1939 | Sports
Sports
Golfer Byron Nelson wins the U.S. Open and is awarded the Vardon trophy for low scoring average. He also wins the Western Open over the difficult Medinah No. 3 course near Chicago, remaining on the course for 72 holes without once leaving the fairway.
Los Angeles-born Robert Larimore "Bobby" Riggs, 21, wins in men's singles at Wimbledon and Forest Hills, Alice Marble takes the women's titles.
The Boston Red Sox bring up Ted Williams as outfielder and hitter. San Diego-born Theodore Samuel Williams, 20, started with the San Diego Padres at age 16, the Red Sox acquired him for their farm club 2 years later, and he will play 19 seasons for Boston (see 1941).
Yankee "Iron Horse" Lou Gehrig is stricken with a rare and fatal form of paralysis (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), takes himself out of the lineup April 30, and bids a tearful farewell to Yankee fans July 4, retiring with a lifetime batting average of .340. Appointed parole commissioner by Mayor La Guardia, he will serve until his death in June 1941.
Lundy Lumber beats Lycoming Dairy 23 to 8 at Williamsburg, Pa., June 6 in the first Little League baseball game. Local lumberyard clerk Carl E. Stotz, 29, has shrunk a regulation field to boys' size (bases are 60 feet apart, the pitcher's mound is 40 feet from home plate), introduced lighter-weight bats and balls, and formed the adult-supervised league for youngsters aged 6 to 12. The Little League will have 48 teams in 12 leagues by 1947 and hold its first World Series at Williamsport in 1949.
The New York Yankees win the World Series, defeating the Cincinnati Reds 4 games to 0. Joe DiMaggio is named the American League's Most Valuable Player, having finished the season with a .381 batting average and a .671 slugging percentage.
A Baseball Hall of Fame established at Cooperstown, N.Y., celebrates the "centennial" of the national pastime (see Spalding, 1876). The hall's initial inductees are Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, the late Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, and Honus Wagner.
Football helmets become mandatory in U.S. college football competition (see NCAA, 1906). The leather helmets have no face masks.
Basketball inventor James Naismith dies at Lawrence, Kansas, November 28 at age 78.