NFL championship
Canton Bulldogs
College championship
Illinois Fighting Illini – college football national championship
Bulgaria
Formation of the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU)
England
The Football League – Liverpool 60 points, Sunderland 54, Huddersfield Town 53, Newcastle United 48, Everton 47, Aston Villa 46
FA Cup final – Bolton Wanderers 2–0 West Ham United at Empire Stadium, Wembley, London. The match, known as the "White Horse Final", is the inaugural Wembley final.
The Third Division North expands from 20 to 22 clubs, bringing the total number of Football League clubs to 88. With Stalybridge Celtic expelled, the new clubs are Doncaster Rovers, New Brighton (1923–1951) and AFC Bournemouth.
Germany
National Championship – Hamburger SV 3–0 Union Oberschöneweide at Berlin
Romania
Rapid Bucureşti is founded under the name "Cultural and Sporting Association CFR" (in Romanian: Asociatia culturala si sportiva C.F.R.) by a group of workers at the Grivita workshops.
Spain
Celta de Vigo is founded after the merger of Real Vigo Sporting and Real Club Fortuna de Vigo.
Club Deportivo Villarreal, official founded on March 10, as predecessor for Villarreal CF.
Turkey
Formation of the Turkish Football Federation (Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu or TFF)
Genclerbirligi of Ankara officially founded on March 14.
VFL Premiership
13 October – Essendon wins the 27th VFL Premiership, defeating Fitzroy 8.15 (63) to 6.10 (46) at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the 1923 VFL Grand Final.
South Australian Football League
29 September – Norwood 9.12 (66) defeats North Adelaide 6.4 (40) to win its second successive SAFL premiership
Magarey Medal won by Horrie Riley (Sturt)
West Australian Football League
6 October – East Perth win its fifth consecutive premiership, beating East Fremantle 9.9 (63) to 7.4 (46)
Sandover Medal won by “Digger” Thomas (East Perth)
Bandy
Sweden
Championship final – Västerås SK 2-1 IF Linnéa
World Series
10–15 October — New York Yankees (AL) defeats New York Giants (NL) to win the 1923 World Series by 4 games to 2
Major League Baseball
18 April — opening of the original Yankee Stadium in the Bronx
Negro League Baseball
The Eastern Colored League (ECL) plays its first season with six teams: Hilldale Daisies, Brooklyn Royal Giants, Cuban Stars (East), New York Lincoln Giants, Atlantic City Bacharach Giants, and Baltimore Black Sox. Hilldale wins the first pennant. Afterward the league votes for expansion to eight teams, accepting the Harrisburg Giants and the Washington Potomacs.
The Negro National League completes its fourth season with the Kansas City Monarchs winning their first pennant after three years of domination by Rube Foster's Chicago American Giants. The other teams in the league are Indianapolis ABC's, Detroit Stars, St. Louis Stars, Cuban Stars (West), Toledo Tigers, and Milwaukee Bears. The Tigers and Bears disband during the season and three teams play under "associate" status for the remainder of the season: Cleveland Tate Stars, Birmingham Black Barons, and Memphis Red Sox.
Oscar "Heavy" Johnson wins the NNL triple crown, leading in batting average, home runs, and RBI, while Wilbur "Bullet" Rogan leads in wins and strikeouts. Raleigh "Biz" Mackey is the batting leader in the ECL with Jesse "Nip" Winters leading in most pitching categories.
There is no World Series between the two champions this year, owing to enmity between Rube Foster and the ECL president Ed Bolden
Events
18 June — Jimmy Wilde's long reign as World Flyweight Champion ends when he is knocked out by Filipino Pancho Villa in the 7th round in New York City
31 August — Harry Greb, arguably the greatest-ever middleweight, takes the world title when he defeats Johnny Wilson over 15 rounds in New York City
14 September — Jack Dempsey knocks out Luis Firpo in the second round of a sensational fight at the Polo Grounds in New York City to retain his World Heavyweight Championship title.
Lineal world champions
World Heavyweight Championship – Jack Dempsey
World Light Heavyweight Championship – Battling Siki → Mike McTigue
World Middleweight Championship – Johnny Wilson → Harry Greb
World Welterweight Championship – Mickey Walker
World Lightweight Championship – Benny Leonard
World Featherweight Championship – Johnny Kilbane → Eugene Criqui → Johnny Dundee
World Bantamweight Championship – Joe Lynch
World Flyweight Championship – Jimmy Wilde → Pancho Villa
Grey Cup
11th Grey Cup in the Canadian Football League – Queen’s University 54–0 Regina Roughriders
Events
In a cool, damp English summer, a West Indian team is on tour, winning six and losing seven first-class matches.
