1959 in sports

yearbox
in?=in sports
cp=19th century
c=20th century
cf=21st century
yp1=1956
yp2=1957
yp3=1958
year=1959
ya1=1960
ya2=1961
ya3=1962
dp3=1920s
dp2=1930s
dp1=1940s
d=1950s
da=0
dn1=1960s
dn2=1970s
dn3=1980s|

Athletics

Marathon

* August 15 — flagicon|NED Enschede Marathon, Netherlands
**Men's Winner: Pavel Kantorek (CZE) 2:26:48

* September 2 — flagicon|USA Pan American Games Marathon, Chicago, United States
**Men's Winner: John Kelly (USA) 2:27:54

* December 8 — flagicon|JPN Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
**Men's Winner: Kurao Hiroshima (JPN) 2:29:34

Auto racing

*Stock car racing:
**Lee Petty won the inaugural Daytona 500
**NASCAR Championship — Lee Petty
*Indianapolis 500 — Rodger Ward
*USAC Racing — Rodger Ward
*Formula One Champion — Jack Brabham of Australia
*24 hours of Le Mans: Carroll Shelby / Roy Salvadori won driving an Aston Martin DBR1
*Rally racing — Paul Coltelloni / P Alexandre won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Citroën ID
*Drag racing:
**Chris the "Greek" Karamesines won the AHRA "Top Fuel"
**Rodney Singer won Top Eliminator at the NHRA Nationals

Baseball

*March 3 — The San Francisco Giants officially name their new stadium Candlestick Park.
*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers win 4 games to 2 over the Chicago White Sox. The Series MVP is Larry Sherry, Los Angeles
* The Havana Sugar Kings defeate the Richmond Virginians to win the International League Governor's Cup.
* The Minneapolis Millers win the American Association championship.
* Havana wins 4 games to 3 over Minneapolis to win the Junior World Series.
* The Salt Lake City Bees win the Pacific Coast League pennant.
* The Winnipeg Goldeyes win the Northern League championship.

Basketball

* FIBA World Championship
** Brazil World Champion
*NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
**California wins 71-70 over West Virginia
* NBA Finals|NBA Finals:
**Boston Celtics win 4 games to 0 over the Minneapolis Lakers

Boxing

*June 26 — in New York City, Ingemar Johansson scored a 3rd round TKO over Floyd Patterson to win the World Heavyweight Championship
* August 27 to September 7 – Pan American Games held in Chicago, United States.
**"Flyweight (– 51 kg):" Miguel Angel Botta (Argentina)
**"Bantamweight (– 54 kg):" Waldo Claudiano (Brazil)
**"Featherweight (– 57 kg):" Carlos Aro (Argentina)
**"Lightweight (– 60 kg):" Abel Laudonio (Argentina)
**"Light Welterweight (– 63.5 kg):" Vincent Shomo (United States)
**"Welterweight (– 67 kg):" Alfredo Cornejo (Chile)
**"Light Middleweight (– 71 kg):" Wilbert McClure (United States)
**"Middleweight (– 75 kg):" Abrao de Souza (Brazil)
**"Light Heavyweight (– 81 kg):" Amos Johnson (United States)
**"Heavyweight (+ 81 kg):" Allen Hudson (United States)

Figure skating

*World Figure Skating Championships:
**Men's champion: David Jenkins, United States
**Ladies' champion: Carol Heiss, United States
**Pair skating champion: Barbara Wagner & Robert Paul, Canada
**Ice dancing champion: Doreen Denny & Courtney Jones, Great Britain

=Football (American)=

*NFL Championship: Baltimore Colts won 31-16 over the New York Giants

=Football (Canadian)=

* Grey Cup: Winnipeg Blue Bombers win 21-7 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Football (Soccer)

*England — FA Cup: Nottingham Forest won 2-1 over Luton Town
*May 28 - Billy Wright makes his 70th consecutive England appearance, a record that still stands

