1896 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
Athletics
- USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
- March 22 - Greek runner Charilaos Vasilakos wins the first modern marathon (3:18)
American football
Professional championships
Association football
Canada
- March 15th - The Newfoundland Football League is founded.
- March 19th - The Manitoba Football Association is founded.
England
- The Football League – Aston Villa 45 points, Derby County 41, Everton 39, Bolton Wanderers 37, Sunderland 37, Stoke FC 30
- FA Cup final – The Wednesday 2–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers at Crystal Palace, London.
Scotland
- Scottish Football League – Celtic
- Scottish Cup final – Hearts 3–1 Hibernian at Logie Green
Australian Rules Football
- Victorian Football Association premiers - Collingwood
- SANFL premiers - South Adelaide
- WAFL premiers - Fremantle
Baseball
National championship
- Baltimore Orioles win the third of three successive National League championships
Events
Boxing
- 10 March - After Bob Fitzsimmons KOs much larger Jim Corbett to win world HW championship he says, The bigger they are, the harder they fall
Lineal world champions
- World Heavyweight Championship – James J. Corbett
- World Middleweight Championship – title vacant
- World Welterweight Championship – Tommy Ryan
- World Lightweight Championship – vacant → George "Kid" Lavigne
- World Featherweight Championship – George Dixon
- World Bantamweight Championship – Jimmy Barry
Canadian Football
- Ontario Rugby Football Union - University of Toronto
- Quebec Rugby Football Union - Ottawa College
- Manitoba Rugby Football Union - St John's
- Northwest Championship - Winnipeg
- Dominion Championship - Ottawa College defeats the University of Toronto 12-8
Cricket
Events
- England retain The Ashes, defeating Australia 2–1 in a three-match series. In a low-scoring decider at The Oval, England win by 66 runs.
England
- County Championship – Yorkshire
- Minor Counties Championship – Worcestershire
- Most runs – K S Ranjitsinhji 2780 @ 57.91 (HS 171*)
- Most wickets – J T Hearne 257 @ 14.28 (BB 9–73)
- Wisden Five Cricketers of the Season – Syd Gregory, Dick Lilley, K S Ranjitsinhji, Tom Richardson, Hugh Trumble
Australia
- Sheffield Shield – New South Wales
- Most runs – Harry Donnan 626 @ 69.55 (HS 160)
- Most wickets – Tom McKibbin 46 @ 23.86 (BB 8–93)
India
- Bombay Presidency – Europeans shared with Parsees
South Africa
- Currie Cup – not contested
West Indies
- Inter-Colonial Tournament – not contested
Figure skating
Events
- Inaugural World Figure Skating Championships (open to men only) is held in Saint Petersburg
World Figure Skating Championships
- World Men's Champion – Gilbert Fuchs (Germany)
Golf
Major tournaments
- British Open – Harry Vardon (the first of Vardon's six British Open titles)
- U.S. Open – James Foulis
Other tournaments
Horse racing
England
- Grand National – The Soarer
- 1,000 Guineas Stakes – Thais
- 2,000 Guineas Stakes – St. Frusquin
- The Derby – Persimmon
- The Oaks – Canterbury Pilgrim
- St. Leger Stakes – Persimmon
Australia
- Melbourne Cup – Newhaven
Canada
- Queen's Plate – Millbrook
Ireland
- Irish Grand National – Royston Crow
- Irish Derby Stakes – Gulsalberk
USA
- Kentucky Derby – Lieut. Gibson
- Preakness Stakes – Margrave
- Belmont Stakes – Hastings
Ice hockey
- 14 February — the Winnipeg Victorias defeat the Montreal Victorias 2–0 in a challenge match to win the 1896 Stanley Cup championship
- 7 March — the Montreal Victorias are the 1896 AHAC season champions.
- March — Queen's University defeats Stratford, Ontario 12–3 to win the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) title. The club does not challenge Winnipeg.
- 17 November — the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, which later became the first ice hockey league to openly trade and hire players, began play at Pittsburgh's Schenley Park Casino.
- 17 December — the Schenley Park Casino, which was the first multi-purpose arena with the technology to create an artificial ice surface in North America as well as the home to the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, was destroyed in a fire.
- 30 December — the Montreal Victorias defeat the Winnipeg Victorias 6–5 in a challenge match to regain the Stanley Cup
Motor racing
Paris-Marseille-Paris Trail
- The 1896 Paris–Marseille–Paris Trail is held over 1710 km from 24 September to 3 October and won by Émile Mayade driving a Panhard-Levassor 8 hp model in a time of 67:42:58. The race is in retrospect sometimes referred to as the II Grand Prix de l'ACF.
Olympic Games
1896 Summer Olympics
- The 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Games, takes place in Athens with 13 nations competing, the most competitors coming from Greece, Germany and France.
- 16 April — American James Connolly wins the triple jump to become the first Olympic champion in over 1,500 years.
- Winners receive a silver medal and a crown of olive branches; Greece wins the most medals (46) and the United States wins the most gold medals (11).
Rowing
The Boat Race
- 28 March — Oxford wins the 53rd Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race
- There is no Harvard–Yale Regatta during "a breakdown in relations between the two schools". From the third Race in 1859, the only exceptions outside major wars are 1871 and 1896.
Rugby league
Events
- In the 1895–96 Northern Rugby Football Union season's final match, Manningham defeats Halifax to claim the inaugural Rugby Football League Championship.
- The inaugural Rugby League Challenge Cup competition begins in the 1896–97 season.
England
- Championship – Manningham
- Lancashire League Championship – Runcorn
- Yorkshire League Championship – Manningham
Rugby union
Home Nations Championship
- 14th Home Nations Championship series is won by Ireland
Skiing
- The foundation of the Ski-Club of Grenoble by Henry Duhamel.
Speed skating
Speed Skating World Championships
- Men's All-round Champion – Jaap Eden (Netherlands)
Tennis
England
- Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Harold Mahony (Ireland) defeats Wilfred Baddeley (GB) 6–2 6–8 5–7 8–6 6–3
- Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Charlotte Cooper Sterry (GB) defeats Alice Simpson-Pickering (GB) 6–2 6–3
France
- French Men's Singles Championship – André Vacherot (France) defeats Gérard Brosselin (France) 6–1 7–5
USA
- American Men's Singles Championship – Robert Wrenn (USA) defeats Fred Hovey (USA) 7–5 3–6 6–0 1–6 6–1
- American Women's Singles Championship – Elisabeth Moore (USA) defeats Juliette Atkinson (USA) 6–4 4–6 6–2 6–2
References
- "Scottish Cup Past Winners | Scottish Cup | Scottish FA". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- "Cyber Boxing Zone". Archived from the original on 2009-06-14. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
- "Epsom Derby | History, Winners, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
- 1896 Grand Prix and Paris Races Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 7 September 2009.
- "Harvard–Yale Regatta – 150 Years of Tradition" Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine. Harvard Men's Heavyweight Crew. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
| Sports by year (1851–1900) | |
|---|---|