1870 in sports
Encyclopedia
American footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
College championship
- College football national championshipNCAA Division I FBS National Football ChampionshipA college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...
– Princeton TigersPrinceton Tigers footballThe Princeton Tigers football program represents Princeton University college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision...
Events
- Columbia Lions joins the college football circuit and loses to Rutgers Scarlet KnightsRutgers Scarlet Knights footballThe Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represents Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision play...
in its only game. Princeton TigersPrinceton Tigers footballThe Princeton Tigers football program represents Princeton University college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision...
beats Rutgers. Columbia doesn't play Princeton.
Association football
England- Formation of Rotherham UnitedRotherham United F.C.Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...
Scotland
- Formation of Stranraer FCStranraer F.C.Stranraer Football Club is a Scottish semi-professional football team based in the town of Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway. They are members of the Scottish Football League, and currently play in the Third Division.-History:...
International
- 5 March — the first international match between England and Scotland is a 0–0 draw at Kennington OvalThe OvalThe Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
but it is not officially recognised by FIFA as there is no Scottish FA in existence at the time
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...
National championship
- National Association of Base Ball PlayersNational Association of Base Ball PlayersThe National Association of Base Ball Players was the first organization governing American baseball. The first, 1857 convention of sixteen New York City clubs...
champion – Chicago White StockingsChicago White SoxThe Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
Events
- Openly there are fifteen professional teams in the field. Harvard collegeHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
's strongest team tours during the summer and wins 6 of 16 against the pros. - 14 June — Atlantic of BrooklynBrooklyn AtlanticsThe Atlantic Base Ball Club of Brooklyn was baseball's first champion and its first dynasty.Established in 1855, Atlantic was a founding member of the National Association of Base Ball Players in 1857. In 1859, with a record of 11 wins and 1 loss, Atlantic emerged as the recognized champions of...
defeats the Cincinnati Red StockingsCincinnati Red StockingsThe Cincinnati Red Stockings of were baseball's first fully professional team, with ten salaried players. The Cincinnati Base Ball Club formed in 1866 and fielded competitive teams in the National Association of Base Ball Players 1867–1870, a time of a transition that ambitious Cincinnati,...
8 to 7 in 11 innings, the first Red Stockings defeat since 3 October 1868.
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
- 10 May — Jem MaceJem MaceJem Mace was an English boxing champion. He was born at Beeston, Norfolk. Although nicknamed "The Gypsy", he denied Romani ethnicity in his autobiography...
returns to competitive boxing and fights Tom AllenTom Allen (boxer)Tom Allen was a boxing champion who claimed the Heavyweight Championship from 1873, when he defeated Mike McCoole, until 1876, when he lost to Joe Goss.-External links:*...
, nominally for the now-defunct English Championship, at Kennerville, Louisiana. Mace wins with a tenth round knockout which confirms that he is still the best English fighter. However, claims are made on behalf of Mace that he is now the holder of the American Championship also. Not having fought either Elliott or McCoole, this is an invalid claim. - 12 December — American Championship claimant Jimmy ElliottJimmy ElliottFor the English footballer of the same name see Jimmy Elliott Jimmy Elliot was an Irish-American boxer who was Heavyweight Champion of the World from 1865 to 1868. On December 12, 1870 Elliott was arrested and convicted of highway robbery and assault with intent to kill...
is arrested and convicted of highway robbery and assault with intent to kill. He is sentenced to 16 years and 10 months at the Eastern Penitentiary in Philadelphia, eventually serving more than eight years. - Elliott's rival Mike McCooleMike McCooleMike McCoole was a boxing champion.He claimed the Heavyweight Championship in 1866 after Joe Coburn retired. He lost the title to Tom Allen in 1873.-External links:*...
is inactive this year but, with Elliott out of contention, McCoole has the strongest claim to the American Championship with Mace now his main rival.
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
- 2, 3 & 4 June — Gloucestershire CCC plays its initial first-class match v. Surrey at Durdham Downs, near Bristol.
