| content |
| Years in sports: | 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 |
| Centuries: | 19th century · 20th century · 21st century |
| Decades: | 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s |
| Years: | 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 |
Contents |
Athletics
Marathon
- August 15 —
Enschede Marathon, Netherlands
- Men's Winner: Pavel Kantorek (CZE) 2:26:48
- September 2 —
Pan American Games Marathon, Chicago, United States
- Men's Winner: John Kelly (USA) 2:27:54
- December 8 —
Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
- Men's Winner: Kurao Hiroshima (JPN) 2:29:34
Auto racing
- Stock car racing:
- Lee Petty won the inaugural Daytona 500
- NASCAR Championship — Lee Petty
- Indianapolis 500 — Rodger Ward
- USAC Racing — Rodger Ward
- Formula One Champion — Jack Brabham of Australia
- 24 hours of Le Mans: Carroll Shelby / Roy Salvadori won driving an Aston Martin DBR1
- Rally racing — Paul Coltelloni / P Alexandre won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Citroën ID
- Drag racing:
- Chris the "Greek" Karamesines won the AHRA "Top Fuel"
- Rodney Singer won Top Eliminator at the NHRA Nationals
Baseball
- March 3 — The San Francisco Giants officially name their new stadium Candlestick Park.
- World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers win 4 games to 2 over the Chicago White Sox. The Series MVP is Larry Sherry, Los Angeles
- The Havana Sugar Kings defeate the Richmond Virginians to win the International League Governor's Cup.
- The Minneapolis Millers win the American Association championship.
- Havana wins 4 games to 3 over Minneapolis to win the Junior World Series.
- The Salt Lake City Bees win the Pacific Coast League pennant.
- The Winnipeg Goldeyes win the Northern League championship.
Basketball
- FIBA World Championship
- Brazil World Champion
- NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
- California wins 71-70 over West Virginia
- NBA Finals|NBA Finals:
- Boston Celtics win 4 games to 0 over the Minneapolis Lakers
Boxing
- June 26 — in New York City, Ingemar Johansson scored a 3rd round TKO over Floyd Patterson to win the World Heavyweight Championship
- August 27 to September 7 – Pan American Games held in Chicago, United States.
- Flyweight (– 51 kg): Miguel Angel Botta (Argentina)
- Bantamweight (– 54 kg): Waldo Claudiano (Brazil)
- Featherweight (– 57 kg): Carlos Aro (Argentina)
- Lightweight (– 60 kg): Abel Laudonio (Argentina)
- Light Welterweight (– 63.5 kg): Vincent Shomo (United States)
- Welterweight (– 67 kg): Alfredo Cornejo (Chile)
- Light Middleweight (– 71 kg): Wilbert McClure (United States)
- Middleweight (– 75 kg): Abrao de Souza (Brazil)
- Light Heavyweight (– 81 kg): Amos Johnson (United States)
- Heavyweight (+ 81 kg): Allen Hudson (United States)
Figure skating
- World Figure Skating Championships:
- Men's champion: David Jenkins, United States
- Ladies' champion: Carol Heiss, United States
- Pair skating champion: Barbara Wagner & Robert Paul, Canada
- Ice dancing champion: Doreen Denny & Courtney Jones, Great Britain
Football (American)
- NFL Championship: Baltimore Colts won 31-16 over the New York Giants
Football (Canadian)
- Grey Cup: Winnipeg Blue Bombers win 21-7 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Football (Soccer)
- England — FA Cup: Nottingham Forest won 2-1 over Luton Town
- May 28 - Billy Wright makes his 70th consecutive England appearance, a record that still stands
Golf
Men's professional
- April 2-5 - Masters Tournament - Art Wall, Jr.
- June 11-14 - U.S. Open - Billy Casper
- June 30-July 3 - British Open - Gary Player
- July 30-August 2 - PGA Championship - Bob Rosburg
- PGA Tour money leader - Art Wall, Jr. - $53,168
- Ryder Cup - United States 8½ to 3½ over Britain in team golf
Men's amateur
Women's professional
- Women's Western Open - Betsy Rawls
- July 3-6 - LPGA Championship - Betsy Rawls
- U.S. Women's Open - Mickey Wright
- Titleholders Championship - Louise Suggs
- LPGA Tour money leader - Betsy Rawls - $26,774
Thoroughbred horse racing
- Australia — Melbourne Cup — Macdougal
- Canada — Queen's Plate — New Providence
- France — Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe — Saint Crespin
- Ireland — Irish Derby Stakes — Fidalgo
Ice hockey
- Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Dickie Moore, Montreal Canadiens
- Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Andy Bathgate, New York Rangers
- Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 1 over the Toronto Maple Leafs
- World Hockey Championship
- Men's champion: Belleville McFarlands from Canada
- NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship - University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux defeat Michigan State University Spartans 4-3 in overtime in Troy, NY
- The Hershey Bears defeat the Buffalo Bisons 4 games to 2 to win the AHL Calder Cup.
- The Louisville Rebels defeat the Fort Wayne Komets 4 games to 2 to win the IHL Turner Cup.
- On November 1, Montreal Canadiens goaltender, Jacques Plante, was injured when struck in the face by a flying puck. He offers to return to play on the condition that he wears his goalie mask. His example soons leads to the mask becoming standard equipment for goalies and a symbol of the game itself.
Swimming
- July 11 — US swimmer Michael Troy breaks his own, earlier in the day set first official world record (2:19.0) in the men's 200m butterfly (long course) at a meet in Los Altos, California, clocking 2:16.4.
- July 19 — US swimmer Becky Collins breaks the world record in the women's 200m butterfly at a meet in Redding, California, clocking 2:37.0.
Tennis
- Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
- Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
- Davis Cup: Australia wins 3-2 over the United States in world tennis.
Volleyball
- Pan American Games in Chicago, United States
- Men's Tournament
- Gold Medal: United States
- Silver Medal:
Brazil - Bronze Medal:
Mexico
- Gold Medal:
- Women's Tournament
- Gold Medal: Brazil
- Silver Medal: United States
- Bronze Medal:
Peru
- Gold Medal:
- Men's Tournament
Multi-sport events
- Third Pan American Games held in Chicago, United States
- Third Mediterranean Games held in Beirut, Lebanon
- First Summer Universiade held in Turin, Italy
Awards
- Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Ingemar Johansson, Boxing
- Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Maria Bueno, Tennis
Births
January
- January 2 — Bettina Blumenberg, German field hockey player
- January 4 — Kim Gordon, British field hockey player
- January 8 — Josef Reiter, Austrian judoka
- January 8 — Bill Sawchuk, Canadian swimmer
- January 10 — Chandra Cheeseborough, American athlete
- January 23 — Eustorgio Sánchez, Venezuelan footballer
- January 26 — Mircea Fulger, Romanian boxer
- January 26 — Wanda Panfil, Polish long-distance runner
- January 28 — Patrizio Oliva, Italian boxer
- January 31 — Santos Laciar, Argentinian boxer
- January 31 — Arto Härkönen, Finnish javelin thrower
February
- February 4 — Lawrence Taylor, American football player
- February 7 — Ena Guevara, Peruvian long-distance runner
- February 8 — Kevin Robertson, American water polo player
