- Jan 1 20th Orange Bowl: #4 Oklahoma beats #1 Maryland, 7-0
- Jan 1 20th Sugar Bowl: #8 Georgia Tech beats #10 West Virginia, 42-19
- Jan 1 40th Rose Bowl: #3 Michigan State beats #5 UCLA, 28-20
- Jan 1 Rose & Cotton Bowl are 1st sport colorcasts
- Jan 9 Bert Olmstead of the Montreal Canadiens, ties NHL record of 8 points in game
4th NFL Pro Bowl
Jan 17 4th NFL Pro Bowl, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: Eastern Conference beats Western Conference, 20-9; MVP: Chuck Bednarik, Philadelphia Eagles, LB
4th NBA All-Star Game
Jan 21 4th NBA All-Star Game, Madison Square Garden, NYC: East beats West, 98-93 (OT); MVP: Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics, PG
- Jan 21 First time in All-Star history, an overtime period is needed to decide a winner; Boston Celtics' guard Bob Cousy's 10-point OT scoring burst gave the East a 98-93 win; Cousy wins All-Star MVP honours
- Jan 23 Equal longest undefeated streak in Toronto Maple Leaf history ends - 18 games, 16 wins, 2 ties
Moore vs. Maxim
Jan 27 American boxer Archie Moore beats Joey Maxim in 15-round unanimous decision to retain his world light heavyweight title at the Orange Bowl, Miami; last of famous trilogy of fights, all won by Moore
- Jan 28 1954 NFL Draft: Bobby Garrett from University of Stanford first pick by Cleveland Browns
- Feb 1 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Mervyn Rose wins his first Grand Slam title; beats fellow Australian Rex Hartwig 6-2, 0-6, 6-4, 6-2
- Feb 1 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: In an all-Australian final Thelma Coyne Long beats Jenny Staley 6-3, 6-4 for the 2nd of her 2 Australian singles titles
- Feb 1 Dutch soccer club De Graafschap "The County" forms in Doetinchem, Netherlands
- Feb 2 Rio Grande College basketball forward Bevo Francis scores NCAA record 113 points vs Hillsdale College
- Feb 10 World Figure Skating Championship at Oslo: Ice Dancing - won by Great Britain's team of Jean Westwood and Lawrence Demmy
- Feb 10 World Figure Skating Championship at Oslo: Pairs - won by Canadian team of Frances Dafoe and Norris Bowden
- Feb 13 American college basketball player Frank Selvey scores a record 100 points for Furman beating Newberry 149-95
Baseball History
Mar 1 Future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Ted Williams fractures his collarbone on the first day of Boston Red Sox spring training; injury keeps him out of Boston lineup until May 15
Thomson Beaks Ankle
Mar 13 Braves' Bobby Thomson breaks his ankle, he is replaced by Hank Aaron
Golf Tournament
Mar 14 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Louise Suggs wins her second Titleholders title by 7 strokes from Patty Berg
- Mar 14 Milwaukee Braves future home run king Hank Aaron homers in his debut exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox
Cricket History
Mar 19 "The Three Ws" of West Indian cricket each score centuries in one innings; Clyde Walcott scores 124 following Everton Weekes (206) and Frank Worrell (167) in 1st innings of drawn 4th Test v England at Port of Spain
Sports History
Mar 19 US Ladies' Figure Skating championship won by Tenley Albright
- Mar 20 16th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: La Salle beats Bradley, 92-76; Explorers' small forward Tom Gola is named tournament Most Outstanding Player
Cricket Debut
Mar 30 Test Cricket debut of West Indian great Garfield Sobers vs England at Kingston Oval, Barbados
Gordie Howe Fastest Goal
Apr 1 Detroit Red Wings right wing Gordie Howe scores 2 goals and an assist, and sets a Stanley Cup playoff record for fastest goal from the start of a game (:09) in a 4-3 2OT win over Toronto in Game 5 of the Semi-Finals
- Apr 6 Montreal Canadiens score 3 goals in 56 sec in playoff game against Det
