Bradman's 4th Consecutive Century
Jan 2 Master batsman Don Bradman scores 107 for South Australia in a Sheffield Shield match against Victoria for his 4th consecutive century in first-class cricket
1st NFL All-Star Game
Jan 15 1st NFL All-star Game, Wrigley Field, Chicago: New York Giants beat All America All-Stars, 13-10
- Jan 17 Ed Barrow is elected Yankee president succeeding deceased J Ruppert
Berg's 3rd Title
Jan 20 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Patty Berg wins 3rd straight title by 2 strokes ahead of Dorothy Kirby
- Jan 21 US female Figure Skating championship won by Joan Tozzer
Baseball Hall of Fame
Jan 24 Eddie Collins, Willie Keeler & George Sisler elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Bromwich Defeats Quist
Jan 28 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Australian John Bromwich wins his 1st Australian title; beats doubles partner Adrian Quist 6-4, 6-1, 6-3
- Jan 28 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: In an all-Australian final Emily Hood Westacott beats Nell Hall Hopman 6-1, 6-2 for her only Grand Slam singles title
- Feb 17 Katwijk soccer team forms in the Netherlands
- Mar 16 NHL record 10 goals in 1 period-NY Rangers (7), NY Americans (3) & a record 26 points in the 3rd period
- Mar 18 England beats Scotland, 9-6 at Murrayfield, Edinburgh to force a share of the Home Nations Rugby Championship with Wales and Ireland
- Mar 24 98th Grand National: Irish jockey Tim Hyde wins, riding 100/8 shot Workman
- Mar 27 1st NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: U of Oregon beats Ohio State, 46-33; Ohio State forward Jimmy Hull is named tournament Most Outstanding Player
- Mar 28 Renaissance Big 5 win 1st pro basketball championship
Guldahl's Only Title
Apr 2 6th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Ralph Guldahl wins his only Masters title with a tournament record 279 (−9), 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Sam Snead
- Apr 16 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: Boston Bruins beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1 for a 4-1 series win; first best-of-7 SC Final series
- Apr 17 43rd Boston Marathon won by Ellison Brown in 2:28:51.8; his second victory in the event
- Apr 17 In his 6th title defense, world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis KOs Jack Roper in 1 at Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, California
William's 1st MLB Hit
Apr 20 Ted Williams' first MLB hit comes off of NY Yankees fellow future HOF'er Red Ruffing in Boston's 2-0 opening day defeat at Yankee Stadium, NYC
- Apr 23 Boston Red Sox Ted Williams hits his 1st HR
Gehrig Sets Record
Apr 30 Lou Gehrig sets a MLB record playing his 2,130th consecutive and final game for the New York Yankees.
- May 2 New York Yankee Lou Gehrig ends 2,130 consecutive game streak, Yanks beat Detroit Tigers 22-2
- May 6 65th Kentucky Derby: James Stout aboard Johnstown wins in 2:03.4
- May 13 64th Preakness: George Seabo aboard Challedon wins in 1:59.8
- May 17 1st televised baseball game is broadcast on NBC, with Princeton University defeating Columbia University 2-1
- May 25 Carl Storck becomes 2nd NFL president
- May 30 Indianapolis 500: Reigning champion Floyd Roberts is killed in crash on lap 109; Wilbur Shaw wins his second of 3 Indy 500 titles
43rd US Men's Open
Jun 12 US Open Men's Golf, Philadelphia Cricket Club: Byron Nelson wins by 3 strokes from Craig Wood and 7 ahead of Denny Shute in a 36-hole playoff to claim the second of his 5 major titles
- Jun 17 44th Women's French Championships: Simonne Mathieu beats Jadwiga Jedrzejowska (6-3, 8-6)
French Men's Championship
Jun 17 French Championships Men's Tennis: American collegiate champion Don McNeill beats countryman Bobby Riggs 7-5, 6-0, 6-3
- Jun 21 NY Yankees announce Lou Gehrig's retirement after doctors reveal he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Nagurski vs Thesz
Jun 23 Bronko Nagurski beats Lou Thesz in Houston, to win National Wrestling Association world heavyweight title
Headley Scores 107
Jun 27 Brilliant West Indies batsman George Headley scores 107 to follow his 106 in the 1st innings in 1st cricket Test v England at Lord's; England still wins by 8 wickets
- Jun 27 Brooklyn Dodgers tie Boston Bees, 2-2 in 23 innings; called on account of darkness after 5 hours 15 minutes
- Jun 28 Joe Louis beats Tony Galento by TKO at 2:29 in round 4 at Yankee Stadium, NYC in his 7th heavyweight boxing title defense
- Jun 28 Yanks hit 13 HRs, sweep A's 23-2 & 10-0
- Jul 4 Lou Gehrig is first MLB player to have his number (4) retired on his "Appreciation Day" at Yankee Stadium, makes iconic "luckiest man" speech
- Jul 4 Red Sox 3rd baseman Jim Tabor hits record-tying 2 grand slams in one MLB game, 18-12 win v Phillies
- Jul 7 British Open Men's Golf, St Andrews: In the last Open played for 7 years, due to WWII, England's Dick Burton wins by 2 strokes from American Johnny Bulla
- Jul 7 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Bobby Riggs beats fellow American Elwood Cooke 2-6, 8-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 for Wimbledon sweep, also won doubles & mixed doubles titles
Wimbledon Women's Tennis
Jul 8 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: American Alice Marble wins her only Wimbledon singles title beating Kay Stammers of England 6-2, 6-0
- Jul 9 A meeting of 6,000 Indians, held at the Indian Sports Ground in Johannesburg South Africa, launch the Passive Resistance Campaign against apartheid and racial policy in South Africa
Sports History
Jul 11 7th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 3-1 at Yankee Stadium, New York NY Yankee/AL manager Joe McCarthy starts 6 Yankees players
- Jul 17 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Pomonok CC: 1938 Masters champion Henry Picard wins his 2nd major title defeating Byron Nelson with a birdie at the 37th hole
- Jul 25 New York Yankees starting pitcher Atley Donald sets American League rookie record for consecutive wins; beats St. Louis Browns 5-1 for his 12th straight victory
- Jul 26 Yankee catcher Bill Dickey hits 3 consecutive HRs
- Jul 30 Tour de France: Sylvère Maes of Belgium wins his 3rd title from Frenchman René Vietto
- Aug 13 Yankees set AL shutout margin with 21-0 victory over A's
- Aug 14 First night MLB game in the City of Chicago is played at Comiskey Park; White Sox beat St. Louis Browns, 5-2
- Aug 15 First night game at baseball's Comiskey Park in Chicago, White Sox beat Cleveland Browns 5-2
- Aug 26 1st major league baseball telecast on W2XBS- Cincinnati Reds defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn
- Aug 30 6th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: NY Giants 9, All-Stars 0 (81,456)
- Aug 30 NY Yankee Atley Donald pitches a baseball a record 94.7 mph (152 kph)
- Sep 1 Last day of 1st-class cricket in England before the declaration of war against Germany; great slow left-armer Hedley Verity finishes with amazing figures of 7 for 9 v Sussex to give Yorkshire the County Championship
- Sep 5 International Lawn Tennis Challenge, Haverford, PA: John Bromwich beats American Frank Parker 6-0, 6-3, 6-1 to give Australia the title, 3-2
Baseball Record
Sep 8 Cleveland Indians Bob Feller, 20, is youngest pitcher to win 20 games
- Sep 8 Yanks beat Red Sox 4-1 in 7, game called because of lightning
- Sep 16 NY Yankees clinch their 11th & 4th successive pennant
- Sep 17 US National Championship Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Reigning Wimbledon champion Bobby Riggs beats fellow American Welby van Horn 6-4, 6-2, 6-4
- Sep 17 US National Championship Women's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Dual champion Alice Marble beats Helen Jacobs 6-0, 8-10, 6-4
- Sep 20 Joe Louis puts Bob Pastor down 5 times before an 11th round KO at Briggs Stadium, Detroit in his 8th heavyweight boxing title defense
- Sep 23 Cookie Lavagetto goes 6 for 6-Dodgers get 27 hits & beat Phillies 22-4
- Sep 27 White Sox host 1st "day-night" doubleheader, lose twice to Cleveland, 5-2 & 7-5
- Sep 30 Chicago pitcher Clint Brown sets MLB record with his 61st relief appearance as White Sox beat St. Louis Browns, 7-5
- Sep 30 In the first televised college football game, Fordham beats Waynesburg, 34-7 at Randalls Island, NY
- Oct 8 Baseball World Series: NY Yankees beat Cincinnati Reds, 7-3 at Crosley Field for 4-0 sweep; Yankees 4th straight WS title
Sports History
Oct 11 Bucky Harris signs to manage Washington again
- Oct 22 NBC becomes first network to televise a pro football game; Brooklyn Dodgers beat Philadelphia Eagles, 23-14 at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field
DiMaggio Wins MVP
Oct 24 Joe DiMaggio wins AL MVP, Jimmie Foxx is runner-up
- Oct 29 NHL Babe Seibert Memorial Game: All-Stars beat Montreal 5-3
- Nov 19 Don Lash wins 6th straight AAU cross-country 10K championship
- Nov 29 Cor Klint swims world record 200 m backstroke (2:38.8)
- Dec 6 5th Heisman Trophy Award: Nile Kinnick, Iowa (HB)
- Dec 7 Lou Gehrig, 36, is elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame
- Dec 9 1940 NFL Draft: George Cafego from University of Tennessee first pick by Chicago Cardinals
- Dec 9 CFL Grey Cup, Landsdowne Park, Ottawa: Winnipeg Blue Bombers claim 2nd title; defeat Ottawa Rough Riders, 8-7
- Dec 10 National Football League Championship, Dairy Bowl, West Allis, Wisconsin: Green Bay Packers beat New York Giants, 27-0; Packers 5th title
- Dec 16 Bradman scores 251* SA v NSW, 271 minutes, 38 fours 2 sixes
- Dec 30 Bradman scores 267 South Australia v Vic, world record 34th double cricket century
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions