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1954 in sports

See also: 1953 in sports, other events of 1954, 1955 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.

Auto Racing

• NASCAR Championship - Lee Petty
• AAA Racing:
  • Bill Vukovich won the Indianapolis 500
  • Jimmy Bryan won the season championship
• Formula One Championship - Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina
• 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Froilán González / Maurice Trintignant won, driving a Ferrari 375
• Rally racing - the team of Louis Chiron / Ciro Basadonna win the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Lancia Aurelia GT
• Drag racing - The NHRA expands, sanctioning other drag strip operators in the United States.

Baseball

• January 14: Former Yankees great Joe DiMaggio marries legendary actress Marilyn Monroe in a union of heavily publicized media stars.

• World Series: New York Giants win 4 games to 0 over the Cleveland Indians

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
  • La Salle wins 92-76 over Bradley

• NBA Finals:
  • Minneapolis Lakers win 4-3 over the Syracuse Nationals

• Milan High School, enrollment 161, defeated Muncie Central High School (enrollment over 1,600) 32-30 to win the Indiana state title. The 1986 movie classic Hoosiers was very loosely based on the story of this Milan team.

Boxing

• September 17 in New York City, Rocky Marciano retained his World Heavyweight title with an 8th round knockout of Ezzard Charles

Cycling

• Tour de France - Louison Bobet of France

Figure Skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Hayes Alan Jenkins, United States
  • Women's champion: Gundi Busch, Germany
  • Pairs champions: Frances Dafoe & Norris Bowden, Canada

Football (Soccer)

• West Germany wins Football World Cup in Switzerland
• England - FA Cup: West Bromwich Albion won 3-2 over Preston North End

Football (American)

• NFL Championship: Cleveland Browns win 56-10 over the Detroit Lions

Canadian Football League

• Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos won 26-25 over the Montreal Alouettes

Golf

Men's Golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. April - The Masters golf tournament - Sam Snead
  2. June - US Open - Ed Furgol
  3. July - British Open - Peter Thomson
  4. August - PGA Championship - Chick Harbert

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Bob Toski - $65,820

Women's Golf

• US Women's Open - Babe Zaharias
• Patty Berg: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $16,011.

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Rising Fast
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Collisteo
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Sica Boy
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Zarathustra

• Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Darius
  1. Epsom Derby - Never Say Die
  2. St. Leger Stakes - Never Say Die

• Kentucky Derby - Determine
  1. Preakness Stakes - Hasty Road
  2. Belmont Stakes - High Gun

Harness Racing

• Little Brown Jug for pacers won by Adios Harry
• Hambletonian for yrotters won by Newport Dream

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Tennessee Sky

Ice Hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings

• Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Al Rollins, Chicago Blackhawks

• Stanley Cup: Detroit Red Wings win 4 games to 3 over the Montreal Canadiens

• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: USSR wins 7-2 over Canada's East York Lyndhursts.

Skiing

• Stein Eriksen, Norway
  • Women's combined champion: Ida Schöpfer, Austria

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship: Fred Davis beats Walter Donaldson 39-21

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - Mervyn Rose
  2. French Open - Tony Trabert
  3. Wimbledon championships - Jaroslav Drobny
  4. US Open - Vic Seixas

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Thelma Long
  2. French Open - Maureen Connolly
  3. Wimbledon championships - Maureen Connolly
  4. US Open - Doris Hart

• Davis Cup: United States wins 3-2 over Australia in world tennis.

General sporting events

• British Empire & Commonwealth Games held in Vancouver, British Columbia
• May 6 - Roger Bannister becomes the first person to run a sub four minute mile.

Births

• February 19 - Socrates, football player
• March 8 - Julie Cook,British field hockey goalkeeper
• March 9 - Helen Cadman,English netball player
• April 7 - Tony Dorsett, American football star
• April 17 - Riccardo Patrese, Italian racing driver
• April 18 - Mary Geaney,Irish field hockey goalkeeper
• May 7 - Jane Swinnerton,British field hockey international
• July 5 - John Wright, coach of Indian national cricket team
• August 14 - Mark Fidrych, American baseball player
• August 25 - Pauline Gibbon,British field hockey goalkeeper
• October 1 - Martin Strel, Slovene ultra marathon swimmer
• October 3 - Dennis Eckersley, Baseball Hall of Famer
• December 21 - Chris Evert,US tennis star
• December 26 - Susan Butcher, American dog-sled racing champion

Deaths

• July 29 - Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater