Sporting Highlights for 1954
Here are some of the sporting highlights in the world of sport for 1954.
The major event of this year was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, Switzerland was the host nation. The finals between West Germany and Hungary, in which Hungary squandered a 2-0 lead to lose the match 3-2, is considered as one of the most disappointing finals matches ever.
The Commonwealth Games (then called the British Empire and Commonwealth Games) was held in Canada.
English runner Roger Bannister became the first person to run one mile in under four minutes.
Sam Snead won the Masters Tournament for the third time for his seventh and final major win. Though Snead has won the PGA Championship three times and The British Open once, he was never able to break through the US Open where he finished second four times. Babe Zaharias won the U.S. Women's Open for the third time in her career for her 10th and final major title.
Maureen Connolly Brinker had already won seven grand slams coming into the year which included a sweep of the slam titles the previous year. She was able to successfully defend her French Open and Wimbledon titles securing her eighth and ninth slam title.
Mervyn Rose, Tony Trabert, Jaroslav Drobný, and Vic Seixas, won the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open respectively. All four players finished their career with multiple grand slam titles with Tony Trabert winning the most among them with a total of five grand slam titles. Drobny, although born in Czechoslovakia, was at the time playing for his 'adopted' country of Egypt, and became the first and (so far) only player with African citizenship to win the Wimbledon Championships.
Below is a timeline of some significant results in the world of sport for the year 1954.
| Date | Results |
|---|---|
| Jan | Tennis Australia Open won by Mervyn Rose and Thelma Long |
| April | Golf Masters won by Sam Snead (3rd win) |
| May | Tennis French Open won by Tony Trabert and Maureen Connolly |
| June | Golf US Open won by Ed Furgol |
| June 16 - July 4 | FIFA World Cup (Football) tournament was held in Switzerland, won by Germany. |
| July | the Cycling Tour de France won by Louison Bobet |
| July | Tennis Wimbledon won by Jaroslav Drobny and Maureen Connolly |
| July | Golf The Open Championship won by Peter Thomson |
| July 30 - Aug 7 | Commonwealth Games held in Vancouver, Canada. |
| Aug | Golf US PGA won by Chick Harbert |
| Sep | Tennis US National Championship won by Vic Seixas and Doris Hart |
| Oct | The Baseball World Series won by New York Giants |
Please note that the dates for past events are not always known, and are sometimes just placed in the month that the current event is held. If no exact date is listed, then it is just an estimated month that it was held.
If you have a correction or know of events that should be included here, please let me know.
Related Pages
- Timeline (all years) in the world of sport
- For future sporting events, see the Calendar of Major Sporting Events
- More about the World of Sport
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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