1931 In Sports
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1931 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.


Alpine skiing

FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Inaugural
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships is an alpine skiing competition organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). History The inaugural world championships in alpine skiing were held in 1931. During the 1930s, the event was held annuall ...
are held at
Mürren Mürren is a traditional Walser mountain village in the Bernese Highlands of Switzerland, at an elevation of above sea level and it cannot be reached by public road. It is also one of the popular tourist spots in Switzerland, and summer and w ...
, Switzerland. The events are a
downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...
and a slalom race in both the men's and women's categories. The winners are: * Men's Downhill
Walter Prager Walter Prager (2 April 1910 - 1984) was a Swiss alpine skier. At the 1931 World Championship in Mürren, Prager became the first World Champion in downhill skiing. He also won the 1933 downhill championship. Later on, Prager successful ...
(Switzerland) * Men's Slalom
David Zogg David Zogg (18 December 1902 – 26 July 1977) was a Swiss alpine and Nordic combined skier. He was raised in Arosa, Switzerland. At the 1928 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz he finished 16th in the Nordic combined event. In 1931, he won th ...
(Switzerland) * Women's Downhill –
Esme Mackinnon Esmé Mackinnon (2 December 1913 – 9 July 1999), known as Muffie, was a British alpine skier from Edinburgh, Scotland, remembered as the first female FIS World Champion in both downhill and slalom. She was a member of the Ladies' Ski C ...
(Great Britain) * Women's Slalom –
Esme Mackinnon Esmé Mackinnon (2 December 1913 – 9 July 1999), known as Muffie, was a British alpine skier from Edinburgh, Scotland, remembered as the first female FIS World Champion in both downhill and slalom. She was a member of the Ladies' Ski C ...
(Great Britain)


American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

* NFL championshipGreen Bay Packers (12–2) * Rose Bowl (1930 season): ** The
Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a me ...
won 24–0 over the Washington State Cougars to share the college football
national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...


Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

England *
The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
Arsenal 66 points, Aston Villa 59,
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
52,
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
49,
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
48,
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...
46 *
FA Cup final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
2–1
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...
at Empire Stadium, Wembley, London Germany *
National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...
Hertha BSC 3–2
TSV 1860 München A tab-separated values (TSV) file is a simple text format for storing data in a tabular structure, e.g., a database table or spreadsheet data, and a way of exchanging information between databases. Each record in the table is one line of the te ...
at Köln Spain *
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
won by Athletic Bilbao Italy *
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
won by Juventus Brazil * Foundation of Botafogo Rio


Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

* 29 – 31 Maj -
Olympics of Grace The Olympics of Grace ( it, Olimpiadi della Grazia) was an early international multi-sport event for womenAustralian rules football

* May 9: Richmond beat
South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at ...
’s 12 year record for the highest score when they kick 30.19 (199) to
North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at ...
’s 4.7 (31).
Doug Strang Francis Douglas Strang (12 July 1912 – 28 March 1954) was an Australian rules footballer who played as a full forward in the VFL between 1931 and 1935 for the Richmond Football Club. Family He married Ina Lillian McCullough, at Geelong o ...
, in his second game, and
Jack Titus Jack "Skinny" Titus (9 March 1908 – 19 April 1978) was an Australian rules football player who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1926 and 1943 for the Richmond Football Club. In the golden era of the 1930s, Titus was one ...
kick 22 goals between them – still an equal record for two players on one side. VFL Premiership * Geelong wins the 35th VFL Premiership: defeating Richmond 9.14 (68) to 7.6 (48) at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) * The annual
Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the "best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by t ...
is awarded to Haydn Bunton senior (
Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...
)
South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as t ...
* 3 October:
North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...
17.13 (115) defeat Sturt 11.11 (77) to win their sixth SANFL premiership. *
Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Will ...
won by Jack Sexton ( West Adelaide) Western Australian National Football League * 1 June:
East Fremantle East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
’s 4.28 (52) against South Fremantle’s 5.8 (38) is the second most inaccurate score in WA(N)FL history by excess of behinds over goals and the most until 1957. * 17 October: East Fremantle win their fourth consecutive WA(N)FL premiership, beating Subiaco 9.13 (67) to 7.7 (49) in the 1931 WANFL Grand Final. *
Sandover Medal The Sandover Medal is an Australian rules football award, given annually since 1921 to the fairest and best player in the West Australian Football League. The award was donated by Alfred Sandover M.B.E., a prominent Perth hardware merchant and b ...
won by Lin Richards (
East Fremantle East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
)


Bandy

Sweden * Championship final
AIK AIK Fotboll (), more commonly known simply as AIK (), an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben (meaning ''the public'' or ''general sports club''), is a Swedish football club competing in Allsvenskan, the top flight of Swedish football. The ...
4–3 IF Karlstad-Göta


Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

World Series * 1–10 October —
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
(NL) defeats Philadelphia Athletics (AL) to win the
1931 World Series The 1931 World Series featured the two-time defending champion Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals beat the Athletics in seven games, a rematch and reversal of fortunes of the previous World Series. The same two ...
by four games to three Major League Baseball * MVP awards to
Frankie Frisch Frank Francis Frisch (September 9, 1898—March 12, 1973), nicknamed "The Fordham Flash" or "The Old Flash", was an American Major League Baseball player and manager of the first half of the twentieth century. Frisch was a switch-hitting seco ...
(NL) and
Lefty Grove Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove (March 6, 1900 – May 22, 1975) was an American professional baseball pitcher. After having success in the minor leagues during the early 1920s, Grove became a star in Major League Baseball with the American League's P ...
(AL) Negro leagues * The Negro National League disbands. St. Louis Stars win the last championship.


Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

ABL Championship * Brooklyn Visitations win four games to two over the Fort Wayne Hoosiers College Championship *
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
wins the men's college basketball title Events *The ABL suspends operations after the 1930–1931 season. This is also the last year it operates as a major professional league.


Bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

Bobsleigh World Championships * 2nd
FIBT World Championships 1931 The FIBT World Championships 1931 took place in Oberhof, Germany (Two-man) and in St. Moritz, Switzerland (Four-man). Two-man bobsleigh made its debut. Two man bobsleigh Four man bobsleigh Medal table References2-Man bobsleigh World Cham ...
are held in Oberhof, Germany (two-man bob) and
St Moritz St. Moritz (also german: Sankt Moritz, rm, , it, San Maurizio, french: Saint-Moritz) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in ...
, Switzerland (four-man bob). Both gold medals are won by Germany.


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 predetermine ...

Events * World Middleweight Champion Mickey Walker vacates his title to campaign as a heavyweight. The middleweight championship remains vacant until 1941. Lineal world champions * World Heavyweight Championship – Max Schmeling * World Light Heavyweight Championship –
Maxie Rosenbloom Max Everitt Rosenbloom (November 6, 1906 – March 6, 1976) was an American professional boxer, actor, and television personality. Nicknamed "Slapsie Maxie", he was inducted into '' The Ring's'' Boxing Hall of Fame in 1972, the International Je ...
* World Middleweight Championship – Mickey Walker → vacant * World Welterweight Championship – Tommy Freeman"Young" Jack Thompson
Lou Brouillard Lucien Pierre Brouillard, better known as Lou Brouillard, (May 23, 1911 – September 14, 1984), was a Canadian professional boxer who held the World Welterweight Title and a version of the World Middleweight Title.
* World Lightweight Championship –
Tony Canzoneri Tony Canzoneri (November 6, 1908 – December 9, 1959) was an American professional boxer. A three-division world champion, he held a total of five world titles. Canzoneri is a member of the exclusive group of boxing world champions who have won ...
* World Featherweight Championship –
Bat Battalino Christopher Battaglia (February 18, 1908 – July 25, 1977) better known as Battling Battalino, was an American World Featherweight boxing champion. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Battalino engaged in 88 bouts during his career, of which he won 5 ...
* World Bantamweight Championship –
Panama Al Brown Alfonso Teofilo Brown (July 5, 1902 – April 11, 1951), better known as Panama Al Brown, was a Panamanian professional boxer. He made history by becoming boxing's first Latin American world champion, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest ...
* World Flyweight Championship – vacant


Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

Grey Cup *
19th Grey Cup The 19th Grey Cup was the 1931 Canadian Rugby Union championship game that was played at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium in Montreal, between the Regina Roughriders and the Montreal AAA Winged Wheelers. The hometown Winged Wheelers shut-out the ...
in the
Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
Montreal AAA Montreal Amateur Athletic Association is Canada's oldest athletic association, located in Montreal, Quebec. It was renamed as the ''Club Sportif MAA'' or just ''MAA'' (Montreal MAA) in 1999 after a brush with bankruptcy, but is still widely known ...
defeats
Regina Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...
22–0


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 str ...

Events *
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
plays its first Test series in England.
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
wins the series 1–0 with two matches drawn. England *
County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
* Minor Counties ChampionshipLeicestershire II * Most runs –
Herbert Sutcliffe Herbert Sutcliffe (24 November 1894 – 22 January 1978) was an English professional cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England as an opening batsman. Apart from one match in 1945, his first-class career spanned the period between the tw ...
3006 @ 96.96 (HS 230) * Most wickets –
Tich Freeman Alfred Percy "Tich" Freeman (17 May 1888 – 28 January 1965) was an English first-class cricketer. A leg spin bowler for Kent County Cricket Club and England, he is the only man to take 300 wickets in an English season, and is the second most p ...
276 @ 15.60 (BB 10–79) *
Wisden Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...
Bill Bowes William Eric Bowes (25 July 1908 – 4 September 1987) was an English professional cricketer active from 1929 to 1947 who played in 372 first-class matches as a right arm fast bowler and a right-handed tail end batsman. He took 1,639 wickets ...
, Stewie Dempster, James Langridge, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi,
Hedley Verity Hedley Verity (18 May 1905 – 31 July 1943) was a professional cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 ...
Australia *
Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Marsh Sheffield Shield) is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Sheffield Shi ...
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
* Most runs – Don Bradman 1422 @ 79.00 (HS 258) * Most wickets –
Clarrie Grimmett Clarence Victor "Clarrie" Grimmett (25 December 1891 – 2 May 1980) was a New Zealand-born Australian cricketer. He is thought by many to be one of the finest early spin bowlers, and usually credited as the developer of the flipper. Early l ...
74 @ 19.14 (BB 7–87) India *
Bombay Quadrangular The Bombay Quadrangular was an influential cricket tournament held in Bombay, British India between 1892–93 and 1945–46. At other times it was known variously as the Presidency Match, Bombay Triangular, and the Bombay Pentangular. Presidency ...
– ''not contested'' New Zealand *
Plunket Shield New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield. History The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in Octob ...
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
South Africa *
Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...
– ''not contested'' West Indies *
Inter-Colonial Tournament The Inter-Colonial Tournament was the main first class cricket competition in the West Indies held between 1892-93 and 1938-39. Competing teams * Barbados * British Guiana * Trinidad In the early tournaments British Guiana were sometimes ...
– ''not contested''


Cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...

Tour de France * Antonin Magne (France) wins the 25th
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
Other events * Giro d'Italia is won by
Francesco Camusso Francesco Camusso (9 March 1908 – 23 June 1995) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. Camusso was born in Cumiana, Piedmont, and is ranked among the best Italian climbers ever. In his second year as professional, he won the 1931 ...
(Italy) *
World Cycling Championship The UCI world championships are annual competitions promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to determine world champion cyclists. They are held in several different styles of racing, in a different country each year. Championship winne ...
is won by
Learco Guerra Learco Guerra (14 October 1902 - 7 February 1963) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1934 Giro d'Italia. He was born in San Nicolò Po, a ''frazione'' of Bagnolo San Vito in L ...
(Italy)


Figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are m ...

World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships (''"Worlds"'') is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the categories of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. ...
* World Men's ChampionKarl Schäfer (Austria) * World Women's Champion
Sonja Henie Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic champion ( 1928, 1932, 1936) in women's singles, a ten-time World champion (1927–1936) and a six-time European champi ...
(Norway) * World Pairs ChampionsEmília Rotter and
László Szollás László (Ladislaus) Szollás (13 November 1907 – 4 October 1980) was a Hungarian world champion and Olympic medalist pair skater. Early life Szollas was Jewish. He attended the Ludovika Military Academy in the Horthy era.. Figure skating c ...
(Hungary)


Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

Major tournaments *
British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
Tommy Armour Thomas Dickson Armour (24 September 1896 – 11 September 1968) was a Scottish-American professional golfer. He was nicknamed The Silver Scot. He was the winner of three of golf's major championships: 1927 U.S. Open, 1930 PGA, and 1931 Open C ...
* U.S. OpenBilly Burke *
PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...
Tom Creavy Other tournaments *
British Amateur The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...
– Eric Martin-Smith *
U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...
Francis Ouimet Francis DeSales Ouimet () (May 8, 1893 – September 2, 1967) was an American amateur golfer who is frequently referred to as the "father of amateur golf" in the United States. He won the U.S. Open in 1913 and was the first non-Briton elected ...
*
Women's Western Open The Women's Western Open was an American professional golf tournament founded in 1930. The LPGA was established in 1950, and it recognized the Western Open as one of its major championships through 1967. All of the events back to 1930 have been d ...
June Beebe


Harness racing

USA * Hambletonian – Calumet Butler *
Kentucky Futurity The Kentucky Futurity is a stakes race for three-year-old trotters, held annually at The Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky since 1893. It is part of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters. In the 2007 race, Donato Hanover's winning time ...
– The Protector


Horse racing

England * Champion Hurdle – ''not contested due to frost'' *
Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlongs (3 ...
– ''not contested due to frost'' *
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 st ...
– Grakle *
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 (1,60 ...
Four Course Four Course (1928 – 1932) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. She was one of the best two-year-old fillies of her generation in England when she won three of her four races, namely the July Stakes, Richmond Stakes and Gimcrack Stakes. I ...
* 2,000 Guineas StakesCameronian * The Derby – Cameronian * The OaksBrulette *
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 ...
Sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...
Australia *
Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melb ...
– White Nose Canada *
King's Plate The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate between 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest Thoroughbred horse race, having been founded in 1860. It is also the oldest continuously run race in North America. It is run at a distance of ...
– Froth Blower France *
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...
Pearl Cap Ireland *
Irish Grand National The Irish Grand National is a National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 3 miles and 5 furlongs (5,834 ...
– Impudent Barney *
Irish Derby Stakes The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of ...
– Sea Serpent USA * Kentucky DerbyTwenty Grand *
Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () o ...
– Mate * Belmont StakesTwenty Grand


Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

Stanley Cup *
Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
defeats
Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
by 3 games to 2
Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual ...
* Gold Medal –
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
* Silver Medal –
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
* Bronze Medal –
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
Other events * ''
Hockey Night in Canada CBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its hi ...
'', now the oldest sports-related television program still on air, debuts as a radio program known as the ''General Motors Hockey Broadcast''. The TV series begins in 1952.


Motorsport


Nordic skiing

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships * 6th
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1931 The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1931 took place on February 13–15, 1931 in Oberhof. Men's cross country 18 km February 13, 1931 50 km February 15, 1931 Men's Nordic combined Individual February 13, 1931 Men's sk ...
are held at Oberhof, Germany


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 ...

The Boat Race * 21 March —
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
wins the 83rd
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' ...


Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

England *
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
Swinton * Challenge Cup finalHalifax 22–8
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
at Empire Stadium, Wembley, London * Lancashire League ChampionshipSwinton * Yorkshire League Championship
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
*
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
County Cup The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player ...
St Helens Recs St Helens Recreation Rugby League Football Club, often known as St Helens Recs or just the Recs, is a former professional rugby league club from St. Helens, Lancashire, that played in the Rugby Football League during the inter-war years. The club ...
18–3
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...
*
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
County Cup The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player ...
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
10–2
Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...
Australia * NSW PremiershipSouth Sydney 12–7
Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to: Places *Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India *Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia **Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia Sports clubs ;Association football *Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand * Eastern ...


Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

Five Nations Championship * 44th
Five Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...
series is won by
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
* Shortly after the 1931 Five Nations Championship is completed,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
is banned from the competition due to allegations of professionalism and administrative deficiencies. France will be readmitted after the 1939 competition but will not be able to play until 1947 because of the suspension of international rugby during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. In the meantime, the competition reverts to its original title of Home Nations Championship.


Snooker

World Championship * 5th
World Snooker Championship The World Snooker Championship is the longest-running and most prestigious tournament in professional snooker. It is also the wealthiest, with total prize money in 2022 of £2,395,000, including £500,000 for the winner. First held in 1927, it ...
is won by
Joe Davis Joseph Davis (15 April 190110 July 1978) was an English professional snooker and English billiards player. He was the dominant figure in snooker from the 1920s to the 1950s, and has been credited with inventing aspects of the way the game is ...
who defeats Tom Dennis 25–21


Speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skatin ...

