- Jan 1 14th Orange Bowl: #10 Georgia Tech beats #12 Kansas, 20-14
- Jan 1 14th Sugar Bowl: #5 Texas beats #6 Alabama, 27-7
- Jan 1 34th Rose Bowl: #2 Michigan beats #8 Southern California, 49-0
Bradman Century Against India
Jan 1 Australian cricket master batsman Don Bradman scores 132 on first day of 3rd Test v India; follows up with 127no in 2nd innings; Australia wins by 233
- Jan 3 Australian cricket batting maestro Don Bradman completes dual Test centuries (132 & 127* [26th Test 100]) in 3rd Test v India in Melbourne
- Jan 21 Three of the greats of cricket make their debut in a drawn 1st Test match at Bridgetown, Barbados; Sir Clyde Walcott and Sir Everton Weekes for the West Indies, and Jim Laker for England
- Jan 22 All time great England cricket spin bowler Jim Laker takes 7-103 in his first Test innings in 1st Test v West Indies in Bridgetown, Barbados
- Jan 23 Australian cricket captain Don Bradman scores 201 in 4th Test win v India in Adelaide; Sid Barnes 112 and Lindsay Hassett 198no in Australian total 674
Australian Men's Tennis Open
Jan 26 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Adrian Quist wins his 3rd Australian title; beats fellow Australian and doubles partner John Bromwich 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
- Jan 26 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Nancye Wynne Bolton beats Marie Toomey 6-3, 6-1 for 4th straight Australian single title
- Jan 29 Commissioner Happy Chandler fines the Yankees, Cubs and Phillies $500 each for signing high school players
- Jan 30 V Winter Olympic Games open in St Moritz, Switzerland
- Jan 31 An unprecedented 3-way tie for the silver medal in the 500m speed skating at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Americans Robert Fitzgerald & Ken Bartholomew, and Thomas Byberg of Norway are equal on 43.2s; Finn Helgesen of Norway wins gold, 43.1s
- Jan 31 Sweden sweeps the medals in the 18km cross country event at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Martin Lundström takes gold ahead of countrymen Nils Östensson and Gunnar Eriksson
- Jan 31 Swiss pair Felix Endrich & Friedrich Waller beat countrymen Fritz Feierabend & Paul Eberhard to win the 2-man bobsleigh gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; silver medallist Feierabend is team coach
- Feb 1 Finland goes 1-2 in the Nordic combined event at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Heikki Hasu takes gold ahead of teammate Martti Huhtala
- Feb 1 Johnny Palmer sets a 36-hole PGA Tour scoring record with rounds of 62-64 in the Tucson Open; finishes runner-up by 1 stroke to Skip Alexander who cards tournament record total 264
- Feb 4 After winning the men’s downhill, French alpine skier Henri Oreiller takes the combined gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; becomes most successful athlete at these Games with a slalom bronze
- Feb 5 18-year-old Dick Button becomes first American men's figure skating Olympic gold medallist at the St. Moritz Winter Games; first to complete a double axel in competition; retains title in 1952
- Feb 5 Gretchen Fraser becomes 1st US woman Olympic ski slalom champion
- Feb 6 Bradman retires hurt, 57 in his last Test Cricket innings in Australia
- Feb 6 Nils Karlsson wins the 50k cross country gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Swedish skiers win all 3 cross-country events at the Games
- Feb 6 World & European champion Barbara Ann Scott becomes the first Canadian to win a women's figure skating Olympic gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Games
- Feb 7 After winning Lake Placid (1932) and Garmisch-Partenkirchen (1936) Olympic ski jumping gold medals, Birger Ruud comes out of retirement to win silver in St. Moritz in a Norwegian medal sweep
- Feb 8 Canada beats Switzerland 3-0, to regain the Olympic ice hockey title at the St. Moritz Winter Games; forward Walter Halder top scores with 29 points in Canada’s 5th Olympic title
- Feb 8 V Winter Olympic Games close at St Moritz, Switzerland
- Feb 11 Billy Griffith scores cricket century on debut Eng v WI, out for 140
- Feb 11 Test cricket debut of Frank Worrell for the West Indies vs. England at Port-of-Spain
- Feb 13 West Indian batsman Andy Ganteaume scores 112 for W Indies in his only Test Cricket innings
- Feb 21 NASCAR is incorporated
Little's Leap Day PGA Win
Feb 29 Lawson Little earns his first tournament victory since his US Navy discharge capturing the St. Petersburg Open by 3 strokes over Bobby Locke; last golfer to win a PGA Tour event on Leap Year Day
Berg Wins 4th Title
Mar 21 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Patty Berg wins her 4th Titleholders title by 1 stroke ahead of Babe Zaharias and Peggy Kirk
- Mar 23 10th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Kentucky beats Baylor, 58-42; Wildcats' first victory in first title game
- Mar 29 Drachtster Boys soccer team forms in Drachten, Netherland
- Mar 29 New York Yankees & Boston Red Sox tie at 2-2 in 17, spring training game
- Apr 1 Fast bowler Hines Johnson has match figures of 10-96 on debut in West Indies 4th cricket Test win v England in Kingston, Jamaica; first fast bowler to take 10 wickets in a single Test for West Indies
Mack vs Griffith
Apr 4 84-year-old Connie Mack challenges 78-year-old Clark Griffith to a race from home to 1st base; it ends in a tie
12th US Masters
Apr 11 12th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Claude Harmon shoots a record-tying 279 (−9) to finish 5 strokes ahead of runner-up Cary Middlecoff
- Apr 14 Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Toronto Maple Leafs go back-to-back with a 7-2 win over Detroit Red Wings for a 4-0 series sweep
- Apr 19 52nd Boston Marathon won by Gerard Cote of Canada in 2:31:02; his 4th victory in the event
- Apr 21 Basketball Association of America Finals: Baltimore Bullets beat Philadelphia Warriors, 88-73 to take series, 4 games to 2
74th Kentucky Derby
May 1 74th Kentucky Derby: Eddie Arcaro wins aboard Citation to become first 4-time Derby winning jockey
- May 15 73rd Preakness: Eddie Arcaro wins aboard Citation, 2nd leg of successful Triple Crown
- May 16 First chess world championship since WWII; Russian player Mikhail Botvinnik wins a 5-player tournament to begin 20-year Russian domination
- May 20 Cleveland Indians tie AL record of 18 walks (beat Red Sox 13-4)
DiMaggio Hits for Cycle
May 21 NY Yank Joe Dimaggio hits for cycle (single, double, triple, HR)
- May 23 Future Baseball Hall of Fame center fielder Joe DiMaggio hits 3 consecutive HRs as the New York Yankees edge the Indians, 6-5 at Cleveland Stadium
30th PGA Championship
May 25 30th PGA Championship Men's Golf, Norwood Hills CC: Ben Hogan scores a convincing 7 & 6 win over Mike Turnesa in the Tuesday final for his 2nd PGA crown
Sports History
May 27 Hank Greenberg buys an interest in the Cleveland Indians
52nd French Championships
May 29 52nd French Championships Men's Tennis: Frank Parker wins 1st of 2 straight French titles; beats Jaroslav Drobný 6-4, 7-5, 5-7, 8-6
- May 29 French Championships Women's Tennis: Belgium-born but representing France, Nelly Landry beats American Shirley Fry 6-2, 0-6, 6-0 for her lone major title
Baseball Record
May 30 Schenectady Blue Jays Tommy Lasorda strikes out 25 in 15-inning game
32nd Indianapolis 500
May 31 32nd Indianapolis 500: For the second straight year, Blue Crown Spark Plug teammates Mauri Rose and Bill Holland finish 1st-2nd; Rose the second driver to win the 500 in consecutive years
- May 31 Tommy Lasorda strikes out 25 Amsterdam Rugmakers (in 15 innings)
Ashburn's Sets Rookie Record
Jun 5 Phillies Richie Ashburn sets NL rookie consecutive hitting streak at 23
- Jun 12 80th Belmont: Eddie Arcaro wins aboard Citation to claim his second Triple Crown
- Jun 12 In his farewell Ashes Tour, Australian cricket batting maestro Don Bradman scores 138 in 1st Test against England at Trent Bridge
- Jun 12 US Open Men's Golf, Riviera CC: Ben Hogan dominates final 2 rounds, shooting 68-69, 2 shots ahead of runner-up Jimmy Demaret; third of his 9 major titles
- Jun 15 First night game at Briggs Stadium, Detroit: Tigers beat Philadelphia A's, 4-1
- Jun 15 In his farewell Ashes Tour, Don Bradman is out for a duck (0) in the Australian 2nd innings, but tourists win 1st Test against England by 8 wickets at Nottingham
- Jun 18 Future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts debuts for the Philadelphia Phillies, taking a 2-0 loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Shibe Park, Philadelphia
Louis KOs Walcott
Jun 25 Joe Louis KOs Jersey Joe Walcott in 11 for heavyweight boxing title, at Yankee Stadium, NYC
- Jun 30 Cleveland Indians' future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Lemon no-hits Detroit Tigers, 2-0
- Jul 1 Australian cricket captain Don Bradman scores 128 in 141 mins with 15 fours in a tour match vs Surry
Sports History
Jul 1 Brooklyn's future Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Roy Campanella debuts with 3 hits in a 6-4 loss to the rival NY Giants
- Jul 2 British Open Men's Golf, Muirfield: England's Henry Cotton wins by 5 strokes from Irishman Fred Daly for his third Open victory
- Jul 2 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: American Bob Falkenburg beats John Bromwich of Australia 7-5, 0-6, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 for his only Grand Slam singles title
Wimbledon Women's Tennis
Jul 3 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Louise Brough beats fellow American Doris Hart 6-3, 8-6 for the first of 3-straight Wimbledon singles titles
Sports History
Jul 7 Cleveland Indians stun MLB by signing 42-year-old veteran Negro Leagues pitcher Satchel Paige
- Jul 9 Satchel Paige, 42, debuts in majors pitching 2 scoreless innings for Cleveland in St. Louis
- Jul 13 15th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 5-2 at Sportsman's Park, St Louis
Sports History
Jul 16 MLB manager merry-go-round: Philadelphia Phillies - Ben Chapman out / Eddie Sawyer in; NY Giants - Mel Ott out / Leo Durocher in; Brooklyn Dodgers - Durocher out / Burt Shotton in
- Jul 18 Pat Seerey of Chicago White Sox hits 4 HRs in an 11 inning game
- Jul 25 35th Tour de France: Italian cyclist Gino Bartali wins both general and mountain classifications for the second time (1938)
- Jul 26 "Babe Ruth Story" premieres, Babe Ruth's last public appearance
- Jul 26 Leo Durocher returns to Ebbets Field as manager of New York Giants
- Jul 27 Bradman's 29th and last Test Cricket century, part of winning 3-404
Olympic Games
Jul 30 Czech distance running legend Emil Zátopek wins the 10,000m at the London Olympics in 29:59.6, an Olympic record
- Jul 31 American sprinter Harrison Dillard runs an Olympic record 10.3s to beat countryman Barney Ewell for the 100m gold medal at the London Olympics
- Jul 31 American swimmer Wally Ris wins the coveted 100m freestyle gold medal at the London Olympics beating teammate Alan Ford by 0.4 seconds
- Aug 2 Danish swimmer Greta Anderson (1:06.3) touches out American Ann Curtis by 0.2 in the women's 100m freestyle at the London Olympics
- Aug 2 Fanny Blankers-Koen of the Netherlands wins the 100m in 11.9 at the London Olympics; 1st of unprecedented 3 individual track & field gold medals
- Aug 2 Italians Adolfo Consolini and Giuseppe Tosi go 1-2 in the men's discus final at the London Olympics
- Aug 3 American divers Vicki Draves, Zoe Ann Olsen and Patsy Elsener go 1-2-3 in a US clean sweep of the medals in the women's 3m springboard at the London Olympics
- Aug 3 An American 1-2 in the men's 200m at the London Olympics with Mel Patton (21.1) beating teammate Barney Ewell
- Aug 3 An American clean sweep of the medals in the men's 3m springboard diving at the London Olympics with Bruce Harlan winning gold, Miller Anderson silver and Sammy Lee bronze
- Aug 3 An American sweep of the medals in the men's shot put at the London Olympics with Wilbur Thompson taking gold ahead of teammates Jim Delaney & Jim Fuchs
- Aug 3 Negro League veteran pitcher Satchel Paige, age 42, debuts in Cleveland after controversial signing, goes 7 innings in 5-3 win v Washington
- Aug 3 The US 4 x 200m freestyle relay team of Wally Ris, Jimmy McLane, Wally Wolf and Bill Smith swim a world record 8:46.0 to win gold at the London Olympics
- Aug 4 An American sweep of the medals in the 110m hurdles at the London Olympics with William Porter taking gold, ahead of Clyde Scott and Craig Dixon
