1946 | Sports
Sports
The Basketball Association of America is organized with professional teams that include the New York Knickerbockers (see 1925; NBA, 1948). Joliet, Ill.-born All-American basketball player George Mikan, 22, graduates from DePaul University and signs with the National Basketball League's Chicago American Gears professional team for a record salary of $12,000. The six-foot-ten, 245-pound Mikan averages 16½ points in his rookie year, moves to the Minneapolis Lakers when the Gears team folds, and will play for nine seasons, becoming the game's first superstar (see NBA, 1948).
Former heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson dies at Raleigh, N.C., June 10 at age 68 following an auto accident.
King Ranch 3-year-old Assault wins U.S. racing's Triple Crown.
Yvon Petra, 30, (Fr) wins in men's singles at Wimbledon as tournament play resumes after a 6-year lapse; Pauline Betz wins in women's singles. Jack Kramer, 24, wins in men's singles at Forest Hills, Betz in women's singles.
Golfer Sam Snead wins his first and only British Open title.
Minneapolis-born golfer Patricia Jane "Patty" Berg, 28, defeats Betty Jameson in the final round September 1 to win the first U.S. Women's Open. (Named Female Athlete of the Year in 1938 and 1943, Berg will receive the same honor in 1955 and will have 57 career victories in an outstanding professional career.)
The St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series, defeating the Boston Red Sox 4 games to 3.
Former Washington Senators pitcher Walter P. Johnson dies at Washington, D.C., December 10 at age 69.
The Cleveland Browns professional football team founded by Ohio-born coach Paul E. Brown, 38, wins a league title with help from Waukegan, Ill.-born quarterback Otto (Everett) Graham Jr., 24, who has played for Northwestern, starring also in basketball, and will continue with the Browns for 10 successful seasons.
An automatic Pinspotter displayed in prototype at a national bowling tournament in Buffalo, N.Y., by American Machine and Foundry Co. (AMF) begins a revolution in bowling. Devised 10 years ago by Pearl River, N.Y., engineer Fred Schmidt, the patented vacuum Pinspotter has been rejected by Brunswick Balke-Collender, which will scramble to catch up with AMF as bowling becomes the leading U.S. participation sport.