1949 in sports

Table of contents

1 Auto racing
2 Baseball
3 Football (soccer)
4 Football (rugby)
5 Snooker
6 Births
7 Deaths

Auto racing

The first 24 hours of Le Mans is held since the beginning of World War II. Luigi Chinetti and Lord Seldson win the race in a Ferrari 166M.

January 28: The New York Giants sign their first black players: Negro Leaguers outfielder Monte Irvin and pitcher Ford Smith. Both men are assigned to Jersey City. Irvin will star for the Giants, but Smith is not destined to reach the major leagues.
May 5: Hall of Fame election: After a runoff election was necessary, Charlie Gehringer is selected for induction; on May 9, the Old-Timers Committee elects Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown and Kid Nichols as its first selections in 3 years.
June 5: MLB Commissioner Happy Chandler lifts the ban on all players who jumped to the Mexican League, starting in 1946.
June 15: Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Eddie Waitkus is shot in Chicago by deranged fan Ruth Ann Steinhagen.

New Zealand - September 3, blackest day in All Blacks history when they lost two test matches, 6-11 to the Wallabies in Wellington, and 3-9 to the Springboks in South Africa.