England
County Championship – Yorkshire
Minor Counties Championship – Buckinghamshire
Most runs – Patsy Hendren 2934 @ 77.21 (HS 200*)
Most wickets – Maurice Tate 219 @ 13.97 (BB 8–30)
Wisden Cricketers of the Year – Arthur Gilligan, Roy Kilner, George Macaulay, Cec Parkin, Maurice Tate
Australia
Sheffield Shield – New South Wales
Most runs – Percy Chapman 782 @ 65.16 (HS 134*)
Most wickets – Arthur Mailey 55 @ 21.58 (BB 6–45)
India
Bombay Quadrangular – Parsees
New Zealand
Plunket Shield – Canterbury
South Africa
Currie Cup – not contested
West Indies
Inter-Colonial Tournament – not contested
Tour de France
Henri Pélissier (France) wins the 17th Tour de France
Giro d'Italia
Costante Girardengo of Maino wins the eleventh Giro d'Italia
World Figure Skating Championships
World Men's Champion – Fritz Kachler (Austria)
World Women's Champion – Herma Szabo (Austria)
World Pairs Champions – Ludowika Jakobsson-Eilers and Walter Jakobsson (Finland)
Major tournaments
British Open – Arthur Havers
US Open – Bobby Jones
USPGA Championship – Gene Sarazen
Other tournaments
British Amateur – Roger Wethered
US Amateur – Max R. Marston
England
Grand National – Sergeant Murphy
1,000 Guineas Stakes – Tranquil
2,000 Guineas Stakes – Ellangowan
Epsom Derby – Papyrus
Epsom Oaks – Brownhylda
St. Leger Stakes – Tranquil
Australia
Melbourne Cup – Bitalli
Canada
Queen's Plate – Flowerful
France
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe – Parth
Ireland
Irish Grand National – Be Careful
Irish Derby Stakes – Waygood
USA
Kentucky Derby – Zev
Preakness Stakes – Vigil
Belmont Stakes – Zev
Stanley Cup
29–31 March — Ottawa Senators wins the Stanley Cup for the fifth time, defeating the Edmonton Eskimos by 2 games to 0 in the 1923 Stanley Cup Finals
Sweden
Klass I, a professional ice hockey league in Sweden, as predecessor for Swedish Hockey League, first officially game held on January 23.
Grand Prix racing
2 July — the 9th French Grand Prix, organised by the Automobile Club de France (ACF), is run at Tours over 799.07 km (22.83 km x 35 laps). The winner is Henry Segrave (Great Britain) driving a Sunbeam in 6:35:19.6. The race is retrospectively referred to as the XVII Grand Prix de l´ACF.
9 September — the 3rd Italian Grand Prix is run at Autodromo Nazionale Monza over 800.00 km (10.00 km x 80 laps). The winner is Carlo Salamano (Italy) driving a Fiat 805/405 in 5:27:38.4. The race is officially titled the III Gran Premio d'Italia and is also given the honorary designation of European Grand Prix.
Indianapolis 500
30 May — 11th running of the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is won by Tommy Milton (USA) in a Stutz–Miller122
Le Mans 24 hours
The inaugural Le Mans 24 hours race is won by André Lagache and René Léonard (both of France) driving a Chenard-Walcker over 128 laps and 2209.536 km.
Far Eastern Championship Games
The 6th Far Eastern Championship Games is held at Osaka, Japan.
The Boat Race
24 March — Oxford wins the 75th Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race
England
Championship – Hull Kingston Rovers
Challenge Cup final – Leeds 28–3 Hull at Belle Vue, Wakefield
Lancashire League Championship – Wigan
Yorkshire League Championship – Hull
Lancashire Cup – Wigan 20–2 Leigh
Yorkshire Cup – York 5–0 Batley
Australia
NSW Premiership – Eastern Suburbs 15–12 South Sydney (grand final)
Five Nations Championship
36th Five Nations Championship series is won by England who complete the Grand Slam.
Speed Skating World Championships
Men's All-round Champion – Clas Thunberg (Finland)
Australia
Australian Men's Singles Championship – Pat O'Hara Wood (Australia) defeats Bert St. John (Australia) 6–1 6–1 6–3
Australian Women's Singles Championship – Margaret Molesworth (Australia) defeats Esna Boyd Robertson (Australia) 6–1 7–5
England
Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Bill Johnston (USA) defeats Francis Hunter (USA) 6–0 6–3 6–1
Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Suzanne Lenglen (France) defeats Kitty McKane Godfree (Great Britain) 6–2 6–2
France
French Men's Singles Championship – François Blanchy (France) defeats Max Decugis (France) 1–6 6–2 6–0 6–2
French Women's Singles Championship – Suzanne Lenglen (France) defeats Germaine Golding (France) 6–1 6–4
USA
American Men's Singles Championship – Bill Tilden (USA) defeats Bill Johnston (USA) 6–4 6–1 6–4
American Women's Singles Championship – Helen Wills Moody (USA) defeats Molla Bjurstedt Mallory (Norway) 6–2 6–1
Davis Cup
1923 International Lawn Tennis Challenge – United States 4–1 Australia at West Side Tennis Club (grass) New York City, United States
