- February 2
- Bevo Francis, Rio Grande College, scores 113 points in basketball game. [1]
- February 3
- Jeen van den Berg win Dutch Eleven Cities Skating race (7:32). [1]
- February 10
- Ice Dance Championship at Oslo won by Jean Westwood/Lawrence Demmy (Great Britain). [1]
- Ice Pairs Championship at Oslo won by Frances Dafoe/Norris Bowden (Canada). [1]
- Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Oslo won by Gundi Busch (Germany). [1]
- Men's Figure Skating Championship in Oslo won by Hayes Alan Jenkins (USA). [1]
- February 13
- Frank Selvey scores 100 points (basketball) for Furman beating Newberry 149-95. [1]
- February 14
- Beverly Hanson wins LPGA Saint Petersburg Golf Open. [1]
- February 20
- Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Serbin Golf Open. [1]
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- February 28
- Patty Berg/Pete Cooper win LPGA Orlando Mixed Golf Tournament. [1]
- March 1
- Ted Williams fractures collarbone in first game of spring training after flying 39 combat missions without injury in Korean War. [1]
- March 7
- Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Sarasota Golf Open. [1]
- Russia wins title in their first international ice hockey competition. [1]
- March 8
- Herb McKinley sets 1/4 mile record of 6.8 seconds in Melbourne, Australia. [1]
- March 13
- Milwaukee Braves' Bobby Thomson breaks his ankle, he is replaced by Hank Aaron. [1]
- March 14
- Milwaukee Braves' Henry Aaron homers in his first exhibition game. [1]
- Louise Suggs wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship. [1]
- NBA Baltimore Bullets end a 32-game road losing streak. [1]
- March 19
- First color telecast of a prize fight, Giardello versus Troy in Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, USA. [1]
- US Ladies Figure Skating Championship won by Tenley Albright. [1]
- US Men's Figure Skating Championship won by Hayes A Jenkins. [1]
- Weekes, Worrell and Walcott complete tons in innings versus England. [1]
- March 20
- 16th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: La Salle beats Bradley 92-76. [1]
- March 28
- Louise Suggs wins LPGA Betsy Rawls Golf Open. [1]
- March 30
- Test Cricket debut of Garry Sobers versus England at Kingston. [1]
- April 4
- Louise Suggs wins LPGA Carrollton Georgia Golf Open. [1]
- April 6
- NHL's Montreal Canadiens score three goals in 56 seconds in playoff game against Detroit Red Wings. [1]
- April 11
- Marlene Bauer wins LPGA New Orleans Golf Open. [1]
- April 12
- 18th Golf Masters Championship: Sam Snead beats Ben Hogan to win his third Masters tournament, shooting a 289. [1]
- 8th NBA Championship: Minneapolis Lakers beat Syracuse Nationals, 4 games to 3. [1]
- April 13
- Baltimore Orioles' first game, lose to Detroit Tigers in Detroit 3-0. [1]
- April 15
- Baltimore Orioles' first game in Baltimore; they beat Chicago White Sox 3-1. [1]
- New York Yankees dedicate a plaque to Edward Barrow. [1]
- April 16
- NHL Stanley Cup: Detroit Red Wings beat Montreal Canadiens, 4 games to 3. [1]
- April 18
- Louise Suggs wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf Open. [1]
- April 19
- 58th Boston Marathon won by Veikko Karvonen of Finland in 2:20:39. Seven-time winner of the Boston Marathon, 65-year-old Clarence Demar, runs his last race at Boston finishing 78th. [1]
- April 22
- NBA adopts the 24-second shot clock and six team-foul rule. [1]
- May 1
- 80th Kentucky Derby: Raymond York aboard Determine wins in 2:03. [1]
- May 2
- Stan Musial hits five homeruns in a doubleheader. [1]
- May 6
- Roger Bannister of Great Britain becomes the first person to run the mile in under four minutes (3:59.04). [1] [5]
- May 8
- First shot-put over 60 feet (18.29 metre)-Parry O'Brien, Los Angeles, California, USA. [1]
- May 13
- Robin Roberts gives up a homerun then retires the next 27 men in a row. [1]
- May 16
- Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA National Capital Golf Open. [1]
- May 22
- 80th Preakness: Johnny Adams aboard Hasty Road wins in 1:57.4. [1]
- May 30
- Dutch bishops forbid membership to non-catholic sporting clubs. [1]
- Emile Zatopek runs world record 5km (13:57.2). [1]
- June 12
