See also: 1957 in sports, other events of 1958, 1959 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.

Contents

1 Auto Racing 2 Baseball 3 Basketball 4 Boxing 5 Cycling 6 Figure Skating 7 Football (American) 8 Football (Australian Rules) 9 Football (Canadian) 10 Football (Soccer) 11 Golf 12 Thoroughbred Horse Racing 13 Harness Racing 14 Ice Hockey 15 Skiing 16 Tennis 17 General sporting events 18 Births 19 Deaths

Auto Racing

• NASCAR Championship - Lee Petty
• Indianapolis 500 - Jimmy Bryan
• USAC Racing - Tony Bettenhausen won the season championship
• Formula One Championship - Mike Hawthorn of Great Britain
• February 23 - Cuban rebels kidnap 5-time F1 champion Juan Manuel Fangio.
• 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Olivier Gendebien / Phil Hill won, driving a Ferrari 250TR
• Rally racing - the team of Guy Monraisse / Jacques Feret won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Renault
• Drag racing:
  • Don Garlits wins "Top Fuel" at the AHRA nationals
  • Ted Cyr won "Top Eliminator" at the NHRA Nationals

Baseball

• January 29: The Brooklyn Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella suffers a broken neck in an early morning auto accident on Long Island. His spinal column is nearly severed and his legs are permanently paralyzed.

• January 30: Commissioner Ford Frick announces that players and coaches, rather than the fans, will vote for the All-Star teams.

• April 15: San Francisco Giants pitcher Rubén Gómez won baseball's first regular season game on the West Coast. He started the first game in San Francisco history, beating Don Drysdale and the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers in a 8-0 shutout at Seals Stadium. The two teams moved from New York after the 1957 season.

• World Series: New York Yankees win 4 games to 3 over the Milwaukee Braves. The Series MVP is pitcher Bob Turley of New York.

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
  • Kentucky wins 84-72 over Seattle

• NBA Finals:
  • St. Louis Hawks win 4 games to 2 over the Boston Celtics

• World Basketball Championships (Men) - Rio de Janero, Brazil
  • Gold: United States of America
  • Silver: Brazil
  • Bronze: Philippines

Boxing

• December 10 - Light-heavyweight champion Archie Moore is knocked down three times in the first round and once more in the fifth round by Yvon Durelle but Moore held on to come back to knock out Durelle in the 11th round.

Cycling

• Tour de France - Charly Gaul of Luxembourg

Figure Skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: David Jenkins , United States
  • Women's champion: Carol Heiss, United States
  • Pairs champions: Barbara Wagner & Robert Paul , Canada

Football (American)

• NFL Championship: the Baltimore Colts won 23-17 over the New York Giants in overtime. The game is later called the "Greatest game ever played".

Football (Australian Rules)

• Victorian Football League
  • Collingwood wins the 62nd VFL Premiership (Collingwood 12.10 (82) d Melbourne 9.10 (64))
  • Brownlow Medal not awarded to Neil Roberts (St Kilda)

Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Winnipeg Blue Bombers win 35-28 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Football (Soccer)

• February 6, Munich air disaster: 7 Manchester United players are killed, Duncan Edwards later died of his injuries.
• Football World Cup: Brazil wins 5-2 over Sweden
• England - FA Cup: Bolton Wanderers win 2-0 over Manchester United

Golf

Men's Golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. May - The Masters golf tournament - Arnold Palmer
  2. June - US Open - Tommy Bolt
  3. July - British Open - Bobby Locke
  4. August - PGA Championship - Dow Finsterwald

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Arnold Palmer - $42,608

Women's Golf

• US Women's Open - Mickey Wright
• LPGA Championship - Mickey Wright
• Beverly Hanson : leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $12,629.

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Baystone
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Caledon Beau
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Ballymoss
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Sindon

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Pall Mall
  2. Epsom Derby - Hard Ridden
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Alcide

• Tim Tam , who had won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, fractured a sesamoid bone and lost his chance for the Triple Crown when he hobbled across the finish line in second place at the Belmont Stakes.
• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Tim Tam
  2. Preakness Stakes - Tim Tam
  3. Belmont Stakes - Cavan

Harness Racing

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace - Raider Frost
  2. Little Brown Jug - Shadow Wave
  3. Messenger Stakes - O'Brien Hanover

• United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian - Emily's Pride
  2. Yonkers Trot - Spunky Hanover
  3. Kentucky Futurity - Emily's Pride

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Free Hall

Ice Hockey

• January 18 - Willie O'Ree makes his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins. He is the first African-Canadian to play in the National Hockey League.

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Dickie Moore, Montreal Canadiens

• Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings

• Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens win 4-2 over the Boston Bruins

• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Whitby Dunlops from Canada defeat the Soviet Union

Skiing

• FIS World Championships - Women:
  • Downhill: Lucille Wheeler (Canada)
  • Giant Slalom: Lucille Wheeler (Canada)
  • Slalom: Inge Bjoernbakken (Norway)
  • Combined: Frieda Dänzer (Switzerland)

• FIS World Championships - Men:
  • Downhill: Toni Sailer (Austria)
  • Giant Slalom: Toni Sailer (Austria)
  • Slalom: Josl Rieder (Austria)
  • Combined: Toni Sailer (Austria)

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - Ashley Cooper
  2. French Open - Mervyn Rose
  3. Wimbledon championships - Ashley Cooper
  4. US Open - Ashley Cooper

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Angela Mortimer
  2. French Open - Zsuzsi Kormoczy
  3. Wimbledon championships - Althea Gibson
  4. US Open - Althea Gibson

• Davis Cup: United States wins 3-2 over Australia in world tennis.

General sporting events

• British Empire & Commonwealth Games held in Cardiff, United Kingdom
• The international petanque federation is founded in Marseille

Births

• January 5 - Ursula Thielemann, German field hockey goalkeeper
• January 10 - Gary Cook , UK athlete
• February 11 - Regina Marsikova, Czechoslovakian tennis player.
• February 20 - Det de Beus,Dutch field hockey goalkeeper
• June 14 - Eric Heiden, US speed skater
• June 15 - Wade Boggs, American baseball player
• August 1 - Vickey Dixon , British field hockey international

Deaths

• February 6 - Geoff Bent, English footballer, 25
• February 6 - Roger Byrne, English footballer, 28
• February 6 - Eddie Colman, English footballer, 21
• February 6 - Mark Jones, English footballer, 24
• February 6 - David Pegg, Irish footballer, 22
• February 6 - Tommy Taylor, English footballer, 26
• February 6 - Liam Whelan, Irish footballer, 22
• February 21 - Duncan Edwards, English footballer, 21