1981 South Korean presidential election, Background
He then revised the Constitution on 27 October 1980. The revised constitution was slightly less authoritarian than its predecessor. Among other things, it changed the presidential election system. Although it was still an indirect election by the electoral college, opposition candidates were now allowed to enter. However, this had no effect on the political landscape. Chun had jailed most actual opposition politicians, including former NDP chairman Kim Young-sam, 1971 NDP presidential nominee Kim Dae-jung, and former prime minister Kim Jong-pil.


1981 South Korean presidential election, Presidential nominations
The Democratic Justice Party (DJP) National Convention was held on 15 January at Jamsil Gymnasium in Seoul. At the convention, 3,162 delegates from around the nation nominated the sitting President Chun Doo-hwan without a vote.


1981 South Korean presidential election, Presidential nominations
The Democratic Korea Party (DKP) National Convention was held on 17 January at the Sejong Center for Performing Arts in Seoul. Yu Chi-song, a former 3-term lawmaker from Gyeonggi, was nominated as the party's candidate for president.


1981 South Korean presidential election, Presidential nominations
The Korea Nationalist Party (KNP) National Convention was held on 23 January at the Sejong Center for Performing Arts, and saw Kim Chong-cheol, a former five-term lawmaker from South Chungcheong, nominated.


1981 South Korean presidential election, Presidential nominations
The Civil Rights Party National Convention was held on 23 January at the Cheondo Hall; Kim Eui-taek, a former four-term lawmaker from South Jeolla was chosen as the party's candidate.


1981 South Korean presidential election, Presidential nominations
Other political parties including the Democratic Socialist Party, the Socialist Party and the New Politics Party announced they would not be participating in the elections as they were not capable of finding viable candidates for president or the electoral college.


1981 South Korean presidential election, Electoral College election
According to official figures, 78.1% of registered voters voted, and gave Chun's DJP a large majority in the electoral college. The DJP won three times as many seats as independent candidates, and nine times as many seats as the largest opposition party, the Democratic Korea Party.


1981 South Korean presidential election, Electoral College vote
In order to be elected, a candidate had to receive the vote of over 50% of the incumbent members of the Electoral College. Of the 5,277 electors who were elected on 11 February and had not been removed from office (one member was removed in Busan), this meant 2,639 votes were needed to win. Sitting president Chun Doo-hwan was re-elected by a landslide on 25 February with 4,755 votes, 90.11% of the total possible. However, the DJP's large majority in the electoral college meant Chun's election was all but assured.


1981 South Korean presidential election, Aftermath
The term of the newly elected president officially began on the day the electoral votes were cast and counted, 25 February. The inauguration ceremony took place on 3 March. This marked the official beginning of the Fifth Republic of Korea, a dictatorial regime that lasted until democratization in 1988.


1981 South Pacific Mini Games
The 1981 South Pacific Mini Games were held at Honiara in the Solomon Islands from 8–16 July 1981. It was the first edition of the South Pacific Mini Games.


1981 South Pacific Mini Games, Sports
Five sports were contested at the 1981 South Pacific Mini Games:


1981 South Pacific Mini Games, Notes
For the 1981 Mini Games, almost 600 contestants were expected to take part.


1981 South Yorkshire County Council election
Elections to South Yorkshire County Council, a metropolitan county council in the north east of England, were held on 7 May 1981, resulting in a council with Labour members forming a majority.


1981 South Yorkshire County Council election
This was the last election to the South Yorkshire county council, as metropolitan county councils were abolished in 1986.


1981 Southeast Asian Games
The 1981 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 11th Southeast Asian Games, was a multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines from 6 to 15 December 1981. This was the first time that the Philippines hosted the Games since its first participation in 1977. Philippines is the sixth nation to host the Southeast Asian Games after Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. The event was officially opened by President Ferdinand Marcos and the cauldron was lit by Benjamin Silva-Netto. The colourful opening ceremony was held in the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.


1981 Southeast Asian Games
A new football stadium and indoor arena was built in Pasig named the University of Life Track & Field and Arena or the ULTRA, now called the PhilSports Complex. The adjacent apartments were used as the athlete's quarters and was converted into a BLISS housing project of First Lady Imelda Marcos. The final medal tally was led by Indonesia, followed by Thailand and host Philippines.


1981 Southeast Asian Games
More than 2,200 athletes and officials participated in the Manila Games.


1981 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament
The 1981 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament was held at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville, MS from May 15th through May 17th. Florida won the tournament and earned the Southeastern Conference's automatic bid to the 1981 NCAA Tournament.


1981 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1981 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament took place from February 28–March 7, 1981. The quarterfinal round was hosted at campus sites, while the semifinals and finals were hosted at the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, Virginia. The Chattanooga Mocs, led by head coach Murray Arnold, won their first Southern Conference title and received the automatic berth to the 1981 NCAA Tournament.


1981 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
The top eight finishers of the conference's nine members were eligible for the tournament. Teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage. The tournament used a preset bracket consisting of three rounds.


1981 Southern Illinois Salukis football team
The 1981 Southern Illinois Salukis football team was an American football team that represented Southern Illinois University (now known as Southern Illinois University Carbondale) in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. Under sixth-year head coach Rey Dempsey, the team compiled a 7–4 record. The team played its home games at McAndrew Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.


1981 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team
The 1981 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team was an American football team that represented the University of Southern Mississippi as an independent during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their seventh year under head coach Bobby Collins, the team compiled a 9–2–1 record.


1981 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1981 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held March 3–5 at a combination of on-campus gymnasiums and the Beaumont Civic Center in Beaumont, Texas. This was the first edition of the tournament.


1981 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Lamar defeated Louisiana Tech in the championship game, 83–69, to win their first Southland men's basketball tournament.


1981 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The Cardinals, in turn, received a bid to the 1981 NCAA Tournament. They were the only Southland member invited to the tournament.


1981 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
All six of the conference's members participated in the tournament field. They were seeded based on regular season conference records, with the top two teams earning byes into the semifinal round. The other four teams entered into the preliminary first round. A third-place game was held on the last day.


1981 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
First Round games were played at the home court of the higher-seeded team. All remaining games were played at the Beaumont Civic Center in Beaumont, Texas, the home court of regular season champion Lamar.


1981 Southwest Conference Baseball Tournament
The 1981 Southwest Conference Baseball Tournament was the league's annual postseason tournament used to determine the Southwest Conference's (SWC) automatic bid to the 1981 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. The tournament was held from May 15 through May 17 at Disch–Falk Field on the campus of The University of Texas in Austin, TX.


1981 Southwest Conference Baseball Tournament
The number 1 seed Texas Longhorns went 3-0 to win the team's 3rd SWC Tournament under head coach Cliff Gustafson.


1981 Southwest Conference Baseball Tournament, Format and seeding
The tournament featured the top four finishers of the SWC's 8 teams in a double-elimination tournament.


1981 Southwest Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1981 Southwest Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held March 5-7, 1981 at HemisFair Arena in San Antonio, TX. The first round took place on March 2 at the higher seeded campus sites.


1981 Southwest Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Number 2 seed Houston defeated 6 seed Texas 84-59 to win their 2nd championship and receive the conference's automatic bid to the 1981 NCAA Tournament.


1981 Southwest Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format and Seeding
The tournament consisted of 9 teams in a single-elimination tournament. The 3 seed received a bye to the Quarterfinals and the 1 and 2 seed received a bye to the Semifinals.


1981 Southwest Texas State Bobcats football team
The 1981 Southwest Texas State Bobcats football team was an American football team that represented Southwest Texas State University—now known as Texas State University–as a member of the Lone Star Conference (LSC) during the 1981 NCAA Division II football season. The Bobcats played their home games at the newly opened Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos, Texas. Led by third-year head coach Jim Wacker, Southwest Texas State compiled an overall record of 13–1 and claimed the LSC title with a conference mark of 6–1. They won the NCAA Division II Football Championship with a win over North Dakota State, 42–13, in the Palm Bowl.


1981 Southwestern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team
The 1981 Southwestern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team was an American football team that represented the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now known as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) in the Southland Conference during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second year under head coach Sam Robertson, the team compiled a 1–9–1 record.


1981 Soviet Cup
The 1981 Soviet Cup was an association football cup competition of the Soviet Union. The winner of the competition, SKA Rostov qualified for the continental tournament.


1981 Soviet Cup, Competition schedule, Group stage
Games took place between February 20 – March 5, 1981.


1981 Soviet First League
The 1981 Soviet First League was the eleventh season of the Soviet First League and the 41st season of the Soviet second tier league competition.


1981 Soviet Second League
1981 Soviet Second League was a Soviet competition in the Soviet Second League.


1981 Soviet Second League, Qualifying groups, Group V [Ukraine]
1981 Football Championship of Ukrainian SSR was the 51st season of association football competition of the Ukrainian SSR, which was part of the Soviet Second League in Zone 5. The season started on 4 April 1981.


1981 Soviet Second League, Qualifying groups, Group V [Ukraine]
The 1981 Football Championship of Ukrainian SSR was won by Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih. Qualified for the interzonal playoffs, the team from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast did not manage to gain promotion by placing second in its group.


1981 Soviet Second League, Qualifying groups, Group V [Ukraine]
The "Ruby Cup" of Molod Ukrayiny newspaper (for the most scored goals) was received by Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih.


1981 Soviet Second League, Zone 5
1981 Football Championship of Ukrainian SSR was the 51st season of association football competition of the Ukrainian SSR, which was part of the Soviet Second League in Zone 5. The season started on 4 April 1981.


1981 Soviet Second League, Zone 5
The 1981 Football Championship of Ukrainian SSR was won by Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih. Qualified for the interzonal playoffs, the team from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast did not manage to gain promotion by placing second in its group.


1981 Soviet Second League, Zone 5
The "Ruby Cup" of Molod Ukrayiny newspaper (for the most scored goals) was received by Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih.


1981 Soviet Top League, Overview
It was contested by 18 teams, and Dynamo Kyiv won the championship.


1981 Soviet nuclear tests
The Soviet Union's 1981 nuclear test series was a group of 21 nuclear tests conducted in 1981. These tests  followed the 1980 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1982 Soviet nuclear tests series.


1981 Spanish Grand Prix
The 1981 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 21 June 1981 at the Circuito Permanente del Jarama, Jarama, Spain.


1981 Spanish Grand Prix, Summary
The 1981 Spanish Grand Prix featured the second closest finish ever of a Formula One race: after Gilles Villeneuve's Ferrari, the four following cars finished in just 1.24 seconds. This was Villeneuve's last victory, often regarded as his tactical masterpiece.


1981 Spanish Grand Prix, Summary
There were some changes for this race: Eliseo Salazar had left March to join Ensign, replacing Marc Surer. Also, John Player Special sponsorship and livery returned to Team Lotus after a 2-year hiatus.


1981 Spanish Grand Prix, Summary
The pole went to Jacques Laffite on his Ligier-Matra with the two Williams-Cosworth of Alan Jones and Carlos Reutemann second and third ahead of John Watson's McLaren, Alain Prost's Renault and the Alfa Romeo of Bruno Giacomelli. Gilles Villeneuve was seventh.


1981 Spanish Grand Prix, Summary
Race day was unusually hot. At the beginning of the race Jones and Reutemann went into the lead, as Laffite made a poor start. Villeneuve jumped into third place at the first corner, damaging Prost's front wing as he took the position. At the end of the first lap Villeneuve pulled out of Reutemann's slipstream and took second place. Jones began to build a lead but on lap 14 he went off the track, when he was 10 seconds ahead of the Canadian.


1981 Spanish Grand Prix, Summary
This left Villeneuve with Reutemann on his tail. Behind them Watson, Laffite and Elio de Angelis began to close on the dueling leaders. Reutemann was having some trouble with his gearbox and when Laffite arrived behind him there was little the Argentinian could do to stop him from overtaking. Reutemann would later drop behind Watson. The five front-runners became a train of cars, packed together for the remaining laps of the race.


1981 Spanish Grand Prix, Summary
Villeneuve used the power of his Ferrari engine on the straight to gain a little margin and not get overtaken by his rivals, but in the corners they were all over him. Many times Laffite pulled alongside the Canadian as they went out a corner but the Ferrari would stay ahead as the horsepower kicked in. The five remained locked together right to the flag, crossing the line covered by just 1.24 seconds to record the second-closest race in the history of Formula One.


1981 Spanish Grand Prix, Summary
This would be the last Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama, owing to criticism of the track being too narrow for modern Formula One, the unpleasant conditions and the small crowd (the small turn-out was probably due to the backlash of the previous year's race not being counted as a World Championship race, the announcement was made on the weekend itself); and the last Spanish Grand Prix until the 1986 season, when it would be held at the newly built Jerez circuit in the south of the country.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt
The 1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt (Spanish: Intento de Golpe de Estado de España de 1981), known in Spain by the numeronym 23-F and also known as the Tejerazo, was an attempted coup d'état or putsch in Spain on 23 February 1981. Lieutenant-Colonel Antonio Tejero led 200 armed Civil Guard officers into the Congress of Deputies during the vote to elect a President of the Government. The officers held the parliamentarians and ministers hostage for 18 hours, during which time King Juan Carlos I denounced the coup in a televised address, calling for rule of law and the democratic government to continue. Though shots were fired, the hostage-takers surrendered the next morning without killing anyone.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Background
The coup attempt was linked to the Spanish transition to democracy. Four factors generated tensions that the governing Democratic Center Union coalition of conservative parties could not contain:


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Background
The first signs of unease in the army appeared in April 1977. Admiral Pita da Veiga resigned as Navy minister and formed the Superior Council of the Army. This was a result of Da Veiga's disagreement with the legalisation of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) on 9 April 1977, following the Atocha massacre by neo-fascist terrorists. In November 1978, the Operation Galaxia military putsch was put down. Its leader, Lieutenant-Colonel Antonio Tejero, was sentenced to seven months in prison.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Background
While seditious sentiments grew in sectors of the military and extreme right, the government faced a serious crisis at the beginning of the decade, and its position became increasingly untenable in the course of 1980.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Background
Key events saw the resignation of the Minister of Culture, Manuel Clavero Arévalo on 15 January; the restructuring of the government on 3 May; the motion of no confidence against Adolfo Suarez moved by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) between 28 May and 30 May; the resignation on 22 July of the vice-president, Fernando Abril Martorell, which produced a new reshuffle in September; and the election in October of Miguel Herrero Rodríguez de Miñón, alternative candidate of the official bid for president of the centrist parliamentary group promoted by Suárez.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Background
The growing weakness of Suárez at the heart of his own party led to his televised resignation as prime minister and president of the UCD on 29 January 1981. On 1 February, the "Almendros Collective" published an openly insurgent article in the far-right newspaper El Alcázar, which was the mouthpiece of the Búnker hardliners, including Carlos Arias Navarro, Luis Carrero Blanco's successor as Prime minister, and the leader of the francoist party Fuerza Nueva, Blas Piñar.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Background
From 2 to 4 February, the King and Queen traveled to Guernica, where the deputies of Basque separatist party Herri Batasuna received them with boos and hisses and various incidents. On 6 February, an engineer named Ryan from the Lemoiz nuclear project was found murdered, having been kidnapped a few days earlier. Meanwhile, there was no further news about industrialist Luis Suñer after his abduction.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Background
In this atmosphere of mounting tension, the process of choosing Suárez's successor began. Between 6 and 9 February, the 2nd UCD congress in Majorca made it clear that the party was unravelling and Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún was named acting prime minister. On 10 February, Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo was named candidate for prime minister.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Political flashpoint
Tensions came to a head on 13 February, when news emerged of the torture and death in Carabanchel of José Ignacio Arregui, a member of the Basque nationalist movement ETA, who had been held incommunicado for 10 days in the General Security Directorate (Dirección General de Seguridad). A general strike in the Basque region and an acrimonious debate between opposing parliamentary groups in the Congress followed. The government then dismissed various police chiefs, while in the Interior Ministry there were resignations in solidarity with the torturers. El Alcázar newspaper judged the government's actions a show of weakness that needed to be stopped.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Political flashpoint
Against this extraordinary backdrop, Calvo Sotelo presented his proposed government on 18 February, but, during congressional voting on the 20th, he failed to obtain the necessary majority approval for confirmation as Prime Minister, so a new vote was scheduled for the 23rd: the day the conspirators had chosen for their coup attempt. As planned, the coup would require Tejero and General Jaime Milans del Bosch as its principal instigators, with a minor role being played by General Alfonso Armada, a confidant of King Juan Carlos I.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Assault on the Congress of Deputies
Several TVE cameramen and technicians filmed almost half an hour of the event, providing the world with an audiovisual record of the attempted coup (which would be broadcast several hours after it ended). Moreover, members of the private radio station SER continued their live broadcast with open microphones from within the Congress of Deputies, which meant that the general public was able to follow along by radio as events unfolded. As such, the date is sometimes remembered as "the Night of Transistor Radios" (La noche de los transistores).


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Assault on the Congress of Deputies
At 18:00, the roll-call vote for the swearing in (investidura) of Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo as Prime Minister began in the Congress of Deputies. At 18:23, as Socialist-party deputy Manuel Núñez Encabo was standing up to cast his vote, 200 Guardia Civil agents led by Lieutenant-Colonel Antonio Tejero and armed with submachine guns, burst into congressional chambers. Tejero immediately took the Speaker's platform and shouted "¡Quieto todo el mundo!" ("Nobody move! "), ordering everyone to lie down on the floor.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Assault on the Congress of Deputies
As the highest-ranking military official present, Army General (and Deputy Prime Minister) Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado refused to comply, confronting Tejero and ordering him to stand down and hand over the weapon. Outgoing Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez made a move to join Gutiérrez Mellado, who briefly scuffled with several civil guards until Tejero fired a shot into the air, which was followed by a sustained burst of submachine-gun fire from the assailants. (The shots wounded some of the visitors in the chamber's upper gallery). Undeterred, arms akimbo in defiance, 68-year-old General Gutiérrez Mellado refused to sit down, even after Tejero attempted, unsuccessfully, to wrestle him to the floor. Their face-off ended with Tejero returning to the rostrum and Gutiérrez Mellado returning to his seat.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Assault on the Congress of Deputies
After several minutes, all the Deputies retook their assigned congressional seats. The captain of the Guardia Civil, Jesús Muñecas Aguilar, strode to the Speaker's platform, demanded silence and announced that all those present were to wait for the arrival of "the competent military authority."


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Assault on the Congress of Deputies
At 19:35, Prime Minister Suárez stood up and asked to speak to the commanders. Shots were fired in response, and a guard flashed a submachine gun towards the deputies' seats, demanding silence. One of the assailants ordered, "Mr. Suárez, stay in your seat!" Suárez was about to reply when someone else shouted, "Se siente, coño!" ("Sit down, damn it!") (Historically, this phrase is attributed to Lieutenant Colonel Tejero, although it was probably Lieutenant Ramos Rueda.) Finally, Tejero grabbed Suárez by the arm and led him forcefully to a room outside the chamber. When Suárez demanded that Tejero explain "this madness"; Tejero's only reply was "¡todo por España!" ("Everything for Spain!"). When Suárez pressed the point, citing his authority as Prime Minister ("president of the government"), Tejero replied, "Tú ya no eres presidente de nada!" ("You are no longer the president of anything!")


