1963 in sports - Definition and Overview

See also: 1962 in sports, other events of 1963, 1964 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.

Auto Racing

• Stock car racing:
  • Tiny Lund won the Daytona 500
  • NASCAR Championship - Joe Weatherly
• Indianapolis 500 - Parnelli Jones
• USAC Racing - A.J. Foyt won the season championship
• Formula One Championship - Jimmy Clark of Great Britain
• 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Ludovico Scarfiotti / Lorenzo Bandini win, driving a Ferrari 250P
• Rally racing - the team of Erik Carlsson / Gunnar Palm win the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Saab 96
• Drag racing - Bobby Vodnik won "Top Fuel" at the NHRA Nationals

Baseball

• June 22: Phillies CF Tony Gonzalez plays his 200th straight errorless game to help rookie Ray Culp beat Roger Craig and the Mets 2–0.

• World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers win 4 games to 0 over the New York Yankees. The series MVP is Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles.

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
  • Loyola (Illinois) wins 60-58 over Cincinnati

• NBA Finals:
  • Boston Celtics win 4 games to 2 over the Los Angeles Lakers

Boxing

• July 22 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Sonny Liston won the Heavyweight Championship of the world by knocking out Floyd Patterson in the 1st round.

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Franco Balmamion of Italy
• Tour de France - Jacques Anquetil of France
• World Cycling Championship: Benoni Beheyt of Belgium

Figure skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Donald McPherson, Canada
  • Women's champion: Sjoukje Dijkstra, Netherlands
  • Pairs champions: Marika Kilius & Hans-Jürgen Bäumler, Germany

Football (American)

• January 29 - First inductees into the "Pro Football" Hall of Fame are announced
• AFL Eastern Division Playoff: Boston Patriots win 26-8 over the Buffalo Bills
• AFL Championship: San Diego Chargers win 51-10 over the Boston Patriots
• NFL Championship: Chicago Bears win 14-10 over the New York Giants
• September 7 - The "Pro Football" Hall of Fame opens in Canton, Ohio with 17 charter members.

Football (Australian Rules)

• Victorian Football League
  • Geelong wins the 67th VFL Premiership (Geelong 15.19 (109) d Hawthorn 8.12 (60))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Bob Skilton (South Melbourne)

Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Hamilton Tiger-Cats win 21-10 over the B.C. Lions

Football (Soccer)

• England - FA Cup: Manchester United won 3-1 over Leicester City

Golf

Men's Golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. May - The Masters - Jack Nicklaus
  2. June - US Open - Julius Boros
  3. July - British Open - Bob Charles
  4. August - PGA Championship - Jack Nicklaus

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Johnny Miller - $353,022

• Ryder Cup: United States wins 23 to 9 over Britain in world team golf.

Women's Golf

• US Women's Open - Mary Mills
• LPGA Championship - Mickey Wright
• Mickey Wright: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $31,269

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Gatum Gatum
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Canebora
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Exbury
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Ragusa

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Only For Life
  2. Epsom Derby - Relko
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Ragusa

• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Chateaugay
  2. Preakness Stakes - Candy Spots
  3. Belmont Stakes - Chateaugay

Harness Racing

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace - Meadow Skipper
  2. Little Brown Jug - Overtrick
  3. Messenger Stakes - Overtrick

• Speedy Scot won the United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian - Speedy Scott
  2. Yonkers Trot - Speedy Scott
  3. Kentucky Futurity - Speedy Scott

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Cardigan Bay

Ice Hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings

• Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings

• Stanley Cup: Toronto Maple Leafs win 4 games to 1 over the Detroit Red Wings

• World Hockey Championship:
  • Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - Roy Emerson
  2. French Open - Roy Emerson
  3. Wimbledon championships - Chuck McKinley
  4. US Open - Rafael Osuna

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Margaret Smith
  2. French Open - Lesley Turner
  3. Wimbledon championships - Margaret Smith
  4. US Open - Maria Bueno

• Davis Cup: United States won 3-2 over Australia in world tennis.

General sporting events

• Maureen Baynton won the Women's World Amateur Billiards Championships

Births

• January 2 - Patty Shea, American field hockey goalkeeper
• January 3 - Lisa Opie, squash player
• January 9 - Karen Brown, British field hockey international
• January 21 - Hakeem Olajuwon, Nigerian-American basketball star
• February 11 - Todd Benzinger, American baseball player.
• February 17 - Michael Jordan, American basketball star
• February 20 - Charles Barkley, American basketball star
• February 22 - Vijay Singh, Fiji-born, ethnic Indian golf star
• March 14 - Bruce Reid, Australian cricketer
• July 24 - Karl Malone, American basketball star
• September 10 - Randy Johnson, American baseball star, five-time Cy Young Award winner

Deaths

• January 5 - Rogers Hornsby, Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman