1937 in sports

[Alpine skiing]

• Men's Downhill – Emile Allais
• Men's Slalom – Emile Allais
• Men's Combined – Emile Allais
• Women's Downhill – Christl Cranz
• Women's Slalom – Christl Cranz
• Women's Combined – Christl Cranz

[American football]

• NFL Championship – the Washington Redskins won 28–21 over the Chicago Bears at Wrigley Field.
• First Cotton Bowl Classic is played in Dallas.
• Pittsburgh Panthers – college football national championship
• The Cleveland Rams join the National Football League.

[Association football]

• First Division – Manchester City win the 1936–37 title.
• FA Cup – Sunderland beat Preston North End 3–1.

• La Liga – not contested due to the Spanish Civil War

• German football championship won by Schalke 04

• Serie A won by Bologna

• Primeira Liga won by S.L. Benfica

• French Division 1 won by Olympique de Marseille

• Allsvenskan 1936/1937: AIK

[Australian rules football]

• Victorian Football League
• * 25 September – Geelong wins the 41st VFL Premiership, defeating Collingwood 18.14 to 12.18 in the 1937 VFL Grand Final
• * Brownlow Medal awarded to Dick Reynolds
• South Australian National Football League
• * 2 October – Port Adelaide 13.16 defeat South Adelaide 10.10 to win their second consecutive SANFL premiership.
• * Magarey Medal won by Harold Hawke
• Western Australian National Football League
• * 9 October – East Fremantle 14.13 defeat Claremont 13.9 to win their eighteenth premiership.
• * Sandover Medal won by "Scranno" Jenkins.

[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 shortstop/promoter George Wright. Selections of nineteenth-century players are postponed.
• Aguilas Cibaenas, a club of Dominican Republic, officially founded in Santiago de los Caballeros on January 28.

[Basketball]

• Major professional basketball returns with the formation of the National Basketball League.
• Eurobasket 1937 – Lithuania win the second European basketball championship.
• The fifth South American Basketball Championship in Valparaíso and Santiago is won by Chile.
• The first NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament played in Kansas City.

[Boxing]

• 22 June – Joe Louis defeats James J. Braddock at Chicago by an eighth-round knockout to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
• 30 August – in his first title defence, Louis defeats Tommy Farr at Bronx on a fifteen-round decision

• World Heavyweight Championship – James J. Braddock → Joe Louis
• World Light Heavyweight Championship – John Henry Lewis
• World Middleweight Championship – vacant
• World Welterweight Championship – Barney Ross
• World Lightweight Championship – Lou Ambers
• World Featherweight Championship – vacant → Henry Armstrong
• World Bantamweight Championship – Sixto Escobar → Harry Jeffra
• World Flyweight Championship – vacant → Benny Lynch

[Cricket]

• England tours Australia, losing the five-Test series two games to three, despite winning the first two games.

• County Championship – Yorkshire
• Minor Counties Championship – Lancashire Second Eleven
• Most runs – Wally Hammond 3,252 @ 65.04
• Most wickets – Tom Goddard 248 @ 16.76
• New Zealand play a three-test series against England, losing the series one Test to nil with two draws.Wisden Cricketers of the Year – Tom Goddard, Joe Hardstaff, Jr., Leonard Hutton, Jim Parks, Sr., Eddie Paynter

• Sheffield Shield – Victoria
• Most runs – Don Bradman 1,552 @ 86.22
• Most wickets
• * Chuck Fleetwood-Smith 53 @ 20.24
• * Frank Ward 53 @ 28.41

• Ranji Trophy – Nawanagar beat Bengal by 256 runs
• Bombay Pentangular – Muslims

• Plunket Shield – Auckland

• Currie Cup – not contested

• Inter-Colonial Tournament – Trinidad

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• Roger Lapébie wins the Tour de France.

• Gino Bartali of Legnano wins the 25th Giro d'Italia

[Field hockey]

• July 14 – foundation of HC Den Bosch, a Dutch club based in 's-Hertogenbosch

[Figure skating]

• World Figure Skating Championships –
• * Men's champion: Felix Kaspar, Austria
• * Ladies’ champion: Megan Taylor, Great Britain
• * Pair skating champion: Maxi Herber & Ernst Baier, Germany

[Golf]

• Masters Tournament – Byron Nelson
• PGA Championship – Denny Shute
• U.S. Open – Ralph Guldahl
• British Open – Henry Cotton

• British Amateur – Robert Sweeny Jr.
• U.S. Amateur – Johnny Goodman

• Women's Western Open – Helen Hicks
• Titleholders Championship – Patty Berg

[Horse racing]

• Cheltenham Gold Cup – not held due to flooding of Cheltenham Racecourse
• Grand National – Royal Mail

• Champion Hurdle – Free Fare

• Australia – Melbourne Cup won by The Trump
• Canada – King's Plate won by Goldlure
• France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Corrida
• Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Phideas
• English Triple Crown Races:
• # 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Le Ksar
• # The Derby – Mid-day Sun
• # St. Leger Stakes – Chulmleigh
• United States Triple Crown Races:
• # Kentucky Derby – War Admiral
• # Preakness Stakes – War Admiral
• # Belmont Stakes – War Admiral

[Ice hockey]

• April 15 – The Detroit Red Wings defeat the New York Rangers 3–0 to win the 1937 Stanley Cup Finals
• April 17 – The Winnipeg Monarchs defeat the Copper Cliff Redmen 7–0 to win the 1937 Memorial Cup

[Nordic skiing]

• 10th FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1937 are held at Chamonix, France

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• 24 March — Oxford wins the 89th Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race

[Rugby league]

• 1936–37 European Rugby League Championship
• 1937 New Zealand rugby league season
• 1937 NSWRFL season
• 1936–37 Northern Rugby Football League season / 1937–38 Northern Rugby Football League season
• 1937–38 Kangaroo tour

[Rugby union]

• 50th Home Nations Championship series is won by England

[Snooker]

• World Snooker Championship – Joe Davis beats Horace Lindrum 32–29

[Speed skating]

• Men's All-round Champion – Michael Staksrud
• Women's All-round Champion – Laila Schou Nilsen

[Tennis]

• Australian Men's Singles Championship – Vivian McGrath defeats John Bromwich 6–3, 1–6, 6–0, 2–6, 6–1
• Australian Women's Singles Championship – Nancye Wynne Bolton defeats Emily Hood Westacott 6–3, 5–7, 6–4

• Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Don Budge defeats Gottfried von Cramm 6–3, 6–4, 6–2
• Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Dorothy Round Little defeats Jadwiga Jędrzejowska 6–2, 2–6, 7–5

• French Men's Singles Championship – Henner Henkel defeats Bunny Austin 6–1, 6–4, 6–3
• French Women's Singles Championship – Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling defeats Simonne Mathieu 6–2, 6–4

• American Men's Singles Championship – Don Budge defeats Gottfried von Cramm 6–1, 7–9, 6–1, 3–6, 6–1
• American Women's Singles Championship – Anita Lizana defeats Jadwiga Jędrzejowska 6–4, 6–2

• 1937 International Lawn Tennis Challenge – 4–1 at Centre Court, Wimbledon London, United Kingdom

[Yacht racing]

• The New York Yacht Club retains the America's Cup as Ranger defeats British challenger Endeavour II, of the Royal Yacht Squadron, 4 races to 0

Awards

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Don Budge, Tennis
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Katherine Rawls, Swimming