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Assault on the Congress of Deputies
Shortly afterward, five of the parliament's deputies were separated from the rest: Prime Minister Suárez; the opposition leader, Felipe González Márquez and his deputy, Alfonso Guerra González; Communist Party leader Santiago Carrillo; and the Defense minister, Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún. The insurgents' hope, in taking both the executive and legislative authorities prisoner, was to create a power vacuum that would force a new political order.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Assault on the Congress of Deputies
Almost at the same time, the Captain General of the Third Military Region, Jaime Milans del Bosch, joined the coup with a revolt in Valencia, ordering tanks to be brought out onto the streets and declaring a general state of emergency in an attempt to convince other senior military figures to align with him in supporting the coup.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Assault on the Congress of Deputies
At 21:00 that evening, the Interior Ministry announced that, under the instructions of King Juan Carlos I, a provisional government would be formed with the undersecretaries of different ministries in order to ensure State government in alliance with the Assembly of Military Chiefs of Staff (Junta de Jefes del Estado Mayor).


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Assault on the Congress of Deputies
The coup was vehemently condemned by member countries of the EEC, especially since Spain was in preliminary negotiations for membership (eventually joining in 1986). Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the UK, called the coup a "terrorist act." Alexander Haig, US Secretary of State, described the coup as an "internal affair".


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Assault on the Congress of Deputies
Meanwhile, another insurgent general, Torres Rojas, failed in his attempt to oust General Juste from the Army's Armoured Division No. 1 "Brunete", resulting in Torres Rojas having to abandon his plan to take control of key strategic points in Madrid, including State radio and television headquarters and, therefore, firsthand control of the information as events unfolded.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Armada's soft coup
Originally, Armada, one of the coup's conspirators, had advocated a "milder" course of action, which he then proceeded to implement. Arriving at the Palace of Zarzuela, the royal residence, Armada offered the monarch a trade-off: the king would head a new "government of salvation" that would replace the democratically elected one in the hopes of appeasing Tejero and his forces and thereby avoiding a return to the full military dictatorship the conspirators were demanding.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Armada's soft coup
The King, however, refused to receive Armada, who, shortly before midnight, entered the Congress of Deputies alleging that the King had ordered him to assume leadership of the government. As Armada was not the "competent military authority" that Tejero had been waiting for, the latter rejected Armada's claims with "My general, I didn't assault Congress for this" and, after that, ignored him.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Military occupation of Valencia
A simultaneous rebellion in eastern Spain fizzled. Shortly after Tejero took control of the Congress, Jaime Milans del Bosch, Captain General of the III Military Region, executed his part of the coup in Valencia. Deploying 2,000 men and fifty tanks from his Motorized Division as well as troops from the port of Valencia onto the streets and into the city center, they occupied the Town Hall (Ayuntamiento) and the Valencian judicial court building (Las cortes valencianas). The revolt, known as Operation Turia, was considered key if other military regions were to become involved in the coup.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Military occupation of Valencia
By 19:00, Valencian radio stations began broadcasting the state of emergency declared by Milans del Bosch, who was hoping to convince others to endorse his military action. Well into the night, Valencia was surrounded by armored military trucks and other troop units called in from the Bétera and Paterna army bases. Police snipers took their places on rooftops, military marches were played on loudspeakers and a curfew was imposed on the citizens.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Military occupation of Valencia
An armored convoy was dispatched to the Manises Air Base in order to convince the commander there to support the coup; however, the Colonel of the 11th Wing in charge of the base not only refused to comply, he threatened to deploy two fighter jets armed with air-to-ground missiles (which he claimed to have standing by with their engines running) against the tanks sent by Milans del Bosch, thereby forcing the latter to withdraw. This setback hinted the impending failure of the Madrid coup.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Juan Carlos's repudiation
King Juan Carlos refused to endorse the coup. The monarch, after protracted discussions with colleagues, was convinced of his military leaders' loyalty to himself and the Constitution. Two and a half hours after the seizure the King Juan Carlos phoned the president of the Government of Catalonia Jordi Pujol and assured him that everything was under control. Pujol, just before 22:00 that evening, made a short speech via national broadcasting stations inside and outside of Spain calling for peace. Until 1:00 in the morning (24 February), negotiations took place outside the Congress between the acting government as well as General Armada, who would later be relieved of his duties under suspicion that he had participated in planning the coup.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Juan Carlos's repudiation
At 1:14 on 24 February, the King of Spain appeared live on television, wearing the uniform of the Captain General of the Armed Forces (Capitán General de los Ejércitos), the highest Spanish military rank, to oppose the coup and its instigators, defend the Spanish Constitution and disavow the authority of Milans del Bosch. He declared:


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Juan Carlos's repudiation
In the face of these exceptional circumstances, I ask for your serenity and trust, and I hereby inform you that I have given the Captains General of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force the following order:


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Juan Carlos's repudiation
Given the events taking place in the Palace of Congress, and to avoid any possible confusion, I hereby confirm that I have ordered the Civil Authorities and the Joint Chiefs of Staff to take any and all necessary measures to uphold constitutional order within the limits of the law.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Juan Carlos's repudiation
Should any measure of a military nature need to be taken, it must be approved by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Juan Carlos's repudiation
The Crown, symbol of the permanence and unity of the nation, will not tolerate, in any degree whatsoever, the actions or behavior of anyone attempting, through use of force, to interrupt the democratic process of the Constitution, which the Spanish People approved by vote in referendum.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Juan Carlos's repudiation
From that moment on, the coup was understood to be a failure. Deputy Javier Solana stated that when he saw Tejero reading a special edition of the El País newspaper brought in by General Sáenz de Santamaría, which vehemently condemned the hostage situation inside the Congress, he knew that the coup had failed. For his part, Milans del Bosch, alone and thereafter isolated, abandoned his plans at 5:00 that morning and was arrested. Scores of civil guards clad in military fatigues attempted to jump out of the first floor window trying to flee.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Juan Carlos's repudiation
Others ran out the front door into the arms of officers who had surrounded the building through the night. The deputies were freed that morning after emerging one by one from their all night ordeal shouting "Long Live Freedom". Tejero resisted until midday on 24 February and was arrested outside the Congress building.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Coup, Juan Carlos's repudiation
The event was made into a motion picture by Warner Bros. entitled 23F (Spanish nomenclature for 23 February, when the coup took place). Variety reviewer Jonathan Holland said the period detail of the film was good, but the film followed the officially sanctioned version and failed to scratch beneath the surface of what really happened.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Legacy
The most immediate consequence was that, as an institution, the Monarchy emerged from the failed coup with overwhelming legitimacy in the eyes of the public and the political class. In the long term, the coup's failure could be considered the last serious attempt by adherents to Francoist ideology to destroy Spain's future as a democracy and implement their fascist totalitarian designs on the nation.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Legacy
The Supreme Court of Military Justice, known as the Campamento trial (juicio de Campamento), condemned Miláns del Bosch, Alfonso Armada and Antonio Tejero Molina to thirty years in prison as the key instigators of the coup d'état. Eventually, thirty people out of some 300 accused would be convicted for their involvement in the coup.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Legacy
The extent of any civilian involvement in planning the coup has never been thoroughly investigated. Juan García Carrés, ex-leader of the Sindicato Vertical (the only legal trade union organisation in Francoist Spain), was the only civilian to be convicted.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Legacy
After the events, the Socialist opposition agreed to a law, the LOAPA, to slow down the establishment of autonomous communities as envisaged in the Constitution, to placate the military.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Legacy
The bullet holes in the ceiling of the Spanish parliament were retained as a reminder of the coup attempt.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Alternative theories
The bloodless yet apparently chaotic unravelling of the coup, the plethora of unanswered questions as to its unfolding, the staunch monarchist allegiance of two main conspirators (Armada and Milans del Bosch) and the King's lengthy absence before he finally made a late-night public television address have fueled skepticism and conspiracy theories during the Campamento trial and have remained active ever since.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Alternative theories
These theories cast doubt on the sincerity of the King's defense of democracy and qualify the coup as an example of coercive realpolitik taken to the next level. In essence, this version of events alleges that the coup itself was orchestrated by the Spanish Secret Services in connivance with the King and the Royal House as well as representatives of the major political parties and mainstream media, among others.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Alternative theories
The plot's centerpiece and apparent motivation was the so-called Operation Armada, a "soft" coup modeled after Operation De Gaulle and aimed at a national-unity government headed by Armada himself, consisting of an array of ministers from all the main political parties. The first objective was to oust Prime Minister Suárez, who had been criticized relentlessly by the media and the political elite for months and was rumoured to have even lost the King's good graces, partly due to Suárez's ambitious reformist agenda which had, conceivably, gone off-script.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Alternative theories
The second objective of the purported "soft" coup was a consequence of the former: to hurry still-toddling Spanish public institutions into fulfilling the convergence criteria the nation was being groomed for, namely NATO and EEC membership and the consolidation of an effectively bipartisan and ideologically moderate parliamentary monarchy. According to the rationale behind the theory, this objective required both purging the armed forces of its most reactionary elements and frightening the common voter into accepting the monarchy and the two-party system as the institutional "default position".


