1953 in sports

1953 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

American football

• NFL Championship: the Detroit Lions won 17–16 over the Cleveland Browns at Briggs Stadium

Association football

England

• First Division – Arsenal win the 1952–53 title.
• FA Cup – Blackpool beat Bolton Wanderers 4–3 in what is known as "The Matthews Final", although it is Stan Mortensen who scores a winning hat-trick for Blackpool.
• England lose 6–3 to Hungary at Wembley Stadium their first ever loss to a team from Continental Europe at home.

Scotland

• Coronation Cup (football) – Celtic beat Hibernian 2–0 at Hampden Park.

Spain

• La Liga won by Barcelona F.C.

Italy

• Serie A won by F.C. Internazionale Milano

West Germany

• German football championship won by 1. FC Kaiserslautern

France

• French Division 1 won by Stade de Reims

Portugal

• Primeira Liga won by Sporting C.P.

Australian rules football

• Victorian Football League
  • 23 May: Fitzroy, against a brilliant Footscray defence, kick the lowest VFL/AFL score since 1899, 1.0 (6) to 10.6 (66). Fitzroy seemed doomed to the first 0.0 (0) score in VFL history until Allan Ruthven scored a goal with ten minutes to go.
  • 4 July: Geelong beats Collingwood’s previous record of 20 consecutive wins, beating North Melbourne 12.14 (86) to 13.7 (85).
  • 1 August: Collingwood ends a run of 26 unbeaten games (including a draw with Essendon) by Geelong, beating them 10.15 (75) to 7.13 (55)
  • 26 September: Collingwood wins the 57th VFL Premiership, beating Geelong 11.11 (77) to 8.17 (65)
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Bill Hutchison (Essendon)
• South Australian National Football League:
  • 3 October: West Torrens wins the last of its four SANFL premierships,^[1] beating Port Adelaide 9.13 (67) to 8.12 (60)
  • Magarey Medal won by Jim Deane (South Adelaide)
• Western Australian National Football League:
  • 8 August: Bernie Naylor kicks a WANFL record 23 goals against Subiaco,^[2] including twelve in one quarter.^[3]
  • 10 October: South Fremantle win their second consecutive premiership and seventh overall, beating West Perth 18.12 (120) to 8.13 (61)
  • Sandover Medal awarded to Merv McIntosh (Perth)

Baseball

• World Series – New York Yankees won 4 games to 2 over the Brooklyn Dodgers
• The Boston Braves of the National League moved to Milwaukee, becoming the first MLB franchise to relocate in 50 years.

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship –
  • Indiana wins 69–68 over Kansas
• NBA Finals –
  • Minneapolis Lakers won 4 games to 1 over the New York Knicks
• The eighth European basketball championship, Eurobasket 1953, is won by the Soviet Union.
• The fifteenth South American Basketball Championship in Montevideo is won by Uruguay.

Boxing

• September 24 in New York City – Rocky Marciano retains his World Heavyweight title with a TKO over Roland La Starza in the 11th round.
• October in New York City – Bobo Olson scored a 15-round decision over Randy Turpin to win the World Middleweight Championship

Bowling

Nine-pin bowling

• Nine-pin bowling World Championships –
  • Men's champion: Alfred Beierl, Austria
  • Women's champion: Jelena Šincek, Yugoslavia
  • Men's team champion: Yugoslavia
  • Women's team champion: Austria

Canadian football

• Grey Cup – Hamilton Tiger-Cats win 12–6 over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Cricket

England

• County Championship – Surrey
• Minor Counties Championship – Berkshire
• Most runs – Bill Edrich 2557 @ 47.35 (HS 211)
• Most wickets – Bruce Dooland 172 @ 16.58 (BB 7–19)
• Wisden Cricketers of the Year – Keith Miller, Neil Harvey, Johnny Wardle, Willie Watson, Tony Lock

Australia

• Sheffield Shield – South Australia
• Most runs – Neil Harvey 1659 @ 63.80 (HS 205)
• Most wickets – Hugh Tayfield 70 @ 27.91 (BB 7–71)
• South Africa make their first tour of Australia since 1931–32, and tie the five-Test series two-all with one draw

India

• Ranji Trophy – Holkar

New Zealand

• Plunket Shield – Otago
• Following their Australian tour, South Africa tour New Zealand, winning a two-Test series one-nil with one draw

South Africa

• Currie Cup – not contested

West Indies

• India make their first tour of the West Indies, losing a five-test series 0–1 with four draws.

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Fausto Coppi of Italy
• Tour de France – Louison Bobet of France
• UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race – Fausto Coppi of Italy

Figure skating

• World Figure Skating Championships –
  • Men's champion: Hayes Alan Jenkins, United States
  • Ladies’ champion: Tenley Albright, United States
  • Pair skating champions: Jennifer Nicks & John Nicks, Great Britain
  • Ice dancing champions: Jean Westwood & Lawrence Demmy, Great Britain

Golf

Men's professional

• Masters Tournament – Ben Hogan
• U.S. Open – Ben Hogan
• PGA Championship – Walter Burkemo
• British Open – Ben Hogan
• PGA Tour money leader – Lew Worsham – $34,002
• Ryder Cup – United States wins 6½ to 5½ over the British team.

Men's amateur

• British Amateur – Joe Carr
• U.S. Amateur – Gene Littler

Women's professional

• Women's Western Open – Louise Suggs
• U.S. Women's Open – Betsy Rawls
• Titleholders Championship – Patty Berg
• LPGA Tour money leader – Louise Suggs – $19,816

Harness racing

• Little Brown Jug for pacers won by Keystoner
• Hambletonian for trotters won by Helicopter
• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
  • Pacers: Captain Sandy

Horse racing

Steeplechases

• Cheltenham Gold Cup – Knock Hard
• Grand National – Early Mist

Hurdle races

• Champion Hurdle – Sir Ken

Flat races

• Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Wodalla
• Canada – Queen's Plate won by Canadiana
• France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by La Sorellina
• Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Chamier
• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Nearula
  2. The Derby – Pinza^[4]
  3. St. Leger Stakes – Premonition
• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby – Dark Star
  2. Preakness Stakes – Native Dancer
  3. Belmont Stakes – Native Dancer

Ice hockey

• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Sweden defeated West Germany and Switzerland.
  • Canada did not participate in the World Hockey Championship, the government claiming it was not worth the expense.
• Stanley Cup – Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 1 over the Boston Bruins
• 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: Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
• NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship – University of Michigan Wolverines defeat University of Minnesota Golden Gophers 7–3 in Colorado Springs, CO
• HC Kometa Brno was founded in South Moravian Region, Czechoslovakia, present day of Czech Republic.^{[citation needed]}

Motorsport

Main articles: 1953 in motorsport and List of 1953 motorsport champions

Rugby league

• 1952–53 European Rugby League Championship / 1953–54 European Rugby League Championship
• 1953 New Zealand rugby league season
• 1953 NSWRFL season
• 1952–53 Northern Rugby Football League season / 1953–54 Northern Rugby Football League season

Rugby union

• 59th Five Nations Championship series is won by England

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship – Fred Davis beats Walter Donaldson 37–34

Tennis

Australia

• Australian Men's Singles Championship – Ken Rosewall (Australia) defeats Mervyn Rose (Australia) 6–0, 6–3, 6–4
• Australian Women's Singles Championship – Maureen Connolly Brinker (USA) defeats Julia Sampson Hayward (USA) 6–3, 6–2

England

• Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Vic Seixas (USA) defeats Kurt Nielsen (Denmark) 9–7, 6–3, 6–4
• Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Maureen Connolly Brinker (USA) defeats Doris Hart (USA) 8–6, 7–5

France

• French Men's Singles Championship – Ken Rosewall (Australia) defeats Vic Seixas (USA) 6–3, 6–4, 1–6, 6–2
• French Women's Singles Championship – Maureen Connolly (USA) defeats Doris Hart (USA) 6–2, 6–4

USA

• American Men's Singles Championship – Tony Trabert (USA) defeats Vic Seixas (USA) 6–3, 6–2, 6–3
• American Women's Singles Championship – Maureen Connolly (USA) defeats Doris Hart (USA) 6–2, 6–4

Events

• Maureen Connolly becomes the first woman to win the Grand Slam in tennis.

Davis Cup

• 1953 Davis Cup –  Australia 3–2  United States at Kooyong Stadium (grass) Melbourne, Australia

Multi-sport events

• Pan Arab Games held in Alexandria, Egypt

Awards

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Ben Hogan, PGA golf
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Maureen Connolly, Tennis

References

1. It merged with Woodville after the 1990 season, and the new club won flags in 1993, 2006 and 2011
2. Naylor gets his second “Fiver”
3. A Trip Down Memory Lane
4. "Epsom Derby | History, Winners, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 3 January 2022.