1953 in sports
1953 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
[American football]
- NFL Championship – Detroit Lions won 17–16 over the Cleveland Browns
[Association football]
- First Division – Arsenal win the 1952–53 title.
- FA Cup – Blackpool beat Bolton Wanderers 4–3 in what is known as "The Matthews Final", although it is Stan Mortensen who scores a winning hat-trick for Blackpool.
- England lose 6–3 to Hungary at Wembley Stadium their first ever loss to a team from Continental Europe at home.
- Coronation Cup – Celtic beat Hibernian 2–0 at Hampden Park.
- La Liga won by Barcelona F.C.
- Serie A won by F.C. Internazionale Milano
- German football championship won by 1. FC Kaiserslautern
- French Division 1 won by Stade de Reims
- Primeira Liga won by Sporting C.P.
[Australian rules football]
- Victorian Football League
- * 23 May: Fitzroy, against a brilliant Footscray defence, kick the lowest VFL/AFL score since 1899, 1.0 to 10.6. Fitzroy seemed doomed to the first 0.0 score in VFL history until Allan Ruthven scored a goal with ten minutes to go.
- * 4 July: Geelong beats Collingwood’s previous record of 20 consecutive wins, beating 12.14 to 13.7.
- * 1 August: Collingwood ends a run of 26 unbeaten games by Geelong, beating them 10.15 to 7.13
- * 26 September: Collingwood wins the 57th VFL Premiership, beating Geelong 11.11 to 8.17
- * Brownlow Medal awarded to Bill Hutchison
- South Australian National Football League:
- * 3 October: West Torrens wins the last of its four SANFL premierships, beating Port Adelaide 9.13 to 8.12
- * Magarey Medal won by Jim Deane
- Western Australian National Football League:
- * 8 August: Bernie Naylor kicks a WANFL record 23 goals against, including twelve in one quarter.
- * 10 October: win their second consecutive premiership and seventh overall, beating 18.12 to 8.13
- * Sandover Medal awarded to Merv McIntosh
[Baseball]
- World Series – New York Yankees won 4 games to 2 over the Brooklyn Dodgers
- The Boston Braves of the National League moved to Milwaukee, becoming the first MLB franchise to relocate in 50 years.
[Basketball]
- NCAA Men's Basketball Championship –
- * Indiana wins 69–68 over Kansas
- NBA Finals –
- * Minneapolis Lakers won 4 games to 1 over the New York Knicks
- The eighth European basketball championship, Eurobasket 1953, is won by the Soviet Union.
- The fifteenth South American Basketball Championship in Montevideo is won by Uruguay.
[Boxing]
- September 24 in New York City – Rocky Marciano retains his World Heavyweight title with a TKO over Roland La Starza in the 11th round.
- October in New York City – Bobo Olson scored a 15-round decision over Randy Turpin to win the World Middleweight Championship
[Bowling]
- Nine-pin bowling World Championships –
- * Men's champion: Alfred Beierl, Austria
- * Women’s champion: Jelena Šincek, Yugoslavia
- * Men’s team champion: Yugoslavia
- * Women's team champion: Austria
[Canadian football]
- Grey Cup – Hamilton Tiger-Cats win 12–6 over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
[Cricket]
- County Championship – Surrey
- Minor Counties Championship – Berkshire
- Most runs – Bill Edrich 2557 @ 47.35
- Most wickets – Bruce Dooland 172 @ 16.58
- Wisden Cricketers of the Year – Keith Miller, Neil Harvey, Johnny Wardle, Willie Watson, Tony Lock
- Sheffield Shield – South Australia
- Most runs – Neil Harvey 1659 @ 63.80
- Most wickets – Hugh Tayfield 70 @ 27.91
- South Africa make their first tour of Australia since 1931-32, and tie the five-Test series two-all with one draw
New Zealand
- Plunket Shield – Otago
- Following their Australian tour, South Africa tour New Zealand, winning a two-Test series one-nil with one draw
West Indies
- India make their first tour of the West Indies, losing a five-test series 0-1 with four draws.
[Cycling]
- Giro d'Italia won by Fausto Coppi of Italy
- Tour de France – Louison Bobet of France
- UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race – Fausto Coppi of Italy
[Figure skating]
- World Figure Skating Championships –
- * Men's champion: Hayes Alan Jenkins, United States
- * Ladies’ champion: Tenley Albright, United States
- * Pair skating champions: Jennifer Nicks & John Nicks, Great Britain
- * Ice dancing champions: Jean Westwood & Lawrence Demmy, Great Britain
[Golf]
- Masters Tournament – Ben Hogan
- U.S. Open – Ben Hogan
- PGA Championship – Walter Burkemo
- British Open – Ben Hogan
- PGA Tour money leader – Lew Worsham – $34,002
- Ryder Cup – United States wins 6½ to 5½ over the British team.
- British Amateur – Joe Carr
- U.S. Amateur – Gene Littler
- Women's Western Open – Louise Suggs
- U.S. Women's Open – Betsy Rawls
- Titleholders Championship – Patty Berg
- LPGA Tour money leader – Louise Suggs – $19,816
[Harness racing]
- Little Brown Jug for pacers won by Keystoner
- Hambletonian for trotters won by Helicopter
- Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
- * Pacers: Captain Sandy
[Horse racing]
Hurdle races
Flat races
- Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Wodalla
- Canada – Queen's Plate won by Canadiana
- France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by La Sorellina
- Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Chamier
- English Triple Crown Races:
- # 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Nearula
- # The Derby – Pinza
- # St. Leger Stakes – Premonition
- United States Triple Crown Races:
- # Kentucky Derby – Dark Star
- # Preakness Stakes – Native Dancer
- # Belmont Stakes – Native Dancer
[Ice hockey]
- World Hockey Championship
- * Men's champion: Sweden defeated West Germany and Switzerland.
- * Canada did not participate in the World Hockey Championship, the government claiming it was not worth the expense.
- Stanley Cup – Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 1 over the Boston Bruins
- 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: Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
- NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship – University of Michigan Wolverines defeat University of Minnesota Golden Gophers 7–3 in Colorado Springs, CO
[Motorsport]
[Rugby league]
- 1952–53 European Rugby League Championship / 1953–54 European Rugby League Championship
- 1953 New Zealand rugby league season
- 1953 NSWRFL season
- 1952–53 Northern Rugby Football League season / 1953–54 Northern Rugby Football League season
[Rugby union]
- 59th Five Nations Championship series is won by England
[Snooker]
- World Snooker Championship – Fred Davis beats Walter Donaldson 37–34
[Tennis]
- Australian Men's Singles Championship – Ken Rosewall defeats Mervyn Rose 6–0, 6–3, 6–4
- Australian Women's Singles Championship – Maureen Connolly Brinker defeats Julia Sampson Hayward 6–3, 6–2
- Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Vic Seixas defeats Kurt Nielsen 9–7, 6–3, 6–4
- Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Maureen Connolly Brinker defeats Doris Hart 8–6, 7–5
USA
Events
- Maureen Connolly becomes the first woman to win the Grand Slam in tennis.
- 1953 Davis Cup – 3–2 at Kooyong Stadium Melbourne, Australia
[Multi-sport event]s
- Pan Arab Games held in Alexandria, Egypt
Awards
- Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Ben Hogan, PGA golf
- Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Maureen Connolly, Tennis