1940 - Sports

Sports

University of California, Berkeley, athlete Cornelius Warmerdam, 19, sets a new pole-vault record April 13, clearing the bar at 15 feet (4.57 meters). He will use a bamboo pole in 1942 to set a world outdoor record of 4.77 meters that will stand until July 1960.

The Olympic Games Committee cancels the games scheduled for Tokyo and Helsinki on account of the war.

Golfer Byron Nelson wins the Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA) championship. Newport, R.I.-born golfer Lawson Little, 30, wins the U.S. Open championship, having turned pro in 1936.

Wimbledon tennis matches are canceled for the duration. W. Donald McNeil, 22, (U.S.) wins in men's singles at Forest Hills, Alice Marble in women's singles.

The Cincinnati Reds win their first World Series since the infamous 1919 "Black Sox" Series, defeating the Detroit Tigers 4 games to 3.

Brooklyn, N.Y.-born former Columbia University quarterback Sid Luckman, 24, plays his first season with the Chicago Bears and helps the team beat the Washington Redskins 73 to 0 December 8 in the league's most one-sided championship game.