See also: 1936 in sports, other events of 1937, 1938 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.

Auto racing

• Wally Parks founds the Road Runners Club , considered to be the start of organized drag racing.

Baseball

• World Series: New York Yankees defeat New York Giants, 4-1.
• Hall of Fame election: Continuing toward the goal of 10 initial inductees from the 20th century, voters select Nap Lajoie, Tris Speaker and Cy Young. A special committee selects managers Connie Mack and John McGraw, former league presidents Morgan Bulkeley and Ban Johnson, and pioneer shorstop/promoter George Wright. Selections of 19th century players are postponed.

Football (Australian Rules)

• Victorian Football League
  • Geelong wins the 41st VFL Premiership (Geelong 18.14 (122) d Collingwood 12.18 (90))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Dick Reynolds (Essendon)

American Football

• First Cotton Bowl is played in Dallas, Texas.

• Washington Redskins win the NFL title their first year in Washington after moving from Boston. They defeated the Chicago Bears 28-21 in Chicago.

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship: Joe Davis beats Horace Lindrum 32-29