but crashed trying to keep Cale Yarborough a lap down midway through the race. They were racing back to the flag when Bonnett hit a slower car on lap 210.


1981 World 600, Race report
After Bonnett retired, Bobby Allison had the dominant car, winning by a comfortable margin over 2nd-place Harry Gant.


1981 World Allround Speed Skating Championships
The World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men took place on 14 and 15 February 1981 in Oslo at the Bislett Stadion ice rink.


1981 World Allround Speed Skating Championships for women
The 42nd edition of the World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Women took place on 6 and 7 February in Sainte-Foy, Quebec City at the Gaétan-Boucher ice rink.


1981 World Archery Championships
The 1981 World Archery Championships was the 31st edition of the World Archery Championships. The event was held in Punta Ala, Italy in June 1981 and was organised by World Archery Federation (FITA).


1981 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 21st Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Moscow, the capital of the USSR, in November 1981. The championships were originally meant to be hosted in Mexico City, but financial difficulties caused Mexico to withdraw as hosts in March of that year. The event was given to the Soviet Union instead.


1981 World Championship Tennis Finals
The 1981 World Championship Tennis Finals was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 11th edition of the WCT Finals and was part of the 1981 Volvo Grand Prix. The tournament was played at the Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas in the United States and was held from April 27 through May 3, 1981. The winners of the eight WCT tournaments that were part of the 1981 Grand Prix circuit qualified for the tournament augmented by the next best performers in the WCT points standings.


1981 World Championship Tennis Finals
Guillermo Vilas qualified by winning the last tournament held just before the WCT Finals, the River Oaks Tournament in Houston, but was unavailable to play. Jimmy Connors withdrew before the tournament due to gastroenteritis and Yannick Noah could not participate due to a shoulder injury. They were replaced by Sandy Mayer and Sam Giammalva respectively. John McEnroe won the title and $100,000 prize money.


1981 World Championship Tennis Finals, Hall of Fame Classic
During the tournament a Hall of Fame Classic event was organized featuring four former Grand Slam tournament winners Ken Rosewall, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and John Newcombe. Rosewall won the event, defeating Newcombe in the final 4–6, 7–6, 6–4.


1981 World Championship Tennis Finals – Singles
Jimmy Connors was the defending champion but did not compete that year.


1981 World Championship Tennis Finals – Singles
John McEnroe won in the final 6–1, 6–2, 6–4 against Johan Kriek.


1981 World Championship Tennis Finals – Singles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.


1981 World Fencing Championships
The 1981 World Fencing Championships were held in Clermont-Ferrand, France. The event was held between July 2-13, 1981.


1981 World Figure Skating Championships
The 1981 World Figure Skating Championships were held in Hartford, Connecticut, USA from March 3 to 8. At the event, sanctioned by the International Skating Union, medals were awarded in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.


1981 World Figure Skating Championships
The ISU Representative was Olaf Poulsen and the ISU Technical Delegate was Josef Dědič.


1981 World Figure Skating Championships
The judging system was modified since 1980. For the singles events, the short program was worth 20% and the free skating 50% while the value of compulsory figures was reduced to 30% of the final result. The rank in each category was multiplied with a factor and these three numbers were added to the total score. The factor for the compulsory figures was 0.6, for the short program 0.4 and for the free skating 1.0. The rank within these three categories were judged according to the 6.0-judging system. In pairs, the short program had the factor 0.4 and the free skating 1.0. The ranks within the two pair categories were also judged according to the 6.0-judging system.


1981 World Games
The 1981 World Games were the first World Games, an international multi-sport event, and were held in Santa Clara, California in the United States. The games featured sports that were not included in the Olympics, including tug-of-war, racquetball, baseball and softball, artistic roller skating, roller hockey, roller speed skating, finswimming, karate, women's water polo, bowling, bodybuilding, waterskiing, casting, badminton, trampoline, powerlifting and taekwondo. Best estimates for attendance figures were that about 80,000 spectators witnessed the first World Games.


1981 World Games, Implementation
The World Games Council was formed independently of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and adopted policies designed to avoid problems that had plagued the Olympic Games for several decades. For example, construction of new facilities was not required or encouraged. Any flags displayed at ceremonies and Games sites were limited to the flags of the participating sports federations. No national anthems were played nor national flags displayed. Athletes entered the opening ceremonies grouped by sport under individual federation banners rather than by country. Athletes also were housed according to sport. The respective sport federations paid for each athlete's housing, food and airfare.


