# 1951 in sports

1951 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

## American football

* NFL Championship: the Los Angeles Rams won 24–17 over the Cleveland Browns at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
* January 14 – The National Football League has its first Pro Bowl Game (Los Angeles).
* September 28 – Norm Van Brocklin sets NFL single game record for most passing yards (554) helping Los Angeles Rams beat New York Yanks 48–21.
* Sugar Bowl (1950 season):
** The Oklahoma Sooners lose 13–7 to the Kentucky Wildcats; still awarded the college football national championship by AP and Coaches Poll

## Association football

England
* First Division – Tottenham Hotspur win the 1950–51 title.
* FA Cup – Newcastle United beat Blackpool 2–0.
Spain
* La Liga won by Atlético Madrid
Italy
* Serie A won by Milan.
Germany
* German football championship won by 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
Portugal
* Primeira Liga won by Sporting C.P.
France
* French Division 1 won by Nice.

## Athletics

The athletics competition at the 1951 Pan American Games is held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mal Whitfield of the USA wins gold medals in three events: 400 m, 800 m and 4 × 400 m relay.

## Australian rules football

Victorian Football League
* 29 September − Geelong wins the 55th VFL Premiership defeating Essendon 11.15 (81) to 10.10 (70) in the 1951 VFL Grand Final.
* Brownlow Medal is awarded to Bernie Smith (Geelong)
South Australian National Football League
* 29 September − Port Adelaide wins its fourteenth SANFL premiership, defeating North Adelaide 10.12 (72) to 9.7 (61) after the Magpies lost only one game for the season.
* Magarey Medal awarded to John Marriott (Norwood)
Western Australian National Football League
* October 13 – West Perth wins its eleventh WANFL premiership, beating South Fremantle 13.10 (88) to 12.13 (85)
* Sandover Medal awarded to Fred Buttsworth (West Perth)

## Baseball

* January 29 – baseball signs a six-year All-Star game deal for TV and radio rights for $6 million
* September 30 – Joe DiMaggio plays in his final career regular season game.
* October 3 – In one of the most famous finishes in baseball history, Bobby Thomson of the New York Giants hits a three-run walk-off home run, immortalized as the Shot Heard 'Round the World, to give the Giants a 5–4 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers for the National League title.
* World Series – The New York Yankees win 4 games to 2 over the New York Giants.
* Japan Series – The Yomiuri Giants win 4 games to 2 over the Nankai Hawks.

## Basketball

* NCAA Men's Basketball Championship –
** Kentucky wins 68–58 over Kansas.
NBA Finals
* Rochester Royals over New York Knicks (4–3)
Events
* The seventh European basketball championship, Eurobasket 1951, is won by the Soviet Union.

## Boxing

* July 10 – Randy Turpin becomes the middleweight boxing champion by defeating Sugar Ray Robinson.
* July 18 – Jersey Joe Walcott knocks out Ezzard Charles in round 7 during their bout in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

## Canadian football

* Grey Cup – Ottawa Rough Riders wins 21–14 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders

## Cycling

* Giro d'Italia is won by Fiorenzo Magni of Italy
* Tour de France – Hugo Koblet of Switzerland

## Figure skating

* World Figure Skating Championships –
** Men's champion: Dick Button, United States
** Ladies' champion: Jeannette Altwegg, Great Britain
** Pair skating champions: Ria Baran & Paul Falk, Germany

## Golf

Men's professional
* Masters Tournament – Ben Hogan
* U.S. Open – Ben Hogan
* PGA Championship – Sam Snead
* British Open – Max Faulkner
* PGA Tour money leader – Lloyd Mangrum – $26,089
* Ryder Cup – United States team wins 91⁄2 to 21⁄2 over the British team.
Men's amateur
* British Amateur – Dick Chapman
* U.S. Amateur – Billy Maxwell
Women's professional
* Women's Western Open – Patty Berg
* U.S. Women's Open – Betsy Rawls
* Titleholders Championship – Pat O'Sullivan
* LPGA Tour money leader – Babe Zaharias – $15,087

## Harness racing

* Tar Heel, a standardbred horse driven by Del Cameron, runs the first two–minute mile in harness racing history.
* Little Brown Jug for pacers is won by Tar Heel
* Hambletonian for trotters is won by Mainliner
* Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
** Pacers: Vedette
** Trotters: Gay Belwin

## Horse racing

* July 14 – Citation winds his 32nd race, the Hollywood Gold Cup, becoming the first equine millionaire.
Steeplechases
* Cheltenham Gold Cup – Silver Fame
* Grand National – Nickel Coin
Hurdle races
* Champion Hurdle – Hatton's Grace for the third successive year
Flat races
* Australia – Melbourne Cup is won by Delat
* Canada – King's Plate is won by Major Factor
* France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is won by Tantieme
* Ireland – Irish Derby is won by Fraise du Bois II
* English Triple Crown Races:
** 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Ki Ming
** The Derby – Arctic Prince
** St. Leger Stakes – Talma
* United States Triple Crown Races:
** Kentucky Derby – Count Turf
** Preakness Stakes – Bold
** Belmont Stakes – Counterpoint

## Ice hockey

* August 26 – Bill Barilko, Toronto Maple Leafs dies in an air crash
* 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: Milt Schmidt, Boston Bruins
* Stanley Cup – Toronto Maple Leafs win 4 games to 1 over the Montreal Canadiens
* World Hockey Championship
** Men's champion: Canada's Lethbridge Maple Leafs
* NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship – University of Michigan Wolverines defeat Brown University Bruins 7–1 in Colorado Springs, Colorado

## Lacrosse

* The 50th anniversaries of the donations of both the Mann Cup and the Minto Cup.
* The Peterborough Timbermen win the 50th Mann Cup.
* The Mimico Mountaineers win the 50th Minto Cup.

## Rugby league

* 1950–51 European Rugby League Championship / 1951–52 European Rugby League Championship
* 1951 French rugby league tour of Australia and New Zealand
* 1951 New Zealand rugby league season
* 1951 NSWRFL season
* 1950–51 Northern Rugby Football League season / 1951–52 Northern Rugby Football League season

## Rugby union

* 57th Five Nations Championship series is won by Ireland

## Snooker

* World Snooker Championship – Fred Davis beats Walter Donaldson 58–39.

## Speed skating

Speed Skating World Championships
* Men's All-round Champion – Hjalmar Andersen (Norway)

## Tennis

Australia
* Australian Men's Singles Championship – Dick Savitt (USA) defeats Ken McGregor (Australia) 6–3, 2–6, 6–3, 6–1
* Australian Women's Singles Championship – Nancye Wynne Bolton (Australia) defeats Thelma Coyne Long (Australia) 6–1, 7–5
England
* Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Dick Savitt (USA) defeats Ken McGregor (Australia) 6–4, 6–4, 6–4
* Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Doris Hart (USA) defeats Shirley Fry Irvin (USA) 6–1, 6–0
France
* French Men's Singles Championship – Jaroslav Drobný (Egypt) defeats Eric Sturgess (South Africa) 6–3, 6–3, 6–3
* French Women's Singles Championship – Shirley Fry Irvin (USA) defeats Doris Hart (USA) 6–3, 3–6, 6–3
USA
* American Men's Singles Championship – Frank Sedgman (Australia) defeats Vic Seixas (USA) 6–4, 6–1, 6–1
* American Women's Singles Championship – Maureen Connolly (USA) defeats Shirley Fry Irvin (USA) 6–3, 1–6, 6–4
Davis Cup
* 1951 Davis Cup – Australia 3–2 United States at White City Stadium (grass) Sydney, Australia

## Multi-sport events

* First Pan American Games are held in Buenos Aires, Argentina
* Asian Games are held in New Delhi, India
* First Mediterranean Games are held in Alexandria, Egypt

## Awards

* Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Dick Kazmaier, College football
* Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Maureen Connolly, Tennis