1953 in sports

Auto Racing

• NASCAR Championship - Herb Thomas[?]
• AAA Racing:
  • Bill Vukovich[?] won the Indianapolis 500
  • Sam Hanks[?] won the season driving championship
• Formula One Championship - Alberto Ascari of Italy
• 24 hours of Le Mans:
  • the team of Tony Rolt[?] / Duncan Hamilton[?] won, driving a Jaguar C-Type
• Rally racing:
  • the team of Maurice Gatsonides[?] /Peter Worledge[?] won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Ford Zephyr
• Drag racing - The NHRA held its first official race in April on a section of the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds parking lot in Pomona, California.

Baseball

• World Series: New York Yankees won 4 games to 2 over the Brooklyn Dodgers

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
  • Indiana wins 69-68 over Kansas

• NBA Finals:
  • Minneapolis Lakers won 4 games to 1 over the New York Knicks

Boxing

• September 24 in New York City - Rocky Marciano retains his World Heavyweight title with a TKO[?] over Roland LaStarza[?] in the 11th round.

• October in New York City - Bobo Olson[?] scored a 15 round decision over Randy Turpin to win the World Middleweight Championship

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Fausto Coppi[?] of Italy
• Tour de France - Louison Bobet[?] of France
• World Cycling Championship: Fausto Coppi[?] of Italy

Figure Skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Hayes Alan Jenkins[?], United States
  • Women's champion: Tenley Albright[?], United States
  • Pairs champions: Jennifer Nicks[?] & John Nicks[?], Great Britain

Football (Soccer)

• England - FA Cup: Blackpool won 4-3 over the Bolton Wanderers[?]

Football (American)

• NFL Championship: Detroit Lions won 17-16 over the Cleveland Browns

Canadian Football League

• Grey Cup: Hamilton Tiger-Cats win 12-6 over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Golf

Men's Golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. May - The Masters - Ben Hogan
  2. June - US Open - Ben Hogan
  3. July - British Open - Ben Hogan
  4. August - PGA Championship - Walter Burkemo[?]

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Lew Worsham[?] - $34,002

• Ryder Cup: United States wins 6 1/2 to 5 1/2 over the British team in world golf.

Women's Golf

• The US Women's Open - Betsy Rawls[?]

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Wodalla[?]
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Canadiana[?]
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - La Sorellina[?]
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Chamier[?]

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Nearula[?]
  2. Epsom Derby - Pinza[?]
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Premonition[?]

• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Dark Star[?]
  2. Preakness Stakes - Native Dancer[?]
  3. Belmont Stakes - Native Dancer[?]

Harness Racing

• Little Brown Jug for pacers won by Keystoner[?]
• Hambletonian for trotters won by Helicopter[?]

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Captain Sandy[?]

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: Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 1 over the Boston Bruins

• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Sweden defeated the heavily favoured Soviet Union
  • Canada did not participate in the World Hockey Championship, the government claiming it was not worth the expense.

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - Ken Rosewall[?]
  2. French Open - Ken Rosewall[?]
  3. Wimbledon championships - Vic Seixas[?]
  4. US Open - Tony Trabert[?]

• Maureen Connolly became the first woman to win the Grand Slam in tennis. Women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Maureen Connolly
  2. French Open - Maureen Connolly
  3. Wimbledon championships - Maureen Connolly
  4. US Open - Maureen Connolly

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

General sporting events

• Fred Davis[?] retained the World Professional Snooker Championship

Births

• January 10 - Bobby Rahal[?], automobile racer

Deaths

• March 3 - Clyde Milan[?], Major League Baseball player (1907-1922)
• March 28 - Jim Thorpe, athlete
• April 11 - Kid Nichols[?], Major League Baseball pitcher (1890-1906)
• May 27 - Jesse Burkett[?], Major League Baseball player (1890-1905)
• June 5 - Bill Tilden[?], tennis player
• August 11 - Tazio Nuvolari, race car driver