1854 in sports
Encyclopedia
BaseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
Events
- The KnickerbockersNew York KnickerbockersThe New York Knickerbockers were one of the first organized baseball teams which played under a set of rules similar to the game today. The team was founded by Alexander Cartwright, considered one of the original developers of modern baseball....
adopt some rule changes agreed in conference by their delegates with those of the Gothams and Eagles. - The Eagles win their first two matches, with the Knickerbockers in mid-November, 21–4 and 22–21. The latter is the first time one team scores 21 but loses in "equal innings".
BoxingBoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
Events
- Harry Broome retains the Championship of England but there is no record of any fights involving him in 1851.
- American champion John MorrisseyJohn MorrisseyJohn Morrissey , also known as Old Smoke, was an Irish bare-knuckle boxer and a gang member in New York in the 1850s and later became a Democratic State Senator and U.S. Congressman from New York, backed by Tammany Hall...
becomes involved in Democratic politics in New York City and from this develops a bitter rivalry with William PooleWilliam PooleWilliam Poole , also known as Bill the Butcher, was a member of the New York City gang the Bowery Boys, a bare-knuckle boxer, and a leader of the Know Nothing political movement.-Early life:...
, also known as "Bill the Butcher", another prizefighter. Poole is also the leader of a notorious gang called the Bowery Boys who plan to seize ballot boxes and rig an election. Morrissey and others are hired to prevent this. - 14 February — Tom PaddockTom PaddockTom Paddock, born Thomas Paddock also known as the Redditch Needlepointer was a champion British bare-knuckle boxer in the early Victorian era....
defeats Harry Poulson at Mildenhall in 102 rounds; this is the third and effectively deciding bout between the two. - 18 July — Paddock defeats Aaron Jones at Long Reach in 121 rounds.
- 26 July — Poole and Morrisey agree to fight each other at Amos Dock, New York, to settle their dispute. Morrissey is badly beaten and, worried about the presence of Poole's supporters, concedes defeat.
- 27 August — Tom Paddock issues challenges to English Champion Harry Broome and to former champion William PerryWilliam Perry (boxer)William Perry was a British prize fighter of the 19th century.A statue stands in the town of Tipton, yards away from the Fountain Inn public house, which was once his headquarters...
but both refuse. Paddock responds by claiming the Championship of England, but he is not recognised at this time. - 20 October — Morrissey declines a challenge for his American title from retired former champion Tom HyerTom HyerTom Hyer was an American bare-knuckle boxer. He was a champion of boxing in America from September 9, 1841 to 1851....
. It will be exactly four years until Morrissey defends his title again.
CricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
Events
- The follow-on differential is reduced to 80 (or 60 in one day).
England
- Champion County – Surrey CCC
- Most runs – Jemmy DeanJemmy DeanJames "Jemmy" Dean was an English cricketer who played for Sussex County Cricket Club in the 19th century....
516 @ 16.12 (HS 99) - Most wickets – John WisdenJohn WisdenJohn Wisden was an English cricketer who played 190 first-class cricket matches for three English county cricket teams, Kent, Middlesex and Sussex...
106 @ 9.83 (BB 8–41)
FootballFootballFootball may refer to one of a number of team sports which all involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer"...
Events
- Dublin University Football ClubDublin University Football ClubDublin University Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Dublin, Trinity College, in Dublin, Ireland.-History:...
is founded by students at Trinity CollegeTrinity College, DublinTrinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
. It is a rugby unionRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club still based in the college grounds and plays in the AIB LeagueAIB LeagueThe Ulster Bank All-Ireland League is the national league system for the 48 senior rugby union clubs in Ireland, covering both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is not, however, the highest level of rugby union in Ireland, as teams representing the four provinces of Ireland play...
. It is the world's oldest extant football club (all codes) in terms of continuous existence.
Horse racingHorse racingHorse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
England
- Grand NationalGrand NationalThe Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...
– Bourton - 1,000 Guineas Stakes – Virago
- 2,000 Guineas Stakes – The Hermit
- Epsom DerbyEpsom DerbyThe Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
– Andover - Epsom OaksEpsom OaksThe Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early June....
– Mincemeat - St. Leger StakesSt. Leger StakesThe St. Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 132 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.Established in 1776, the St. Leger...
– Knight of St George
RowingRowing (sport)Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
The Boat Race
- 8 April — OxfordOxford University Boat ClubThe Oxford University Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in the early 19th century....
wins the 12th Oxford and Cambridge Boat RaceThe Boat RaceThe event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...
, last contested in 1852