SPORTS
1958

Baseball

• World Series:
  (in 7 games)  New York Yankees (4 games) over the Milwaukee Braves (3 games), in a reversal of last years game
  the Yankees Hank Bauer led the pack with (4) homers, (6) runs and (8) runs batted in, he was the MVP
  

• The Yankees had to battle back from a three games to one deficit the 1958 Series, the second team in history to accomplish that
  

• The Dodgers and the Giants had both moved to California at the end of last season leaving the Yankees as the only N.Y. team
  

• Stan Musial joins the elite 3000 hits club
  

• All Star Game:  American League beats the National League (4 - 3)

Football

• NFL Championship:
  (sudden death overtime)   Baltimore Colts over the New York Giants (23 - 17)
  

• This was the first Championship game ever decided in Sudden Death
  

• This was the first Championship game to be nationally televised, it was carried by NBC
  it has been called "The Greatest Game Ever Played" and certainly led to televised footballs rise in popularity
  

• MVP, for the second year in a row, went to Jim Brown, running back for Cleveland

Basketball

• NBA Championship:
  (in 6 games) St. Louis Hawks (4 games) over the defending champs Boston Celtics (2 games)
  the game was a reversal of last years match-up
  

• Bob Pettit was the difference for St. Louis scoring (90) goals in the series with (50) of them coming in the final and deciding Game Six
  

• Boston was forced to play without Bill Russell who sprained his ankle in the third game
  

• Cliff Hagan of the Hawks was the overall playoff total points leader and Bill Russell (despite the injury) was the rebound leader

Hockey

• Stanley Cup:  (in 6 games) Montreal Canadiens (4 games) beat the Boston Bruins (2 games)
  

• A replay of last years final, this is the Canadiens third consecutive Stanley Cup win
  

• The Canadiens line up was so impressive that of the twelve All Star players picked six of them were Canadiens
  

• Several teams including Detroit Red Wings formed a labor union (National Hockey League Players' Association) and sued the league for better pensions

Golf

• The Masters:  Arnold Palmer shot a (284) to win his first of four at Augusta National
  

• Palmer scored an eagle on the thirteenth hole on the last day to cement his one stroke victory over Doug Ford
  

• U.S. Open :  Tommy Bolt scored a three over par (283) at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma
  

• U.S. Women's Open :  Mickey Wright shot a two under (290) at Forest Lake Country Club in St Louis, MO.
  

• PGA Championship :   Dow Finsterwald shot a four under (276) at Llanerch Country Club in Havertown, Pennsylvania
  

• This was the first year the tournament was stroke and not match play, it was changed to accommodate a new television audience
  

• British Open :  (in a 36 hole tie-breaker) Peter Thomson edged out rival Dave Thomas by four strokes

Tennis

• Wimbleton: Men's Singles
  Australia again dominated play with Ashley Cooper defeating fellow county mate Neale Fraser, (3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 13-11)
  

• Wimbleton: Women's Singles
  (American)Althea Gibson won straight sets over (British) Angela Mortimer Barrett, (8-6, 6-2)
  

• US (Open) National Championship:  (Australian) Ashley Cooper defeated (Australian) Malcolm Anderson (6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 10-8, 8-6)
  

• French Open: (in straight sets) (Australia) Mervyn Rose topples (Chile) Luis Ayala (6-3, 6-4, 6-4)

Horse Racing

• Kentucky Derby:   Tim Tam  ridden by Milo Valenzuela
  

• Preakness Stakes:   Tim Tam  Jockey - Milo Velenzuela
  

• Belmont Stakes:   Cavan  ridden by P. Anderson
  

• Tim Tam was heavily favored to win the Triple Crown but fractured a sesamoid bone in the final stretch
  at Belmont, he still managed to win second place, limping across the finish line

Auto Racing

• Indianapolis 500:  Jimmy Bryan his average speed was 133.791 he led the race for 139 of the 200 laps
  

• The race was marred by tragedy, in the first lap there was a fifteen car pile up resulting in the death of driver Pat O'Connor
  O'Connor's car flew fifty feet in the air landing upside down and instantly bursting into flames
  he most probably died of the head injury and not the fire
  

• Several rule changes were instituted because of the accident including drivers roll bars and required helmets
  

• NASCAR Grand National Championship:  Lee Petty was the points leader by a comfortable margin, he had (7) first place finishes
  

• Richard Petty makes his first career NASCAR start in Toronto, he comes in nineteenth in the race
  

• Fireball Roberts played it smart in 1958 entering only 10 races, winning six of them and becoming the top money earner for the year

Boxing

• World Heavyweight Championship: Floyd Patterson only had to defend his Title once in 1958 by winning a twelfth round TKO against Roy Harris
  

• World Light Heavyweight Championship: Archie Moore easily kept the crown by knocking out Yvon Durelle in the fifth round in a bout in Canada
  

• World Middleweight Championship : Ray Robinson won his Title for the fifth time, this time against Carmen Basilio in a fifteen round split decision
  

• World Welterweight Championship : Virgil Akins wins a series of elimination bouts to capture the Title vacated by Carmen Basilio in 1957

Yacht Racing

• America's Cup: This was the first cup race since 1937 and the first time that 12 metre class yachts were used
  

• The New York Yacht Club vessel Columbia won a decisive victory over the British entry, Sceptre (4 races to 0 races)