1920 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

• NFL championship –Akron Pros (8–0–3)
• Rose Bowl (1919 season):
  • TheHarvard Crimson won 7–6 over theOregon Webfoots to win the college footballnational championship
• 17 September — theNational Football League (NFL) is founded as the American Professional Football Association inCanton, Ohio. Of the teams in the current NFL, only the Decatur Staleys (renamed theChicago Bears) and the Racine (Chicago) Cardinals (the currentArizona Cardinals) remain in existence.
• 14 December — Death of Notre Dame playerGeorge Gipp (1895–1920), mainly remembered for his deathbed quote to coachKnute Rockne: "Win just one for the Gipper".

• First women's international football game takes place between a French team and an English team with 25,000 spectators in attendance.^[1]

England

• The Football League –West Bromwich Albion 60 points,Burnley 51,Chelsea 49,Liverpool 48,Sunderland 48,Bolton Wanderers 47
• FA Cup final –Aston Villa 1–0Huddersfield Town (after extra time) atStamford Bridge, London
• The Football League is expanded by the formation of the originalThird Division. New clubs admitted to the league includeLeeds United andCardiff City, who are both elected to theSecond Division. New members in the Third Division are:Brentford,Brighton & Hove Albion,Bristol Rovers,Crystal Palace,Exeter City,Gillingham,Luton Town,Merthyr Town (1920 – 1930),Millwall,Newport County (1920 – 1988),Northampton Town,Norwich City,Plymouth Argyle,Portsmouth,Queens Park Rangers (QPR),Reading,Southampton,Southend United,Swansea Town,Swindon Town andWatford.

Germany

• National Championship –1. FC Nürnberg 2–0SpVgg Fürth at Frankfurt

Men's 100 metres

• Jackson Scholz (USA) equals the world record of 10.6 seconds.

VFL Premiership

• 2 October –Richmond wins the 24thVFL Premiership, defeatingCollingwood 7.10 (52) to 5.5 (35)in the Grand Final

South Australian Football League

• 18 September –North Adelaide defeatNorwood 10.9 (69) to 3.3 (21) to win its fourthSAFL premiership.

West Australian Football League

• 25 September –East Perth defeatsEast Fremantle 6.16 (52) to 4.6 (30) to win its second consecutivepremiership.

Sweden

• Championship final –IFK Uppsala 3–2IF Linnéa

World Series

• 5–12 October —Cleveland Indians (AL) defeatsBrooklyn Dodgers (NL) by 5 games to 2 to win the1920 World Series

Major League Baseball

• Thesale of Babe Ruth.Boston Red Sox transfersBabe Ruth toNew York Yankees for $125,000 and a $350,000 loan. Ruth hits 54home runs for the Yankees in 1920, nearly double the record of 29 he hitin the 1919 season.
• 16 August —Ray Chapman ofCleveland Indians is hit on the head by afastball fromCarl Mays ofNew York Yankees. He dies early next day, the second fatality of major league play.
• Chicago White Sox starsEddie Cicotte andShoeless Joe Jackson confess their roles in theBlack Sox scandal

Negro leagues

• 13 February — theNegro National League is formed
• 2 May — the first game of the new league is played at Indianapolis with theIndianapolis ABCs defeating theChicago Giants (not to be confused with theChicago American Giants)
• Chicago American Giants wins the inaugural Negro National League pennant

Italy

• A first match held on professional league of Italy,Lega Basket Serie A.^[2]

Events

• 6 May –Johnny Wilson wins theWorld Middleweight Championship by defeatingMike O'Dowd in 12 rounds atBoston.
• 12 October –Georges Carpentier wins theWorld Light Heavyweight Championship after he knocks outBattling Levinsky in the 4th round atJersey City, his victory setting up the first "million dollar gate" when he fightsJack Dempsey in 1921.
• 22 December –Joe Lynch defeatsPete Herman in 15 rounds at New York to win theWorld Bantamweight Championship.

Lineal world champions^[3]

• World Heavyweight Championship –Jack Dempsey
• World Light Heavyweight Championship –Battling Levinsky →Georges Carpentier
• World Middleweight Championship –Mike O'Dowd →Johnny Wilson
• World Welterweight Championship –Jack Britton
• World Lightweight Championship –Benny Leonard
• World Featherweight Championship –Johnny Kilbane
• World Bantamweight Championship –Pete Herman →Joe Lynch
• World Flyweight Championship –Jimmy Wilde

Grey Cup

• 8th Grey Cup –University of Toronto Varsity Blues 16–3Toronto Argonauts

Events

• Post-war recovery continues and anEnglish team goes to Australia in November to commence the firstTest series since the war.
• Derbyshire suffer the ignominy of aperfectly bad season, losing all seventeen county matches with any play. This is the second and last time this has occurred in county cricket, and the only time in the officialCounty Championship.