Speed Skating World Championships * Men's All-round Champion
Clas Thunberg Arnold Clas ("Classe") Robert Thunberg (5 April 1893 – 28 April 1973) was a Finnish speed skater who won five Olympic gold medals – three at the inaugural Winter Olympics held in Chamonix in 1924 (along with a silver and a bronze medal) and t ...
(Finland)


Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

Australia * Australian Men's Singles ChampionshipJack Crawford (Australia) defeats Harry Hopman (Australia) 6–4 6–2 2–6 6–1 * Australian Women's Singles Championship
Coral Buttsworth Coral Annabell Buttsworth (née McInnes; 7 June 1900 – 20 December 1985) was a female tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( do ...
(Australia) defeats
Marjorie Cox Crawford Marjorie Cox Crawford (née Cox; 1903–1983) was an Australian tennis player who reached at least the singles quarterfinals at the Australian Championships seven out of the nine times she played the event. Her best result was a runner-up fi ...
(Australia) 1–6 6–3 6–4 England * Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship
Sidney Wood Sidney Burr Wood Jr. (November 1, 1911 – January 10, 2009) was an American tennis player who won the 1931 Wimbledon singles title. Wood was ranked in the world's Top 10 five times between 1931 and 1938, and was ranked World No. 6 in 1931 and ...
(USA) by a walkover after
Frank Shields Francis Xavier Alexander Shields Sr. (November 18, 1909 – August 19, 1975) was an American amateur tennis player of the 1920s and 1930s, and an actor known for ''Hoosier Schoolboy'' (1937). Tennis career Between 1928 and 1945 he was ranked e ...
(USA) withdraws from the final due to an ankle injury * Wimbledon Women's Singles ChampionshipCilly Aussem (Germany) defeats
Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling Hildegard "Hilde" Krahwinkel Sperling ( née Krahwinkel; 26 March 1908 – 7 March 1981) was a German tennis player who became a dual-citizen after marrying Dane Svend Sperling in December 1933. She won three consecutive singles titles at the F ...
(Germany) 6–2 7–5 France * French Men's Singles Championship
Jean Borotra Jean Laurent Robert Borotra (, ; 13 August 1898 – 17 July 1994) was a French tennis champion. He was one of the " Four Musketeers" from his country who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Borotra was imprisoned in Itter Castle ...
(France) defeats
Christian Boussus Christian Boussus (5 March 1908 – August 2003) was a left-handed French tennis player who found success in the 1920s and 1930s. Tennis career He started playing amateur tennis in the late 1920s by entering one of his first tournaments at the ...
(USA) 2–6 6–4 7–5 6–4 * French Women's Singles ChampionshipCilly Aussem (Germany) defeats Betty Nuthall (Great Britain) 8–6 6–1 USA * American Men's Singles ChampionshipEllsworth Vines (USA) defeats
George Lott George Martin Lott (October 16, 1906 – December 3, 1991) was an American tennis player and tennis coach who was born in Springfield, Illinois, United States. Lott is mostly remembered as being one of the greatest doubles players of all time. H ...
(USA) 7–9 6–3 9–7 7–5 * American Women's Singles Championship
Helen Wills Moody Helen Newington Wills (October 6, 1905 – January 1, 1998), also known by her married names Helen Wills Moody and Helen Wills Roark, was an American tennis player. She won 31 Grand Slam tournament titles (singles, doubles, and mixed doubles) d ...
(USA) defeats
Eileen Bennett Whittingstall Eileen Bennett Whittingstall (née Bennett; 16 July 1907 – c. 18 August 1979, full name Eileen Viviyen Bennett Fearnley-Whittingstall) was a tennis player from the United Kingdom who won six Grand Slam doubles titles from 1927 to 1931. Career ...
(Great Britain) 6–4 6–1 Davis Cup *
1931 International Lawn Tennis Challenge The 1931 International Lawn Tennis Challenge was the 26th edition of what is now known as the Davis Cup. Due to an increase in South American entries, the America Zone was split into the North & Central America Zone and the South America Zone, ...
– 3–2 at
Stade Roland Garros Stade Roland Garros (; "Roland Garros Stadium") is a complex of tennis courts, including stadiums, located in Paris that hosts the French Open. That tournament, also known as ''Roland Garros'', is a Grand Slam tennis championship played annuall ...
(clay)
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...


Awards

Associated Press Athlete of the Year * Inauguration of the ''Athlete of the Year'' award in the United States by the Associated Press (AP). The AP offers a male and a female athlete of the year award to either a professional or amateur athlete, the awards being voted on annually by a panel of AP sports editors from across the United States. The first winners are: *
Associated Press Male 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 to ...
Pepper Martin Johnny Leonard Roosevelt "Pepper" Martin (February 29, 1904 – March 5, 1965) was an American professional baseball player and minor league manager. He was known as the "Wild Horse of the Osage" because of his daring, aggressive baserunning ab ...
(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 to ...
Helene Madison (swimming)


References

{{Sports by year 1901 – 1950 Sports by year