1962 in sports
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1962 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
| Years in sports: | 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 |
| Centuries: | 19th century · 20th century · 21st century |
| Decades: | 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s |
| Years: | 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 |
- AFL Championship – Dallas Texans won 20-17 over the Houston Oilers in double overtime
- NFL Championship – Green Bay Packers won 16-7 over the New York Giants
- Sugar Bowl (1961 season):
- The Alabama Crimson Tide won 10-3 over the Arkansas Razorbacks to win the AP and UPI Poll national championship
- The NCAA-record consecutive stadium sellout streak began at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska, which is still continuing today.
- World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
- Men's all-around champion: Yuri Titov, USSR
- Women's all-around champion: Larisa Latynina, USSR
- Team competition champions: men's – Japan; women's – USSR
- Football World Cup in Chile – Brazil won 3-1 over Czechoslovakia
England
- FA Cup final – Tottenham Hotspur won 3-1 versus Burnley
- Seventh European Championships held from September 12 to September 16 at Belgrade
- Commonwealth Games Championships held in November at Perth, Western Australia
- Victorian Football League
- Essendon wins the 66th VFL Premiership (13.12 (90) d Carlton 8.10 (58))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Alistair Lord (Geelong)
- January 23 – Bob Feller and Jackie Robinson are selected for the Baseball Hall of Fame in their first years of eligibility.
- October: National League pennant playoff: After finishing tied for the league lead, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants played-off for the title. The Giants won the series 2 games to 1, thereby winning the National League championship.
- World Series – New York Yankees win 4 games to 3 over the San Francisco Giants. The Series MVP was Ralph Terry, New York.
- March 2 – In Hershey, Pennsylvania, Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scored 100 points against the New York Knicks, breaking several National Basketball Association records.
- NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship –
- Cincinnati wins 71-59 over Ohio St.
- NBA Finals –
- Boston Celtics won 4 games to 3 over the Los Angeles Lakers
- March 24 – Emile Griffith regained the World Welterweight Championship by knocking out Benny the "Kid" Paret in the 12th round. Paret died ten days later on April 3 as a result of severe head injuries sustained in the fight.
- September 25 – Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson, two minutes and six seconds into the first round, to become World Heavyweight Champion.
- Grey Cup – Winnipeg Blue Bombers win 28-27 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Men's professional
- Masters Tournament – Arnold Palmer
- U.S. Open – Jack Nicklaus
- British Open – Arnold Palmer
- PGA Championship – Gary Player
- Canadian Open – Ted Kroll
- PGA Tour money leader – Arnold Palmer – $81,448
Men's amateur
Steeplechases
- Cheltenham Gold Cup – Mandarin
- Grand National – Kilmore
Flat races
- Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Even Stevens
- Canadian Triple Crown:
- France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe – Soltikoff
- Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes –
- English Triple Crown:
- 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Privy Councillor
- Epsom Derby – Larkspur
- St. Leger Stakes – Hethersett
- United States Triple Crown Races:
- Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks
- Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Jacques Plante, Montreal Canadiens
- Stanley Cup – Toronto Maple Leafs won 4 games to 2 over the Chicago Black Hawks
- World Hockey Championship –
- Men's champion: Sweden defeated Canada
- NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship – Michigan Technological University Huskies defeat Clarkson University Golden Knights 7-1 in Utica, New York
- November 2 – death of Ricardo Rodríguez, Mexican racing driver during practice for the Mexican Grand Prix
- Stock car racing –
- Fireball Roberts wins the Daytona 500 in the #22 Pontiac
- NASCAR Championship – Joe Weatherly (for Bud Moore in the #8 Pontiac)
- 30 May – Rodger Ward wins the 46th running of the Indianapolis 500 in the Leader Cards 500 Special Watson–Offenhauser
- USAC Racing – Rodger Ward won the season championship
- Formula One – Graham Hill (Great Britain) wins World Drivers' Champion, driving for Ferrari.
- 24 Hours of Le Mans – won by Olivier Gendebien / Phil Hill sharing a Ferrari 330LM[citation needed]
- Rally racing – the team of Erik Carlsson / Gunnar Haggbom win the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Saab 96
- Drag racing – Jack Chrisman wins Top Eliminator at the NHRA Nationals[specify]
- 1962 New Zealand rugby league season
- 1962 NSWRFL season
- 1961–62 Northern Rugby Football League season / 1962–63 Northern Rugby Football League season
- 68th Five Nations Championship series is won by France
- February 20 – Australian swimming ace Kevin Berry takes over the world record in the men's 200m butterfly (long course) from USA's Carl Robie at a meet in Melbourne, clocking 2:12.5.
- August 11 – Carl Robie regains the world record in the men's 200m butterfly (long course) and betters the world's best time twice in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, clocking 2:12.4 and, eventually, 2:10.8.
- August 19 – US swimmer Sharon Finneran breaks the world record in the women's 200m butterfly (long course) during a meet in Chicago, Illinois – 2:31.2.
- August 25 – Sharon Finneran breaks her own world record in the women's 200m butterfly (long course) during a meet in Los Altos, California – 2:30.7.
- October 23 – Australia's Kevin Berry takes over the world record in the men's 200m butterfly (long course) once again, clocking 2:09.7 at a meet in Melbourne, Victoria.
Australia
- Australian Men's Singles Championship – Rod Laver (Australia) defeats Roy Emerson (Australia) 8–6, 0–6, 6–4, 6–4
- Australian Women's Singles Championship – Margaret Smith Court (Australia) defeats Jan Lehane O'Neill (Australia) 6–0, 6–2
England
- Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Rod Laver (Australia) defeats Martin Mulligan (Australia) 6–2, 6–2, 6–1
- Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Karen Hantze Susman (USA) defeats Věra Pužejová Suková (Czechoslovakia) 6–4, 6–4
France
USA
Events
- Rod Laver becomes only the second man in tennis history to win the Grand Slam in tennis.
Davis Cup
- 1962 Davis Cup –
Australia 5–0 
Mexico at Milton Courts (grass) Brisbane, Australia
- 1962 FIVB Men's World Championship in Moscow won by the USSR
- The New York Yacht Club retains the America's Cup as Weatherly defeats Australian challenger Gretel, of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, 4 races to 1; it is the first time in 81 years a country other than Great Britain has challenged for the Cup
- Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia
- British Empire and Commonwealth Games held in Perth, Western Australia
- Central American and Caribbean Games held in Kingston, Jamaica
- Second Winter Universiade held in Villars, Switzerland
Awards
- Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Maury Wills, Major League Baseball
- Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Dawn Fraser, Swimming
- ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year: Jim Beatty, Athletics