- Apr 10 108th Grand National: Bryan Marshall wins aboard Royal Tan at 8/1; second consecutive GN victory for both Marshall and trainer Vincent O'Brien
- Apr 10 Wales beats Scotland, 15-3 at the St. Helen's Ground, Swansea to share Five Nations Rugby Championship with France and England; France's first title
US Masters Golf
Apr 12 18th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Sam Snead wins his 3rd and final Masters by 1 stroke in an 18-hole playoff with Ben Hogan
- Apr 12 8th NBA Championship: Min Lakers beat Syracuse Nationals, 4 games to 3
- Apr 13 Baltimore Orioles 1st game, loses to Tigers in Detroit 3-0
- Apr 13 Milwaukee Braves' Hank Aaron's 1st game
- Apr 15 Orioles 1st game in Baltimore beat White Sox 3-1
- Apr 15 Yankees dedicate a plaque to Edward Barrow
- Apr 16 Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Detroit Red Wings beat Montreal Canadiens, 2-1 in OT for a 4-3 series victory
- Apr 19 58th Boston Marathon won by Veikko Karvonen of Finland in 2:20:39
Demar's Last Race
Apr 19 7-time winner of Boston Marathon, 65-year-old Clarence Demar, runs his last race at Boston finishing 78th
- Apr 22 NBA adopts 24-second shot clock & 6 team-foul rule
- Apr 23 Hammerin' Hank Aaron hits 1st of his 755 homers
- May 1 80th Kentucky Derby: Raymond York wins aboard Determine, his only Derby success
- May 1 Preston North End defender Joe Marston becomes the first Australian to play in an FA Cup Final, a 3-2 loss to WBA
Baseball Record
May 2 MLB St. Louis Cardinal Stan Musial hits 5 HRs in a doubleheader against the New York Giants at Busch Stadium
Sports History
May 6 English athlete Roger Bannister becomes first to run a sub-4 minute mile, recording 3:59:4 at Iffley Road Track, Oxford
- May 8 1st shot-put throw over 60' (18.29 m) by American Parry O'Brien, Los Angeles, California
- May 16 Ted Williams gets 8 hits in 1st game (DH) since breaking collarbone
- May 22 79th Preakness: Johnny Adams aboard Hasty Road wins in 1:57.4
- May 29 British runner Diane Leather becomes first woman to run the mile in under 5 minutes; 4:59.6 at Alexander Sports Ground in Birmingham, England
French Open Men's Tennis
May 29 French Championships Men's Tennis: Tony Trabert beats Art Larsen 6-4, 7-5, 6-1 for first of 2 straight French singles titles
French Open Women's Tennis
May 29 French Championships Women's Tennis: Maureen Connolly retains her title; beats Ginette Bucaille of France 6-4, 6-1
- May 30 Dutch bishops forbid membership to non-catholic sporting clubs
- May 31 Indianapolis 500: Bill Vukovich takes the lead on lap 150 to win his second consecutive 500; sets then record 130.840 mph average race speed
- Jun 1 Czech distance runner Emile Zatopek breaks his own 10,000m world record, clocking 28:54.2 in Brussels, Belgium
- Jun 12 86th Belmont: Eric Guerin aboard High Gun wins in 2:30.8
- Jun 12 Milwaukee Braves spot starting pitcher Jim Wilson throws first no-hitter in history of County Stadium when he blanks Philadelphia Phillies, 2-0
Boxing Title Fight
Jun 17 Rocky Marciano beats Ezzard Charles by unanimous points decision in his 3rd world heavyweight boxing title defense at Yankee Stadium, NYC
- Jun 19 LPGA Western Open Women's Golf, Glen Flora CC: Betty Jameson wins 6 & 5 over Louise Suggs in the final
- Jun 19 US Open Men's Golf, Baltusrol GC: Ed Furgol wins his only major title, 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Gene Littler
- Jun 21 Australian middle distance runner John Landy runs world record mile (3:58.0) and 1500m (3:41.8+) in Turku, Finland
Sports History
Jun 26 Jim Peters runs marathon in 2:17:39.4
- Jun 27 Hungary beats Brazil, 4-2 in the "Battle of Berne" as FIFA World Cup quarter-final descends into an all-out brawl with 3 players sent-off; fighting continues in dressing rooms after final whistle
- Jul 2 England cricket batsman Denis Compton scores career best 278 in 287 mins in 2nd Test win over Pakistan at Nottingham
Wimbledon Men's Tennis
Jul 2 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Czech Jaroslav Drobný beats Ken Rosewall of Australia 13-11, 4-6, 6-2, 9-7 for his only Wimbledon singles title
US Women's Golf Open
Jul 3 US Open Women's Golf, Salem CC: Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins by a record 12 strokes from Betty Hicks in her comeback event 14 months after radical colon cancer surgery
Wimbledon Women's Tennis
Jul 3 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Maureen Connolly wins her 3rd consecutive Wimbledon singles title beating fellow American Louise Brough 6-2, 7-5
- Jul 4 FIFA World Cup Final, Wankdorf Stadium, Bern, Switzerland: Helmut Rahn scores twice as West Germany beats Hungary, 3-2
- Jul 7 British runner Jim Peters, 17 minutes ahead of any rival, collapses on the final stadium lap of the Commonwealth Games marathon in Vancouver
British Golf Open
Jul 9 British Open Men's Golf, Royal Birkdale GC: 23-year-old Australian Peter Thomson wins first of his 5 Open titles by a stroke from Bobby Locke, Dai Rees, and Syd Scott
- Jul 12 Major League Baseball Players Association founded
- Jul 13 21st All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 11-9 at Municipal Stadium, Cleveland
- Jul 17 1st major league game where majority of team is black (Dodgers)
- Jul 18 Cards losing 8-1 to Phillies begin stalling in 5th, they forfeit game
- Jul 20 American tennis champion Maureen Connolly's right leg is crushed in a horse riding accident ending a brilliant career at just 19
- Jul 27 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Keller GC: Chick Herbert scores a 4 & 3 win over defending champion Walter Burkemo in the Tuesday final
- Jul 30 Bob Kennedy hits the 1st grand slam for the new Baltimore Orioles
- Jul 31 Milwaukee first baseman Joe Adcock becomes only the 3rd player in 20th century to hit 4 HRs in 9-inning game (Lou Gehrig & Gil Hodges) in 15-7 Braves' win over Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field; MLB record 18 total bases
- Aug 1 Tour de France: Louison Bobet of France wins by 15' 49" from Ferdinand Kübler, for the second of his 3 consecutive wins
- Aug 7 Englishman Roger Bannister beats Australia’s John Landy in the mile at the Empire Games in Vancouver; first time 2 men run sub-4 minute mile in the same race
- Aug 10 All-time great English jockey Sir Gordon Richards retires from the saddle with British record 4,870 winning rides
- Aug 16 American brand management company Authentic Brands Group first publishes sports magazine "Sports Illustrated"
F1 World Champion
Aug 22 Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina clinches his second Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by winning Swiss Grand Prix at Bremgarten in a Maserati
- Aug 25 Ivan Filin wins Berne marathon (2:25:26.6) (260m)
- Aug 30 BC Lions play franchise's first CFL game in Vancouver; lose to Saskatchewan Roughriders, 17-0
- Aug 31 Cincinnati 1st baseman Ted Kluszewski hits 2 HRs in a 9-3 loss v Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium, Philadelphia; 1st Redleg to ever hit 40 MLB HRs, en route to season total 49
- Aug 31 Indians beat Yanks 6-1 for record tying 26 wins in August (1931 A's)
US Men's Tennis Open
Sep 6 US National Championship Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Vic Seixas beats Australian Rex Hartwig 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 for his second and final major singles title
- Sep 6 US National Championship Women's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Doris Hart beats Louise Brough Clapp 6-8, 6-1, 8-6 for the first of her 2 US singles titles
- Sep 6 Yankees use a record 10 pinch hitters
Sports History
Sep 8 With a 3-2 count, Phillies Richie Ashburn fouls next 14, then walks
Baseball Record
Sep 10 Attempting to handle Hoyt Wilhelm's knuckleball catcher, Ray Katt of Giants sets a major league record with 4 passed balls
Baseball Record
Sep 14 Giants' Willie Mays gets 82nd extra-base hit, breaks Mel Ott's record
- Sep 17 In a quick re-match at Yankee Stadium, NYC, Rocky Marciano KOs Ezzard Charles in the 8th round to retain his world heavyweight boxing title
- Sep 18 Cleveland Indians clinch AL pennant, beat Tigers (3-2)
- Sep 20 Roger Bannister awarded Britain's Silver Pears Trophy
- Sep 22 Brooklyn Dodger pitcher Karl Spooner strikes out 15 NY Giants in his 1st MLB game
- Sep 24 Yanks tie a record, 3 of their pinch hitters strike out in 1 inning
- Sep 26 A's defeats Yanks 8-6 in last game franchise will play in Philadelphia
Yogi Berra Plays at 3rd
Sep 26 Yogi Berra plays his only game at 3rd & Mickey Mantle plays shortstop
- Sep 29 Bennekom (Netherlands) soccer team forms
- Sep 29 Willie Mays famous over-the-shoulder catch of Vic Wertz' 460' drive during Game One of the World Series
- Oct 2 8th NHL All-Star Game, Detroit Olympia, Detroit, MI: All-Stars tie Detroit Red Wings, 2-2
- Oct 2 Baseball World Series: New York Giants beat Cleveland, 7-4 at Cleveland Stadium to sweep Indians, 4-0; MVP: Giants outfielder Dusty Rhodes
- Oct 2 Don Liddle beats Bob Lemon 7-4 as the New York Giants complete an unlikely World Series sweep of the powerful Cleveland Indians; Cleveland season record of 111-43 sets American League mark for regular season wins
- Oct 24 Britain's Mike Hawthorne wins season ending Spanish Grand Prix at Pedralbes; Argentine Maserati driver Juan Manuel Fangio takes second Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by 17 points from countryman José Froilán González
- Oct 28 Major league owners vote down sale of A's to a Philadelphia syndicate
- Oct 30 1st use of 24-sec shot clock in pro basketball (Rochester vs Boston)
- Nov 1 Lee Petty with 32 top-10 finishes from 34 races wins NASCAR Grand National Championship by 283 points from Herb Thomas; Petty fails to finish season ending Wilkes 160
Sports History
Nov 5 Montreal Canadien center Jean Béliveau scores 3 goals in 44 seconds on future Hall of Fame goaltender Terry Sawchuk in 4-2 win v Boston Bruins; 2nd fastest NHL hat trick
Colin Cowdrey
Nov 26 Test Cricket debut of Colin Cowdrey v Australia at Gabba
- Nov 27 19th Iron Bowl: Auburn beats Alabama 28-0 in Birmingham
- Nov 27 CFL Grey Cup, Varsity Stadium, Toronto: Edmonton Eskimos win first of 3 straight Championships; defeat Montreal Alouettes, 26-25
- Nov 30 20th Heisman Trophy Award: Alan Ameche, Wisconsin (FB)
- Dec 1 NY Yankees and Baltimore Orioles complete largest trade in MLB history as 17 players, including Don Larsen, Gene Woodling, Bob Turley change teams; first phase of transaction began November 18 and concludes today after the MLB draft
- Dec 2 Milwaukee Hawks shooting guard Frank Selvey sets then NBA record of 24 of 26 free throws as he scores 42 points in 117-108 win over the Minneapolis Lakers at Milwaukee Arena
- Dec 10 Philadelphia Phillies purchase Connie Mack Stadium
- Dec 11 Philadelphia Phillies owners reluctantly purchase Connie Mack Stadium (Shibe Park) from the A's
- Dec 26 National Football League Championship, Cleveland Municipal Stadium: Cleveland Browns thrash Detroit Lions, 56-10; Browns' placekicker Lou Groza makes 8 extra points, a new title game record
- Dec 28 43rd Davis Cup: USA beats Australia in Sydney (3-2)
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions