The ABC Sportsman Of The Year Awards were started in 1951 and first televised in 1957. Despite the gender-specific title, both males and females were eligible. The awards were eventually re-named the ABC Sports Award Of The Year in 1984 and later merged with the Sport Australia Awards to become the Australian Sports Awards. They continued until 2006.
The 1980 ABC Sportsman Of The Year was hosted by Norman May, with the major award won by motor racing driver Alan Jones.
See also: Saturday 3 January 1981 — MELBOURNE
Source: TV Week, 3 January 1981 (Except programs marked * Source: The Sun-Herald, 29 December 1980)
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| 6AM | 6am King Leonardo And His Short Subjects 6.30 Rocky And His Friends |
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| 7AM | 7am Michael Bentine’s Potty Time 7.20 Tom And Jerry 7.40 Merrie Melodies |
7am The Ghost Busters 7.30 All-Star Laff-A-Lympics |
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| 8AM | 8am The Kids From CAPER 8.30 Monster Squad |
8am Nobody’s House 8.30 How |
8am Waterline 8.30 Gardening’s Fun. Laurie McDonald |
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| 9AM | 9am Sounds. Donnie Sutherland | 9am Special: Me And Dad’s New Wife | 9am Rickety Rocket 9.30 QT Hush |
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| 10AM | 10am McDuff The Talking Dog 10.30 Big John Little John |
10am John’s Workshop 10.30 Aquaman |
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| 11AM | 11am Movie: Good Times. 1967 [IMDB] | 11.30 The Magic Wok. Philip Paxton | |||
| 12PM | 12pm Tennis: World Challenge | 12pm The Doris Day Show 12.30 Green Acres |
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| 1PM | 1pm Sportsview 1.02 Soccer: Match Of The Day |
1pm Tennis: Australian Men’s Open. Live from Kooyong, Melbourne | 1pm Special: Battle Of The Network Stars | 1pm Let’s Go Greek — Endaxi | |
| 2PM | 2pm Equestrian: Strathalbyn 1980 — The President’s Cup | 2pm Movie: The Man Behind The Gun. 1953 (B&W) [IMDB] | |||
| 3PM | 3pm Special: To Walk The Vertical 3.30 South Pacific International Track Series |
3pm Grandstand 3.50 Cricket: First Test. Australia v India. Live from the Sydney Cricket Ground |
3.40 Movie: For Those Who Think Young. 1964 (B&W) [IMDB] | ||
| 4PM | 4.15 Rugby Union: All Nations Cup 1980. Scotland v France, England v Wales (Rpt) | ||||
| 5PM | 5.10 Pacing: The Benson And Hedges Pacing Cup 5.15 World Sports Roundup 5.25 Race And Sporting Roundup 5.35 Survival |
5.30 Wild Kingdom | 5.30pm Cartoons | ||
| 6PM | 6.05 The Magic Show 6.55 Weather |
6pm Seven National News. Peter Ford 6.30 Young Ramsay |
6pm National Nine News 6.30 Diff’rent Strokes |
6pm Eyewitness News. Gordon Elliott, Graham McNeice 6.30 Special: Soundfactor |
6pm The Orphan (France) 6.30 In The Wake Of Odysseus (Germany) |
| 7PM | 7pm ABC News 7.15 Sports Review 7.30 Parkinson |
7.30 The Unknown War | 7pm Angie 7.30 Little House On The Prairie |
7.30 Switch | 7pm Along The Mediterranean (Yugoslavia) 7.30 Josephine (France) |
| 8PM | 8.35 Special: ABC Sportsman Of The Year 1980. Norman May | 8.30 Return Of The Saint | 8.30 Movie: The Hunters. 1956 [IMDB] | 8.30 The Runaways | |
| 9PM | 9.35 ABC News, Weather 9.45 Target |
9.30 How The West Was Won | 9.30 Movie: Bang The Drum Slowly. 1973 [IMDB] | * 9pm Movie: I Only Wish You Loved Me (Germany) [IMDB] | |
| 10PM | 10.35 The Val Doonican Music Show | 10pm Cricket: First Test. Australia v India. Highlights 10.30 Upstairs Downstairs |
10.30 Close | ||
| 11PM | 11.25 Close | 11.30 Nightmoves. Lee Simon | 11.30 The Evil Touch | 11.20 Movie: Charleston. 1978 [IMDB] | |
| 12AM | 12am Movie: The Killers. 1946 (B&W) [IMDB] | ||||
| 1AM | 1.30am Close | 1.10am Close | |||
| 2AM | 2am Movie: The Gamblers. 1970 [IMDB] | ||||
| 3AM | 3.50 Movie: The Brasher Doubloon. 1947 (B&W) [IMDB] | ||||
| 4AM | |||||
| 5AM | 5.10 Danger Man (B&W) (Continues to 6am) |
