1955 in sports
See also: 1954 in sports, other events of 1955, 1956 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.
Auto Racing
- NASCAR Championship - Tim Flock
- AAA Racing:
- Bob Sweikert won the Indianapolis 500
- Bob Sweikert won the season championship
- Formula One Championship - Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina
- 24 hours of Le Mans:
- Pierre Levegh killed along with more than 80 spectators in the worst auto racing accident in history
- the team of Mike Hawthorn / Ivor Bueb won, driving a Jaguar D-type
- Rally racing:
- the team of Per Malling / Gunnar Fadum won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Sunbeam-Talbot
- Drag racing - The NHRA staged its first "Nationals" in Great Bend, Kansas. Calvin Rice won the inaugural "Top Fuel" championship.
Baseball
- April 23: The White Sox tallied a franchise record 29 runs at Kansas City. Sherm Lollar was 5-for-6 with a pair of home runs and five RBI, while reserve outfielder Bob Nieman and infielder Walt Dropo drove in seven runs apiece, and Chico Carrasquel hit 5-for-6 with five runs, in the 29-6 victory over the Athletics.
- World Series:October 4 - Brooklyn Dodgers win 4 games to 3 over the New York Yankees. The Series MVP is pitcher Johnny Podres, Brooklyn.
Basketball
- NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
- San Francisco wins 76-73 over La Salle
- NBA Finals:
- Syracuse Nationals win 4-3 over the Fort Wayne Pistons
- The ninth European basketball championship, Eurobasket 1955, is won by Hungary.
- March 1: Allen Fieldhouse opens at the University of Kansas as the Jayhawks defeat Kansas State.
Boxing
- September 21 in New York City, Rocky Marciano knocks out the Light-heavyweight champion Archie Moore in the 9th round to retain his World Heavyweight Championship.
Cycling
- Giro d'Italia won by Fiorenzo Magni of Italy
- Tour de France - Louison Bobet of France
- World Cycling Championship: Stan Ockers of Belgium
Figure skating
- World Figure Skating Championships:
- Men's champion: Hayes Alan Jenkins, United States
- Ladies' champion: Tenley Albright, United States
- Pair skating champions: Frances Dafoe & Norris Bowden, Canada
- Ice dancing champions: Jean Westwood & Lawrence Demmy, Great Britain
Football (American)
- NFL Championship: Cleveland Browns won 38-14 over the Los Angeles Rams
- Oklahoma Sooners - college football champions.
Football (Australian rules football)
- Victorian Football League
- Melbourne wins the 59th VFL Premiership (Melbourne 8.16 (64) d Collingwood 5.6 (36))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Fred Goldsmith (South Melbourne)
Football (Canadian)
- Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos won 34-19 over the Montreal Alouettes
Football (soccer)
England
- First Division - Chelsea win the 1954-55 title.
- FA Cup - Newcastle United beat Manchester City 3-1.
Golf
- Grand Slam of golf results:
- April - The Masters - Cary Middlecoff
- June - US Open - Jack Fleck
- July - British Open - Peter Thomson
- August - PGA Championship - Doug Ford
- PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Julius Boros - $63,122
- Ryder Cup the United States team wins 8-4 over the British team in world golf.
- The LPGA launches the new LPGA Championship annual tournament.
- US Women's Open - Fay Crocker
- LPGA Championship - Beverly Hanson
- Patty Berg: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $16,492.
Thoroughbred Horse Racing
- Australia - Melbourne Cup - Toparoa
- Canada - Queen's Plate - Ace Marine
- France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Ribot
- Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Panaslipper
- English Triple Crown Races:
- Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Our Babu
- Epsom Derby - Phil Drake
- St. Leger Stakes - Meld
- August 31 - In one of the most famous match races in thoroughbred racing history, Nashua beat Swaps at Washington Park racetrack. It was Swaps only loss in nine starts as a three-year old. Nashua's owner-breeder, William Woodward, Sr., dreamed of owning an Epsom Derby winner, and he planned to send Nashua to England to train toward that goal. However, Woodward was shot to death by his wife before he could proceed.
Harness Racing
- The first Cane Pace is held at Yonkers Raceway.
- Little Brown Jug for pacers won by Quick Chief
- Cane Pace won by Quick Chief
- The United States Trotting Triple Crown races are established. Scott Frost will win the first ever crown.
