College championship
Rose Bowl (1901 season):
The Michigan Wolverines won 49-0 over the Stanford Indians to win the college football national championship
Michigan Wolverines – college football national championship
Professional championships
National Football League champions – Pittsburgh Stars
Ohio League champions – Akron East Ends
Events
1 January — inaugural Rose Bowl game is played at Pasadena, California
September — the first professional football league, the National Football League (1902), which is unrelated to the current NFL, is formed from three teams based in Pennsylvania and who are backed by Major League Baseball. The league folds a few months later.
21 November — the Philadelphia Football Athletics defeated the Kanaweola Athletic Club of Elmira, New York, 39–0, in the first ever professional American football night game.
29 November — the Pittsburgh Stars defeated the Philadelphia Football Athletics, 11–0, at the Pittsburgh Coliseum, to win the 1902 National Football League championship.
28 December — the Syracuse Athletic Club defeated the New York Philadelphians, 5–0, in the first indoor professional American football game, which was held at Madison Square Garden.
England
The Football League – Sunderland 44 points, Everton 41, Newcastle United 37, Blackburn Rovers 36, Nottingham Forest 35, Derby County 35
FA Cup final – Sheffield United 2–1 Southampton at Crystal Palace, London (replay following 1–1 draw at Crystal Palace)
26 April — shortly after being saved from bankruptcy, Newton Heath changes its name to Manchester United
Scotland
Scottish Football League – Rangers
Scottish Cup final – Hibernian 1–0 Celtic at Celtic Park
Spain
10 March — foundation of Real Madrid as Madrid Fútbol Club
Sammy Mellor wins the sixth running of the Boston Marathon.
VFL Premiership
Collingwood wins the 6th VFL Premiership: Collingwood 9.6 (60) d Essendon 3.9 (27) at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)
With a handful of exceptions, all VFL/AFL Grand Finals are played at the MCG from 1902
National championship
National League championship – Pittsburgh Pirates
American League championship – Philadelphia Athletics
Events
23 April — infielder Lou Castro debuts with the Philadelphia Athletics in the American League as the first Latin-American to play in Major League Baseball
Winnipeg Maroons wins the inaugural Northern League Championship in the minor leagues
Events
Joe Gans wins the World Lightweight Championship by knocking out Frank Erne in the first round. Gans successfully defends the title five times by the end of the year.
25 July — James J. Jeffries defeats Bob Fitzsimmons by an eighth-round knockout in San Francisco, Fitzsimmons failing in his bid to recover the World Heavyweight Championship
Lineal world champions
World Heavyweight Championship – James J. Jeffries
World Middleweight Championship – Tommy Ryan
World Welterweight Championship – Barbados Joe Walcott
World Lightweight Championship – Frank Erne → Joe Gans
World Featherweight Championship – Young Corbett II
World Bantamweight Championship – Harry Forbes
Events
No cricket is played in South Africa due to the Boer War.
Australia defeats England in The Ashes by 2 Tests to 1 after the first two Tests have been rained off. In one of the most famous Test series in history, the final three matches are full of drama with Victor Trumper scoring a century before lunch in the Third Test, Australia winning the Fourth Test by just 3 runs and England winning the Fifth Test by one wicket following a century in only 75 minutes by Gilbert Jessop.
England
County Championship – Yorkshire
Minor Counties Championship – Wiltshire
Most runs – Victor Trumper 2570 @ 48.49 (HS 128)
Most wickets – Wilfred Rhodes 213 @ 13.15 (BB 8–26)
Wisden Cricketers of the Year – Warwick Armstrong, Cuthbert Burnup, James Iremonger, James Kelly, Victor Trumper
Australia
Sheffield Shield – New South Wales
Most runs – Clem Hill 1035 @ 51.75 (HS 107)
Most wickets – Len Braund 62 @ 28.69 (BB 6–90)
India
Bombay Presidency – Europeans shared with Parsees
South Africa
Currie Cup – not contested
West Indies
Inter-Colonial Tournament – not contested
World Figure Skating Championships
World Men's Champion – Ulrich Salchow (Sweden)
Major tournaments
British Open – Sandy Herd
US Open – Laurie Auchterlonie, who becomes the first golfer to break 80 in all four rounds of the US Open
Other tournaments
British Amateur – Charles Hutchings
US Amateur – Louis N. James
England
Grand National – Shannon Lass
1,000 Guineas Stakes – Sceptre
2,000 Guineas Stakes – Sceptre
Epsom Derby – Ard Patrick
Epsom Oaks – Sceptre
St. Leger Stakes – Sceptre
Australia
Melbourne Cup – The Victory
Canada
Queen's Plate – Lyddite
Ireland
Irish Grand National – Patlander
Irish Derby Stakes – St. Brendan
USA
Kentucky Derby – Alan-a-Dale
Preakness Stakes – Old England
Belmont Stakes – Masterman
Stanley Cup
Winnipeg Victorias successfully defends the Stanley Cup, defeating Toronto Wellingtons in a Cup challenge by two games to nil in a best-of-three series
March – Winnipeg Victorias wins the Manitoba Hockey Association championship to retain the Stanley Cup
1 March — Montreal HC wins the Canadian Amateur Hockey League (CAHL) championship and challenges Winnipeg
13–17 March — Montreal and Winnipeg play a best-of-three series for the Stanley Cup, Montreal winning by two games to one to claim the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1894
Paris-Vienna Trail
The Paris-Vienna Trail is run on 26–29 June over 990 km and won by Marcel Renault (France) driving a Renault in a time of 15:47:43. The race is in retrospect sometimes referred to as the VII Grand Prix de l'ACF.
Gordon Bennett Cup
The third Gordon Bennett Cup is run from Paris to Innsbruck and won by Selwyn Edge (Great Britain) driving a Napier 30hp.
Circuit des Ardennes
The inaugural Circuit des Ardennes is run on 31 July 1902 in the vicinity of Bastogne. The total distance is 512.05 km (i.e., 85.34 km x 6 laps). The winner is Charles Jarrott (Great Britain), driving a Panhard-Levassor 70 hp in a time of 5:53:39.
Great Britain
The first motor race in Great Britain is held at Bexhill-on-Sea with more than 200 entries.
The Boat Race
22 March — Cambridge wins the 59th Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race
Events
Featherstone Rovers founded
England
Championship – Broughton Rangers
Challenge Cup final – Broughton Rangers 25–0 Salford at Athletic Grounds, Rochdale
Lancashire League Championship – Wigan
Yorkshire League Championship – Leeds
Home Nations Championship
20th Home Nations Championship series is won by Wales
Speed Skating World Championships
Men's All-round Champion – none declared
England
Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Lawrence Doherty (GB) defeats Arthur Gore (GB) 6–4 6–3 3–6 6–0
Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Muriel Robb defeats Charlotte Cooper Sterry 7–5 6–1
France
French Men's Singles Championship – Michel Vacherot defeats Max Decugis 6–4 6–2
French Women's Singles Championship – Françoise Masson defeats P Girod: details unknown
USA
American Men's Singles Championship – William Larned defeats Reginald Doherty (GB) 4–6 6–2 6–4 8–6
American Women's Singles Championship – Marion Jones defeats Elisabeth Moore 6–1 1–0 retired
Davis Cup
1902 International Lawn Tennis Challenge – United States 3–2 British Isles at Crescent Athletic Club (grass) Brooklyn, United States
