- February 2
- Bevo Francis, Rio Grande College, scores 113 points in basketball game. [1]
- February 3
- Jeen van den Berg win Dutch Eleven Cities Skating race (7:32). [1]
- February 10
- Ice Dance Championship at Oslo won by Jean Westwood/Lawrence Demmy (Great Britain). [1]
- Ice Pairs Championship at Oslo won by Frances Dafoe/Norris Bowden (Canada). [1]
- Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Oslo won by Gundi Busch (Germany). [1]
- Men's Figure Skating Championship in Oslo won by Hayes Alan Jenkins (USA). [1]
- February 13
- Frank Selvey scores 100 points (basketball) for Furman beating Newberry 149-95. [1]
- February 14
- Beverly Hanson wins LPGA Saint Petersburg Golf Open. [1]
- February 20
- Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Serbin Golf Open. [1]
- February 28
- Patty Berg/Pete Cooper win LPGA Orlando Mixed Golf Tournament. [1]
- March 1
- Ted Williams fractures collarbone in first game of spring training after flying 39 combat missions without injury in Korean War. [1]
- March 7
- Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Sarasota Golf Open. [1]
- Russia wins title in their first international ice hockey competition. [1]
- March 8
- Herb McKinley sets 1/4 mile record of 6.8 seconds in Melbourne, Australia. [1]
- March 13
- Milwaukee Braves' Bobby Thomson breaks his ankle, he is replaced by Hank Aaron. [1]
- March 14
- Milwaukee Braves' Henry Aaron homers in his first exhibition game. [1]
- Louise Suggs wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship. [1]
- NBA Baltimore Bullets end a 32-game road losing streak. [1]
- March 19
- First color telecast of a prize fight, Giardello versus Troy in Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, USA. [1]
- US Ladies Figure Skating Championship won by Tenley Albright. [1]
- US Men's Figure Skating Championship won by Hayes A Jenkins. [1]
- Weekes, Worrell and Walcott complete tons in innings versus England. [1]
- March 20
- 16th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: La Salle beats Bradley 92-76. [1]
- March 28
- Louise Suggs wins LPGA Betsy Rawls Golf Open. [1]
- March 30
- Test Cricket debut of Garry Sobers versus England at Kingston. [1]
- April 4
- Louise Suggs wins LPGA Carrollton Georgia Golf Open. [1]
- April 6
- NHL's Montreal Canadiens score three goals in 56 seconds in playoff game against Detroit Red Wings. [1]
- April 11
- Marlene Bauer wins LPGA New Orleans Golf Open. [1]
- April 12
- 18th Golf Masters Championship: Sam Snead beats Ben Hogan to win his third Masters tournament, shooting a 289. [1]
- 8th NBA Championship: Minneapolis Lakers beat Syracuse Nationals, 4 games to 3. [1]
- April 13
- Baltimore Orioles' first game, lose to Detroit Tigers in Detroit 3-0. [1]
- April 15
- Baltimore Orioles' first game in Baltimore; they beat Chicago White Sox 3-1. [1]
- New York Yankees dedicate a plaque to Edward Barrow. [1]
- April 16
- NHL Stanley Cup: Detroit Red Wings beat Montreal Canadiens, 4 games to 3. [1]
- April 18
- Louise Suggs wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf Open. [1]
- April 19
- 58th Boston Marathon won by Veikko Karvonen of Finland in 2:20:39. Seven-time winner of the Boston Marathon, 65-year-old Clarence Demar, runs his last race at Boston finishing 78th. [1]
- April 22
- NBA adopts the 24-second shot clock and six team-foul rule. [1]
- May 1
- 80th Kentucky Derby: Raymond York aboard Determine wins in 2:03. [1]
- May 2
- Stan Musial hits five homeruns in a doubleheader. [1]
- May 6
- Roger Bannister of Great Britain becomes the first person to run the mile in under four minutes (3:59.04). [1] [5]
- May 8
- First shot-put over 60 feet (18.29 metre)-Parry O'Brien, Los Angeles, California, USA. [1]
- May 13
- Robin Roberts gives up a homerun then retires the next 27 men in a row. [1]
- May 16
- Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA National Capital Golf Open. [1]
