NFL championship – Akron Pros
Rose Bowl (1919 season):
The Harvard Crimson won 7-6 over the Oregon Webfoots to win the college football national championship
17 September — the National Football League (NFL) is founded as the American Professional Football Association in Canton, Ohio. Of the teams in the current NFL, only the Decatur Staleys (renamed the Chicago Bears) and the Racine (Chicago) Cardinals (the current Arizona Cardinals) remain in existence.
14 December — Notre Dame player George Gipp (1895–1920), mainly remembered for his deathbed quote to coach Knute Rockne: "Win just one for the Gipper".
England
The Football League – West Bromwich Albion 60 points, Burnley 51, Chelsea 49, Liverpool 48, Sunderland 48, Bolton Wanderers 47
FA Cup final – Aston Villa 1–0 Huddersfield Town (after extra time) at Stamford Bridge, London
The Football League is expanded by the formation of the original Third Division. New clubs admitted to the league include Leeds United and Cardiff City, who are both elected to the Second Division. New members in the Third Division are: Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion, Bristol Rovers, Crystal Palace, Exeter City, Gillingham, Luton Town, Merthyr Town (1920 – 1930), Millwall, Newport County (1920 – 1988), Northampton Town, Norwich City, Plymouth Argyle, Portsmouth, Queens Park Rangers (QPR), Reading, Southampton, Southend United, Swansea Town, Swindon Town and Watford.
Germany
National Championship – 1. FC Nuremberg 2–0 SpVgg Fürth at Frankfurt Washington
Men's 100 metres
Jackson Scholz (USA) equals the world record of 10.6 seconds.
VFL Premiership
2 October – Richmond wins the 24th VFL Premiership, defeating Collingwood 7.10 (52) to 5.5 (35) in the Grand Final
South Australian Football League
18 September – North Adelaide defeat Norwood 10.9 (69) to 3.3 (21) to win its fourth SAFL premiership.
West Australian Football League
25 September – East Perth defeats East Fremantle 6.16 (52) to 4.6 (30) to win its second consecutive premiership.
Bandy
Sweden
Championship final – IFK Uppsala 3–2 IF Linnéa
World Series
5–12 October — Cleveland Indians (AL) defeats Brooklyn Dodgers (NL) by 5 games to 2 to win the 1920 World Series
Major League Baseball
The sale of Babe Ruth. Boston Red Sox transfers Babe Ruth to New York Yankees for $125,000 and a $350,000 loan. Ruth hits 54 home runs for the Yankees in 1920, nearly double the record of 29 he hit in the 1919 season.
16 August — Ray Chapman of Cleveland Indians is hit on the head by a fastball from Carl Mays of New York Yankees. He dies early next day, the second fatality of major league play.
Chicago White Sox stars Eddie Cicotte and Shoeless Joe Jackson confess their roles in the Black Sox scandal
Negro League Baseball
13 February — the Negro National League is formed
2 May — the first game of the new league is played at Indianapolis with the Indianapolis ABCs defeating the Chicago Giants (not to be confused with the Chicago American Giants)
Chicago American Giants wins the inaugural Negro National League pennant
Events
6 May – Johnny Wilson wins the World Middleweight Championship by defeating Mike O'Dowd in 12 rounds at Boston.
12 October – Georges Carpentier wins the World Light Heavyweight Championship after he knocks out Battling Levinsky in the 4th round at Jersey City, his victory setting up the first "million dollar gate" when he fights Jack Dempsey in 1921.
22 December – Joe Lynch defeats Pete Herman in 15 rounds at New York to win the World Bantamweight Championship.
Lineal world champions
World Heavyweight Championship – Jack Dempsey
World Light Heavyweight Championship – Battling Levinsky → Georges Carpentier
World Middleweight Championship – Mike O'Dowd → Johnny Wilson
World Welterweight Championship – Jack Britton
World Lightweight Championship – Benny Leonard
World Featherweight Championship – Johnny Kilbane
World Bantamweight Championship – Pete Herman → Joe Lynch
World Flyweight Championship – Jimmy Wilde
Grey Cup
8th Grey Cup – University of Toronto Varsity Blues 16–3 Toronto Argonauts
Events
Post-war recovery continues and an English team goes to Australia in November to commence the first Test series since the war.
Derbyshire suffer the ignominy of a perfectly bad season, losing all seventeen county matches with any play. This is the second and last time this has occurred in county cricket, and the only time in the official County Championship.
England
County Championship – Middlesex
Minor Counties Championship – Staffordshire
Most runs – Jack Hobbs 2827 @ 58.89 (HS 215)
Most wickets – Frank Woolley 185 @ 14.23 (BB 7–59)
Wisden Cricketer of the Year – Plum Warner
Australia
Sheffield Shield – New South Wales
Most runs – Roy Park 648 @ 72.00 (HS 228)
Most wickets – Stork Hendry 29 @ 18.13 (BB 7–34)
India
Bombay Quadrangular – Hindus
New Zealand
Plunket Shield – Auckland
South Africa
Currie Cup – not contested
West Indies
Inter-Colonial Tournament – not contested
Tour de France
Philippe Thys (Belgium) wins the 14th Tour de France
Giro d'Italia
Gaetano Belloni of Bianchi wins the eighth Giro d'Italia
Olympic Games (Men's Competition)
Gold Medal – Great Britain
Silver Medal – Denmark
Bronze Medal – Belgium
World Figure Skating Championships
The championships are not contested
1920 Summer Olympics
Men's individual – Gillis Grafström (Sweden)
Women's individual – Magda Mauroy-Julin (Sweden)
Pairs – Ludowika Jakobsson and Walter Jakobsson (Finland)
Major tournaments
British Open – George Duncan
US Open – Ted Ray
USPGA Championship – Jock Hutchison
Other tournaments
British Amateur – Cyril Tolley
US Amateur – Chick Evans
Events
The inaugural Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is won by Comrade
England
Grand National – Troytown
1,000 Guineas Stakes – Cinna
2,000 Guineas Stakes – Tetratema
Epsom Derby – Spion Kop
Epsom Oaks – Charlebelle
St. Leger Stakes – Caligula
Australia
Melbourne Cup – Poitrel
Canada
Queen's Plate – St. Paul
France
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe – Comrade
Ireland
Irish Grand National – Halston
Irish Derby Stakes – He Goes
USA
Kentucky Derby – Paul Jones
Preakness Stakes – Man o' War
Belmont Stakes – Man o' War
Events
Ice hockey is held at the 1920 Summer Olympics and is the second winter sport to feature at the Olympics — 4 years before the inaugural Winter Games is held
1920 Summer Olympics
Gold Medal – Canada
Silver Medal – USA
Bronze Medal – Czechoslovakia
Stanley Cup
22 March – 1 April — Ottawa Senators (NHL) defeats Seattle Metropolitans (PCHA) in the 1920 Stanley Cup Finals by three games to two
Events
Allan Cup – Winnipeg Falcons
1920 Memorial Cup – Toronto Canoe Club Paddlers defeated Selkirk Fishermen by two game total of 15-5
22 December — Hamilton Tigers, the reconstituted Quebec Bulldogs franchise, wins its first-ever NHL game in Hamilton, defeating Montreal Canadiens 5–0
Grand Prix racing
No Grand Prix races are held in Europe from 1915 to 1920 inclusive.
Indianapolis 500
31 May — 8th running of the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is won by Gaston Chevrolet (USA) in a Monroe.
1920 Summer Olympics
The 1920 Summer Olympics takes place in Antwerp
The 1916 Summer Olympics planned for Berlin having been cancelled due to World War I, the 1920 Games are awarded to Antwerp to "honour the suffering of the Belgian people"
United States wins the most medals (95) and the most gold medals (41)
The Boat Race
28 March — Cambridge wins the 72nd Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, contested for the first time since March 1914
The 1920 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand takes place mid-year.
England
Championship – Hull
Challenge Cup final – Huddersfield 21–10 Wigan at Headingley Stadium, Leeds
Lancashire League Championship – Widnes
Yorkshire League Championship – Huddersfield
Lancashire Cup – Oldham 7–0 Rochdale Hornets
Yorkshire Cup – Huddersfield 24–5 Leeds
Australia
NSW Premiership – Balmain (outright winner)
Five Nations Championship
33rd Five Nations Championship series is shared by England, Scotland and Wales
Speed Skating World Championships
not contested
Australia
Australian Men's Singles Championship – Pat O'Hara Wood (Australia) defeats Ronald Thomas (Australia) 6–3 4–6 6–8 6–1 6–3
England
Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Bill Tilden (USA) defeats Gerald Patterson (Australia) 2–6 6–3 6–2 6–4
Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Suzanne Lenglen (France) defeats Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers 6–3 6–0
France
French Men's Singles Championship – André Gobert (France) defeats Max Decugis (France) 6–3 3–6 1–6 6–2 6–3
French Women's Singles Championship – Suzanne Lenglen defeats Marguerite Broquedis 6–1 7–5
USA
American Men's Singles Championship – Bill Tilden (USA) defeats Bill Johnston (USA) 6–1 1–6 7–5 5–7 6–3
American Women's Singles Championship – Molla Bjurstedt Mallory (Norway) defeats Marion Zinderstein (USA) 6–3 6–1
Davis Cup
1920 International Lawn Tennis Challenge – United States 5–0 Australasia at Domain Cricket Club (grass) Auckland, New Zealand
America's Cup
The New York Yacht Club retains the America's Cup as Resolute defeats British challenger Shamrock IV, of the Royal Ulster Yacht Club, 10 races to 2
