See also: 1950 in sports, other events of 1951, 1952 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.

Auto Racing

• NASCAR Championship - Herb Thomas
• AAA Racing:
  • Tony Bettenhausen won the series championship
  • Lee Wallard won the Indianapolis 500
• Formula One Championship - Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina
• 24 hours of Le Mans:
  • Louis Rosier / Jean-Louis Rosier won driving a Talbot-Lago
• Rally racing:
  • Marcel Becquart / H. Secret won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Hotchkiss
• Drag racing - NHRA founded by Wally Parks

Baseball

• January 26: Mel Ott and Jimmie Foxx are inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

• January 29: Baseball signs a six-year All-Star game pact for TV-radio rights for $6 million. A number of owners criticize lame-duck Commissioner Happy Chandler, believing that in a couple of years, the broadcast rights would be worth much more than $1 million per annum.

• May 25: The New York Giants rookie Willie Mays, goes 0-for-5 in his major league debut against the Philadelphia Phillies.

• July 10: Alfonso "Chico" Carrasquel became the first Latin American player to participate in an All-Star game, beating out reigning MVP Phil Rizzuto as the American League's starting shortstop. Carrasquel would go on to be selected to the All-Star team a total of four times.

• October 4: National League Playoff: The New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers finished the season tied for first place. The Giants then won a playoff series, 2 games to 1. In the final game, when all seemed lost for the Giants, Bobby Thomson hit a dramatic three run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Giants a 5 to 4 victory and the National League pennant.

• World Series: New York Yankees win 4 games to 2 over the New York Giants.

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
  • Kentucky wins 68-58 over Kansas St.

• NBA Finals:
  • Rochester Royals won 4 games to 3 over the New York Knicks

Boxing

• July 10 - Randy Turpin becomes the middleweight boxing champion after defeating Sugar Ray Robinson.
• July 18, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Jersey Joe Walcott knocks out Ezzard Charles in round 7.

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Fiorenzo Magni of Italy
• Tour de France - Hugo Koblet of Switzerland
• World Cycling Championship: Ferdi Kubler of Switzerland

Figure Skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Dick Button, United States
  • Women's champion: Jeanette Altwegg , Great Britain
  • Pairs champions: Ria Baran & Paul Falk , Germany

Football (American)

• January 14 - The National Football League has its first Pro Bowl Game (Los Angeles, California).
• NFL Championship: Los Angeles Rams won 24-17 over the Cleveland Browns

Football (Australian Rules)

• Victorian Football League
  • Geelong wins the 55th VFL Premiership (Geelong 11.15 (81) d Essendon 10.10 (70))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Bernie Smith (Geelong)

Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Ottawa Rough Riders won 21-14 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders

Football (Soccer)

• England - FA Cup: Newcastle United won 2-0 over Blackpool

Golf

Men's Golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. May - The Masters - Ben Hogan
  2. June - US Open - Ben Hogan
  3. July - British Open - Max Faulkner
  4. August - PGA Championship - Sam Snead

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Lloyd Mangrum - $26,089
• Ryder Cup: United States team wins 9 1/2 to 2 1/2 over the British team in world golf.

Women's Golf

• US Women's Open - Betsy Rawls

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• July 14 - Citation won his 32nd race, the Hollywood Gold Cup , becoming the first equine millionaire.
• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Delat
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Major Factor
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Tantième
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Fraise du Bois
• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Ki Ming
  2. Epsom Derby - Arctic Prince
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Talma
• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Count Turf
  2. Preakness Stakes - Bold
  3. Belmont Stakes - Counterpoint

Harness Racing

• Tar Heel, a standardbred horse driven by Del Cameron , produced the first two-minute mile in harness racing history.
• Little Brown Jug for pacers won by Tar Heel
• Hambletonian for trotters won by Mainliner
• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Vedette
  • Trotters: Gay Belwin

Ice Hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
• Hart Memorial Trophy: for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Milt Schmidt , Boston Bruins
• Stanley Cup: Toronto Maple Leafs win 4 games to 1 over the Montreal Canadiens
• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Canada's Lethbridge Maple Leafs

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship: Fred Davis beats Walter Donaldson 58-39.

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - Dick Savitt
  2. French Open - Jaroslav Drobny
  3. Wimbledon championships - Dick Savitt
  4. US Open - Frank Sedgman

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Nancy Wynne Bolton
  2. French Open - Shirley Fry
  3. Wimbledon championships - Doris Hart
  4. US Open - Maureen Connolly

• Davis Cup: Australia wins 3-2 over the United States in world tennis.

General sporting events

• February 25 - The first Pan American Games are held, in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Births

• March 4 - Kenny Dalglish footballer and football manager
• April 29 - Dale Earnhardt, stock car racer (+ 2001)
• June 2 - Larry Robinson, Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman
• July 31 - Evonne Goolagong, Australian tennis star
• August 13 - Gwen Cheeseman , US field hockey goalkeeper
• October 6 - Manfred Winkelhock, auto racing driver
• November 13 - Beth Anders , US field hockey international

Deaths

• February 25 - Smokey Joe Williams, baseball star
• March 25 - Eddie Collins, Major League Baseball player (106-1930)
• July 9 - Harry Heilmann, Major League Baseball player (1914-1932)
• August 26 - Bill Barilko, Toronto Maple Leafs ice hockey player, plane crash
• December 5 - "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Major League Baseball player (1908-1920)