1962 in sports

See also: 1961 in sports, other events of 1962, 1963 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.

Auto Racing

• Stock car racing:
  • Fireball Roberts won the Daytona 500
  • NASCAR Championship - Joe Weatherly
• Indianapolis 500 - Rodger Ward
• USAC Racing - Rodger Ward won the season championship
• Formula One Championship - Graham Hill of Great Britain
• 24 hours of Le Mans: won by the team of Olivier Gendebien / Phil Hill driving a Ferrari 330LM
• Rally racing - the team of Erik Carlsson / Gunnar Haggbom won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Saab 96
• Drag racing - Jack Chrisman won Top Eliminator at the NHRA Nationals

Baseball

• January 23: Bob Feller and Jackie Robinson are selected for the Baseball Hall of Fame in their first years of eligibility.

• October: National League pennant playoff: After finishing tied for the league lead, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants played-off for the title. The Giants won the series 2 games to 1, thereby winning the National League championship.

• World Series: New York Yankees win 4 games to 3 over the San Francisco Giants. The Series MVP was Ralph Terry, New York.

Basketball

• March 2 - In Hershey, Pennsylvania, Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scored 100 points against the New York Knicks, breaking several National Basketball Association records.

• NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
  • Cincinnati wins 71-59 over Ohio St.

• NBA Finals:
  • Boston Celtics won 4 games to 2 over the Los Angeles Lakers

Boxing

• March 24, 1962 - Emile Griffith regained the World Welterweight Championship by knocking out Benny the "Kid" Paret in the 12th round. Paret died ten days later on April 3, 1962 as a result of severe head injuries sustained in the fight.
• September 25, 1962 - Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson, two minutes and six seconds into the first round, to become World Heavyweight Champion.

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Franco Balmamion of Italy
• Tour de France - Jacques Anquetil of France
• World Cycling Championship: Jean Stablinski of France

Field Hockey

• March 10,1962- In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium,England. England drew with the United States Of America 2-2.

Figure Skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Donald Jackson, Canada
  • Women's champion: Sjoukje Dijkstra, Netherlands
  • Pairs champions: Maria Jelinek & Otto Jelinek, Canada

Football (Soccer)

• England - FA Cup: Tottenham Hotspur won 3-1 over Burnley

• Football World Cup in Chile: Brazil won 3-1 over Czechoslovakia

Football (American)

• AFL Championship: Dallas Texans won 20-17 over the Houston Oilers in double overtime
• NFL Championship: Green Bay Packers won 16-7 over the New York Giants

Canadian Football League

• Grey Cup: Winnipeg Blue Bombers win 28-27 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Golf

Men's Golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. May - The Masters golf tournament - Arnold Palmer
  2. June - US Open - Jack Nicklaus
  3. July - British Open - Arnold Palmer
  4. August - PGA Championship - Gary Player

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Arnold Palmer - $81,448

Women's Golf

• US Women's Open - Murle Lindstrom
• LPGA Championship - Judy Kimball
• LPGA tour, earning $21,641

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Even Stevens
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Flaming Page
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Soltikoff
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Tambourine

• Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Privy Councillor
  1. Epsom Derby - Larkspur
  2. St. Leger Stakes - Hethersett

• Kentucky Derby - Decidedly
  1. Preakness Stakes - Greek Money
  2. Belmont Stakes - Jaipur

Harness Racing

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace - Ranger Knight
  2. Little Brown Jug - Lehigh Hanover
  3. Messenger Stakes - Thor Hanover

• United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian - A.C.'s Viking
  2. Yonkers Trot - A.C.'s Viking
  3. Kentucky Futurity - Safe Mission

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: James Scott

Ice Hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Bobby Hull, Chicago Blackhawks

• Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Jacques Plante, Montreal Canadiens

• Stanley Cup: Toronto Maple Leafs won 4 games to 2 over the Chicago Blackhawks

• World Hockey Championship:
  • Men's champion: Sweden defeated Canada

Skiing

• Karl Schranz, Austria
  • Women's combined champion: Marielle Goitschel, France

Tennis

• Rod Laver becomes only the second man in tennis history to win the Grand Slam in tennis.

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - Rod Laver
  2. French Open - Rod Laver
  3. Wimbledon championships - Rod Laver
  4. US Open - Rod Laver

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Margaret Smith
  2. French Open - Margaret Smith
  3. Wimbledon championships - Karen Susman
  4. US Open - Margaret Smith

• Davis Cup: Australia wins 5-0 over Mexico in world tennis.

General sporting events

• British Empire and Commonwealth Games held in Perth, Australia

Births

• February 10 - Bobby Czyz, boxer
• March 3 - Jackie Joyner-Kersee, track and field athlete
• March 12 - Darryl Strawberry, former baseball player
• March 23 - Steve Redgrave, British rower, five-time Olympic gold medalist
• March 26 - John Stockton, former basketball player, all-time NBA leader in assists and steals
• April 15 - Nawal El Moutawakel, Moroccan hurdler
• August 4 - Roger Clemens, baseball pitcher, six-time Cy Young Award winner
• August 5 - Patrick Ewing, former NBA star
• September 1 - Ruud Gullit, Dutch footballer
• September 30 - Frank Rijkaard, Dutch footballer
• October 13 - Jerry Rice, NFL star
• October 19 - Evander Holyfield, heavyweight boxer
• October 30 - Courtney Walsh, cricketer
• November 1 - Sharron Davies, swimmer
• November 24 - Karen Marsden,Australian field hockey goalkeeper
• December 13 - Kendra Slewenski,English netballer

Deaths

• June 28 - Mickey Cochrane, Major League Baseball player