- February 9 — Joachim Kunz, German weightlifter
- February 11 — David López-Zubero, Spanish swimmer
- February 11 — Corinne Shigemoto, US judo coach
- February 12 — Andrew Weaver, US road bicycle racer
- February 16 — Paul Edwards, Welsh athlete
- February 16 — Esmeralda García, Brazilian track and field athlete
- February 16 — John McEnroe, US tennis player
- February 17 — Rowdy Gaines, American swimmer
March
- March 1 — Jukka Rauhala, Finnish wrestler
- March 1 — Julie Vollertson, American volleyball player
- March 4 — Irina Strakhova, Russian race walker
- March 10 — Avital Selinger, Israeli-Dutch volleyball player and coach
- March 12 — Robyn Blackman, New Zealand field hockey player
- March 15 — Eliot Teltscher, American tennis player
- March 17 — Danny Ainge, American basketball player, coach and baseball player
- March 17 — Alba Milana, Italian long-distance runner
- March 18 — Yvonne Buter, Dutch field hockey goalkeeper
- March 21 — Heinz Günthardt, Swiss tennis player
- March 21 — Eric Pierik, Dutch field hockey player
- March 24 — Emmit King, American track and field sprinter
- March 27 — Aleksandr Goncharov, Soviet field hockey player
April
- April 2 — Gelindo Bordin, Italian athlete
- April 4 — Shamil Sabirov, Soviet boxer
- April 5 — Stephen Feraday, Canadian javelin thrower
- April 9 — Grant McLeod, New Zealand field hockey player
- April 13 — Genevieve Brunet, Canadian female cyclist
- April 13 — Stephen Martin, British field hockey player
- April 23 — Marcella Place, American field hockey player
May
- May 1 — Jouko Vesterlund, Finnish ice speed skater
- May 3 — Carlos De Leon, Puerto Rican boxer
- May 3 — Johann Lindner, Austrian hammer thrower and bobsledder
- May 7 — Georgiy Kolnootchenko, Soviet discus thrower
- May 8 — Aleksandr Miasnikov, Soviet field hockey player
- May 16 — Henk Hille, Dutch ice hockey player
- May 17 — Marcelo Loffreda, Argentine rugby player and coach
- May 18 — Sergey Lovachov, Uzbekistani track and field sprinter
- May 21 — Orlando Maldonado, Puerto Rican boxer
- May 25 — Greet Hellemans, Dutch rower
- May 25 — Nilmaris Santini, Puerto Rican judoka
- May 26 — Brett Austin, New Zealand breaststroke swimmer (d. 1990)
- May 26 — Brian Peaker, Canadian rower
- May 28 — Vladimir Zinchenko, Ukrainian discus thrower
- May 31 — Aurora Cunha, Portuguese long-distance runner
June
- June 3 — Gyula Borka, Hungarian long-distance runner
- June 3 — Becky Smith, Canadian medley and butterfly swimmer
- June 7 — Randy Ragan, Canadian football (soccer) player
- June 9 — Elly van Hulst, Dutch middle distance runner
- June 11 — Tomás González, Cuban track and field sprinter
- June 12 — Steve Bauer, Canadian cyclist
- June 12 — Desai Williams, St. Kitts and Nevis-born Canadian athlete
- June 13 — Aleksandr Koshkyn, Soviet boxer
- June 23 — Olivier Borios, French breaststroke swimmer
- June 25 — Evgueni Ignatov, Bulgarian long-distance runner
- June 28 — Ed van Es, Dutch water polo player
July
- July 2 — Stefan Fernholm, Swedish discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1997)
- July 4 — Jan Brittin, English women's cricketer
- July 6 — Richard Dacoury, French basketball player
- July 7 — Oleg Zagorodnev, Soviet field hockey player
- July 9 — Juan Coghen, Spanish field hockey player
- July 10 — Davis Phinney, American road bicycle racer
- July 10 — Antti Juntumaa, Finnish boxer
- July 18 — Mel Purcell, American tennis player
- July 19 — Jud Logan, American hammer thrower
- July 26 — Gary Honey, Australian long jumper
- July 26 — Anne Jardin, Canadian freestyle swimmer
- July 28 — Cheryl Gibson, Canadian swimmer
- July 28 — Tineke Hidding, Dutch heptathlete
August
- August 3 — Janusz Zarenkiewicz, Polish heavyweight boxer
- August 4 — Mark Kerry, Australian backstroke swimmer
- August 5 — Vickey Dixon, British field hockey international
- August 8 — Ronald Weigel, German track and field athlete
- August 13 — Thomas Ravelli, Swedish football (soccer) goalkeeper
- August 14 — Magic Johnson, US basketball player
- August 15 — Han Kulker, Dutch middle distance runner
- August 21 — Ronald Lanzoni, Costa Rican long-distance runner
- August 21 — Jim McMahon, American football player
- August 23 — George Kalovelonis, Greek tennis player
- August 27 — Zdzisław Hoffmann, Polish triple jumper
- August 28 — Sjaak Troost, Dutch football (soccer) defender
September
- September 10 — Jason Grimes, American long jumper
- September 11 — Jim Howard, American high jumper
- September 12 — Sos Airapetian, Armenian field hockey player
- September 12 — Brad Dalton, Australian basketball player
- September 13 — Kathy Johnson, American artistic gymnast
- September 15 — Michele Rüfenacht, Swiss decathlete
- September 15 — Catherine Suire, French tennis player
- September 17 — José Antonio Hernando, Spanish boxer
- September 20 — Dumitru Şchiopu, Romanian boxer
- September 24 — Els Vader, Dutch track and field athlete
- September 30 — Elsemiek Hillen, Dutch field hockey forward
- September 30 — Werner Jäger, Austrian ice speed skater
- September 30 — Ettore Messina, Italian basketball coach
October
- October 4 — Maarten van Grimbergen, Dutch field hockey player
- October 6 — Robyn Maher, Australian basketball player
- October 10 — Kevin Barry, New Zealand boxer
- October 10 — Serik Konakbayev, Soviet boxer
- October 10 — Aleksandr Sychyov, Soviet field hockey player
- October 11 — Michiel Schapers, Dutch tennis player and coach
- October 19 — María Trujillo, Mexican-American long-distance runner
- October 20 — Eriko Asai, Japanese long-distance runner
- October 20 — Sandra Le Poole, Dutch field hockey forward
- October 25 — César Mercado, Puerto Rican marathon runner
- October 30 — Marc Alexandre, French judoka
- October 31 — Sergey Rusin, Soviet freestyle swimmer
November
- November 2 — Said Aouita, Moroccan athlete
- November 7 — Billy Gillispie, American basketball coach
- November 10 — Linda Cohn, American sports reporter
- November 12 — Regina Buggy, American field hockey player
- November 14 — Dave Steen, Canadian decathlon athlete
- November 15 — Dhawee Umponmaha, Thai boxer
- November 21 — Jan Martin, New Zealand field hockey player
- November 22 — Douglas Fernández, Venezuelan decathlete
- November 24 — Juan Laporte, Puerto Rican boxer
- November 24 — Sandra Mackie, New Zealand field hockey player
- November 28 — Pedro Acosta, Venezuelan football (soccer) defender
- November 29 — Nikolay Chernetskiy, Soviet track and field sprinter
- November 30 — Sylvia Hanika, German tennis player
December
- December 1 — Viktor Miroshnichenko, Soviet boxer
- December 4 — Paul McGrath, Irish football (soccer) defender
- December 4 — Christa Rothenburger, East German speed skater
- December 12 — Christine Stanton, Australian high jumper
- December 16 — Colleen Jones, Canadian female curler
- December 22 — Bernd Schuster, German footballer and manager
- December 24 — Harrie van Heumen, Dutch ice hockey forward
- December 29 — Julio Ramón Gómez, Spanish boxer
- December 29 — Mike Miller, American track and field sprinter
Deaths
- War Admiral — thoroughbred race horse
- January 22 — Michael Hawthorn, F1 race driver
- February 22 — Harold Hardwick (70), Australian freestyle swimmer (b. 1888)
- February 24 — Stanley Shoveller, British field hockey player (b. 1881)
- September 28 — Rudolf Caracciola, F1 race driver
