American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

• Green Bay Packers
  Green Bay Packers
  The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
  
   27–0 New York Giants
  New York Giants
  The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
  
   in the NFL championship game played at Milwaukee, Wisconsin

• College football national championship
  NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship
  A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...
  
   – Texas A&M
  Texas A&M Aggies football
  The Texas A&M Aggies football team represents Texas A&M University in college football. The Aggies have competed in the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996. They will join the Southeastern Conference in July 2012. Texas A&M football has earned one national title and 18...
  
  

Association football

• First Division
  Football League First Division
  The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
  
   – Everton
  Everton F.C.
  Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
  
   win the 1938–39 title.
• FA Cup
  FA Cup
  The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
  
   – Portsmouth
  Portsmouth F.C.
  Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
  
   beat Wolverhampton Wanderers
  Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
  Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
  
   4–1.
• The outbreak of World War II
  World War II
  World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
  
   means all competitive football in England is suspended in September, and the 1939–40 season cancelled. Various regional leagues and cups are set up in place of normal Football League and FA Cup
  FA Cup
  The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
  
   competition.

Athletics

• September 17 – Taisto Mäki
  Taisto Mäki
  Taisto Armas Mäki was a Finnish long-distance runner - one of the so-called Flying Finns. Like his coach and close friend, Paavo Nurmi, Mäki broke world records over two miles, 5000 metres and 10,000 metres - holding the records simultaneously between 1939 and 1942...
  
   breaks the 10,000 m world record, becoming the first man to run the distance inside half an hour.

Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

• Victorian Football League
  Australian Football League
  The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
  
  
  • Melbourne
    Melbourne Football Club
    The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
    
     wins the 43rd VFL Premiership (Melbourne 21.22 (148) d Collingwood
    Collingwood Football Club
    The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
    
     14.11 (95))
  • Brownlow Medal
    Brownlow Medal
    The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
    
     awarded to Marcus Whelan
    Marcus Whelan
    Marcus Whelan was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood Football Club during the 1930s and 1940s....
    
     (Collingwood)

Baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

• January 24 – Hall of Fame election
  Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 1939
  The 1939 elections to select inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame were the last ones conducted prior to the Hall's opening that year. Needing just one addition to complete the initial goal of 10 inductees from the 20th century, members of the Baseball Writers Association of America were once...
  
   – The goal of 10 initial inductees from the 20th century is finally met as voters select George Sisler
  George Sisler
  George Harold Sisler , nicknamed "Gentleman George" and "Gorgeous George," was an American professional baseball player for 15 seasons, primarily as first baseman with the St. Louis Browns...
  
  , Eddie Collins
  Eddie Collins
  Edward Trowbridge Collins, Sr. , nicknamed "Cocky", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman, manager and executive...
  
  , and Willie Keeler
  Willie Keeler
  William Henry Keeler in Brooklyn, New York, nicknamed "Wee Willie", was a right fielder in professional baseball who played from 1892 to 1910, primarily for the Baltimore Orioles and Brooklyn Superbas in the National League, and the New York Highlanders in the American League.- Biography :Keeler's...
  
  .
• May 2 – Cap Anson
  Cap Anson
  Adrian Constantine Anson , nicknamed "Cap" and "Pop", was a National Association and Major League Baseball first baseman...
  
  , Buck Ewing
  Buck Ewing
  William "Buck" Ewing was a Major League Baseball player and manager, and is widely regarded as the best catcher of his era and is often argued to be the best player of the 19th century...
  
  , Charles "Hoss" Radbourn
  Charles Radbourn
  Charles Gardner Radbourn , nicknamed "Old Hoss", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball . He played for the Buffalo Bisons , Providence Grays , Boston Beaneaters , Boston Reds , and Cincinnati Reds...
  
  , Albert Spalding
  Albert Spalding
  Albert Goodwill Spalding was a professional baseball player, manager and co-founder of A.G. Spalding sporting goods company.-Biography:...
  
  , Charles Comiskey
  Charles Comiskey
  Charles Albert "The Old Roman" Comiskey was a Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League and later owned the Chicago White Sox...
  
  , and Candy Cummings
  Candy Cummings
  William Arthur "Candy" Cummings was a professional baseball pitcher in the National Association and National League who was credited with inventing the curveball. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.-Career:...
  
   are named to the Hall of Fame by a special committee, just weeks before the Hall opens. Along with the previous selections of Cy Young
  Cy Young
  Denton True "Cy" Young was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. During his 22-year baseball career , he pitched for five different teams. Young was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937...
  
   and Keeler in the writers' elections, Anson, Ewing and Radbourn arguably complete the 5 initial inductees from the 19th century which were promised but long delayed; Spalding, Comiskey and Cummings were largely elected as pioneers and contributors.
• May 2 – Lou Gehrig
  Lou Gehrig
  Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
  
  's streak of 2130 consecutive Major League Baseball
  Major League Baseball
  Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
  
   games played comes to an end. The record will stand for 56 years before Cal Ripken, Jr.
  Cal Ripken, Jr.
  Calvin Edwin "Cal" Ripken, Jr. , nicknamed "Iron Man", is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and third baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Baltimore Orioles ....
  
   breaks it.
• June 12 – The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
  National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
  The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
  
   is dedicated in Cooperstown, New York
  Cooperstown, New York
  Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...
  
  .
• July 4 – Gehrig announces his retirement from the game at Yankee Stadium after being diagnosed with a terminal illness
  Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
  Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
  
  .
• August 26 – The first televised major–league baseball game is Brooklyn's 6–1 victory over Cincinnati
  Cincinnati Reds
  The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
  
   at Ebbets Field
  Ebbets Field
  Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball park located in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York, USA, on a city block which is now considered to be part of the Crown Heights neighborhood. It was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. It was also a venue for professional football...
  
  .
• World Series
  World Series
  The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
  
   – New York Yankees
  New York Yankees
  The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
  
   defeat Cincinnati Reds
  Cincinnati Reds
  The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
  
  , 4–0.
• The Winnipeg Maroons
  Winnipeg Maroons
  The Winnipeg Maroons were a minor League Baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that played in the Northern League from 1902-1942. They played at Happyland Park from 1906-1922. It had a seating capacity of 4,000. They subsequently played at Sherbourne Park, which had a seating capacity...
  
   win the Northern League championship.
• Little League Baseball is formed in Williamsport, Pennsylvania
  Williamsport, Pennsylvania
  Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. In 2009, the population was estimated at 29,304...
  
   as a three–team league.
• December – A special election results in Gehrig being selected to the Hall of Fame; he had announced his retirement after the Hall's June opening.

Basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

• Akron Firestone Non-Skids  win three games to two over the Oshkosh All-Stars
  Oshkosh All-Stars
  The Oshkosh All-Stars were a professional basketball team based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. From 1937 to 1948 they played in the National Basketball League, a forerunner to the NBA. The team appeared in the NBL finals five consecutive years , winning twice...
  
  

• The third European basketball championship, Eurobasket 1939
  Eurobasket 1939
  The 1939 European Basketball Championship, commonly called Eurobasket 1939, was the third regional championship held by FIBA Europe. Eight national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation took part in the competition...
  
  , is won by Lithuania
  Lithuania national basketball team
  The Lithuanian national basketball team is the representative for Lithuania in international men's basketball. Lithuania won bronze medals in three out of five Olympic tournaments it participated in....
  
  .
• The seventh South American Basketball Championship
  South American Basketball Championship 1939
  The South American Basketball Championship 1939 was the seventh South American Basketball Championship. It was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and won by the host Brazil national basketball team. 5 teams competed.-Results:...
  
   in Rio de Janeiro
  Rio de Janeiro
  Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
  
   is won by Brazil
  Brazil national basketball team
  The Brazilian National Basketball Team represents Brazil in FIBA's basketball competitions.-Men's team:First drafted in 1922, the men's team has won two World Championships , three bronze Olympic medals , four Americas Championships and five Pan American Games .-Olympic Games:-FIBA...
  
  .

Cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

• May 29 - Northamptonshire
  Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
  Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...
  
   gains (over Leicestershire
  Leicestershire County Cricket Club
  Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
  
   at Northampton) their first victory for 99 matches, easily a record in the County Championship
  County Championship
  The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
  
  . Their last Championship victory was as far back as 14 May 1935 over Somerset
  Somerset County Cricket Club
  Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
  
   at Taunton.

Figure skating

Figure skating

Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...

• World Figure Skating Championships
  World Figure Skating Championships
  The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...
  
  :
  • Men's champion – Graham Sharp, Great Britain
  • Ladies' champion – Megan Taylor
    Megan Taylor
    Megan Devenish Taylor was a British figure skater competitive in the 1930s. She won the World Championships in 1938 and 1939.She was born in Rochdale and died in Jamaica...
    
    , Great Britain
  • Pair skating champion – Maxi Herber
    Maxi Herber
    Maxi Herber was a German figure skater who competed in pair skating and single skating. She became Olympic pair champion with Ernst Baier at the 1936 Winter Olympics...
    
     & Ernst Baier
    Ernst Baier
    Ernst Baier was a German figure skater who competed in pair skating and single skating. He became Olympic pair champion in 1936 together with Maxi Herber. The duo also won several World and European championships.Ernst Baier skated for the club Berliner SC...
    
    , Germany

Golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

• Masters Tournament – Ralph Guldahl
  Ralph Guldahl
  Ralph J. Guldahl was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the sport for three years in the late 1930s.-Early life until 1939:Guldahl was born in Dallas, Texas...
  
  
• U.S. Open
  U.S. Open (golf)
  The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
  
   – Byron Nelson
  Byron Nelson
  John Byron Nelson, Jr. was an American PGA Tour golfer between 1935 and 1946.Nelson and two other well known golfers of the time, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, were born within seven months of each other in 1912...
  
  
• British Open
  The Open Championship
  The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...
  
   – Dick Burton
• PGA Championship
  PGA Championship
  The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...
  
   – Henry Picard
  Henry Picard
  Henry Gilford Picard was an American professional golfer.Picard was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and learned to play golf while caddying at the Plymouth Country Club. Picard, already a talented player by his early 20s, came to prominence after coaching from the leading instructor Alex Morrison...
  
  

• British Amateur
  The Amateur Championship
  The Amateur Championship is a golf tournament which is held annually in the United Kingdom. It is one of the two leading individual tournaments for amateur golfers, alongside the U.S. Amateur...
  
   – Alexander Kyle
• U.S. Amateur – Bud Ward
  Bud Ward
  Marvin Harvey "Bud" Ward was an American golfer best known for twice winning the U.S. Amateur, in 1939 and 1941....
  
  

• Women's Western Open – Helen Dettweiler
  Helen Dettweiler
  Helen Dettweiler was an American professional golfer. She won the Women's Western Open in 1939.She was one of the 13 founders of the Ladies Professional Golf Association in 1950.-Wins :-References:...
  
  
• Titleholders Championship
  Titleholders Championship
  The Titleholders Championship was a women's golf tournament played from in 1937 to 1966 and again in 1972. It was later designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour.It should not be confused with two other LPGA events with similar names:...
  
   – Patty Berg
  Patty Berg
  Patricia Jane Berg was an American professional golfer and a founding member and then leading player on the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Her 15 major title wins remains the all-time record for most major wins by a female golfer...
  
  

Horse racing

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

• Cheltenham Gold Cup
  Cheltenham Gold Cup
  The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in the United Kingdom which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles and 2½ furlongs , and during its running there are twenty-two fences to be jumped...
  
   –
• Grand National
  Grand National
  The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...
  
   –

• Australia – Melbourne Cup
  Melbourne Cup
  The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...
  
   won by
• Canada – Queen's Plate
  Queen's Plate
  The Queen's Plate is Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race. It is run at a distance of 1¼ miles for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses foaled in Canada. The race takes place each summer in June or July at Woodbine Racetrack, Etobicoke , Ontario...
  
   won by
• France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
  Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
  The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year, usually on the first Sunday in October.Popularly referred to as the...
  
   won by
• Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes
  Irish Derby Stakes
  The Irish Derby is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late June or early July.It is Ireland's equivalent of the Epsom Derby,...
  
   won by
• English Triple Crown Races
  Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
  The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...
  
  :
  1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes –
  2. Epsom Derby
     Epsom Derby
     The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
     
      –
  3. St. Leger Stakes
     St. Leger Stakes
     The St. Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 132 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.Established in 1776, the St. Leger...
     
      –
• United States Triple Crown Races
  Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
  The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...
  
  :
  1. Kentucky Derby
     Kentucky Derby
     The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
     
      – Johnstown
     Johnstown (horse)
     Johnstown was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse who won two out of every three races he competed in. Bred at Claiborne Farm, he was purchased by William Woodward, Sr...
     
     
  2. Preakness Stakes
     Preakness Stakes
     The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
     
      –
  3. Belmont Stakes
     Belmont Stakes
     The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
     
      –

Motor racing

• Grand Prix racing
  Grand Prix motor racing
  Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894. It quickly evolved from a simple road race from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver...
  
   – Main article: 1939 Grand Prix season
  1939 Grand Prix season
  The 1939 Grand Prix season was the seventh AIACR European Championship season. The championship winner was never officially announced by the AIACR due to the outbreak of World War II less than two weeks after the final event in Switzerland. The Italian GP initially had been a fifth event, but it...
  
  . No European champion officially declared due to war breaking out.
• 23 August – at Bonneville, John R. Cobb
  John Cobb (motorist)
  John Rhodes Cobb was a British racing motorist. He made money as a director of fur brokers Anning, Chadwick and Kiver and could afford to specialise in large capacity motor-racing...
  
   in the Railton Special breaks G. E. T. Eyston
  George Eyston
  - References :*...
  
  's record for the flying mile (set 16 September 1938), with a new mark of 367.91 mph (592.1 km/h). Due to the Second World War
  World War II
  World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
  
  , the mark will survive until 1947.
• August 11 – Jean Bugatti
  Jean Bugatti
  Jean Bugatti was an French/Italian automotive designer and test engineer.Born Gianoberto Maria Carlo Bugatti in Cologne, Germany, he was the eldest son of Ettore Bugatti. Soon after his birth the family moved to the village of Dorlisheim near Molsheim in Alsace where his father built the new...
  
  , automobile designer and the 30-year-old son of Ettore Bugatti
  Ettore Bugatti
  right|thumb|Ettore Bugatti in 1932Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti was an Italian-born and French naturalized citizen automobile designer and manufacturer....
  
  , dies in a crash on the Molsheim
  Molsheim
  Molsheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. The total population in 2006 was 9,382. Molsheim had been a very fast growing city between the French censuses of 1968 and 1999, passing from 5,739 to 9,331 inhabitants, but this increase came to a noticeable halt...
  
  -Strasbourg
  Strasbourg
  Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
  
   highway.

Nordic skiing

Nordic skiing

Nordic skiing is a winter sport that encompasses all types of skiing where the heel of the boot cannot be fixed to the ski, as opposed to Alpine skiing....

• 12th FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1939 are held at Zakopane
  Zakopane
  Zakopane , is a town in southern Poland. It lies in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998 it was in of Nowy Sącz Province, but since 1999 it has been in Lesser Poland Province. It had a population of about 28,000 as of 2004. Zakopane is a...
  
  , Poland

Rowing

Rowing (sport)

Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...

• 1 April — Cambridge
  Cambridge University Boat Club
  The Cambridge University Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England, located on the River Cam at Cambridge, although training primarily takes place on the River Great Ouse at Ely. The club was founded in 1828...
  
   wins the 91st Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race
  The Boat Race
  The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...
  
  

Rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

• 52nd Home Nations Championship
  Six Nations Championship
  The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
  
   series is shared by England
  England national rugby union team
  The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
  
  , Ireland
  Ireland national rugby union team
  The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
  
   and Wales
  Wales national rugby union team
  The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
  
  
• France
  France national rugby union team
  The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
  
   is readmitted to the championship after the 1939 series is completed but will be unable to take part again until 1947 due to the suspension of international rugby during World War II
  World War II
  World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
  
  

Snooker

Snooker

Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...

• World Snooker Championship
  World Snooker Championship
  The World Snooker Championship is the leading professional snooker tournament in terms of both prize money and ranking points. The first championship was held in 1927; since 1977, it has been played at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England...
  
   – Joe Davis
  Joe Davis
  Joe Davis, OBE was a British professional player of snooker and English billiards....
  
   beats Sidney Smith 43–30

Speed skating

Speed skating

Speed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...

• Men's All-round Champion
  World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men
  The International Skating Union has organised the World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men since 1893. Unofficial Championships were held in the years 1889-1892.-History:-Distances used:...
  
   – Birger Wasenius
  Birger Wasenius
  Birger Wasenius was a Finnish World Champion in speed skating. He was born in Helsinki.Wasenius reached the world top in 1933 when he won a silver medal at the European Allround Championships...
  
   (Finland)
• Women's All-round Champion
  World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Women
  The International Skating Union has organised the World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Women since 1936. Unofficial Championships were held in the years 1933-1935.-Distances used:...
  
   – Verné Lesche
  Verné Lesche
  Verné Lesche, married Vanberg, was a speed skater from Finland who twice won the World Allround Championships....
  
   (Finland)

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

• Australian Men's Singles Championship – John Bromwich
  John Bromwich
  John Edward Bromwich was a male tennis player from Australia who, along with his countryman Vivian McGrath, was one of the first great players to use a two-handed forehand....
  
   (Australia) defeats Adrian Quist
  Adrian Quist
  Adrian Karl Quist was an Australian male tennis player.-Biography:Adrian Quist was born in Medindie, South Australia. The tennis legend grew up in Adelaide and once played Harry Hopman, however he lost, only because he gave Hopman a head start...
  
   (Australia) 6–4, 6–1, 6–3
• Australian Women's Singles Championship – Emily Hood Westacott
  Emily Hood Westacott
  Emily Hood Westacott , also known by her maiden name, Emily Hood, was an Australian tennis player in the 1930s.She won the Australian Championship singles in 1939, two years after losing in the final...
  
   (Australia) defeats Nell Hall Hopman
  Nell Hall Hopman
  Eleanor "Nell" Mary Hall Hopman was one of the female tennis players that dominated Australian tennis from 1930 through the early 1960s...
  
   (Australia) 6–1, 6–2

• Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Bobby Riggs
  Bobby Riggs
  Robert Larimore "Bobby" Riggs was a 1930s–40s tennis player who was the World No. 1 or the co-World No. 1 player for three years, first as an amateur in 1941, then as a professional in 1946 and 1947...
  
   (USA) defeats Elwood Cooke (USA) 2–6, 8–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2
• Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Alice Marble
  Alice Marble
  Alice Marble was a World No. 1 American tennis player who won 18 Grand Slam championships : 5 in Singles, 6 in Women's Doubles, and 7 in Mixed Doubles.-Early life:Born in the small town of Beckwourth, Plumas County, California, Marble moved with her family at the age of...
  
   (USA) defeats Kay Stammers Bullitt (Great Britain) 6–2, 6–0

• French Men's Singles Championship – Don McNeill
  Don McNeill
  Don McNeill may refer to:* Don McNeill , radio master of ceremonies, based in Chicago, Illinois but broadcast nationally* Don McNeill , tennis player* Donald Gerard McNeil, Jr, science and health journalist for The New York Times...
  
   (USA) defeats Bobby Riggs
  Bobby Riggs
  Robert Larimore "Bobby" Riggs was a 1930s–40s tennis player who was the World No. 1 or the co-World No. 1 player for three years, first as an amateur in 1941, then as a professional in 1946 and 1947...
  
   (USA) 7–5, 6–0, 6–3
• French Women's Singles Championship – Simone Mathieu
  Simone Mathieu
  Simone Mathieu was a female tennis player from France, born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine.-Career:...
  
   (France) defeats Jadwiga Jedrzejowska
  Jadwiga Jedrzejowska
  Jadwiga Jedrzejowska was a Polish tennis player. Because her name was difficult to pronounce for many people who did not speak Polish, she was often called by the nicknames "Jed" or "Ja-Ja".Jedrzejowska reached the singles final of a Grand Slam tournament on three occasions, still a record for...
  
   (Poland) 6–3, 8–6

• American Men's Singles Championship – Bobby Riggs
  Bobby Riggs
  Robert Larimore "Bobby" Riggs was a 1930s–40s tennis player who was the World No. 1 or the co-World No. 1 player for three years, first as an amateur in 1941, then as a professional in 1946 and 1947...
  
   (USA) defeats Welby Van Horn
  Welby Van Horn
  Welby Van Horn is a retired American professional tennis player who later went on to have a career as a major tennis coach.As a 19-year-old player, Van Horn reached the finals of the 1939 U.S. Nationals only to lose to Bobby Riggs in just 56 minutes...
  
   (USA) 6–4, 6–2, 6–4
• American Women's Singles Championship – Alice Marble
  Alice Marble
  Alice Marble was a World No. 1 American tennis player who won 18 Grand Slam championships : 5 in Singles, 6 in Women's Doubles, and 7 in Mixed Doubles.-Early life:Born in the small town of Beckwourth, Plumas County, California, Marble moved with her family at the age of...
  
   (USA) defeats Helen Jacobs
  Helen Jacobs
  Helen Hull Jacobs was a World No. 1 American female tennis player who won ten Grand Slam titles. She was born in Globe, Arizona, United States.- Tennis career :...
  
   (USA) 6–0, 8–10, 6–4

• Alice Marble
  Alice Marble
  Alice Marble was a World No. 1 American tennis player who won 18 Grand Slam championships : 5 in Singles, 6 in Women's Doubles, and 7 in Mixed Doubles.-Early life:Born in the small town of Beckwourth, Plumas County, California, Marble moved with her family at the age of...
  
   wins Wimbledon Ladies' Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles, US Open Women's Singles, Doubles
  US Open champions (Women's Doubles)
  The following pairings won the U.S. Open tennis championship at Women's Doubles.-References:**-See also:*U.S. Open champions *U.S. Open champions *U.S. Open champions *U.S. Open champions...
  
   and Mixed Doubles, as well as Associated Press Athlete of the Year
  Associated Press Athlete of the Year
  The first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press in 1931. At a time when women in sports were never given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award to either a professional or amateur athlete...
  
  .

• 1939 International Lawn Tennis Challenge
  1939 International Lawn Tennis Challenge
  The 1939 International Lawn Tennis Challenge was the 34th edition of what is now known as the Davis Cup. 20 teams would enter the Europe Zone, while 7 would enter the Americas Zone....
  
   – 3–2 (15) Merion Cricket Club
  Merion Cricket Club
  Merion Cricket Club is a private club in Haverford, Pennsylvania, founded in 1865. The current clubhouse is its sixth, the last four having been designed by Philadelphia architect Frank Furness and his partner, Allen Evans .-History:...
  
   (grass) Haverford
  Haverford, Pennsylvania
  Haverford is an unincorporated community located partially in Haverford Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA, but primarily in Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, about west of Philadelphia. It is on the Main Line, which is known historically for its wealth. As of August 2009,...
  
  , United States
  United States
  The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
  
  

Awards

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Nile Kinnick
  Nile Kinnick
  Nile Clarke Kinnick, Jr. was a student and a college football player at the University of Iowa. He won the 1939 Heisman Trophy and was a consensus All-American. He died during a training flight while serving as a U.S Navy aviator in World War II...
  
  , College football
  College football
  College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
  
  
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Alice Marble
  Alice Marble
  Alice Marble was a World No. 1 American tennis player who won 18 Grand Slam championships : 5 in Singles, 6 in Women's Doubles, and 7 in Mixed Doubles.-Early life:Born in the small town of Beckwourth, Plumas County, California, Marble moved with her family at the age of...
  
  , Tennis
  Tennis
  Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...