- Hambletonian - Scott Frost
- Yonkers Trot - Scott Frost
- Kentucky Futurity - Scott Frost
- Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
- Pacers: Tactician
- Trotters: Battle Cry
Ice Hockey
- Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Bernie "Boom-Boom" Geoffrion, Montreal Canadiens
- Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Ted Kennedy, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Stanley Cup: - Detroit Red Wings win 4 games to 3 over the Montreal Canadiens
- World Hockey Championship
- Men's champion: Canada's Penticton Vees win 5-0 over the USSR
- NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship - University of Michigan Wolverines defeat Colorado College Tigers 5-3 in Colorado Springs, CO
Snooker
- World Snooker Championship: Fred Davis beats John Pulman 37-34
Tennis
- Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
- Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
- Australian Open - Beryl Penrose
- French Open - Angela Mortimer
- Wimbledon championships - Louise Brough
- US Open - Doris Hart
- Davis Cup: Australia wins 5-0 over the United States in world tennis
General sporting events
- Second Pan American Games held in Mexico City, Mexico
- Second Mediterranean Games held in Barcelona, Spain
Births
January
- January 2 — Jinty Stewart, Scottish field hockey goalkeeper
- January 3 — Frances Edmonds, British sports writer
- January 8 — Pedro Gamarro, Venezuelan boxer
- January 14 — Dominique Rocheteau, French soccer player
- January 16 — Klaus-Dieter Kurrat, East German athlete
- January 19 — Uwe Reinders, German soccer player
- January 21 — Peter Fleming, American tennis player
- January 21 — Juan Pellón, Spanish field hockey player
- January 21 — Nikolina Shtereva, Bulgarian middle distance runner
- January 24 — Jim Montgomery, American swimmer
- January 29 — John Tate, American boxer
- January 31 — Virginia Ruzici, Romanian tennis player
February
- February 2 — Aleksandr Gusev, Soviet field hockey player
- February 3 — Bruno Pezzey, Austrian soccer player (d. 1994)
- February 5 — Markus Ryffel, Swiss long-distance runner
- February 10 — Miguel Chaves, Spanish field hockey player
- February 10 — Jose Maria Flores Burlon, Uruguayan boxer
- February 10 — Greg Norman, Australian golfer
- February 18 — Donna Gurr, Canadian backstroke swimmer
- February 24 — Alain Prost, French Formula I driver
March
- March 4 — David Jackson, New Zealand boxer (d. 2004)
- March 6 — Wendy Boglioli, American butterfly swimmer
- March 6 — Peter Dignan, New Zealand rower
- March 11 — David Bell, Australian field hockey player
- March 14 — Daniel Bertoni, Argentinian soccer player
- March 16 — Jiro Watanabe, Japanese boxing world champion
- March 18 — Philippe Boisse, French fencer
- March 18 — Elaine Jensen, New Zealand field hockey goalkeeper
- March 26 — Andy Hoepelman, Dutch water polo player
April
- April 13 — Safet Sušić, Bosnian soccer player
- April 25 — Américo Gallego, Argentinian soccer player
- April 26 — Ulrika Knape, Swedish diver
- April 28 — Douglas Northway, American freestyle swimmer
- April 28 — Djamel Zidane, Algerian soccer player
May
- May 2 — Maharaj Krishan Kaushik, Indian field hockey player and coach
- May 2 — Marianne Vermaat, Dutch backstroke swimmer
- May 6 — Ann Grant, Zimbabwean field hockey player
- May 7 — Florenta Craciunescu, Romanian discus thrower
- May 9 — Edmund Coffin, American saddlemaker and equestrian
- May 9 — Emmanuel Michon, French ice speed skater
- May 26 — Luis Felipe Martínez, Cuban boxer
June
- June 1 — Lorraine Moller, New Zealand long-distance athlete
- June 12 — Bert de Jong, Dutch ice speed skater
- June 12 — Guy Lacombe, French soccer player and manager
- June 13 — Henk Numan, Dutch judoka
- June 15 — Ricardo Rojas, Cuban boxer
- June 21 — Michel Platini, French soccer player
- June 23 — Jean Tigana, French soccer player and manager
- June 26 — Maxime Bossis, French soccer player
- June 28 — Heribert Weber, Austrian soccer player
July
- July 5 — Peter McNamara, Australian tennis player
- July 8 — Gillian Cowley, Zimbabwean field hockey player
- July 9 — Steve Coppell, English soccer player
- July 17 — Gu Yong-Ju, North Korean boxer
August
- August 2 — Gail Neall, Australian medley swimmer
- August 4 — Gerrie Coetzee, South African boxer
- August 5 — John Whitaker, British equestrian
- August 8 — Renzo Vecchiato, Italian basketball player
- August 9 — Udo Beyer, German shot putter
- August 12 — Bert Bergsma, Dutch freestyle swimmer
- August 18 — Gerard Nijboer, Dutch marathon runner
September
- September 1 — Maureen George, Zimbabwean field hockey player
- September 2 — Florenta Mihai, Romanian tennis player
- September 9 — Gernot Jurtin, Austrian soccer player
- September 15 — Linda Watson, Zimbabwean field hockey player
- September 25 — Ludo Coeck, Belgian soccer player
- September 25 — Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, German soccer player
- September 27 — Richard Nowakowski, East German boxer
October
- October 3 — José Valencia, Argentinian soccer player
- October 4 — Anton Pichler, Austrian soccer player
- October 4 — Jorge Valdano, Argentinian soccer player
- October 4 — Carmen Valero, Spanish middle-distance runner
- October 11 — Hans-Peter Briegel, German soccer player
- October 15 — Kulbir Bhaura, British field hockey player
- October 16 — Annemarie Groen, Dutch backstroke swimmer
November
- November 1 — Anne Audain, New Zealand middle and long distance athlete
- November 7 — Detlef Ultsch, German judo world champion
- November 26 — Barbara Tilden, New Zealand field hockey player
- November 27 — Sarah English, Zimbabwean field hockey player
- November 28 — Alessandro Altobelli, Italian soccer player
December
- December 5 — Juha Tiainen, Finnish hammer thrower (d. 2003)
- December 6 — Tony Woodcock, English soccer player
- December 12 — Mikhail Nichepurenko, Soviet field hockey player
- December 19 — Marek Dziuba, Polish soccer player
- December 29 — Theo Doyer, Dutch field hockey player
Deaths
- January 21 — Archie Hahn (74), American athlete (b. 1880)
- January 26 — Holger Nielsen, Danish fencer, shooter and athlete (b. 1866)
- May 10 — Tommy Burns, world heavyweight boxing champion
- May 26 — Alberto Ascari, F1 race car champion
- May 30 — Bill Vukovich, American race car driving champion
- September 4 — Gus Weyhing, Major League Baseball pitcher (1887-1901)
- October 18 — Josiah Ritchie (84), British tennis player (b. 1870)
- October 27 — Clark Griffith, Major League Baseball pitcher (1891-1914)
- November 4 — Cy Young, American baseball player
- December 6 — Honus Wagner, Major League Baseball player (1897-1917)
Categories
1955 in sports