1956 in sports
From Wikinfo
See also:
1955 in sports,
other events of 1956,
1957 in sports and the
list of 'years in sports'.
Contents |
Auto Racing
- NASCAR Championship - Buck Baker
- The United States Auto Club (USAC) was founded to take over race sanctioning from the American Automobile Association (AAA).
- USAC Racing:
- Pat Flaherty won the Indianapolis 500
- Jimmy Bryan won the season championship
- Formula One Championship - Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina
- 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Ron Flockhart / Ninian Sanderson won, driving a Jaguar D-Type
- Rally racing:
- the team of Ronnie Adams / Frank Biggar won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Jaguar Mk VII
- Drag racing:
- Art Arfons' Allison-powered "Green Monster #6" become the first member of Hot Rod Magazine's new 150-mph Club.
- Melvin Heath won the NHRA "Top Fuel" Championship at the Nationals
Baseball
- World Series: New York Yankees win 4 games to 3 over the Brooklyn Dodgers Yankees pitcher Don Larsen, pitches the first and only "perfect game" in World Series history, earning himself MVP honors.
Basketball
- NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
- San Francisco wins 83-71 over Iowa
- NBA Finals:
- Philadelphia Warriors won 4 games to 1 over the Fort Wayne Pistons
Boxing
- April 27 - Rocky Marciano retires as the only undefeated Heavyweight Champion of the world with a perfect record (49-0).
- November 30 , in Chicago, Illinois - Floyd Patterson knocks out Archie Moore in the 5th round to win the vacant World Heavyweight title.
Cycling
- Giro d'Italia - Charly Gaul of Luxembourg
- Tour de France - Roger Walkowiak of France
- Vuelta a Espana - Angelo Conterno of Italy
- World Cycling Championship - Rik Van Steenbergen of Belgium
Figure Skating
- World Figure Skating Championships:
- Men's champion: Hayes Alan Jenkins, (United States)
- Women's champion: Carol Heiss, (United States)
- Pairs champions: Sissy Schwarz & Kurt Oppelt, (Austria)
Football (Soccer)
- England - FA Cup: Manchester City won 3-1 over Birmingham City
Football (American)
- NFL Championship: New York Giants won 47-7 over the Chicago Bears
Canadian Football League
- Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos win 50-27 over the Montreal Alouettes
Golf
- Grand Slam of golf results:
- US Women's Open - Kathy Cornelius
- LPGA Championship - Marlene Hagge
- Marlene Hagge: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $20,235.
Thoroughbred Horse Racing
- Australia - Melbourne Cup - Evening Peal
- Canada - Queen's Plate - Canadian Champ
- France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Ribot
- Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Talgo
Harness Racing
- TheUnited States Pacing Triple Crown races is created with the addition of the Messenger Stakes.
Ice Hockey
- Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens
- Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens
- Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 1 over the Detroit Red Wings
- World Hockey Championship
- Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated the United States
Skiing
- Alpine Skiing
- The men's Olympic Gold Medal:
- Downhill: Toni Sailer, Austria
- Slalom: Toni Sailer, Austria
- Giant Slalom: Toni Sailer, Austria
- The women's Olympic Gold Medal:
- Downhill: Madeleine Berthod, Switzerland
- Slalom: Renee Colliard, Switzerland
- Giant Slalom: Ossi Reichert, West Germany
- ISF World Championships:
- Men's combined champion: Toni Sailer, Austria
- Women's combined champion: Madeleine Berthod, Switzerland
Tennis
- Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
- Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
- Davis Cup Australia wins 5-0 over the United States in world tennis.
General sporting events
- January 26 - 1956 Winter Olympics open in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
- Fred Davis retained the World Professional Snooker Championship
- Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia
Births
- February 14 - Dave Dravecky, American baseball player
- March 29 - Kurt Thomas, gymnast
- June 6 - [[Bj�rn Borg]], tennis great
- August 22 - Paul Molitor, Baseball Hall of Famer
Deaths
- March 2 - Fred Merkle, Major League Baseball player (1907-1926)
- May 26 - Al Simmons, Major League Baseball player (1924-1944)
- September 7 - C. B. Fry, England international cricketer and rugby player, long jump champion
- September 22 - Jesse Tannehill, Major League Baseball pitcher (1894-1911)
- October 16 - Jules Rimet, a founding father of the Football World Cup
- November 27 - Charlie Peete 27, MLB baseball player, St. Louis Cardinals, plane crash
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "1956_in_sports" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956_in_sports, used under the GNU Free Documentation License