- Milwaukee Braves' Jim Wilson no-hits Philadelphia Phillies, 2-0. [1]
- June 21
- John Landy beats Roger Bannister's mile record by 0.014 seconds. [893.30]
- June 30
- New York Yankees' pitcher Tom Morgan ties record by hitting three batters in one inning. [1]
- July 4
- Federal Republic of Germany beats Hungary 3-2 for soccer's 5th World Cup in Bern. [1]
- July 12
- Major League Baseball Players Association founded. [1]
- July 13
- Pitcher Dean Stone gets credit for American League win, although he didn't retire a batter; he threw out Shoendienst trying to steal home. American League beats National League 11-9 in 21st All Star Game. [1]
- July 18
- Saint Louis Cardinals, losing 8-1 to Philadelphia Phillies begin stalling in 5th; they forfeit game. [1]
- July 20
- Tennis champ Maureen Connolly's right leg is crushed in an accident. [1]
- July 31
- Milwaukee Braves' Joe Adcock sets record of 18 total bases (4 hours, one double). [1]
- August 5
- Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada hosts the British Empire Games. [457]
- Boxing Hall of Fame's first election selects 24 modern and 15 pioneers. [1]
- August 7
- At the British Empire Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, a one-mile race is held between England's Roger Bannister and Australia's John Landy. Near the end, Landy in the lead looks for Bannister over his left shoulder, as Bannister passes Landy past his right shoulder, winning the race with a time of 3:58.8. [1302.171]
- August 10
- Sir Gordon Richards retires as a jockey with record 4,870 wins. [1]
- August 16
- Time Incorporated publishes the first issue of Sports Illustrated. [1] [1302.174]
- August 24
- International Amateur Athletic Federation recognizes Red China. [1]
- September 4
- Peter B Cortese of the US achieves a one-arm deadlift of 370 pounds; 22 pounds, over triple his body weight, at York, Pennsylvania. [1]
- September 6
- New York Yankees use a record ten pinch hitters. [1]
- September 8
- With a 3-2 count, Philadelphia Phillies' Richie Ashburn fouls next 14, then walks. [1]
- September 12
- Cleveland Indians sweep New York Yankees at Municipal Stadium; largest American League crowd (86,563). [1]
- September 17
- Heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano knocks out Ezzard Charles in eight rounds. [1]
- September 18
- Cleveland Indians clinch American League pennant, beat Detroit Tigers (3-2). [1]
- September 20
- Roger Bannister awarded Britain's Silver Pears Trophy. [1]
- September 22
- Brooklyn Dodgers' Karl Spooner strikes out 15 New York Giants' players in his first game. [1]
- September 24
- New York Yankees tie a record: three of their pinch hitters strike out in one inning. [1]
- September 29
- Willie Mays makes his famous over-the-shoulder catch of Vic Wertz' 460-foot drive. [1]
- October 2
- New York Giants sweep Cleveland Indians, in 51st World Series. [1]
- October 17
- Philadelphia Eagles' Adrian Burk passes for seven touchdowns vs Washington Redskins (49-21). [1]
- November 4
- Philadelphia Athletics baseball team moves to Kansas City. [1]
- November 8
- American League approves Philadelphia Athletics' move to Kansas City. [1]
- November 13
- Great Britain defeats France to capture the first ever Rugby League World Cup in Paris in front of around 30,000 spectators. [5]
- November 18
- New York Yankees trade Woodling, Byrd, McDonald, Triandos, Miranada and Smith to Baltimore Orioles for Turley, Larsen and Hunter as part of an 18-player deal. [1]
- December 1
- New York Yankees send Miller, Segrist, Leppert and two minors to Baltimore Orioles for Blayzka, Kryhoski, Johnson, Fridley and Del Guercio (completing 18-player deal). [1]
- December 2
- Frank Selvy of Milwaukee sets then NBA record of 24 of 26 free throws. [1]
- December 10
- Philadelphia Phillies purchase Connie Mack Stadium. [1]
- December 15
- Fordham University scraps football team for financial reasons. [1]
- December 26
- Cleveland Browns beat Detroit Lions 56-10 in NFL championship game. [1]
- December 28
- 43rd Davis Cup: USA beats Australia in Sydney (3-2). [1]
- December 30
- First use of 24-second shot clock in pro basketball (Rochester versus Boston). [1]
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