1951 in sports

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "1951 in sports" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Years in sports
← 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 →
1951 in sports
Air sports American football Aquatic sports Association football Athletics Australian rules football Badminton Baseball Basketball Canadian football Chess Climbing Combat sports Sumo Cricket 1950–51 1951 1951–52 Cycling Dance sports Darts Equestrianism Esports Field hockey Flying disc Golf Gymnastics Handball Ice hockey Ice sports Korfball Lumberjack sports Mind sports Modern pentathlon Motorsport Orienteering Paralympic sports Precision sports Shooting Racquetball Roller sports Sailing Skiing Speedway Rugby league‎ Rugby union Snooker 1950–51 1951–52 Strength sports Weightlifting Squash Table tennis Tennis Triathlon Volleyball

1951 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

• NFL Championship: the Los Angeles Rams won 24–17 over the Cleveland Browns at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
• January 14 – The National Football League has its first Pro Bowl Game (Los Angeles).
• September 28 – Norm Van Brocklin sets NFL single game record for most passing yards (554) helping Los Angeles Rams beat New York Yanks 48–21.
• Sugar Bowl (1950 season):
  • The Oklahoma Sooners lose 13–7 to the Kentucky Wildcats; still awarded the college football national championship by AP and Coaches Poll

England

• First Division – Tottenham Hotspur win the 1950–51 title.
• FA Cup – Newcastle United beat Blackpool 2–0.

Spain

• La Liga won by Atlético Madrid

Italy

• Serie A won by Milan.

Germany

• German football championship won by 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

Portugal

• Primeira Liga won by Sporting C.P.

France

• French Division 1 won by Nice.

The athletics competition at the 1951 Pan American Games is held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mal Whitfield of the USA wins gold medals in three events: 400 m, 800 m and 4 × 400 m relay.

Victorian Football League

• 29 September − Geelong wins the 55th VFL Premiership defeating Essendon 11.15 (81) to 10.10 (70) in the 1951 VFL Grand Final.
• Brownlow Medal is awarded to Bernie Smith (Geelong)

South Australian National Football League

• 29 September − Port Adelaide wins its fourteenth SANFL premiership, defeating North Adelaide 10.12 (72) to 9.7 (61) after the Magpies lost only one game for the season.^[1]
• Magarey Medal awarded to John Marriott (Norwood)

Western Australian National Football League

• October 13 – West Perth wins its eleventh WANFL premiership, beating South Fremantle 13.10 (88) to 12.13 (85)
• Sandover Medal awarded to Fred Buttsworth (West Perth)

• January 29 – baseball signs a six-year All-Star game deal for TV and radio rights for $6 million
• September 30 – Joe DiMaggio plays in his final career regular season game.
• October 3 – In one of the most famous finishes in baseball history, Bobby Thomson of the New York Giants hits a three-run walk-off home run, immortalized as the Shot Heard 'Round the World, to give the Giants a 5–4 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers for the National League title.
• World Series – The New York Yankees win 4 games to 2 over the New York Giants.
• Japan Series – The Yomiuri Giants win 4 games to 2 over the Nankai Hawks.

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship –
  • Kentucky wins 68–58 over Kansas.

NBA Finals

• Rochester Royals over New York Knicks (4–3)

Events

• The seventh European basketball championship, Eurobasket 1951, is won by the Soviet Union.

• July 10 – Randy Turpin becomes the middleweight boxing champion by defeating Sugar Ray Robinson.
• July 18 – Jersey Joe Walcott knocks out Ezzard Charles in round 7 during their bout in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

• Grey Cup – Ottawa Rough Riders wins 21–14 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders

• Giro d'Italia is won by Fiorenzo Magni of Italy
• Tour de France – Hugo Koblet of Switzerland

• World Figure Skating Championships –
  • Men's champion: Dick Button, United States
  • Ladies' champion: Jeannette Altwegg, Great Britain
  • Pair skating champions: Ria Baran & Paul Falk, Germany

Men's professional

• Masters Tournament – Ben Hogan
• U.S. Open – Ben Hogan
• PGA Championship – Sam Snead
• British Open – Max Faulkner
• PGA Tour money leader – Lloyd Mangrum – $26,089
• Ryder Cup – United States team wins 91⁄2 to 21⁄2 over the British team.

Men's amateur

• British Amateur – Dick Chapman
• U.S. Amateur – Billy Maxwell

Women's professional

• Women's Western Open – Patty Berg
• U.S. Women's Open – Betsy Rawls
• Titleholders Championship – Pat O'Sullivan
• LPGA Tour money leader – Babe Zaharias – $15,087

• Tar Heel, a standardbred horse driven by Del Cameron, runs the first two–minute mile in harness racing history.
• Little Brown Jug for pacers is won by Tar Heel
• Hambletonian for trotters is won by Mainliner
• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
  • Pacers: Vedette
  • Trotters: Gay Belwin

• July 14 – Citation winds his 32nd race, the Hollywood Gold Cup, becoming the first equine millionaire.

Steeplechases

• Cheltenham Gold Cup – Silver Fame
• Grand National – Nickel Coin

Hurdle races

• Champion Hurdle – Hatton's Grace for the third successive year

Flat races

• Australia – Melbourne Cup is won by Delat
• Canada – King's Plate is won by Major Factor
• France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is won by Tantieme
• Ireland – Irish Derby is won by Fraise du Bois II
• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Ki Ming
  2. The Derby – Arctic Prince^[2]
  3. St. Leger Stakes – Talma
• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby – Count Turf
  2. Preakness Stakes – Bold
  3. Belmont Stakes – Counterpoint

• August 26 – Bill Barilko, Toronto Maple Leafs dies in an air crash
• Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
• Hart Memorial Trophy – for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Milt Schmidt, Boston Bruins
• Stanley Cup – Toronto Maple Leafs win 4 games to 1 over the Montreal Canadiens
• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Canada's Lethbridge Maple Leafs
• NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship – University of Michigan Wolverines defeat Brown University Bruins 7–1 in Colorado Springs, Colorado

• The 50th anniversaries of the donations of both the Mann Cup and the Minto Cup.
• The Peterborough Timbermen win the 50th Mann Cup.
• The Mimico Mountaineers win the 50th Minto Cup.

• 1950–51 European Rugby League Championship / 1951–52 European Rugby League Championship
• 1951 French rugby league tour of Australia and New Zealand
• 1951 New Zealand rugby league season
• 1951 NSWRFL season
• 1950–51 Northern Rugby Football League season / 1951–52 Northern Rugby Football League season

• 57th Five Nations Championship series is won by Ireland

• World Snooker Championship – Fred Davis beats Walter Donaldson 58–39.

Speed Skating World Championships

• Men's All-round Champion – Hjalmar Andersen (Norway)

Australia

• Australian Men's Singles Championship – Dick Savitt (USA) defeats Ken McGregor (Australia) 6–3, 2–6, 6–3, 6–1
• Australian Women's Singles Championship – Nancye Wynne Bolton (Australia) defeats Thelma Coyne Long (Australia) 6–1, 7–5

England

• Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Dick Savitt (USA) defeats Ken McGregor (Australia) 6–4, 6–4, 6–4
• Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Doris Hart (USA) defeats Shirley Fry Irvin (USA) 6–1, 6–0

France

• French Men's Singles Championship – Jaroslav Drobný (Egypt) defeats Eric Sturgess (South Africa) 6–3, 6–3, 6–3
• French Women's Singles Championship – Shirley Fry Irvin (USA) defeats Doris Hart (USA) 6–3, 3–6, 6–3

USA

• American Men's Singles Championship – Frank Sedgman (Australia) defeats Vic Seixas (USA) 6–4, 6–1, 6–1
• American Women's Singles Championship – Maureen Connolly (USA) defeats Shirley Fry Irvin (USA) 6–3, 1–6, 6–4

Davis Cup

• 1951 Davis Cup –  Australia 3–2  United States at White City Stadium (grass) Sydney, Australia

• First Pan American Games are held in Buenos Aires, Argentina^[3]
• Asian Games are held in New Delhi, India
• First Mediterranean Games are held in Alexandria, Egypt

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Dick Kazmaier, College football
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Maureen Connolly, Tennis