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1950 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

American football

• NFL Championship – Cleveland Browns win 30–28 over the Los Angeles Rams
• Oklahoma Sooners – college football champions.
• Coaches Poll established to rank top 20 American college football teams

Association football

FIFA World Cup

• 1950 World Cup held in Brazil. Uruguay are the winners after beating Brazil in the final group decider.
• United States defeats England 1-0 in one of the great upsets in sports history

England

• First Division – Portsmouth win the 1949–50 title.
• FA Cup – Arsenal beat Liverpool 2–0.

Athletics

The 4th European Championships in Athletics were held from 23 August to 27 August at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels.

Australian rules football

• Victorian Football League
  • Essendon wins the 54th VFL Premiership (Essendon 13.14 (92) d North Melbourne 7.12 (54))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Allan Ruthven (Fitzroy)

Baseball

• World Series – New York Yankees sweep the Philadelphia Phillies four games to none.

Boxing

• January – Joey Maxim wins the light-heavyweight world title, stopping champion Freddie Mills in 10 rounds.
• September 27 – Ezzard Charles retains his World Heavyweight Championship with a 15 round unanimous decision over Joe Louis in New York City.

Canadian football

• Grey Cup – Toronto Argonauts win 13–0 over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia – Hugo Koblet of Switzerland
• Tour de France – Ferdinand Kubler of Switzerland
• Vuelta a España – Emilio Rodriguez of Spain
• World Cycling Championship – Briek Schotte of Belgium

Figure skating

• World Figure Skating Championships –
  • Men's champion: Dick Button, United States
  • Ladies' champion: Aja Zanova, Czechoslovakia
  • Pair skating champions: Karol Kennedy & Michael Kennedy, United States

Golf

Men's professional

• Masters Tournament – Jimmy Demaret
• U.S. Open – Ben Hogan
• PGA Championship – Chandler Harper
• British Open – Bobby Locke
• PGA Tour money leader – Sam Snead – $35,759

Men's amateur

• British Amateur – Frank Stranahan
• U.S. Amateur – Sam Urzetta

Women's professional

• Thirteen women golfers found the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA).
• Women's Western Open – Babe Zaharias
• U.S. Women's Open – Babe Zaharias
• Titleholders Championship – Babe Zaharias
• Babe Zaharias named Woman Athlete of the Half–Century by the Associated Press.
• LPGA Tour money leader – Babe Zaharias – $14,800

Harness racing

• Little Brown Jug for pacers – Dudley Hanover
• Hambletonian for trotters – Lusty Song
• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship for pacers – Captain Sandy

Horse racing

• The United States National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame is founded in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Steeplechases

• Cheltenham Gold Cup – Cottage Rake for the third successive year
• Grand National – Freebooter

Flat races

• Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Comic Court
• Canada – Queen's Plate won by McGill
• France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Tantieme
• Ireland – Irish Derby won by Dark Warrior
• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Palestine
  2. Epsom Derby – Galcador
  3. St. Leger Stakes – Scratch
• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby – Middleground
  2. Preakness Stakes – Hill Prince
  3. Belmont Stakes – Middleground

Ice hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Ted Lindsay, Detroit Red Wings
• Hart Memorial Trophy – for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Charlie Rayner, New York Rangers
• Stanley Cup – Detroit Red Wings win 4 games to 3 over the New York Rangers
• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Canada's Edmonton Mercurys
• NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship – Colorado College Tigers defeat Boston University Terriers 13–4 in Colorado Springs, CO

Motor racing

• NASCAR Championship – Bill Rexford
• AAA Racing –
  • Henry Banks won the series championship
  • Johnnie Parsons won the Indianapolis 500
• Formula One Champion – The first World Championship for drivers under the jurisdiction of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) is contested. The first race of the World Championship series is the British Grand Prix won by Giuseppe Farina, driving an Alfa Romeo. Farina would go on to become the first FIA World Champion.

• Rally racing –
  • M. Becquart/H. Secret won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Hotchkiss
• Drag racing – the first commercial drag strip, the Santa Ana Drags, begins at Orange County Airport (now John Wayne Airport) in Santa Ana, in Southern California. Admission is 50 cents; or 75 cents if the ticket holder wants to watch the mechanics work.

Nordic skiing

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

• 13th FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1950 are held in the United States at Lake Placid (ski jumping) and Rumford, Maine (cross-country skiing). These are the first world championships since 1939.

Rowing

The Boat Race

• 1 April — Cambridge wins the 96th Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race

Rugby union

Five Nations Championship

• 56th Five Nations Championship series is won by Wales who complete the Grand Slam

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship – Walter Donaldson beats Fred Davis 51–46.

Speed skating

Speed Skating World Championships

• Men's All-round Champion – Hjalmar Andersen (Norway)
• Women's All-round Champion – Maria Isakova (USSR)

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open – Frank Sedgman
  2. French Open – Budge Patty
  3. Wimbledon championships – Budge Patty
  4. US Open – Arthur Larsen
• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open – Louise Brough
  2. French Open – Doris Hart
  3. Wimbledon championships – Louise Brough
  4. US Open – Margaret Osborne duPont
• Davis Cup in world tennis: Australia won 4 to 1 over the United States

Multi-sport events

• British Empire Games held in Auckland

Awards

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Jim Konstanty, Major League Baseball
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Babe Didrikson Zaharias, LPGA golf

References