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Alternative theories
Yet another and more concrete objective would have been to neutralize an imminent and "hard" coup d'état planned for later that year, most likely on 2 May. A major clique or sub-group among the instigators of this alleged coup was the so-called Colonels' group, headed by former SECED chief José Ignacio San Martín. Two reasons have been cited why this alleged plot was considered particularly dangerous: San Martín's intelligence connections, and the fact that it was colonels and lieutenant colonels, rather than generals, who had direct control over the troops


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Alternative theories
According to these theories, Prime Minister Suárez got wind of Operation Armada long in advance, hence his sudden resignation in order to avoid it—given that the coup was to occur during the motion of no confidence in his government, scheduled to take place some weeks later.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Alternative theories
The plan went forward in spite of Suárez's resignation, but Tejero's failure to understand its ramifications, his guileless belief that he was at the heart of a hardcore coup plot, the media field-day prompted by his violent entrance in congressional chambers (and his crass, uncouth demeanor and language, which was captured by microphones and cameras in the building and later ridiculed by the press) and his refusal to accept the multi-partisan government proposed by Armada, resulted in the simultaneous aborting of the "hard" and the "soft" coup plots by those who had planned them.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Alternative theories
Former CESID Special Operations chief José Luis Cortina Prieto, one of the three military officers acquitted during the trial, plays an ubiquitous role in these theories, some of which place him as a major power player within the conspiracy as well as the man responsible for coalescing all the different coup plots into one and later neutralizing them simultaneously.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Alternative theories
Cortina, who graduated from the Zaragoza Academy in the same cohort as the King, had been appointed to the Joint Chiefs of Staff intelligence services during the Carrero administration and would later assist his brother in creating the Gabinete de Orientación y Documentación S. A. (GODSA) think tank, which would be the germ of the country's main conservative party.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Alternative theories
It has been alleged that during a lunch break in the 23-F trial, and after being subjected to a particularly intense grilling session by the prosecutor, Cortina grabbed a phone and was heard saying: "Como siga este tío así, saco a relucir lo de Carrero" ("if this guy keeps pressing me like this, I'll spill the beans about [what happened to] Carrero"). The prosecutor's questioning allegedly lost a great deal of intensity when court resumed after the lunch break, and Cortina was finally acquitted.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Alternative theories
Arguably up until a 2014 mockumentary broadcast by laSexta, the work by Jesús Palacios and the book La gran desmemoria by Pilar Urbano, these theses have never worked their way into mainstream consciousness, although innuendos and subtle implications were not unusual. Some of these implications may be involuntary. The King's authorized biography by José Luis de Vilallonga contains the following interview excerpt:


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Alternative theories
If I were to carry out an operation in the King's name but without his consent, my first move would have been to isolate him from the rest of the world and prevent him from communicating with anyone on the outside. Well far from it: That night I could have entered and left my residence at will; and concerning phone lines, I received more calls in a few hours than I had received in a whole month! From my father, who was in Estoril (and was also very surprised to be able to contact me by phone), from my two sisters in Madrid, and from friendly heads of State who encouraged me to resist.


1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt, Alternative theories
Sabino Fernández Campo, chief of the Royal House, expunged this from the Spanish edition.


1981 Special Honours (New Zealand)
The 1981 Special Honours in New Zealand was a Special Honours List, published on 8 May 1981 and with effect from 30 April 1981, in which New Zealand's outgoing deputy prime minister was recognised.


1981 Speedway World Pairs Championship
The 1981 Speedway World Pairs Championship was the twelfth FIM Speedway World Pairs Championship. The final took place in Chorzów, Poland. The championship was won by United States first time (23 points). American pair beat New Zealand (22 points) and Poland (21 points).


1981 Speedway World Pairs Championship
The win by American's Bruce Penhall and Bobby Schwartz was the first time an American team or riders had won a World Championship in speedway since Jack Milne had won the 1937 World Final at the Wembley Stadium in London, England. Later in 1981 Penhall would go on to win the Individual World Final at Wembley.


1981 Speedway World Pairs Championship, Semifinal 1
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance • t - exclusion for touching the tapes • x - other exclusion • e - retired or mechanical failure • f - fellns - non-starter • nc - non-classify


1981 Speedway World Pairs Championship, Semifinal 2
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance • t - exclusion for touching the tapes • x - other exclusion • e - retired or mechanical failure • f - fellns - non-starter • nc - non-classify


1981 Speedway World Pairs Championship, World final
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance • t - exclusion for touching the tapes • x - other exclusion • e - retired or mechanical failure • f - fellns - non-starter • nc - non-classify


1981 Speedway World Team Cup
The 1981 Speedway World Team Cup was the 22nd edition of the FIM Speedway World Team Cup to determine the team world champions.


1981 Speedway World Team Cup
The final took place at the Olching Speedwaybahn in Olching, West Germany. Denmark won their second title. Ominously for the rest of the world the team contained a youthful Hans Nielsen and Erik Gundersen.


1981 Speedway World Team Cup, Qualification, Round 1
M - exclusion for exceeding two-minute time allowance • T - exclusion for touching the tapes • X - other exclusion • E - retired or mechanical failure • F - fell


1981 Speedway World Team Cup, Qualification, Round 3
M - exclusion for exceeding two-minute time allowance • T - exclusion for touching the tapes • X - other exclusion • E - retired or mechanical failure • F - fell


1981 Speedway World Team Cup, Qualification, Round 4
M - exclusion for exceeding two-minute time allowance • T - exclusion for touching the tapes • X - other exclusion • E - retired or mechanical failure • F - fell


1981 Speedway World Team Cup, Tournament, Continental Final
M - exclusion for exceeding two-minute time allowance • T - exclusion for touching the tapes • X - other exclusion • E - retired or mechanical failure • F - fell


1981 Speedway World Team Cup, Tournament, Intercontinental Final
M - exclusion for exceeding two-minute time allowance • T - exclusion for touching the tapes • X - other exclusion • E - retired or mechanical failure • F - fell


1981 Speedway World Team Cup, Tournament, World Final
M - exclusion for exceeding two-minute time allowance • T - exclusion for touching the tapes • X - other exclusion • E - retired or mechanical failure • F - fell


1981 St. George Whiskies season
The 1981 St. George Whiskies season was the third season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Formerly known as Gilbey's Gin in the Open Conference.


1981 St. George Whiskies season, Imports
The high-scoring Larry McNeill return for the third straight season with Gilbey's in the Open Conference and along with Dean Tolson, who was also back when he first played together with McNeill as imports for the La Tondeña ballclub in its maiden year in 1979.


1981 St. George Whiskies season, Imports
In the Reinforced Filipino Conference, the team signed up Kenny Tyler as their import. Tyler played for the visiting Nicholas Stoodley squad from United States that won the Invitational championship last season.


1981 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season
The 1981 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 62nd season the franchise was in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 5–11, winning seven games. Despite the improvement the team failed – for the sixth consecutive season – to reach the playoffs.


1981 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals 1981 season was the team's 100th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 90th season in the National League. 1981 was a season of two significant anomalies:  A change in the playoff format, which created the first-ever Divisional Series with a qualification variant that existed only for that season, and the players' strike, which truncated the regular season. Despite finishing 59-43, good for the best overall record in the National League East, the strike set up the scenario where the Cardinals actually missed the playoffs.


1981 St. Louis Cardinals season
The regular season was split into halves to tally teams' records separately in each half of the season, and because the Cardinals finished in second place in each half, they did not qualify for the 1981 playoffs. Major League Baseball reverted to the previous playoff format the following season, and the Cardinals qualified for that postseason.


1981 St. Louis Cardinals season
First baseman Keith Hernandez won a Gold Glove this year.


1981 St. Louis Cardinals season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1981 St. Louis Cardinals season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1981 St. Louis Cardinals season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1981 St. Louis Cardinals season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1981 St. Louis Cardinals season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1981 St. Louis mayoral election
The 1981 St. Louis mayoral election was held on April 7, 1981 to elect the mayor of St. Louis, Missouri. It saw the election of Vincent C. Schoemehl and the defeat of incumbent mayor James F. Conway in the Democratic primary.


1981 St. Louis mayoral election
The election was preceded by party primaries on March 3.


1981 Stanford Cardinals football team
The 1981 Stanford Cardinals football team represented Stanford University in the Pacific-10 Conference during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by second-year head coach Paul Wiggin, the Cardinal had an overall record of 4–7 (4–4 in Pac-10, tied for sixth), and played home games on campus at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California. Ranked in the preseason top twenty, Stanford opened with four losses and dropped six of its first seven games to incur their first losing season since 1963.


1981 Stanford Cardinals football team
From 1972 until November 17, 1981, Stanford's official nickname was Cardinals, in reference to one of the school colors, not the bird. After 1981, it became the singular Cardinal.


1981 Stanley Cup Finals
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Rickyharder (talk | contribs) at 20:36, 20 July 2021. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


1981 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1981 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1980–81 season, and the culmination of the 1981 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Minnesota North Stars, making their first Finals appearance, and the defending champion New York Islanders, in their second Finals appearance. The Islanders would win the best-of-seven series, four games to one, to win their second Stanley Cup championship. This would be the last all-American Finals until 1991, when the North Stars faced the Pittsburgh Penguins. Butch Goring won the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player in the playoffs.


1981 Stanley Cup Finals, Paths to the Finals
Minnesota defeated the Boston Bruins 3–0, the Buffalo Sabres 4–1 and the Calgary Flames 4–2 to advance to the Final.


1981 Stanley Cup Finals, Paths to the Finals
New York defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3–0, the Edmonton Oilers 4–2, and the New York Rangers 4–0 to reach the Final.


1981 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries
Dino Ciccarelli of the North Stars set a rookie record (since tied by Ville Leino in 2010), scoring twenty-one points (14 goals and seven assists) during the year's playoffs. The Islanders' much deeper lineup, however, won the day.


1981 Stanley Cup Finals, Broadcasting
The series aired on CBC in Canada. In the United States, this was the first of five seasons that the Cup Finals aired on the USA Network. For the 1981 Finals only, USA simulcast the CBC feed instead of producing their own coverage.


1981 Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup engraving
The 1981 Stanley Cup was presented to Islanders captain Denis Potvin by NHL President John Ziegler following the Islanders 5–1 win over the North Stars in game five.


1981 Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup engraving
The following Islanders players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 8, after the conclusion of the 1980–81 NHL season. The playoffs concluded on May 21 with the champion New York Islanders defeating the Minnesota North Stars 5–1 to win the final series four games to one and win the Stanley Cup.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs
In game one of the Edmonton-Montreal series, Wayne Gretzky recorded five assists, at the time this was a single game playoff record.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs
These were the last Stanley Cup playoffs conducted under a format that paired teams in each round without regard to division or conference.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Playoff seeds
The sixteen teams that qualified for the playoffs are ranked 1–16 based on regular season points.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (1) New York Islanders vs. (16) Toronto Maple Leafs
The New York Islanders, the defending 1980 Stanley Cup champions, entered the playoffs as the regular season, Campbell Conference and Patrick Division champions, earning 110 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs earned 71 points during the regular season to finish sixteenth overall in the league. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the only previous meeting being the 1978 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals, where Toronto defeated the Islanders in seven games. The Islanders won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (1) New York Islanders vs. (16) Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto was swept in the opening round of the playoffs for the second consecutive year. New York's series-clinching win in game three was the first (and to date only until the bubble in the 2020 playoffs) time that the Islanders have won a playoff game in Toronto, and this was also only the second (and to date, last) victory that a road team has ever earned in the three series between these two franchises. As of 2019, this series marks the only time that the Islanders have defeated Toronto in the Stanley Cup playoffs.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (1) New York Islanders vs. (16) Toronto Maple Leafs
In game one, the Islanders scored three times on the power play, and Bryan Trottier scored twice and added three assists in a decisive 9-2 victory. The Islanders dominance of the Maple Leafs continued in game two, as Trottier recorded a hat trick in a 5-1 Islanders win. The Islanders jumped all over the Maple Leafs quickly in game three, by jumping out to a 5-0 lead after the first period. The Maple Leafs and Islanders traded goals in the second period 19 seconds apart. Game three ended in a series-clinching 6-1 Islanders victory.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (2) St. Louis Blues vs. (15) Pittsburgh Penguins
The St. Louis Blues entered the playoffs as the Smythe Division champions, earning 107 points. The Pittsburgh Penguins earned 73 points during the regular season to finish fifteenth overall in the league. This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams; the teams split their two previous series. Their most recent meeting was in the 1975 Preliminary round, where Pittsburgh defeated St. Louis in two-game sweep. These teams split this year's four-game regular season series.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (2) St. Louis Blues vs. (15) Pittsburgh Penguins
In game one of the series, Pittsburgh struck quickly thanks to a Greg Malone goal at 0:15 of the first period. However, the Blues recovered by the end of the second period and took a 3-2 lead into the final period, which they held on to, winning the game 4-2. Game two proved to be a different story, as the Penguins exploded offensively and scored four times in the second period to erase a 1-0 first period deficit.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (2) St. Louis Blues vs. (15) Pittsburgh Penguins
The Blues and Penguins traded goals in the third period, giving Pittsburgh a 6-4 victory that tied the series at a game apiece. Game three went back and forth, with both teams trading goals all game long until Bernie Federko scored his second goal of the game with 4:06 left to play in the third period. The Blues won the game 5-4 and retook home ice advantage in the best-of-five series. The Penguins avoided elimination in game four, as Randy Carlyle and Mike Bullard each scored three points in the game, helping the Penguins to a 6-3 win.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (2) St. Louis Blues vs. (15) Pittsburgh Penguins
Game five was another tight contest and for the first time in the series overtime was required, with the score tied at 3 after regulation time. The game and series ended on Mike Crombeen's second goal of the series, scored at 5:16 of the second overtime period, giving St. Louis a 4-3 win and a 3-2 series victory.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (3) Montreal Canadiens vs. (14) Edmonton Oilers
The Montreal Canadiens entered the playoffs as the Wales Conference and Norris Division champions, earning 103 points. The Edmonton Oilers earned 74 points during the regular season and finished fourteenth overall, losing the tiebreaker with the New York Rangers in wins (30 to 29). This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. These teams split this year's four-game regular season series.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (3) Montreal Canadiens vs. (14) Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers recorded the first series sweep in franchise history and their first playoff series victory since joining the NHL in 1979. The Oilers gained a 6-3 victory in game one, in large part due to Wayne Gretzky's five-assist night. At the time this was a new playoff record for assists by a single player in one game. Edmonton went on to win game two, with Risto Siltanen's power play goal at 4:43 of the second period giving the Oilers a 2-1 lead, Edmonton eventually winning the game by a score of 3-1. Edmonton completed the sweep of the heavily-favoured Canadiens in game three, defeating Montreal 6-2. Gretzky led all scorers in the three game series, finishing with 11 points (3G, 8A).


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (4) Los Angeles Kings vs. (13) New York Rangers
The Los Angeles Kings entered the playoffs as the fourth overall seed in the league with 99 points, winning the tiebreaker with the Buffalo Sabres in wins (43 to 39). The New York Rangers earned 74 points during the regular season and finished thirteenth overall, winning the tiebreaker with the Edmonton Oilers in wins (30 to 29). This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the only previous meeting being the 1979 Preliminary round, where New York defeated Los Angeles in two-game sweep. The Kings won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (4) Los Angeles Kings vs. (13) New York Rangers
The Rangers won game one in large part due to the impressive goaltending performance of Steve Baker, as he turned away 31 of the Kings' 32 shots. Game two was marked by a brawl at the end of the first period; six players were ejected from the game as result of this. The Kings won game two 5-4 on the strength of a Dean Hopkins goal at 17:16 of the third period. Game three was dominated by the Rangers, as eight different players would score in the game for New York, and the Rangers won 10-3 on home ice.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (4) Los Angeles Kings vs. (13) New York Rangers
Game four was tied 3-3 in the third period, until Tom Laidlaw's goal at 6:44 gave the Rangers a 4-3 lead. The Rangers added two more goals in the third, earning a series-clinching 6-3 victory. Ranger forwards Ron Duguay and Ulf Nilsson each scored a goal in every game of this series.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (5) Buffalo Sabres vs. (12) Vancouver Canucks
The Buffalo Sabres entered the playoffs as the Adams Division champions, earning 99 points, losing the tiebreaker with the Los Angeles Kings in wins (43 to 39). The Vancouver Canucks earned 76 points during the regular season and finished twelfth overall in the league. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, and was a rematch of last year's Preliminary Round, where Buffalo defeated Vancouver in four games. These teams split this year's four-game regular season series.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (5) Buffalo Sabres vs. (12) Vancouver Canucks
The Sabres swept Vancouver in three games, eliminating the Canucks in the preliminary round for the second consecutive season. Buffalo forced game one to overtime as Andre Savard scored the tying goal with just 8 seconds left in the third period. Rookie centre Alan Haworth scored the game-winning goal for Buffalo five minutes into overtime.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (5) Buffalo Sabres vs. (12) Vancouver Canucks
The Sabres scored three times on the power play in game two, winning the game 5-2. Vancouver attempted to mount a comeback from a 4-1 deficit in the third period of game three before Buffalo's Tony McKegney scored his second goal of the game, giving the Sabres a 5-3 lead. Buffalo hung on to their 5-3 lead and clinched the series with a game three victory.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (6) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (11) Quebec Nordiques
The Philadelphia Flyers entered the playoffs as the sixth seed in the league with 97 points. The Quebec Nordiques earned 78 points during the regular season and finished eleventh overall, losing the tiebreaker with the Chicago Black Hawks in wins (31 to 30). This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Quebec won this year's four-game regular season series earning five of eight points. This series also marked the first appearance of a team representing Quebec City in the Stanley Cup playoffs in 68 years. The most recent team to represent Quebec City prior to this was the Quebec Bulldogs who won the Stanley Cup in 1913, in the Bulldogs' final playoff appearance.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (6) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (11) Quebec Nordiques
The home team won all games of this series. Bill Barber and Ken Linseman scored five points each in the first two games of the series. The Flyers won both games in Philadelphia, taking a 2-0 series lead. Game three was a battle of goaltenders, as the game remained scoreless until 9:48 of the third period, when Michel Goulet scored the eventual game-winning goal; Quebec won game three 2-0. Philadelphia took a 3-1 lead into the third period in game four, however the Nordiques made a comeback, tying the game in the third period. Quebec completed the comeback 37 seconds into overtime as Dale Hunter scored the game-winning goal. Ken Linseman's three points in the third period of Game 5 helped ensure a Philadelphia series-clinching win, 5-2.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (7) Calgary Flames vs. (10) Chicago Black Hawks
The Calgary Flames entered the playoffs as the seventh seed in the league with 92 points. The Chicago Black Hawks earned 78 points during the regular season and finished tenth overall, winning the tiebreaker with the Quebec Nordiques in wins (31 to 30). This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Chicago won this year's four-game regular season series earning five of eight points. This series also marked the first appearance of a team representing Calgary in the Stanley Cup playoffs in 56 years. The most recent team to represent Calgary prior to this was the Calgary Tigers who lost the WCHL Final in 1925.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (7) Calgary Flames vs. (10) Chicago Black Hawks
The Flames recorded their first sweep and first playoff series victory in franchise history. In game one, Calgary's Kent Nilsson recorded a point on every Calgary goal, helping the Flames to a 4-3 win. Calgary scored three times in the third period of game two and won the game decisively by a score of 6-2. The Black Hawks heavily out-shot the Flames in game three; Rejean Lemelin made 61 saves for the Flames. Chicago tied the game on a Darryl Sutter goal with 43 seconds left in the third period. However the Black Hawks came up short in double overtime as Willi Plett scored the series-clinching goal for the Flames at 15:17.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (8) Boston Bruins vs. (9) Minnesota North Stars
The Boston Bruins entered the playoffs as the eighth seed in the league with 87 points, winning the tiebreaker with the Minnesota North Stars in wins (37 to 35). The North Stars earned 87 points during the regular season and finished ninth overall, losing the tiebreaker with the Bruins in wins (37 to 35). This was the first and to date only playoff meeting between these two teams. Boston won this year's four-game regular season series earning five of eight points.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Preliminary Round, (8) Boston Bruins vs. (9) Minnesota North Stars
The North Stars swept the Bruins in three games. Minnesota won game one in overtime due to Steve Payne's hat trick goal at 3:34. The North Stars' win in game one was the first-ever victory for the franchise in the Boston Garden (they went winless in their first 35 games in Boston over fourteen seasons). In game two, Boston's Brad Park and Minnesota's Dino Ciccarelli both scored four points in a high-scoring 9-6 Minnesota victory. The North Stars scored four times in the first period of game three and they did not relinquish the lead, eliminating the Bruins with a 6-3 win.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Quarterfinals, (1) New York Islanders vs. (8) Edmonton Oilers
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. The Islanders won the season series earning six of eight points in the year's four-game regular season series.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Quarterfinals, (1) New York Islanders vs. (8) Edmonton Oilers
The Islanders eliminated the Oilers in six games; the Islanders also scored a power play goal in every game of this series. The Islanders' special teams dominated game one, as New York scored three times on the power play and added a shorthanded goal in an 8-2 Islanders win. Denis Potvin's hat trick and five point night in game two led the Islanders to a 6-3 victory. Wayne Gretzky scored his second hat trick of the playoffs in game three as the Oilers won the game by a score of 5-2.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Quarterfinals, (1) New York Islanders vs. (8) Edmonton Oilers
The Islanders won game four in overtime as Ken Morrow scored at 5:41 to give New York a 5-4 win. When Edmonton won game five 4-3, the Oilers' victory marked the only time in the 1981 Stanley Cup playoffs that the Islanders lost a game on home ice. Bob Nystrom's third goal of the playoffs in Game six became the eventual series-clinching goal for the Islanders as New York won the game 5-2.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Quarterfinals, (2) St. Louis Blues vs. (7) New York Rangers
This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams. St. Louis won the season series winning all four games of this year's regular season series.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Quarterfinals, (2) St. Louis Blues vs. (7) New York Rangers
The Rangers eliminated the Blues in six games. Bernie Federko's three point night in Game one led St. Louis to a 6–3 victory. The Rangers overcame a one-goal deficit in the third period of Game two by scoring three goals in a span of 2:46, winning the game by a score of 6–4 and evening the series at one game each. Anders Hedberg's go ahead goal in third period of Game two was just the second successful penalty shot in Stanley Cup playoff history.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Quarterfinals, (2) St. Louis Blues vs. (7) New York Rangers
The Rangers dominated the second period of Game three scoring four goals on fifteen shots taking a three-goal lead into the third period. New York hung on to win the game 6–3. Steve Baker allowed just one goal on 34 shots in Game four leading the Rangers to a 4–1 victory and a commanding 3–1 series lead. With the Blues trailing 3–2 in the second period of Game five Jorgen Pettersson scored his third goal of the playoffs tying the game at 3, he scored a power play goal in the third period giving the Blues a 4–3 victory. The Blues trailed in Game six 4–0 before scoring three goals in 1:50, however they were never able to get on equal terms losing the game 7–4 and series 4–2.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Quarterfinals, (3) Buffalo Sabres vs. (6) Minnesota North Stars
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with Buffalo sweeping the only previous meeting in two games in the 1977 Stanley Cup Preliminary Round. Minnesota won the season series earning five of eight points in this year's four-game regular season series.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Quarterfinals, (3) Buffalo Sabres vs. (6) Minnesota North Stars
The North Stars defeated the Sabres in five games. Game one required overtime as the teams exchanged the lead throughout regulation time. Minnesota winger Steve Payne ended the game just 22 seconds into the first overtime period; to date this is still the quickest playoff overtime goal in North Stars/Stars franchise history and tied for the tenth fastest in league history. Steve Christoff and Dino Ciccarelli each scored twice for the North Stars in game two as Minnesota took a 2–0 series lead with a 5–2 victory.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Quarterfinals, (3) Buffalo Sabres vs. (6) Minnesota North Stars
Buffalo goaltender Don Edwards made 43 saves in a losing effort in game three as the Sabres lost by a score of 6–4. Minnesota forced overtime in game four after trailing by three goals in the second period; the Sabres extended the series with an overtime win as Craig Ramsay scored at 16:32 of the first overtime period. Don Beaupre made 36 saves for Minnesota in game five as they advanced to the Stanley Cup Semifinals for the second consecutive season.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Quarterfinals, (4) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (5) Calgary Flames
This was the second and most recent playoff meeting between these two teams, with Philadelphia sweeping the Atlanta Flames in their only previous meeting in four-game sweep in the 1974 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals. The teams split this year's four-game regular season series.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Quarterfinals, (4) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (5) Calgary Flames
The Flames defeated the Flyers in seven games. Philadelphia goaltender Rick St. Croix made 35 saves as the Flyers took game one 4–0. After exchanging goals in the first period of game two, the Flames scored three times in the second period and held on late to even the series with a 5–4 victory. Willi Plett gave Calgary the lead early in the third period of game three and Pat Riggin made 47 saves in the Flames 2–1 win.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Quarterfinals, (4) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (5) Calgary Flames
Calgary needed two goals in third period of game four from Randy Holt to secure their third straight one goal victory in the series. Philadelphia forced a sixth game in the series with a commanding 9–4 win in game five; Brian Propp recorded a natural hat trick in the first period for the Flyers. Forward Ken Linseman's second goal in game six for Philadelphia held up as the game-winner as the Flyers avoided elimination with a 3–2 triumph. The Flames struck three times on the power-play in game seven as they ended the series with a 4–1 victory. With the win Calgary became the first relocated team in league history to advance to the third round of the playoffs in their inaugural season in their new location (this feat was later surpassed by the Colorado Avalanche in 1996).


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Semifinals, (1) New York Islanders vs. (4) New York Rangers
This was the third playoff meeting between these two rivals. Both teams have split their previous two meetings. They last met in the 1979 Stanley Cup Semifinals where the Rangers won in six games. The teams split this year's four-game regular season series.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Semifinals, (2) Calgary Flames vs. (3) Minnesota North Stars
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. The teams split this year's four-game regular season series.


1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, Stanley Cup Finals
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. The Islanders made their second consecutive and second overall appearance in the Finals; they defeated the Philadelphia Flyers the previous year in six games. Minnesota made their first Finals appearance in their fourteenth season after entering the league in 1967. The Islanders won this year's four-game regular season series earning six of eight points.


1981 Star World Championships
The 1981 Star World Championships were held in Marblehead, United States in 1981. It was the first time since Pim von Huetschler in the 40th  that non American sailors won the prestigious Worlds Title. It were Alexander Hagen and Vincent Hoesch from Germany that rocked the Star Class in the early 80th with Laser like downwind technics and light body weight. They were struggling upwind because of minor crew weight. They managed to reach the 1st mark in 10th position but were "flying" on the reach to call for room at the jibing mark into 1st position.


1981 Star World Championships
They were rocking the boat and pumping sails like sitting on a Laser to extend their lead. Then it was easy to defend the lead from the front despite their poor upwind speed. 2 Years later rocking and pumping was forbidden by the IYRU-Racing Rules. 16 Years later Alex Hagen won the Star Worlds again in Marblehead. This time Marcelo Ferreira (the crew of Torben Grael) was crewing.


1981 Star World Championships, Results
Legend: DNF – Did not finish; DNS – Did not start; DSQ – Disqualified;


1981 State of Origin game
The 1981 State of Origin game was the second such match between arch rivals Queensland and New South Wales to be played under State of Origin selection rules. Again it was played as the third game of an already-decided 3-game series. New South Wales' victories in the first two games under the "state of residency" selection rules were, however, the last matches of this kind to ever be played as the following year the Origin concept was fully embraced.


1981 State of Origin game
The match featured a stunning comeback by the Maroons, an all-in-brawl, a 95-metre try by Eric Grothe, Sr. and the second consecutive man-of-the-match performance from Queensland centre, Chris Close.


1981 State of Origin game, Background
Despite the success of the 1980 State of Origin game, there was still opposition to the game going ahead from certain parts of the Sydney media. One who had opposed the game the year before, The Daily Mirror's Ron Casey, was still against the concept and wrote "It's a mark of the lack of sophistication of Brisbane football fans that they will accept as serious football the State of Origin match on Tuesday week. Its just an excuse for 30,000 fans to see top footballers thrown together for a Lang Park Roman Holiday. The game will prove nothing except that Brisbane is the only place in the world that would take it seriously."


1981 State of Origin game, Background
Though it seemed that it wasn't just the media who opposed the game. In a column in the Sunday Telegraph, NSW and Australian centre Steve Rogers wrote:  "And while we are on the State of Origin match, I hope it is canned this year. The players have enough representative football this season with the tour by France. The players don't relish the thought of the match and to put it on after a side has toured here is a bit hard". For Rogers, the NSW captain, the Origin game (played on July 28) would be his 7th game in 24 days having played in the two tests against France as well as four games for his club team Cronulla-Sutherland since July 4.


1981 State of Origin game, Match report
With rugby league officials from NSW still not convinced of the State of Origin format, the 1980 model was repeated in 1981 when the first two matches were played under the old residential selection criteria. With the confidence gained from the 1980 Origin win, the Queensland residents were more competitive than they had been in years, losing 10-2 at Lang Park and 22-9 at Leichhardt Oval, with New South Wales taking the series before the third match reverted to the new Origin selection criteria and the intensity again picked up.


1981 State of Origin game, Match report
Queensland chose to call on only four Sydney-based players for the game - winger Mitch Brennan from South Sydney, second-rower Paul McCabe from Easts and front-rowers Rod Morris (Balmain) and Paul Khan (Cronulla). Maroons captain-coach Arthur Beetson, who was seeing out his playing days at age 36 with Redcliffe, had been in fine form for the two residential clashes, but pulled out with an eye injury on the day of the match, giving the Queensland captaincy to 21-year-old five-eighth Wally Lewis.


1981 State of Origin game, Match report
Beetson later told the real reason he pulled out of the game was that he had lost the motivation to keep playing representative football after being overlooked for the test series against France. Beetson was reportedly in line for his first test since the 1977 World Cup, but NSWRL and ARL boss Kevin Humphreys voted against Beetson's selection with a view to the future and the Kangaroo Tour to be held at the end of 1982. Humphreys felt that at 36 Beetson had nothing left to offer the test side.


1981 State of Origin game, Match report
NSW had originally selected South Sydney's Michael Pattison to play Five-eighth, but had fallen ill before the team left Sydney and the flight at altitude had caused a middle-ear infection that forced him to withdraw. Pattison spent the game on the sidelines compiling stats for Channel 7 (Sydney) sideline reporter Barry Ross. Selectors then chose young Western Suburbs player Terry Lamb as his replacement and rushed him to Brisbane on the afternoon of the game.


