1935 in sports

1935 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

Alpine skiing

FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 5th FIS Alpine World Ski Championships are held at Mürren, Switzerland. The events are a downhill, a slalom and a combined race in both the men's and women's categories. The winners are:

• Men's Downhill – Franz Zingerle (Austria)
• Men's Slalom – Anton Seelos (Austria)
• Men's Combined – Anton Seelos (Austria)
• Women's Downhill – Christl Cranz (Germany)
• Women's Slalom – Anny Rüegg (Switzerland)
• Women's Combined – Christl Cranz (Germany)

American football

• Detroit Lions defeat New York Giants 26–7 for the NFL championship
• Rose Bowl (1934 season):
  • The Alabama Crimson Tide won 29-13 over the Stanford Indians to share the college football national championship
• Minnesota Golden Gophers – college football national championship shared with SMU Mustangs
• First Heisman Trophy presented to Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago
• The Maxwell Football Club of Philadelphia was founded

Association football

England

• First Division – Arsenal win the 1934–35 title, becoming only the second team to win the title three times in a row.
• FA Cup – Sheffield Wednesday beat West Bromwich Albion 4–2.

Spain

• La Liga won by Betis Balompié

Germany

• Origin of the DFB-Pokal, which is Germany's premier national cup competition, in the institution of the "Tschammer-Pokal", a competition with Nazi affiliations that is terminated at the end of World War II. It is then restored as the DFB-Pokal in the 1952–53 season.
• National Championship – FC Schalke 04 6–4 VfB Stuttgart
• Tschammer-Pokal – 1. FC Nuremberg 2–0 FC Schalke 04 in Düsseldorf

Italy

• Serie A won by Juventus

Portugal

• The inaugural Primeira Liga is won by F.C. Porto

France

• French Division 1 won by Sochaux-Montbéliard

Brazil

• January 25 – São Paulo Futebol Clube founded.

Australian rules football

VFL Premiership

• 5 October – Collingwood wins the 39th VFL Premiership, defeating South Melbourne 11.12 (78) to 7.16 (58) in the 1935 VFL Grand Final
• Brownlow Medal awarded to Haydn Bunton, Sr. (Fitzroy)

South Australian National Football League

• 5 October – South Adelaide wins their first premiership since 1899, beating Port Adelaide 15.9 (99) to 13.13 (91)
• Magarey Medal awarded to Jack Cockburn (South Adelaide)

Western Australian National Football League

• 12 October – West Perth win their seventh premiership, defeating Subiaco 11.8 (74) to 7.9 (51)
• Sandover Medal awarded to Lou Daily (Subiaco) and George Krepp (Swan Districts)^[a]

Baseball

Hank Greenberg, Hall of Famer and 2-time MVP

• Detroit Tigers defeat Chicago Cubs 4–2 in the World Series
• MVPs:
  • American League: Hank Greenberg, Detroit Tigers
  • National League: Gabby Hartnett, Chicago Cubs
• On May 25, Babe Ruth has a last hurrah, hitting three home runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The final one, the last of his 714 career home runs, sets a baseball record that stood for 39 years. This homer is the first to clear the right field grandstand at Forbes Field and is measured at 600 feet (183 m).
• June 2 – Babe Ruth announces he is going to retire from the sport.
• The Winnipeg Maroons win the Northern League championship.

Basketball

Events

• Eurobasket 1935, won by Latvia, is the first European international basketball championship.
• The fourth South American Basketball Championship in Rio de Janeiro is won by Argentina.

Boxing

Events

• 13 June – James J. Braddock defeats Max Baer over fifteen rounds at Long Island City to win the World Heavyweight Championship

Lineal world champions^[1]

• World Heavyweight Championship – Max Baer → James J. Braddock
• World Light Heavyweight Championship – Bob Olin → John Henry Lewis
• World Middleweight Championship – vacant
• World Welterweight Championship – Jimmy McLarnin → Barney Ross
• World Lightweight Championship – vacant → Tony Canzoneri
• World Featherweight Championship – vacant
• World Bantamweight Championship – Panama Al Brown → Baltazar Sangchili
• World Flyweight Championship – vacant → Benny Lynch

Cricket

Events

• England tour the West Indies, and tie a four-Test series at one win each with two draws
• 9 March – The inaugural Ranji Trophy final begins a season after the death of K. S. Ranjitsinhji, in whose memory the trophy was awarded

England

• County Championship – Yorkshire
• Minor Counties Championship – Middlesex Second Eleven
• Most runs – Wally Hammond 2,616 @ 49.37 (HS 252)
• Most wickets – Tich Freeman 212 @ 21.51 (BB 8–40)
• South Africa defeat England one Test to nil with four draws

Australia

• Sheffield Shield – Victoria
• Most runs – Jack Fingleton 880 @ 58.66 (HS 134)
• Most wickets – Chuck Fleetwood-Smith 63 @ 20.34 (BB 8–113)

South Africa

• Currie Cup – Transvaal

India

• Bombay Quadrangular – Muslims
• Ranji Trophy – Bombay defeat Northern India by 208 runs

New Zealand

• Plunket Shield – Canterbury

West Indies

• Inter-Colonial Tournament – British Guiana

Cycling

Tour de France

• Romain Maes wins the 29th Tour de France
• Francisco Cepeda becomes the first rider to die during a Tour de France when he falls from his bike descending into a ravine^[2]

Giro d'Italia

• Vasco Bergamaschi of Maino wins the 23rd Giro d'Italia

Vuelta a España

• The first edition of what will eventually become of one road bicycle racing's Grand Tours is raced and won by Gustaaf Deloor.

Golf

Men's professional

• Masters Tournament – Gene Sarazen fired a double eagle on the 15th hole in the final round to force an 18-hole playoff which Sarazen would win the next day.
• U.S. Open – Sam Parks, Jr.
• British Open – Alf Perry
• PGA Championship – Johnny Revolta

Men's amateur

• British Amateur – Lawson Little
• U.S. Amateur – Lawson Little

Women's professional

• Women's Western Open – Opal Hill

Horse racing

Steeplechases

• Cheltenham Gold Cup – Golden Miller
• Grand National – Reynoldstown

Flat races

• Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Marabou
• Canada – Queen's Plate won by Sally Fuller
• France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Samos
• Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Museum
• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Bahram
  2. Epsom Derby – Bahram
  3. St. Leger Stakes – Bahram
• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby – Omaha
  2. Preakness Stakes – Omaha
  3. Belmont Stakes – Omaha

Ice hockey

• 4 April to 9 April – Montreal Maroons sweep Toronto Maple Leafs 3–0 to win the Stanley Cup
• Norway – The Norwegian Ice Hockey League was established

Motor racing

• European Championship won by Rudolf Caracciola for Mercedes-Benz
• 30 May – Kelly Petillo wins 23rd running of Indianapolis 500 in the Gilmore Speedway Special Wetteroth–Offenhauser in 4:42:22.77.^[3]

Nordic skiing

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

• 9th FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1935 are held at Vysoké Tatry, Czechoslovakia

Rowing

The Boat Race

• 6 April — Cambridge wins the 87th Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race

Rugby league

• 1935 European Rugby League Championship / 1935–36 European Rugby League Championship
• 1935 New Zealand rugby league season
• 1935 NSWRFL season
• 1934–35 Northern Rugby Football League season / 1935–36 Northern Rugby Football League season

Rugby union

• 48th Home Nations Championship series is won by Ireland

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship – Joe Davis beats Willie Smith 25–20

Speed skating

Speed Skating World Championships

• Men's All-round Champion – Michael Staksrud (Norway)

Tennis

Australia

• Australian Men's Singles Championship – Jack Crawford (Australia) defeats Fred Perry (Great Britain) 2–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4
• Australian Women's Singles Championship – Dorothy Round Little (Great Britain) defeats Nancy Lyle Glover (Australia) 1–6, 6–1, 6–3

England

• Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Fred Perry (Great Britain) defeats Gottfried von Cramm (Germany) 6–2, 6–4, 6–4
• Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Helen Wills Moody (USA) defeats Helen Jacobs (USA) 6–3, 3–6, 7–5

France

• French Men's Singles Championship – Fred Perry (Great Britain) defeats Gottfried von Cramm (Germany) 6–3, 3–6, 6–1, 6–3
• French Women's Singles Championship – Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling (Germany) defeats Simonne Mathieu (France) 6–2, 6–1

USA

• American Men's Singles Championship – Wilmer Allison (USA) defeats Sidney Wood (USA) 6–2, 6–2, 6–3
• American Women's Singles Championship – Helen Jacobs (USA) defeats Sarah Palfrey Cooke (USA) 6–2, 6–4

Davis Cup

• 1935 International Lawn Tennis Challenge –  Great Britain at 5–0  United States (14) Centre Court, Wimbledon (grass) London, United Kingdom

Awards

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Joe Louis, Boxing
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Helen Wills Moody, Tennis

Notes

^a The medal was originally awarded to Daily on a "casting vote", but it was forgotten that a countback would decide the medal in the event of tie – so both were given the medal after this error was discovered, since Krepp would have won outright had the countback been done first.

References

1. Cyber Boxing Zone
2. Dauncey, Hugh and Hare, Geoff (editors); The Tour De France, 1903-2003: A Century of Sporting Structures, Meanings and Values; pp. 96, 269. ISBN 0714682977
3. Race results (via Indianapolis Star)