1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 10
Fouts was 20 of 40 for 352 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions; he was sacked six times, after not getting sacked at all in the previous three games. Chandler caught 10 pass for 194 yards and 2 scores. Bengals safety Mike Fuller had spent the previous six seasons with the Chargers. He later revealed that San Diego had not changed their defensive signals since the 1980 season; Fuller was able to interpret them and give the Bengal offense an edge in this game.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 11
San Diego sustained a second consecutive blowout, this time on Monday Night. They began well, converting four 3rd downs on their opening possession, while going 78 yards in 15 plays - Muncie opened the scoring from a yard out. The game turned in the second quarter. After a Seahawks field goal, Brooks lost two fumbles in quick succession, leading to a pair of Seattle touchdowns and a 17-7 scoreline. Chuck Muncie then interrupted the flow, breaking a tackle at the line of scrimmage and bursting through the defense for a 73-yard touchdown run, the longest of his career. After another Seattle touchdown, Benirschke cut the halftime deficit to seven points with a 32-yard field goal.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 11
The Chargers came close to tying the game on the opening possession of the second half, reaching the Seattle one yard line before Muncie was stuffed for no gain on both 3rd and 4th down. Seattle then moved to their 20, from where Dan Doornink took a pass in the flat 80 yards for the game-breaking touchdown. Muncie then fumbled, and Doornink scored again - the fifth Seattle touchdown in as many possessions. Chandler again scored a 4th quarter touchdown, but the Chargers were well beaten.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 11
Muncie had 20 carries for 151 yards and two touchdowns; Kellen Winslow caught 7 passes for 106 yards. With five weeks to go, San Diego stood two games back from Denver and one behind Kansas City.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 12
Record-setting performances by Dan Fouts and Kellen Winslow reenergised the Chargers' playoff push. They turned the ball over twice in the first half, and three times fell seven points behind. A 1-yard run by Muncie and 12-yard catch by Brooks tied the scores the first two times; after Oakland went 21-14 ahead, Winslow took over. His leaping catch in the end zone tied the scores with 3:06 to play before halftime. Brooks then ran a punt back 37 yards, and Winslow broke two tackles on the 29-yard touchdown that put San Diego ahead at the break.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 12
Oakland's first two offensive plays of the second half saw Marc Wilson intercepted by Bob Horn and Pete Shaw, setting up the Charger offense with short fields. Both times, Fouts found Winslow with short touchdown passes, the latter coming 6:26 into the 3rd quarter - the pair had combined for four touchdowns in four possessions, across a span of just 9 minutes and 32 seconds of game time. When Fouts combined with Joiner for a score on the next Charger drive, the quarterback had thrown six touchdowns in as many possessions. The rout was completed in the 4th quarter when Muncie found a wide-open Winslow for a 3-yard touchdown.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 12
Fouts completed 28 of 44 passes for 296 yards, 6 touchdowns and 1 interception - he still holds the Charger record for TD passes in a single game. Kellen Winslow had 13 catches for 144 yards and 5 touchdowns. He tied Chicago Cardinal Bob Shaw's 31-yard-old record for most TD receptions in a game - this record has subsequently been tied again, but not broken. On defense, Gary Johnson had four of the team's seven sacks. San Diego had been bolstered by a Denver loss earlier in the day - they were now one game back of both the Broncos and the Chiefs.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 13
Chuck Muncie became the second Charger to rush for four touchdowns in a game, and San Diego won a crucial divisional matchup with some ease. They went 74 yards in only 6 plays on the game's opening possession, a 29-yard Chandler reception and a 22-yarder from Winslow preceding Muncie's first score, covering 14 yards off right tackle. After Woodcock sacked Craig Morton to force a three-and-out, San Diego drove for another quick touchdown, Chandler's 44-yard catch setting up Muncie's short TD run.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 13
Down 14-0 after barely seven minutes, Denver improved on the next few drives and pulled a touchdown back early in the 2nd quarter. However, a fumbled punt was recovered by Wyatt Henderson a few possessions later, and Muncie scored again only two plays later. Denver pulled a field goal, back, before Fouts and Muncie drove San Diego 64 yards to another score, with Muncie's 4th touchdown coming from 3 yards out, 19 seconds before halftime. Fouts later looped a touchdown pass to Eric Sievers on 4th and goal from the 1, and San Diego eased to victory.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 13
Chandler caught 4 passes for 111 yards. Muncie had 18 carries for 75 yards and the 4 touchdowns. Craig Morton had devastated the Chargers earlier in the season, but threw no touchdowns in this game, and was picked off by Buchanon and Lowe. The Chiefs had lost earlier in the week, and this result left the three AFC West contenders tied once more, at 8-5. San Diego's favourable tiebreakers meant they would be assured of the division title with three more wins.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 14
Buffalo avenged their recent playoff defeat, and left the Chargers needing help if they were to reach the playoffs again. San Diego began well, a 19-yard Bills punt setting them up at the Buffalo 46; Muncie's NFL-record-tying 19th rushing touchdown of the year came seven plays later. Later in the 1st quarter, they breached Bills territory again, but Mario Clark intercepted Fouts and returned the ball 53 yards to set up a Buffalo touchdown.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 14
San Diego responded with a 10-play, 83-yard drive. They appeared to be settling for a field goal, but Buffalo jumped offside, and Fouts found Chandler for a 17-yard touchdown a play later. After Buffalo tied the game, Kellen Winslow scored comfortably the longest touchdown of his career, 55 seconds before halftime. He caught the ball in the left flat, broke a tackle and sprinted up the sideline - Buffalo defenders, possibly distracted by a official's flag (which was on the Bills) were slow to react, and Winslow completed a 67-yard touchdown reception, putting San Diego up 21-14 at halftime.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 14
Fouts had passed for 260 yards in the first half alone, but found the going tougher thereafter. Buffalo scored touchdowns through Roosevelt Leaks and Joe Cribbs in the 3rd quarter, either side of a Benirschke field goal, and led 28-24. San Diego were poised to retake the lead on their next drive, but Winslow committed a hold on 1st and goal from the 2, and they had to settle for another field goal. They reached 4th and 2 at the Buffalo 35 on their next possession, but opted against sending Benirschke in for a 50+ yard attempt, and Muncie was stopped short on a sweep.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 14
The Bills then missed a field goal, leaving San Diego 4:30 to drive for the winning points. A pair of 15-yard Fouts completions helped them into makeable field goal range, reaching 2nd and 9 from the Buffalo 32. Muncie then burst through the middle, but fumble at the 26; the Bills recovered and ran the clock out.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 14
Fouts finished 28 of 42 for 343 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception. Winslow caught 6 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown; Joiner caught 7 balls for 106 yards. Muncie carried 22 times for 119 yards and a touchdown. Overall, San Diego outgained Buffalo 482-318, but committed both the game's turnovers. At the same, Denver were beating Kansas City 16-13 to move into sole possession of the AFC West lead.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 15
San Diego maintained their playoff challenge into the final week of the regular season with a tense win over the Buccaneers. The Chargers struck first, with Fouts finding Sievers over the middle for 27 yards and a touchdown. Tampa Bay responded quickly: Theo Bell took in a short pass from Doug Williams and went 58 yards to tie the scores. In the 2nd quarter, Fouts completed all seven of his passes on a 90-yard drive that Cappelletti finished with an 8-yard run. The next Charger drive covered 82 yards, but was terminated by an end zone interception, and it was 14-7 at halftime.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 15
Tampa Bay pulled three points back on the first possession of the third quarter. Later, Brooks lost a fumble in Buccaneers territory when he seemed on the verge of breaking into the open field, but Lowe recovered another fumble four plays later. The Chargers progressed rapidly to the Tampa one-yard line, from where Brooks scored to make it 21-10, with 11:52 to play. The game then turned rapidly in Tampa's favour. They drove 80 yards in only 6 plays, with James Wilder scoring from eight yards out (though the extra point was missed).


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 15
Two plays later, Fouts was intercepted again, setting the Buccaneers up at the San Diego 23, from where Wilder took a sweep in for the go-ahead score. When Cappelletti fumbled four plays into the next drive, Tampa Bay had a 23-21 lead and the ball at the Charger 36, with 6:28 on the clock.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 15
This time, San Diego won the ball back. Glen Edwards hit Williams' intended receiver, causing the ball to pop up for Lowe to intercept. Starting at his own 29, Fouts hit Winslow and Joiner for first downs, before the Chargers reached a 4th and 1 from the Tampa 34. They opted to go for it, and converted via Winslow's 3-yard catch. The tight end also converted a 3rd and 6 before Benirschke hit the game-winner from 29 yards out, with 45 seconds on the clock. Williams moved the ball to the Tampa 37, from where his final pass was intercepted by Edwards inside the ten as time expired.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 15
Fouts was 33 of 49 for 351 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Chandler had 8 catches for 112 yards. Elsewhere, the Chiefs lost and were eliminated from the playoff race, but Denver beat the Seahawks to remain in first place. To qualify for the playoffs, San Diego would need either the Jets or Broncos to slip up, then win their final game against Oakland.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 16
The day before this game, Denver were beaten 35-24 by the Chicago Bears. As a result, San Diego had the opportunity to win the AFC West on the final Monday night of the regular season for the third year in a row. Defeat would mean elimination.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 16
Midway through the 1st quarter, Shaw and Buchanon forced a fumble that Edwards recovered at the Charger 32. Fouts completions on the next two plays moved the ball 40 yards, and Brooks finished off the quickfire scoring drive with a 28-yard run up the middle, breaking three tackles on his way into the end zone. Ahead 10-3 in the 2nd quarter, San Diego got a lucky break when Lester Hayes blocked a punt, only for Jim Laslavic to scoop up the ball and make first down yardage at the Charger 32.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 16
San Diego eventually had to punt again, but pinned Oakland inside their ten. Buchanon intercepted Marc Wilson on the ensuing drive, and Fouts found the leaping Joiner for a 29-yard touchdown two plays later. Wilson then drove Oakland to a 2nd and 10 from the Charger 11, with 7 seconds left before halftime. However, he spent too long while throwing an incompletion, and the Raiders came up empty-handed.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 16
Oakland did pull the score back to 17-10 on the first drive of the second half, but didn't cross the Charger 40 the rest of the way. Benirschke kicked a pair of field goals to give the Chargers some breathing room, and they clinched the division with something to spare.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 16
San Diego tried to get Muncie a record-breaking 20th touchdown in the final seconds, but he was stuffed on 4th and goal from the 2, and remained on 19. The Chargers didn't play in the league's regular season finale again until 2008.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Postseason, Game summaries, AFC Divisional Playoffs: Chargers at Dolphins
Rolf Benirschke's overtime field goal gave the Chargers victory in the Epic in Miami.


