1938 in sports

1938 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

American football

• New York Giants 23–17 Green Bay Packers for the NFL title.
• First High School Oil Bowl is played.

Association football

World Cup

• 1938 World Cup held in France – Italy retain their title, beating Hungary 4-2 in the final.

England

• First Division – Arsenal win the 1937–38 title
• FA Cup – Preston North End beat Huddersfield Town 1-0

Athletics

• March 3 – Glenn Cunningham breaks the world record for the indoor mile run by completing the distance in 4 minutes, 4.4 seconds.
• September 4 – European Championships Marathon at Paris is won by Väinö Muinonen (Finland) in a time of 2:37:29

Australian rules football

• Victorian Football League
  • Carlton wins the 42nd VFL Premiership (Carlton 15.10 (100) d Collingwood 13.7 (85))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Dick Reynolds (Essendon)

Baseball

• World Series – New York Yankees defeat the Chicago Cubs, 4–0.
• Hall of Fame election – Continuing toward the goal of 10 initial inductees at the 1939 opening of the Hall, voters select Grover Cleveland Alexander. A special committee selects organizer Alexander Cartwright and promoter Henry Chadwick; selections of 19th century players are again postponed.
• Starting pitcher Johnny Vander Meer (Cincinnati Reds) throws back–to–back no-hitters, meaning they came in two consecutive starts, something not accomplished before or since.

Basketball

NBL Championship

• Akron Goodyear Wingfoots win two games to one over the Oshkosh All-Stars

Events

• The sixth South American Basketball Championship in Lima is won by Peru.

Boxing

• May 23 – Dutch boxer Bep van Klaveren claims the European title in the middleweight division by defeating Frenchman Edouard Tenet in a match held in the Feijenoord Stadium in his native Rotterdam.
• American boxer Henry Armstrong simultaneously holds the featherweight, welterweight & lightweight world titles.

British Empire Games

• February – British Empire Games held in Sydney

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

Men's professional

• Masters Tournament – Henry Picard
• U.S. Open – Ralph Guldahl
• British Open – Reg Whitcombe
• PGA Championship – Paul Runyan

Men's amateur

• British Amateur – Charles Yates
• U.S. Amateur – Willie Turnesa

Women's professional

• Women's Western Open – Bea Barrett
• Titleholders Championship – Patty Berg

Horse racing

• In what is billed as the "Match of the Century", Seabiscuit defeats the US Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing champion, War Admiral.

Steeplechases

• Cheltenham Gold Cup –
• Grand National –

Flat races

• Australia – Melbourne Cup won by
• Canada – Queen's Plate won by
• France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by
• Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by
• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes –
  2. Epsom Derby –
  3. St. Leger Stakes –
• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby – Lawrin
  2. Preakness Stakes –
  3. Belmont Stakes –

Motor racing

• Grand Prix – Rudolf Caracciola is European Champion for a record third time.
• 27 August – at Bonneville, G. E. T. Eyston in Thunderbolt breaks his own land speed record for the flying mile, setting the new mark at 345.48 mph (556.00 km/h).
• 15 September – at Bonneville, John R. Cobb in the Railton Special breaks Eyston's record for the flying mile, setting the new mark at 350.19 mph (563.58 km/h).
• 16 September – at Bonneville, Eyston responds, setting the new mark at 357.49 mph (575.32 km/h). Cobb will respond in August 1939.

Nordic skiing

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

• 11th FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1938 are held at Lahti, Finland

Rowing

The Boat Race

• 2 April — Oxford wins the 90th Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race

Rugby union

• 51st Home Nations Championship series is won by Scotland

Skiing

• The Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway, the first aerial tramway in the United States, opens at Cannon Mountain Ski Area.

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship – Joe Davis beats Sidney Smith 37–24

Speed skating

Speed Skating World Championships

• Men's All-round Champion – Ivar Ballangrud (Norway)
• Women's All-round Champion – Laila Schou Nilsen (Norway)

Tennis

Australia

• Australian Men's Singles Championship – Don Budge (USA) defeats John Bromwich (Australia) 6–4, 6–2, 6–1
• Australian Women's Singles Championship – Dorothy Cheney (USA) defeats Dorothy Stevenson (Australia) 6–3, 6–2

England

• Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Don Budge (USA) defeats Bunny Austin (Great Britain) 6–1, 6–0, 6–3
• Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Helen Wills Moody (USA) defeats Helen Jacobs (USA) 6–4, 6–0

France

• French Men's Singles Championship – Don Budge (USA) defeats Roderich Menzel (Czechoslovakia) 6–3, 6–2, 6–4
• French Women's Singles Championship – Simone Mathieu (France) defeats Nelly Adamson Landry (France) 6–0, 6–3

USA

• American Men's Singles Championship – Don Budge (USA) defeats Gene Mako (USA) 6–3, 6–8, 6–2, 6–1
• American Women's Singles Championship – Alice Marble (USA) defeats Nancye Wynne Bolton (Australia) 6–0, 6–3

Events

• Don Budge becomes the first male tennis player to complete the Grand Slam in tennis of all 4 Championships.

Davis Cup

• 1938 International Lawn Tennis Challenge – United States 3–2 Australia at Germantown Cricket Club (grass) Philadelphia, United States

Awards

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Don Budge, Tennis
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Patty Berg, LPGA golf