- Jan 1 24th Rose Bowl: #2 California beats #4 Alabama, 13-0
- Jan 1 4th Orange Bowl: Auburn beats Michigan State, 6-0
- Jan 1 4th Sugar Bowl: Santa Clara beats LSU, 6-0
Bradman Scores 113
Jan 11 Don Bradman scores a second innings 113 vs Qld after a ton in the 1st innings
Berg retains Title
Jan 16 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Patty Berg retains title by a massive 14 strokes ahead of Jane Cothran
- Jan 18 Pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander is elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Budge's Grand Slam 1st Leg
Jan 31 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: American Don Budge wins the 1st-leg of his Grand Slam; beats John Bromwich of Australia 6-4, 6-2, 6-1
- Jan 31 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: American Dorothy Cheney wins her only Grand Slam singles title; beats Dorothy Stevenson of Australia 6-3, 6-2
- Feb 26 Rie Van Veen swims world record 200m free style (2:24.6)
- Feb 26 US female Figure Skating championship won by Joan Tozzer
- Mar 1 Federal Trade Commission orders 8 manufacturers and the PGA of America to end their practice of golf ball price-fixing
- Mar 19 NHL Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Americans combine to score 8 goals in just under 5 minutes; Toronto wins game 8-5
- Mar 19 Scotland beats England, 21-16 at Twickenham, London to win the Home Nations Rugby Championship, Triple Crown and Calcutta Cup
Commissioner Frees Cardinals
Mar 23 MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis frees 74 St Louis Cardinals minor league players from their contracts
- Mar 25 97th Grand National: 17-year-old jockey Bruce Hobbs wins aboard 40/1 Battleship; first US bred and owned winner; only horse to win GN and American Grand National (1934)
- Apr 1 World heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis KOs Harry Thomas in 5th round of their title bout in Chicago; 3rd defense by Louis
5th Augusta National Invitation
Apr 4 5th Augusta National INvitation (Masters): Henry Picard wins his only Masters, 2 strokes ahead of runners-up Harry Cooper and Ralph Guldahl
- Apr 12 Stanley Cup Final, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL: Chicago Black Hawks beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-1 for a 3-1 series win; only team to win Cup with losing regular season record
- Apr 18 42nd Boston Marathon won by Leslie Pawson in 2:35:34.8; his second victory in the event
- Apr 19 Baker Bowl, Philadelphia: Phillies infielder Emmett "Heine" Mueller & Brooklyn Dodger outfielder Ernie Koy both homer in their 1st MLB at bats
- Apr 30 Bradman scores 258 Aust v Worcs, 293 mins, 33 fours 1 five
- Apr 30 The first televised FA Cup Final takes place between Huddersfield Town and Preston North End
- May 5 MLB Philadelphia Phillies Harold Kelleher pitcher faces 16 batters in 6th, as Cubs score 12 runs, both marks are NL records off one hurler in a single inning
64th Kentucky Derby
May 7 64th Kentucky Derby: Eddie Arcaro aboard Lawrin scores first of record 5 Derby wins
- May 14 63rd Preakness: Maurice Peters aboard Dauber wins in 1:59.8
- May 14 England soccer team beats Nazi-Germany, 6-3
O'Neil's Negro League Debut
May 15 Buck O'Neil makes his debut playing for the Negro league baseball team Kansas City Monarchs at Ruppert Stadium, Kansas City
- May 16 Australian cricketer Donald Bradman scores 278 vs MCC in 349 mins with 35 fours and 1 six
- May 21 Batsman Don Bradman scores 143 for Australia v Surrey, in 198 mins, with 11 fours
- May 22 Dodgers announce contracts to install lights at Ebbets Field
- May 27 Cricket batting genius Don Bradman scores 145 not out for Australia v Hampshire at Southampton, completing 1,000 runs before the end of May for the second time, the only touring batsman to England ever to perform the feat
- May 30 Indianapolis 500: Polesitter Floyd Roberts claims winner's cheque $32,075; car owner Lou Moore is also the chief mechanic
- May 30 New York Yankees sweep arch rival Boston Red Sox, 10-0 & 5-4 in front of 83,533 at Yankee Stadium
- May 31 Bill Edrich scores his 1,000th run of cricket season, all at Lord's
- Jun 4 10th Walker Cup: Britain-Ireland wins 7½-4½ at the Old Course at St Andrews
- Jun 4 70th Belmont: James Stout aboard Pasteurized wins in 2:29.6
- Jun 10 English cricketer Charlie Barnett makes 98 by lunch in England v Australia test match at Trent Bridge (closest any Englishman has come to scoring 100 runs before lunch)
- Jun 11 Cincinnati Red Johnny Vander Meer no-hits Boston Braves, 3-0
- Jun 11 Compton scores 1st Test Cricket ton (102 v Aust) aged 20 yrs 19 days
- Jun 11 England cricket team declare at 8 for 658 v Australia at Trent Bridge
- Jun 11 French Championships Men's Tennis: American Don Budge beats Roderich Menzel of Czechoslovakia 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 for the 2nd leg of his Grand Slam
- Jun 11 French Championships Women's Tennis: In an all-French final Simonne Mathieu wins first of consecutive titles; beats Nelly Adamson 6-0, 6-3
- Jun 11 US Open Men's Golf, Cherry Hills CC: Ralph Guldahl wins back-to-back Open titles, 6 strokes ahead of runner-up Dick Metz
- Jun 13 Great Cricket innings of 232 by Stan McCabe v England at Trent Bridge
- Jun 14 Bradman scores 144* in 1st Test Cricket at Trent Bridge
- Jun 15 1st night game at Brooklyn Ebbets Field (Reds 6, Dodgers 0) as Cincinnati Red Johnny Vander Meer hurls unprecedented 2nd consecutive no-hitter
Foxx's Record Six Walks
Jun 16 Boston first baseman Jimmie Foxx is walked a record 6 consecutive times by St Louis Browns; Red Sox still win, 12-8
- Jun 19 FIFA World Cup Final, Stade Olympique de Colombes, Paris, France: Luigi Colausig & Silvio Piola each score 2 goals as Italy beats Hungary, 4-1
- Jun 19 Reds Johnny Vander Meer extends his string of hitless baseball innings to 21 2/3 before Debs Garms singles for Boston in 4th
- Jun 21 Baseball's Pinky Higgins gets 12th straight hit
- Jun 21 Bradman scores 101* in 77 minutes, Australia v Lancashire
- Jun 22 Joe Louis scores a stunning 1st round KO of German Max Schmeling at Yankee Stadium, NYC to retain his world heavyweight boxing title
- Jun 26 Cincinnati Red Lonny Frey hits 8 doubles in a doubleheader
- Jun 28 Bradman scores 102* in drawn 2nd Test cricket at Lord's
- Jul 1 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Don Budge beats England's Henry Austin 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 for the 3rd leg of his Grand Slam
Wimbledon Women's Championship
Jul 2 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Helen Wills Moody beats Helen Jacobs 6-4, 6-0 in 4th final between the pair (Wills Moody won all 4)
- Jul 4 Phillies complete move to Shribe Park in Philadelphia, lose 10-5 to Boston Bees
- Jul 6 6th MLB All Star Game: NL wins 4-1 at Crosley Field, Cincinnati on 4 AL errors
- Jul 8 British Open Men's Golf, Royal St George's GC,: Englishman Reg Whitcombe wins his only major title by 2 strokes from Jimmy Adams of Scotland in treacherous, windy conditions
- Jul 8 Would be start of England v Australia Test Cricket at Old Trafford Washout
- Jul 10 "Yankee Clipper" completes 1st passenger flight over Atlantic
- Jul 15 Arthur Fagg becomes first batsman in first-class cricket history to score double centuries in both innings of a match; 244 and 202 for Kent v Essex at Colchester
PGA Championship
Jul 16 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Shawnee CC: 1934 champion Paul Runyan dominates the heavily favoured Sam Snead, 8 & 7; largest victory margin ever in the event's match play format
- Jul 20 IOC awards Helsinki, Finland 1940 Summer Olympic Games after Tokyo, Japan withdraws (Second Sino-Japanese War)
- Jul 23 Australian cricketer Don Bradman scores 103 in 178 mins on a Headingley sticky, 3rd Test
- Jul 28 Don Bradman scores 202 Australia v Somerset, 225 mins, 32 fours
- Jul 29 Olympic National Park established in Washington state, longest undeveloped coastline in America
- Jul 31 32nd Tour de France: Italian cyclist Gino Bartali wins both general and mountain classifications
- Jul 31 MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis suspends New York Yankees outfielder Jake Powell after he said on Chicago radio he kept in shape by "cracking" African Americans over the head with his nightstick
- Aug 2 MLB conducts the first test of bright yellow baseballs during Dodgers vs Cardinals doubleheader
Baseball Record
Aug 7 2,000th Brooklyn Dodgers home run: legendary shortstop Leo Durocher homers off Reds hurler Peaches Davis in 8th inning of a 6-3 win
- Aug 17 Henry Armstrong wins his 3rd concurrent boxing championship
Baseball Record
Aug 20 NY Yankees future Baseball Hall of Fame first baseman Lou Gehrig hits record 23rd & final grand slam in 11-3 win over Philadelphia A's at Shribe Park
Sports History
Aug 27 New York Yankees pitcher Monte Pearson no-hits Cleveland Indians, 13-0; Joe DiMaggio hits 3 triples
- Aug 31 5th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: All-Stars 28, Washington 16 (74,250)
- Sep 3 1940 Olympic site is changed from Tokyo, Japan to Helsinki, Finland because of the Second Sino-Japanese War; WWII causes eventual cancellation
- Sep 5 International Lawn Tennis Challenge, Philadelphia, PA: US retain title as Don Budge beats Australian Adrian Quist 8-6, 6-1, 6-2 for unbeatable 3-1 lead; ends 3-2
Baseball Hall of Fame
Sep 13 Alexander Cartwright is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
- Sep 16 British racing driver George Eyston sets world auto speed record at 357.5 MPH
- Sep 18 Chicago Bears beat Green Bay Packers 2-0
- Sep 18 Despite losing a double header (4-3, 8-7) to the St. Louis Browns at Sportsman's Park III, the New York Yankees clinch their 10th AL pennant
- Sep 24 US National Championship Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Don Budge beats fellow American Gene Mako 6-3, 6-8, 6-2, 6-1 to become first player to win a Grand Slam
US Open Women's Tennis
Sep 24 US National Championship Women's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: American Alice Marble wins her second US singles crown; beats Nancye Wynne Bolton of Australia 6-0, 6-3
- Sep 28 Homer in the Gloamin' - famous walk-off home run hit by Gabby Hartnett of the Chicago Cubs against the Pittsburgh Pirates
Baseball Record
Oct 2 Future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller strikes out record 18 Detroit Tigers; his Cleveland Indians still lose 4-1 at Cleveland Stadium
- Oct 2 New York Yankees pitcher Lefty Gomez beats Chicago Cubs, 6-3 in Game 2 at Wrigley Field; sets record of 6 World Series wins without a loss
- Oct 4 Baseball World Series: NY Yankees win third straight championship; beat Chicago Cubs, 8-3 at Yankee Stadium for 4-0 sweep
- Oct 9 Cleveland Rams and Chicago Bears play one of only 4 penalty free games in NFL history; Rams win 14-7 at Cleveland Stadium
- Nov 1 NL batting champion Ernie Lombardi of the Cincinnati Reds is named National League MVP; first catcher to win award; Boston Red Sox 1st baseman Jimmie Foxx takes AL award
- Nov 1 Seabiscuit, with George Woolf aboard, beats 1937 Triple Crown winner War Admiral by 3 lengths in Pimlico track record time to win $15,000 in what is regarded as one of the greatest match races in horse racing history
- Nov 2 Boston Red Sox first baseman Jimmie Foxx is voted Most Valuable Player of the American League for the third time
- Nov 24 National Semi-Pro Basketball Congress authorizes yellow basketball
- Nov 28 4th Heisman Trophy Award: Davey O'Brien, Texas Christian (QB)
- Nov 29 Mayor Oud of Rotterdam forbids soccer match between Netherlands and Germany
- Dec 9 1939 NFL Draft: Ki Aldrich from TCU first pick by Chicago Cardinals
- Dec 10 CFL Grey Cup: In repeat of last year, Toronto Argonauts defeat Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 30-7 to retain Championship
NY Giants vs. Green Bay Packers
Dec 11 National Football League Championship, Polo Grounds, NYC: New York Giants beat Green Bay Packers, 23-17; record title game attendance 48,120
- Dec 14 Major League Baseball agrees on use of a standard ball; disagrees on increasing rosters from 23 to 25 players, although Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis eventually decides on 25
- Dec 14 Will Harridge is elected to a 10-year-term as AL president
- Dec 20 Boston Bruins rookie goalie Frankie Brimsek records his 3rd straight shutout with a 3-0 win over the New York Americans, making it his incredible sixth shutout in his first 8 NHL games
- Dec 26 Tom Goddard takes a cricket hat-trick for England v South Africa
- Dec 28 Paul Gibb scores 106 on Test Cricket debut v South Africa
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