Now, that I have published my list of best and worst sports moments in 2025, it is time for me to evaluate which are the best sports moments of every year of my life and beyond. As a sports history buff, there are stories I have fallen in love with that span as far back as the 1950’s, so altogether, I have come up with a list of my favorite sports moments for every year since 1951. Again, these are not what are necessarily considered the objectively greatest moments of each year (that list is coming later), but instead these are my favorite sports moment from each calendar year. Please note that the bolded moments below are my favorite sports moment from each decade.

Year	Moment	Sport:
1951	Kentucky football upsets Oklahoma in Sugar Bowl ending their 31 game winning streak	CF
1952	United States wins Summer Olympic medal count over the Soviet Union	Olympics
1953	Wake basketball wins first-ever conference tourney as member of the SoCon	CB
1954	Milan High School wins Indiana State High School Basketball Championship	HS Bball
1955	Wake Forest baseball wins College Baseball World Series	CBB
1956	San Francisco Dons win mid-major national basketball title with perfect 29-0 record	CB
1957	Wilmington’s Althea Gibson becomes first black player to win Wimbledon	Tennis
1958	Kentucky Wildcats win national basketball championship over Seattle	CB
1959	California wins epic one point NCAA Bball title game over West Virginia	CB
1960	Bill Mazeroski walk off World Series home run	MLB
1961	Wake Forest wins first ACC basketball Tournament title	CB
1962	Wake Forest basketball makes only Final Four appearance and wins third place game	CB
1963	Loyola Chicago basketball wins national basketball championship	CB
1964	Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) wins heavyweight title over Sonny Liston	Boxing
1965	Jack Nicklaus breaks Masters scoring record en route to title	Golf
1966	England wins first and only World Cup Soccer Championship	Soccer
1967	Jack Nicklaus breaks US Open socring record en route to title	Golf
1968	Bob Beamon 29 foot gold medal long jump	Olympics
1969	Joe Namath guarantees Super Bowl Upset	NFL
1970	Willis Reed Inspires NY Knicks to NBA Title	NBA
1971	Western Kentucky makes Cinderella Run to NCAA Tournament Final Four	CB
1972	American Mark Spitz wins record seven Olympic gold medals	Olympics
1973	Secretariat wins Triple Crown by 31 lengths	Horse
1974	Muhammad Ali upsets Foreman in Rumble in the Jungle	Boxing
1975	Muhammad Ali beats Joe Frazier in Thrilla in Manilla	Boxing
1976	Kentucky football wins share of SEC title for first time in 26 years	CF
1977	Seattle Slew wins horse racing triple crown	Horse
1978	Kentucky basketball wins national title over Duke	CB
1979	Wake Forest football stuns # 12 Georgia on the road	CF
1980	Miracle On Ice	Olympics
1981	Larry Bird wins first NBA title with the Boston Celtics	NBA
1982	“The Play” Cal-Stanford	CF
1983	NC State “Cardiac Pack” win national title	CB
1984	BYU wins Holiday to become last consensus national champ outside of the Power 5	CF
1985	Villanova Cinderella Championship	CB
1986	Jack Nicklaus wins Masters	Golf
1987	Minnesota Twins win World Series in 7 games	MLB
1988	Kirk Gibson World Series Home Run	MLB
1989	Michael Chang becomes youngest man to win Grand Slam with French Open title	Tennis
1990	Loyola Marymount makes Cinderella run to Elite 8 in honor of Hank Gathers	CB
1991	Michael Jordan wins first NBA Championship with Chicago Bulls	NBA
1992	Andre Agassi wins first grand slam and only Wimbledon title of his career	Tennis
1993	Boston College stuns Notre Dame in epic college football upset	CF
1994	George Foreman becaomes oldest heavyweight champ	Boxing
1995	Northwestern football wins Cinderella Big Ten Title	CF
1996	Kentucky basketball wins first national title of my lifetime	CB
1997	Michael Jordan Flu Game captapults Bulls to 5th NBA Title	NBA
1998	Kentucky basketball wins national title with three straight comeback wins	CB
1999	Andre Agassi wins French Open to complete career grand slam	Tennis
2000	South Carolina football shocks world with upset of # 10 Georgia	CF
2001	15-seeded Hampton beats Iowa State in first round of NCAA Tournament	CB
2002	Patriots upset Rams in Super Bowl	NFL
2003	Ohio State shocks Miami in 2OT to win BCS Title Game	CF
2004	Boston Red Sox end Curse of the Bambino	MLB
2005	# 4 Wake Forest basketball beats # 3 North Carolina in regular season thriller	CB
2006	Wake Forest football wins ACC Championship	CF
2007	Boise State beats Oklahoma in Fiesta Bowl	CF
2008	Kansas beats Memphis in NCAA Title Game with buzzer beater	CB
2009	Alabama wins SEC Football Championship	CF
2010	South Carolina baseball wins first NCAA baseball championship	CBB
2011	Kentucky football ends epic drought against Tennessee	CF
2012	Andy Murray wins Olympic Gold	Olympics
2013	Andy Murray ends great British drought at Wimbledon	Tennis
2014	Florida State’s final drive ends SEC reign of terror	CF
2015	American Pharoah wins Horse Racing Triple Crown	Horse
2016	Andy Murray wins 2nd Wimbledon title on weekend of Andrew’s birth	Tennis
2017	New England Patriots complete greatest comeback in SB history over Falcons	NFL
2018	UMBC pulls off first 16 over 1 upset in NCAA Tournament	CB
2019	Expos/Nationals franchise wins first world series	MLB
2020	Dominic Thiem wins first grand slam title in fifth set tiebreaker	Tennis
2021	Wake Forest football wins the ACC Atlantic title	CF
2022	St. Peter’s Peacocks make greatest Elite 8 Cinderella run ever as 15 seed	CB
2023	Fairleigh Dickinson pulls off biggest First Round Upset Ever	CB
2024	South Carolina women win national basketball title with undefeated season	CB
2025	UNCW wins CAA tourney title and returns to the Big Dance for the first time in 8 years	CB

Here is a breakdown of how frequently each sport has given us the moment of the sports year from this list.

College Bball	22
College Fball	15
Tennis	7
MLB	5
Olympics	5
Boxing	4
NBA	4
NFL	3
Golf	3
Horse Racing	3
College Baseball	2
Soccer	1
HS Bball	1

Also, here is a breakdown of the subject matter for each of the moments listed above.

NCAA bball tourney upsets/Cinderella runs- 11

Wake Forest wins- 8

Kentucky Wildcat wins- 7

College Football Upsets/Cinderalla Runs- 5

World Series Triumphs- 5

Misc. US Olympic golds- 4

Andy Murray titles- 3

Muhammad Ali title wins- 3

South Carolina Gamecock wins- 3

Jack Nicklaus titles- 3

Horse Racing Triple Crown wins- 3

Andre Agassi- 2

Misc. College Football epic finishes- 2

Misc. Tennis Triumphs- 2

Misc. NBA triumphs- 2

Michael Jordan titles- 2

New England Patriot Super Bowl titles- 2

Misc. College Basketball epic finishes- 1

Alabama Crime Tide wins- 1

Misc. Boxing titles- 1

Misc. Wimbledon titles- 1

English soccer titles- 1

Misc. Super Bowl upsets- 1

Misc. HS Bball wins- 1

UNCW titles- 1

Finally, here is a breakdown of the sport and subject matter for the various best moments of a decade as designated above.

Breakdown by sport for decade winner
College Bball	1
Boxing	1
College Fball	1
Olympics	1
Horse Racing	1
Tennis	1
HS Bball	1

Breakdown by Subject Matter (decade winner):

Misc. HS Bball wins- 1

Horse Racing Triple Crown wins- 1

Misc. US Olympic golds- 1

Muhammad Ali title wins- 1

Wake Forest wins- 1

Kentucky Wildcat wins- 1

Andy Murray titles- 1