England

• County Championship –Middlesex
• Minor Counties Championship –Staffordshire
• Most runs –Jack Hobbs 2827 @ 58.89 (HS 215)
• Most wickets –Frank Woolley 185 @ 14.23 (BB 7–59)
• Wisden Cricketer of the Year –Plum Warner

Australia

• Sheffield Shield –New South Wales
• Most runs –Roy Park 648 @ 72.00 (HS 228)
• Most wickets –Stork Hendry 29 @ 18.13 (BB 7–34)

India

• Bombay Quadrangular –Hindus

New Zealand

• Plunket Shield –Auckland

South Africa

• Currie Cup –Western Province

West Indies

• Inter-Colonial Tournament –not contested

Tour de France

• Philippe Thys (Belgium) wins the 14thTour de France^[4]

Giro d'Italia

• Gaetano Belloni ofBianchi wins the eighthGiro d'Italia

Olympic Games (Men's Competition)^[5]

• Gold Medal – Great Britain
• Silver Medal – Denmark
• Bronze Medal – Belgium

World Figure Skating Championships

• The championships are not contested

1920 Summer Olympics

• Men's individual –Gillis Grafström (Sweden)
• Women's individual –Magda Mauroy-Julin (Sweden)
• Pairs –Ludowika Jakobsson andWalter Jakobsson (Finland)

Major tournaments

• British Open –George Duncan
• US Open –Ted Ray
• USPGA Championship –Jock Hutchison

Other tournaments

• British Amateur –Cyril Tolley
• US Amateur –Chick Evans

Events

• The inauguralPrix de l'Arc de Triomphe is won byComrade

England

• Grand National –Troytown
• 1,000 Guineas Stakes –Cinna
• 2,000 Guineas Stakes –Tetratema
• The Derby –Spion Kop^[6]
• The Oaks –Charlebelle
• St. Leger Stakes –Caligula

Australia

• Melbourne Cup – Poitrel

Canada

• King's Plate – St. Paul

France

• Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe –Comrade

Ireland

• Irish Grand National – Halston
• Irish Derby Stakes – He Goes

USA

• Kentucky Derby – Paul Jones
• Preakness Stakes – Man o' War
• Belmont Stakes – Man o' War

Events

• Ice hockey is held at the1920 Summer Olympics and is the second winter sport to feature at the Olympics — 4 years before the inaugural Winter Games is held

1920 Summer Olympics

• Gold Medal – Canada
• Silver Medal – USA
• Bronze Medal – Czechoslovakia

Stanley Cup

• 22 March – 1 April —Ottawa Senators (NHL) defeatsSeattle Metropolitans (PCHA) in the1920 Stanley Cup Finals by three games to two

Events

• Allan Cup –Winnipeg Falcons
• 1920 Memorial Cup –Toronto Canoe Club Paddlers defeatedSelkirk Fishermen by two game total of 15-5
• 22 December —Hamilton Tigers, the reconstitutedQuebec Bulldogs franchise, wins its first-ever NHL game in Hamilton, defeatingMontreal Canadiens 5–0

1920 Summer Olympics

• The1920 Summer Olympics takes place inAntwerp
• The 1916 Summer Olympics planned forBerlin having been cancelled due toWorld War I, the 1920 Games are awarded to Antwerp to "honour the suffering of the Belgian people"
• United States wins the most medals (95) and the most gold medals (41)

The Boat Race

• 28 March —Cambridge wins the 72ndOxford and Cambridge Boat Race, contested for the first time since March 1914

• The1920 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand takes place mid-year.

England

• Championship –Hull
• Challenge Cup final –Huddersfield 21–10Wigan atHeadingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds
• Lancashire League Championship –Widnes
• Yorkshire League Championship –Huddersfield
• LancashireCounty Cup –Oldham 7–0Rochdale Hornets
• YorkshireCounty Cup –Huddersfield 24–5Leeds

Australia

• NSW Premiership –Balmain (outright winner)

Five Nations Championship

• 33rdFive Nations Championship series is shared byEngland,Scotland andWales

Speed Skating World Championships

• not contested

Australia

• Australian Men's Singles Championship –Pat O'Hara Wood (Australia) defeatsRonald Thomas (Australia) 6–3 4–6 6–8 6–1 6–3

England

• Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship –Bill Tilden (USA) defeatsGerald Patterson (Australia) 2–6 6–3 6–2 6–4
• Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship –Suzanne Lenglen (France) defeatsDorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers (GB) 6–3 6–0

France

• French Men's Singles Championship –André Gobert (France) defeatsMax Decugis (France) 6–3 3–6 1–6 6–2 6–3
• French Women's Singles Championship –Suzanne Lenglen (France) defeatsMarguerite Broquedis (France) 6–1 7–5

USA

• American Men's Singles Championship –Bill Tilden (USA) defeatsBill Johnston (USA) 6–1 1–6 7–5 5–7 6–3
• American Women's Singles Championship –Molla Bjurstedt Mallory (Norway) defeatsMarion Zinderstein (USA) 6–3 6–1

Davis Cup

• 1920 International Lawn Tennis Challenge – United States 5–0 Australasia at Domain Cricket Club (grass)Auckland,New Zealand

America's Cup

• TheNew York Yacht Club retains theAmerica's Cup asResolute defeats British challengerShamrock IV, of theRoyal Ulster Yacht Club, 10 races to 2

• 1920 in sports
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