Chronology of Sports

Copyright © 2007-2008 Ken Polsson
internet e-mail: kpolsson@islandnet.com
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URL: http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/sports/

References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2008 June 28.


1952

January 3
  • Australia beat W Indies by one wicket at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, last stand 38. [1]
January 5
  • Nawab of Pataudi cricket (play polo three Tests for England three for India), dies. [1]
January 9
  • Karel Sys wins European heavyweight boxing title. [1]
January 12
  • NFL Pro Bowl: National Conference beats American Conference 30-13. [1]
January 17
  • Walter O "Spike" Briggs owner (Detroit Tigers), dies at age 74. [1]
January 19
  • NFL takes control of New York Yankees. [1]
  • PGA approves allowing black participants. [1]
January 20
  • Louise Suggs wins LPGA Tampa Golf Open. [1]
January 24
  • First NFL team in Texas, Dallas Texans formerly New York Yankees. [1]
January 25
  • Test debut of Richie Benaud, vs West Indies at the SCG. [1]
January 31
  • Harry Heilmann and Paul Waner elected to Baseball Hall of Fame. [1]
February 5
  • Reginald Allen cricketer (uncle of Gubby, Test Australia vs England 1887), dies. [1]
February 14
  • (to February 25) The 6th Olympic Winter Games are held in Oslo, Norway. [1]
February 16
  • Hall of Famer Honus Wagner, 77, retires; Pittsburgh Pirates retire his #33. [1]
  • Ian Craig makes New South Wales cricket debut aged 16 years 249 days (New South Wales record). [1]
February 20
  • First black umpire in organized baseball certified (Emmett Ashford). [1]
February 21
  • Dick Button performs first figure skating triple jump in competition. [1]
February 24
  • Betty MacKinnon and Sam Snead win LPGA Orlando Mixed Golf Tournament. [1]
February 25
  • 6th Winter Olympics games close at Oslo, Norway. [1]
February 29
  • Dick Button wins his 5th consecutive world figure skating title. [1]
  • Ice Dance Championship at Paris France won by Westwood and Demmy Great Britain. [1]
  • Ice Pairs Championship at Paris won by Ria Falk and Paul Falk of Germany. [1]
  • Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Paris won by Jacqueline du Bief of France. [1]
  • Men's Figure Skating Championship in Paris won by Richard Button USA. [1]
March 2
  • Marlene Hagge wins LPGA Sarasota Golf Open. [1]
March 9
  • Heinz Neuhaus wins Europe Heavyweight Boxing title. [1]

March 16
  • Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship. [1]
March 23
  • New York Rangers with less than 14 minutes to go blow a 6-2 lead, losing 7-6 to Chicago Black Hawks; Mosienko scores three times in 21 seconds. [1]
March 26
  • 14th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Kansas beats Saint Johns 80-63. [1]
March 28
  • US Ladies Figure Skating Championship won by Tenley Albright. [1]
  • US Men's Figure Skating Championship won by Richard Button. [1]
March 30
  • Patty Berg wins LPGA New Orleans Women's Golf Open. [1]
April 5
  • Henry Wittenberg wins his 8th AAU wrestling title. [1]
April 6
  • 16th Golf Masters Championship: Sam Snead wins his second Masters golf tournament, shooting a 286. [1]
April 12
  • Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Houston Weathervane Golf Tournament. [1]
April 15
  • Stanley Cup: Detroit Red Wings sweep Montreal Canadiens in four games. [1]
April 19
  • 56th Boston Marathon won by Doroteo Flores of Guatemala in 2:31:53. [1]
April 23
  • Bob Cain of Saint Louis Browns and Bob Feller of Cleveland Indians each pitch a one-hitter. [1]
  • New York Giants Hoyt Wilhelm wins his first relief game and hits his only homerun. [1]
April 25
  • 6th NBA Championship: Minneapolis Lakers beat New York Knicks, 4 games to 3. [1]
  • American Bowling Congress approves use of an automatic pinsetter. [1]
April 26
  • Patty Berg scores 64, best competitive round of golf by a woman. [1]
April 28
  • Patty Berg wins LPGA Richmond Golf Open. [1]
  • Saint Louis Browns lend two black minor league players to Hankyu Braves of Japan. [1]
April 30
  • Louise Suggs wins LPGA Stockton Golf Open. [1]
May 3
  • 78th Kentucky Derby: Eddie Arcaro aboard Hill Gail wins in 2:01.6. [1]
May 4
  • Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Fresno Golf Open. [1]
May 13
  • Minor-league Bristol pitcher Ron Necciai strikes out 27 in 9-innings. [1]
May 15
  • Johnny Longden becomes second jockey to ride 4,000 winners. [1]
May 16
  • Alec Hearne cricketer (scored 9 in Test for England vs South Africa 1892), dies. [1]
May 17
  • 78th Preakness: Conn McCreary aboard Blue Man wins in 1:57.4. [1]
May 21
  • Brooklyn Dodgers score 15 runs in first inning and beat Cincinnati Reds, 19-1. [1]
June 5
  • Jersey Joe Walcott beats Ezzard Charles for heavyweight boxing title. [1]
June 10
  • Chicago White Sox Sam Mele is 6th to get six RBIs in an inning (4th). [1]
July 8
  • National League beats American League 3-2 (5 innings) in 19th All Star Game (Shibe Park Philadelphia). [1]
July 19
  • (to August 3) The 15th Olympic Games are held in Helsinki, Finland. [7]
August 3
  • 15th Olympic games close in Helsinki Finland. [1]
August 25
  • Det Tiger Virgil Trucks second no-hitter of year, beats New York Yankees, 1-0. [1]
August 30
  • Arky Vaughn infielder (Pittsburgh Pirates and Brooklyn Dodgers), drowns. [1]
September 7
  • Outfielder Don Grate throws a baseball a record 434'1" (Tenn). [1]
  • Whitey Ford becomes the 5th pitcher to hurl consecutive one hitters. [1]
September 23
  • Rocky Marciano knocks out heavyweight champion Jersey Joe Walcott in 13 for heavyweight boxing title. [1]
September 26
  • New York Yankees clinch pennant #19. [1]
October 7
  • New York Yankees beat Brooklyn Dodgers 4 games to 3 in 49th World Series - New York Yankees tie their own record of four consecutive World Series wins. [1]
November 25
  • Only win ever for NFL's Dallas Texans (11-1) beats Chicago Bears 27-23. [1]
December 2
  • 18th Heisman Trophy Award: Billy Vessels, Oklahoma (HB). [1]
December 12
  • Dallas Texans (former Boston Yankees) play last game, last original team. [1]
December 14
  • R H Shodhan scores 110 on Test Cricket debut vs Pakistan, Calcutta. [1]
December 18
  • Ellis W Ryan resigns as Cleveland Indians president. [1]
December 19
  • Harry Makepeace cricketer (cricket and soccer international for England), dies. [1]
December 28
  • Detroit Lions beat Cleveland Browns 17-7 in NFL championship game. [1]

1953

January 8
  • Cleveland Indians bar night games with Browns (who refuse to share TV receipts). [1]
January 9
  • Bevo Francis, Rio Grande College, scores 116 points in basketball game. [1]
January 10
  • NFL Pro Bowl: National Conference beats American Conference 27-7. [1]
January 11
  • J Edgar Hoover declines six figure offer to become president of the International Boxing Club. [1]
January 16
  • 27th Australian Womens Tennis: Maureen Connolly beat J Sampson (63 62). [1]
  • 41st Australian Mens Tennis: Ken Rosewall beats Mervyn Rose (60 63 64). [1]
January 18
  • Louise Suggs wins LPGA Tampa Golf Open. [1]
January 23
  • NFL Dallas Texans become Baltimore Colts (now Indianapolis Colts). [1]
  • NFL's National and American conferences become Eastern and Western conferences. [1]
January 25
  • Yuri Sergejev skates world record 500m in 40.9 seconds. [1]
January 31
  • New York, Cleveland and Boston retaliate at Bill Veeck, forcing the Browns to play afternoon games to avoid sharing TV revenues. [1]
February 6
  • Ian Craig makes Test Cricket debut at age 17 years 239 days, youngest Aussie. [1]
February 8
  • Betty Jameson wins LPGA Serbin Golf Open. [1]
February 10
  • Ice Dance Championship at Davos won by Jean Westwood and Lawrence Demmy of Great Britain. [1]
  • Ice Pairs Championship at Davos won by Jennifer and John Nicks of Great Britain. [1]
  • Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Davos won by Tenley Albright USA. [1]
  • Men's Figure Skating Champion in Davos won by Hayes Alan Jenkins USA. [1]
February 13
  • Oakland Athletics change name of Shibe Park to Connie Mack Stadium. [1]
February 17
  • Baseball star/pilot Ted Williams uninjured as plane shot down in Korea. [1]
  • DSB soccer team forms in Eindhoven. [1]
February 20
  • August A Busch buys the Saint Louis Cardinals for $3.75 million. [1]
  • US Court of Appeals rules that Organized Baseball is a sport and not a business, affirming the 25-year-old Supreme Court ruling. [1]
February 21
  • Longest collegiate basketball game (6 overtimes) Niagara beats Siena 88-81. [1]
February 28
  • Jim Thorpe decathlete (Olympics-gold-1912), dies at age 64. [1]
March 1
  • Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Sarasota Golf Open. [1]
March 3
  • Boston Braves, who own Milwaukee minor league franchise, block Saint Louis Browns attempt to shift their franchise to Milwaukee. [1]
March 7
  • Jackie McGlew scores 255 vs New Zealand at Wellington. [1]
March 8
  • Patty Berg wins LPGA Jacksonville Golf Open. [1]
March 15
  • Patty Berg wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship. [1]
  • West Germany loses in soccer to Netherlands, 2-1. [1]

March 16
  • American League rejects Bill Veeck's request to move Saint Louis Browns to Baltimore. [1]
March 18
  • 15th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Indiana beats Kansas 69-68. [1]
  • National League approves Boston Braves move to Milwaukee (first shift since 1903). [1]
March 20
  • Senator Edwin C Johnson offers a bill to give clubs the sole right to ban radio-TV broadcasts of major league games in their own territory. [1]
March 21
  • NBA record 106 fouls and 12 players foul out (Boston-Syracuse). [1]
March 22
  • Louise Suggs wins LPGA Betsy Rawls Golf Open. [1]
March 28
  • James Francis Thorpe, decathlete (Olympics-gold-1912), dies at age 64. [1] [5]
  • US Ladies Figure Skating Championship won by Tenley Albright. [1]
  • US Men's Figure Skating Championship won by Hayes A Jenkins. [1]
March 29
  • Patty Berg wins LPGA New Orleans Women's Golf Open. [1]
April 1
  • Walcott Worrell and Weekes all make centuries in innings vs India. [1]
April 5
  • Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf Open. [1]
April 10
  • 7th NBA Championship: Minneapolis Lakers beat New York Knicks, 4 games to 1. [1]
April 12
  • 17th Golf Masters Championship: Ben Hogan wins, shooting a 274. [1]
  • Keizo Yamada runs fastest marathon to date, at Boston. [1]
April 13
  • First game of Milwaukee Braves, they beat Cincinnati Reds 2-0. [1]
April 14
  • Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 4 games to 1. [1]
April 16
  • Jackie Pung wins LPGA Palm Springs Golf Open. [1]
  • Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 4 games to 1. [1]
April 17
  • Mickey Mantle hits a 565' (172 metre) homerun in Washington DC's Griffith Stadium. [1]
April 19
  • Louise Suggs wins LPGA San Diego Golf Open. [1]
April 20
  • 57th Boston Marathon won by Keizo Yamada of Japan in 2:18:51. [1]
April 27
  • Wrestler Freddie Blassie coins the term "Pencil neck geek". [1]
April 29
  • Joe Adcock is first to homer into Polo Grounds' center field bleachers. [1]
April 30
  • Little-Bigger League changes its name to Babe Ruth League. [1]
May 2
  • 79th Kentucky Derby: Hank Moreno aboard Dark Star wins in 2:02. [1]
May 6
  • Brown's Bobo Holloman first major league start, no-hits Philadelphia Athletics, 6-0. [1]
May 7
  • Ormerod Pearse cricketer (55 runs and three wickets in three Tests for S Af), dies. [1]
May 10
  • Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Sacramento Golf Open. [1]
May 13
  • New York Giants Willie Mays and Darryl Spencer each hit two homeruns and a triple. [1]
May 15
  • Heavyweight Rocky Marciano knocks out Joe Walcott in Chicago for heavyweight boxing title. [1]
May 16
  • Philadelphia Phillies Curt Simmons gives up a single, then retires next 27 in a row. [1]
May 17
  • Patty Berg wins LPGA Reno Golf Open. [1]
  • New York Yankees and Browns use record 41 players in a game. [1]
May 18
  • Tom Killick cricketer (at the crease two Tests for England 1929), dies. [1]
May 22
  • New York Yankees player Irv Noren hits into a triple-play, New York Yankees beat Washington 12-4. [1]
May 23
  • 79th Preakness: Eric Guerin aboard Native Dancer wins in 1:57.8. [1]
May 25
  • Braves Max Surkont strikes out record 8 Cincinnati Reds in a row. [1]
May 30
  • First major league network baseball game-Cleveland 7, Chicago 2. [1]
  • 23rd French Men's Tennis: Ken Rosewall beats Vic Seixas (6-3 6-4 1-6 6-2). [1]
  • 23rd French Women's Tennis: Maureen Connolly beats Doris Hart (6-2 6-4). [1]
June 5
  • Bill Tilden tennis champ, dies at age 60. [1]
June 14
  • New York Yankees sweep Cleveland Indians 6-2, 3-0 before 74,708 win streak at 18 straight. [1]
June 16
  • Despite Johnny Mize 2,000th hit, New York Yankees lose ending 18 game win streak. [1]
June 18
  • Eugene Stephens gets three hits and Boston Red Sox score 17 runs in one inning (7th). [1]
July 9
  • Philadelphia Phillies Robin Roberts ends streak of 28 consecutive complete games. [1]
July 14
  • National League beats American League 5-1 in 20th All Star Game (Crosley Field Cincinnati). [1]
August 4
  • Vic Raschi sets pitcher record by driving in 7 runs and wins 15-0. [1]
August 23
  • Phil Grate sets record for throwing a baseball (443'3.5"). [1]
September 4
  • New York Yankees become first team to win five consecutive championships. [1]
September 15
  • Boxing's NBA adopts 10-pt-must-scoring-system (10 points to round winner). [1]
September 16
  • American League approves Saint Louis Browns move to become Baltimore Orioles. [1]
September 17
  • Ernie Banks becomes Chicago Cubs first black player. [1]
September 27
  • Bert Bechichar, Baltimore Colts, kicks a 56-yard field goal. [1]
September 29
  • American League approves Baltimore group purchase of Saint Louis Browns for $2,475,000. [1]
October 2
  • Dodger Carl Erskine strikes out 14 New York Yankees in the 50th World Series. [1]
October 5
  • 50th World Series sees New York Yankees beat Brooklyn Dodgers, 4 games to 2, as New York. [1]
  • New York Yankees break own record with 5th consecutive World Series win - Billy Martin's 12 hits set record (World Series #50). [1]
October 18
  • Willie Thrower becomes first black NFL quarterback in modern times. [1]
October 28
  • Bud Grant of Winnipeg Blue Bombers intercepts five passes (record). [1]
November 3
  • "Sacrifice fly" reactivated in baseball (1939). [1]
November 9
  • US Supreme Court rules Major League baseball exempt from anti-trust laws. [1]
November 12
  • US district Judge Grim, rules NFL can black out TV home games. [1]
December 1
  • Boston Red Sox trade M McDermott and Tom Umphlett for Washington's Jackie Jensen. [1]
December 2
  • Ernest Hayes cricketer (Surrey bat played five Tests for England), dies. [1]
December 6
  • Brown's Lou "Toe" Groza kicks 8 PATs, beating New York Giants 62-14. [1]
December 8
  • 19th Heisman Trophy Award: John Lattner, Notre Dame (HB). [1]
December 9
  • Montreal Canadiens (106) and Toronto Maple Leafs (98) get 204 penalty minutes. [1]
December 14
  • Brooklyn Dodgers sign pitcher Sandy Koufax. [1]
December 22
  • Jack Dunn III, owner of Baltimore Orioles in International League, turns name over to newly relocated Saint Louis Browns. [1]
December 23
  • Brooklyn Dodgers second baseman Jim "Junior" Gilliam wins National League Rookie of Year. [1]
December 27
  • Detroit Lions beat Cleveland Browns 17-16 in NFL championship game. [1]
December 31
  • Willie Shoemaker shatters record, riding 485 winners in a year. [1]

End of 1952-1953. Next: 1954.
The complete timeline can be purchased in a PDF file for US$10 from the author.

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1520-1879 1880-1889 1890-1899 1900-1904 1905-1909 1910-1914 1915-1919 1920-1921 1922-1924 1925-1926
1927-1929 1930-1931 1932-1934 1935-1936 1937-1939 1940-1941 1942-1944 1945-1946 1947 1948-1949
1950-1951 1952-1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961
1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971
1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981
1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000-2001 2002
2003-2004 2005 2006 2007 2008


A list of references to all source material is available.

Other web pages of interest:

  • Chronology of Gambling
  • Chronology of World History
  • Chronology of Notable Births
  • Chronology of Notable Deaths
  • Ken P's Today in History
  • Last updated: 2008 June 28.
    Copyright © 2007-2008 Ken Polsson (email: kpolsson@islandnet.com).
    URL: http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/sports/
    Link to Ken P's home page.


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