1838 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
Boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
Events
* 3 April — in his return fight with
Ben Caunt
Ben Caunt (22 March 1815 – 10 September 1861) was a 19th-century English bare-knuckle boxer who became the heavyweight boxing champion known as the "Torkard Giant" and "Big Ben".
Early life
Caunt was born on 22 March 1815 in Hucknall Torkard, ...
, William "Bendigo" Thompson is disqualified in the 75th round for going down without being struck.
* Caunt claims the English Championship after defeating Bendigo but is not recognised because of the prior claim of James Burke, who has now returned to England from America; meanwhile,
Jem Ward
Jem Ward (26 December 1800 – 3 April 1884) was an English bare-knuckle boxer. "A fine fighter and powerfully built man",Cyber Boxing Zone – James Burke Retrieved on 7 November 2009.
* Publication of the
London Prize Ring Rules
The London Prize Ring Rules were a list of boxing rules promulgated in 1838 and revised in 1853. These rules were based on those drafted by England's Jack Broughton in 1743 (known as the Broughton Rules) and governed the conduct of prizefighting ...
of 1838 which succeed and are built upon the Broughton Rules of 1743.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
Events
*
Melbourne Cricket Club
The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) is a sports club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is one of the oldest sports clubs in Australia.
The MCC is responsible for management and development of the Melbourne Cricket Ground ...
is founded; it is generally regarded as the oldest sporting club in Australia
England
* Most runs – Charles Taylor 339 @ 16.95 (HS 73)
* Most wickets –
James Cobbett
James Cobbett (12 January 1804 – 31 March 1842) was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1826 to 1841 for Middlesex County Cricket Club, Middlesex, Surrey County Cricket Club, Surrey and Sheffield Cricket Club ...
71 (BB 8–?)
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
Events
* A pupil at
Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...
called Jem Mackie is noted for his "running in" ability and this is understood to be the equivalent of try scoring, which is evidence of a distinct handling game.
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
England
*
Grand National
The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...
1,000 Guineas Stakes
The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...
–
Barcarolle
A barcarolle (; from French, also barcarole; originally, Italian barcarola or barcaruola, from ''barca'' 'boat') is a traditional folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers, or a piece of music composed in that style. In classical music, two of the ...
*
2,000 Guineas Stakes
The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...
–
Grey Momus
Grey Momus (1835 – 1856) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from August 1837 to 1839 he competed twenty-one times and won fourteen races. Grey Momus first attracted attention as a two-year-old when he re ...
Amato
Amato ( Calabrian: ; ) is an Arbëreshë ''comune'' and town in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of Italy.
History
Amato is one of the oldest towns in Calabria. It is mentioned by the Greek philosopher Aristotle and by the Roman P ...
St. Leger Stakes
The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...
– Don John
Rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...
The Boat Race
* The
Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race
The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's a ...
is not held this year
Other
* In the U.S. six men of
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
establish the Narragansett Boat Club on the tidal
Seekonk River
The Seekonk River is a tidal extension of the Providence River in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 8 km (5 mi). The name may be derived from an Algonquian word for skunk, or for black goose. The river is home to t ...
."History of NBC" Albin Moser. Narrangansett Boat Club. Retrieved 2013-05-10.