1961 in sports

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

Years in sports
← 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 →
1961 in sports
Air sports American football Aquatic sports Association football Athletics Australian rules football Badminton Baseball Basketball Canadian football Chess Climbing Combat sports Sumo Cricket 1960–61 1961 1961–62 Cycling Dance sports Darts Equestrianism Esports Field hockey Flying disc Golf Gymnastics Handball Ice hockey Ice sports Korfball Lumberjack sports Mind sports Modern pentathlon Motorsport Orienteering Paralympic sports Precision sports Shooting Racquetball Roller sports Sailing Skiing Speedway Rugby league‎ Rugby union Snooker 1960–61 1961–62 Strength sports Weightlifting Squash Table tennis Tennis Triathlon Volleyball

• NFL Championship: the Green Bay Packers won 37–0 over the New York Giants at Lambeau Field
• Rose Bowl (1960 season):
  • 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

• 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.

• 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 (8) to St. Kilda's 12.19 (91).
  • September 23: Hawthorn wins the 65th VFL pennant and its first, beating Footscray 13.16 (94) to 7.9 (51)
  • John James wins the 34th Brownlow Medal

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

• 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.

• 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.

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

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

• August 1 – death of Adrie Voorting (aged 30), 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

• 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 (21), USA men's figure skating champion;
  • Maribel Vinson-Owen, USA women's figure skating champion and coach;
  • Maribel Yerxa Owen (20), USA women's figure skating champion;
  • Laurence Owen (16), USA women's figure skating champion.

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

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

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:
  1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Rockavon
  2. The Derby – Psidium^[1]
  3. St. Leger Stakes – Aurelius
• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby – Carry Back
  2. Preakness Stakes – Carry Back
  3. Belmont Stakes – Sherluck

• 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

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

• 1961 New Zealand rugby league season
• 1960–61 Northern Rugby Football League season / 1961–62 Northern Rugby Football League season
• 1961 NSWRFL season

• 67th Five Nations Championship series is won by France

• August 13 – USA's Becky Collins breaks the world record in the women's 200m butterfly (long course) 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 (long course) from his compatriot Michael Troy at a meet in Los Angeles, clocking 2:12.6.

Australia

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

England

• Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Rod Laver (Australia) defeats Chuck McKinley (USA) 6–3, 6–1, 6–4
• Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Angela Mortimer Barrett (Great Britain) defeats Christine Truman Janes (Great Britain) 4–6, 6–4, 7–5

France

• French Men's Singles Championship – Manuel Santana (Spain) defeats Nicola Pietrangeli (Italy) 4–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–0, 6–2
• French Women's Singles Championship – Ann Haydon (Great Britain) defeats Yola Ramírez (Mexico) 6–2, 6–1

USA

• American Men's Singles Championship – Roy Emerson (Australia) defeats Rod Laver (Australia) 7–5, 6–3, 6–2
• American Women's Singles Championship – Darlene Hard (USA) defeats Ann Haydon (Great Britain) 6–3, 6–4

Davis Cup

• 1961 Davis Cup –  Australia 5–0  Italy at Kooyong Stadium (grass) Melbourne, Australia

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

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Roger Maris, Major League Baseball
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Wilma Rudolph, Track and field