# 1926 in sports

1926 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

## American football

* NFL championship – Frankford Yellow Jackets (14–1–2)
* Rose Bowl (1925 season):
** The Alabama Crimson Tide won 20–19 over the Washington Huskies to share the college football national championship

## Association football

England
* The Football League – Huddersfield Town 57 points, Arsenal 52, Sunderland 48, Bury 47, Sheffield United 46, Aston Villa 44
* FA Cup final – Bolton Wanderers 1–0 Manchester City at Empire Stadium, Wembley, London
* Huddersfield Town is the first team to win the League championship title three times in succession.
Germany
* National Championship – SpVgg Fürth 4–1 Hertha BSC at Frankfurt
Greece
* Formation of the Hellenic Football Federation (HFF)

## Athletics

Sweden
* the Second Women's World Games, Gothenburg

## Australian rules football

VFL Premiership
* Melbourne wins the 30th VFL Premiership: Melbourne 17.17 (119) d Collingwood 9.8 (62) at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)
Brownlow Medal
* The annual Brownlow Medal is awarded to Ivor Warne-Smith (Melbourne)

## Bandy

Sweden
* Championship final – Västerås SK 1-0 IK Sirius

## Baseball

World Series
* 2–10 October — St. Louis Cardinals (NL) defeats New York Yankees (AL) to win the 1926 World Series by 4 games to 3
Negro leagues
* Rube Foster, founder of the Negro National League (NNL) and owner and manager of the Chicago American Giants, suffers a nervous breakdown and has to be confined to an asylum. His protégé Dave Malarcher takes over as manager and leads the team to the NNL pennant.
* The Chicago American Giants (NNL) defeat the Bacharach Giants of Atlantic City, New Jersey (ECL), 5 games to 3, in the 1926 Colored World Series.
* Mule Suttles of the St. Louis Stars hits a Negro leagues record 27 home runs. His .498 batting average and 21 triples are also records.

## Basketball

ABL Championship
* Cleveland Rosenblums over Brooklyn Arcadians (3–0)

## Boxing

Events
* 23 September — Gene Tunney defeats Jack Dempsey over 10 rounds in Philadelphia to win the World Heavyweight Championship
* Tiger Flowers twice defeats Harry Greb for the World Middleweight Championship but then loses it to former World Welterweight Champion Mickey Walker who holds it until 1931
Lineal world champions
* World Heavyweight Championship – Jack Dempsey → Gene Tunney
* World Light Heavyweight Championship – Paul Berlenbach → Jack Delaney
* World Middleweight Championship – Harry Greb → Tiger Flowers → Mickey Walker
* World Welterweight Championship – Mickey Walker → Pete Latzo
* World Lightweight Championship – Rocky Kansas → Sammy Mandell
* World Featherweight Championship – Louis "Kid" Kaplan → vacant
* World Bantamweight Championship – Charley Phil Rosenberg
* World Flyweight Championship – vacant

## Canadian football

Grey Cup
* 14th Grey Cup – Ottawa Senators 10–7 Toronto Varsity Blues

## Cricket

Events
* 31 May — India, New Zealand and West Indies are elected as Full Members of the Imperial Cricket Conference, increasing the number of nations playing Test cricket from three to six.
* England regains The Ashes from Australia by winning the five-match Test series 1–0. After the first four Tests are drawn, England wins the final match at The Oval by 289 runs.
England
* County Championship – Lancashire
* Minor Counties Championship – Durham
* Most runs – Jack Hobbs 2949 @ 77.60 (HS 316*)
* Most wickets – Charlie Parker 213 @ 18.40 (BB 8–73)
* Wisden Cricketers of the Year – George Geary, Harold Larwood, Jack Mercer, Bert Oldfield, Bill Woodfull
Australia
* Sheffield Shield – New South Wales
* Most runs – Arthur Richardson 904 @ 50.22 (HS 227)
* Most wickets – Clarrie Grimmett 59 @ 30.40 (BB 6–76)
* Victoria score 1,107 against New South Wales at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in December 1926 - still the largest innings total in first-class cricket.
India
* Bombay Quadrangular – Hindus
New Zealand
* Plunket Shield – Wellington
South Africa
* Currie Cup – not contested
West Indies
* Inter-Colonial Tournament – Trinidad and Tobago

## Cycling

Tour de France
* Lucien Buysse (Belgium) wins the 20th Tour de France

## Figure skating

World Figure Skating Championships
* World Women's Champion – Herma Szabo (Austria)
* World Men's Champion – Willi Böckel (Austria)
* World Pairs Champions – Andreé Joly-Brunet and Pierre Brunet (France)

## Golf

Events
* Bobby Jones becomes the first golfer to win the British and US Open titles in the same year.
Major tournaments
* British Open – Bobby Jones
* US Open – Bobby Jones
* USPGA Championship – Walter Hagen
Other tournaments
* British Amateur – Jess Sweetser
* US Amateur – George Von Elm

## Horse racing

England
* Cheltenham Gold Cup – Koko
* Grand National – Jack Horner
** 19 April – Willie Watkinson, the Grand National-winning jockey, dies three weeks after his victory in a fall at Bogside, Scotland
* 1,000 Guineas Stakes – Pillion
* 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Colorado
* The Derby – Coronach
* The Oaks – Short Story
* St. Leger Stakes – Coronach
Australia
* Melbourne Cup – Spearfelt
Canada
* King's Plate – Haplite
France
* Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe – Biribi
Ireland
* Irish Grand National – Amberwave
* Irish Derby Stakes – Embargo
USA
* Kentucky Derby – Bubbling Over
* Preakness Stakes – Display
* Belmont Stakes – Crusader

## Ice hockey

Stanley Cup
* 30 March to 6 April — Montreal Maroons defeats Victoria Cougars in the 1926 Stanley Cup Finals by 3 games to 1
Events
* Allan Cup – University of Toronto defeats Port Arthur Bearcats
* Memorial Cup – Calgary Canadians defeats Queen's University
* The professional Western Hockey League folds; most players are sold for $300,000 to the National Hockey League (NHL).
* December — new expansion teams debut in the NHL: Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Cougars and New York Rangers

## Lacrosse

Events
* Rosabelle Sinclair establishes the United States' first women's lacrosse team at Bryn Mawr School

## Nordic skiing

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
* 2nd FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1926 are held at Lahti, Finland

## Rowing

The Boat Race
* 27 March — Cambridge wins the 78th Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race

## Rugby league

England
* Championship – Wigan
* Challenge Cup final – Swinton 9–3 Oldham at Athletic Grounds, Rochdale
* Lancashire League Championship – Wigan
* Yorkshire League Championship – Hull Kingston Rovers
* Lancashire County Cup – Swinton 15–11 Wigan
* Yorkshire County Cup – Dewsbury 2–0 Huddersfield
Australia
* NSW Premiership – South Sydney 11–5 University (grand final)

## Rugby union

Five Nations Championship
* 39th Five Nations Championship series is shared by Ireland and Scotland

## Speed skating

Speed Skating World Championships
* Men's Allround Champion @ Trondheim, Norway – Ivar Ballangrud (Norway)
* Overall Ladies World Champion @ Saint John, New Brunswick – Lela Brooks (Canada)
* World Outdoor Champion – Charles Gorman (Canada)
* International Outdoor Champion in pack style – John Farrell (United States)

## Tennis

Australia
* Australian Men's Singles Championship – John Hawkes (Australia) defeats James Willard (Australia) 6–1 6–3 6–1
* Australian Women's Singles Championship – Daphne Akhurst Cozens (Australia) defeats Esna Boyd Robertson (Australia) 6–1 6–3
England
* Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Jean Borotra (France) defeats Howard Kinsey (USA) 8–6 6–1 6–3
* Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Kitty McKane Godfree (Great Britain) defeats Lilí de Álvarez (Spain) 6–2 4–6 6–3
France
* French Men's Singles Championship – Henri Cochet (France) defeats René Lacoste (France) 6–2 6–4 6–3
* French Women's Singles Championship – Suzanne Lenglen (France) defeats Mary Browne (USA) 6–1 6–0
USA
* American Men's Singles Championship – René Lacoste (France) defeats Jean Borotra (France) 6–4 6–0 6–4
* American Women's Singles Championship – Molla Bjurstedt Mallory (Norway) defeats Elizabeth Ryan (USA) 4–6 6–4 9–7
Davis Cup
* 1926 International Lawn Tennis Challenge – United States 4–1 France at Germantown Cricket Club (grass) Philadelphia, United States