- Formation of Derbyshire County Cricket ClubDerbyshire County Cricket ClubDerbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
England
- Champion County – Yorkshire
- Most runs – W G Grace 1808 @ 54.78 (HS 215)
- Most wickets – James SouthertonJames SouthertonJames Southerton was a professional cricketer who played first-class cricket between 1854 and 1879....
210 @ 14.62 (BB 8–67)
GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
Major tournaments
- British OpenThe Open ChampionshipThe Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...
– Tom Morris juniorTom Morris, Jr.Tom Morris, Jr. , known as "Young Tom Morris", was one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodigy in golf history...
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...
Events
- Inaugural running of the Irish Grand NationalIrish Grand NationalThe Irish Grand National is a National Hunt chase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 3 miles and 5 furlongs , and during its running there are twenty-four fences to be jumped...
at Fairyhouse RacecourseFairyhouse RacecourseFairyhouse Racecourse is one of Ireland's premier horse racing venues. Situated in the parish of Ratoath in County Meath, on the R155 regional road, 3 km off the N3. It is the home of the Irish Grand National. The first race meet was held in 1848...
is won by Sir Robert Peel.
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...
– The Colonel (second consecutive win) - 1,000 Guineas Stakes – Hester
- 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Macgregor
- 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...
– Kingcraft - 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....
– Gamos - 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...
– Hawthornden
Australia
- Melbourne CupMelbourne CupThe Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...
– Nimblefoot
Canada
- Queen's PlateQueen's PlateThe Queen's Plate is Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race. It is run at a distance of 1¼ miles for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses foaled in Canada. The race takes place each summer in June or July at Woodbine Racetrack, Etobicoke , Ontario...
– John Bell
Ireland
- Irish Grand NationalIrish Grand NationalThe Irish Grand National is a National Hunt chase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 3 miles and 5 furlongs , and during its running there are twenty-four fences to be jumped...
– Sir Robert Peel - Irish Derby StakesIrish Derby StakesThe Irish Derby is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late June or early July.It is Ireland's equivalent of the Epsom Derby,...
– Billy Pitt
USA
- Belmont StakesBelmont StakesThe Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
– KingfisherKingfisher (horse)Kingfisher was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1870 Belmont Stakes.Kingfisher was bred by Robert A. Alexander at his Woodburn Stud in Woodford County, Kentucky, Kingfisher was out of the imported mare Eltham Lass, a daughter of Kingston. Kingfisher's sire was Lexington...
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
- 6 April — CambridgeCambridge University Boat ClubThe Cambridge University Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England, located on the River Cam at Cambridge, although training primarily takes place on the River Great Ouse at Ely. The club was founded in 1828...
wins the 27th 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...
Other events
- In Australia, the inaugural Australian Universities Boat RaceOxford and Cambridge CupThe Oxford and Cambridge Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the Australian University Championship Men's Eight , and is competed for annually at the Australian University Games or the Australian University Rowing Championships...
is won by Melbourne in 31 mins 4 seconds
Rugby footballRugby footballRugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
Events
- Foundation of Leeds RLFCLeeds RhinosLeeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
- Alcock's Football Annual lists approximately 75 clubs playing Rugby School football rules. These different clubs have different interpretations of the laws as played at Rugby School.
- The Nelson club of New Zealand starts to play Rugby School rules, the first club in that country to do so.
- In November, an anonymous surgeon writes to The Times complaining that Rugby football is dangerous. The letter fuels agreement in the sport to form a ruling body which will regulate the laws.
Yacht racingYacht racingYacht racing is the sport of competitive yachting.While sailing groups organize the most active and popular competitive yachting, other boating events are also held world-wide: speed motorboat racing; competitive canoeing, kayaking, and rowing; model yachting; and navigational contests Yacht racing...
America's Cup
- 8 April — the New York Yacht ClubNew York Yacht ClubThe New York Yacht Club is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. The organization has over 3,000 members as of 2011. ...
wins the first America's CupAmerica's CupThe America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...
challenge race, as Magic defeats British challenger Cambria, of the Royal Thames Yacht ClubRoyal Thames Yacht ClubThe Royal Thames Yacht Club is the oldest sailing club in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are located at 60 Knightsbridge, London, England, overlooking Hyde Park....
.