Sporting Highlights for 1960
Here are some of the sporting highlights in the world of sport for the year 1960. The major events of this year in sport were the Summer Olympics in Rome Italy and the Winter Olympic Games in Squaw Valley USA.
After the initial controversy surrounding athletes from communist countries participating in the Winter Games in the US, things went as usual with the ex-Soviet Union topping the medal count with seven gold and 21 total medals. A highlight was the US men's ice hockey team winning their first Olympic gold medal with a record of 7–0–0 during the tournament.
In the Summer Games, Danish sailor Paul Elvstrøm won the gold medal for the fourth straight time in the Finn class, a feat which has not been matched by any other sailor to date. 18-year-old boxer Cassius Clay, later to be known as Muhammad Ali, was the light heavyweight boxing champion.
Rod Laver is considered one of tennis's all-time greats. He won his first grand slam title as a 21-year-old taking the Australian Open. Neale Fraser, another Australian, won the Wimbledon and the US Open this year for his second and third grand slam title. Margaret Court, the most accomplished women's tennis player ever, won her first grand slam title at the Australian Open at just 17 years of age.
Arnold Palmer, who has won seven majors, won back-to-back majors in 1960 at the Masters Tournament the 190 U.S. Open. Betsy Rawls won the U.S. Women's Open for the fourth time en-route to a career with seven major wins.
Jack Brabham won the F1 driver's championship for the second straight time. But tragedy struck F1 this year with the death of Alan Stacey and Chris Bristow during an on-race crash at the Belgian Grand Prix.
A memorable event for this year was Bill Mazeroski's home run in the 9th inning of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series to defeat the Yankees for the Pirates.
In cricket, the Australia and West Indies 1st Test Cricket match at the Gabba ended in a memorable and rare tie.
See some videos from the world of sport in 1960.
Below is a timeline of some significant results in the world of sport for the year 1960.
| Date | Results |
|---|---|
| Jan 22 - Feb 1 | Tennis Australia Open won by Rod Laver and Margaret Smith |
| Feb 18 - 28 | Winter Olympic Games were held in Squaw Valley, USA |
| April 7-10 | Golf Masters won by Arnold Palmer (2nd win) |
| May 17-28 | Tennis French Open won by Nicola Pietrangeli and Darlene Hard |
| June 16-18 | Golf US Open won by Arnold Palmer |
| June 20 - July 1 | Tennis Wimbledon won by Neale Fraser and Maria Bueno |
| June 26 - July 17 | the Cycling Tour de France won by Gastone Nencini |
| July 6-9 | Golf The Open Championship won by Kel Nagle |
| July 21-24 | Golf US PGA won by Jay Hebert |
| Aug 25 - Sept 11 | Summer Olympic Games were held in Rome, Italy. |
| Sep 2-17 | Tennis US National Championship won by Neale Fraser and Darlene Hard |
| Oct 5-13 | The Baseball World Series won by Pittsburgh Pirates |
If you have a correction or know of events that should be included here, please let me know. You can also write a comment below.
Related Pages
- Ballon D'or Winners for 1960
- 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
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