1939 in sports
See also: 1938 in sports, other events of 1939, 1940 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.
Many sporting events did not take place because of World War II.
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Auto Racing
- August 11 - Jean Bugatti, automobile designer and the 30-year-old son of Ettore Bugatti, died in a crash on the Molsheim-Strasbourg highway.
Baseball
- January 24: Hall of Fame election: The goal of 10 initial inductees from the 20th century is finally met as voters select George Sisler, Eddie Collins, and Willie Keeler.
- April 23: Pitcher Alejandro "Alex" Carrasquel made his major league debut with the Washington Senators. He became the first baseball player from Venezuela to play Major League Baseball.
- May 2: Cap Anson, Buck Ewing, Charles "Hoss" Radbourn, Albert Spalding, Charles Comiskey, and Candy Cummings are named to the Hall of Fame by a special committee, just weeks before the Hall opens. Along with the previous selections of Cy Young and Keeler in the writers' elections, Anson, Ewing and Radbourn arguably complete the 5 initial inductees from the 19th century which were promised but long delayed; Spalding, Comiskey and Cummings were largely elected as pioneers and contributors.
- May 2: Lou Gehrig's streak of 2130 consecutive Major League Baseball games played comes to an end. The record will stand for 56 years before Cal Ripken, Jr. breaks it.
- June 12: The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is dedicated in Cooperstown, New York.
- July 4: Lou Gehrig announces his retirement from the game at Yankee Stadium.
- August 26: The first televised major-league baseball game is Brooklyn's 6-1 victory over Cincinnati at Ebbets Field.
- World Series: New York Yankees defeat Cincinnati Reds, 4-0.
- The Winnipeg Maroons win the Northern League championship.
- December: A special election results in Lou Gehrig being selected to the Hall of Fame; he had announced his retirement after the Hall's June opening.
American Football
- Green Bay Packers 27-0 New York Giants for the NFL title. It was the first shutout in a championship game. The game was played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
- Texas A&M University 14-13 Tulane in the 1939 Sugar Bowl for the NCAA Football National Championship.
Football (Australian Rules)
- Victorian Football League
- Melbourne wins the 43rd VFL Premiership (Melbourne 21.22 (148) d Collingwood 14.11 (95))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Marcus Whelan (Collingwood)
Snooker
- World Snooker Championship: Joe Davis beats Sidney Smith 43-30
Births
- January 6 - Valeri Lobanovsky, football player and manager
- February 27 – Peter Revson, F1 race car driver (d. 1974)
- October 11 – Maria Bueno, tennis champion
Deaths
- November 28 – James Naismith, Canadian who invented the game of basketball.