Years in sports:	1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884
Centuries:	18th century · 19th century · 20th century
Decades:	1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s
Years:	1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884

Contents 1 Baseball 2 Football (Soccer) 3 Golf 4 Gymnastics 5 Horse Racing 6 Rowing 7 Tennis 8 Yacht racing 9 Births 10 Deaths

Baseball

• Detroit replaces Cincinnati leaving Cleveland and Providence the southerly cities on the National League circuit. Four others lie on the northerly rail line from stalwart Chicago to stalwart Boston: Detroit, Buffalo, Troy, and Worcester.
• In autumn, for the first time, all eight National League clubs prepare to continue next season.

Football (Soccer)

• March 12 - Andrew Watson makes his Scotland debut, becoming the world's first black international football player
• April 9 - FA Cup Final: Old Carthusians beat Old Etonians 3-0. This was the last final to be played between two Southern amateur sides.
• Moyola Park F.C. win the first Irish FA cup final

Golf

• British Open - Bob Ferguson

Gymnastics

• July 23 - The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, the world's oldest international sport federation, was founded.

Horse Racing

• May 17 - Hindoo wins the Kentucky Derby

Rowing

• Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race - Oxford

Tennis

• First U.S. National Singles Championship, precursor of the US Open won by Richard D. Sears

Yacht racing

• The New York Yacht Club retains the America's Cup as Mischief defeats Canadian challenger Atalanta, of the Bay of Quinte Yacht Club

Births

• March 28 – Martin Sheridan, Irish-born athlete from the US (d. 1918)
• May 14 – Ed Walsh, Hall of Fame Baseball pitcher (d. 1959)
• June 18 – Zoltán Halmay, Hungarian Olympic swimmer (d. 1956)
• August 5 – Louis Baillon, British field hockey player (d. 1965)
• August 18 – Gunnar Setterwall, Swedish tennis player (d. 1928)
• September 2 – Stanley Shoveller, British field hockey player (d. 1959)
• November 28 – Cecil Healy, Australian freestyle swimmer (d. 1918)
• December 20 – Branch Rickey, Baseball executive (d. 1965)
• December 29 – Jess Willard, Heavyweight boxing champion (d. 1968)

Deaths