1951 in sports
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Athletics

Marathon

International Races

• March 6 — Pan American Games Marathon, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Men's Winner: Delfo Cabrera (ARG) 2:35:01

• March 11 — Asian Games Marathon, New Delhi, India
  • Men's Winner: Chota Singh (IND) 2:42:59

• September 1 — Enschede Marathon, Netherlands
  • Men's Winner: Veikko Karvonen (FIN) 2:29:02

• December 9 — Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
  • Men's Winner: Hiromi Haigo (JPN) 2:30:13

National Champions

• March 5 — Australia
  • Men's Winner: Gordon Stanley — 2:59:44

• May 4 — Canada
  • Men's Winner: Walter Fedorick — 2:58:42

• May 27 — United States
  • Men's Winner: Jesse Van Zant — 2:37:12

• July 1 — Finland
  • Men's Winner: Veikko Karvonen — 2:28:46

• July 21 — England
  • Men's Winner: James Peters — 2:31:42

• July 28 — Germany
  • Men's Winner: Wilfried Hogrefe — 2:46:06

• August 5 — Netherlands
  • Men's Winner: Joop Overdijk — 2:43:42

• September 6 — Hungary
  • Men's Winner: István Simon — 2:48:47

• October 14 — Japan
  • Men's Winner: Kiyoshi Shinozaki — 2:31:26

Auto Racing

• NASCAR Championship - Herb Thomas
• AAA Racing:
  • Tony Bettenhausen won the series championship
  • Lee Wallard won the Indianapolis 500
• Formula One Championship - Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina
• 24 hours of Le Mans:
  • Louis Rosier / Jean-Louis Rosier won driving a Talbot-Lago
• Rally racing:
  • Marcel Becquart / H. Secret won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Hotchkiss
• Drag racing - NHRA founded by Wally Parks

Baseball

• January 26: Mel Ott and Jimmie Foxx are inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
• January 29: Baseball signs a six-year All-Star game pact for TV-radio rights for $6 million. A number of owners criticize lame-duck Commissioner Happy Chandler, believing that in a couple of years, the broadcast rights would be worth much more than $1 million per annum.
• April 17: Mickey Mantle makes his Major League debut.
• May 7: Johnny Vander Meer pitches in his final Major League game.
• May 25: The New York Giants rookie Willie Mays, goes 0-for-5 in his major league debut against the Philadelphia Phillies.
• July 10: Alfonso "Chico" Carrasquel became the first Latin American player to participate in an All-Star game, beating out reigning MVP Phil Rizzuto as the American League's starting shortstop. Carrasquel would go on to be selected to the All-Star team a total of four times.
• July 14 - St. Louis Browns sign Satchel Paige as a free agent.
• August 11: The New York Giants fall 13 games behind in the National League standings. Following this nadir, the Giants go 37-8 over their last 45 games in one of baseball's most famous comebacks. This enables them to tie their crosstown rivals Brooklyn Dodgers for first place and forces a playoff series.
• August 19: 3' 7" Eddie Gaedel becomes the only midget to play in a major league game, pinch-hitting and drawing a walk in his lone plate appearance.
• August 29 - The New York Yankees trade Lew Burdette and $50,000 cash to the Boston Braves for Johnny Sain.
• September 7 - Bobby Doerr plays in his final career game.
• September 30 - Joe DiMaggio plays in his final career regular season game.
• October 4: National League Playoff: The New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers finished the season tied for first place. The Giants then won a playoff series, 2 games to 1. In the final game, when all seemed lost for the Giants, Bobby Thomson hit a dramatic three run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Giants a 5 to 4 victory and the National League pennant.
• World Series: New York Yankees win 4 games to 2 over the New York Giants.
• MVP Awards: Roy Campanella (NL) and Yogi Berra (AL)
• Rookie of the Year Awards: Willie Mays (NL) and Gil McDougald (AL)
• Babe Ruth Award: Phil Rizzuto
• Sporting News Major League Player of the Year: Stan Musial
• Sporting News Pitcher of the Year: Preacher Roe (NL) and Bob Feller (AL)

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
  • Kentucky wins 68-58 over Kansas State University.

• NBA Finals:
  • Rochester Royals won 4 games to 3 over the New York Knicks
• Amateur Basketball Association:
  • Basketball Jones single handedly beats the Harlem Globetrotters

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

Boxing

• February 25 to March 8 – Pan American Games held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  • Flyweight (– 51 kg): Alberto Barenghi (Argentina)
  • Bantamweight (– 54 kg): Ricardo Gonzales (Argentina)
  • Featherweight (– 57 kg): Francisco Nuñez (Argentina)
  • Lightweight (– 60 kg): Oscar Galardo (Argentina)
  • Welterweight (– 67 kg): Oscar Pietta (Argentina)
  • Middleweight (– 75 kg): Ubaldo Pereira (Argentina)
  • Light Heavyweight (– 81 kg): Rinaldo Ansaloni (Argentina)
  • Heavyweight (+ 81 kg): Jorge Vertone (Argentina)

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

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia 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: Jeanette Altwegg, Great Britain
  • Pair skating champions: Ria Baran & Paul Falk, Germany

Football (American)

• January 14 - The National Football League has its first Pro Bowl Game (Los Angeles, California).
• 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.
• NFL Championship: Los Angeles Rams won 24-17 over the Cleveland Browns

Football (Australian rules football)

• Victorian Football League
  • Geelong wins the 55th VFL Premiership (Geelong 11.15 (81) d Essendon 10.10 (70))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Bernie Smith (Geelong)

Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Ottawa Rough Riders won 21-14 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders

Football (soccer)

England

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

Golf

Men's professional

• April 5-8 - Masters Tournament - Ben Hogan
• June 14-16 - U.S. Open - Ben Hogan
• July 3 - PGA Championship - Sam Snead
• July 3-6 - British Open - Max Faulkner
• PGA Tour money leader - Lloyd Mangrum - $26,089
• Ryder Cup - United States team wins 9 1/2 to 2 1/2 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

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• July 14 - Citation won his 32nd race, the Hollywood Gold Cup, becoming the first equine millionaire.
• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Delat
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Major Factor
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Tantieme
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Fraise du Bois
• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes - Ki Ming
  2. Epsom Derby - Arctic Prince
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Talma
• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. May 5 - Kentucky Derby - Count Turf
  2. Preakness Stakes - Bold
  3. Belmont Stakes - Counterpoint

Harness Racing

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

Ice Hockey

• Art Ross Memorial 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, CO

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.

Snooker

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

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - Dick Savitt
  2. French Open - Jaroslav Drobny
  3. Wimbledon championships - Dick Savitt
  4. US Open - Frank Sedgman

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Nancy Wynne Bolton
  2. French Open - Shirley Fry
  3. Wimbledon championships - Doris Hart
  4. US Open - Maureen Connolly

• Davis Cup: Australia wins 3-2 over the United States in world tennis.

Multi-sport events

• First Pan American Games held in Buenos Aires, Argentina

• Asian Games held in New Delhi, India

• First Mediterranean Games 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

Births

January

• January 2 — Lula Ferreira, Brazilian basketball coach
• January 2 — Bill Madlock, U.S. baseball player
• January 4 — Steve Genter, American freestyle swimmer
• January 20 — Clyde Sefton, Australian road cyclist
• January 22 — Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater (d. 1989)
• January 25 — Steve Prefontaine, U.S. distance runner
• January 26 — Jarmila Kratochvílová, Czech athlete
• January 26 — Mieczysław Nowicki, Polish road bicycle racer
• January 27 — Charles Mooney, US boxer

February

• February 3 — Felipe Muñoz, Mexican breaststroke swimmer
• February 6 — Tineke Bartels, Dutch equestrian
• February 14 — Haruki Uemura, Japanese judoka
• February 14 — Graham White, Australian freestyle swimmer
• February 22 — Elaine Tanner, Canadian swimmer
• February 23 — Corky de Graauw, Dutch ice hockey player
• February 25 — Don Quarrie, Jamaican athlete

