1968 in sports
1968 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
| Centuries: | 19th century · 20th century · 21st century |
| Decades: | 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s |
| Years: | 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 |
- Alpine Skiing World Cup:
- Men's overall champion: Jean-Claude Killy, France
- Women's overall champion: Nancy Greene, Canada
- January 14 Super Bowl II – Green Bay Packers won 33–14 over the Oakland Raiders. After the game, Packer head coach Vince Lombardi announced his retirement as head coach of the Packers.
- The Cincinnati Bengals were formed
- November 17 – The Oakland Raiders score two consecutive touchdowns in the last minute of the fourth quarter to beat the New York Jets 43–32, in the infamous "Heidi Game".
- Baltimore Colts 34–0 Cleveland Browns in 1968 NFL championship game.
- New York Jets 27–23 Oakland Raiders in the 1968 AFL championship game.
College Football: Ohio State Buckeyes win the National Championship after beating USC Trojans in the Rose Bowl
O.J. Simpson, running back for the USC Trojans, was the overwhelming choice for the Heisman Trophy, with 2,853 points. Second was Leroy Keyes, running back for Purdue, with 1,103 points, followed by Terry Hanratty (QB-Notre Dame), Ted Kwalick (TE-Penn State) and Ted Hendricks (DE-Miami).
- England – First Division Champions: Manchester City F.C.
- England – FA Cup – West Bromwich Albion 1–0 Everton
- Scotland – First Division Champions: Celtic F.C.
- Scotland – Cup Winners: Dunfermline Athletic F.C. (defeated Heart of Midlothian 3–1)
- European Championship – Italy beat Yugoslavia 2–0 in a replay. The original final ended 1–1.
- Victorian Football League
- Carlton wins the 72nd VFL Premiership (Carlton 7.14 (56) d Essendon 8.5 (53))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Bob Skilton (South Melbourne)
- January 23 – Joe Medwick is voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Medwick won the Triple Crown in 1937 and batted .300 in 14 of 17 seasons.
- January 28 – Goose Goslin and Kiki Cuyler are admitted to the Hall of Fame by unanimous vote of the Special Veterans Committee. Goslin was a career .316 hitter who played in four World Series. Cuyler was a .321 career hitter with four stolen base crowns.
- Denny McLain of the Detroit Tigers becomes the first pitcher in Major League Baseball to win 30 or more games since Dizzy Dean of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1934. Since McLain, no pitcher has accomplished that feat.
- World Series – Detroit Tigers won 4 games to 3 over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Series MVP was Mickey Lolich, Detroit.
- June 24 – Jim Northrup hits grand slams in consecutive at-bats, 5th and 6th innings.
- NCAA Men's Basketball Championship –
- UCLA wins 78–55 over North Carolina
- NBA Finals|NBA Finals –
- Boston Celtics won 4 games to 2 over the Los Angeles Lakers
- May 8 – Bob Foster knocked out Dick Tiger in the fourth round to win the World Lightweight Championship.
- Grey Cup – Ottawa Rough Riders won 24–21 over the Calgary Stampeders
- Vanier Cup – Queen's Golden Gaels won 42–14 over the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
- January 31 – Australia secure victory in the Fourth Test match versus India and win the series 4–0
- August 27 – England win the final Test match at The Oval against Australia to tie the series 1–1. Australia retain The Ashes
- August 28 – Basil D'Oliveira is excluded from the MCC South African tour side leading to turmoil in the world of cricket.
- Giro d'Italia won by Eddy Merckx of Belgium
- Tour de France – Jan Janssen of the Netherlands
- World Cycling Championship – Vittorio Adorni of Italy
- Olympic Games (Men's Competition) in Mexico City, Mexico
- Gold Medal: Pakistan
- Silver Medal: Australia
- Bronze Medal: India
- March 9 – In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium, England. England beat the Netherlands 1–0.
- World Figure Skating Championships –
- Men's champion: Emmerich Dänzer, Austria
- Ladies' champion: Peggy Fleming, United States
- Pair skating champions: Ludmila Belousova & Oleg Protopopov, Soviet Union
- Ice dancing champions: Diane Towler & Bernard Ford, Great Britain
Men's professional
- Masters Tournament – Bob Goalby wins after Roberto DeVicenzo makes on a score card error. DeVicenzo writes a 4 instead of the 3 on the 17th hole.
- U.S. Open – Lee Trevino becomes the first golfer to shoot in the 60s in every round of the U.S. Open.
- British Open – Gary Player
- PGA Championship – Julius Boros
- PGA Tour money leader – Billy Casper – $205,169
Men's amateur
Women's professional
- Women's Western Open – discontinued
- LPGA Championship – Sandra Post
- U.S. Women's Open – Susie Berning
- Titleholders Championship – not playes
- LPGA Tour money leader – Kathy Whitworth – $48,379
- Canadian rookie Sandra Post became the youngest golfer to ever win an LPGA major tournament by capturing the LPGA Championship.
Steeplechases
Flat races
- Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Royal Parma
- Canada – Queen's Plate won by Merger
- France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Vaguely Noble
- Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Ribero
- English Triple Crown Races:
- United States Triple Crown Races:
- January 15 – death of Bill Masterton, Canadian ice hockey player, as a result of injury sustained during a game
- Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Stan Mikita, Chicago Black Hawks
- Hart Memorial Trophy – for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Stan Mikita, Chicago Black Hawks
- Stanley Cup – Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 0 over the St. Louis Blues
- World Hockey Championship
- Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia
- NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship – University of Denver Pioneers defeat University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux 4–0 in Duluth, MN
- April 7 – former Formula One World Drivers' Champion Jim Clark dies driver after a crash in a practice at Hockenheim
- NASCAR
- February 25 – Cale Yarborough wins the Daytona 500 in the #21 Wood Brothers Mercury
- May 26 – Buddy Baker wins the World 600 in the #6 Dodge
- USAC
- 30 May – Bobby Unser wins the 51st running of the Indianapolis 500 in the Rislone/Leader Cards Special All American Racers Eagle-Offenhauser
- September 28 – Pedro Rodríguez and Lucien Bianchi win the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
- Formula One
- November 3 - Season finishes with Graham Hill winning the Drivers Championship and Lotus the Constructors Championship.
- 74th Five Nations Championship series is won by France who complete the Grand Slam
- World Snooker Championship challenge match: John Pulman beats Eddie Charlton 39–34
- XIX Olympic Games, held in Mexico City (October 17 – October 26)
Australia
- Australian Men's Singles Championship – William Bowrey (Australia) defeats Juan Gisbert Juan Gisbert, Sr. (Spain) 7–5, 2–6, 9–7, 6–4
- Australian Women's Singles Championship – Billie Jean King (USA) defeats Margaret Smith Court (Australia) 6–1, 6–2
England
- Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Rod Laver (Australia) defeats Tony Roche (Australia) 6–3, 6–4, 6–2
- Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Billie Jean King (USA) defeats Judy Tegart Dalton (Australia) 9–7, 7–5
France
USA
Events
- The "open era" in tennis begins, as all the Grand Slam events open to professionals for the first time
Davis Cup
- 1968 Davis Cup –
United States 4–1 
Australia at Memorial Drive Tennis Centre (grass) Adelaide, Australia
- 1968 Summer Olympics takes place in Mexico City, Mexico
- United States wins the most medals (107), and the most gold medals (45)
- 1968 Winter Olympics takes place in Grenoble, France
- Norway wins the most medals (14), and the most gold medals (6)
- Fifth Winter Universiade held in Innsbruck, Austria
Awards
- Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Denny McLain, Major League Baseball
- Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Peggy Fleming, Figure skating