# 1961 in sports

1961 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

## American football

* NFL Championship: the Green Bay Packers won 37–0 over the New York Giants at Lambeau Field
* Rose Bowl (1960 season):
** The Minnesota Golden Gophers lost 17–7 to the Washington Huskies; still voted national champions
* The Ohio State Buckeyes boycott a trip to the Rose Bowl the following January resulting in student protests on campus.
* AFL Championship – Houston Oilers won 10–3 over the San Diego Chargers

## Association football
### England

* FA Cup final – Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Leicester City. Tottenham also were division 1 champions, making them the first British club to win the double.

## Australian rules football

* Victorian Football League
** August 12: Richmond becomes the only team to fail to kick a goal in a match since 1921, scoring only 0.8 (8) to St. Kilda's 12.19 (91).
** September 23: Hawthorn wins the 65th VFL pennant and its first, beating Footscray 13.16 (94) to 7.9 (51)
** John James wins the 34th Brownlow Medal

## Bandy

* 1961 Bandy World Championship is held in Norway and won by Soviet Union.

## Baseball

* The American League expands to 10 teams, adding the Los Angeles Angels and the new Washington Senators. The league schedule is expanded from 154 to 162 games.
* January 16 – Mickey Mantle becomes the highest paid player in Major League Baseball by signing a contract that will pay him $75,000 per season.
* April 11 – The former Washington Senators play their first home game in Metropolitan Stadium as the Minnesota Twins
* July 13 – In his majors debut, Milwaukee Braves outfielder Mack Jones tied a post-1900 National League record by collecting three singles and a double in his first game.
* Roger Maris hits 61 home runs during the regular season, establishing a record for the longer season. Babe Ruth's record of 60 still stood for the shorter season.
* October – World Series – New York Yankees win 4 games to 1 over the Cincinnati Reds. The series MVP is Whitey Ford of the Yankees.

## Basketball

* NCAA Men's Basketball Championship –
** Cincinnati wins 70–65 over Ohio St.
* NBA Finals –
** Boston Celtics won 4 games to 1 over the St. Louis Hawks
* The twelfth European basketball championship, Eurobasket 1961, is won by Soviet Union.

## Boxing

* June 3 in Los Angeles – Emile Griffith knocked out Gaspar Ortega in the 12th round to retain the Welterweight Championship

## Canadian football

* Grey Cup – Winnipeg Blue Bombers win 21–14 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats

## Cycling

* August 1 – death of Adrie Voorting (aged 30), Dutch road bicycle and track cyclist
* Giro d'Italia won by Ercole Baldini of Italy
* Tour de France – Jacques Anquetil of France
* UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race – Rik Van Looy of Belgium

## Figure skating

* The World Figure Skating Championships in Prague are cancelled after the entire USA team of skaters, officials, leaders and chaperones are killed in a plane crash on 15 February en route to the competition.
* Among the dead are:
** Bradley Lord (21), USA men's figure skating champion;
** Maribel Vinson-Owen, USA women's figure skating champion and coach;
** Maribel Yerxa Owen (20), USA women's figure skating champion;
** Laurence Owen (16), USA women's figure skating champion.

## Golf

Men's professional
* Masters Tournament – Gary Player becomes the first international golfer to win the Masters.
* U.S. Open – Gene Littler
* The Open – Arnold Palmer
* PGA Championship – Jerry Barber
* PGA Tour money leader – Gary Player – $64,540
* Ryder Cup – United States wins 14½ to 9½ over Britain in team golf.
Men's amateur
* British Amateur – Michael Bonallack
* U.S. Amateur – Jack Nicklaus
Women's professional
* Women's Western Open – Mary Lena Faulk
* LPGA Championship – Mickey Wright
* U.S. Women's Open – Mickey Wright
* Titleholders Championship – Mickey Wright
* LPGA Tour money leader – Mickey Wright – $22,236

## Harness racing

* United States Pacing Triple Crown races –
** Cane Pace – Cold Front
** Little Brown Jug – Henry T. Adios
** Messenger Stakes – Adios Don
* United States Trotting Triple Crown races –
** Hambletonian – Harlan Dean
** Yonkers Trot – Duke Rodney
** Kentucky Futurity – Duke Rodney
* Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
** Pacers: Massacre

## Horse racing

Steeplechases
* Cheltenham Gold Cup – Saffron Tartan
* Grand National – Nicolaus Silver
Flat races
* Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Lord Fury
* Canada – Queen's Plate won by Blue Light
* France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Molvedo
* Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Your Highness
* English Triple Crown Races:
** 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Rockavon
** The Derby – Psidium
** St. Leger Stakes – Aurelius
* United States Triple Crown Races:
** Kentucky Derby – Carry Back
** Preakness Stakes – Carry Back
** Belmont Stakes – Sherluck

## Ice hockey

* Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Bernie "Boom-Boom" Geoffrion, Montreal Canadiens
* Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Bernie "Boom-Boom" Geoffrion, Montreal Canadiens
* Stanley Cup – Chicago Black Hawks win 4 games to 2 over the Detroit Red Wings
* World Hockey Championship –
** Men's champion: Trail Smoke Eaters from Canada
* NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship – University of Denver Pioneers defeat St. Lawrence University Saints 12–2 in Denver, Colorado

## Radiosport

* First European Amateur Radio Direction Finding Championships held in Stockholm, Sweden. This event was the first organized international competition in the sport.

## Rugby league

* 1961 New Zealand rugby league season
* 1960–61 Northern Rugby Football League season / 1961–62 Northern Rugby Football League season
* 1961 NSWRFL season

## Rugby union

* 67th Five Nations Championship series is won by France

## Swimming

* August 13 – USA's Becky Collins breaks the world record in the women's 200m butterfly (long course) during a meet in Philadelphia – 2:32.8.
* August 19 – US swimmer Carl Robie takes over the world record in the men's 200m butterfly (long course) from his compatriot Michael Troy at a meet in Los Angeles, clocking 2:12.6.

## Tennis

Australia
* Australian Men's Singles Championship – Roy Emerson (Australia) defeats Rod Laver (Australia) 1–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4
* Australian Women's Singles Championship – Margaret Smith Court (Australia) defeats Jan Lehane O'Neill (Australia) 6–1, 6–4
England
* Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Rod Laver (Australia) defeats Chuck McKinley (USA) 6–3, 6–1, 6–4
* Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Angela Mortimer Barrett (Great Britain) defeats Christine Truman Janes (Great Britain) 4–6, 6–4, 7–5
France
* French Men's Singles Championship – Manuel Santana (Spain) defeats Nicola Pietrangeli (Italy) 4–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–0, 6–2
* French Women's Singles Championship – Ann Haydon (Great Britain) defeats Yola Ramírez (Mexico) 6–2, 6–1
USA
* American Men's Singles Championship – Roy Emerson (Australia) defeats Rod Laver (Australia) 7–5, 6–3, 6–2
* American Women's Singles Championship – Darlene Hard (USA) defeats Ann Haydon (Great Britain) 6–3, 6–4
Davis Cup
* 1961 Davis Cup – Australia 5–0 Italy at Kooyong Stadium (grass) Melbourne, Australia

## Multi-sport events

* Pan Arab Games held in Casablanca, Morocco
* Second Summer Universiade held in Sofia, Bulgaria

## Awards

* Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Roger Maris, Major League Baseball
* Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Wilma Rudolph, Track and field