See also: 1952 in sports, other events of 1953, 1954 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.

Auto Racing

• NASCAR Championship - Herb Thomas
• AAA Racing:
  • Bill Vukovich won the Indianapolis 500
  • Sam Hanks won the season driving championship
• Formula One Championship - Alberto Ascari of Italy
• 24 hours of Le Mans:
  • the team of Tony Rolt / Duncan Hamilton won, driving a Jaguar C-Type
• Rally racing:
  • the team of Maurice Gatsonides /Peter Worledge won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Ford Zephyr
• Drag racing - The NHRA held its first official race in April on a section of the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds parking lot in Pomona, California.

Baseball

• World Series: New York Yankees won 4 games to 2 over the Brooklyn Dodgers

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
  • Indiana wins 69-68 over Kansas

• NBA Finals:
  • Minneapolis Lakers won 4 games to 1 over the New York Knicks

Boxing

• September 24 in New York City - Rocky Marciano retains his World Heavyweight title with a TKO over Roland LaStarza in the 11th round.

• October in New York City - Bobo Olson scored a 15 round decision over Randy Turpin to win the World Middleweight Championship

Cricket

• Pakistan becomes the seventh test playing nation.

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Fausto Coppi of Italy
• Tour de France - Louison Bobet of France
• World Cycling Championship: Fausto Coppi of Italy

Figure Skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Hayes Alan Jenkins , United States
  • Women's champion: Tenley Albright, United States
  • Pairs champions: Jennifer Nicks & John Nicks , Great Britain

Football (American)

• NFL Championship : Detroit Lions won 17-16 over the Cleveland Browns

Football (Australian Rules)

• Victorian Football League
  • Collingwood wins the 57th VFL Premiership (Collingwood 11.11 (77) d Geelong 8.17 (65))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Bill Hutchinson (Essendon)

Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Hamilton Tiger-Cats win 12-6 over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Football (Soccer)

• England - FA Cup: Blackpool won 4-3 over the Bolton Wanderers
• England lose 6-3 to Hungary at Wembley Stadium, their first ever loss to a continental team at home

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 - Ben Hogan
  4. August - PGA Championship - Walter Burkemo

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Lew Worsham - $34,002

• Ryder Cup: United States wins 6 1/2 to 5 1/2 over the British team in world golf.

Women's Golf

• The US Women's Open - Betsy Rawls

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Wodalla
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Canadiana
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - La Sorellina
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Chamier

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Nearula
  2. Epsom Derby - Pinza
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Premonition

• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Dark Star
  2. Preakness Stakes - Native Dancer
  3. Belmont Stakes - Native Dancer

Harness Racing

• Little Brown Jug for pacers won by Keystoner
• Hambletonian for trotters won by Helicopter

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Captain Sandy

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: Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings

• Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 1 over the Boston Bruins

• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Sweden defeated the heavily favoured Soviet Union
  • Canada did not participate in the World Hockey Championship, the government claiming it was not worth the expense.

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship: Fred Davis beats Walter Donaldson 37-34

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - Ken Rosewall
  2. French Open - Ken Rosewall
  3. Wimbledon championships - Vic Seixas
  4. US Open - Tony Trabert

• Maureen Connolly became the first woman to win the Grand Slam in tennis. Women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Maureen Connolly
  2. French Open - Maureen Connolly
  3. Wimbledon championships - Maureen Connolly
  4. US Open - Maureen Connolly

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

General sporting events

Births

• January 10 - Bobby Rahal, automobile racer

Deaths

• March 3 - Clyde Milan , Major League Baseball player (1907-1922)
• March 3 James J. Jeffries, world heavyweight boxing champion
• March 28 - Jim Thorpe, athlete
• April 11 - Kid Nichols, Major League Baseball pitcher (1890-1906)
• May 27 - Jesse Burkett, Major League Baseball player (1890-1905)
• June 5 - Bill Tilden, tennis player
• August 11 - Tazio Nuvolari, race car driver