1963 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

American football

NFL Championship Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national c ...

: the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

won 14–10 over the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

at Wrigley Field * January 29 – First inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame are announced * September 7 – the Pro Football Hall of Fame opens in

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

, Ohio with 17 charter members. * Rose Bowl (1962 season): ** The Southern California Trojans won 42–37 over the Wisconsin Badgers to win the college football national championship. This is the first postseason bowl game to feature the #1 and #2 ranked teams in the country. * AFL Eastern Division Playoff –

Boston Patriots Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

win 26–8 over the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

* AFL Championship –

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

win 51–10 over the

on January 5, 1964 * The

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

– Roger Staubach, Navy * Instant replay is used for the first time during the broadcast of the

Army–Navy Game The Army–Navy Game is an American college football rivalry game between the Army Black Knights of the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York, and the Navy Midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy (USNA) at Annapo ...

Association football

* FA Cup final –

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

won 3–1 over Leicester City * August 24 – Founding of the German Football League – Bundesliga

Athletics

* May –

Athletics at the 1963 Pan American Games The athletics competition at the 1963 Pan American Games was held in São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthies ...

held in São Paulo

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

* Victorian Football League **

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

wins the 67th VFL Premiership (Geelong 15.19 (109) d Hawthorn 8.12 (60)) ** Brownlow Medal awarded to Bob Skilton ( South Melbourne)

Bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...

1963 Bandy World Championship The 1963 Bandy World Championship was the third Bandy World Championship and was contested between four men's bandy playing nations. The championship was played in Sweden from 20 to 24 February 1963. The Soviet Union became champions. Results ...

is held in Sweden and won by .

Baseball

* June 22 – Phillies center fielder Tony Gonzalez plays his 200th straight errorless game to help rookie Ray Culp beat Roger Craig and the Mets 2–0. * World Series – Los Angeles Dodgers win 4 games to 0 over the New York Yankees. The series MVP is Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles.

Basketball

* NCAA Men's Basketball Championship – ** Loyola (Illinois) wins 60–58 over Cincinnati *

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

– **

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

win 4 games to 2 over the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

* Basketball World Championship – ** Brazil World Champion

Boxing

* July 22 –

Sonny Liston Charles L. "Sonny" Liston ( 1930 – December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. A dominant contender of his era, he became the world heavyweight champion in 1962 after knocking out Floyd Patterson i ...

wins the Heavyweight Championship of the world by knocking out Floyd Patterson in the 1st round of their bout in Las Vegas. * August 27 to September 7 –

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

held in São Paulo, Brazil.

Canadian football

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

–

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

win 21–10 over the

B.C. Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

Cycling

* Giro d'Italia won by

Franco Balmamion Franco Balmamion (born 11 January 1940), is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist who raced between 1960 and 1972. The highlight of his career was his successive overall wins in the 1962 and 1963 editions of the Giro d'Italia.

of Italy * Tour de France – Jacques Anquetil of France * UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race –

Benoni Beheyt Benoni Beheyt (born 27 September 1940) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer who raced from 1962 to 1968. Beheyt won 22 races and is most famous for winning the 1963 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, World Cycling ...

of Belgium

Figure skating

* World Figure Skating Championships ** Men's champion: Donald McPherson, Canada ** Ladies' champion: Sjoukje Dijkstra, Netherlands ** Pair skating champions:

Marika Kilius Marika Kilius (; born 24 March 1943) is a German former pair skater. With Hans-Jürgen Bäumler, she is a two-time Olympic silver medalist, a two-time World champion, and a six-time European champion. Earlier in her career, she competed with Fra ...

& Hans-Jürgen Bäumler, Germany ** Ice dancing champions:

Eva Romanová Eva Romanová (born 27 January 1946) is a Czech former figure skater who represented Czechoslovakia in pair skating and ice dancing with her brother Pavel Roman. As ice dancers, they became four-time World champions (1962–65) and two-time Eu ...

& Pavel Roman, Czechoslovakia

Golf

Men's professional *

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...

–

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

* U.S. Open – Julius Boros * British Open – Bob Charles * PGA Championship –

* PGA Tour money leader – Arnold Palmer – $128,230 *

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

– United States wins 23 to 9 over Britain in team golf. Men's amateur * British Amateur –

Michael Lunt Michael Stanley Randle Lunt (20 May 1935 – 22 May 2007) was an English amateur golfer. He won the Amateur Championship in 1963 and played in the Walker Cup four times. Lunt was the son of Stanley Lunt who won the English Amateur in 1934. Lunt ...

* U.S. Amateur – Deane Beman Women's professional * Women's Western Open – Mickey Wright * LPGA Championship – Mickey Wright * U.S. Women's Open – Mary Mills *

Titleholders Championship The Titleholders Championship was a women's golf tournament played from in 1937 to 1966 and again in 1972. It was later designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour. History The Titleholders Championship was founded in 1937. Like the Masters ...

– Marilynn Smith * LPGA Tour money leader – Mickey Wright – $31,269

Harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...

* United States Pacing Triple Crown races – *# Cane Pace – Meadow Skipper *# Little Brown Jug – Overtrick *# Messenger Stakes – Overtrick *

Speedy Scot Speedy refers to something or someone moving at high speed. Speedy may refer to: Ships * HMS ''Speedy'', nine ships of the Royal Navy * ''Speedy''-class brig, a class of naval ship * ''Speedy'' (1779), a whaler and convict ship despatched i ...

won the

Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Triple Crown races Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a "treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * I ...

– *# Hambletonian – Speedy Scott *# Yonkers Trot – Speedy Scott *# Kentucky Futurity – Speedy Scott *

Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship :''for winners of the Inter Dominion see: Inter Dominion Pacing Championship and Inter Dominion Trotting Championship'' The Inter Dominion is a harness racing competition that has been contested since 1936 in Australia and New Zealand. It is of ...

– ** Pacers: Cardigan Bay

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 ...

Steeplechases * Cheltenham Gold Cup – Mill House * Grand National – Ayala Flat races * Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Gatum Gatum * Canadian Triple Crown: *# Queen's Plate –

Canebora {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Canebora , image = , caption = , sire = Canadian Champ , grandsire = Windfields , dam = Menebora , damsire = Menetrier , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1960 , country = Canada , colour = Brown , breeder = ...

Prince of Wales Stakes The Prince of Wales Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Fort Erie Race Track in Fort Erie, Ontario. Restricted to only three-year-old horses bred in Canada, it is contested on dirt over a distance of miles (1.9 km; ...

– Canebora *# Breeders' Stakes – Canebora ** Canebora becomes the country's second Triple Crown winner, and the last until

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

. * France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Exbury * Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by

Ragusa Ragusa is the historical name of Dubrovnik. It may also refer to: Places Croatia * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Cavtat (historically ' in Italian), a town in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Cro ...

English Triple Crown The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for Thoroughbreds, often restricted to three-year-olds. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplis ...

: *#

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 ...

– Only for Life *# The Derby – Relko *# St. Leger Stakes –

United States Triple Crown In the United States, the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, commonly known as the Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. The three r ...

: *#

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

– Chateaugay *# Preakness Stakes – Candy Spots *#

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

– Chateaugay

Ice Hockey

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

– Toronto Maple Leafs defeat the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

4 games to 1.

Motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

Radiosport Radiosport (or radio sport) is formal competition among amateur radio operators in any of three amateur radio activities, ARDF, DXing, and Contesting. The Friendship Radiosport Games is an international multi-sport event that includes all thre ...

* Third Amateur Radio Direction Finding European Championship held in Vilnius,

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

Rugby league

1963 New Zealand rugby league season The 1963 New Zealand rugby league season was the 56th season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand. International competitions New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand toured Australia, losing the series 1–2. The team ...

1963 NSWRFL season The 1963 NSWRFL season was the 56th season of the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership based in Sydney. Ten teams from across the city competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a ...

1962–63 Northern Rugby Football League season The 1962–63 Northern Rugby Football League season was the 68th season of rugby league football. Season summary 1962–63 season saw the league split into two divisions with each team playing each other team home and away. The introduction of an ...

/ 1963–64 Northern Rugby Football League season

Rugby union

* 69th Five Nations Championship series is won by England * New Zealand All Blacks team tours Great Britain and is defeated only once: 3–0 by

Newport RFC Newport Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Casnewydd) is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, South Wales. They presently play in the Welsh Premier Division. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on t ...

on 30 October

Swimming

* July 27 – US swimmer

Susan Pitt Susan Kay "Sue" Pitt (born June 18, 1948), also known by her married name Susan Anderson, is an American former competition swimmer and world record-holder. She lived with her parents Larry and Kay of Highland Park, NJ at the time of competition. ...

breaks the world record in the women's 200m butterfly (long course) during a meet in Philadelphia, clocking 2:29.1.

Tennis

Australia * Australian Men's Singles Championship – Roy Emerson (Australia) defeats Ken Fletcher (Australia) 6–3, 6–3, 6–1 * Australian Women's Singles Championship – Margaret Smith Court (Australia) defeats Jan Lehane O'Neill (Australia) 6–2, 6–2 England * Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship –

Chuck McKinley Charles Robert McKinley Jr. (January 5, 1941 – August 11, 1986) was an American former World number 1 male tennis player rankings, world no. 1 men's amateur tennis champion of the 1960s. He is remembered as an undersized, hard-working dynamo, ...

(USA) defeats Fred Stolle (Australia) 9–7, 6–1, 6–4 * Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Margaret Smith Court (Australia) defeats

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was a member of the victorious United States ...

(USA) 6–3, 6–4 France * French Men's Singles Championship – Roy Emerson (Australia) defeats Pierre Darmon (France) 3–6, 6–1, 6–4, 6–4 * French Women's Singles Championship – Lesley Turner (Australia) defeats

Ann Haydon Jones Ann Shirley Jones, (née Adrianne Haydon on 17 October 1938, also known as Ann Haydon-Jones) is a British former table tennis and lawn tennis champion. She won eight Grand Slam tennis championships in her career: three in singles, three in wome ...

(Great Britain) 2–6, 6–3, 7–5 USA * American Men's Singles Championship – Rafael Osuna (Mexico) defeats

Frank Froehling Frank Arthur Froehling III (May 19, 1942 – January 23, 2020) was an American tennis player. During his college career at Trinity University Froehling recorded 46–5 in singles matches and won nine singles titles. He was also runner-up at U ...

(USA) 7–5, 6–4, 6–2 * American Women's Singles Championship – Maria Bueno (Brazil) defeats

Margaret Smith Margaret Smith or Maggie Smith may refer to: People *Margaret Smith Court, known as Margaret Court (born 1942), Australian tennis player *Margaret A. Smith, superintendent of Volusia County Schools *Margaret Bayard Smith (1778–1844), American aut ...

(Australia) 7–5, 6–4 Events *

Federation Cup Federation Cup or Fed Cup is the former name of the premier world team competition in women's tennis. Federation Cup may also refer to: * Capital Football Federation Cup, an Australian territory-based association football tournament *Federation Cup ...

– USA 2–1 Australia (inaugural event) Davis Cup *

1963 Davis Cup The 1963 Davis Cup was the 52nd edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 32 teams entered the Europe Zone, 9 teams entered the Eastern Zone, and 7 teams entered the America Zone. Rhodesia mad ...

– 3–2 at

Memorial Drive Tennis Centre Memorial Drive Park, more generally referred to as "Memorial Drive", is a tennis venue, located adjacent to the Adelaide Oval, in the park lands surrounding the centre of Adelaide, South Australia. Memorial Drive took its name from the winding ...

(grass) Adelaide, Australia

Volleyball

* Volleyball at the 1963 Pan American Games in São Paulo won by Brazil (both men's and women's tournaments)

Multi-sport events

* Fourth

held in São Paulo, Brazil * Fourth

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fir ...

held in Naples, Italy * Third Summer Universiade held in Porto Alegre, Brazil

Awards

* Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Sandy Koufax ( Major League Baseball) *

Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year The first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press (AP) in 1931. At a time when women in sports were not given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award ...

– Mickey Wright ( LPGA golf) * ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the year: Valery Brumel ( track and field)

References

{{Sports by year 1951 – 2000 Sports by year