The 1930s Sports: Chronology

1930:     May 17 Gallant Fox wins the Kentucky Derby, ridden by Earl Sande. The horse goes on to win almost every major race in the season.

1930:     September 18 The yacht Enterprise wins the seventy-ninth consecutive U.S. victory in the Americas Cup. It is the fifth time that Sir Thomas Lipton of England has been defeated by the Americans.

1930:     September 27 In golf, Bobby Jones completes his Grand Slam at the Merion Cricket Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.

1931:      The Baseball Writers' Association of America awards its first Most Valuable Player (MVP) award to Frankie Frisch of the St. Louis Cardinals.

1931:     May 13 The United States beats France in boxing's first Golden Gloves competition.

1932:     February 4–13 The Winter Olympic Games take place at Lake Placid, New York.

1932:     June 2 A twenty-two pound, four-ounce largemouth bass is caught at Montgomery Lake, Georgia. This remains an International Game Fish Association (IFGA) All-Tackle world record.

1932:     June 22 In a tedious fight, Jack Sharkey takes the heavyweight boxing title from Max Schmeling.

1932:     July 30 The Summer Olympics opens in California. The next day American athletes set five Olympic track-and-field records in one day.

1932:     September 30 Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth hit two home runs each in the third game of the Yankees-Cubs World Series. Ruth's second is his famous "called shot," in which Ruth pointed to the spot where he would hit a home run.

1933:     May 6 Broker's Tip wins the fifty-ninth Kentucky Derby.

1933:     August The Negro League plays its East-West All-Star Games, watched by 50,000 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

1933:     October 7 The Washington Senators lose to the New York Giants in what will be their last World Series game. The Giants take the series 4-1.

1934:      The Augusta National in Georgia becomes the official course of the Masters Tournament.

1934:     August 31 At Soldier Field in Chicago, the first all-star football game is played between the Collegiate All-Americans and the Chicago Bears. The game ends in a scoreless tie.

1934:     October 9 The St. Louis Cardinals, known as the "Gashouse Gang," win the World Series against Detroit. A riot almost breaks out in the seventh game, and Joe Medwick is ordered out of the game.

1935:     May 24 The Cincinnati Reds host the first major-league baseball night game, against Philadelphia. President Roosevelt presses a button in the White House to switch on the lights.

1935:     May 25 At the Amateur Athletic Union track meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Jesse Owens breaks five world records and ties another in one afternoon.

1935:     July 6 Helen Wills Moody wins her seventh Wimbledon tennis title against Helen Jacobs 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.

1935:     September 3 At Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, Malcolm Campbell's Bluebird automobile exceeds 300 miles per hour.

1936:     February 8 The NFL holds its first college player draft. Jay Berwanger, winner of the first Heisman Trophy while playing for the University of Chicago, is the first pick. He decides not to turn professional.

1936:     June 19 Max Schmeling knocks out heavyweight boxer Joe Louis, ending Louis's unbeaten run.

1936:     August 2–9 Jesse Owens wins four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics.

1937:     June 22 Joe Louis begins his long reign as heavyweight champion when he knocks out Jim Braddock at Comiskey Park, Chicago.

1937:     July 20 Wimbledon champion Don Budge leads the U.S. Davis Cup team to victory for the first time since 1926.

1938:     June 23 Joe Louis settles the score against Max Schmeling by knocking him out in the first round at Yankee Stadium in New York.

1938:     August 17 Henry Armstrong becomes the first man to hold three boxing titles at the same time when he wins the lightweight crown. He also held the welterweight and featherweight titles.

1938:     September 24 Don Budge becomes the first player to win all four major tennis titles in the same year.

1939:      Little League baseball begins in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

1939:     May 2 Baseball star Lou Gehrig ends his fifteen-year consecutive game streak when he withdraws from the New York Yankees' starting lineup.

1939:     October 8 The Yankees win their fourth straight World Series, defeating the Cincinnati Reds in four straight games.