1899 in sports

1899 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

American football

College championship

College football national championship – Harvard Crimson
November 18 – On the final game of its season, the Harvard University college football team, having a record of 10 wins (nine by shutout) and no defeats, hosts its rival, Yale University (7-1-0) and plays to a scoreless tie before 35,000 fans. Although Harvard's 1899 streak of defeating every opponent is ended by the tie, the Crimson team will be selected retroactively (and recognized by the NCAA Record Book) as the 1899 mythical national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation.

Professional championships

Western Pennsylvania champions – Duquesne Country and Athletic Club

Events

The 1899 Sewanee Tigers football team goes undefeated, 12–0, including five road wins in six days over top teams.

Association football

England

The Football League – Aston Villa 45 points, Liverpool 43, Burnley 39, Everton 38, Notts County 37, Blackburn Rovers 36
FA Cup final – Sheffield United 4–1 Derby County at Crystal Palace, London.

France

Foundation of Olympique de Marseille
Lyon Olympique Universitaire, as predecessor for Olympique Lyonnais, officially founded.

Germany

Foundation of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, Eintracht Frankfurt and SV Werder Bremen

Hungary

Ferencváros TC was founded in suburb of Budapest on May 3.^{[citation needed]}

Italy

Foundation of A.C. Milan as the Milan Associazione Calcio (Milan Association Football).

The Netherlands

The first KNVB Cup of the Royal Dutch Football Association is won by RAP Amsterdam in extra time, 1 to 0, over HVV Den Haag.

Scotland

Scottish Football League – Rangers
Scottish Cup – Celtic 2–0 Rangers^[1]

Spain

29 November — FC Barcelona founded by a Swiss, Hans Gamper, who wants to establish football in the city.

Uruguay

Club Nacional of Montevideo was founded in Montevideo.^[2]

Athletics

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Lawrence Brignolia won the third running of the Boston Marathon^[3]

Australian rules football

VFL Premiership

Fitzroy wins the 3rd VFL Premiership: Fitzroy 3.9 (27) d South Melbourne 3.8 (26) at Junction Oval

Baseball

National championship

National League championship – Brooklyn Superbas. Brooklyn's team features many former Baltimore Orioles players including Ned Hanlon, Willie Keeler, Hughie Jennings and Joe Kelley.

Events

Cleveland Spiders finish last in the twelve-team NL and establish an all-time major league record with 134 losses in a season, 84 games behind the pennant winner and 35 games out of 11th place. The team plays 113 games on the road, losing a record 102. They are dropped during the off-season when the National League contracts from twelve to eight teams.

Basketball

Events

Kansas played their first men's basketball game against the Kansas City YMCA, losing 5–16. The Jayhawks were coached by the inventor of basketball James Naismith. Kansas quickly became one of the most prestigious college basketball programs in the nation.

Boxing

Lineal world champions^[4]

World Heavyweight Championship – Bob Fitzsimmons → James J. Jeffries
World Middleweight Championship – Tommy Ryan
World Welterweight Championship – "Mysterious" Billy Smith
World Lightweight Championship – George "Kid" Lavigne → Frank Erne
World Featherweight Championship – George Dixon
World Bantamweight Championship – Jimmy Barry → Barry retires undefeated → "Terrible" Terry McGovern → title vacant after McGovern moves up a weight

Canadian Football

The Dominion Championship was not held this year.
Ontario Rugby Football Union - Kingston Granites
Quebec Rugby Football Union - Ottawa College
Manitoba Rugby Football Union - St John's
Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union - University of Toronto

Cricket

Events

Four of the five Test matches in the 1899 Ashes series are drawn. Australia wins the Second Test at Lord's to take the series 1–0, their first series win in England since the original Ashes match in 1882.
W G Grace makes his final appearance for England in Test cricket in the First Test at Trent Bridge. In the same match, Wilfred Rhodes makes his Test debut.
Worcestershire becomes the fifteenth team in the County Championship, debuting with an 11-run loss to Yorkshire despite earning a 78-run lead on first innings. They eventually finished twelfth with two wins in 12 games.
W G Grace plays his last first-class game for Gloucestershire, having fallen out with them over his involvement with London County.
K S Ranjitsinhji becomes the first batsman to score 3000 runs in a season.

England

County Championship – Surrey
Minor Counties Championship – Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire share the title
Most runs – K S Ranjitsinhji 3159 @ 63.18 (HS 197)
Most wickets – Albert Trott 239 @ 17.09 (BB 8–64)
Wisden Five Cricketers of the Season – Joe Darling, Clem Hill, Arthur Jones, Monty Noble, Robert Poore

Australia

Sheffield Shield – Victoria
Most runs – Victor Trumper 873 @ 62.35 (HS 292*)
Most wickets – Ernie Jones 45 @ 27.53 (BB 6–154)

India

Bombay Presidency – Europeans

South Africa

Currie Cup – not contested

West Indies

Inter-Colonial Tournament – not contested

Cycling

Road racing

Bordeaux–Paris road race won by Constant Huret

Figure skating

World Figure Skating Championships

World Men's Champion – Gustav Hügel (Austria)

Golf

Major tournaments

British Open – Harry Vardon
U.S. Open – Willie Smith

Other tournaments

British Amateur – John Ball
US Amateur – H. M. Harriman

Horse racing

England

Australia

Melbourne Cup – Merriwee

Canada

Queen's Plate – Butter Scotch

Ireland

Irish Grand National – Princess Hilda
Irish Derby Stakes – Oppressor

USA

Kentucky Derby – Manuel
Preakness Stakes – Half Time
Belmont Stakes – Hindus

Ice hockey

Stanley Cup

15–18 February — Montreal Victorias wins its fifth Stanley Cup, defeating Winnipeg Victorias in a Cup challenge
4 March — Montreal Shamrocks wins the inaugural Canadian Amateur Hockey League (CAHL) championship and takes the Stanley Cup
14 March — Montreal Shamrocks successfully defends the title in a Cup challenge by Queen's College of Kingston, Ontario, winning 6–2.

Motor racing

Tour de France Trail

The Tour de France Trail is held 16–24 July over a distance of 2172.5 km. The winner is René De Knyff driving a Panhard-Levassor in a time of 44:43:39. The race is sometimes referred to in retrospect as the IV Grand Prix de l'A.C.F.^[6]
In July, James Gordon Bennett Jr. establishes the Gordon Bennett Cup challenge series.^[7] It is run 1900–1905.^[8]
In October The Empire of Austria holds its first motor race, won in Vienna by Baron Theodor von Liebig.

Rowing

The Boat Race

25 March — Cambridge wins the 56th Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race

Rugby league

England

Championship – not contested
Challenge Cup final – Oldham 19–9 Hunslet at Fallowfield Stadium, Manchester
Lancashire League Championship – Broughton Rangers
Yorkshire League Championship – Batley

Rugby union

Home Nations Championship

17th Home Nations Championship series is won by Ireland

Speed skating

Speed Skating World Championships

Men's All-round Champion – Peder Østlund (Norway)

Tennis

Events

18 September — Cincinnati Open starts. Today, it is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States still played in its original city, and is now known as the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters & Women's Open. The first singles champions are Nat Emerson and Myrtle McAteer.

England