1896 in sports.html



Athletics (track and field)

• Olympic Games: see "General sporting events" below

Baseball

• The original Baltimore Orioles win their third and final championship.

Cricket

• The Ashes - England win 3 test series 2-1
• County Cricket Championship - Yorkshire

Golf

• June - British Open - Harry Vardon wins his first of six British Opens.
• July 18 - U.S. Open - James Foulis wins the second playing of the Open.
• British Amateur - Freddie Tait
• U.S. Amateur - H. J. Whigham

Horse Racing

• May 6 - Ben Brush wins the Kentucky Derby

Ice hockey

• Winnipeg Victorias win their 1st Stanley Cup, defeating the Montreal Victorias, however, Montreal would reclaim the trophy by defeating Winnipeg in a rematch.

Ice skating

• First World Figure Skating Championships (open to men only) held in Saint Petersburg

Football (soccer)

England

• First Division - Aston Villa win the 1895-96 title.
• FA Cup - The Wednesday beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1.

Netherlands

• Willem II Tilburg, a Dutch football club playing in Tilburg, is founded as Tilburgia on August 12.

Scotland

• The Scottish Football League 1895-96 title is won by Celtic.
• The Scottish Cup is won by Hearts, who beat Hibernian 3-1.

Rowing

• Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race - Oxford

Rugby league

• Challenge Cup instituted - Batley beat St Helens 10-3 in the final.

General sporting events

• 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Olympic Games, takes place in Athens, Greece
  • 13 nations compete in the Games, most from Greece, Germany and France.
  • April 6 - American James Connolly wins the triple jump, becoming the first Olympic champion in over 1,500 years.
  • Winners receive a silver medal and a crown of olive branches.
  • Greece wins the most medals (46), and the United States wins the most gold medals (11).

Births

• January 2 — Piet Ikelaar, Dutch track cyclist (d. 1992)
• January 18 — Ville Ritola, Finnish athlete (d. 1982)
• April 2 — Oscar van Rappard, Dutch athlete and football (soccer) player (d. 1962)
• April 27 — Rogers Hornsby, American baseball player (d. 1963)
• May 2 — Norman Ross, American swimmer (d. 1953)
• August 13 — Walter Price, Welsh footballer
• October 25 — Nils Backlund, Swedish water polo player (d. 1964)