1981 San Diego Chargers season, Postseason, Game summaries, AFC Conference Championships: Chargers at Bengals
The AFC Championship Game was played on Jan. 10, 1982, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The temperature was −9 °F (−23 °C) with a wind chill of −59 °F (−51 °C), known in NFL lore as the "Freezer Bowl," and is the coldest game in the league's history. Quarterback Dan Fouts completed 15 out of 28 passes for 185 yards as the Chargers fell to the Bengals 27-7.


1981 San Diego Padres season
The 1981 San Diego Padres season was the 13th season in franchise history.


1981 San Diego Padres 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 San Diego State Aztecs football team
The 1981 San Diego State Aztecs football team represented San Diego State University during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).


1981 San Diego State Aztecs football team
The team was led by head coach Doug Scovil, in his first year, and played home games at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California. They finished with a record of six wins and five losses (6–5, 3–5 WAC).


1981 San Diego State Aztecs football team
The Aztecs were chosen to participate in the annual Mirage Bowl in 1981. This counted as a regular season game, and was played at the end of the season in Tokyo, Japan. They played the Air Force Academy on Nov. 29.


1981 San Diego State Aztecs football team, Team players in the NFL
The following finished their college career in 1981, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.


1981 San Francisco 49ers season
The 1981 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 32nd season in the National Football League, their 36th overall and their third under head coach Bill Walsh.


1981 San Francisco 49ers season
The team finished the regular season with a 13–3 record. The season would be one of the franchise's most successful seasons to that point and would be "the birth of a dynasty", when the 49ers began their decade of establishing absolute dominance over the NFL. The 49ers drew an average home attendance of 54,398 in the 1981 NFL season.


1981 San Francisco 49ers season
The 49ers won Super Bowl XVI by defeating the AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals. It was the first of five Super Bowl victories in franchise history, all within the next 13 seasons. From 1981 to 1997, the 49ers would have 13 NFC West titles, 8 NFC top seeds, and 7 seasons as the NFL's best team. And from 1981 to 1994, the 49ers would hog half of the NFL's best team's seasons.


1981 San Francisco 49ers season
Quarterback Joe Montana began the 1981 season as San Francisco's starting quarterback. Montana produced two fourth-quarter comeback victories. Montana's signature game of the season was the NFC Championship Game, which culminated in "The Catch", a last-minute touchdown pass from Montana to Dwight Clark, propelling the 49ers to victory over Dallas, and a berth in their first Super Bowl. The 49ers were undefeated in Super Bowls until Super Bowl XLVII.


1981 San Francisco 49ers season, Offseason, NFL Draft
A turning point for the franchise was the drafting of safety Ronnie Lott from the University of Southern California. Lott would be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.


1981 San Francisco 49ers season, Training Camp
The 1981 San Francisco 49ers season held training camp at red Morten park in Redwood city, California.


1981 San Francisco 49ers season, Regular season
With the offense in good shape, Walsh and the 49ers focused on overhauling the defense in 1981. Walsh took the highly unusual step of overhauling his entire secondary with rookies and untested players, bringing on board Ronnie Lott, Eric Wright and Carlton Williamson and giving Dwight Hicks a prominent role. He also acquired veteran linebacker Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds and veteran defensive lineman and sack specialist Fred Dean.


1981 San Francisco 49ers season, Regular season
These new additions, when added to existing defensive mainstays like Keena Turner, turned the 49ers into a dominant team. After a 1–2 start, the 49ers won all but one of their final games to finish with a 13–3 record, easily the best record in the team's history. Additionally, the 49ers defense yielded more than 20 points in only three games. Dean and Hicks made the Pro Bowl. The 49ers selection of Lott in the 1981 NFL Draft proved to be a seminal one.


1981 San Francisco 49ers season, Regular season
In addition to making the NFC Pro Bowl roster, Lott was voted First-Team All-Pro and received nods from all 5 newspapers that voted, a significant honor for a rookie. Giants' linebacker Lawrence Taylor was the only other rookie from the 1981 NFL Draft to achieve this unanimous selection to the First Team All-Pro unit.


1981 San Francisco 49ers season, Regular season
Led by Montana, the unusual offense was centered around the short passing game, which Walsh used as ball control. Both Dwight Clark and Freddie Solomon had excellent years receiving; Clark as the possession receiver, and Solomon as more of a deep threat. The 49ers running game, however, was among the weakest for any champion in NFL history. Ricky Patton led the 49ers with only 543 yards rushing. The 49ers' most valuable running back, however, might have been Earl Cooper, whose strength was as a pass-catching back (he had 51 catches during the season).


1981 San Francisco 49ers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 3 at Atlanta Falcons
Joe Montana was intercepted twice in 34 passes (24 completed) as the Niners fell to the Falcons for the eleventh time in the last eight seasons.


1981 San Francisco 49ers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 11 vs. Cleveland Browns
The Niners’ winning streak ended in a battle of six combined field goals. Opposing quarterbacks Brian Sipe and Montana combined for 393 yards, three interceptions, and an average passer rating of 56.


1981 San Francisco 49ers season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 12 at Los Angeles Rams
The game lead tied or changed eight times as the Rams wound up using quarterbacks Dan Pastorini and Pat Haden while running back Mike Guman threw a seven-yard touchdown to Preston Dennard. Amos Lawrence opened the third quarter by scoring on the opening kickoff and Ronnie Lott scored after intercepting Pastorini.


1981 San Francisco 49ers season, Postseason, NFC Divisional Playoff
The Giants were making their first appearance in the postseason since 1963. First-year starting quarterback Joe Montana led the 49ers to victory in his debut playoff game, completing 20 of 31 passes for 304 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 1 interception. His top target in the game was receiver Dwight Clark, who caught 5 passes for 104 yards.


1981 San Francisco 49ers season, Postseason, NFC Championship Game
The 49ers were making their third appearance in the NFC Championship Game. Their opponent was their opponent for the two previous NFC Championship Games-the Dallas Cowboys. In both previous matches, the 49ers had lost the game. The game is remembered for "The Catch".


1981 San Francisco 49ers season, Postseason, NFC Championship Game
The play, remembered in 49er lore as "Red Right Tight—Sprint Right Option" had called for both the primary receiver, Solomon, and Dwight Clark to line up on the right. Montana was supposed to roll to his right and find Solomon. Clark's pattern called for him to cut left across the end zone, stop, and immediately reverse his path to the right. If Solomon were covered, it would be up to Montana to find Clark. Due to the pressure, Montana's pass was high, but Clark was in position to make his memorable grab. Future New England Patriots/Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, who grew up in the Bay Area, attended the game as a four-year-old. The 49ers were victorious despite an astonishing six turnovers, including three interceptions by Joe Montana.


1981 San Francisco 49ers season, Postseason, NFC Championship Game
A photograph of the catch, with Clark at the height of his leap and Everson Walls reaching out to try to block the ball, was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated the following week.


1981 San Francisco Giants season
The 1981 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 99th season in Major League Baseball, their 24th season in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their 22nd at Candlestick Park. Giants manager Frank Robinson became the first black manager in the history of the National League. Robinson was also the first black manager in the history of the American League.


1981 San Francisco Giants 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 San Francisco State Gators football team
The 1981 San Francisco State Gators football team represented San Francisco State University during the 1981 NCAA Division II football season.


1981 San Francisco State Gators football team
San Francisco State competed in the Far Western Conference (FWC). The Gators were led by head coach Vic Rowen in his 21st year at the helm. They played home games at Cox Stadium in San Francisco, California. The team finished the season with a record of three wins and seven losses (3–7, 0–5 FWC). For the season the team outscored its opponents 171–162.


1981 San Francisco State Gators football team, Team players in the NFL
No San Francisco State players were selected in the 1982 NFL Draft.


1981 San Jose Earthquakes season
The 1981 San Jose Earthquakes season was the eighth for the franchise in the North American Soccer League. They finished in fourth place inthe Western Division.


1981 San Jose Earthquakes season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


1981 San Jose State Spartans football team
The 1981 San Jose State Spartans football team represented San Jose State University during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. Led by third-year head coach Jack Elway, they played home games at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California.


1981 San Jose State Spartans football team
The Spartans were champions of the PCAA, with a record of nine wins and three losses (9–3, 5–0 PCAA), and qualified for the initial California Bowl against the Mid-American Conference (MAC) champion Toledo Rockets. This was the second bowl appearance for the Spartans since moving up to Division I-A;  they were in the Pasadena Bowl a decade earlier. The California Bowl was played at Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, and Toledo won 27–25 with a late field goal.


1981 San Jose State Spartans football team
In early December, offensive coordinator Dennis Erickson was hired as the head coach at Idaho in the Big Sky Conference, but coached the Spartans in the bowl game.


1981 San Jose State Spartans football team
The Spartan offense was led by quarterback Steve Clarkson, running back Gerald Willhite, and wide receiver Tim Kearse.


1981 San Jose State Spartans football team, Team players in the NFL
The following finished their college career in 1981, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.


1981 San Marino Grand Prix
The 1981 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Imola on 3 May 1981.


1981 San Marino Grand Prix
The race was the first to bear the title "San Marino Grand Prix", although the Imola circuit is in Italy and several non-championship Formula One races and the 1980 Italian Grand Prix had previously been held at the circuit. The Acque-Minerali chicane had been widened from the year before and was faster; the chicane in its original narrow configuration in 1980 was unpopular with drivers because it was very slow.


1981 San Marino Grand Prix
The Lotus team withdrew their entries because the FIA upheld the ban on the Lotus 88 and team owner Colin Chapman felt the 81s were no longer competitive.


1981 San Marino Grand Prix
Gilles Villeneuve took the early lead until an ill-fated pit stop for slick tyres, whereafter Didier Pironi held the lead until late in the race and was passed by Nelson Piquet, who eventually won the race. As well as being Michele Alboreto's Grand Prix debut, the race is also notable for the recovery of Gilles Villeneuve to seventh place, after misjudgement of tyre selection for the conditions. While the team did not qualify for the race, it was the first race entered by Toleman, which is now Alpine F1 Team.


1981 San Marino motorcycle Grand Prix
The 1981 San Marino motorcycle Grand Prix was the tenth race of the 1981 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 10-12 July 1981 at the Autodromo Dino Ferrari.


1981 San Miguel Beermen season
The 1981 San Miguel Beermen season was the seventh season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).


1981 San Miguel Beermen season, New coach
Former U-Tex coach Tommy Manotoc will now be the new head coach of San Miguel Beermen, Manotoc replaces Edgardo Ocampo, who transferred to Toyota Super Diesels at the beginning of the season.


1981 San Miguel Beermen season, Summary
The Beermen had two returning imports for the Open Conference, Aaron James and James Robinson, both former U-Tex Wranglers under coach Tommy Manotoc. James was part of the champion team from last season while Robinson played for U-Tex in 1979.


1981 San Miguel Beermen season, Summary
After topping the elimination phase in a tie with U-Tex for the best record of 14 wins and four losses in the Open Conference, the Beermen went down at the bottom of the four-team semifinals with one victory against five defeats. They lost to U-Tex, three games to two, in the series for third place.


1981 San Miguel Beermen season, Summary
In the Reinforced Filipino Conference, San Miguel's import Bobby Turner played three games and was replaced by Ron Roberson, who played for the Beermen in the rest of their remaining assignments, including the round-robin among the four teams that didn't advance in the round of six.


1981 Santiago International Championships
The 1981 Santiago International Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts in Santiago, Chile that was part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit. It was the sixth and last edition of the tournament and was held from 21 November through 27 November 1981. Second-seeded Hans Gildemeister won the singles title, his second at the event after 1979.


1981 Santiago International Championships, Finals, Doubles
Hans Gildemeister /   Andrés Gómez defeated  Ricardo Cano /  Belus Prajoux 6–2, 7–6


1981 Scheldeprijs
The 1981 Scheldeprijs was the 68th edition of the Scheldeprijs cycle race and was held on 28 July 1981. The race was won by Ad Wijnands.


1981 Schlitz strike
The 1981 Schlitz strike was a labor strike involving approximately 700 brewery workers of the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company plant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. The strike began June 1, 1981 after the labor contract between Schlitz and the local union (Brewery Workers Local 9) expired without a replacement. The strike came at a time when the company was still recovering from financial difficulties it had sustained in the years prior. After almost two months of striking, the company announced that it would be closing its Milwaukee brewery in an effort to stay competitive and reduce excess production capacity. The plant closed on September 30, and Schlitz was acquired by the Stroh Brewery Company the following year.


1981 Schlitz strike, Background
In 1981, the Milwaukee-based Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was the fourth largest brewing company in the United States. Several years prior, the company was the second largest, with sales peaking in 1976. However, in the years following, the company's market share and overall sales declined, due in part to a change in their beer formula and a nationwide ad campaign which were both poorly received. Additionally, the company had been involved in antitrust action with the Federal government. In 1981, the company was also experiencing a potential issue with organized labor.


1981 Schlitz strike, Background
That year, members of the Brewery Workers Local 9, who represented approximately 700 workers at the company's Milwaukee plant, announced they would go on strike if the company and union hadn't come to an agreement regarding new labor contracts by midnight on May 31, when the current contracts were set to expire. According to union representatives, the benefits and wages at the plant were about half what the union had achieved at the Pabst Brewing Company and Miller Brewing Company, both also based in Milwaukee.


1981 Schlitz strike, Background
At the time, the United Press International (UPI) was reporting that some industry experts thought a walkout at the plant could actually help Schlitz to save money and be more competitive. At the time, the Milwaukee plant was the oldest and least efficient plant operated by Schlitz, and the company at the time was operating its facilities at approximately 50% production capacity. UPI also reported speculation that Schlitz would close the plant. On June 1, the local union went on strike, with picketing commencing that day.


1981 Schlitz strike, Strike action and aftermath
The strike began on June 1, 1981. The strike continued through June and into late July, at which time The New York Times reported that Schlitz was discussing being bought out by the G. Heileman Brewing Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin. On July 31, Schlitz reported that the Milwaukee plant would permanently close on September 30 of that year. In discussing the rationale behind the closure, Schlitz chief executive officer Frank J. Sellinger stated that the company was carrying excessive production capacity and that the closure would help them to stay competitive.


1981 Schlitz strike, Strike action and aftermath
Schlitz would still be headquartered in Milwaukee and would continue to operate a container plant in nearby Oak Creek, Wisconsin. After several striking employees took an early retirement, there were still an estimated 700 strikers who would be directly affected by the closure. At the time of the announcement, the company and union were still in discussions regarding a new contract. Additionally, it was reported that Pabst had submitted a competing offer to acquire the company.


1981 Schlitz strike, Strike action and aftermath
In October, U.S. Assistant Attorney General William Baxter stated that the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division would file an antitrust suit against Heileman if they attempted to carry out the acquisition, which was subsequently dropped. In 1982, Schlitz was acquired by the Stroh Brewery Company. Schlitz was eventually acquired by Pabst from Stroh in 1999.


1981 Scotland rugby union tour of New Zealand
The 1981 Scotland rugby union tour of New Zealand was a series of eight matches played by the Scotland national rugby union team in New Zealand in May and June 1981. The Scotland team won five of their matches and lost the other three. They lost both international matches against the New Zealand national rugby union team (the All Blacks).


1981 Scottish Cup Final
The 1981 Scottish Cup Final was played on 9 May 1981 at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 96th Scottish Cup. Rangers and Dundee United contested the match. The first match, saw Dundee United start strongly, but fail to score. Rangers had the chance to win the match when they won a penalty at the end of normal time, but Ian Redford's effort was saved by Hamish McAlpine. After a period of extra time the match finished goalless. The replay took place on 12 May 1981, Rangers ran out easy winners, beating Dundee United, whose players appeared not to have recovered from the first match, 4-1.


1981 Scottish Cup Final
This was the last Final contested with a replay; beginning in the subsequent year, extra time and penalty shootouts were used to determine the winner on the same day.


1981 Scottish League Cup Final
The 1981 Scottish League Cup Final was played on 28 November 1981, at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 36th Scottish League Cup competition. The final was contested by Dundee United and Rangers. Rangers won the match 2–1 thanks to goals by Davie Cooper and Ian Redford.


1981 Scottish Masters
The 1981 Scottish Masters was the inaugural edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, which took place from 22 to 25 September 1981. The tournament was played at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, Scotland, and featured nine professional players.


1981 Scottish Masters
Jimmy White won the first title of his professional career, beating Cliff Thorburn 9–4 in the final.


1981 Scottish Masters, Qualifying
Prior to the main draw, one qualifying match was played, with the winner advancing to face Alex Higgins in the quarter-finals; this match was played under a best-of-seven frames format.


1981 Scottish Professional Championship
The 1981 Scottish Professional Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place in March 1981 in Kildrum, Scotland.


1981 Scottish Professional Championship
Ian Black won the title by beating Matt Gibson 11–7 in the final.


1981 Season's Cup
The 1981 Season's Cup became the second edition of Season's Cup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Soviet Top League and Soviet Cup competitions.


1981 Season's Cup
The match was played at the Stadion Lokomotiv, Simferopol, on 17 March 1981, and contested by league winner Dinamo Kiev and cup winner Shakhter Donetsk. Shakhter Donetsk won it on penalty shootout.


1981 Seattle Mariners season
The Seattle Mariners 1981 season was their fifth since the franchise creation, and were 6th in the American League West at 44–65 (.404). Due to the 1981 player's strike, the season was split in half, with pre-strike and post-strike results. The Mariners were sixth in the division in the first half at 21–36 (.368), and fifth in the second half at 23–29 (.442). The strike began on June 12 and regular season play resumed on August 10.


