1961 in sports

1961 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

[American football]

NFL Championship: the Green Bay Packers won 37–0 over the New York Giants at Lambeau Field
Rose Bowl :
* The Minnesota Golden Gophers lost 17–7 to the Washington Huskies; still voted national champions
The Ohio State Buckeyes boycott a trip to the Rose Bowl the following January resulting in student protests on campus.
AFL Championship – Houston Oilers won 10–3 over the San Diego Chargers

[Association football]

England

FA Cup final – Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Leicester City. Tottenham also were division 1 champions, making them the first British club to win the double.

[Australian rules football]

Victorian Football League
* August 12: Richmond becomes the only team to fail to kick a goal in a match since 1921, scoring only 0.8 to St. Kilda's 12.19.
* September 23: Hawthorn wins the 65th VFL pennant and its first, beating Footscray 13.16 to 7.9
* John James wins the 34th Brownlow Medal

[Bandy]

1961 Bandy World Championship is held in Norway and won by.

[Baseball]

The American League expands to 10 teams, adding the Los Angeles Angels and the new Washington Senators. The league schedule is expanded from 154 to 162 games.
January 16 – Mickey Mantle becomes the highest paid player in Major League Baseball by signing a contract that will pay him $75,000 per season.
April 11 – The former Washington Senators play their first home game in Metropolitan Stadium as the Minnesota Twins
July 13 – In his majors debut, Milwaukee Braves outfielder Mack Jones tied a post-1900 National League record by collecting three singles and a double in his first game.
Roger Maris hits 61 home runs during the regular season, establishing a record for the longer season. Babe Ruth's record of 60 still stood for the shorter season.
October – World Series – New York Yankees win 4 games to 1 over the Cincinnati Reds. The series MVP is Whitey Ford of the Yankees.

[Basketball]

NCAA Men's Basketball Championship –
* Cincinnati wins 70–65 over Ohio St.
NBA Finals –
* Boston Celtics won 4 games to 1 over the St. Louis Hawks
The twelfth European basketball championship, Eurobasket 1961, is won by Soviet Union.

[Boxing]

June 3 in Los Angeles – Emile Griffith knocked out Gaspar Ortega in the 12th round to retain the Welterweight Championship

[Canadian football]

Grey Cup – Winnipeg Blue Bombers win 21–14 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Cycling">Cycle sport">Cycling

August 1 – death of Adrie Voorting, Dutch road bicycle and track cyclist
Giro d'Italia won by Ercole Baldini of Italy
Tour de France – Jacques Anquetil of France
UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race – Rik Van Looy of Belgium

[Figure skating]

The World Figure Skating Championships in Prague are cancelled after the entire USA team of skaters, officials, leaders and chaperones are killed in a plane crash on 15 February en route to the competition.
Among the dead are:
*Bradley Lord, USA men's figure skating champion;
*Maribel Vinson-Owen, USA women's figure skating champion and coach;
*Maribel Yerxa Owen, USA women's figure skating champion;
*Laurence Owen, USA women's figure skating champion.

[Golf]

Men's professional

Masters Tournament – Gary Player becomes the first international golfer to win the Masters.
U.S. Open – Gene Littler
The Open – Arnold Palmer
PGA Championship – Jerry Barber
PGA Tour money leader – Gary Player – $64,540
Ryder Cup – United States wins 14½ to 9½ over Britain in team golf.

Men's amateur

British Amateur – Michael Bonallack
U.S. Amateur – Jack Nicklaus

Women's professional

Women's Western Open – Mary Lena Faulk
LPGA Championship – Mickey Wright
U.S. Women's Open – Mickey Wright
Titleholders Championship – Mickey Wright
LPGA Tour money leader – Mickey Wright – $22,236

[Harness racing]

United States Pacing Triple Crown races –
# Cane Pace – Cold Front
# Little Brown Jug – Henry T. Adios
# Messenger Stakes – Adios Don
United States Trotting Triple Crown races –
# Hambletonian – Harlan Dean
# Yonkers Trot – Duke Rodney
# Kentucky Futurity – Duke Rodney
Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
* Pacers: Massacre

[Horse racing]

Steeplechases

Cheltenham Gold Cup – Saffron Tartan
Grand National – Nicolaus Silver

Flat races

Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Lord Fury
Canada – Queen's Plate won by Blue Light
France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Molvedo
Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Your Highness
English Triple Crown Races:
# 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Rockavon
# The Derby – Psidium
# St. Leger Stakes – Aurelius
United States Triple Crown Races:
# Kentucky Derby – Carry Back
# Preakness Stakes – Carry Back
# Belmont Stakes – Sherluck

[Ice hockey]

Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Bernie "Boom-Boom" Geoffrion, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Bernie "Boom-Boom" Geoffrion, Montreal Canadiens
Stanley Cup – Chicago Black Hawks win 4 games to 2 over the Detroit Red Wings
World Hockey Championship –
* Men's champion: Trail Smoke Eaters from Canada
NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship – University of Denver Pioneers defeat St. Lawrence University Saints 12–2 in Denver, Colorado

[Radiosport]

First European Amateur Radio Direction Finding Championships held in Stockholm, Sweden. This event was the first organized international competition in the sport.

[Rugby league]

[Rugby union]

67th Five Nations Championship series is won by France

Swimming">Swimming (sport)">Swimming

August 13 – USA's Becky Collins breaks the world record in the women's 200m butterfly during a meet in Philadelphia – 2:32.8.
August 19 – US swimmer Carl Robie takes over the world record in the men's 200m butterfly from his compatriot Michael Troy at a meet in Los Angeles, clocking 2:12.6.

[Tennis]

Australia

Australian Men's Singles Championship – Roy Emerson defeats Rod Laver 1–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4
Australian Women's Singles Championship – Margaret Smith Court defeats Jan Lehane O'Neill 6–1, 6–4

England

Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Rod Laver defeats Chuck McKinley 6–3, 6–1, 6–4
Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Angela Mortimer Barrett defeats Christine Truman Janes 4–6, 6–4, 7–5

France

French Men's Singles Championship – Manuel Santana defeats Nicola Pietrangeli 4–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–0, 6–2
French Women's Singles Championship – Ann Haydon defeats Yola Ramírez 6–2, 6–1

USA

American Men's Singles Championship – Roy Emerson defeats Rod Laver 7–5, 6–3, 6–2
American Women's Singles Championship – Darlene Hard defeats Ann Haydon 6–3, 6–4

Davis Cup

1961 Davis Cup – 5–0 at Kooyong Stadium Melbourne, Australia

[Multi-sport event]s

Pan Arab Games held in Casablanca, Morocco
Second Summer Universiade held in Sofia, Bulgaria

Awards