1939 in sports

yearbox
in?=in sports
cp=19th century
c=20th century
cf=21st century

yp1=1936
yp2=1937
yp3=1938
year=1939
ya1=1940
ya2=1941
ya3=1942
dp3=1900s
dp2=1910s
dp1=1920s
d=1930s
da=0
dn1=1940s
dn2=1950s
dn3=1960s|"Many sporting events did not take place because of World War II."

=Athletics=

*September 17 - Taisto Mäki breaks the 10,000 m world record, becoming the first man to run the distance inside half an hour.

Auto racing

*Grand Prix racing - "Main article: 1939 Grand Prix season." No European champion officially declared due to war breaking out.
*August 11 - Jean Bugatti, automobile designer and the 30-year-old son of Ettore Bugatti, died in a crash on the Molsheim-Strasbourg highway.

Baseball

* January 24: Hall of Fame election: The goal of 10 initial inductees from the 20th century is finally met as voters select George Sisler, Eddie Collins, and Willie Keeler.
* April 23: Pitcher Alejandro "Alex" Carrasquel made his major league debut with the Washington Senators. He became the first baseball player from Venezuela to play Major League Baseball.
* May 2: Cap Anson, Buck Ewing, Charles "Hoss" Radbourn, Albert Spalding, Charles Comiskey, and Candy Cummings are named to the Hall of Fame by a special committee, just weeks before the Hall opens. Along with the previous selections of Cy Young and Keeler in the writers' elections, Anson, Ewing and Radbourn arguably complete the 5 initial inductees from the 19th century which were promised but long delayed; Spalding, Comiskey and Cummings were largely elected as pioneers and contributors.
*May 2: Lou Gehrig's streak of 2130 consecutive Major League Baseball games played comes to an end. The record will stand for 56 years before Cal Ripken, Jr. breaks it.
* June 12: The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is dedicated in Cooperstown, New York.
* July 4: Lou Gehrig announces his retirement from the game at Yankee Stadium.
* August 26: The first televised major-league baseball game is Brooklyn's 6-1 victory over Cincinnati at Ebbets Field.
* World Series: New York Yankees defeat Cincinnati Reds, 4-0.
* The Winnipeg Maroons win the Northern League championship.
* December: A special election results in Lou Gehrig being selected to the Hall of Fame; he had announced his retirement after the Hall's June opening.

Basketball

* The third European basketball championship, Eurobasket 1939, is won by Lithuania.
* The seventh South American Basketball Championship in Rio de Janeiro is won by Brazil.

Chess

"See", 1939 in chess

Figure skating

*World Figure Skating Championships:
**Men's champion: Graham Sharp, Great Britain
**Ladies' champion: Megan Taylor, Great Britain
**Pair skating champion: Maxi Herber & Ernst Baier, Germany

=Football (American)=

*Green Bay Packers defeat the New York Giants 27-0 for the NFL title. It was the first shutout in a championship game. The game was played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
*The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University) defeats Tulane University 14–13 in the 1940 Sugar Bowl for the NCAA football national championship.

=Football (Australian)=

* Victorian Football League
** Melbourne wins the 43rd VFL Premiership (Melbourne 21.22 (148) d Collingwood 14.11 (95))
** Brownlow Medal awarded to Marcus Whelan (Collingwood)

Football (soccer)

England

* First Division - Everton win the 1938-39 title.
* FA Cup - Portsmouth beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-1.
* The outbreak of World War II means all competitive football in England is suspended in September, and the 1939-40 season cancelled. Various regional leagues and cups are set up in place of normal Football League and FA Cup competition.

Golf

Men's professional
*March 30-April 2 - Masters Tournament - Ralph Guldahl
*June 8-11 - U.S. Open - Byron Nelson
*July 4-7 - British Open - Richard Burton
*July 12-15 - PGA Championship - Henry PicardMen's amateur
*British Amateur - Alexander Kyle
*U.S. Amateur - Bud WardWomen's professional
*Women's Western Open - Helen Dettweiler
*Titleholders Championship - Patty Berg

Horse Racing

* May 6 - Johnstown wins the Kentucky Derby

Snooker

*World Snooker Championship: Joe Davis beats Sidney Smith 43-30

Tennis

* Alice Marble wins Wimbledon Ladies' Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles, US Open Women's Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles, as well as Associated Press Athlete of the Year.

Awards

*Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Nile Kinnick, College football
*Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Alice Marble, Tennis

Births

*January 3 — Bobby Hull, Canadian ice hockey player
*January 6 — Valeri Lobanovsky, football player and manager (d. 2002)
*January 6 — Murray Rose, Scotland-born swimmer from Australia
*January 13 — José Neira, Colombian track and field athlete
*January 18 — Tsuyoshi Yamanaka, Japanese swimmer
*February 8 — Hortensio Fucil, Venezuelan track and field athlete
*February 27 — Peter Revson, Formula 1 race car driver (d. 1974)
*March 8 — Lidia Skoblikova, Soviet ice speed skater
*March 19 — Hilário, Mozambique-born Portuguese football (soccer) player
*April 4 — JoAnne Carner, American female golfer
*April 10 — Alan Rothenberg, American soccer president
*May 9 — Ralph Boston, American track and field champion
*May 9 — Ion Ţiriac, Romanian tennis player
*May 19 — Jānis Lūsis, Latvian athlete
*May 29 — Al Unser Sr., American auto racer
*June 9 — Dick Vitale, American college basketball tv announcer
*June 11 — Jackie Stewart, Scottish Formula 1 champion
*June 18 — Lou Brock, American baseball player
*July 6 — Mary Peters, British pentathlete
*July 25 — Hernán Barreneche, Colombian long-distance runner
*July 29 — Witold Baran, Polish middle distance runner
*August 3 — Víctor Maldonado, Venezuelan hurdler
*August 12 — Pam Kilborn, Australian hurdler
*August 22 — Carl Yastrzemski, American baseball player
*September 2 — Nicolino Locche, Argentine boxer (d. 2005)
*September 8 — Carsten Keller, German field hockey player
*September 14 — Ramón Barreto, Uruguayan football (soccer) referee
*September 27 — Kathy Whitworth, American female golfer
*October 11 — Maria Bueno, tennis champion
*October 18 — Mike Ditka, American football coach
*November 20 — Jan Szczepański, Polish boxer
*December 1 — Lee Trevino, American golfer
*December 14 — Ernie Davis, American football player
*December 18 — Sandro Lopopolo, Italian light welterweight boxer
*December 30 — János Kajdi, Hungarian boxer

Deaths

*February 3 — C.C. Pyle, American pro football promoter
*March 29 — Fausto dos Santos (34), Brazilian football (soccer) player (b. 1905)
* April 29 — Charles Dixon (66), British tennis player (b. 1873)
*November 28 — James Naismith, Canadian who invented the game of basketball