1981 State of Origin game, Match report
This was against the wishes of coach Ted Glossop who wanted to move Steve Rogers to the halves, Phil Sigsworth to the centres, bring in Garry Dowling as fullback and play Lamb from the bench. The team actually trained in those positions on the morning of the game before Lamb arrived and according to Glossop, Rogers trained very well at pivot and combined well with Qld born Peter Sterling who was making his Origin debut for the Blues. Glossop later recounted that he was told of Lamb's selection immediately after training and even then thought of going his own way until told the NSWRL insisted that Lamb play 5/8 and Rogers was not play anywhere but in the centres.


1981 State of Origin game, Match report
Parramatta Eels halfback Sterling, who had represented City Seconds earlier in the season, was a surprise choice over incumbent test halfback Steve Mortimer who had made his test debut a few weeks earlier against France. Mortimer reportedly paid the price for the Australia's less than convincing 17-2 second test win against the weak French at Lang Park despite having led Australia to a comprehensive 43-2 win in the first test at the Sydney Cricket Ground where he scored two tries on debut. The Canterbury-Bankstown halfback, who had played in the two State of Residence games that had preceded both the French tests and the Origin game, described his demotion as "A nice kick in the guts."


1981 State of Origin game, Match report
Opposing props Rod Morris and Newtown's Steve Bowden clashed in an early tackle, following an errant elbow from Bowden, and punches were thrown. In the ensuing melee, Lewis sought out Terry Lamb and gave him a rugged welcome to interstate football with a number of uppercuts.


1981 State of Origin game, Match report
After 7 minutes of play, the next scrum erupted into a brawl with Bowden and Morris singled out by referee Kevin Steele as the chief instigators, with both then sent to the sin-bin for 10 minutes (though replays indicated that Morris had done most of the punching with Bowden unusually restrained) with NSW receiving a penalty.


1981 State of Origin game, Match report
In that period the Blues raced to a 15-0 lead thanks to their Parramatta connection of Peter Sterling, Ray Price, Eric Grothe and Mick Cronin, with Price and Sterling setting up one try for Grothe and another for Cronin (all four players would later that year feature in the Eels' inaugural premiership victory).


1981 State of Origin game, Match report
This was the second of Grothe's tries for the game, the first came after 13 minutes when he swooped upon a wayward pass by Maroons' hooker Greg Conescu and raced 95-metres down the touchline, easily out pacing his opposite number Mitch Brennan and Qld halfback Ross Henrick before busting through the cover defending tackles of Brad Backer (coming from the opposite wing) and Colin Scott to score in the corner to give the Blues a 5-0 lead after Cronin's sideline conversion.


1981 State of Origin game, Match report
Backer's tackle had actually caused Grothe to fall and he looked to have stopped less than half a metre short, but Scott's subsequent effort hitting the Blues winger as he hit the ground actually dragged him over the line for the try. Soon after Price sent Sterling through a big gap in the defence and he found Cronin backing up on his outside to score. After Cronin converted his own try NSW led 10-0 after just 16 minutes. Grothe scored his second try moments later after Henrick was penalised for not retiring behind a scrum. A simple run-around move saw Sterling pass to Price who sent his winger bursting through a weak Chris Phelan tackle to score under the posts.


1981 State of Origin game, Match report
With the score 15-0 after less than 20 minutes it looked like the days of old with NSW dominating. However, Queensland's defence stiffened, and they took back some momentum just before half-time when winger Backer grabbed a try in the corner off a long pass from McCabe to make it 15-5. NSW had been running the ball our from their own line but lost possession when second rower Les Boyd, thinking he was a decoy runner and not paying attention, didn't realise the ball was being thrown to him. The ball bounced forward off his hip and was regathered by Queensland who scored through Backer just 3 tackles later.


1981 State of Origin game, Match report
Following the break, new Queensland captain Wally Lewis sparked a second-half Maroons revival when he stepped past Sterling and went on a long, diagonal run, breaking a late attempt at tackle by Ray Price to score a dazzling (and much-replayed) individual try. Barry Ross told television viewers that Lewis had told him earlier in the day that he was motivated to play well after receiving criticism from the Sydney media for both his selection in the Australian team and his supposedly lacklustre form in the tests against France.


1981 State of Origin game, Match report
The media had wanted City and NSW state of residence games five-eighth Robert Laurie in the test team instead of Lewis who they felt was only selected to give the Queensland Rugby League a player in the team. There were 5 Queenslanders in the first test team, but Lewis was the only one not playing in the Sydney premiership.


1981 State of Origin game, Match report
Minutes after the restart came an enduring moment that has become part of Origin folklore. Queensland fullback Colin Scott received a pass from Lewis off the scrum near halfway and split the defence, bursting past NSW captain Steve Rogers in a 55-metre charge that ended just short of the line thanks to a despairing tackle by Grothe (who had started almost 10 metres behind Scott when he started the chase, showcasing his speed as Scott was no slouch).


1981 State of Origin game, Match report
Grothe clung to Scott's ankles as he waited for his team mates to get back in defence, but in a now-famous image, Maroons centre Chris Close grabbed Grothe's hair before backhanding him out of the way. Close then picked up the ball from dummy-half and dived through Steve Rogers tackle to score next to the posts.


1981 State of Origin game, Match report
Other NSW players would later claim they hung back from tackling Close as they expected to receive a penalty for the back hander and were surprised when it never came (there were claims that Grothe had injured himself when he tackled Scott, though Close disputes this saying he first yelled at Grothe to let go before back handing him when he didn't move). Mal Meninga converted to take the score to 15-all.


1981 State of Origin game, Match report
The momentum was now fully with Queensland and with 5 minutes remaining frustrated Blues lock Ray Price appeared to head-butt Queensland lock Chris Phelan in the play the ball, 20 metres out right in front of the posts. He was penalised and Meninga's kick put the Maroons in front for the first time in the game.


1981 State of Origin game, Match report
In the final moments of the game with Qld again attacking the NSW line as they had done for most of the second half, Meninga grubber kicked the ball into the NSW in-goal and gave chase, but he was tackled without the ball by Steve Rogers before he could get to it causing referee Steele to award Qld a penalty try. Meninga converted from in front to complete Queensland's victory, setting a standard of expectation for miraculous Queensland comebacks that has been met time and time again in subsequent contests.


1981 State of Origin game, Teams, Queensland Team
Of Queensland's fifteen players used, four were selected from New South Wales clubs.


1981 Stella Artois Championships
The 1981 Stella Artois Championships, also known as the Queen's Club Championships, was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts at the Queen's Club in London in the United Kingdom that was part of the 1981 Volvo Grand Prix circuit. It was the 79th edition of the tournament and was held from 8 June until 14 June 1981. First-seeded John McEnroe won his third consecutive singles title at the event.


1981 Stella Artois Championships, Finals, Doubles
Pat Du Pré /  Brian Teacher defeated  Kevin Curren /  Steve Denton 3–6, 7–6, 11–9


1981 Stella Artois Championships – Doubles
Rod Frawley and Geoff Masters were the defending champions but only Frawley competed that year with Chris Lewis.


1981 Stella Artois Championships – Doubles
Frawley and Lewis lost in the second round to Peter Fleming and John McEnroe.


1981 Stella Artois Championships – Doubles
Pat DuPré and Brian Teacher won the doubles title at the 1981 Queen's Club Championships tennis tournament defeating Kevin Curren and Steve Denton in the final 3–6, 7–6, 11–9.


1981 Stella Artois Championships – Singles
John McEnroe was the defending champion and was seeded no.1. He won the singles title at the 1981 Queen's Club Championships tennis tournament defeating compatriot Brian Gottfried in the final 7–6, 7–5.


1981 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards
The 4th Stinkers Bad Movie Awards were released by the Hastings Bad Cinema Society in 1982 to honour the worst films the film industry had to offer in 1981. The ballot was later revisited and the expanded version was released in 2007, some time between the 2006 ballot and the closure of the site. Listed as follows are the original ballot's picks for Worst Picture and its dishonourable mentions, which are films that were considered for Worst Picture but ultimately failed to make the final ballot (29 total), and all nominees included in the expanded ballot. All winners are highlighted.


1981 Stockholm Open
The 1981 Stockholm Open was a men's tennis tournament played on hard courts and part of the 1981 Volvo Grand Prix and took place at the Kungliga tennishallen in Stockholm, Sweden. It was the 13th edition of the tournament and was held from 2 November until 8 November 1981. Third-seeded Gene Mayer won the singles title after a victory in the final against his brother Sandy.


1981 Stockholm Open, Finals, Doubles
Kevin Curren /  Steve Denton defeated  Sherwood Stewart /  Ferdi Taygan, 6–7, 6–4, 6–0


1981 Stockholm Open – Doubles
Heinz Günthardt and Paul McNamee were the defending champions, but McNamee did not participate this year. Günthardt partnered Balázs Taróczy, losing in the first round.


1981 Stockholm Open – Doubles
Kevin Curren and Steve Denton won the title, defeating Sherwood Stewart and Ferdi Taygan 6–7, 6–4, 6–0 in the final.


1981 Stockholm Open – Singles
Björn Borg was the defending champion, but did not participate this year.


1981 Stockholm Open – Singles
Gene Mayer won the title, defeating Sandy Mayer 6–4, 6–2 in the final.


1981 Stowe Grand Prix
The 1981 Stowe Grand Prix was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Topnotch Inn in Stowe, Vermont in the United States that was part of the 1981 Grand Prix circuit. It was the fourth edition of the tournament and was held from August 10 through August 16, 1981. Second-seeded Brian Gottfried won the singles title.


1981 Stowe Grand Prix, Finals, Doubles
Johan Kriek /  Larry Stefanki defeated  Brian Gottfried/  Bob Lutz 2–6, 6–1, 6–2


1981 Strabane District Council election
Elections to Strabane District Council were held on 20 May 1981 on the same day as the other Northern Irish local government elections. The election used three district electoral areas to elect a total of 15 councillors.