March

• March 4 — Kenny Dalglish, Scottish football (soccer) player and manager
• March 7 — Nenad Stekić, Serbian long jumper
• March 26 — Greg Brough, Australian freestyle swimmer
• March 30 — Klaus-Jürgen Grünke, East German track cyclist
• March 30 — Anton Tkáč, Slovak track cyclist

April

• April 6 — Bert Blyleven, U.S. baseball player
• April 29 — Dale Earnhardt, U.S. stock car racer (d. 2001)

May

• May 2 — Andrew Barron, Canadian ice speed skater
• May 2 — Aleksandr Grebenyuk, Soviet decathlete
• May 3 — Larry van Wieren, Dutch-Canadian ice hockey player
• May 12 — Gunnar Larsson, Swedish medley swimmer
• May 14 — Anita Miller, American field hockey player

June

• June 1 — Anne Bailey, British bowler, winner of Bronze medal; 1972 AMF World Cup
• June 2 — Larry Robinson, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman
• June 9 — Dave Parker, U.S. baseball player
• June 18 — Nobutaka Taguchi, Japanese swimmer
• June 23 — Minneula Azizov, Soviet field hockey player
• June 24 — Raelene Boyle, Australian athlete
• June 26 — Lieuwe de Boer, Dutch ice speed skater
• June 26 — Clarence Hill, Bermudian boxer

July

• July 4 — Beverly Boys, Canadian diver
• July 5 — Rich Gossage, U.S. baseball player
• July 5 — Penny Werthner, Canadian track and field athlete
• July 19 — Bob Schoutsen, Dutch backstroke swimmer
• July 26 — Eloi Schleder, Brazilian long-distance runner
• July 31 — Evonne Goolagong, Australian tennis player

August

• August 1 — Jürgen Fanghänel, East German boxer
• August 7 — Gary Hall, Sr., American swimmer
• August 9 — James Vrij, Dutch boxer
• August 13 — Gwen Cheeseman, US field hockey goalkeeper
• August 14 — Vern Hanaray, New Zealand road cyclist
• August 17 — Alan Minter, British boxer
• August 27 — Buddy Bell, U.S. baseball player
• August 30 — Daniel Clark, Australian track cyclist and road bicycle racer

September

• September 6 — Samiullah Khan, Pakistani field hockey player
• September 7 — Kebede Balcha, Ethiopian marathon runner
• September 12 — Eric Lindroth, American water polo player
• September 14 — Elizabeth Carruthers, Canadian diver
• September 16 — René and Willy van de Kerkhof, Dutch football (soccer) players and twins
• September 17 — Satymkul Dzhumanazarov, Kyrgyzstani long-distance runner (d. 2007)
• September 20 — Guy Lafleur, Canadian hockey player
• September 21 — Bruce Arena, American soccer coach
• September 28 — José Ibañez, Cuban judoka
• September 29 — Hennie Penterman, Dutch medley swimmer

October

• October 3 — Dave Winfield, US baseball player
• October 6 — Manfred Winkelhock, German auto racing driver
• October 12 — Arnulf Sunde, Norwegian ice speed skater
• October 15 — Roscoe Tanner, American tennis player
• October 17 — Annie Borckink, Dutch ice speed skater
• October 17 — Oloph Granath, Swedish ice speed skater

November

• November 3 — Dwight Evans, US baseball player
• November 13 — Beth Anders, US field hockey player
• November 17 — Jorge Hernández, Cuban boxer
• November 19 — Enrique Rodríguez, Spanish boxer
• November 25 — Johnny Rep, Dutch football (soccer) striker

December

• December 8 — Paul Brydon, New Zealand road and track cyclist
• December 31 — Andranik Eskandarian, Iranian-American soccer player of Armenian descent

Deaths

• February 25 — Smokey Joe Williams, American baseball player
• March 25 — Eddie Collins, American Major League Baseball player (106-1930)
• April 27 — Driekske van Bussel (82), Dutch archer (b. 1868)
• July 9 — Harry Heilmann, American Major League Baseball player (1914-1932)
• August 26 — Bill Barilko, Toronto Maple Leafs ice hockey player
• December 5 — Joe Jackson, American baseball player