- May 22
- 80th Preakness: Johnny Adams aboard Hasty Road wins in 1:57.4. [1]
- May 30
- Dutch bishops forbid membership to non-catholic sporting clubs. [1]
- Emile Zatopek runs world record 5km (13:57.2). [1]
- June 12
- Milwaukee Braves' Jim Wilson no-hits Philadelphia Phillies, 2-0. [1]
- June 30
- New York Yankees' pitcher Tom Morgan ties record by hitting three batters in one inning. [1]
- July 4
- West Germany beats Hungary 3-2 for soccer's 5th World Cup in Bern. [1]
- July 12
- Major League Baseball Players Association founded. [1]
- July 13
- Pitcher Dean Stone gets credit for American League win, although he didn't retire a batter; he threw out Shoendienst trying to steal home. American League beats National League 11-9 in 21st All Star Game. [1]
- July 18
- Saint Louis Cardinals, losing 8-1 to Philadelphia Phillies begin stalling in 5th; they forfeit game. [1]
- July 20
- Tennis champ Maureen Connolly's right leg is crushed in an accident. [1]
- July 31
- Milwaukee Braves' Joe Adcock sets record of 18 total bases (4 hours, one double). [1]
- August 5
- Boxing Hall of Fame's first election selects 24 modern and 15 pioneers. [1]
- August 10
- Sir Gordon Richards retires as a jockey with record 4,870 wins. [1]
- August 16
- Sports Illustrated publishes its first issue. [1]
- August 24
- International Amateur Athletic Federation recognizes Red China. [1]
- September 4
- Peter B Cortese of the US achieves a one-arm deadlift of 370 pounds; 22 pounds, over triple his body weight, at York, Pennsylvania. [1]
- September 6
- New York Yankees use a record ten pinch hitters. [1]
- September 8
- With a 3-2 count, Philadelphia Phillies' Richie Ashburn fouls next 14, then walks. [1]
- September 12
- Cleveland Indians sweep New York Yankees at Municipal Stadium; largest American League crowd (86,563). [1]
- September 17
- Heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano knocks out Ezzard Charles in eight rounds. [1]
- September 18
- Cleveland Indians clinch American League pennant, beat Detroit Tigers (3-2). [1]
- September 20
- Roger Bannister awarded Britain's Silver Pears Trophy. [1]
- September 22
- Brooklyn Dodgers' Karl Spooner strikes out 15 New York Giants' players in his first game. [1]
- September 24
- New York Yankees tie a record: three of their pinch hitters strike out in one inning. [1]
- September 29
- Willie Mays makes his famous over-the-shoulder catch of Vic Wertz' 460-foot drive. [1]
- October 2
- New York Giants sweep Cleveland Indians, in 51st World Series. [1]
- October 17
- Philadelphia Eagles' Adrian Burk passes for seven touchdowns vs Washington Redskins (49-21). [1]
- November 4
- Philadelphia Athletics baseball team moves to Kansas City. [1]
- November 8
- American League approves Philadelphia Athletics' move to Kansas City. [1]
- November 13
- Great Britain defeats France to capture the first ever Rugby League World Cup in Paris in front of around 30,000 spectators. [5]
- November 18
- New York Yankees trade Woodling, Byrd, McDonald, Triandos, Miranada and Smith to Baltimore Orioles for Turley, Larsen and Hunter as part of an 18-player deal. [1]
- December 1
- New York Yankees send Miller, Segrist, Leppert and two minors to Baltimore Orioles for Blayzka, Kryhoski, Johnson, Fridley and Del Guercio (completing 18-player deal). [1]
- December 2
- Frank Selvy of Milwaukee sets then NBA record of 24 of 26 free throws. [1]
- December 10
- Philadelphia Phillies purchase Connie Mack Stadium. [1]
- December 15
- Fordham University scraps football team for financial reasons. [1]
- December 26
- Cleveland Browns beat Detroit Lions 56-10 in NFL championship game. [1]
- December 28
- 43rd Davis Cup: USA beats Australia in Sydney (3-2). [1]
- December 30
- First use of 24-second shot clock in pro basketball (Rochester versus Boston). [1]
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