Golf

Men's professional
*April 2-5 - Masters Tournament - Art Wall, Jr.
*June 11-14 - U.S. Open - Billy Casper
*June 30-July 3 - British Open - Gary Player
*July 30-August 2 - PGA Championship - Bob Rosburg
*PGA Tour money leader - Art Wall, Jr. - $53,168
*Ryder Cup - United States 8½ to 3½ over Britain in team golfMen's amateur
*British Amateur - Deane Beman
*U.S. Amateur - Jack NicklausWomen's professional
*Women's Western Open - Betsy Rawls
*July 3-6 - LPGA Championship - Betsy Rawls
*U.S. Women's Open - Mickey Wright
*Titleholders Championship - Louise Suggs
*LPGA Tour money leader - Betsy Rawls - $26,774

=Thoroughbred horse racing=

*Australia — Melbourne Cup — Macdougal
*Canada — Queen's Plate — New Providence
*France — Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe — Saint Crespin
*Ireland — Irish Derby Stakes — Fidalgo

*English Triple Crown races:
*#2,000 Guineas Stakes — Taboun
*#Epsom Derby — Parthia
*#St. Leger Stakes — Cantelo

*United States Triple Crown races:
*#May 2 - Kentucky Derby — Tomy Lee
*#Preakness Stakes — Royal Orbit
*#Belmont Stakes — Sword Dancer

Ice hockey

*Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Dickie Moore, Montreal Canadiens
*Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Andy Bathgate, New York Rangers
*Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 1 over the Toronto Maple Leafs
*World Hockey Championship
** Men's champion: Belleville McFarlands from Canada
*NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship - University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux defeat Michigan State University Spartans 4-3 in overtime in Troy, NY
*The Hershey Bears defeat the Buffalo Bisons 4 games to 2 to win the AHL Calder Cup.
*The Louisville Rebels defeat the Fort Wayne Komets 4 games to 2 to win the IHL Turner Cup.
*On November 1, Montreal Canadiens goaltender, Jacques Plante, was injured when struck in the face by a flying puck. He offers to return to play on the condition that he wears his goalie mask. His example soons leads to the mask becoming standard equipment for goalies and a symbol of the game itself.

Swimming

* July 11 — US swimmer Michael Troy breaks his own, earlier in the day set first official world record (2:19.0) in the men's 200m butterfly (long course) at a meet in Los Altos, California, clocking 2:16.4.

* July 19 — US swimmer Becky Collins breaks the world record in the women's 200m butterfly at a meet in Redding, California, clocking 2:37.0.

Tennis

*Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
*#Australian Open — Alex Olmedo
*#French Open — Nicola Pietrangeli
*#Wimbledon championships — Alex Olmedo
*#US Open — Neale Fraser

*Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
*#Australian Open — Mary Carter-Reitano
*#French Open — Christine Truman
*#Wimbledon championships — Maria Bueno
*#US Open — Maria Bueno

*Davis Cup: Australia wins 3-2 over the United States in world tennis.

Volleyball

*Pan American Games in Chicago, United States
**Men's Tournament
***Gold Medal: vb|USA
***Silver Medal: vb|BRA
***Bronze Medal: vb|MEX
**Women's Tournament
***Gold Medal: vbw|BRA
***Silver Medal: vbw|USA
***Bronze Medal: vbw|PER

Multi-sport events

* Central American and Caribbean Games held in Caracas, Venezuela

* Third Pan American Games held in Chicago, United States

* Third Mediterranean Games held in Beirut, Lebanon

* First Summer Universiade held in Turin, Italy

Awards

*Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Ingemar Johansson, Boxing
*Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Maria Bueno, Tennis

Births

January

* January 2 — Bettina Blumenberg, German field hockey player
* January 4 — Kim Gordon, British field hockey player
* January 8 — Josef Reiter, Austrian judoka
* January 8 — Bill Sawchuk, Canadian swimmer
* January 10 — Chandra Cheeseborough, American athlete
* January 23 — Eustorgio Sánchez, Venezuelan footballer
* January 26 — Mircea Fulger, Romanian boxer
* January 26 — Wanda Panfil, Polish long-distance runner
* January 28 — Patrizio Oliva, Italian boxer
* January 31 — Santos Laciar, Argentinian boxer
* January 31 — Arto Härkönen, Finnish javelin thrower

February

* February 4 — Lawrence Taylor, American football player
* February 8 — Kevin Robertson, American water polo player
* February 9 — Joachim Kunz, German weightlifter
* February 11 — David López-Zubero, Spanish swimmer
* February 11 — Corinne Shigemoto, US judo coach
* February 12 — Andrew Weaver, US road bicycle racer
* February 16 — Esmeralda García, Brazilian track and field athlete
* February 16 — John McEnroe, US tennis player
* February 17 — Rowdy Gaines, American swimmer

March

* March 1 — Julie Vollertson, American volleyball player
* March 10 — Avital Selinger, Israeli-Dutch volleyball player and coach
* March 12 — Robyn Blackman, New Zealand field hockey player
* March 15 — Eliot Teltscher, American tennis player
* March 17 — Danny Ainge, American basketball player, coach and baseball player
* March 18 — Yvonne Buter, Dutch field hockey goalkeeper
* March 21 — Heinz Günthardt, Swiss tennis player
* March 21 — Eric Pierik, Dutch field hockey player
* March 24 — Emmit King, American track and field sprinter
* March 27 — Aleksandr Goncharov, Soviet field hockey player

April

* April 2 — Gelindo Bordin, Italian athlete
* April 4 — Shamil Sabirov, Soviet boxer
* April 9 — Grant McLeod, New Zealand field hockey player
* April 13 — Genevieve Brunet, Canadian female cyclist
* April 13 — Stephen Martin, British field hockey player
* April 23 — Marcella Place, American field hockey player

May

* May 1 — Jouko Vesterlund, Finnish ice speed skater
* May 3 — Carlos De Leon, Puerto Rican boxer
* May 3 — Johann Lindner, Austrian hammer thrower and bobsledder
* May 7 — Georgiy Kolnootchenko, Soviet discus thrower
* May 8 — Aleksandr Miasnikov, Soviet field hockey player
* May 16 — Henk Hille, Dutch ice hockey player
* May 17 — Marcelo Loffreda, Argentine rugby player and coach
* May 18 — Sergey Lovachov, Uzbekistani track and field sprinter
* May 21 — Orlando Maldonado, Puerto Rican boxer
* May 25 — Greet Hellemans, Dutch rower
* May 25 — Nilmaris Santini, Puerto Rican judoka
* May 26 — Brett Austin, New Zealand breaststroke swimmer (d. 1990)
* May 26 — Brian Peaker, Canadian rower
* May 28 — Vladimir Zinchenko, Ukrainian discus thrower
* May 31 — Aurora Cunha, Portuguese long-distance runner

June

* June 3 — Becky Smith, Canadian medley and butterfly swimmer
* June 7 — Randy Ragan, Canadian football (soccer) player
* June 9 — Elly van Hulst, Dutch middle distance runner
* June 11 — Tomás González, Cuban track and field sprinter
* June 12 — Steve Bauer, Canadian cyclist
* June 12 — Desai Williams, St. Kitts and Nevis-born Canadian athlete
* June 13 — Aleksandr Koshkyn, Soviet boxer
* June 23 — Olivier Borios, French breaststroke swimmer
* June 25 — Evgueni Ignatov, Bulgarian long-distance runner
* June 28 — Ed van Es, Dutch water polo player

July

* July 2 — Stefan Fernholm, Swedish discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1997)
* July 4 — Jan Brittin, English women's cricketer
* July 6 — Richard Dacoury, French basketball player
* July 7 — Oleg Zagorodnev, Soviet field hockey player
* July 9 — Juan Coghen, Spanish field hockey player
* July 10 — Davis Phinney, American road bicycle racer
* July 18 — Mel Purcell, American tennis player
* July 19 — Jud Logan, American hammer thrower
* July 26 — Gary Honey, Australian long jumper
* July 26 — Anne Jardin, Canadian freestyle swimmer
* July 28 — Cheryl Gibson, Canadian swimmer
* July 28 — Tineke Hidding, Dutch heptathlete

August

* August 3 — Janusz Zarenkiewicz, Polish heavyweight boxer
* August 4 — Mark Kerry, Australian backstroke swimmer
* August 5 — Vickey Dixon, British field hockey international
* August 8 — Ronald Weigel, German track and field athlete
* August 13 — Thomas Ravelli, Swedish football (soccer) goalkeeper
* August 14 — Magic Johnson, US basketball player
* August 15 — Han Kulker, Dutch middle distance runner
* August 21 — Ronald Lanzoni, Costa Rican long-distance runner
* August 21 — Jim McMahon, American football player
* August 23 — George Kalovelonis, Greek tennis player
* August 27 — Zdzisław Hoffmann, Polish triple jumper
* August 28 — Sjaak Troost, Dutch football (soccer) defender

eptember

* September 10 — Jason Grimes, American long jumper
* September 11 — Jim Howard, American high jumper
* September 12 — Sos Airapetian, Armenian field hockey player
* September 13 — Kathy Johnson, American artistic gymnast
* September 15 — Michele Rüfenacht, Swiss decathlete
* September 15 — Catherine Suire, French tennis player
* September 17 — José Antonio Hernando, Spanish boxer
* September 24 — Els Vader, Dutch track and field athlete
* September 30 — Elsemiek Hillen, Dutch field hockey forward
* September 30 — Werner Jäger, Austrian ice speed skater
* September 30 — Ettore Messina, Italian basketball coach

October

* October 4 — Maarten van Grimbergen, Dutch field hockey player
* October 6 — Robyn Maher, Australian basketball player
* October 10 — Kevin Barry, New Zealand boxer
* October 10 — Serik Konakbayev, Soviet boxer
* October 10 — Aleksandr Sychyov, Soviet field hockey player
* October 11 — Michiel Schapers, Dutch tennis player and coach
* October 20 — Eriko Asai, Japanese long-distance runner
* October 20 — Sandra Le Poole, Dutch field hockey forward
* October 25 — César Mercado, Puerto Rican marathon runner
* October 30 — Marc Alexandre, French judoka
* October 31 — Sergey Rusin, Soviet freestyle swimmer

November

* November 7 — Billy Gillispie, American basketball coach
* November 10 — Linda Cohn, American sports reporter
* November 12 — Regina Buggy, American field hockey player
* November 14 — Dave Steen, Canadian decathlon athlete
* November 15 — Dhawee Umponmaha, Thai boxer
* November 21 — Jan Martin, New Zealand field hockey player
* November 22 — Douglas Fernández, Venezuelan decathlete
* November 24 — Juan Laporte, Puerto Rican boxer
* November 24 — Sandra Mackie, New Zealand field hockey player
* November 28 — Pedro Acosta, Venezuelan football (soccer) defender
* November 29 — Nikolay Chernetskiy, Soviet track and field sprinter
* November 30 — Sylvia Hanika, German tennis player

December

* December 1 — Viktor Miroshnichenko, Soviet boxer
* December 4 — Paul McGrath, Irish football (soccer) defender
* December 4 — Christa Rothenburger, East German speed skater
* December 12 — Christine Stanton, Australian high jumper
* December 16 — Colleen Jones, Canadian female curler
* December 24 — Harrie van Heumen, Dutch ice hockey forward
* December 29 — Julio Ramón Gómez, Spanish boxer
* December 29 — Mike Miller, American track and field sprinter

Deaths

* War Admiral — thoroughbred race horse
* January 22 — Michael Hawthorn, F1 race driver
* February 22 — Harold Hardwick (70), Australian freestyle swimmer (b. 1888)
* February 24 — Stanley Shoveller, British field hockey player (b. 1881)
* September 28 — Rudolf Caracciola, F1 race driver