- Jan 6 1st US women's 6-day bicycle race starts, Madison Square Garden
- Jan 18 First college basketball game with 5 players on each side is conducted by the University of Iowa; invites student athletes from University of Chicago for an experimental game; Chicago beats Iowa 15-12
- Feb 8 Western Conference forms to be first Western college football season, later renamed Big 10 Conference
Sports History
Feb 14 George Lohmann takes a hat-trick for England v South Africa, 8-7 for inning - their lowest ever
- Feb 14 Stanley Cup, Victoria Skating Rink, Montreal, Quebec: Winnipeg Victorias beat Montreal Victorias, 2-0
- Mar 2 Best 9-wicket haul in cricket history; George Lohmann takes 9-28 as England beats South Africa by an innings and 197 runs in 2nd Test at Johannesburg
- Mar 22 Charilaos Vasilakos of Greece wins 1st modern marathon in 3:18 at the Panhellenic Games
- Mar 27 58th Grand National: Former owner David Campbell wins aboard 40/1 outsider The Soarer
- Apr 6 First modern Summer Olympic Games open in Athens, Greece; American athlete James Connolly becomes first modern Olympic champion when he wins triple jump (then 2 hops and a jump); later 3rd in long jump, 2nd in high jump
- Apr 7 American athlete Robert Garrett wins the throwing double at the Athens Olympics by taking out the shot putt (11.22m); wins the discus the previous day
First Olympic 1500m
Apr 7 Australian athlete Edwin Flack wins gold in the first Olympic 1500m final at inaugural modern Games in Athens; goes on to win 800m two days later
- Apr 9 Australian athlete Edwin Flack claims the middle distance double at the Athens Olympics winning the 800m final in 2:11.0; his 2nd victory of the Games after success in the 1500m
- Apr 9 Greek shooter Pantelis Karasevdas scores a perfect 40 hits to win the military rifle event at the Athens Olympics; Greek 1-2-3 with Pavlos Pavlidis and Nicolaos Trikupis taking out the minor placings
- Apr 10 American athlete Thomas Burke claims the sprint double at the Athens Olympics winning the 100m final in 12.0s; his 2nd victory of the Games after success in the 400m
- Apr 10 High jumper Ellery Clark leads an American sweep of the placings with a leap of 1.81m at the Athens Olympics; his 2nd victory of the Games after taking out the long jump
1st Olympic Marathon
Apr 10 Spyridon Louis of Greece wins inaugural Olympic marathon (2:58:50) in Athens; runs last lap accompanied by Constantine I
- Apr 11 Hungarian swimmer Alfréd Hajós beats Otto Herschmann of Austria by 0.6s to win the inaugural Olympic 100m freestyle final in 1:22.2 at the Athens Games; also takes out the 1,200m on the same day
- Apr 11 Irish tennis player John Boland, representing Great Britain wins both the men's singles and doubles finals at the Athens Olympics; Dionysios Kasdaglis of Greece loses both matches
- Apr 12 Stamasia Portrisi is 1st woman to win a marathon (5:30 in Athens)
- Apr 15 1st modern Summer Olympic Games close in Athens, Greece; USA wins gold medal count, 11; Greece wins total medal count, 46; IOC has retroactively assigned gold, silver & bronze medals to 3 best placed athletes in each event
- May 6 22nd Kentucky Derby: Willie Simms aboard Ben Brush wins first Derby held at the current distance of 1.25 miles (2.0km)
- May 8 Bobby Peel scores 210 not out as Yorkshire is dismissed for 887 in drawn County Cricket match against Warwickshire in Birmingham
- May 30 First car accident occurs; Henry Wells hits a cyclist in NYC
- Jun 2 30th Belmont: Henry Griffin aboard Hastings wins in 2:24.5
- Jun 6 Preakness Stakes: Henry Griffin aboard the Byron McClelland trained Margrave wins in 1:51
- Jun 12 England cricket spin bowler Jack Hearne sets record for earliest date taking 100 first-class wickets in a season when he captures 9-73 for the MCC in an innings & 18 run drubbing of Australia at Lord's
36th British Men's Open
Jun 13 British Open Men's Golf, Muirfield: Harry Vardon of Jersey wins first of 6 Open titles by 4 strokes in a 36-hole playoff with defending champion J.H. Taylor
- Jun 20 US National Championship Women's Tennis, Philadelphia CC: Elisabeth Moore beats defending champion Juliette Atkinson 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
- Jul 13 Philadelphia outfielder Ed Delahanty becomes second major leaguer to hit 4 HRs in a game as Phillies lose 9-8 to Chicago Colts at the West Side Grounds, Chicago
- Jul 16 Indian born K S Ranjitsinhji debuts for England v Australia in 2nd Test at Old Trafford; first Indian to play Test cricket
- Jul 18 George Giffen is 1st to complete 1000/100 double, in 30th Test Cricket
- Jul 18 Indian born K S Ranjitsinhji completes an unbeaten 154 on Test cricket debut for England in 2nd Test against Australia at Old Trafford
- Jul 18 US Open Men's Golf, Shinnecock Hills: American-based Scot James Foulis wins by 3 strokes ahead of Englishman Horace Rawlins
Wimbledon Men's Tennis
Jul 20 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Harold Mahony beats 3-time champion Wilfred Baddeley 6-2, 6-8, 5-7, 8-6, 6-3
Wimbledon Women's Tennis
Jul 21 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Defending champion Charlotte Cooper beats Alice Simpson Pickering 6-2, 6-3
- Aug 12 Willem II soccer team forms in Tilburg
US Men's Tennis Open
Aug 26 US National Championship Men's Tennis, Newport R.I.: Robert Wrenn beats Fred Hovey 7-5, 3-6, 6-0, 1-6, 6-1 for his third US singles title