1896 in sports
| Years in sports: | 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 |
| Centuries: | 18th century · 19th century · 20th century |
| Decades: | 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s |
| Years: | 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 |
1896 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
College championship
Professional championships
England
- The Football League – Aston Villa 45 points, Derby County 41, Everton 39, Bolton Wanderers 37, Sunderland 37, Stoke FC 30
- FA Cup final – The Wednesday 2–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers at Crystal Palace, London.
Scotland
- Scottish Football League – Celtic
- Scottish Cup final – Hearts 3–1 Hibernian at Logie Green
National championship
- Baltimore Orioles win the third of three successive National League championships
Events
Lineal world champions[1]
- World Heavyweight Championship – James J. Corbett
- World Middleweight Championship – title vacant
- World Welterweight Championship – Tommy Ryan
- World Lightweight Championship – vacant → George "Kid" Lavigne
- World Featherweight Championship – George Dixon
- World Bantamweight Championship – Jimmy Barry
Events
- England retain The Ashes, defeating Australia 2–1 in a three-match series. In a low-scoring decider at The Oval, England win by 66 runs.
England
- County Championship – Yorkshire
- Minor Counties Championship – Worcestershire
- Most runs – K S Ranjitsinhji 2780 @ 57.91 (HS 171*)
- Most wickets – J T Hearne 257 @ 14.28 (BB 9–73)
- Wisden Five Cricketers of the Season – Syd Gregory, Dick Lilley, K S Ranjitsinhji, Tom Richardson, Hugh Trumble
Australia
- Sheffield Shield – New South Wales
- Most runs – Harry Donnan 626 @ 69.55 (HS 160)
- Most wickets – Tom McKibbin 46 @ 23.86 (BB 8–93)
India
- Bombay Presidency – Europeans shared with Parsees
South Africa
- Currie Cup – not contested
West Indies
- Inter-Colonial Tournament – not contested
Events
- Inaugural World Figure Skating Championships (open to men only) is held in Saint Petersburg
World Figure Skating Championships
- World Men's Champion – Gilbert Fuchs (Germany)
Major tournaments
- British Open – Harry Vardon (the first of Vardon's six British Open titles)
- U.S. Open – James Foulis
Other tournaments
England
- Grand National – The Soarer
- 1,000 Guineas Stakes – Thais
- 2,000 Guineas Stakes – St. Frusquin
- The Derby – Persimmon
- The Oaks – Canterbury Pilgrim
- St. Leger Stakes – Persimmon
Australia
- Melbourne Cup – Newhaven
Canada
- Queen's Plate – Millbrook
Ireland
- Irish Grand National – Royston Crow
- Irish Derby Stakes – Gulsalberk
USA
- Kentucky Derby – Lieut. Gibson
- Preakness Stakes – Margrave
- Belmont Stakes – Hastings
- 14 February — the Winnipeg Victorias defeat the Montreal Victorias 2–0 in a challenge match to win the 1896 Stanley Cup championship
- 7 March — the Montreal Victorias are the 1896 AHAC season champions.
- March — Queen's University defeats Stratford, Ontario 12–3 to win the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) title. The club does not challenge Winnipeg.
- 17 November — the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, which later became the first ice hockey league to openly trade and hire players, began play at Pittsburgh's Schenley Park Casino.
- 17 December — the Schenley Park Casino, which was the first multi-purpose arena with the technology to create an artificial ice surface in North America as well as the home to the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, was destroyed in a fire.
- 30 December — the Montreal Victorias defeat the Winnipeg Victorias 6–5 in a challenge match to regain the Stanley Cup
Paris-Marseille-Paris Trail
- The 1896 Paris–Marseille–Paris Trail is held over 1710 km from 24 September to 3 October and won by Émile Mayade driving a Panhard-Levassor 8 hp model in a time of 67:42:58. The race is in retrospect sometimes referred to as the II Grand Prix de l'ACF.[2]
1896 Summer Olympics
- The 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Games, takes place in Athens with 13 nations competing, the most competitors coming from Greece, Germany and France.
- 16 April — American James Connolly wins the triple jump to become the first Olympic champion in over 1,500 years.
- Winners receive a silver medal and a crown of olive branches; Greece wins the most medals (46) and the United States wins the most gold medals (11).
The Boat Race
- 28 March — Oxford wins the 53rd Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race
- There is no Harvard–Yale Regatta during "a breakdown in relations between the two schools".[3] From the third Race in 1859, the only exceptions outside major wars are 1871 and 1896.
Events
- In the 1895–96 Northern Rugby Football Union season's final match, Manningham defeats Halifax to claim the inaugural Rugby Football League Championship.
- The inaugural Rugby League Challenge Cup competition begins in the 1896–97 season.
England
- Championship – Manningham
- Lancashire League Championship – Runcorn
- Yorkshire League Championship – Manningham
Home Nations Championship
- 14th Home Nations Championship series is won by Ireland
- The foundation of the Ski-Club of Grenoble by Henry Duhamel.
Speed Skating World Championships
- Men's All-round Champion – Jaap Eden (Netherlands)
England
- Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Harold Mahony (Ireland) defeats Wilfred Baddeley (GB) 6–2 6–8 5–7 8–6 6–3
- Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Charlotte Cooper Sterry (GB) defeats Alice Simpson-Pickering (GB) 6–2 6–3
France
- French Men's Singles Championship – André Vacherot defeats Gérard Brosselin 6–1 7–5
USA
- American Men's Singles Championship – Robert Wrenn defeats Fred Hovey 7–5 3–6 6–0 1–6 6–1
- American Women's Singles Championship – Elisabeth Moore defeats Juliette Atkinson 6–4 4–6 6–2 6–2
References
- ^ "Cyber Boxing Zone". Archived from the original on 2009-06-14. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
- ^ 1896 Grand Prix and Paris Races Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 7 September 2009.
- ^ "Harvard–Yale Regatta – 150 Years of Tradition". Harvard Men's Heavyweight Crew. Retrieved 2013-05-10.