1981 Bay Area’s Best
- The Oakland Raiders defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XV for their second Super Bowl Championship in franchise history.
- The first-annual World Games are played in Santa Clara, with Buck Shaw Stadium playing host as the main venue. The United States wins a total of 76 medals in the competition, 27 of which are gold.
1981 Bay Area First
- Eight years after forming in San Francisco, rock band Journey records the hit “Don’t Stop Believin’” in a Berkeley recording studio.
