Sporting Highlights for 1959
Here are some of the sporting highlights in the world of sport for 1959.
Alex Olmedo from the United States won the Australian Open for his first grand slam title. The very same year he also won the Wimbledon for his second grand slam. Unfortunately Alex was not able to maintain his success in the following years and ended his career with just two slam titles.
Maria Bueno won the Wimbledon as a 19 year old for her first grand slam title. She also took the US Open that year and eventually finished her career with seven grand slam titles to become the most accomplished tennis player from Brazil to date.
Gary Player from South Africa, who is the fourth most accomplished player in the history of golf with a total of nine majors, won his first major title at The Open Championship. In women's golf, Betsy Rawls won back-to-back majors, the Women's Western Open and the LPGA Championship, for her fifth and sixth out of eight total major titles in her career.
Federico Bahamontes won the Tour de France. He was the first Spanish rider to have ever won the race. Federico also won the king of mountains title that year, one of the few riders to win both titles in the same year. Unfortunately that was the only Tour de France win in his career.
The Daytona 500 auto race, the most prestigious of the American NASCAR events, was first run at the Daytona speedway this year.
Earvin "Magic" Johnson, the all-time great basketball player who won five NBA championships with the LA Lakers was born on 14th of August.
Below is a timeline of some significant results in the world of sport for the year 1959.
| Date | Results |
|---|---|
| Jan | Tennis Australia Open won by Alex Olmedo and Mary Reitano |
| April | Golf Masters won by Art Wall, Jr. |
| May | Tennis French Open won by Nicola Pietrangeli and Christine Truman |
| June | Golf US Open won by Billy Casper |
| July | the Cycling Tour de France won by Federico Bahamontes |
| July | Tennis Wimbledon won by Alex Olmedo and Maria Bueno |
| July | Golf The Open Championship won by Gary Player |
| Aug | Golf US PGA won by Bob Rosburg |
| Sep | Tennis US National Championship won by Neale Fraser and Maria Bueno |
| Oct | The Baseball World Series won by Los Angeles Dodgers |
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
- Ballon D'or Winners for 1959
- 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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