1981 World Games, Implementation
The decision to stage World Games I was finalized in January, 1981. The organizing efforts were seriously set back when the Games' promotions agency, Global Sports Management of New York, pulled out in the final months. "It's a humble beginning to what we think is going to be a hard-earned, but successful and regularly-held international event. It's a miracle it is taking place at all," said World Games I promotions and sales coordinator Kent Hertenrath.


1981 World Games, Implementation
Kim Un-yong, president of the World Games executive committee, opened the Games with a brief address. “Our theme is sport for the sake of sport and a total disregard for where an athlete comes from,” said Kim. Casey Conrad, executive director of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, represented U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who had survived an assassination attempt four months earlier, in greeting the athletes. Governor of California Jerry Brown had planned to attend the opening ceremonies. But that summer, when Mediterranean fruit flies were discovered in the Santa Clara Valley, Brown withdrew to focus on emergency eradication efforts.


1981 World Games, Implementation
The Soviet Union had been invited to send athletes but, in the aftermath of the boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, instead worked to prevent the competition from ever occurring. An event-day official of the casting governing body said that it had located the casting venue on land, which was preferred by the eastern bloc nations, instead of on water, as was the usual practice, in a failed effort to encourage their participation (personal communication, August 1, 1981).


1981 World Games, Implementation
Games secretary-general Don Porter said that some of the problems encountered in the first World Games were created by the International Olympic Committee, especially the eastern bloc countries. Porter said that the national Olympic committees of these countries, as well as the IOC, had intensely pressured the World Games. He stated, “I think the International Olympic Committee is very concerned about World Games. We’re not competing with the Olympic Games. We support the Olympic movement.”


1981 World Games, Implementation
In fact, the World Games were organized to welcome both Olympic and non-Olympic sports. The sport governing bodies that were members of the World Games Council desired to be accepted eventually into the Olympic Games. Looking to the future, the Council sought to rule out the potential for the IOC to deny a sport’s Olympic acceptance based on an exclusion of the Olympic sports from the World Games program. Therefore, the World Games Council encouraged the participation of the sport federations of the Olympic Games.


1981 World Games, Implementation
Indeed, the Olympic sport of boxing was to have been contested in these games and was featured on organizers' promotional materials. However, AIBA withdrew the sport from the program in the weeks before the opening of the games because of IOC disapproval. Don Porter stated that, according to the president of AIBA, Don Hall, the IOC threatened to exclude boxing from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics if AIBA participated in the World Games.


1981 World Games, Implementation
In the morning after the close of these Games, U.S. air traffic controllers went on a nationwide strike, leaving some athletes temporarily stranded.


1981 World Games, Implementation
As for the competition, Games officials expressed great satisfaction. Kim said, "The important thing was the competition, and in that regard, the Games were a big success." Kim presented the city of Santa Clara with the first official Games flag.


1981 World Games, Implementation
The executive director of World Games I, John Bragg, envisioned more than 50 sports participating in future events. "[H]opefully we will set the trend for many World Games to come. ... ," he said. "People here are beginning to realize that this is not just another competition. We could really revolutionize and clean out some of the negative aspects of international sports." At the time, the World Games Council planned to hold the Games every two years and received presentations during the 1981 Games from prospective cities to host the 1983 edition, with London said to be the front-runner.


1981 World Games, Participants
58 nations sent athletes to the first World Games. The People’s Republic of China was the only communist country represented. (Poland was expected but evidently did not show.) China had not participated in a summer international multi-sport competition since the 1936 Summer Olympics. China participated only in badminton, capturing four of the five gold medals.


1981 World Games, Participants
World records in waterskiing and powerlifting highlighted the first weekend of competition. Ana Maria Carrasco of Venezuela broke her own world record in waterskiing tricks. In the 100kg class in powerlifting, Jim Cash of the U.S. set world records in both dead lift and total lift.


1981 World Games, Participants
Two athletes each won four individual gold medals in these games: Steve Rajeff of the U.S. in casting and Juergen Kolenda of West Germany in finswimming. Tom Peterson of the U.S., in roller speed skating, and Anne-Marie Rouchon of France, in finswimming, won three each.


1981 World Games, Sports
For seven World Games sports, according to their federation presidents at the time, the strongest competition ever held in those individual events was fielded at these Games. 104 titles were awarded in 16 sports, including one belatedly designated an "invitational" or demonstration sport. An invitational sport program did not exist at the time. An agreement was reached with FINA in the lead-up to the games not to allow women's water polo athletes to march in the opening ceremony, to assuage the displeasure of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for its being included in the program.


1981 World Games, Medal table
The medal tally during the first World Games follows. The United States was at the top of the final medal table.


1981 World Games, Gallery
Dr. Kim Un-yong of South Korea opens World Games I.


1981 World Games, Gallery
Arnold Schwarzenegger, winner of seven consecutive world championships, carries the flag of the International Federation of Bodybuilders in the opening ceremony of World Games I in 1981 at Santa Clara University, California.


1981 World Games, Gallery
World Games I athletes grouped by sport at the inaugural opening ceremony; tug of war pulling area marked on foreground for first ever World Games event, which followed the ceremony


1981 World Games, Gallery
Men's 720 kg tug of war final scoreboard at World Games I


1981 World Games, Gallery
Artistic skating ladies singles gold, silver and bronze medalists (l to r) Anna Conklin (USA), Elena Bonati (ITA) and Tina Kneisley (USA) acknowledge the crowd at the medal ceremony.


1981 World Games, Gallery
Artistic roller skating pairs gold medalists, Tina Kneisley and Paul Price (USA)


1981 World Games, Gallery
Sylvia Gingras and Guy Aubin (CAN), bronze medalists in pairs artistic roller skating at the 1981 World Games


1981 World Games, Gallery
Australia's baseball team at World Games I in 1981 at San Jose Municipal Stadium


1981 World Games, Gallery
Korean baseball fans cheer for their team at World Games I.


1981 World Games, Gallery
Casting - Multiplier Distance Single Handed gold, silver and bronze medalists, respectively – Steve Rajeff (USA), Chris Korich (USA) and Zack Willson (USA)


1981 World Games, Gallery
Casting competition at San Jose, California, during World Games I


1981 World Games, Gallery
Casting - Multiplier Distance Double Handed gold, silver and bronze medalists, respectively: Chris Korich (USA), Art Walker (CAN) and Keith Pryor (USA)


1981 World Games, Gallery
Medals podium for the unofficial men's finswimming 4x200m relay, with Italy II on top (time 6:30.16) and Sweden, the next single-nationality team, in third place. Other swimmers stood in for the second-place team of two West German and two French athletes.


1981 World Games, Gallery
World Games I Pairs Artistic Skating medalists after podium ceremony, July 1981


1981 World Games, Gallery
World Games I Pairs Artistic Skating medals podium, July 1981


1981 World Games, Gallery
World Games I Ladies Artistic Skating medals podium, July 1981


1981 World Games, Gallery
World Games I Women's Softball, Bahamas post-game celebration, August 1981. After the bronze-medal clinching women's softball game, Bahamian fans staged an impromptu celebration that wound its way around the perimeter of the field, with continual singing, dancing, music and Caribbean beats.


1981 World Indoor Bowls Championship
The 1981 Embassy World Indoor Bowls Championship  was held at the Coatbridge indoor bowling club, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, from 24 February - 1 March 1981.


1981 World Indoor Bowls Championship
David Bryant won his third consecutive title beating Ron Thomas in the final.


1981 World Judo Championships
The 1981 World Judo Championships were the 12th edition of the Men's World Judo Championships, and were held in Maastricht, Netherlands from 3–6 September, 1981.


1981 World Junior Curling Championships
The 1981 World Junior Curling Championships were held from March 7 to 14 in Megève, France for men's teams only.


1981 World Junior Figure Skating Championships
The 1981 World Junior Figure Skating Championships were held on December 8–14, 1980 in London, Ontario, Canada. Commonly called "World Juniors" and "Junior Worlds", the event determined the World Junior champions in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.


1981 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
The 1981 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (1981 WJHC) was the fifth edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship and was held from December 27, 1980, until January 2, 1981. The tournament was held in Füssen, West Germany. Sweden won the gold medal, while Finland won the silver, and the Soviet Union bronze.


1981 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Pool A
The 1981 tournament divided participants into two divisions of four teams, each playing three games. The top two teams in each division advanced to the A division in the medal round, while the bottom two were placed in a B division. Each division played another round robin. The top three teams in the A division won the gold, silver and bronze medals. Teams that faced each other in the first round had their results carried over to the medal rounds.


1981 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Pool A, Final standings
This is the aggregate standings, ordered according to final placing. The four teams in the A division in the medal round were ranked one through four, while the four teams in the B division were ranked five through eight regardless of overall record.


1981 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Pool A, Final standings
Austria was relegated to Pool B for the 1982 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.


1981 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Pool A, Consolation round
Results from any games played during the preliminary round were carried forward to the consolation round.


1981 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Pool A, Championship round
Results from any games played during the preliminary round were carried forward to the championship round.


1981 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Pool B
The second tier was contested from March 23–29, in Strasbourg, France. Eight teams were divided into two round robin groups where the top two, and bottom two, graduated to meet their respective opponents in a final round robin. Results between competitors who migrated together were carried forward. Yugoslavia made their debut, replacing Hungary.


1981 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Pool B, Consolation round
Results from any games played during the preliminary round were carried forward to the consolation round.


1981 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Pool B, Promotion round
Results from any games played during the preliminary round were carried forward to the promotion round.


1981 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Pool B, Promotion round
Switzerland was promoted to Pool A for the 1982 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.


1981 World Juniors Track Cycling Championships
The 1981 UCI Juniors Track World Championships were the seventh annual Junior World Championship for track cycling held in Grimma, Leipzig, West Germany in August 1981.


1981 World Juniors Track Cycling Championships
The Championships had five events for men only, Sprint, Points race, Individual pursuit, Team pursuit and 1 kilometre time trial.


1981 World Lifesaving Championships
The 1981 Lifesaving World Championships were conducted between 1–3 May 1981 at Kuta Beach on the island of Bali in Indonesia. They were held under the auspices of World Lifesaving (WLS), one of the two precursor organisations to the International Life Saving Federation (ILS). 15 Ocean and Beach events were held purely for competitors representing their club teams. Some 47 club teams participated from 5 countries including Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.


1981 World Masters Athletics Championships
The fourth World Masters Athletics Championships were held in Christchurch, New Zealand, from January 7-14, 1981. The World Masters Athletics Championships serve the division of the sport of athletics for people over 35 years of age, referred to as masters athletics.


1981 World Masters Athletics Championships
A full range of track and field events were held, along with a cross country race and a marathon.


1981 World Orienteering Championships
The 1981 World Orienteering Championships, the 9th World Orienteering Championships, were held in Thun, Switzerland, 3–5 September 1981.


1981 World Orienteering Championships
The championships had four events: individual contests for men and women, and relays for men and women.


1981 World Outdoor Bowls Championship
The 1981 Women's World Outdoor Bowls Championship  was held at the Willowdale Bowling Club in Toronto, Canada, from 1–15 August 1981. Swaziland replaced Samoa two weeks before the competition started due to the Samoan General StrikeNorma Shaw of England won the singles Gold and double world champion Elsie Wilkie struggled with the difficult greens finishing last of 18. The Pairs went to Ireland, the Triples to Hong Kong and the Fours to England. The Taylor Trophy was won by the English team.


1981 World Rally Championship
The 1981 World Rally Championship was the ninth season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 12 rallies. While this number was the same as the previous year, one change was made to the schedule, replacing New Zealand with the Brazil.


1981 World Rally Championship
The 1981 World Rally Championship for Drivers was won by Ari Vatanen driving a Rothmans Rally Team Ford Escort RS1800, the only time a privateer team has won the Drivers' Championship until 2017. The Makes' Championship was won by Talbot with their Sunbeam Lotus. It also saw the beginning of a new era in the sport with the arrival of the Audi Quattro, the first four-wheel drive rally car. Initially regarded as too heavy and complex for rally stages, it proved its worth with three wins in its debut season, including a maiden victory for Michèle Mouton at the Rallye Sanremo, the only woman to win a WRC event.


1981 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships
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1981 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships
1981 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were held in Munich, West Germany on October 17 – 20th 1981.


1981 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, Participants
The following countries sent competitor(s) Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, East Germany, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, USSR, West Germany & Yugoslavia


1981 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, Participants, Groups
Countries who participated in the group competition are as follows.


1981 World Rowing Championships
The 1981 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August to 6 September 1981 at Oberschleißheim outside Munich, West Germany.


1981 World Sambo Championships
The 1981 World Sambo Championships were held in Madrid, Spain on February/March 1981. Championships were organized by FILA.


1981 World Series
The 1981 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1981 season. The 78th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the National League (NL) champion Los Angeles Dodgers. It marked their third Series meeting in five years and was their 11th overall Series meeting. The Dodgers won the Series in six games, as the Yankees had done in the teams' prior two Series meetings, in 1977 and 1978. This was the Dodgers' first title since 1965, their first victory over the Yankees since 1963, and third overall Series win over the Yankees.


1981 World Series
This is the most recent World Series that a team won after losing the first two games on the road. This was the last meeting between teams from New York City and Los Angeles for a major professional sports championship until the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers reached the NHL's 2014 Stanley Cup Finals. This remains the most recent meeting between the Dodgers and the Yankees in the World Series, which has been the most frequent matchup in World Series history.


1981 World Series, Background
Due to the players' strike, which ran from June 12 to August 8, the 1981 season was split into two halves, with the first-place teams from each half in each division (or a wild card team if the same club won both halves, although this did not occur in any division) meeting in the best-of-five League Division Series (this division series was a one-off occasion; it was not until 1994 that the Division Series would be implemented on a permanent basis). The four survivors would then move on to the two best-of-five League Championship Series. The expanded playoffs led to Game 1 of the World Series being pushed back to October 20, the latest starting date for a Fall Classic up to that time.


1981 World Series, Background
In the National League, the Dodgers led the National League West prior to the strike. The Houston Astros, however, won the second-half division title. The Dodgers then defeated the Astros, three games to two, in the National League Division Series before beating the Montreal Expos, three games to two, in the National League Championship Series.


1981 World Series, Background
The Yankees, who led the American League East in the season's first half, took on the Milwaukee Brewers, winners of the second half division title, in the American League Division Series. New York was victorious three games to two, then went on to sweep the Oakland Athletics in the American League Championship Series.


1981 World Series, Background
The split-season decision was not a popular one, both among teams and their fans. The arrangement resulted in teams with the best overall record in either their division or league that year, in particular the Cincinnati Reds (the majors' best team with 66-42), being left out of the postseason along with the St. Louis Cardinals which lead the NL East with an overall record of 59-43 and a winning percentage of 0.578. Though the teams with the best record in the American League East and West did win their divisions, the Yankees finished 3rd overall in the AL East while the Kansas City Royals finished 4th overall with a losing 50-53 record.


1981 World Series, Background, Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers got to the Series with help from Mexican-born rookie phenom Fernando Valenzuela, who won his first eight games including five by shutout. Valenzuela would pitch eight shutouts in all and win both the National League's Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards. Joining Valenzuela in the rotation were veterans Burt Hooton (11–6, 2.28) and Jerry Reuss (10–4, 2.30). The core of the position players remained intact with perennial all-star Steve Garvey at first, Davey Lopes at second, Bill Russell at shortstop, and team leader in home runs with 13, Ron Cey at third. Budding star, Pedro Guerrero, would move to the outfield becoming a regular starter for the first time in his career, in place of the aging and often injured Reggie Smith.


1981 World Series, Background, Los Angeles Dodgers
Manager Tommy Lasorda was looking for his first World Series win in his fifth full season with the Dodgers after losing to the Yankees in 1977 and 1978.


1981 World Series, Background, New York Yankees
The Yankees, managed by Bob Lemon (in his second stint, having replaced Gene Michael), had a losing second-half (25–26) but won the first-half (34–22) to qualify for the playoffs. Ace starter Ron Guidry won 11 games against while rookie Dave Righetti emerged as an important starter, winning eight games with a 2.05 ERA. Righetti would win the American League's Rookie of the Year award. Reliever Goose Gossage recorded 20 saves with an 0.77 ERA, striking out 48 in 47 innings.


1981 World Series, Background, New York Yankees
Dave Winfield was signed as a free agent in the off-season, joined another all-star, Reggie Jackson, in the outfield. Winfield led the Yankees with 25 doubles and 68 RBIs. Winfield's huge contract (US$21 million over 10 years), was added to an already strong lineup. While the Yankees boasted a well-balanced squad, the Dodgers were not to be denied their first World Series title in 16 years.


1981 World Series, Summary
NL Los Angeles Dodgers (4) vs. AL New York Yankees (2)