1921 in sports
1921 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
American football
- NFL championship – Chicago Staleys(later renamed the Chicago Bears; 9–1–1)
- Rose Bowl (1920 season):
- The California Golden Bears won 21–0 over the Ohio State Buckeyes to win the college football national championship
- Cornell Big Red – college football national championship
- 8 October — the first radio broadcast of a college game takes place between West Virginia and Pittsburgh
Association football
Brazil
- Cruzeiro of Belo Horizonte, officially founded on January 2.[1]
England
- The Football League – Burnley 59 points, Manchester City 54, Bolton Wanderers 52, Liverpool 51, Newcastle United 50, Tottenham Hotspur 47
- Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge, London
- The Football League is expanded by the conversion of the Durham City (1921–1928), Halifax Town, Hartlepool United, Lincoln City, Nelson (1921–1931), Rochdale, Southport (1921–1978), Stalybridge Celtic (1921–1923), Tranmere Rovers, Walsall, Wigan Borough (1921–1931) and Wrexham.
- Apart from Grimsby Town (now in D3N) and Crystal Palace (promoted to the Second Division), all the remaining members of the former Third Division are transferred to D3S. Two new clubs are elected to this division: Aberdare Athletic (1921–1927) and Charlton Athletic.
Germany
- Berliner FC Vorwärts 1890at Düsseldorf
Republic of Ireland
- Formation of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI). It applies solely to the Republic of Ireland and is not to be confused with the Irish Football Association (IFA), which is now the organising body for football in Northern Ireland only. The split in Irish football governance is not reflected in other sports such as cricket and rugby union, in which Cricket Ireland and the Irish Rugby Football Union administer both countries.
Athletics
Men's 100 metres
- Charlie Paddock (USA) breaks the world record by running a time of 10.4 at Redlands, California.
Lithuania
- Officially established Lithuanian Athletics Championships.
Monaco
- first Women's Olympiadin Monte Carlo
Australian rules football
- 30 June – North Melbourne disbands in an attempt to merge with VFL club Essendon and is disqualified from the rest of the VFA season; the merger is precluded by a veto by the government of Essendon moving to Arden Street.
- in the Grand Final
South Australian Football League
- 7 May – Glenelg become the SAFL's eighth club when they play their first match against West Adelaide, losing 6.5 (41) to 18.10 (118).
- 8 October – Port Adelaide 4.8 (32) defeat Norwood 3.6 (24) for their ninth SAFL premiership.
- (Norwood)
West Australian Football League
- 1 October – East Perth 5.9 (39) defeats East Fremantle 4.8 (32) to win its third consecutive premiership.
- The inaugural ).
Bandy
Sweden
- Championship final – IK Sirius 5–2 IFK Uppsala(replay following 2–2 draw)
Baseball
World Series
- 5–13 October — New York Giants (NL) defeats New York Yankees (AL) to win the 1921 World Series by 5 games to 3
Major League Baseball
- Babe Ruth hits 59 home runs for the New York Yankees, establishing a new single-season record for the third consecutive year
Negro leagues
- The Negro National Leaguepennant
Boxing
Events
- 2 July — boxing's first “million dollar gate” occurs when radiophone to hundreds of thousands of people in the northeastern United States.[2]
- World Bantamweight Championship but is beaten soon afterwards by new champion Johnny Buff.
Lineal world champions[3]
- World Heavyweight Championship – Jack Dempsey
- World Light Heavyweight Championship – Georges Carpentier
- World Middleweight Championship – Johnny Wilson
- World Welterweight Championship – Jack Britton
- World Lightweight Championship – Benny Leonard
- World Featherweight Championship – Johnny Kilbane
- World Flyweight Championship – Jimmy Wilde
Canadian football
Grey Cup
- Edmonton Eskimos
Cricket
Events
- England tours Australia and becomes the first team to lose every match in a five-match Test series. In the 1921 English season, Australia emphasises the post-war superiority that it owes, in particular, to the pace duo of Jack Gregory and Ted McDonald. Having won 5–0 in Australia the previous winter, the Australians win the first three Tests of the 1921 tour and then draw the last two.
England
- County Championship – Middlesex
- Minor Counties Championship – Staffordshire
- Most runs – Phil Mead 3179 @ 69.10 (HS 280*)
- Most wickets – Alec Kennedy 186 @ 21.55 (BB 8–11)
- Wisden Cricketers of the Year – Hubert Ashton, Jack Bryan, Jack Gregory, Charlie Macartney, Ted McDonald
Australia
- Sheffield Shield – New South Wales
- Most runs – Patsy Hendren 1178 @ 62.00 (HS 271)
- Most wickets – Arthur Mailey 81 @ 22.53 (BB 9–121)
India
- Parsees(shared)
New Zealand
South Africa
- Currie Cup– not contested
West Indies
- Inter-Colonial Tournament – unfinished
Cycling
Tour de France
- Léon Scieur (Belgium) wins the 15th Tour de France[4]
Giro d'Italia
- Giovanni Brunero of Legnano wins the ninth Giro d'Italia
Figure skating
World Figure Skating Championships
- The championships are not held in 1921
Golf
Major tournaments
Other tournaments
- British Amateur – Willie Hunter
- US Amateur – Jesse Guilford
Horse racing
England
- Grand National – Shaun Spadah
- 1,000 Guineas Stakes – Bettina
- 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Craig an Eran
- The Derby – Humorist[5]
- The Oaks – Love in Idleness
- St. Leger Stakes – Polemarch
Australia
- Melbourne Cup – Sister Olive
Canada
- King's Plate – Herendesy
France
Ireland
- Irish Grand National – Bohernore
- Irish Derby Stakes– Ballyheron
USA
- Kentucky Derby – Behave Yourself
- Preakness Stakes – Broomspun
- Belmont Stakes – Grey Lag
Ice hockey
Stanley Cup
- Ottawa Senators defeats Toronto St. Patricks to win the NHL championship.
- Vancouver Millionaires defeats Seattle Metropolitans in a two–game total–goal series 1–3, 6–0 (7–3) to win the PCHA championship.
- 21 March – 4 April — Ottawa Senators defeats Vancouver Millionaires in the 1921 Stanley Cup Finals by 3 games to 2
Motorsport
Multi-sport events
Far Eastern Championship Games
- Fifth Far Eastern Championship Games held in Shanghai.
Women's World Games
- The 1921 Women's Olympiad begins in Monte Carlo, first international women's sports event
Rowing
The Boat Race
- 30 March — Cambridge wins the 73rd Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race
Rugby league
England
- Championship – Hull
- Halifax at Wheater's Field, Broughton
- Lancashire League Championship – Wigan
- Halifax
- Leigh
- Yorkshire County Cup – Hull Kingston Rovers 2–0 Hull
Australia
- NSW Premiership – North Sydney (outright winner)
Rugby union
Five Nations Championship
- 34th Five Nations Championship series is won by England who complete the Grand Slam
Shooting
Germany
- National championship won by Mr. Janich firing an Ortgies semi-automatic pistol.[6]
Speed skating
Speed Skating World Championships
- not contested
Tennis
Australia
- Alf Hedeman(Australia) 7–5 6–1 6–4
England
- Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Bill Tilden (USA) defeats Brian Norton (South Africa) 4–6 2–6 6–1 6–0 7–5
- Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Suzanne Lenglen (France) defeats Elizabeth Ryan (USA) 6–2, 6–0
France
- Jean Samazeuilh (France) defeats André Gobert(France) 6–3 6–3 2–6 7–5
- French Women's Singles Championship – Suzanne Lenglen (France) defeats Germaine Golding(France) by a walkover
USA
- Bill Johnston(USA) 6–1 1–6 7–5 5–7 6–3
- Molla Bjurstedt Mallory (Norway) defeats Mary Browne(USA) 4–6 6–4 6–2
Davis Cup
- 1921 International Lawn Tennis Challenge –
United States 5–0 
Japan at West Side Tennis Club (grass) New York City, United States
Notes
a Awarded retrospectively by the SANFL in 1998.
b By Westar Rules in 1997.
References
- ISBN 978-1-4088-5417-4.
- ^ The Pop History Dig – Dempsey v. Carpentier. Retrieved on 28 November 2009.
- ^ Cyber Boxing Zone
- ^ "Cycling-Tour de France list of winners". Eurosport UK. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ^ "Epsom Derby | History, Winners, & Facts | Britannica". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
- ^ Koelliker, Donald W., "Ortgies: A Well-Known but Little Studied German Armsmaker of the Early Post-War Years," Gun Collector's Digest 1981, accessed April 19, 2010