- Jan 1 45th Rose Bowl: #2 Iowa beats #16 California, 38-12
- Jan 1 25th Sugar Bowl: #1 LSU beats #12 Clemson, 7-0
- Jan 1 25th Orange Bowl: #5 Oklahoma beats #9 Syracuse, 21-6
- Jan 11 Hanif Mohammad completes 499 runs for Karachi, then 1st class cricket world record
- Jan 11 NFL Pro Bowl: East beats West 28-21
- Jan 23 9th NBA All-Star Game: West beats East 124-108 at Detroit
- Jan 26 47th Women's Australian Championships: Mary Carter Reitano beats Renee Schuurman Haygarth (6-2, 6-3)
- Jan 26 47th Men's Australian Championships: Alex Olmedo beats Neale Fraser (6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3)
- Jan 28 Soviet Union wins 62-37 for 1st international basketball loss by US
- Feb 1 Zack Wheat unanimously elected to baseball Hall of Fame
Contract of Interest
Feb 2 Vince Lombardi signs a 5 year contract to coach Green Bay Packers
Vince Lombardi
- Feb 5 Australia regain the Ashes with a 10 wicket victory at Adelaide
- Feb 7 Dorothy Rigney sells White Sox to Bill Veeck for a reported $27M
- Feb 11 Vinoo Mankad ends his final Test Cricket (v WI at Delhi)
- Feb 22 1st Daytona 500: Lee Petty wins (135.521 MPH)
- Feb 27 Chicago Cards trade running back Ollie Matson to LA Rams for 9 players
- Feb 28 Ice Dance Championship at Colo Springs USA won by Denny & Jones of Great Britain
- Feb 28 NFL trade, Chicago Cards trade Ollie Matson to LA Rams for 9 players
- Mar 3 San Francisco Giants rename their stadium Candlestick Park
- Mar 7 6th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: NC State beats North Carolina, 80-56
- Mar 10 Dorothy Comiskey Rigney, sells 54% of White Sox to Bill Veeck
Golf Tournament
Mar 15 Louise Suggs wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship
Louise Suggs
NBA Record
Mar 18 Boston Celtic's Bill Sharman begins record of 56 straight free-throws
Bill Sharman
- Mar 21 21st NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: California beats W Va 71-70
- Mar 21 113th Grand National: Michael Scudamore aboard Oxo wins
- Mar 25 Bill White traded to St Louis for pitchers Sam Jones & Don Choate
- Mar 29 Wes Hall takes Pakistani cricket hat-trick at Lahore
- Apr 5 23rd Masters Golf, Augusta: Art Wall Jr wins by 1 from Cary Middlecoff for his only PGA Tour major victory
- Apr 9 Balt Orioles pull their 2nd triple play (3-6-3 vs Washington Senators)
- Apr 9 Bill Sharman hits a NBA record 56 consecutive foul shot
- Apr 9 13th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics sweep Minnesota Lakers in 4 games, first of Boston Celtics record 8 straight titles
- Apr 11 Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale hits his 2nd Opening Day HR
- Apr 16 NY Yankees unveil their 1st message scoreboard
- Apr 16 Phils' Dave Philley gets a major league record 9th straight pinch hit
- Apr 18 Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 1
- Apr 20 63rd Boston Marathon won by Eino Oksanen of Finland in 2:22:42
Event of Interest
Apr 22 Yankee Whitey Ford strikes-out 15, beating Senators, 1-0 in 14 innings
Whitey Ford
- Apr 22 Chicago White Sox beat KC Athletics 20-6, in 1 inning Sox score 11 runs on 1 hit, 10 walks, & 3 errors
Boxing Title Fight
May 1 Floyd Patterson KOs Englishman Brian London in 11, in his 4th World Heavyweight Boxing title defence
Floyd Patterson
- May 2 85th Kentucky Derby: Bill Shoemaker aboard Tomy Lee wins in 2:02.2
Event of Interest
May 7 "Roy Campanella Night" Largest baseball crowd (93,103 in LA Coliseum) sees Dodgers' Sandy Koufax beat Yankees 6-2 in exhibition
Roy Campanella
Event of Interest
May 9 Dorothy Rigney, husband John, and Hank Greenberg resign from White Sox
Hank Greenberg
Event of Interest
May 11 Yankee catcher Yogi Berra's errorless streak of 148 games ends
Yogi Berra
- May 25 US Supreme Courtt rules Louisiana prohibiting black-white boxing unconstitutional
- May 30 Indianapolis 500: Rodger Ward wins in 3:40:47.470 (218.641 km/h)
- May 30 58th Men's French Championships: Nicola Pietrangeli beats Ian Vermaak (3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1)
- May 30 58th Women's French Championships: Christine Truman beats Zsuzsi Kormoczy (6-4, 7-5)
- Jun 3 4th European Cup: Real Madrid beats Stade Reims 2-0 at Stuttgart
Event of Interest
Jun 11 Charlie Sifford becomes the 1st African American to play in a US Golf Open
Charlie Sifford
- Jun 12 SF Giants Mike McCormick no-hits Phillies, 3-0 in 5 inning game
- Jun 13 59th US Golf Open: Billy Casper shoots a 282 at Winged Foot GC NY
- Jun 13 91st Belmont: Bill Shoemaker aboard Sword Dancer wins in 2:28.6
- Jun 22 Most Phillies strike out in a game (16 by Sandy Koufax)
- Jun 26 Ingemar Johansson TKOs Floyd Patterson in 3 for heavyweight boxing title
Golf Major
Jun 27 US Open Women's Golf, Churchill Valley CC: Mickey Wright successfully defends her Open title by 2 strokes from Louise Suggs
Mickey Wright
Louise Suggs
- Jun 28 Phils Wally Post is only outfielder to throw out 2 runners in an inning twice (Losing to Giants 6-0)
Golf Major
Jul 3 British Open Golf, Muirfield: 23 year old South African Gary Player wins the first of his 9 major titles, 2 strokes clear of runners-up Fred Bullock and Flory Van Donck
Gary Player
Tennis Open
Jul 3 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Maria Bueno of Brazil wins her first of 3 Wimbledon singles titles beating Darlene Hard 6-4, 6-3
Maria Bueno
Darlene Hard
Golf Major
Jul 6 LPGA Championship, Sheraton Hotel CC: Betsy Rawls wins by 1 stroke from Patty Berg
Betsy Rawls
Event of Interest
Jul 7 26th MLB All Star Game, Forbes Field, Pittsburgh: Willy Mays triples to score Hank Aaron as NL wins 5-4
Hank Aaron
- Jul 12 NBC uses cameras to show catchers signals during Yankee-Red Sox game
- Jul 18 African American William 'Bill' Wright is the 1st colored person to win a major golf tournament (U.S. Amateur Public Links Championships)
- Jul 18 46th Tour de France won by Federico Bahamontes of Spain
- Jul 21 Red Sox are last team to use a black player (Pumpsie Green)
- Jul 26 Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Western Golf Open
- Jul 27 William Shea announces plans to have a baseball team in NYC in 1961
- Jul 30 In his major league debut, SF Giant Willie McCovey goes 4-for-4
- Aug 2 PGA Championship, Minneapolis GC: Bob Rosburg wins by 1 stroke from Jerry Barber and Doug Sanders
- Aug 2 Milwaukee Braves outfielder Bill Bruton hits 3 triples in 11-5 win v Cardinals, 2 of them bases loaded, first time in 20th Centiury
- Aug 2 Future Hall of Fame 1st baseman Willie McCovey hits 1st of his 521 MLB home runs in Giants 5-3 win v Pirates
- Aug 3 27th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 5-3 at Memorial Coliseum, LA
- Aug 3 AL beats NL 5-3 in Game 2 of All Star Baseball doubleheader (to boost player pension fund) at LA Memorial Coliseum
- Aug 5 Chicago Cardinals (NFL) beat Toronto Argonauts (CFL), 55-26 in a pre-season exhibition at CNE Stadium in Toronto
- Aug 14 26th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: Baltimore 29, All-Stars 0 (70,000)
- Aug 14 AFL organized with NY, Dallas, LA, Minneapolis, Denver & Houston
- Aug 22 Cincinnati Red Frank Robinson hits 3 consecutive HRs
- Aug 31 48th Davis Cup: Australia beats USA in New York (3-2)
- Sep 11 Elroy Face's 22 game win streak ends as Dodgers beat Pirates 5-4
- Sep 11 Oriole Jerry Walker pitches 16 inn beating White Sox 1-0
- Sep 13 79th U.S. Men's National Championship: Neale Fraser beats Alex Olmedo (6-3, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4)
- Sep 13 73rd U.S. Women's National Championship: Maria Bueno beats Christine Truman Janes (6-1, 6-4)
Golf Tournament
Sep 17 59th US Golf Amateur Championship won by Jack Nicklaus
Jack Nicklaus
- Sep 22 Chicago White Sox clinch AL pennant
- Sep 26 Milwaukee Braves Warren Spahn becomes winningest NL lefty
- Sep 26 SF Giants Sam Jones 2nd no-hitter, beats St Louis Cards, 4-0
- Sep 27 Braves & Dodgers finish in a tie (86-68)
- Sep 29 Dodgers win game 2 of playoff, 6-5, & take NL pennant
- Oct 1 Chicago White Sox beat LA Dodgers, 11-0 in Game 1 of the Baseball World Series at Comiskey Park; White Sox first WS appearance since 1919 'Black Sox Scandal'; LA wins series 4-2
Event of Interest
Oct 3 13th NHL All-Star Game, Montreal Forum: Habs center Jean Beliveau scores twice as Montreal Canadiens beat All-Stars, 6-1
Jean Beliveau
- Oct 4 First Baseball World Series game played west of St Louis; LA Dodgers beat Chicago White Sox 3-1 in Game 3; record 92,394 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
- Oct 4 Netherlands equal best performance against neighbours Belgium; win, 9-1 in soccer friendly at De Kuip, Rotterdam; Piet van der Kuil & Faas Wilkes score 3 apiece
- Oct 6 Single game World Series attendence record set (92,706 in LA)
- Oct 6 Chicago White Sox beat LA Dodgers, 1-0 in Game 5 of Baseball World Series at LA Memorial Coliseum; World Series record attendance 92,706
- Oct 8 LA Dodgers beat Chicago White Sox, 4 games to 2 in 56th World Series
- Oct 28 Buffalo Bills enter AFL
- Oct 29 10 nation soccer league to play all games on NY Randalls Is, announced
Event of Interest
Nov 1 Montreal Canadiens’ goal tender Jacques Plante becomes first NHL net-minder to wear a fibreglass protective face mask
Jacques Plante
Event of Interest
Nov 4 Ernie Banks, Cubs shortstop, wins 2nd consecutive NL MVP
Ernie Banks
- Nov 5 AFL announced with 8 teams
- Nov 7 Ryder Cup Golf, Eldorado GC: Sam Snead leads US to comprehensive 8½-3½ win
- Nov 12 White Sox 2B Nellie Fox wins AL's MVP
- Nov 15 Cleveland Browns' halfback Bobby Mitchell sets club record for longest run from scrimmage (90-yards), beat Wash 31-17
- Nov 22 AFL's 1st draft - NY Titans choice George Izo, QB, Notre Dame
- Nov 22 Boston Patriots enters AFL
- Nov 28 CFL Grey Cup, CNE Stadium, Toronto: Winnipeg Blue Bombers beat Hamilton Tiger-Cats (21-7) for a second straight year
- Nov 28 24th Iron Bowl: Alabama beats Auburn 10-0 in Birmingham, breaking a streak of five consecutive victories by Auburn in the series
- Nov 30 Joe Foss named 1st commissioner of AFL
- Nov 30 1960 NFL Draft: Billy Cannon from LSU first pick by Los Angeles Rams
- Dec 1 25th Heisman Trophy Award: Billy Cannon, LSU (HB)
Event of Interest
Dec 8 President Eisenhower watches Pakistan v Aust Test Cricket at Karachi
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Event of Interest
Dec 11 NY Yankees trade Marv Thronberry, Don Larsen, Hank Bauer and Norm Seibern for Roger Maris, Kent Hadley and Joe Deaestri
Roger Maris
- Dec 12 Jack Brabham finishes 4th in season-ending US Grand Prix at Sebring to become first Australian World Championship of Drivers winner; takes title by 4 points from Briton Tony Brooks
- Dec 15 Ballon d'Or: Real Madrid forward Alfredo Di Stéfano wins his second award for best football player in Europe ahead of team mate Raymond Kopa and Juventus' Welsh utility John Charles
Event of Interest
Dec 18 Sammy Baugh named 1st coach of NY Titans (AFL)
Sammy Baugh
Event of Interest
Dec 21 Tom Landry accepts coaching job with Dallas Cowboys (stays until 1988)
Tom Landry