- Aug 4 Fanny Blankers-Koen of the Netherlands wins the 80m hurdles in Olympic record 11.2 at the London Olympics; 2nd of unprecedented 3 individual track & field gold medals
- Aug 4 Hungary's Olga Gyarmati wins the first ever Olympic women's long jump competition at the London Games
- Aug 4 The women's shot put introduced to track & field program at the London Olympics; inaugural gold medallist Micheline Ostermeyer of France who also won the women's discus gold
- Aug 5 A Jamaican 1-2 in the men's 400m at the London Olympics with Arthur Wint (46.2) beating teammate Herb McKenley for the gold medal
- Aug 5 A Swedish sweep of the medals in the 3000m steeplechase at the London Olympics with Tore Sjöstrand taking gold ahead of teammates Erik Elmsäter & Göte Hagström
- Aug 5 Americans Sammy Lee and Bruce Harlan go 1-2 in the 10m platform diving at the London Olympics
- Aug 5 Cleveland Indians set club record for most double plays in a game (6) in a 3-0 win v Washington
- Aug 6 17-year-old American Bob Mathias scores 7,139 points to edge out Ignace Heinrich of France by just 165 in the decathlon at the London Olympics
- Aug 6 A Swedish 1-2 in the men's 1,500m at the London Olympics with Henry Eriksson (3:49.8) beating teammate Lennart Strand by 0.6 seconds
- Aug 6 Dutch super athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen wins London Olympics 200m in 24.4s to become the first women to claim 3 individual track & field gold at a Games, having already won the 100m and 80m hurdles
- Aug 6 Vicki Draves wins her second diving gold medal at the London Olympics beating American teammate Patsy Elsener in the 10m platform
- Aug 7 American Alice Coachman becomes the first black woman from any country to win an Olympic gold medal when she takes out the high jump at the London Games
- Aug 7 American swimmer Jimmy McLane wins the 1,500m for his 2nd gold medal at the London Olympics (4 x 200m freestyle relay); marks a US clean sweep of every men's swimming gold medal at the Games
- Aug 7 Delfo Cabrera of Argentina wins dramatic marathon in 2:34:51.6 at the London Olympics
- Aug 7 Fanny Blankers-Koen of the Netherlands wins her 4th track & field gold medal of the London Olympics as part of the Dutch 4 x 100m relay team in 47.5
Olympic Gold
Aug 7 Swedish race walker John Mikaelsson wins the gold medal in the 10k event by 30.6 seconds from teammate Ingemar Johansson at the London Olympics
- Aug 9 Italian rider Mario Ghella beats Reg Harris of Great Britain for the gold medal in the cycling sprint final at the London Olympics
- Aug 9 The US crew blitzes the field to win the rowing eights gold medal at the London Olympics; beat silver medallists Great Britain by 10.2 seconds
- Aug 10 Bradman scores 133* Aust v Lancashire, 216 mins, 17 fours
- Aug 11 The weightlifting competition at the London Olympics concludes with the US (4) and Egypt (2) dominant, combining to win all of the 6 gold medals
- Aug 12 Cleveland Indians get 29 hits in a 9 inning game
- Aug 12 Indian maestro Balbir Singh Dosanjh scores twice as India beats Great Britain 4-0 for the field hockey gold medal at the London Olympics; India's 4th consecutive Olympic hockey title
- Aug 12 The canoeing program at the London Olympics concludes with Sweden (4) and Czechoslovakia (3) dominant, combining for 7 of the 9 gold medals
- Aug 13 3 Finnish gymnasts dead heat for the gold medal in the pommel horse section at London Olympics; Paavo Aaltonen, Veikko Huhtanen & Heikki Savolainen all awarded gold
- Aug 13 Hungarian boxer László Papp wins the first of 3 consecutive Olympic gold medals; beats British middleweight Johnny Wright on points at the London Games
- Aug 13 Johan Gren scores twice as Sweden beats Yugoslavia 3-1 to win the football gold medal at the London Olympics
- Aug 13 José Beyaert of France wins the cycling road race at the London Olympics; Belgium takes gold in the teams section beating Great Britain & France
- Aug 13 Satchel Paige at 42, pitches his 1st major league complete game
- Aug 13 The United States successfully defends its Olympic basketball title with a 65-21 win over France at the London Games
- Aug 14 Australian fast bowler Ray Lindwall takes 6-20 as England dismissed for a record low 52 in 5th cricket Test at the Oval; Don Bradman out for 0 in final Test innings
- Aug 14 XIV Olympic Games close at London, Great Britain
US Women's Golf Open
Aug 15 US Open Women's Golf, Atlantic City CC: Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins by 8 strokes from Betty Hicks
- Aug 17 Phillies commit 8 errors in a baseball game for the 2nd time
- Aug 20 15th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: Chi Cards 28, All-Stars 0 (101,220)
- Aug 21 Cleveland Indians 47-inning scoreless streak is broken as future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Lemon yields a home run to Aaron Robinson in a 3-2 loss to Chicago White Sox
- Aug 25 Bradman scores 150 in 212 minutes in his last innings at Lord's
- Sep 1 Australian Test batsmen Don Bradman (143), Lindsay Hassett (151) & Neil Harvey (110) score centuries in Australia's 1st innings of drawn cricket tour match v South of England at Hastings
- Sep 5 Davis Cup Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: 3 straight titles for US as Gardnar Mulloy & Bill Talbert beat Australians Colin Long & Bill Sidwell 8-6, 9-7, 2-6, 7-5 for unassailable 3-0 lead; ends 5-0
- Sep 9 Brooklyn Dodger Rex Barney no-hits NY Giants, 2-0
- Sep 10 Australian cricketer Don Bradman scores 153 in his last 1st-class cricket innings in England
- Sep 19 US National Championship Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Pancho Gonzales wins first of 2 consecutive US singles titles; beats Eric Sturgess 6-2, 6-3, 14-12
- Sep 19 US National Championship Women's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Margaret Osborne duPont wins first of 3 straight US singles crowns; beats Louise Brough Clapp 4-6, 6-4, 15-13
- Sep 20 Mexican Baseball league disbanded
- Sep 23 Braves clinch NL pennant
- Sep 24 MLB NY Yankees, Boston Red Sox & Cleveland Indians are all tied for 1st place in AL (91-56)
- Sep 26 Boston Braves win 1st NL championship since 1914
- Oct 4 Cleveland Indians beat Boston Red Sox, 8 - 3, in a one-game playoff to decide the AL pennant; keys are the pitching of Gene Bearden and hitting of Lou Boudreau
- Oct 10 Then record 86,288 see game 5 of World Series in Cleveland
- Oct 11 Baseball World Series: Cleveland Indians beat Boston Braves, 4-3 at Braves Field to clinch series, 4 games to 2; Indians second championship in team history
Stengel Manages Yankees
Oct 12 Casey Stengel takes over as Yankee manager
NHL All-Star Game
Nov 3 2nd NHL All-Star Game, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL: All-Stars beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1; Gordie Howe's first of 23 All-Star appearances
- Nov 3 Kleggie Hermsen and Bones McKinney each score 17 points as Washington Capitols beat Philadelphia Warriors, 77-70 at Washington Coliseum to win first of 15 straight games to start season; best start in NBA history
- Nov 27 CFL Grey Cup, Varsity Stadium, Toronto: Calgary Stampeders win their first Championship; defeat Ottawa Rough Riders, 12-7
- Nov 30 Baseball's Negro National League disbands
Stan Musial
Dec 2 After one of the best seasons in baseball history, St Louis Cardinals utility Stan Musial is named NL MVP; leads NL in batting average (.365), runs (135), RBI (131), hits (230), doubles (46), triples (18) & slugging (.702), with 39 HRs
- Dec 3 Australian cricket icon Don Bradman scores 123 for the Bradman XI in his own testimonial match against the Lindsay Hassett's XI in front of 52,360 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Dec 4 13th Iron Bowl (first since 1907): Alabama beats Auburn 55-0 in Birmingham
- Dec 5 NY Giant Charley Conerly sets NFL record of 36 pass completions
- Dec 8 14th Heisman Trophy Award: Doak Walker, SMU (HB)
- Dec 19 Cleveland Browns beats Buffalo Bills 49-7 in AAFC championship game
- Dec 19 National Football League Championship, Shribe Park, Philadelphia: Philadelphia Eagles shutout Chicago Cardinals, 7-0 in a snowstorm, 'the Philly Blizzard'
- Dec 21 1949 NFL Draft: University of Pennsylvania linebacker/center Chuck Bednarik is selected first by Philadelphia Eagles
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions