1956

January 6

• US Federal court bars former Little League Commissioner Carl Stotz from forming a rival group. [1]

January 7

• Vinoo Mankad scores 231 versus New Zealand, 413 opening stand with Roy. [1]

January 15

• Bauer Marlene wins LPGA Sea Island Golf Open. [1]
• NFL Pro Bowl: East beats West 31-30. [1]

January 19

• Hoboken dedicates a plaque honoring achievements of Alexander Cartwright in organizing early baseball at Elysian Field. [1]

January 22

• Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Tampa Golf Open. [1]
• Canadian Football Council forms. [1]

January 26

• (to February 5) The VII Olympic Winter Games are held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. [7]
• Hank Greenberg and Joe Cronin are elected to Baseball Hall of Fame. [1]

January 27

• NFL's New York Giants switch games from Polo Grounds to Yankee Stadium. [1]

February 3

• Toni Sailor becomes first Olympics skier to sweep the three alpine events. [1]

February 4

• American League plans to test automatic intentional walk during spring training. [1]

February 5

• VII Olympic Winter Games close at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. [1]
• Louise Suggs win LPGA Havana Golf Open. [1]
• New York Mayor Robert Wagner and Brooklyn Boro President Frank Cashmore sponsor a bill to create a Brooklyn Sports Center Authority, which will propose building a $30 million downtown sports center. [1]

February 8

• Connie Mack, baseball manager (Philadelphia Athletics, 1901-50), dies at age 93. [1]

February 12

• Fay Crocker wins LPGA Miami Beach Golf Open. [1]

February 14

• Verhoeven/Nauta/De King/Wijnhout win Dutch 11 city skate. [1]

February 15

• Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Athletics cancel an exhibition game in Birmingham, Alabama, because of local ordinance barring blacks from playing against whites. [1]

February 17

• Ice Dance Championship at Garmisch won by Pamela Weight/P Thomas of Great Britain. [1]
• Ice Pairs Championship at Garmisch won by Schwarz and Oppelt of Austria. [1]
• Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Garmisch won by Carol Heiss of the USA. [1]
• Men's Figure Skating Championship in Garmisch won by H A Jenkins of the USA. [1]

February 19

• Kathy Cornelius wins LPGA Saint Petersburg Golf Open. [1]

February 22

• First British soccer match at Kunstlicht: Portsmouth versus Newcastle United. [1]

February 26

• Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Sarasota Golf Open. [1]

March 3

• Cockie Gastelaars swims world record 100 metre freestyle (1:04.2). [1]
• Manhattan Borough President Hulan Jack makes plans for a new 110,000-seat stadium to entice New York Giants to stay in New York. [1]

March 5

• Mickey Wright wins LPGA Jacksonville Golf Open. [1]

March 11

• Louise Suggs wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship. [1]

March 13

• New Zealand bowls out West Indies for 77 at Eden Park to score their first Test Cricket win. [1]

March 14

• Satchel Paige signs with the Birmingham Black Barons (Negro League). [1]

March 15

• Whipper Billy Watson beats Lou Thesz in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to become NWA champion. [1]

March 16

• US Ladies Figure Skating Championship won by Tenley Albright. [1]
• US Men's Figure Skating Championship won by Hayes A Jenkins. [1]

March 19

• Biggest NBA margin of victory: Minnesota Lakers-133, Saint Louis Hawks-75. [1]

March 23

• 18th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: San Francisco beats Iowa 83-71; this is San Francisco's second consecutive national basketball championship. [1]

April 7

• 10th NBA Championship: Philadelphia Warriors beat Fort Wayne Pistons, 4 games to 1. [1]

April 8

• 20th Golf Masters Championship: Jack Burke Jr wins, shooting a 289. [1]

April 10

• Clarence Beaumont, first batter in first World Series, dies at age 75. [1]
• Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens beat Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 1. [1]

April 15

• Marlene Bauer wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf Open. [1]

April 17

• Willie Mosconi sinks 150 consecutive balls in a billiard tournament. [1]

April 19

• First major league baseball game in New Jersey: Brooklyn Dodgers beat Philadelphia Phillies in Roosevelt Stadium. [1]
• 60th Boston Marathon won by Antti Viskari of Finland in 2:14:14. [1]

April 22

• Patty Berg wins LPGA Dallas Golf Open. [1]

April 24

• American League umpire Frank Umont is first to wear glasses in a regular season game. [1]

April 27

• Heavyweight champion, Rocky Marciano, retires undefeated from boxing. [1]

April 28

• Cincinnati Reds' Frank Robinson hits his first of 586 homeruns. [1]

April 29

• Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Peach Blossom Golf Open. [1]

May 5

• 82nd Kentucky Derby: David Erb aboard Needles wins in 2:03.4. [1]
• Jim Bailey (US) runs the mile record 3:58.6 in Los Angeles, California. [1]
• World championships of judo are first held, in Tokyo, Japan. [1]

May 6

• Gus Bell (Cincinnati Reds) homers off Bob Miller in both ends of a double header. [1]

May 7

• New York Giants' Bill White homers in his first at bat. [1]

May 12

• Brooklyn Dodgers' Carl Erskine's second no-hitter, beats New York Giants, 3-0. [1]

May 16

• Laker takes 10-88 for Surrey versus Australia at the Oval. [1]

May 18

• Maurice Tate, cricketer (39 Tests for England, 155 wickets), dies. [1]
• Mickey Mantle hits homerun from both sides of plate for record third time. [1]

May 19

• 82nd Preakness: Bill Hartack aboard Fabius wins in 1:58.4. [1]
• Pittsburgh Pirates' player Dale Long hits 9th-inning homerun, first homerun in eight straight games. [1]

May 26

• Al Simmons, outfielder (Oakland Athletics) / lifetime batting average of .334, dies at age 54. [1]
• Cincinnati Reds' John Klippstein, Hershel Freemman and Joe Blacks no-hitter, broken up with two outs in the 10th and lose to Atlanta Braves in 11th, 2-1. [1]

May 28

• Dale Long becomes first to hit homeruns in eight straight games. [1]

May 31

• Mickey Mantle homerun just misses (18 inches) clearing Yankee Stadium's roof. [1]

June 10

• (to June 17) The Equestrian games of the Games of the XVI Olympiad are held in Stockholm, due to host country Australia's animal quarantine laws. [7]

June 27

• Cleveland Indians trailing Baltimore Orioles 9-1 come back to win 12-11 in 11 innings. [1]

July 10

• National League beats American League 7-3 in 23rd All Star Game (Griffith Stad, Washington). [1]

July 14

• Boston Red Sox' pitcher Mel Parnell no-hits Chicago White Sox, 4-0. [1]

July 16

• Detroit Tigers and Briggs Stadium sold for record US$5.5 million. [1]

July 20

• New York Yankees' pitcher Whitey Ford ties American League record of six straight strike-outs. [1]

July 21

• Cincinnati Reds' pitcher Brooks Lawrence loses after 13 straight wins. [1]

July 29

• Cathy Cornelius wins the US Women's Golf Open in a playoff. [1]

August 3

• Willie Williams of the US sets 100 metre dash record at 10.1 seconds. [1]

August 18

• Cincinnati Reds (8) and Chicago Cubs (2) combine to hit ten home runs in a 9-inning game. [1]

September 2

• Baltimore Orioles trailing Boston Red Sox 8-0 come back to win 11-10 in 9 innings. [1]

September 11

• Cincinnati Reds' player Frank Robinson ties rookie record with his 38th home run. [1]

September 17

• New York Yankees clinch pennant #22 on Mickey Mantle's 50th homer of the year. [1]

September 21

• New York Yankees set dubious record, stranding 20 men on base; Mickey Mantle hits a 500-foot plus homer but Boston Red Sox win 13-9 in Fenway Park. [1]

September 25

• Brooklyn Dodgers' pitcher Sal Maglie no-hits Philadelphia Phillies, 5-0. [1]

September 27

• Mildred "Babe" Didrickson Zaharias, great female athlete, dies. [1]

September 30

• Philadelphia Phillies' player Robin Roberts gives up a Major League Baseball record 46th home run. [1]

October 1

• Johnny Heckmann rides seven winners at Chicago Hawthorne Horse track. [1]

October 5

• Yogi Berra becomes the fourth New York Yankees' player to hit a World Series Grand Slam (World Series #53). [1]

October 8

• Don Larsen, New York Yankees, pitches only perfect World Series game, versus Brooklyn Dodgers (World Series #53). [1]

November 6

• Holland and Spain withdraw from Olympics, protest Soviets in Hungary. [1]

November 17

• Fullback Jim Brown, Syracuse, scores 43 points (NCAA record) versus Colgate. [1]

November 22

• (to December 8) The Games of the XVI Olympiad are held in Melbourne, Australia. [7]

December 1

• Alain Mimoun wins 13th Olympic marathon (2:25:00.0). [1]
• Frank Robinson (National League) and Luis Aparicio (American League) are both voted Rookie of the Year. [1]

December 3

• Wilt Chamberlain's first collegiate basketball game (scores 52). [1]

December 4

• 22nd Heisman Trophy Award: Paul Hornung, Notre Dame (quarterback). [1]

December 8

• Games of the XVI Olympiad close in Melbourne, Australia. [1]

December 13

• Brooklyn Dodgers trade Jackie Robinson to New York Giants for pitcher Dick Littlefield and $35,000; Robinson retires. [1]

December 18

• Phil Rizzuto signs as New York Yankees radio-TV announcer. [1]

December 27

• 45th Davis Cup: Australia beats USA in Adelaide (5-0). [1]
• Bill Sharman (Boston) ends NBA free throw streak of 55 games. [1]

December 30

• New York Giants beat Chicago Bears 47-7 in NFL championship game. [1]