College championship
College football national championship – Princeton Tigers
Professional championships
Western Pennsylvania champions – Allegheny Athletic Association
England
The Football League – Aston Villa 45 points, Derby County 41, Everton 39, Bolton Wanderers 37, Sunderland 37, Stoke FC 30
FA Cup final – The Wednesday 2–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers at Crystal Palace, London.
Scotland
Scottish Football League – Celtic
Scottish Cup final – Hearts 3–1 Hibernian at Logie Green
National championship
Baltimore Orioles win the third of three successive National League championships
Events
Temple Cup – Baltimore Orioles 4–0 Cleveland Spiders
Lineal world champions
World Heavyweight Championship – James J. Corbett
World Middleweight Championship – title vacant
World Welterweight Championship – Tommy Ryan
World Lightweight Championship – vacant → George "Kid" Lavigne
World Featherweight Championship – George Dixon
World Bantamweight Championship – Jimmy Barry
Events
England retain The Ashes, defeating Australia 2–1 in a three-match series. In a low-scoring decider at The Oval, England win by 66 runs.
England
County Championship – Yorkshire
Minor Counties Championship – Worcestershire
Most runs – K S Ranjitsinhji 2780 @ 57.91 (HS 171*)
Most wickets – J T Hearne 257 @ 14.28 (BB 9–73)
Wisden Five Cricketers of the Season – Syd Gregory, Dick Lilley, K S Ranjitsinhji, Tom Richardson, Hugh Trumble
Australia
Sheffield Shield – New South Wales
Most runs – Harry Donnan 626 @ 69.55 (HS 160)
Most wickets – Tom McKibbin 46 @ 23.86 (BB 8–93)
India
Bombay Presidency – Europeans shared with Parsees
South Africa
Currie Cup – not contested
West Indies
Inter-Colonial Tournament – not contested
Events
Inaugural World Figure Skating Championships (open to men only) is held in Saint Petersburg
World Figure Skating Championships
World Men's Champion – Gilbert Fuchs (Germany)
Major tournaments
British Open – Harry Vardon (the first of Vardon's six British Open titles)
U.S. Open – James Foulis
Other tournaments
British Amateur – Freddie Tait
US Amateur – H. J. Whigham
England
Grand National – The Soarer
1,000 Guineas Stakes – Thais
2,000 Guineas Stakes – St. Frusquin
Epsom Derby – Persimmon
Epsom Oaks – Canterbury Pilgrim
St. Leger Stakes – Persimmon
Australia
Melbourne Cup – Newhaven
Canada
Queen's Plate – Millbrook
Ireland
Irish Grand National – Royston Crow
Irish Derby Stakes – Gulsalberk
USA
Kentucky Derby – Lieut. Gibson
Preakness Stakes – Margrave
Belmont Stakes – Hastings
14 February — the Winnipeg Victorias defeat the Montreal Victorias 2–0 in a challenge match to win the 1896 Stanley Cup championship
7 March — the Montreal Victorias are the 1896 AHAC season champions.
March — Queen's University defeats Stratford, Ontario 12–3 to win the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) title. The club does not challenge Winnipeg.
17 November — the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, which later became the first ice hockey league to openly trade and hire players, began play at Pittsburgh's Schenley Park Casino.
17 December — the Schenley Park Casino, which was the first multi-purpose arena with the technology to create an artificial ice surface in North America as well as the home to the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, was destroyed in a fire.
30 December — the Montreal Victorias defeat the Winnipeg Victorias 6–5 in a challenge match to regain the Stanley Cup
Paris-Marseille-Paris Trail
The 1896 Paris–Marseille–Paris Trail is held over 1710 km from 24 September to 3 October and won by Émile Mayade driving a Panhard-Levassor 8 hp model in a time of 67:42:58. The race is in retrospect sometimes referred to as the II Grand Prix de l'ACF.
1896 Summer Olympics
The 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Games, takes place in Athens with 13 nations competing, the most competitors coming from Greece, Germany and France.
16 April — American James Connolly wins the triple jump to become the first Olympic champion in over 1,500 years.
Winners receive a silver medal and a crown of olive branches; Greece wins the most medals (46) and the United States wins the most gold medals (11).
The Boat Race
28 March — Oxford wins the 53rd Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race
There is no Harvard–Yale Regatta during "a breakdown in relations between the two schools". From the third Race in 1859, the only exceptions outside major wars are 1871 and 1896.
Events
In the 1895–96 Northern Rugby Football Union season's final match, Manningham defeats Halifax to claim the inaugural Rugby Football League Championship.
The inaugural Rugby League Challenge Cup competition begins in the 1896–97 season.
England
Championship – Manningham
Lancashire League Championship – Runcorn
Yorkshire League Championship – Manningham
Home Nations Championship
14th Home Nations Championship series is won by Ireland
The foundation of the Ski-Club of Grenoble by Henry Duhamel.
Speed Skating World Championships
Men's All-round Champion – Jaap Eden (Netherlands)
England
Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Harold Mahony (Ireland) defeats Wilfred Baddeley (GB) 6–2 6–8 5–7 8–6 6–3
Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Charlotte Cooper Sterry (GB) defeats Alice Simpson-Pickering (GB) 6–2 6–3
France
French Men's Singles Championship – André Vacherot defeats Gérard Brosselin 6–1 7–5
USA
American Men's Singles Championship – Robert Wrenn defeats Fred Hovey 7–5 3–6 6–0 1–6 6–1
American Women's Singles Championship – Elisabeth Moore defeats Juliette Atkinson 6–4 4–6 6–2 6–2
