1956

Recap of the year 1956 in sports.

Auto Racing

• NASCAR Championship - Buck Baker
• The United States Auto Club (USAC) was founded to take over race sanctioning from the American Automobile Association (AAA).
• USAC Racing:
  • Pat Flaherty 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 Ron Flockhart / Ninian Sanderson won, driving a Jaguar D-Type
• Rally racing:
  • the team of Ronnie Adams / Frank Biggar won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Jaguar Mk VII
• Drag racing:
  • Art Arfons' Allison-powered "Green Monster #6" become the first member of Hot Rod Magazine's new 150-mph Club.
  • Melvin Heath won the NHRA "Top Fuel" Championship at the Nationals

Baseball

• April 17: Luis Aparicio replaces fellow Venezuelan Chico Carrasquel as the White Sox' everyday shortstop. Aparicio, who played 10 seasons with the White Sox, was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984 and had his #11 retired by the Sox in the same year.

• July 14: Boston Red Sox lefty Mel Parnell pitches a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park, winning 4-0. It is only Parnell's third win against two losses and is the sixth straight loss for second-place Chicago. The no-hitter is the first for the Red Sox since 1923. Parnell will go 4-4 before a torn muscle in his pitching arm ends his career as the Red Sox' winningest southpaw.

• 1956 World Series: New York Yankees win 4 games to 3 over the Brooklyn Dodgers. Yankees pitcher Don Larsen, pitches the first and only perfect game in World Series history, earning himself MVP honors. It is also the only no-hitter thrown in any postseason game.

• December 1: Cincinnati slugger Frank Robinson is unanimously voted the NL Rookie of the Year. White Sox shortstop Luis Aparicio is voted AL Rookie of the Year with 22 points, beating out Baltimore's Tito Francona and Rocky Colavito of the Indians.

• 1956 in baseball

Basketball

• 1956 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament:
  • San Francisco wins 83-71 over Iowa

• NBA Finals:
  • Philadelphia Warriors won 4 games to 1 over the Fort Wayne Pistons

Boxing

• March 19 - At age 48, Dutch boxer Bep van Klaveren contests his last match in Rotterdam.
• April 27 - Rocky Marciano retires as the only undefeated Heavyweight Champion of the world with a perfect record (49-0).
• November 30 , in Chicago, Illinois - Floyd Patterson knocks out Archie Moore in the 5th round to win the vacant World Heavyweight title.

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Charly Gaul of Luxembourg
• Tour de France - Roger Walkowiak of France
• World Cycling Championship: Rik Van Steenbergen of Belgium

Field Hockey

• Olympic Games (Men's Competition) in Melbourne, Australia
  • Gold Medal: India
  • Silver Medal: Pakistan
  • Bronze Medal: West Germany

Figure Skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Hayes Alan Jenkins, (United States)
  • Women's champion: Carol Heiss, (United States)
  • Pairs champions: Sissy Schwarz & Kurt Oppelt, (Austria)

Football (American)

• NFL Championship: New York Giants won 47-7 over the Chicago Bears

Football (Australian Rules)

• Victorian Football League
  • Melbourne wins the 60th VFL Premiership (Melbourne 17.19 (121) d Collingwood 6.12 (48))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Peter Box (Footscray)

Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos win 50-27 over the Montreal Alouettes

Football (Rugby)

• Test Series : New Zealand All Blacks defeat South African Springboks 3-1.

Football (soccer)

• European Cup - Real Madrid beat Stade de Reims 4-3 in the very first final.

England

• First Division - Manchester United win the 1955-56 title.
• FA Cup - Manchester City beat Birmingham City 3-1.

Golf

Men's Golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. May - The Masters - Jack Burke, Jr.
  2. June - US Open - Cary Middlecoff
  3. July - British Open - Peter Thomson
  4. August - PGA Championship - Jack Burke

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Ted Kroll - $72,836

Women's Golf

• US Women's Open - Kathy Cornelius
• LPGA Championship - Marlene Hagge
• Marlene Hagge: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $20,235.

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Evening Peal
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Canadian Champ
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Ribot
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Talgo

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Gilles de Retz
  2. Epsom Derby - Lavandin
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Cambremer

• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Needles
  2. Preakness Stakes - Fabius
  3. Belmont Stakes - Needles

Harness Racing

• TheUnited States Pacing Triple Crown races is created with the addition of the Messenger Stakes.
  1. Cane Pace - Noble Adios
  2. Little Brown Jug - Noble Adios
  3. Messenger Stakes - Belle Acton

• United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian - The Intruder
  2. Yonkers Trot
  3. Kentucky Futurity

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Gentleman John

Ice Hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens

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

• Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 1 over the Detroit Red Wings

• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated the United States

Skiing

• Alpine Skiing
• The men's Olympic Gold Medal:
  • Downhill: Toni Sailer, Austria
  • Slalom: Toni Sailer, Austria
  • Giant Slalom: Toni Sailer, Austria
• The women's Olympic Gold Medal:
  • Downhill: Madeleine Berthod, Switzerland
  • Slalom: Renée Colliard, Switzerland
  • Giant Slalom: Ossi Reichert, West Germany

• ISF World Championships:
  • Men's combined champion: Toni Sailer, Austria
  • Women's combined champion: Madeleine Berthod, Switzerland

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship: Fred Davis beats John Pulman 38-35

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - Lew Hoad
  2. French Open - Lew Hoad
  3. Wimbledon championships - Lew Hoad
  4. US Open - Ken Rosewall

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Mary Carter
  2. French Open - Althea Gibson
  3. Wimbledon championships - Shirley Fry
  4. US Open - Shirley Fry

• Davis Cup Australia wins 5-0 over the United States in world tennis.

General sporting events

• 1956 Summer Olympics takes place in Melbourne, Australia
  • Equestrian events take place in Stockholm, Sweden, due to Australian quarantine laws.
  • USSR wins the most medals (98), and the most gold medals (37).

• 1956 Winter Olympics takes place in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy
  • USSR wins the most medals (16), and the most gold medals (7).

• Fred Davis retained the World Professional Snooker Championship

Births

• January 1 — Vivien Mitchell, Irish field hockey goalkeeper
• January 4 — Helen Cadman, English netballer
• January 20 — John Naber, American swimmer
• January 21 — Rafael Garralda, Spanish field hockey player
• January 30 — Hipólito Ramos, Cuban boxer
• February 9 — Hans Gildemeister, Chilean tennis player
• February 14 — Dave Dravecky, American baseball player
• March 3 — Zbigniew Boniek, Polish soccer player
• March 18 — Lesley Murdoch, New Zealand field hockey player
• March 18 — Ingemar Stenmark, Swedish alpine skiier
• March 29 — Kurt Thomas, gymnast
• April 11 — Gene Mayer, American tennis player
• April 19 — Sue Barker, British television presenter and tennis player
• May 9 — Frank Andersson, Swedish wrestler
• May 17 — Sugar Ray Leonard, American boxer
• May 20 — Tomáš Šmíd, Czech tennis player
• June 5 — Nick Saviano, American tennis player
• June 6 — Björn Borg, Swedish tennis player
• June 11 — Joe Montana, American football player
• June 27 — Heiner Dopp, German field hockey player
• July 15 — Patricia McKillop, Zimbabwean field hockey player
• July 20 — Mima Jaušovec, Slovenian tennis player
• July 25 — Santiago Malgosa, Spanish field hockey player
• August 22 — Paul Molitor, baseball Hall of Famer
• September 7 — Jaime Zumalacárregui, Spanish field hockey player
• September 11 — Brent Miskimmin, New Zealand field hockey player
• September 14 — Ray Wilkins, English football player
• September 19 — John Sadri, American tennis player
• September 20 — Elisabeth Theurer, Austrian horse rider
• October 18 — Martina Navratilova, Czech-born tennis player
• October 31 — Thomas Rongen, Dutch soccer coach
• November 13 — Bill Scanlon, American tennis player
• November 18 — Warren Moon, American football player
• December 5 — Patricia Davies, Zimbabwean field hockey player
• December 7 — Larry Bird, US basketball player
• December 14 — Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein alpine skier
• December 26 — Susan Butcher, American sled dog racer
• December 31 — Ahmed Salah, Djiboutian long-distance runner

Deaths

• February 8 - Connie Mack, American baseball manager
• March 2 - Fred Merkle, Major League Baseball player (1907-1926)
• May 12 - Edgar Page, British field hockey player (b. 1884)
• May 26 - Al Simmons, Major League Baseball player (1924-1944)
• September 7 - C. B. Fry, England international cricketer and rugby player, long jump champion
• September 22 - Jesse Tannehill, Major League Baseball pitcher (1894-1911)
• October 16 - Jules Rimet, Frenc founding father of the Football World Cup
• November 27 - Charlie Peete (27), MLB baseball player, St. Louis Cardinals, plane crash