1939 in Sport

• Jan 1 25th Rose Bowl: #7 Southern California beats #3 Duke, 7-3

• Jan 2 5th Sugar Bowl: #1 TCU beats #6 Carnegie Tech, 15-7
• Jan 2 5th Orange Bowl: #2 Tennessee beats #4 Oklahoma, 17-0
• Jan 15 1st NFL All Star Game, Wrigley Field, Chicago: New York Giants beat All America All-Stars, 13-10

• Jan 28 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: In an all-Australian final Emily Hood Westacott beats Nell Hall Hopman 6-1, 6-2 for her only Grand Slam singles title
• Jan 28 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Australian John Bromwich wins his 1st Australian title; beats doubles partner Adrian Quist 6-4, 6-1, 6-3
• Feb 17 Katwijk soccer team forms
• Feb 23 Lou Thesz beats Everett Marshall in St Louis, to win National Boxing Association world heavyweight title for 2nd time
• Mar 16 NHL record 10 goals in 1 period-NY Rangers (7), NY Americans (3) & a record 26 points in the 3rd period
• Mar 24 98th Grand National: Tim Hyde aboard Workman wins
• Mar 27 1st NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: U of Oregon beats OH State 46-33
• Mar 28 Renaissance Big 5 win 1st pro basketball championship
• Apr 2 6th Masters Golf Tournament: Ralph Guldahl wins, shooting a 279


• Apr 8 ACV soccer team forms in Axes
• Apr 16 Stanley Cup: Boston Bruins beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 1
• Apr 17 Joe Louis KOs Jack Roper in 1 for heavyweight boxing title
• Apr 19 43rd Boston Marathon won by Ellison Brown of RI in 2:28:51.8

• Apr 23 Boston Red Sox Ted Williams hits his 1st HR

• May 2 Lou Gehrig ends 2,130 consecutive game streak, Yanks beat Tigers 22-2
• May 6 65th Kentucky Derby: James Stout aboard Johnstown wins in 2:03.4
• May 13 64th Preakness: George Seabo aboard Challedon wins in 1:59.8
• May 17 1st televised baseball game is broadcast on NBC, with Princeton defeating Columbia 2-1
• May 25 Carl Storck becomes 2nd NFL president
• May 30 Indianapolis 500: Wilbur Shaw wins in 4:20:47.412 (185.131 km/h)
• Jun 1 1st boxing match to be televised, Lon Nova defeats Max Baer
• Jun 1 1st night game at Phil's Shribe Park (Pirates 5, Phillies 2)
• Jun 3 71st Belmont: James Stout riding Johnstown wins in 2:29.6
• Jun 6 NY Giants beat Reds 17-3, with 5 HRs in 4th inning
• Jun 7 Cleveland Indians sets AL record of 16 inning game without striking out, however lose game 5-4 to NY Yankees

• Jun 12 Baseball Hall of Fame opens in Cooperstown, NY

• Jun 17 44th Women's French Championships: Simonne Mathieu beats Jadwiga Jedrzejowska (6-3, 8-6)
• Jun 21 NY Yankees announce Lou Gehrig's retirement after doctors reveal he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

• Jun 27 Brooklyn Dodgers tie Boston Braves, 2-2, in 23 innings


• Jun 27 Headley scores a cricket century in each innings v England at Lord's
• Jun 28 Joe Louis TKOs Tony Galent in 4 for heavyweight boxing title
• Jul 4 Red Sox 3rd baseman Jim Tabor hits record-tying 2 grand slams in one MLB game, 18-12 win v Phillies
• Jul 4 Lou Gehrig is first MLB player to have his number (4) retired on his "Appreciation Day" at Yankee Stadium, makes iconic "luckiest man" speech

• Jul 7 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Bobby Riggs beats fellow American Elwood Cooke 2-6, 8-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 for Wimbledon sweep, also won doubles & mixed doubles titles
• Jul 7 British Open Golf, St Andrews: In the last Open played for 7 years, due to WWII, England's Dick Burton wins by 2 strokes from American Johnny Bulla
• Jul 9 A meeting of 6,000 Indians, held at the Indian Sports Ground in Johannesburg South Africa, launch the Passive Resistance Campaign against apartheid and racial policy in South Africa
• Jul 11 7th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 3-1 at Yankee Stadium, New York NY Yankee/AL maanager Joe McCarthy starts 6 Yankees
• Jul 17 22nd PGA Championship: Henry Picard at Pomonok CC Flushing NY
• Jul 25 NY Yankee Atley Donald sets AL rookie record with 12 consecutive win
• Jul 26 Yankee catcher Bill Dickey hits 3 consecutive HRs
• Jul 30 Tour de France: Sylvère Maes of Belgium wins his 3rd title from Frenchman René Vietto
• Aug 14 1st night games at Comiskey Park (White Sox 5, Browns 2)
• Aug 15 First night game at baseball's Comiskey Park, Sox beat Browns 5-2
• Aug 26 1st major league baseball telecast on W2XBS- Cincinnati Reds defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn
• Aug 30 6th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: NY Giants 9, All-Stars 0 (81,456)
• Aug 30 NY Yankee Atley Donald pitches a baseball a record 94.7 mph (152 kph)
• Sep 1 Last day of 1st-class cricket in England before the declaration of war against Germany; great slow left-armer Hedley Verity finishes with amazing figures of 7 for 9 v Sussex to give Yorkshire the County Championship
• Sep 5 34th Davis Cup: Australia beats USA in Haverford (3-2)
• Sep 8 Indians Bob Feller, 20, is youngest pitcher to win 20 games
• Sep 8 Yanks beat Red Sox 4-1 in 7, game called because of lightning
• Sep 16 NY Yankees clinch their 11th & 4th successive pennant
• Sep 17 59th U.S. Men's National Championship: Bobby Riggs beats Welby van Horn (6-4, 6-2, 6-4)
• Sep 17 53rd U.S. Women's National Championship: Alice Marble beats Helen Jacobs (6-0, 8-10, 6-4)
• Sep 20 Joe Louis KOs Bob Pastor in 11 for heavyweight boxing title
• Sep 23 Cookie Lavagetto goes 6 for 6-Dodgers get 27 hits & beat Phillies 22-4
• Sep 27 White Sox host 1st "day-night" doubleheader, lose to Cleve, 5-2 & 7-5
• Sep 30 1st televised college football game (Fordham vs Waynesburg at NYC)
• Sep 30 White Sox reliever Clint Brown sets record of 61st relief appearance
• Oct 8 NY Yankees sweep Reds in 36th World Series, 4th straight WS win
• Oct 22 NBC becomes first network to televise a pro football game; Brooklyn Dodgers beat Philadelphia Eagles, 23-14 at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field

• Oct 29 NHL Babe Seibert Memorial Game: All-Stars beat Montreal 5-3
• Nov 4 1940 Olympics awarded to Helsinki, Finland
• Nov 29 Cor Klint swims world record 200 m backstroke (2:38.8)
• Dec 6 5th Heisman Trophy Award: Nile Kinnick, Iowa (HB)
• Dec 7 Lou Gehrig, 36, is elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame
• Dec 9 CFL Grey Cup, Landsdowne Park, Ottawa: Winnipeg Blue Bombers claim 2nd title; defeat Ottawa Rough Riders, 8-7
• Dec 9 1940 NFL Draft: George Cafego from University of Tennessee first pick by Chicago Cardinals
• Dec 10 National Football League Championship, Dairy Bowl, West Allis, Wisconsin: Green Bay Packers beat New York Giants, 27-0; Packers 5th title
• Dec 16 Bradman scores 251* SA v NSW, 271 minutes, 38 fours 2 sixes
• Dec 30 Bradman scores 267 South Australia v Vic, world record 34th double cricket century

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 130

• Jan 3 Nikos Alefantos, Greek football manager
• Jan 5 Bridget Parker, British equestrian 3 day event (Olympic gold 1972)
• Jan 6 Murray Rose, Australian Olympic swimmer (4x oly gold), born in Birmingham, United Kingdom (d. 2012)
• Jan 7 Tom Kierman, British(?) rugby player
• Jan 10 Bill Toomey, American decathlete (Olympic gold 1968), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Jan 11 Anne Heggtveit, Canadian alpine skier (Olympic gold 1960), born in Ottawa, Ontario
• Jan 13 Jacek Gmoch, Polish footballer and coach
• Jan 17 Antao D'Souza, cricketer (Pakistani pace bowler in six Tests 1959-62)
• Jan 17 Toini Gustafson, Swedish 5K/10K cross country skier (Olympic gold 1968)
• Jan 20 Murle Breer, LPGA golfer
• Jan 27 Mike Hill, American golfer (3 PGA titles), born in Jackson, Michigan
• Jan 30 Nick Gaselee, racehorse trainer
• Feb 5 Brian Luckhurst, cricketer (England opener of 60's & early 70's)
• Feb 18 Dal Maxvill, American baseball player
• Feb 20 Frank Arundel, English footballer
• Feb 22 Steve Barber, pitcher (Balt Orioles, NY Yankees)
• Feb 23 Josef Feistmantl, Austrian lugeist (Olympic gold 1964)
• Feb 27 Lester King, cricketer (WI fast bowler, 2 Tests 1962-68, 9 wkts)
• Feb 27 Peter Revson, auto racer (1971 Indianapolis pole winner)
• Feb 28 Charles Brown, featherweight boxer (Olympic bronze 1964), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Mar 3 M L Jaisimha, cricketer (Indian batsman of the sixties)

• Mar 6 Cookie Rojas, baseball player
• Mar 7 Panajot Pano, Albania's most outstanding football player of the past 50 years born in Durres
• Mar 8 Jim Bouton, pitcher (NY Yankees)/author (Ball Four), born in Newark, New Jersey
• Mar 8 Lydia Skoblikova, USSR, speed skater (Olympics-6 gold-1960, 64)
• Mar 10 Irina Press, USSR, 80m hurdles/Pentathelete (Olympic gold 1960, 64)
• Mar 17 Shahid Mahmoud, cricketer (opener scored 16 & 9 in only Pak Test)
• Mar 17 Robin Knox-Johnston, British yachtsman
• Mar 18 Ron Atkinson, English former footballer and manager
• Mar 19 Abbas Ali Baig, cricketer (Indian bat 112 on debut v England 1959)
• Mar 19 Joe Kapp, NFL quarterback (Minnesota Vikings, Boston Patriots, Houston Oilers)
• Mar 21 Martha Hudson, Eastman Ga, 4X100m relayer (Olympic gold 1960)
• Mar 27 Cale Yarborough, American auto racer (Daytona 500-1968, 77, 83, 84), born in Timmonsville, South Carolina
• Mar 29 Hanumant Singh, Indian cricketer (14 Tests for India-century on debut), born in Banswara, India
• Apr 1 Phil Niekro, knuckleball pitcher (NY Yankees, Atlanta Braves)
• Apr 3 Vitaliy Davidov, Soviet ice hockey player (Olympic gold 1964, 68, 72), born in Moscow
• Apr 4 JoAnne Carner, American LPGA golfer (US Women's Open 1971, 76), born in Kirkland, Washington
• Apr 4 Ernie Terrell, American boxer (WBA champ 1965-7), born in Belzoni, Mississippi (d. 2014)
• Apr 12 Johnny Raper, Australian rugby league footballer, born in Revesby, New South Wales, Australia
• Apr 18 Von McDaniel, baseball player
• Apr 19 Michael Macaulay, cricketer (Tvl, W Prov, OFS, NE Tvl, E Prov & S Afr)
• May 1 Frank Beard, American golfer (11 PGA Tour titles), born in Dallas, Texas
• May 2 Gates Brown, American MLB player (Detroit Tigers: 1963-75), born in Crestline, Ohio (d. 2013)
• May 5 Cesare Fiorio, Italian sporting director of various Formula One teams
• May 8 Otis Paul Drayton, Glen Cove NY, 4x100m runner (Olympic gold 1964)
• May 9 Herbert Hippauf, baseball player
• May 9 Jim Dent, PGA golfer (1989 MONY Syracuse Senior), born in Augusta, Georgia
• May 9 Ralph Boston, Laurel Miss, long jumper (Olympic gold/sil/brz-60, 64, 68)
• May 9 Ion Ţiriac, Romanian tennis manager
• May 11 Milt Pappas, American baseball pitcher, (3-time MLB All Star), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2016)
• May 12 Reg Gasnier, Australian rugby league footballer, born in Mortdale, New South Wales, (d. 2014)
• May 13 Anthony Hide, racehorse trainer
• May 13 Terry Dill, Forth Worth TX, PGA golfer (1992 Bank One Senior Classic)
• May 13 Hildrun Claus, German athlete
• May 15 Dorothy Shirley, British athlete
• May 19 Livio Berruti, Italian athlete
• May 23 Ron Stevens, horse trainer
• May 26 Brent Musburger, sportscaster (CBS-TV)
• May 29 Al Unser, auto racer (Indianapolis 500-1970, 71)
• May 30 Dieter Quester, Austrian racing driver
• Jun 3 Steve Dalkowski, baseball player
• Jun 4 Phil Linz, baseball shortstop (NY Yankees)
• Jun 8 Herb Adderley, NFL hall of famer (Packers, Cowboys), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Jun 9 David Hobbs (auto racer)
• Jun 10 Guy Harwood, horse trainer
• Jun 11 Jackie Stewart, Scottish auto racer, analyst (27 Grand Prix wins, 3-time World F1 champion), born in Milton, Scotland
• Jun 11 Rachel Heyhoe Flint, English cricket player and journalist, born in Wolverhampton (d. 2017)
• Jun 12 Geoff Griffin, South African cricketer (South African quick, hat-trick & chuck v Eng 1960), born in Greytown, Natal Province, Union of South Africa (d. 2006)
• Jun 13 Tom Cheek, American baseball player (d. 2005)
• Jun 18 Lou Brock, one-time baseball stolen base leader (St Louis Cards)
• Jun 18 Lynn Whiting, horse trainer
• Jun 20 Budge Rogers, British rugby player
• Jun 20 R B Desai, cricketer (effective pace bowler for India in 60s)
• Jun 22 Don Matthews, American football coach in the CFL
• Jun 25 Allen Fox, American tennis player, born in Los Angeles, California
• Jun 27 Neil Hawke, Australian cricketer (Aust pace bowler & late-order bat in 60s), born in Cheltenham, Adelaide, Australia (d. 2000)
• Jun 29 Alan Connolly, Australian cricketer (Australian pace bowler through 60s), born in Skipton, Victoria, Australia
• Jun 29 Ron Headley, West Indian cricketer (son of George, 2 Tests WI v England 1973), born in Kingston, Jamaica
• Jul 5 Booker Edgerson, American football player
• Jul 6 Helena Dupont, American equestrian 3-day even (Olympic-33rd place-1964)
• Jul 6 Man Mohan Sood, cricketer (scored 0 & 3 in his only Test for India)
• Jul 6 Mary Peters, England, pentathlete (Olympic gold 1972)
• Jul 7 Laurie Silvers, horse trainer
• Jul 11 Larry Laoretti, Mahopac NJ, PGA golfer (US Seniors Open 1992)
• Jul 15 Haseeb Ahsan, Pakistani cricket off-spinner (12 Tests 1958-62)
• Jul 15 Tony Bullimore, British yachtsman (1997 solo around-the-world yacht race, dramatic rescue), born in Southend-on-Sea, England (d. 2018)
• Jul 18 Jerry Moore, American football player and coach, born in Bonham, Texas
• Jul 24 Bob Lilly, NFL defensive tackle (Dallas Cowboys)
• Jul 24 Walter Bellamy, New Bern NC, NBA center (Knicks/Olympic gold 1960), (d. 2013)
• Jul 27 Irv Cross, American NFL sportscaster (CBS-TV), born in Hammond, Indiana
• Jul 31 Roger Prideaux, English cricketer (England batsman in 3 Tests 1968-69), born in Chelsea, London
• Aug 8 Viorica Viscopoleanu, Romanian athlete (Olympic gold, long jump 1968), born in Storozhynets, Romania
• Aug 9 Claude Osteen, baseball pitcher (Cincinnati Reds)
• Aug 9 Brito, Brazilian footballer
• Aug 12 Pam Ryan-Kilborn, Australia, hurdler (Olympic silver 1968)
• Aug 18 Joe Azcue, baseball player

