1891 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...
– Yale BulldogsYale Bulldogs footballThe Yale Bulldogs football program represents Yale University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision . Yale's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun competing in the sport in 1872...
Events
- KansasKansas Jayhawks footballThe Kansas Jayhawks football program is the intercollegiate football program of the University of Kansas Jayhawks. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference....
defeats MissouriMissouri Tigers footballThe Missouri Tigers football team represents the University of Missouri in NCAA Division I FBS college football. The team has competed in the North Division of the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996...
in the first Border War game 22-10 beginning one of the oldest and most fierce college football rivalries.
Association football
England- The Football LeagueThe Football LeagueThe Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
– Everton 29 points, Preston North End 27, Notts County 26, Wolves 26, Bolton Wanderers 25, Blackburn Rovers 24 - FA Cup finalFA Cup FinalThe FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. With an official attendance of 89,826 at the 2007 FA Cup Final, it is the fourth best attended domestic club championship event in the world and the second most...
– Blackburn Rovers 3–1 Notts County at The 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... - The Football League expands from twelve to fourteen teams for the 1891–92 season: Stoke FC, having been expelled in 1890, is restored; DarwenDarwen F.C.A.F.C. Darwen is a football club from Darwen in Lancashire, North West England. The team, formed in 1870 as Darwen F.C., currently play in the Division One of the North West Counties League. They play their home games at the Anchor Ground.-History:...
is elected.
Scotland
- Scottish Football LeagueScottish Football LeagueThe Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
– DumbartonDumbarton F.C.Dumbarton Football Club is Scotland's 4th oldest football club – founded in 1872, just after Queen's Park , Kilmarnock and Stranraer...
and Rangers F.C.Rangers F.C.Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
share the title in its inaugural season - Scottish Cup final – Heart of MidlothianHeart of Midlothian F.C.Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
1–0 DumbartonDumbarton F.C.Dumbarton Football Club is Scotland's 4th oldest football club – founded in 1872, just after Queen's Park , Kilmarnock and Stranraer...
at Hampden ParkHampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
Uruguay
- 28 September — foundation of the Central Uruguay Railway Cricket ClubCentral Uruguay Railway Cricket ClubCentral Uruguay Railway Cricket Club was a Cricket and association football club from Uruguay. It was abbreviated as CURCC, but unofficially known as Peñarol because of the neighbourhood of Montevideo, the Uruguayan capital, where it was established on September 28, 1891. CURCC was the result of...
(CURCC) by British railway workers in MontevideoMontevideoMontevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
; it later becomes C.A. PeñarolC.A. PeñarolClub Atlético Peñarol also known as Carboneros, Aurinegros and familiarly as Manya, is an Uruguayan sports club based in the Peñarol barrio, Montevideo, best known for its professional football team. The team plays their home matches in Estadio Centenario, the largest stadium in the country, but...
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 LeagueNational LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
v. American AssociationAmerican Association (19th century)The American Association was a Major League Baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from to . During that time, it challenged the National League for dominance of professional baseball...
– series not held - The National LeagueNational LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
winners are the Boston BeaneatersAtlanta BravesThe Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
who decline to play against the American AssociationAmerican Association (19th century)The American Association was a Major League Baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from to . During that time, it challenged the National League for dominance of professional baseball...
winners, the Boston Reds
Events
- The American AssociationAmerican Association (19th century)The American Association was a Major League Baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from to . During that time, it challenged the National League for dominance of professional baseball...
folds after the season ends
BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
Events
- James NaismithJames NaismithThe first game of "Basket Ball" was played in December 1891. In a handwritten report, Naismith described the circumstances of the inaugural match; in contrast to modern basketball, the players played nine versus nine, handled a soccer ball, not a basketball, and instead of shooting at two hoops,...
of Springfield, MassachusettsSpringfield, MassachusettsSpringfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
invents basketball
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
- 14 January — Bob FitzsimmonsBob FitzsimmonsRobert James "Bob" Fitzsimmons , was a British boxer who made boxing history as the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating Gentleman Jim Corbett, the man who beat John L. Sullivan, and is in The Guinness Book of World Records as the Lightest heavyweight...
knocks out Jack Nonpareil Dempsey in the 13th round at New Orleans to win the Middleweight Championship of the World. It is the first of three world titles that Fitzsimmons will hold during his career.