1981 Seattle Mariners season
Manager Maury Wills was fired on May 6 with a 6–18 (.250) record, the M's worst start yet; he was succeeded by 36-year-old Rene Lachemann, the manager at Triple-A Spokane.


1981 Seattle Mariners season, Regular season, Overview
On January 14, 1981, the Mariners' were sold to George Argyros, a California real estate developer, for an estimated $12.5 million. The sale of the team, which needed the approval of 10 of 14 owners of American League teams, received a unanimous vote of consent on January 29.


1981 Seattle Mariners season, Regular season, Overview
On April 25, Mariners' manager Maury Wills advised the Kingdome groundskeepers to enlarge the batter's box by a foot (0.3 m), and A's manager Billy Martin noticed. He showed umpire Bill Kunkel that the batter's box was seven feet (2.1 m) in length (instead of six). Martin felt that batters being able to move up a foot in the box could cut at pitches before a curveball broke. Wills was suspended for two games and fined $500; he was fired on May 6.


1981 Seattle Mariners season, Regular season, Overview
While in Arlington in late May to play the Texas Rangers, the Mariners' uniforms were stolen. For the May 30 game against the Rangers, Seattle wore their batting practice jerseys, Milwaukee Brewers' caps, and Rangers' batting helmets. The Mariners purchased the Brewers caps at the Rangers' souvenir-stand; the Rangers did not offer Seattle caps for sale.


1981 Seattle Mariners season, Regular season, Overview
Journeyman Tom Paciorek put together a career season with the M's in 1981. Playing full-time for the only time in his career at age 34, he batted .326, second in the American League, and was fourth in the AL in slugging percentage. Paciorek earned his only appearance to an All-Star team in 1981 and was tenth in the AL MVP race. After a request for increased compensation and a three-year contract, the Mariners traded him in December 1981 to the Chicago White Sox for three players, none of whom made an impact with Seattle. Paciorek hit over .300 his first two years with the Sox, and was part of Chicago's division championship team in 1983.


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


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


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


1981 Seattle Seahawks season
The 1981 Seattle Seahawks season was the team's sixth season with the National Football League. The Seahawks got off to a terrible start, losing six of their first seven games, on the way to a 6–10 season. Steve Largent would have a stellar season with 1,224 receiving yards. Seattle opened their season at Cincinnati, and held a 21–0 lead before the Bengals rallied for an improbable 27–21 win. This loss proved to be the beginning of the end for the Seahawks in 1981, as they would struggle as the season progressed.


1981 Segunda División de Chile
The 1981 Segunda División de Chile was the 30th season of the Segunda División de Chile.


1981 Seiko Classic
The 1981 Seiko Classic was a women's professional tennis tournament played on clay courts at the Victoria Park Stadium in Hong Kong  and was part of the Toyota Series of the 1981 WTA Tour. It was the second edition of the event and took place from 2 November until 8 November 1981. First-seeded Wendy Turnbull won her second consecutive singles title at the event and earned $8,500 first-prize money.


1981 Seiko World Super Tennis
The 1981 Seiko World Super Tennis also known as the Tokyo Indoor was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan that was part of the Super Series of the 1981 Volvo Grand Prix circuit. The tournament was held from 26 October through 30 October 1981. Matches were the best of three sets. Unseeded Vincent Van Patten won the singles titles. On his way to the final he defeated seeded players José Luis Clerc (3), Vitas Gerulaitis (5), and John McEnroe (1).


1981 Seiko World Super Tennis, Finals, Doubles
Victor Amaya /  Hank Pfister defeated  Heinz Günthardt /  Balázs Taróczy 6–4, 6–2


1981 Seiko World Super Tennis – Doubles
Amaya and Pfister successfully defended their title, defeating Heinz Günthardt and Balázs Taróczy 6–4, 6–2 in the final.


1981 Seiko World Super Tennis – Singles
Jimmy Connors was the defending champion, but did not participate this year.


1981 Seiko World Super Tennis – Singles
Unseeded Vincent Van Patten won the tournament, beating Mark Edmondson in the final, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3.


1981 Senior League World Series
The 1981 Senior League World Series took place from August 17–22 in Gary, Indiana, United States. Georgetown, Delaware defeated Danville, California in the championship game.


1981 Senior League World Series
Taiwan's streak of nine consecutive SLWS titles ended as they finished in third place. The mark of nine straight championships still stands for all divisions of Little League baseball, and softball.


1981 Senior PGA Tour
The 1981 Senior PGA Tour was the second season since the Senior PGA Tour officially began in 1980 (it was renamed the Champions Tour in 2003 and adopted its current name of PGA Tour Champions in 2016). The season consisted of seven official money events with purses totalling $1,024,000, including two majors. Miller Barber won the most tournaments, three. The tournament results, leaders, and award winners are listed below.


1981 Senior PGA Tour, Tournament results
The following table shows all the official money events for the 1981 season. "Date" is the ending date of the tournament. The numbers in parentheses after the winners' names are the number of wins they had on the tour up to and including that event. Senior majors are shown in bold.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt
The 1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, sometimes referred to as the Seychelles affair or Operation Angela, was a failed South African–orchestrated coup to overthrow the government of Prime Minister France-Albert René in Seychelles and restore the previous president, James Mancham, to power.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt
The South African government encouraged a mercenary force to force the change of government but the poorly organised and underfunded operation was obstructed when a Seychelles customs official discovered weapons in the baggage of one of the arriving mercenaries and raised the alarm. After an extended firefight, the mercenaries hijacked an aircraft and fled to Durban in South Africa. They were charged in the South African courts but received lenient sentences. United Nations and the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission enquiries condemned the South African government for their participation in an attempt to overthrow a neighbouring government.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Background
The Republic of Seychelles achieved independence on 29 June 1976. James Mancham was president and France-Albert René was prime minister, but relations between the two quickly soured. In 1977 René's leftist supporters launched an armed coup while Mancham was in London. Though René denied any responsibility, he assumed the presidency in June. Being a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the René presidency was considered by the United States to be Marxist in its outlook and favourably disposed towards the Soviet Union.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Background
This led to a US initiated plot against his government in 1979 - the plot was uncovered and resulted in the expulsion of several of the 120 American civilians working at a USAF Satellite Tracking Facility on the main island of Mahe (for economic reasons the station was permitted to remain operational - but the terms of lease were re-negotiated to be more equitable towards the Seychelles). The US Ambassador to Kenya as well as the Charge 'd Affaires in the Seychelles were also implicated in the coup.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Background
Later in 1979, René's party won the elections and he pursued a socialist agenda, upsetting the small but influential middle class population. His reign also saw the withdrawal of South Africa's landing rights as well as a deterioration of economic ties between the two countries. René frequently warned that sympathizers of the old government were conspiring to use mercenaries to stage a counter-coup. Most of his critics dismissed the alleged plots as exaggerated or even fabricated excuses to jail political opponents.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Background
In 1978 the deposed Mancham approached the South African government through Seychelles exiles to garner support for a counter-coup. The South African government was willing to assist and set aside a small number of special forces for a plot, but directed Mancham's representative to Mike Hoare and a South African government front company called Longreach. "Mad" Mike Hoare had served as a mercenary during the Congo Crisis and, at the time, had retired to Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal and was living as a stock broker and investment manager. He agreed to lead the coup.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Background, Planning, South African support
South African officials organized the coup under the code name "Operation Angela". As plans developed, an internal struggle emerged between the Defence Intelligence Division (SADF-ID) and the National Intelligence Service (NIS) over which agency would be responsible for the operation. In the end, SADF was given charge of the plot but an NIS agent, Martin Dolinchek, was appointed to be a liaison officer with the task force. Seychellois exiles Gérard Hoarau, Paul Chow, and Edie Camille helped orchestrate the coup plot. Hoare determined that bringing in weapons via boat was, in spite of its effectiveness, too expensive a method to carry out.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Background, Planning, Kenyan Support
Several prominent Kenyan politicians were alleged to have had prior knowledge of the coup, most prominently Attorney General Charles Njonjo, Police Commissioner Ben Gethi, JD Irwin, head of Kenya's Criminal Investigation Department and Andrew Cole, the current 7th Earl of Enniskillen and then owner of Sunbird Aviation, now a part of Air Kenya. Twenty days before the attempt, Gerard Hoarau and Paul Chow were sent to Nairobi to book a Sunbird Aviation Beechcraft Super King Air 200, registration number N 821CA, to transport the exile government to Seychelles from Mombasa.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Background, Planning, Kenyan Support
There have also been allegations that Kenya was to play a larger role in the plot. Just prior to the operation, Mike Hoare would tell South African intelligence officer Martin Dolinschek that Kenya had agreed to send “troops and police while the government-in-waiting was assembled in Nairobi”. These troops would only arrive in the Sunbird Beechcradt after ‘Mad Mike’ had secured the army barracks, the airport and the radio station, which never came to pass. In the aftermath of the attempt, when Dolinschek was arrested, details of the Sunbird flight were found in his possession. Had Dolincheck not been left behind, perhaps the Kenyan connection would never have surfaced. Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi, then Chair of the OAU was embarrassed by the affair and may have been kept in the dark by Gethi and Njonjo who were both sacked the following year.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Background, Planning, Recruitment
An article in Gung Ho magazine edition of May 1981 titled "Mercenary opportunities west of Suez" extolled the benefits and possibilities associated with a mercenary take-over of Seychelles and Mauritius, noting former Seychelles Prime Minister Mancham's support for such an operation. According to the Johannesburg-based Sunday Times newspaper of 29 November 1981, Jim Graves (the editor of Soldier of Fortune magazine) admitted that he had known about a large African mercenary operation being planned and his visit to Johannesburg two days before the attempted coup was "pure coincidence." The word of a large recruitment drive was known in mercenary circles in London, Paris, Johannesburg and Durban.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Background, Planning, Recruitment
Hoare managed to assemble a force of 54 mercenaries (himself included). Of these, 27 were members of the South African Defence Force, 9 were ex-Rhodesian soldiers, 7 ex-Congo mercenaries, 1 NIS agent (Dolinchek), and 3 civilians. Hoare also advised that US$5 million be raised for the operation, but only US$300,000 was garnered. The rest of the mercenaries' salaries would come from the Seychelles Treasury.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Background, Planning, Plan
Nine members of Hoare's team were sent to the island of Mahé, Seychelles as an advance team. They were to identify potential targets and rally support from dissident Seychellois soldiers. The rest would arrive on a chartered Royal Swazi National Airways Fokker F-28 in the afternoon of 25 November 1981, disguised as vacationing rugby players and members of a charitable beer drinking club. They took the name of their beer club –Ye Ancient Order of Froth-Blowers (AOFB)– from a London society that had been defunct since the 1930s.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Background, Planning, Plan
As part of their cover, the mercenaries disguised as AOFB members filled their baggage with toys that were to be supposedly distributed to local orphanages. In reality, these were meant to conceal the weight of AK-47 rifles hidden under the false bottoms of each item of luggage. Hoare ensured that the toys were as bulky as possible to best suit the purpose.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Background, Planning, Plan
The mercenaries plan was to arrive on Mahé, rendezvous with the advance team and disperse around the island to various hotels. They were to wait for several days until René would be holding a cabinet meeting in the Maison du Peuple during which time they would launch their coup. They would seize the parliament, the airport, the radio station, police station, the army camp at Pointe La Rue, and other strategic locations. From the radio station they would broadcast that they had taken power on behalf of Mancham. The Seychellois exiles had assured the mercenaries that they would have the assistance of a 400-strong "local resistance force", but none such force existed.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Operation
At 17:30 on 25 November 1981, Hoare and 43 mercenaries flew into Seychelles International Airport at Pointe La Rue on Mahé. All but two of them had made it through customs when a security supervisor began a thorough search of the luggage of a mercenary, discovering an AK-47. Realising their cover was blown, the mercenaries produced their weapons. One security guard ran towards the office to request assistance and bolted the door, successfully raising the alarm, which lead to the beginning of a six-hour gun battle at the airport. About 70 airport staff and passengers were taken hostage by the mercenaries.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Operation
President René was in his residence when he received a phone call about the incident at the airport. He immediately put the island on alert, calling all police and militia into service and imposing a 24-hour curfew. Colonel Ogilvy Berlouis, the chief of the Defence Force, was ordered to secure the airport and prevent the mercenaries from escaping.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Operation
The number of mercenaries was unknown to the Seychellois, as was the question of whether the attack at the airport was supposed to coincide with a seaborne invasion. Hoare's men erected a roadblock on the north end of the airport and mounted an unsuccessful attack on the Pointe La Rue Barracks in which one mercenary was wounded. Seychellois forces, with two armoured vehicles, occupied the airstrip, confining the mercenaries to the airport's buildings. They also fired upon the chartered aircraft, disabling it.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Operation
One of the armoured vehicles made its way to the terminal forecourt, but the lights were out in the building and the driver had difficulty spotting the mercenaries. The vehicle's tires were quickly shot out and it was set ablaze by a Molotov cocktail. 2nd Lieutenant David Antat, the vehicle's commander, emerged from the top and engaged the mercenaries. They surrounded the vehicle and shot Antat several times in the chest, killing him.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Operation
While the fighting was underway, Air India Flight 224 (a Boeing 707) en route from Salisbury (now Harare) to Bombay (now Mumbai) carrying 13 crew and 65 passengers closed in to land for a scheduled refueling. The mercenaries, having just seized the control tower, gave permission for it to land. Berlouis was afraid that the plane might be carrying mercenary reinforcements and he thus ordered trucks to be used to block the runway while flares were fired to direct the pilot to abort the landing. At that point the plane was too committed to the landing and proceeded to land and despite the lack of runway lighting, the pilot managed to manoeuvre the aircraft to avoid the trucks, only sustaining superficial damage to its right wing.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Operation
Seychellois forces then began firing in the direction of the Boeing, spreading worry among some of the mercenaries who saw the aircraft as their only means of escape. The mercenaries then boarded the flight and the operational leader, Peter Duffy, instructed Captain Umesh Saxena to take them to Zimbabwe. After an argument regarding the lack of fuel, Saxena agreed to fly them to the nearer city of Durban, South Africa.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Operation
The advance team of five mercenaries, NIS agent Dolinchek (under the alias Anton Lubic) and one female civilian accomplice were subsequently arrested. From the total coup force, one mercenary had been killed (SADF 2 Recce member Johan Fritz) and two wounded. One Seychellois soldier was killed and a police sergeant was wounded.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Arrests, charges and sentences, Treason charges in Seychelles
Of the five mercenaries who had been arrested and charged in Seychelles, four (Zimbabwean Aubrey Brookes, South African Jerry Puren and Britons Bernard Carey and Roger England) were sentenced to death for treason on 6 July 1982. Martin Dollincheck was also found guilty of treason and was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment for indirect participation in the coup attempt. Robert Sims, the fifth mercenary was sentenced to ten years imprisonment on charges related to smuggling arms into the Seychelles. Charges were dropped against Susan Ingles (47), Sims' common law wife who had been arrested and was subsequently released. After extended negotiations between the Seychelles and South African governments and a US$3.0 million payment directly to President René - all six prisoners were pardoned by René and deported to South Africa in mid-1983.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Arrests, charges and sentences, Mercenary trial in South Africa
Mike Hoare and the mercenaries who had fled to Durban were arrested on landing in Durban. Surprisingly, they were not charged for having attempted a military coup in a foreign country but rather under the Civil Aviation Offences Act on relatively minor charges related to the Air India aircraft. Five were charged and released under bail, while the other mercenaries were released without charge.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Arrests, charges and sentences, Mercenary trial in South Africa
During the course of the proceedings and charges, General Magnus Malan in his capacity as Minister of Defence, invoked Section 29(1) of the General Laws Amendment Act barring twenty-five of the accused and/or witnesses (all of whom were current or reserve members of the SADF) from giving evidence on matters concerning their involvement in SADF operations prior to 24 November 1981. Without their testimony, only eight of the forty-three accused were charged.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Arrests, charges and sentences, Mercenary trial in South Africa
All other mercenaries had their charges dropped and were released The international response was swift and vitriolic, because South Africa had been a strong opponent of terrorism, including air piracy and it is also a signatory to many conventions on hijacking. South African law is harsh in this regard, with a mandatory five year minimum prison sentence for hijacking. Under sustained international pressure - the entire group of 44 mercenaries was again charged with air piracy on 5 January 1982.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Arrests, charges and sentences, Mercenary trial in South Africa
International and local press immediately commented that the charges may be a sham - as South African law defined a hijacking as an event that takes place once the aircraft doors have been closed and the aircraft is under direct command of the captain. As the decision was made to divert the aircraft to Durban before the "hijackers" embarked onto the aircraft, this was not considered to be air piracy, but rather a political crime that had taken pace on Seychelles territory and that should be ruled on by Seychelles courts. This was unlikely to happen as South Africa had no extradition treaty with Seychelles.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Arrests, charges and sentences, Mercenary trial in South Africa
After a five-month trial, Provincial Supreme Court Judge Neville James absolved the South African government and Prime Minister Pieter W. Botha of complicity in the coup attempt as had been alleged by the mercenaries. The sentences finally passed in July 1982 were:


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Arrests, charges and sentences, Muzzling of the press
Three journalists were found guilty of violating the Official Secrets Act for reporting that South Africa's secret service was involved in the aborted coup. Rex Gibson, editor of the English-language Rand Daily Mail; Tertius Myburgh, editor of the Sunday Times; and Eugene Hugo, a reporter for South African Associated Newspapers were fined between $270 to $720, but the fines were suspended.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, South African government's involvement
Prime Minister P.W. Botha stated that the attempted coup was carried out without the knowledge of the South African Government, the Cabinet or the State Security Council and he also stated that no authorization for the coup had been given by any of these entities. Also, the judge of the Pietermaritzburg hijack-trial concluded that the South African government was not involved in the coup. The UN Commission instituted under Resolution 495 revealed that the South African government had issued military mobilisation orders for forty-three of the mercenaries who were either serving in- or were reservist SADF soldiers. The South African government also refused to grant the UN Commission access to any of the mercenaries and it also prevented any interviews from being conducted with them.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, South African government's involvement
Mike Hoare said that the South African Cabinet and top ranking NIS and SADF officers knew about the abortive coup and condoned it. Martin Dolinchek (alias Anton Lubic) declared that his department (NIS) and the SADF had full and prior knowledge of the coup plans and they were presented to the South African Government in 1979 and rejected, only to be accepted in 1980. He stated that logistical support was given by the South African Defence Force with them providing AK-47 assault rifles, ammunition and grenades and further arranging for the other weapons to be available on the island).


