# 1897 in sports

1897 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

## American football

College championship
* College football national championship – Penn Quakers
Professional championships
* Western Pennsylvania champions – Greensburg Athletic Association

## Association football

England
* The Football League – Aston Villa 47 points, Sheffield United 36, Derby County 36, Preston North End 34, Liverpool 33, Sheffield Wednesday 31
* FA Cup final – Aston Villa 3–2 Everton at Crystal Palace, London.
* Aston Villa becomes the second club to complete The Double in English football
Scotland
* Scottish Football League – Hearts
* Scottish Cup – Rangers 5–1 Dumbarton at Hampden Park

## Athletics

* John J. McDermott wins the first running of the Boston Marathon, then known as the B.A.A. Road Race
* USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships

## Australian rules football

VFL Premiership
* Formation of Victorian Football League (now Australian Football League) with initial clubs being Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda and South Melbourne
* Essendon wins the 1st VFL Premiership (under the finals system used this year only, no Grand Final is played)
SANFL Premiership
* Port Adelaide
WAFL Premiership
* West Perth

## Baseball

National championship
* Boston Beaneaters wins the National League championship
Events
* Temple Cup – Baltimore Orioles 4–1 Boston Beaneaters

## Boxing

Events
* 17 March — Bob Fitzsimmons knocks out James J. Corbett in the 14th round to win the World Heavyweight Championship in the first championship fight ever captured on film.
Lineal world champions
* World Heavyweight Championship – James J. Corbett → Bob Fitzsimmons
* World Middleweight Championship – title vacant
* World Welterweight Championship – Tommy Ryan
* World Lightweight Championship – George "Kid" Lavigne
* World Featherweight Championship – George Dixon → Solly Smith
* World Bantamweight Championship – Jimmy Barry

## Canadian Football

* The Canadian Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union is founded
* Ontario Rugby Football Union - Hamilton Tigers
* Quebec Rugby Football Union - Ottawa College
* There is no MRFU champion this year due to scheduling issues
* Northwest Championship - St John's
* Dominion Championship - Ottawa College defeats Hamilton 14-10

## Cricket

Events
* Two English teams toured the West Indies under A A Priestley and Lord Hawke
* A Philadelphian team tours England
England
* County Championship – Lancashire
* Minor Counties Championship – Worcestershire
* Most runs – Bobby Abel 2099 @ 44.65 (HS 250)
* Most wickets – Tom Richardson 273 @ 14.45 (BB 8–49)
* Wisden Five Cricketers of the Year – Frederick Bull, Willis Cuttell, Frank Druce, Gilbert Jessop, Jack Mason
Australia
* Sheffield Shield – New South Wales
* Most runs – Jack Lyons 404 @ 57.71 (HS 113)
* Most wickets – Tom McKibbin 44 @ 14.88 (BB 8–74)
India
* Bombay Presidency – Europeans
South Africa
* Currie Cup – Western Province
West Indies
* Inter-Colonial Tournament – Barbados

## Figure skating

World Figure Skating Championships
* World Men's Champion – Gustav Hügel (Austria)

## Golf

Major tournaments
* British Open – Harold Hilton
* U.S. Open – Joe Lloyd
Other tournaments
* British Amateur – Jack Allan
* US Amateur – H. J. Whigham

## Horse racing

England
* Grand National – Manifesto
* 1,000 Guineas Stakes – Chelandry
* 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Galtee More
* The Derby – Galtee More
* The Oaks – Limasol
* St. Leger Stakes – Galtee More
Australia
* Melbourne Cup – Gaulus
Canada
* Queen's Plate – Ferdinand
Ireland
* Irish Grand National – Breemount's Pride
* Irish Derby Stakes – Wales
USA
* Kentucky Derby – Typhoon II
* Preakness Stakes – Paul Kauvar
* Belmont Stakes – Scottish Chieftain

## Ice hockey

Stanley Cup
* Montreal Victorias win a 3rd Stanley Cup, defeating Ottawa.

## Motor racing

Nice Speed Week
* The first regular motor racing venue is Nice, France, where an annual "Speed Week" is established. To fill out the schedule, most types of racing event are invented here including the first hill climb, from Nice to La Turbie, and a sprint that has been called the forerunner of drag racing.

## Rowing

The Boat Race
* 3 April — Oxford wins the 54th Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race

## Rugby league

England
* Championship – not contested
* Challenge Cup final – Batley 10–3 St. Helens at Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds. This is the inaugural competition.
* Lancashire League Championship – Broughton Rangers
* Yorkshire League Championship – Brighouse Rovers

## Rugby union

Home Nations Championship
* 15th Home Nations Championship series is not completed

## Speed skating

Speed Skating World Championships
* Men's All-round Champion – Jack McCulloch (Canada)

## Tennis

Events
* The inaugural French women's singles championship is held.
England
* Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Reginald Doherty (GB) defeats Harold Mahony (Ireland) 6–4 6–4 6–3
* Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Blanche Bingley Hillyard (GB) defeats Charlotte Cooper Sterry (GB) 5–7 7–5 6–2
France
* French Men's Singles Championship – Paul Aymé defeats Francky Wardan (GB) 4–6 6–4 6–2
* French Women's Singles Championship – Françoise Masson (France) defeats P. Girod (France) 6–3 6–1
USA
* American Men's Singles Championship – Robert Wrenn (USA) defeats Wilberforce Eaves (GB) 4–6 8–6 6–3 2–6 6–2
* American Women's Singles Championship – Juliette Atkinson (USA) defeats Elisabeth Moore (USA) 6–3 6–3 4–6 3–6 6–3