1981 Strabane District Council election, Districts results, Area A
1977: 2 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Independent Nationalist1981: 2 x DUP, 1 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Independent Nationalist1977-1981 Change: DUP gain from UUP


1981 Strabane District Council election, Districts results, Area B
1977: 2 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Independent Nationalist1981: 2 x DUP, 1 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Independent Nationalist1977-1981 Change: DUP gain from UUP


1981 Strabane District Council election, Districts results, Area C
1977: 3 x SDLP, 1 x UUP, 1 x Independent Nationalist1981: 2 x SDLP, 2 x Independent Nationalist, 1 x UUP1977-1981 Change: Independent Nationalist gain from SDLP


1981 Sturt state by-election
A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Sturt on 21 February 1981 following the resignation of Tim Fischer (National Country) to successfully contest the seat of Murray at the 1980 by-election.


1981 Sturt state by-election
By-elections for the seats of Cessnock, Oxley and Maitland were held on the same day.


1981 Sugar Bowl
The 1981 Sugar Bowl was the 47th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Thursday, January 1. Part of the 1980–81 bowl game season, it matched the undefeated and top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference, and the seventh-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish. A slight underdog, Georgia won, 17–10.


1981 Sugar Bowl, Game summary
The game kicked off shortly after 1 p.m. CST, televised by ABC, at the same time as the Cotton Bowl on CBS.


1981 Sugar Bowl, Game summary
In the first quarter, Notre Dame scored first on a 50-yard Harry Oliver field goal. Another Notre Dame scoring opportunity in the first quarter was foiled when Bulldog freshman Terry Hoage blocked a field goal. Hoage had been a last-minute addition to the roster by head coach Vince Dooley for his kick blocking ability. Due to good field position Georgia's Rex Robinson would eventually boot a 46-yard field goal of his own to tie the game at three.


1981 Sugar Bowl, Game summary
On the ensuing kickoff, a communication gaffe between the Irish's deep return players resulted in neither one fielding the kick which bounced at the one-yard line and was recovered by Georgia's Bob Kelly. Two plays later, Bulldog running back Herschel Walker scored on a one-yard touchdown run as Georgia led 10–3. In the second quarter, Walker scored on a three-yard run making the score 17–3 at halftime.


1981 Sugar Bowl, Game summary
The only score in the second half came in the third quarter; Notre Dame scored on a one-yard run to close the margin to 17–10. Georgia's defense held on to that lead, giving Georgia the victory and the 1980 national championship.


1981 Sugar Bowl, Game summary
True freshman Walker rushed for 150 yards and was named Sugar Bowl MVP. Bulldog defensive back Scott Woerner made several key plays throughout the day including a late game interception that sealed the win. Georgia was first in both final polls.


1981 Sugar Bowl, Note
This Sugar Bowl marked the debut of Georgia's costumed mascot Hairy Dawg.


1981 Sugar Bowl, Note
Georgia native President Jimmy Carter was in attendance, three weeks before leaving office.


1981 Suisse Open Gstaad
The 1981 Suisse Open Gstaad was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts in Gstaad, Switzerland. It was the 36th edition of the tournament and was held from 6 July through 12 July 1981. The tournament was part of the 1981 Volvo Grand Prix tennis circuit. Third-seeded Wojciech Fibak won the singles title.


1981 Suisse Open Gstaad, Finals, Doubles
Heinz Günthardt /  Markus Günthardt defeated  David Carter /  Paul Kronk 6–4, 6–1


1981 Summer Deaflympics
The 1981 Summer Deaflympics (German: 1981 Sommer Deaflympics), officially known as the 14th Summer Deaflympics (German: 14. Sommer Deaflympics), is an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from July 23 to August 1, 1981 in Cologne, Germany.


1981 Summer Universiade
The 1981 Summer Universiade, also known as the XI Summer Universiade, took place in Bucharest, Romania. The events were watched by 200,000 spectators.


1981 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1981 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held February 27–March 1 at the Jacksonville Coliseum in Jacksonville, Florida.


1981 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
In a rematch of the 1980 final, VCU repeated as tournament champions by defeating UAB in the championship game, 62–61, to win their second Sun Belt men's basketball tournament.


1981 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The Rams, in turn, received an automatic bid for the 1981 NCAA Tournament, where they advanced to the second round. Runner-up UAB received an at-large bid; the Blazers ultimately won two games before losing to Indiana in the regional semifinals.


1981 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
With the Sun Belt's forced departure of New Orleans prior to the season, the conference's membership decreased to seven teams. In turn, the top-seeded team was given a bye into the semifinal round. All other teams, again seeded based on regular season conference records, entered the tournament in the quarterfinal round.


1981 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
The entire tournament was played at the Jacksonville Coliseum in Jacksonville, Florida.


1981 Sun Bowl
The 1981 Sun Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game that featured the Houston Cougars and the Oklahoma Sooners.


1981 Sun Bowl, Background
The Cougars finished third in the Southwest Conference, making their fourth straight bowl appearance. The Sooners finished second in the Big Eight Conference and made their seventh straight bowl appearance. This was not only the first Sun Bowl appearance for both teams, but the first ever meeting between the two teams.


1981 Sun Bowl, Game summary
Darrell Shepard scored on a 34-yard touchdown run to make it 7–0 Oklahoma. Houston responded with a Lionel Wilson touchdown plunge to make it 7–7 at halftime. Michael Keeling gave Oklahoma the lead back on his 32-yard field goal in the third quarter. On the ensuing Houston drive, Robert Durham caught a pass from Wilson at the Sooner 47, and he dashed for what seemed to be a sure touchdown. But at the 3-yard line, Elbert Watts knocked the ball away, and the ball went out of the end zone for a touchback.


1981 Sun Bowl, Game summary
A few plays later (highlighted by a 42 run by Shepard) ended with a touchdown plunge by Shephard to make it 17–7 early in the fourth quarter. A 14 yard punt by Houston led to Keeling's second field goal from 49 yards out to make it 20-7 midway through the quarter. A Houston fumble led to a Fred Sims 30-yard score a few plays later. Houston responded with a 74-yard, 13-play drive culminating in a Donald Jordan 6-yard score to make it 27–14 with less than three minutes to go.


1981 Sun Bowl, Game summary
After Oklahoma recovered the onside kick, Sims' 48 yard run set up Ron Mills' touchdown plunge to make it 33–14 with 1:30 to go. John Truitt returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown to make the final score 40–14. Darrell Shepard, despite passing for -2 yards on 1 for 5 passing, rushed for 107 yards on 17 carries for 2 touchdowns. Backup Fred Sims, who had rushed for only 179 yards the entire season, ran for 181 yards on 15 carries after an injury to Buster Rhymes. Wilson threw 17 of 21 for 216 yards in a losing effort.


1981 Sun Bowl, Aftermath
While Houston has not returned to the Sun Bowl since this game, Oklahoma has returned twice (1993, 2009).


1981 Super Bowl of Poker
The Super Bowl of Poker (also known as Amarillo Slim's Super Bowl of Poker or SBOP) was the second most prestigious poker tournament in the world during the 1980s. While the World Series of Poker was already drawing larger crowds as more and more amateurs sought it out, the SBOP "was an affair limited almost exclusively to pros and hard-core amateurs."


1981 Super Bowl of Poker
Prior to 1979, the only high dollar tournament a person could enter was the WSOP. 1972 WSOP Main Event Champion and outspoken ambassador for poker, Amarillo Slim saw this as an opportunity. "The World Series of Poker was so successful that everybody wanted more than one tournament," he said. Slim called upon his connections and friendships with poker's elite to start a new tournament in the February 1979. Slim modelled his SBOP after the WSOP with several events and a $10,000 Texas Hold'em Main Event.


1981 Super Bowl of Poker
One of the principal differences between the WSOP and the SBOP was the prize structure. The WSOP's prize structure was flat ensuring more people received smaller pieces of the prize pool. The SBOP typically used a 60-30-10 payout structure. In other words, only the first three places received money and generally in the ratio of 60% to first place, 30% to second place, and 10% to third. This payment schedule predominated the SBOP for the first 5 years of the event, but as the event grew the number of payouts increased while keeping the payout schedule top heavy.


1981 Super Bowl of Poker, 1981 Tournament
The 1981 SBOP was one of the most anticipated poker events in the 1980s. In 1980, Welcome Back Kotter's lead actor, Gabe Kaplan had won the SBOP Main Event. His victory proved that anybody could play poker. Because of his popularity as an actor, people were eager to see how the returning actor would fare in the 1981 event.


1981 Super Bowl of Poker, 1981 Tournament
Billy Baxter, a Poker Hall of Famer won the Ace-to-Five Lowball event while fellow Hall of Famer Johnny Moss won the $5,000 Seven Card Stud event.


1981 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
The 1981 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira was the 3rd edition of the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, the annual Portuguese football season-opening match contested by the winners of the previous season's top league and cup competitions (or cup runner-up in case the league- and cup-winning club is the same). The 1981 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira was contested over two legs, and opposed Benfica and Porto of the Primeira Liga. Benfica qualified for the SuperCup by winning both the 1980–81 Primeira Divisão and the 1980–81 Taça de Portugal, whilst Porto qualified for the Supertaça as the cup runner-up.


1981 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
The first leg which took place at the Estádio da Luz, saw a comfortable Benfica 2–0 win. The second leg which took place at the Estádio das Antas saw Porto defeat Benfica 4–1 (4–3 on aggregate), which granted the Dragões their first Supertaça.


1981 Swedish Open
The 1981 Swedish Open was a men's professional tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts and held in Båstad, Sweden. It was part of the 1981 Grand Prix circuit. It was the 34th edition of the tournament and was held from July 20 through July 27, 1981. Sixth-seeded Thierry Tulasne won the singles title.


1981 Swedish Open, Finals, Doubles
Mark Edmondson /  John Fitzgerald  defeated  Anders Jarryd /  Hans Simonsson 2–6, 7–5, 6–0