1951 in sports
1951 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
[American football]
- January 14 – The National Football League has its first Pro Bowl Game.
- September 28 – Norm Van Brocklin sets NFL single game record for most passing yards helping Los Angeles Rams beat New York Yanks 48–21.
- NFL Championship – Los Angeles Rams won 24–17 over the Cleveland Browns.
- Sugar Bowl :
- * The Oklahoma Sooners lose 13-7 to the Kentucky Wildcats; still awarded the college football national championship by AP and Coaches Poll
[Association football]
- First Division – Tottenham Hotspur win the 1950–51 title.
- FA Cup – Newcastle United beat Blackpool 2–0.
- La Liga won by Atlético Madrid
Germany
- German football championship won by 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
- Primeira Liga won by Sporting C.P..
- French Division 1 won by Nice.
Athletics">sport of athletics">Athletics
[Australian rules football]
Victorian Football League- 29 September − Geelong wins the 55th VFL Premiership defeating Essendon 11.15 to 10.10 in the 1951 VFL Grand Final.
- Brownlow Medal is awarded to Bernie Smith
- 29 September − Port Adelaide wins its fourteenth SANFL premiership, defeating North Adelaide 10.12 to 9.7 after the Magpies lost only one game for the season.
- Magarey Medal awarded to John Marriott
- October 13 – West Perth wins its eleventh WANFL premiership, beating South Fremantle 13.10 to 12.13
- Sandover Medal awarded to Fred Buttsworth
[Baseball]
- 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.
[Basketball]
- NCAA Men's Basketball Championship –
- * Kentucky wins 68–58 over Kansas State University.
- NBA Finals –
- * Rochester Royals win 4 games to 3 over the New York Knicks
- The seventh European basketball championship, Eurobasket 1951, is won by the Soviet Union.
[Boxing]
- 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.
[Canadian football]
- Grey Cup – Ottawa Rough Riders wins 21–14 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders
[Cycling]
- Giro d'Italia is won by Fiorenzo Magni of Italy
- Tour de France – Hugo Koblet of Switzerland
[Figure skating]
- 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
[Golf]
- 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 9½ to 2½ over the British team.
- British Amateur – Dick Chapman
- U.S. Amateur – Billy Maxwell
- 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
[Harness racing]
- 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
[Horse racing]
- July 14 – Citation winds his 32nd race, the Hollywood Gold Cup, becoming the first equine millionaire.
Hurdle races
- Champion Hurdle – Hatton's Grace for the third successive year
- Australia – Melbourne Cup is won by Delat
- Canada – Queen'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:
- # 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Ki Ming
- # The Derby – Arctic Prince
- # St. Leger Stakes – Talma
- United States Triple Crown Races:
- # Kentucky Derby – Count Turf
- # Preakness Stakes – Bold
- # Belmont Stakes – Counterpoint
[Ice hockey]
- 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
[Lacrosse]
- 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.
[Motorsport]
[Rugby league]
- 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
[Rugby union]
- 57th Five Nations Championship series is won by Ireland
[Snooker]
- World Snooker Championship – Fred Davis beats Walter Donaldson 58–39.
[Speed skating]
Australia
- Australian Men's Singles Championship – Dick Savitt defeats Ken McGregor 6–3, 2–6, 6–3, 6–1
- Australian Women's Singles Championship – Nancye Wynne Bolton defeats Thelma Coyne Long 6–1, 7–5
- Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Dick Savitt defeats Ken McGregor 6–4, 6–4, 6–4
- Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Doris Hart defeats Shirley Fry Irvin 6–1, 6–0
USA
Davis Cup
- 1951 Davis Cup – 3–2 at White City Stadium Sydney, Australia
[Multi-sport event]s
- First Pan American Games are held in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Asian Games are held in New Delhi, India
- First Mediterranean Games are held in Alexandria, Egypt
Awards
- Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Dick Kazmaier, College football
- Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Maureen Connolly, Tennis