1965 in sports

American football

AFL Championship – Buffalo Bills win 23-0 over the San Diego Chargers

NFL Championship – Green Bay Packers win 23-12 over the Cleveland Browns on January 2, 1966

Orange Bowl (1964 season):

The Alabama Crimson Tide lose 21-17 to the Texas Longhorns; still awarded national champions

England

FA Cup final – Liverpool won 2-1 (aet) versus Leeds United

Australian rules football

Victorian Football League

Essendon wins the 69th VFL Premiership (Essendon 14.21 (105) d St Kilda 9.16 (70))

Brownlow Medal awarded to Ian Stewart (St Kilda) and Noel Teasdale (North Melbourne)

Bandy

1965 Bandy World Championship is won by host nation  Soviet Union.

Baseball

World Series – Los Angeles Dodgers win 4 games to 3 over the Minnesota Twins

Venezuelan professional baseball club, Tigres de Aragua, officially founded in Maracay on October 15.

Basketball

NCAA Men's Basketball Championship – UCLA Bruins win 91-80 over the Michigan Wolverines

NBA Finals – Boston Celtics win 4 games to 1 over the Los Angeles Lakers

Taca Brasil de Basquete, as predecessor for Campeonato Brasileiro de Basquete, a first official game held on November 26 in Brazil.

Boxing

March 30 – José Torres won the Light Heavyweight Championship of the World, stopping Willie Pastrano in nine rounds, at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Canadian football

Grey Cup – Hamilton Tiger-Cats win 22-16 over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Vanier Cup – Toronto Varsity Blues win 14-7 over the Alberta Golden Bears

Canadian Junior Championship – Notre-Dame-de-Grace Maple Leafs win 2-1 over the Edmonton Huskies

Cricket

Imperial Cricket Conference is renamed to International Cricket Conference and new rules are adopted to permit the election of countries from outside the Commonwealth of Nations.

Cue sports (pool, snooker, carom billiards)

The World Five-pins Championship is inaugurated in Santa Fé, Argentina – Manuel Gomez (of Argentina) takes the title.

Cycling

Giro d'Italia won by Vittorio Adorni of Italy

Tour de France - Felice Gimondi of Italy

UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race – Tom Simpson of Great Britain

Field Hockey

March 13 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium,England. South Africa beat England 2-1.

Figure skating

World Figure Skating Championships

Men's champion: Alain Calmat, France

Ladies' champion: Petra Burka, Canada

Pair skating champions: Ludmila Belousova & Oleg Protopopov, Soviet Union

Ice dancing champions: Eva Romanová & Pavel Roman, Czechoslovakia

Golf

Men's professional

Masters Tournament - Jack Nicklaus shoots a Masters record 271 (17 under par) to win by nine strokes.

U.S. Open - Gary Player becomes the third golfer in history to win all four professional majors.

British Open - Peter Thomson

PGA Championship - Dave Marr

PGA Tour money leader - Jack Nicklaus - $140,752

Ryder Cup - United States wins 19½ to 12½ over Britain in team golf.

Men's amateur

British Amateur - Michael Bonallack

U.S. Amateur - Bob Murphy

Women's professional

Women's Western Open - Susie Maxwell

LPGA Championship - Sandra Haynie

U.S. Women's Open - Carol Mann

Titleholders Championship - Kathy Whitworth

LPGA Tour money leader - Kathy Whitworth - $28,658

Harness racing

Bret Hanover wins the United States Pacing Triple Crown races –

1. Cane Pace - Bret Hanover
2. Little Brown Jug - Bret Hanover
3. Messenger Stakes - Bret Hanover

United States Trotting Triple Crown races –

1. Hambletonian - Egyptian Candor
2. Yonkers Trot - Noble Victory
3. Kentucky Futurity - Armbro Flight

Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –

Pacers: Jay Ar

Trotters: Poupette

Horse racing

Steeplechases

Cheltenham Gold Cup – Arkle

Grand National – Jay Trump

Flat races

Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Light Fingers

Canada – Queen's Plate won by Whistling Sea

France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Sea Bird

Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Meadow Court

English Triple Crown Races:

1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Niksar
2. Epsom Derby – Sea Bird
3. St. Leger Stakes – Provoke

United States Triple Crown Races:

1. Kentucky Derby – Lucky Debonair
2. Preakness Stakes – Tom Rolfe
3. Belmont Stakes – Hail To All

Ice hockey

Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Stan Mikita, Chicago Black Hawks

Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks

Stanley Cup – Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 3 over the Chicago Black Hawks

World Hockey Championship – Soviet Union defeats Czechoslovakia

NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship – Michigan Technological University Huskies defeat Boston College Eagles 8-2 in Providence, Rhode Island

Motor racing

Stock car racing –

Fred Lorenzen wins the Daytona 500 in the #28 Ford for Holman and Moody.

Fred Lorenzen wins the World 600 in the #28 Ford for Holman and Moody.

NASCAR Championship - Ned Jarrett in the Bondy Long-owned Ford

USAC Racing

30 May – Jim Clark (Great Britain) wins the 50th running of the Indianapolis 500 in Lotus 38-Cosworth, with a winning margin of one lap. It is the first mid-engined car to win.

Mario Andretti wins the driving championship

Formula One – Jim Clark (Great Britain) is two-time World Drivers' Champion, driving a Lotus 25-Climax.

24 hours of Le Mans – Jochen Rindt / Masten Gregory win, sharing a Ferrari 275LM

Rally racing - the team of Timo Mäkinen / Paul Easter won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Mini Cooper S

Drag racing –

Don Garlits wins his first NHRA Top Fuel Dragster Championship

Maynard Rupp wins Top Fuel at the NHRA World Finals

Radiosport

Fourth Amateur Radio Direction Finding European Championship held in Warsaw, Poland.

Rugby league

1965 New Zealand rugby league season

1965 NSWRFL season: St George wins the tenth of a record eleven consecutive premierships in the NSWRL. They were not to win again until 1977, then in 1979 which was their last premiership before their 1999 merger with the Illawarra Steelers.

1964–65 Northern Rugby Football League season / 1965–66 Northern Rugby Football League season

Rugby union

71st Five Nations Championship series is won by Wales

Snooker

World Snooker Championship challenge matches:

John Pulman beats Fred Davis 37-36

John Pulman beats Rex Williams 25-22

John Pulman beats Fred Van Rensburg 39-12

Swimming

1 March – The Amateur Swimming Union of Australia stuns the nation with its decision that Olympic champion and 1964 Australian of the Year Dawn Fraser will be banned from all amateur competition for ten years. The decision follows an inquiry into Fraser's alleged misbehaviour during the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

August 15 – US swimmer Kenis Moore breaks the world record in the women's 200m butterfly (long course) during a meet in Maumee, Ohio, clocking 2:26.3.

August 21 – Dutch swimming star Ada Kok breaks the world record in the women's 200m butterfly (long course) for the first time, during a meet in Leiden, clocking 2:25.8.

September 12 – Ada Kok from the Netherlands betters her own world record in the women's 200m butterfly (long course), during a meet in Groningen, clocking 2:25.3.

Tennis

Australia

Australian Men's Singles Championship – Roy Emerson (Australia) defeats Fred Stolle (Australia) 6–3, 6–4, 6–2

Australian Women's Singles Championship – Margaret Smith Court (Australia) defeats Lesley Turner Bowrey (Australia) 6–3, 6–2

England

Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Roy Emerson (Australia) defeats Fred Stolle (Australia) 6–4, 12–10, 4–6, 6–3

Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Maria Bueno (Brazil) defeats Margaret Smith Court (Australia) 6–4, 7–9, 6–3

France

French Men's Singles Championship –

French Women's Singles Championship –

USA

American Men's Singles Championship –

American Women's Singles Championship –

Davis Cup

1965 Davis Cup –  Australia 4–1  Spain at White City Stadium (grass) Sydney, Australia

Multi-sport events

First All-Africa Games held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo

Fourth Pan Arab Games held in Cairo, Egypt

Fourth Summer Universiade held in Budapest, Hungary

Awards

ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year: Jim Clark, Formula One champion and Indianapolis 500 winner

Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Sandy Koufax, Major League Baseball

Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Kathy Whitworth, LPGA golf