Lineal world champions
- World Heavyweight Championship – John L. SullivanJohn L. SullivanJohn Lawrence Sullivan , also known as the Boston Strong Boy, was recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing from February 7, 1881 to 1892, and is generally recognized as the last heavyweight champion of bare-knuckle boxing under the London Prize Ring rules...
- World Middleweight Championship – Jack Nonpareil Dempsey → Bob FitzsimmonsBob FitzsimmonsRobert James "Bob" Fitzsimmons , was a British boxer who made boxing history as the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating Gentleman Jim Corbett, the man who beat John L. Sullivan, and is in The Guinness Book of World Records as the Lightest heavyweight...
- World Welterweight Championship – title vacant
- World Lightweight Championship – Jack McAuliffeJack McAuliffeJack McAuliffe was an Irish-American boxer. Nicknamed 'The Napolean of the Ring', and fighting mostly out of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, he was one of only nine boxers to remain undefeated throughout his entire career. He was the Lightweight Champion of the World from 1886 to 1893...
- World Featherweight Championship – Young GriffoYoung GriffoAlbert Griffiths , better known as Young Griffo, was a world featherweight boxing champion.-Professional career:...
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
- Inaugural Inter-Colonial TournamentInter-Colonial TournamentThe Inter-Colonial Tournament was the main first class cricket competition in the West Indies before World War II.- Competing teams :* Barbados* British Guiana* Trinidad...
takes place in the West Indies involving Barbados, British Guiana and Trinidad & TobagoTrinidad and Tobago cricket teamThe Trinidad and Tobago cricket team is the representative cricket team of the country of Trinidad and Tobago.The team takes part in inter-regional cricket competitions in the Caribbean, such as the Regional Four Day Competition and the WICB Cup, with the best players selected for the West Indies...
.
England
- County ChampionshipCounty ChampionshipThe County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
– Surrey - Most runs – William Gunn 1336 @ 41.75 (HS 169)
- Most wickets – George LohmannGeorge LohmannGeorge Alfred Lohmann is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time...
177 @ 11.66 (BB 7–20) - Wisden Five Great BowlersWisden Cricketers of the YearThe Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season"...
– William AttewellWilliam AttewellWilliam Attewell was a cricketer who played for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and England. Attewell was a medium pace bowler who was renowned for his extraordinary accuracy and economy...
, J T Hearne, Frederick Martin, Arthur MoldArthur MoldArthur Webb Mold was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Lancashire County Cricket Club between 1889 and 1901. He played three Test matches for England in 1893 and was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1892. A fast bowler, he was one of the most effective bowlers...
, John SharpeJohn Sharpe (cricketer)John Sharpe was a bowler who was George Lohmann's partner in the formidable Surrey sides that dominated the first years of the official cricket County Championship...
Australia
- Most runs – George GiffenGeorge GiffenGeorge Giffen was a cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. An all-rounder who batted in the middle order and often opened the bowling with medium-paced off-spin, Giffen captained Australia during the 1894–95 Ashes series and was the first Australian to score 10,000 runs and...
275 runs @ 91.66 (HS 237) - Most wickets – Jim PhillipsJim PhillipsJames Phillips was a Victorian First-class cricketer and Test match umpire....
25 wickets @ 10.00 (BB 7–20)
South Africa
- Currie CupSuperSport SeriesThe SuperSport Series is the main domestic first class cricket competition in South Africa, first contested in 1889-90. From 1990-91 it became known as the Castle Cup, and from 1996-97 by its current title...
– KimberleyGriqualand West cricket teamThe Griqualand West cricket team is the first-class cricket team that represents the province of Griqualand West in South Africa. For the purposes of the SuperSport Series, Griqualand West has merged with Free State to form the Eagles from October 2004....
West Indies
- Inter-Colonial TournamentInter-Colonial TournamentThe Inter-Colonial Tournament was the main first class cricket competition in the West Indies before World War II.- Competing teams :* Barbados* British Guiana* Trinidad...
– Barbados
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...
– Hugh KirkaldyHugh KirkaldyHugh Kirkaldy was a Scottish golfer from the "Home of Golf" St Andrews. He won the 1891 Open Championship, which was played over the Old Course at St Andrews. The tournament was played in October, in rough weather, and his winning score was 166 for 36 holes. He beat his brother Andrew and Willie...
Other tournaments
- British AmateurThe Amateur ChampionshipThe Amateur Championship is a golf tournament which is held annually in the United Kingdom. It is one of the two leading individual tournaments for amateur golfers, alongside the U.S. Amateur...
– Johnny LaidlayJohnny LaidlayJohn Ernest Laidlay was a Scottish amateur golfer. He invented the most popular golf grip used today, although the grip is credited to Harry Vardon, who took it up after Laidlay....
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...
– Come Away - 1,000 Guineas Stakes – Mimi
- 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Common
- 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...
– Common - 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....
– Mimi - 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...
– Common
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...
– Malvolio
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...
– Victorious
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...
– Old Tom - 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,...
– Narraghmore
USA
- Kentucky DerbyKentucky DerbyThe Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
– Kingman - Preakness StakesPreakness StakesThe Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
– not run - 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...
– Foxford
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
- 21 March — 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 48th 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...
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:...
Home Nations Championship
- The 9th series1891 Home Nations ChampionshipThe 1891 Home Nations Championship was the ninth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 3 January and 7 March...
is won by ScotlandScotland national rugby union teamThe Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
with a 100% record against England, Ireland and Wales.
Other events
- The 1891 British Lions tour to South Africa1891 British Lions tour to South AfricaThe 1891 British Isles tour to South Africa was the first British Isles rugby union tour of South Africa and only the second overseas tour conducted by a joint British team. Between 9 July and 7 September, the team played 20 games, including three tests against the South Africa national rugby union...
is the first British Isles tour of South Africa and only the second overseas tour conducted by a joint British team. Between 9 July and 7 September, the team plays 20 games, including three Tests against the South Africa national rugby union teamSouth Africa national rugby union teamThe South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
. The British Isles wins all 20 matches including the three Tests. Although not named as such at the time, the tour is retrospectively recognised as a British LionsBritish and Irish LionsThe British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
tour.
TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
Events
- Inaugural French championship is held as the Championat de France International de Tennis. Initially, only the men's singles is contested; the women's singles will begin in 1897. Until 1924, the tournament is open only to tennis players who are licensed in France but, ironically, the inaugural tournament is won by an Englishman, H Briggs, who defeats French player P Baigneres in the final. Briggs is a British resident living in Paris.
England
- Wimbledon Men's Singles ChampionshipThe Championships, WimbledonThe Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
– Wilfred BaddeleyWilfred BaddeleyWilfred Baddeley was a British male tennis player and the elder of the Baddeley twins. His brother Herbert died on 20 July 1931 in Cannes, France.- Career :...
(GB) defeats Joshua PimJoshua PimDr. Joshua Pim F.R.C.S.I was a medical doctor and a renowned Irish amateur tennis player. He won the Wimbledon men's singles title two years in a row, in 1893 and 1894.-Family life:...
(Ireland) 6–4 1–6 7–5 6–0 - Wimbledon Women's Singles ChampionshipThe Championships, WimbledonThe Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
– Lottie DodLottie DodCharlotte "Lottie" Dod was an English sportswoman best known as a tennis player. She won the Wimbledon Ladies' Singles Championship five times, the first one when she was only fifteen, in the summer of 1887...
(GB) defeats Blanche Bingley Hillyard (GB) 6–2 6–1
France
- French Men's Singles Championship – H. BriggsH. BriggsH. Briggs was a British tennis player residing in Paris, France.Briggs won the singles event of the inaugural Amateur French Championships in 1891, over P. Baigneres.-Singles: 1 :-References:...
(GB) defeats P. BaigneresP. BaigneresP. Baigneres was a tennis player competing for France. He finished runner-up to H. Briggs in the singles event of the inaugural Amateur French Championships in 1891.-Singles: 1 :-References:...
6–3 6–2
USA
- American Men's Singles Championship – Oliver CampbellOliver CampbellOliver Edward Michael Campbell was an American male tennis player....
defeats Clarence HobartClarence HobartClarence Hobart was a tennis player from the United States. He was a six-time champion at the U.S. National Championships, winning three titles in men's doubles in 1890, 1893 and 1894 and three others in mixed doubles in 1892, 1893 and 1905.-U.S...
2–6 7–5 7–9 6–1 6–2 - American Women's Singles Championship – Mabel CahillMabel CahillMabel Esmonde Cahill was a female tennis player from Ireland ....
(GB) defeats Ellen RooseveltEllen RooseveltEllen Crosby Roosevelt was an American tennis player.She won the women's singles title and the women's doubles title at the 1890 U.S. Championships and the mixed doubles title at the 1893 U.S. Championships.A first cousin of Franklin D...
6–4 6–1 4–6 6–3