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, South African government's involvement
Further, Dollincheck had travelled to the Seychelles on a government issued South African passport in the name of 'Anton Lubic'. He claimed the passport was issued to him on 12 October 1981 by the Department of the Interior in Durban. This was confirmed by the South African government to the United Nations inquiry into the abortive coup.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Kenyan involvement
Dollincheck told his captors in Seychelles that "..a new government was to be flown in from Kenya and that the Kenyan government had further agreed to provide two aircraft to fly in troops and police to support the new government and to supplement the mercenary force." Seychellois police found a document amongst Dollincheck's belongings that showed flight times for a Beechcraft Super Kingair 2000 that was scheduled to fly to Comoros on 24 November 1981 from Mombasa. Then it would fly back to Mombasa to take off again on November 26 to the Seychelles. Under questioning, Dolinchek filled in details that the charter plane from Mombasa would be carrying James Mancham, his wife and three colleagues ready to retake power in Seychelles. With them, Dolinchek added, would be Kenyan military and police reinforcements for the coup.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Kenyan involvement
The Kenyan government strongly denied any such involvement once this statement was made public. The denial was questioned as it was known that Kenyan President Arap Moi was not well disposed towards Seychelles and because Kenya was an active participant in the 1979 Seychelles attempted coup together with the United States.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Tanzania involvement
Tanzanian troops were helping man airport and coastal defense positions after the coup attempt by mercenaries, Maj. James Michel, the Seychelles Information Minister reported.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Tanzania involvement
Major Michel, who was also Chief of Staff of the Seychelles Defense Forces, said Tanzanian soldiers, who had been training the Seychelles Army since 1977, had almost all gone home before the mercenaries attacked the airport on the main island of Mahe on Nov. 25.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Tanzania involvement
But right after the attack Tanzania sent combat troops and they are now supplementing our own defense forces at the airport and coastal defense positions to help us counter any future aggressions, Major Michel said. They will stay as long as is needed.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, United Nations Commission
On 15 December 1981, the United Nations Security Council convened a commission of enquiry to investigate the invasion and to report its findings to the Security Council. The commission, composed of Panamanian, Irish and Japanese representatives concluded that "..it was 'hard to believe' South Africa had no prior knowledge of the plot to overthrow the leftist government on the Indian Ocean island."


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, United Nations Commission
In the second report, the Commission reported that evidence implicating the South African authorities had emerged and said 'it is not now disputed' that Hoare had approached the South African national intelligence service and was referred to members of the defense forces. The panel said it uncovered several other matters 'which it considers clearly established' South African involvement:


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission
The commission finds that the attempt to overthrow the Seychelles government was an operation undertaken by senior operatives of the NIS and the Department of Military Intelligence with the collusion of elements within the SADF. As such, it was a violation of international law and an infringement of the sovereignty of the Seychelles government. The death of a Seychellois citizen in the operation was a gross human rights violation.


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission
For these acts, the Commission finds the following to be accountable in their capacities as heads of agencies of the state directly involved in the operation:


1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Other
Mike Hoare later authored a book on the coup attempt, entitled The Seychelles Affair. After the event David Antat became a Seychelles national hero.


1981 Sicilian regional election
The Sicilian regional election of 1981 took place on 21 June 1981.


1981 Sicilian regional election
Christian Democracy was by far the largest party, largely ahead of the Italian Communist Party. During the legislature the Christian Democrats governed the Region in coalition with the Italian Socialist Party, the Italian Republican Party, the Italian Democratic Socialist Party and the Italian Liberal Party (Pentapartito).


1981 Singaporean presidential election
The 1981 Singaporean presidential election was held to elect the next President of Singapore with Devan Nair as the winning candidate elected by the Parliament of Singapore.


1981 Singaporean presidential election
During the election, 58 members of Parliament were present while 14 members were absent.


1981 Singaporean presidential election
Nair was sworn in as president on 24 October 1981.


1981 Sirch earthquake
The 1981 Sirch earthquake occurred at 00:22 local time (17:22 UTC) on July 28. It had a magnitude of 7.1 on the surface wave magnitude scale and a maximum perceived intensity of IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale. The epicentre was in the province of Kerman in eastern Iran. The earthquake caused the destruction of Kerman and serious damage to towns and villages in the surrounding area. The estimated number of deaths is 1,500, with a further 1,000 injured, 50,000 homeless, and extensive damage in the Kerman Region.


1981 Sirch earthquake
This is the largest event in the Kerman province since the 1981 Golbaf earthquake that killed 3,000 people. The 2003 Bam earthquake was the most significant earthquake in the Kerman Province.


1981 Skate America
The 1981 Skate America was held in Lake Placid, New York. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.


1981 Skate Canada International
The 1981 Skate Canada International was held in Ottawa, Ontario. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and ice dancing.


1981 Skate Canada International, Results, Men
Norbert Schramm won the compulsory figures, and took both second places in short program and free skating (receiving in free skating five 5.7 marks for technical merit and five 5.8 for artistic impression). Brian Orser was only 4th in the figures, but he was 1st in the short, and won the free, completed a triple Axel jump, received seven 5.9 for technical merit. Vitaly Egorov also have trying a triple Axel.


1981 Skate Canada International, Results, Ladies
Tracey Wainman captured first place, being only third in each part of competition (figures, short, and free). Rosalynn Sumners won the free skating.


1981 Sligo Intermediate Football Championship
This is a round-up of the 1981 Sligo Intermediate Football Championship. Grange earned promotion to the Senior grade in this year, but only after a replay win over Castleconnor, who made an impact in their first year out of Junior level.


1981 Sligo Senior Football Championship
This is a round-up of the 1981 Sligo Senior Football Championship. St. Mary's completed the three-in-a-row in the repeat of the 1980 final, albeit with a smaller winning margin. Eastern Harps would be relegated from Senior football this year, after a poor league campaign, despite successive Championship final appearances. St. Mary's later won their second Connacht title, following on this Championship win.


1981 Sligo Senior Football Championship, Sligo Senior Football Championship Final
Team:J. KellyT. CarrollJ. McNamaraK. DelaneyC. O'DonnellM. BarrettJ. McGowanM. LaffeyG. MonaghanE. McHaleB. MurphyJohn KentJim KentK. O'KeeffeR. Henneberry


1981 Sligo Senior Football Championship, Sligo Senior Football Championship Final
Team:J. CaseyR. ClarkeD. O'HaraD. GarvinS. GallagherF. CaseyM. ReidE. ClarkeR. TaylorR. TanseyD. JohnsonC. BruenD. DohertyP. MolloyJ. Higgins


1981 Slovak parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in the Slovak Socialist Republic on 5 and 6 June 1981 alongside national elections. All 150 seats in the National Council were won by the National Front.


1981 Sonoma State Cossacks football team
The 1981 Sonoma State Cossacks football team represented Sonoma State during the 1981 NCAA Division II football season. Sonoma State competed as an independent in 1981.


1981 Sonoma State Cossacks football team
The 1981 Cossacks were led by second-year head coach Milt Cerf. They played home games at Cossacks Stadium in Rohnert Park, California. Sonoma State finished the season with a record of three wins and seven losses (3–7). The Cossacks were outscored by their opponents 117–245 for the season. This was the last season for the Cossacks with Coach Cerf at the helm. He finished his two years at Sonoma State with a record of 9–11, a .450 winning percentage.


1981 Sonoma State Cossacks football team, Team players in the NFL
No Sonoma State players were selected in the 1982 NFL Draft.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States
The 1981 South African rugby tour (known in New Zealand as the Springbok Tour, and in South Africa as the Rebel Tour) polarised opinions and inspired widespread protests across New Zealand. The controversy also extended to the United States, where the South African rugby team continued their tour after departing New Zealand.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States
Apartheid had made South Africa an international pariah, and other countries were strongly discouraged from having sporting contacts with it. Rugby union was (and is) an extremely popular sport in New Zealand, and the South African team known as the Springboks were considered to be New Zealand's most formidable opponents. Therefore, there was a major split in opinion in New Zealand as to whether politics should influence sport in this way and whether the Springboks should be allowed to tour.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States
Despite the controversy, the New Zealand Rugby Union decided to proceed with the tour. The government of Prime Minister Robert Muldoon was called on to ban it, but decided that commitments under the Gleneagles Agreement did not require the government to prevent the tour, and decided not to interfere due to their public position of "no politics in sport". Major protests ensued, aiming to make clear many New Zealanders' opposition to apartheid and, if possible, to stop the matches taking place. This was successful at two games, but also had the effect of creating a law and order issue: whether a group of protesters could be allowed to prevent a lawful game taking place.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States
The dispute was similar to that involving Peter Hain in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s, when Hain's Stop the Tour campaign clashed with the more conservative 'Freedom Under Law' movement championed by barrister Francis Bennion. The allegedly excessive police response to the protests also became a focus of controversy. Although the protests were among the most intense in New Zealand's recent history, no deaths or serious injuries resulted.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States
After the tour, no official sporting contact took place between New Zealand and South Africa until the early 1990s, after apartheid had been abolished. The tour has been said to have led to a decline in the popularity of Rugby Union in New Zealand, until the 1987 Rugby World Cup.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Background
The Springboks and New Zealand's national rugby team, the All Blacks, have a long tradition of intense and friendly sporting rivalry. From the 1940s to the 1960s, the South African apartheid affected team selection for the All Blacks: the selectors passed over Māori players for some All Black tours to South Africa. Opposition to sending race-based teams to South Africa grew throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Prior to the All Blacks' tour of South Africa in 1960, 150,000 New Zealanders signed a petition supporting a policy of "No Maoris, No Tour". The tour still happened, and in 1969 Halt All Racist Tours (HART) was formed.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Background
During the 1970s public protests and political pressure forced on the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRFU) the choice of either fielding a team not selected by race, or not touring South Africa: South African rugby authorities continued to select Springbok players by race. As a result, the Norman Kirk Labour Government prevented the Springboks from touring during 1973. In response, the NZRFU protested about the involvement of "politics in sport".


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Background
In 1976, the All Blacks toured South Africa with the blessing of the newly elected New Zealand Prime Minister, Robert Muldoon. Twenty-five African nations protested against this by boycotting the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. In their view the All Black tour gave tacit support to the apartheid regime in South Africa. The 1976 tour contributed to the creation of the Gleneagles Agreement adopted by the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 1977.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of New Zealand
By the early 1980s the pressure from other countries and from protest groups in New Zealand such as HART reached a head when the NZRU proposed a Springbok tour for 1981. This became a topic of political contention due to the international sports boycott. The Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, refused permission for the Springboks' aircraft to refuel in Australia, so the Springboks' flights to and from New Zealand went via Los Angeles and Hawaii.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of New Zealand
Despite pressure for the Muldoon government to cancel the tour, permission was granted, and the Springboks arrived in New Zealand on 19 July 1981. Since 1977 Muldoon's government had been a party to the Gleneagles Agreement, in which the countries of the Commonwealth accepted that it was:


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of New Zealand
the urgent duty of each of their Governments vigorously to combat the evil of apartheid by withholding any form of support for, and by taking every practical step to discourage contact or competition by their nationals with sporting organisations, teams or sportsmen from South Africa or from any other country where sports are organised on the basis of race, colour or ethnic origin.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of New Zealand
Despite this, Muldoon argued that New Zealand was a free and democratic country, and that "politics should stay out of sport."


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of New Zealand
Some rugby supporters echoed the separation of politics and sport. Others argued that if the tour were cancelled, there would be no reporting of the widespread criticism of apartheid in New Zealand in the controlled South African media. Muldoon's critics felt that he allowed the tour in order for his National Party to secure the votes of rural and provincial conservatives in the general election later in the year, which Muldoon won.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of New Zealand
The ensuing public protests polarised New Zealand. While rugby fans filled the football grounds, protest crowds filled the surrounding streets, and on one occasion succeeded in invading the pitch and stopping the game.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of New Zealand
To begin with the anti-tour movement was committed to non-violent civil disobedience, demonstrations and direct action. As protection for the Springboks, the police created two special riot squads, the Red and Blue Squads. These police were, controversially, the first in New Zealand to be issued with visored riot helmets and long batons (more commonly the side-handle baton). Some protesters were intimidated and interpreted this initial police response as overkill and heavy-handed tactics. After early disruptions, police began to require that all spectators assemble in sports grounds at least an hour before kick-off.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of New Zealand
At Gisborne on 22 July, protesters managed to break through a fence, but quick action by spectators and ground security prevented the game being disrupted. Some protesters were injured by police batons.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of New Zealand, Hamilton: Game cancelled
At Rugby Park, Hamilton (the site of today's Waikato Stadium), on 25 July, about 350 protesters invaded the pitch after pulling down a fence. The police arrested about 50 of them over a period of an hour, but were concerned that they could not control the rugby crowd, who were throwing bottles and other objects at the protesters. Following reports that a stolen light plane (piloted by Pat McQuarrie) was approaching the stadium, police cancelled the match.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of New Zealand, Hamilton: Game cancelled
The protesters were ushered from the ground and were advised by protest marshals to remove any anti-tour insignia from their attire, with enraged rugby spectators lashing out at them. Gangs of rugby supporters waited outside Hamilton police station for arrested protesters to be processed and released, and assaulted some protesters making their way into Victoria Street.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of New Zealand, Wellington: Molesworth Street protest
The aftermath of the Hamilton game, followed by the bloody batoning of marchers in Wellington's Molesworth Street in the following week, in which police batoned bare-headed protesters, led to the radicalisation of the protest movement. Because of this, many protesters began to wear motorcycle or bicycle helmets to protect themselves from batons and head injury.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of New Zealand, Wellington: Molesworth Street protest
The authorities strengthened security at public facilities after protesters disrupted telecommunications by damaging a waveguide on a microwave repeater, disrupting telephone and data services, though TV transmissions continued as they were carried by a separate waveguide on the tower. Army engineers were deployed, and the remaining grounds were surrounded with razor wire and shipping container barricades to decrease the chances of another pitch invasion. At Eden Park, an emergency escape route was constructed from the visitors' changing rooms for use if the stadium was overrun by protestors. Crowds of anti-tour protestors stood outside as the police were overwhelmed but the hundreds of police still managed to prevent the protestors from entering the stadium.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of New Zealand, Christchurch
At Lancaster Park, Christchurch, on 15 August, some protesters managed to break through a security cordon and a number invaded the pitch. They were quickly removed and forcibly ejected from the stadium by security staff and spectators. A large demonstration managed to occupy the street adjacent to the ground and confront the riot police. Spectators were kept in the ground until the protesters dispersed.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of New Zealand, Auckland: plane invasion
A low-flying Cessna 172 piloted by Marx Jones and Grant Cole disrupted the final test at Eden Park, Auckland, on 12 September by dropping flour-bombs on the pitch. In spite of the bombing, the game continued. "Patches" of criminal gangs, such as traditional rivals Black Power and the Mongrel Mob, were also evident (The Black Power were Muldoon supporters). Footage was shown of the Clowns Incident, where police were shown beating unarmed clowns with batons. The same day in Warkworth, Dunedin and Timaru protesters stormed the local TV transmitters and shut off coverage of the Auckland game.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, The protest movement
Some of the protest had the dual purpose of linking racial discrimination against Māori in New Zealand to apartheid in South Africa. Some of the protesters, particularly young Māori, felt frustrated by the image of New Zealand as a paradise for racial unity. Many opponents of racism in New Zealand in the early 1980s saw it as useful to use the protests against South Africa as a vehicle for wider social action. However, some Maori supported the tour and attended games.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of the United States
With the American leg of the tour following directly after the events of New Zealand, further protests and clashes with police were expected. Threats of riots caused city officials in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City and Rochester to withdraw their previous authorisation for the Springboks to play in their cities.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of the United States, Midwest
The Springboks' match against the Midwest All Stars team had originally been intended to be played in Chicago. Following the anti-apartheid protests, it was secretly rescheduled to the mid morning of Saturday 19 September at Roosevelt Park in Racine, Wisconsin. The clandestine strategy seemingly worked as around 500 spectators gathered to watch the match. Late in the game, however, a small number of protestors arrived to disrupt proceedings and two were arrested after a brief altercation broke out on the field.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of the United States, Albany: pipe bomb
The cancelled New York City match against the Eastern All Stars was moved upstate to Albany. The long serving Mayor of Albany, Erastus Corning, maintained that there was a right of peaceful assembly to "publicly espouse an unpopular cause," despite his own stated view that "I abhor everything about apartheid".


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of the United States, Albany: pipe bomb
Governor Hugh Carey argued that the event should be barred as the anti-apartheid demonstrators presented an "imminent danger of riot", but a Federal court ruling allowing the game to be played was upheld in the United States Court of Appeals. A further appeal to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall was also overruled on the grounds of free speech.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of the United States, Albany: pipe bomb
The match went ahead with around a thousand demonstrators (including Pete Seeger) corralled 100 yards away from the field of play, which was surrounded by the police. No violence occurred at the game but a pipe bomb was set off in the early morning outside the headquarters of the Eastern Rugby Union resulting in damage to the building estimated at $50,000. No one was injured.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Tour of the United States, Glenville
The final match of the tour, against the United States national team, took place in secret at Glenville in upstate New York. The thirty spectators recorded at the match is the lowest ever attendance for an international rugby match.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Aftermath
The Muldoon government was re-elected in the 1981 election losing three seats to leave it with a majority of one.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Aftermath
The NZRU constitution contained much high-minded wording about promoting the image of rugby and New Zealand, and generally being a benefit to society. In 1985 the NZRU proposed an All Black tour of South Africa. Two lawyers successfully sued it, claiming such a tour would breach its constitution. A High Court injunction by Justice Casey stopped the tour.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Aftermath
The All Blacks did not tour South Africa until after the fall of the apartheid régime (1990–1994), although after the 1985 tour was cancelled an unofficial tour took place in 1986 by a team that included 28 out of the 30 All Blacks selected for the 1985 tour, known as the New Zealand Cavaliers but often advertised in South Africa as the All Blacks or depicted with the Silver Fern.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Aftermath
The role of the police also became more controversial as a result of the tour.


1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States, Aftermath
The All Blacks won the 1987 Rugby World Cup and rugby union was once again the dominant sport – in both spectator and participant numbers – in New Zealand.


1981 South African Grand Prix
The 1981 South African Grand Prix was a Formula Libre motor race held on 7 February 1981 at Kyalami.


1981 South African Grand Prix
The race was originally scheduled to be the opening round of the 1981 FIA Formula One World Championship. However, the ongoing war between Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) and the Formula One Constructors' Association (FOCA) resulted in FISA insisting on a date change which was not acceptable to the race organisers. Approval was ultimately given for the race to go ahead on its original date, but as a Formula Libre race rather than as a round of the Formula One World Championship.


1981 South African Grand Prix
The downgraded race was supported by the teams affiliated with FOCA, but not by the manufacturer teams (Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Ligier, Osella and Renault), all of whom were aligned with FISA. (Toleman was experiencing troubles with its overweight car and would not debut until the San Marino Grand Prix). The eleven teams present all fielded cars fitted with sliding side skirts, aerodynamic devices which were illegal in Formula One for 1981 but acceptable under Formula Libre regulations. The absence of the manufacturer teams meant that all 19 cars in the race were powered by Ford Cosworth engines.


1981 South African Grand Prix
The race was eventually won by Carlos Reutemann, driving a Williams, with Nelson Piquet second in a Brabham and Elio de Angelis third in a Lotus.


1981 South African Open (tennis)
The 1981 South African Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Johannesburg, South Africa that was part of the 1981 Volvo Grand Prix. It was the 78th edition of the tournament and was held from 21 November through 28 November 1981. First-seeded Vitas Gerulaitis won the singles title.


1981 South African Open (tennis), Finals, Doubles
John Yuill /  Terry Moor defeated  Fritz Buehning /  Russell Simpson 6–3, 5–7, 6–4, 6–7, 12–10


1981 South African general election
General elections were held in South Africa on 29 April 1981. The National Party, under the leadership of P. W. Botha since 1978, lost some support, but achieved another landslide victory, winning 131 of 165 directly elected seats in the House of Assembly.


1981 South African general election
Meanwhile, the Progressive Federal Party – led since 1979 by Frederik van Zyl Slabbert, an Afrikaner – increased its representation to 26 seats, thereby consolidating its position as the official opposition. The Herstigte Nasionale Party (HNP) now under the leadership of Jaap Marais and representing right-wing Afrikaner conservatives, received 14.1 % of the vote.


1981 South African general election
The HNP's tally marked a historic result; twice that of the former official opposition NRP, and within a touching distance of the liberal PFP, but failed to win a seat under the first-past-the-post system due to splitting its voter base with the NP in more liberal areas and being decisively defeated in the Afrikaner heartlands. In 1985, under the same parliament, HNP candidate Louis Stofberg managed a win in a by-election for Sasolburg, but the success was soon overrun by the Conservative Party under NP renegade Andries Treurnicht.


1981 South African general election
Despite divisions among the opposition, the NP lost three seats compared to its record 1977 result.


1981 South African general election, Background
The 1981 elections were the first since the abolition of the Senate and ongoing constitutional changes meant to bring in a more presidential system. The House of Assembly had become the sole chamber of Parliament.


1981 South African general election, Background
The elections were also the last to be held under the then 1961 constitution, under which South Africa had become a republic, while retaining a Westminster-style parliamentary system. In foreign policy, the Lancaster House Agreement and the shift to black majority rule and a ZANU–PF government in newly independent Zimbabwe the preceding year, was likely to have affected the results, including boost for the HNP and increased white wariness of the government's policy.


1981 South African general election, Background
The Angolan War and Border Wars had also raged on without obvious results, with a South Africa-backed UNITA in fierce opposition to the government of the MPLA in Luanda. Exceeding costs, and failure to accomplish strategic goals would have alienated both liberal and more hawkish voters dissatisfied with developments in a continent which, a decade earlier, South Africa would have dominated militarily. The 1977 Soweto uprising and following sanctions and boycotts still affected the South African economy, causing stagnant wages, unemployment and psychological alienation driving increased voter dissatisfaction.


1981 South African general election, Background
Although technically a Westminster system, Botha's initial reforms of the House of Assembly now included twelve additional members, four of whom were appointed by the State President and eight were indirectly elected by the directly elected members. These reforms secured the NP's existing majority, which became even more important with the planned introduction of the Tricameral Parliament in 1984, with the NP's majority role becoming more fragile with the introduction of Coloured and Indian representatives, albeit in different chambers. The elected additional members were chosen by means of proportional representation, by means of the single transferable vote.


1981 South African general election, Results
Of the twelve appointed and indirectly elected members, 11 were National Party representatives and one was from the Progressive Federal Party.


1981 South American Championships (tennis)
The 1981 South American Championships was a men's tennis tournament held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was the 15th edition of the tournament and was played on outdoor clay courts. The tournament was part of the 1981 Volvo Grand Prix and started was held from 16 November until 22 November 1981. First-seeded Ivan Lendl won the singles title.


1981 South American Championships (tennis), Finals, Doubles
Marcos Hocevar /  João Soares defeated  Álvaro Fillol /  Jaime Fillol 7–6, 6–7, 6–4


1981 South American Championships in Athletics
The 1981 South American Championships in Athletics were held in La Paz, Bolivia, between 5 and 8 November.


1981 South American Championships – Singles
José Luis Clerc was the defending champion but did not compete that year.


1981 South American Championships – Singles
Ivan Lendl won in the final 6–2, 6–2 against Guillermo Vilas.


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


1981 South American Junior Championships in Athletics
The 14th South American Junior Championships in Athletics were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from October 15–18, 1981.


1981 South American Junior Championships in Athletics, Participation (unofficial)
Detailed result lists can be found on the "World Junior Athletics History" website. An unofficial count yields the number of about 189 athletes from about 9 countries:  Argentina (42), Brazil (50), Chile (37), Colombia (12), Ecuador (1), Paraguay (6), Peru (2), Uruguay (10), Venezuela(29).


1981 South American Junior Championships in Athletics, Medal summary
Medal winners are published for men and womenComplete results can be found on the "World Junior Athletics History" website.


1981 South American Rugby Championship
The 1981 South American Rugby Championship was the twelfth edition of the competition of the leading national Rugby Union teams in South America.


1981 South American Rugby Championship
The tournament was played in Montevideo and won by Uruguay. Argentina didn't participate.


1981 South American U-20 Championship
The South American Youth Championship 1981 was held in Guayaquil and Quito, Ecuador. It also served as qualification for the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship.


1981 South American U-20 Championship, Qualification to World Youth Championship
The two best performing teams qualified directly for the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship.


1981 South American U-20 Championship, Qualification to World Youth Championship
Argentina also qualified, after winning an intercontinental play-off against New Zealand and Israel. Matches were played in Buenos Aires, Argentina.


1981 South Australian Open
The 1981 South Australian Open was a men's Association of Tennis Professionals tennis tournament held on outdoor grass courts at Memorial Drive in Adelaide, Australia that was part of the 1981 Volvo Grand Prix circuit. It was the 79th edition of the tournament and was held from 5 January until 11 January 1981. Fifth-seeded Mark Edmondson won the singles title.


1981 South Australian Open, Finals, Doubles
Colin Dibley /  John James defeated  Craig Edwards /  Eddie Edwards 6–3, 6–4


1981 South Australian Open – Doubles
The event was being held for the first time since 1979.


1981 South Australian Open – Doubles
Colin Dibley and John James won the title, defeating Craig Edwards and Eddie Edwards 6–3, 6–4 in the final.


1981 South Australian Open – Singles
Mark Edmondson won the title, defeating Brad Drewett 7–5, 6–2 in the final.


1981 South Carolina Gamecocks football team
The 1981 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina as an independent team in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Gamecocks would finish the season 6–6 overall.


1981 South Carolina State Bulldogs football team
The 1981 South Carolina State Bulldogs football team represented South Carolina State University as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) during the 1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season.


1981 South Glamorgan County Council election
The third election to South Glamorgan County Council and was held in May 1977. It was preceded by the 1977 election and followed by the 1985 election.


1981 South Glamorgan County Council election, Candidates
As in previous elections, Conservative and Labour candidates contested the vast majority of seats, with an increased number of Liberal candidates. There were a smaller number of Plaid Cymru and Ecology Party candidates and a few Independents.


1981 South Glamorgan County Council election, Outcome
Having lost control of the authority in 1977, Labour regained control with sweeping gains across the wards. The Liberals also made some advances in central Cardiff.


1981 South Glamorgan County Council election, Ward Results, Plas Mawr (four seats)
Former Labour MP Caerwyn Roderick was among the successful candidates in this ward. Former Penylan councilor Mary Hallinan sought to retain a seat for the Conservatives but was defeated.


1981 South Korean legislative election
Legislative elections were held in South Korea on 25 March 1981.


1981 South Korean legislative election
The new electoral system abolished appointed seats (1/3 of the National Assembly), which was replaced by proportional representation. The result was a victory for the Democratic Justice Party, which won 151 of the 276 seats in the National Assembly. Voter turnout was 77.7%.


1981 South Korean legislative election
The election was held under the influence of Coup d'état of 1979 and 1980. Major opposition political figures like Kim Young-sam was barred from running. Kim Dae-jung was arrested on May 17, 1980, and was a prisoner under death row, having been convicted of a fabricated charge of "inciting rebellion". Even the conservative Democratic Republican Party of Park Chung-hee was forcibly dissolved, and major figures like Kim Jong-pil was barred from running.


1981 South Korean legislative election
The election, while ostensibly a multi-party election, is widely considered to have been a fraudulent one, with supposed "opposition" politicians being heavily vetted by the Agency for National Security Planning and the South Korean Army Security Command.


1981 South Korean presidential election
Two-stage presidential elections were held in South Korea in February 1981. An electoral college was elected on 11 February, which in turn elected the president on 25 February. They were the last indirect presidential elections controlled by the government of Chun Doo-hwan under the new 1980 Constitution. Chun was re-elected with 90% of the electoral college vote.


1981 South Korean presidential election, Background
Rising to prominence as the leader of the military after the assassination of former military dictator of South Korea Park Chung-hee, Security Commander Chun Doo-hwan successfully forced Park's successor Choi Kyu-hah to step down from the presidency and became president himself through the indirect elections of 1980.