• Sep 1 Heinrich "Heni" Messner, Austrian downhill skier (Olympic bronze 1968, 1972), born in Obernberg am Brenner, Austria

• Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next

• Jan 6 Albert Ward, cricketer (England batsman in 7 Tests 1893-95), dies
• Jan 13 Jacob Ruppert, CEO (NY Yankees, 1915-39), dies
• Jan 19 Cliff Heathcote, American baseball player (b. 1898)
• Jan 23 Matthias Sindelar, Austria soccer star, commits suicide
• Jan 31 George Thornton, cricketer (1 Test for South Africa 1902, 1* & 1-20), dies
• Apr 5 William Cooper, cricketer (two Tests for Australia 1882-84), dies
• May 20 Joe Carr, NFL hall of famer/NFL president (1921-39), dies at 59
• May 30 Floyd Roberts, Auto racer, killed during 1939 Indianapolis 500 (b. 1904)
• Jun 13 Arthur Coningham, cricketer (one Test for Australia 1894), dies
• Jun 17 Allen Sothoron, American baseball player, dies at 46
• Jul 7 Deacon White, American baseball player and a star during the first two decades of the sport's professional era, dies at 91
• Jul 19 Tom Hayward, English cricketer (35 Tests for England, 1999 runs), dies at 68
• Aug 16 Ron Oxenham, cricketer (7 Tests for Australia, 14 wickets), dies
• Aug 24 W H Moule, cricketer (Australia v England 1880)/High Court judge, dies
• Aug 25 Babe Siebert, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1904)
• Oct 21 Nummy Deane, cricketer (628 runs in 17 Tests for South Africa), dies

• Dec 15 Tom McKibbin, Australian cricketer (5 Tests for Aust 1895-1898, 17 wkts), dies at 69

• Share On Facebook
• Share On Twitter