1937 in sports

1937 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

Alpine skiing

FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 7th FIS Alpine World Ski Championships are held at Chamonix, France. The events are a downhill, a slalom and a combined race in both the men's and women's categories. The winners are:

Men's Downhill – Emile Allais (France)
Men's Slalom – Emile Allais (France)
Men's Combined – Emile Allais (France)
Women's Downhill – Christl Cranz (Germany)
Women's Slalom – Christl Cranz (Germany)
Women's Combined – Christl Cranz (Germany)

American football

NFL Championship – the Washington Redskins won 28–21 over the Chicago Bears at Wrigley Field.
First Cotton Bowl Classic is played in Dallas.
Pittsburgh Panthers – college football national championship
The Cleveland Rams join the National Football League.

Association football

England

First Division – Manchester City win the 1936–37 title.
FA Cup – Sunderland beat Preston North End 3–1.

Spain

La Liga – not contested due to the Spanish Civil War

Germany

German football championship won by Schalke 04

Italy

Serie A won by Bologna

Portugal

Primeira Liga won by S.L. Benfica

France

French Division 1 won by Olympique de Marseille

Sweden

Allsvenskan 1936/1937: AIK

Australian rules football

Victorian Football League
- 25 September – Geelong wins the 41st VFL Premiership, defeating Collingwood 18.14 (122) to 12.18 (90) in the 1937 VFL Grand Final
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Dick Reynolds (Essendon)
South Australian National Football League
- 2 October – Port Adelaide 13.16 (94) defeat South Adelaide 10.10 (70) to win their second consecutive SANFL premiership.
- Magarey Medal won by Harold Hawke (North Adelaide)
Western Australian National Football League
- 9 October – East Fremantle 14.13 (97) defeat Claremont 13.9 (87) to win their eighteenth premiership.
- Sandover Medal won by "Scranno" Jenkins (South Fremantle).

Baseball

World Series – New York Yankees defeat New York Giants, 4–1.
Hall of Fame election – Continuing toward the goal of 10 initial inductees from the 20th century, voters select Nap Lajoie, Tris Speaker and Cy Young. A special committee selects managers Connie Mack and John McGraw, former league presidents Morgan Bulkeley and Ban Johnson, and pioneer shortstop/promoter George Wright. Selections of nineteenth-century players are postponed.
Aguilas Cibaenas, a club of Dominican Republic, officially founded in Santiago de los Caballeros on January 28.^{[citation needed]}

Basketball

Events

Major professional basketball returns with the formation of the National Basketball League.
Eurobasket 1937 – Lithuania win the second European basketball championship.
The fifth South American Basketball Championship in Valparaíso and Santiago is won by Chile.
The first NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament played in Kansas City.

Boxing

Events

22 June – Joe Louis defeats James J. Braddock at Chicago by an eighth-round knockout to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
30 August – in his first title defence, Louis defeats Tommy Farr at Bronx on a fifteen-round decision

Lineal world champions^[1]

World Heavyweight Championship – James J. Braddock → Joe Louis
World Light Heavyweight Championship – John Henry Lewis
World Middleweight Championship – vacant
World Welterweight Championship – Barney Ross
World Lightweight Championship – Lou Ambers
World Featherweight Championship – vacant → Henry Armstrong
World Bantamweight Championship – Sixto Escobar → Harry Jeffra
World Flyweight Championship – vacant → Benny Lynch

Cricket

Events

England tours Australia, losing the five-Test series two games to three, despite winning the first two games.

England

County Championship – Yorkshire
Minor Counties Championship – Lancashire Second Eleven
Most runs – Wally Hammond 3,252 @ 65.04 (HS 217)
Most wickets – Tom Goddard 248 @ 16.76 (BB 10–113)
New Zealand play a three-test series against England, losing the series one Test to nil with two draws.
Wisden Cricketers of the Year – Tom Goddard, Joe Hardstaff, Jr., Leonard Hutton, Jim Parks, Sr., Eddie Paynter

Australia

Sheffield Shield – Victoria
Most runs – Don Bradman 1,552 @ 86.22 (HS 270)
Most wickets
- Chuck Fleetwood-Smith 53 @ 20.24 (BB 8–79)
- Frank Ward 53 @ 28.41 (BB 7–127)

India

Ranji Trophy – Nawanagar beat Bengal by 256 runs
Bombay Pentangular – Muslims

New Zealand

Plunket Shield – Auckland

South Africa

Currie Cup – not contested

West Indies

Inter-Colonial Tournament – Trinidad

Cycling

Tour de France

Roger Lapébie wins the Tour de France.^[2]

Giro d'Italia

Gino Bartali of Legnano wins the 25th Giro d'Italia

Field hockey

July 14 – foundation of HC Den Bosch, a Dutch club based in 's-Hertogenbosch

Figure skating

World Figure Skating Championships –
- Men's champion: Felix Kaspar, Austria
- Ladies’ champion: Megan Taylor, Great Britain
- Pair skating champion: Maxi Herber & Ernst Baier, Germany

Golf

Men's professional

Men's amateur

British Amateur – Robert Sweeny Jr.
U.S. Amateur – Johnny Goodman

Women's professional

Women's Western Open – Helen Hicks
Titleholders Championship – Patty Berg

Horse racing

Steeplechases

Cheltenham Gold Cup – not held due to flooding of Cheltenham Racecourse
Grand National – Royal Mail

Hurdle races

Champion Hurdle – Free Fare

Flat races

Australia – Melbourne Cup won by The Trump
Canada – King's Plate won by Goldlure
France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Corrida
Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Phideas
English Triple Crown Races:
1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Le Ksar
2. The Derby – Mid-day Sun^[3]
3. St. Leger Stakes – Chulmleigh
United States Triple Crown Races:
1. Kentucky Derby – War Admiral
2. Preakness Stakes – War Admiral
3. Belmont Stakes – War Admiral

Ice hockey

April 15 – The Detroit Red Wings defeat the New York Rangers 3–0 to win the 1937 Stanley Cup Finals
April 17 – The Winnipeg Monarchs defeat the Copper Cliff Redmen 7–0 to win the 1937 Memorial Cup