- Jan 1 'New age music' radio program "Hearts of Space" makes its national syndication debut on U.S. National Public Radio
- Jan 1 12th Fiesta Bowl: #11 Arizona State beats #12 Oklahoma, 32-21
- Jan 1 49th Orange Bowl: #3 Nebraska beats #13 LSU, 21-20
- Jan 1 49th Sugar Bowl: #2 Penn State beats #1 Georgia, 27-23
- Jan 1 69th Rose Bowl: #5 UCLA beats #19 Michigan, 24-14
- Jan 1 PGA inaugurates all-exempt tour
- Jan 1 TCP/IP protocols become the only approved protocol on the ARPANET, replacing the earlier NCP protocol
- Jan 1 World Communications Year begins
- Jan 2 "Annie" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 2,377 performances
Sophisticated Ladies
Jan 2 Duke Ellington's musical "Sophisticated Ladies" closes at Lunt-Fontanne, NYC after 767 performances
- Jan 2 Gary Trudeau takes a 20-month break from writing "Doonesbury"
- Jan 2 In a 35-27 win over the Houston Oilers, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson completes 20 consecutive passes and finishes the season winning his second consecutive passing title with an NFL record 70.55% completion percentage
- Jan 2 Several African National Congress (ANC) members detained in Swaziland decide to leave the country voluntarily for Mozambique.
- Jan 3 Dallas running back Tony Dorsett sets NFL record with 99-yard rush in the Cowboys' 31-27 defeat at Minnesota Vikings
"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
Jan 4 Eurythmics release their breakthrough second studio album "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
- Jan 4 US Football League holds its 1st player draft
- Jan 7 Australia regain the Ashes with a 2-1 series win v England
Guatemala Arms Embargo Ends
Jan 7 President Reagan ends US arms embargo against Guatemala
Thatcher Visits Falklands
Jan 9 British PM Margaret Thatcher visits Falkland Islands
- Jan 10 NY Supreme Court issues a preliminary injunction barring NY Yankees from playing season-opening series against Tigers in Denver
Martin Yankee Manager
Jan 11 Billy Martin named NY Yankee manager for 3rd time
- Jan 11 Edmonton’s Pat Hughes sets NHL record for the fastest 2 shorthanded goals by one player at just 25 seconds apart in a 7-5 win at St. Louis; first player to break a Wayne Gretzky record
Dione Scores Hat-trick
Jan 11 LA Kings' center Marcel Dionne picks up his 24th NHL career hat-trick and adds 3 assists for 6 points in a 9-7 win at Washington; Kings' first road win after 8 straight losses
Baseball Hall of Fame
Jan 12 Brooks Robinson and Juan Marichal elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
- Jan 12 NCAA creates football Kickoff Classic to begin in August
- Jan 12 Quebec Nordiques play 230th NHL game without being shut out
AMA Urges Boxing Ban
Jan 13 AMA urges ban on boxing, cites Muhammad Ali's deteriorating condition
- Jan 15 Dutch political party DS'70 disbands
- Jan 15 Javed Miandad & Mudassar Nazar make 451 stand v India
- Jan 15 Thom Syles keeps a life saver intact in his mouth for over 7 hours
10th American Music Awards
Jan 17 10th American Music Awards: John Cougar, Rick Springfield, and Olivia Newton-John win
Wallace's Record Fourth Term
Jan 17 Alabama Governor George Wallace, becomes governor for a record 4th time
- Jan 17 Nigeria expels 2 million illegal aliens, mostly Ghanaians
- Jan 18 Dick Motta becomes the 5th NBA coach to record 600 wins as his Dallas Mavericks defeat the Golden State Warriors, 112-102 in Oakland, California
Thorpe's Olympic Medals Restored
Jan 18 IOC restores Jim Thorpe's Olympic medals (Pentathlon & Decathlon victories) 70 years after they were taken from him for being paid $25 in semi-pro baseball
- Jan 21 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Anthony E Hecht
- Jan 21 First supertitles for a live opera performance: "Elektra" at Canadian Opera Company, English titles by Sonya Friedman
- Jan 21 President Reagan certifies El Salvador human-rights abuses have decreased making country eligible for US military aid
- Jan 22 2nd flight readiness firing of Challenger's main engines; 22 seconds
- Jan 22 Houston is 1st NBA team to be held scoreless in an overtime Portland Trail Blazers out score them 17-0 & win 113-96
- Jan 22 NFC Championship, RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.: Washington Redskins beat Dallas Cowboys, 31-17
- Jan 23 "Mud Bowl", Miami Dolphins beat the New York Jets 14-0 in the AFC Championship Game on a wet, muddy field, which negated the Jets significant speed and skill advantage
- Jan 23 AFC Championship, Miami Orange Bowl: Miami Dolphins beat New York Jets, 14-0
- Jan 23 Cerebral Palsy telethon raises $14.7 million
Lendl Wins Back-to Back Titles
Jan 23 Ivan Lendl scores a 6–4, 6-4, 6–2 win over American John McEnroe to claim back-to-back ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis titles at Madison Square Garden, NYC
- Jan 23 Portland Trail Blazers score all 17 points in overtime to beat the Houston Rockets 113-96
- Jan 23 Russian radioactive satellite falls into Indian Ocean
- Jan 23 Schone skates ladies world record 5 km (7:40.97)
Björn Borg Retires
Jan 23 Tennis great Björn Borg announces retirement at 26 (5 x Wimbledon, 6 x French Open)
The A-Team
Jan 23 TV series "The A-Team" with George Peppard and Mr T premieres on NBC
Klaus Barbie Arrested
Jan 26 Nazi Gestapo war criminal Klaus Barbie arrested in Bolivia
40th Golden Globes
Jan 29 40th Golden Globes: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Ben Kingsley & Meryl Streep win
- Jan 30 Hilbert van Thumb becomes European skating champ
- Jan 30 Super Bowl XVII, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA: Washington Redskins beat Miami Dolphins, 27-17; MVP: John Riggins, Washington, RB
- Jan 31 In an effort to reduce driving deaths, a new law in UK requires drivers and front-seat passengers to wear seatbelts
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