1963 in sports

See also: 1962 in sports, other events of 1963, 1964 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.

Auto Racing

• Stock car racing:
  • Tiny Lund won the Daytona 500
  • NASCAR Championship – Joe Weatherly
• Indianapolis 500 – Parnelli Jones
• USAC Racing – A.J. Foyt won the season championship
• Formula One Championship – Jimmy Clark of Great Britain
• 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Ludovico Scarfiotti / Lorenzo Bandini win, driving a Ferrari 250P
• Rally racing – the team of Erik Carlsson / Gunnar Palm win the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Saab 96
• Drag racing – Bobby Vodnik won "Top Fuel" at the NHRA Nationals

Baseball

• June 22: Phillies center fielder Tony Gonzalez plays his 200th straight errorless game to help rookie Ray Culp beat Roger Craig and the Mets 2–0.

• World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers win 4 games to 0 over the New York Yankees. The series MVP is Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles.

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
  • Loyola (Illinois) wins 60–58 over Cincinnati

• NBA Finals:
  • Boston Celtics win 4 games to 2 over the Los Angeles Lakers

• FIBA World Championship:
  • Brazil World Champion

Boxing

• July 22 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Sonny Liston won the Heavyweight Championship of the world by knocking out Floyd Patterson in the 1st round.

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Franco Balmamion of Italy
• Tour de France – Jacques Anquetil of France
• World Cycling Championship: Benoni Beheyt of Belgium

Figure skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Donald McPherson, Canada
  • Women's champion: Sjoukje Dijkstra, Netherlands
  • Pairs champions: Marika Kilius & Hans-Jürgen Bäumler, Germany

Football (American)

• January 29 – First inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame are announced
• AFL Eastern Division Playoff: Boston Patriots win 26–8 over the Buffalo Bills
• AFL Championship: San Diego Chargers win 51–10 over the Boston Patriots
• NFL Championship: Chicago Bears win 14–10 over the New York Giants
• September 7 – The Pro Football Hall of Fame opens in Canton, Ohio with 17 charter members.

Football (Australian Rules)

• Victorian Football League
  • Geelong wins the 67th VFL Premiership (Geelong 15.19 (109) d Hawthorn 8.12 (60))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Bob Skilton (South Melbourne)

Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Hamilton Tiger-Cats win 21–10 over the B.C. Lions

Football (Soccer)

• England – FA Cup: Manchester United won 3–1 over Leicester City

Golf

Men's Golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. May – The Masters – Jack Nicklaus
  2. June – US Open – Julius Boros
  3. July – British Open – Bob Charles
  4. August – PGA Championship – Jack Nicklaus

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Johnny Miller – $353,022

• Ryder Cup: United States wins 23 to 9 over Britain in world team golf.

Women's Golf

• US Women's Open – Mary Mills
• LPGA Championship – Mickey Wright
• Mickey Wright: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $31,269

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia – Melbourne Cup – Gatum Gatum
• Canada – Queen's Plate – Canebora
• France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe – Exbury
• Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes – Ragusa

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes – Only For Life
  2. Epsom Derby – Relko
  3. St. Leger Stakes – Ragusa

• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby – Chateaugay
  2. Preakness Stakes – Candy Spots
  3. Belmont Stakes – Chateaugay

Harness Racing

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace – Meadow Skipper
  2. Little Brown Jug – Overtrick
  3. Messenger Stakes – Overtrick

• Speedy Scot won the United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian – Speedy Scott
  2. Yonkers Trot – Speedy Scott
  3. Kentucky Futurity – Speedy Scott

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Cardigan Bay

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: Toronto Maple Leafs win 4 games to 1 over the Detroit Red Wings

• World Hockey Championship:
  • Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open – Roy Emerson
  2. French Open – Roy Emerson
  3. Wimbledon championships – Chuck McKinley
  4. US Open – Rafael Osuna

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open – Margaret Smith
  2. French Open – Lesley Turner
  3. Wimbledon championships – Margaret Smith
  4. US Open – Maria Bueno

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

General sporting events

• Maureen Baynton won the Women's World Amateur Billiards Championships

Births

• January 2 – Patty Shea, American field hockey goalkeeper
• January 3 – Lisa Opie, squash player
• January 9 – Karen Brown, British field hockey international
• January 21 – Hakeem Olajuwon, Nigerian-American basketball star
• January 26 – José Mourinho, Portuguese football manager
• February 11 – Todd Benzinger, American baseball player
• February 17 – Michael Jordan, American basketball star
• February 20 – Charles Barkley, American basketball star
• February 22 – Vijay Singh, Fiji-born, ethnic Indian golf star
• March 14 – Bruce Reid, Australian cricketer
• July 24 – Karl Malone, American basketball star
• September 10 – Randy Johnson, American baseball star, five-time Cy Young Award winner

Deaths

• January 5 – Rogers Hornsby, Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman