1908 in sports

yearbox
in?=in sports
cp=19th century
c=20th century
cf=21st century

yp1=1905
yp2=1906
yp3=1907
year=1908
ya1=1909
ya2=1910
ya3=1911
dp3=1870s
dp2=1880s
dp1=1890s
d=1900s
da=0
dn1=1910s
dn2=1920s
dn3=1930s|

Baseball

*World Series - Chicago Cubs defeat Detroit Tigers, 4 games to 1
*September 23 - The Merkle incident, which finally costs New York Giants the NL pennant
*Major League Baseball's lowest scoring season
**The St. Louis Cardinals set the current record for fewest runs scored in a season (372)
*The press corps organizes the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA)

Boxing

*December 26 - Jack Johnson becomes the first African American heavyweight boxing champion by defeating Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia

Field hockey

Competitions

* Olympic Games (Men's Competition) in London, Great Britain
** Gold Medal: England
** Silver Medal: Ireland
** Bronze Medals: Scotland & Wales

Establishments

* February 8 – HDM, a Dutch field hockey club based in The Hague
* September 20 – HC Klein Zwitserland, a Dutch field hockey club located in The Hague

Football (Australian rules football)

* Victorian Football League
** Richmond and University join the league
** Carlton wins the 12th VFL Premiership (Carlton 5.5 (35) d Essendon 3.8 (26))
** "See also Victorian Football League season 1908"

Football (rugby league)

Rugby league begins in Australia, with the formation of the New South Wales Rugby League
*South Sydney Rabbitohs win the first title, defeating Eastern Suburbs Roosters 14-12 in the final
*Nine teams compete in the first year of competition: Balmain Tigers, Cumberland, Glebe Dirty Reds, Eastern Suburbs Roosters, Newcastle Rebels, Newtown Jets, North Sydney Bears, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Western Suburbs Magpies.

Football (soccer)

England

* First Division - Manchester United wins the 1907-08 title.
* FA Cup - Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Newcastle United 3-1.

Golf

*June 16-19 - British Open - James Braid
*August 26-29 - U.S. Open - Fred McLeod
*British Amateur - E.A. Lassen
*U.S. Amateur - Jerome Travers

Horse racing

* May 5 - Stone Street wins the Kentucky Derby

Ice hockey

* January 2 - The first All-Star game in ice hockey history is held in Montreal, Canada to benefit the widow of Hod Stuart, killed in an off-season accident.
* March - Montreal Wanderers win the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA) championship for the third year in a row and successfully defend the Stanley Cup. The Wanderers would defeat Ottawa Victorias, Winnipeg Maple Leafs and Toronto Professionals in Cup challenges.

Ice skating

* First ISU Championships for Pairs Figure Skating held in Saint Petersburg

Olympic Games

*1908 Summer Olympics takes place in London, United Kingdom
**Great Britain wins the most medals (145), and the most gold medals (56).
**Lacrosse is played as an olympic sport for the second and last time (first was in the 1904 Summer Olympics). Canada beat Great Britain and they were the only two nations to compete.

Births

* January 26 — Percy Beard, American hurdler (d. 1990)
* January 29 — Grete Heublein, German track and field athlete (d. 1997)
* February 17 — Red Barber, American baseball announcer, sports journalist (d. 1992)
* February 26 — Jean-Pierre Wimille, French racing driver (d. 1949)
* April 24 — Inga Gentzel, Swedish athlete (d. 1991)
* May 19 — Percy Williams, Canadian athlete (d. 1982)
* June 30 — David Baan, Dutch boxer (d. 1984)
*August 10 — Billy Gonsalves, American soccer player (d. 1977)
* August 20 — Al Lopez, American baseball catcher and manager (d. 2005)
* August 27 — Don Bradman, Australian cricketer (d. 2001)
*November 3 — Eddie Scarf, Australian boxer and wrestler (d. 1980)
*December 22 — Paula Mollenhauer, German athlete (d. 1988)

Deaths

*April 20 - Henry Chadwick, baseball writer and historian
*May 24 - Old Tom Morris, 4-time British Open golf champion