1881 in sports describes the year's events in world sports.

Engraving of the finish line at the 1881 Melbourne Cup

College championship

Events

England

  • FA Cup finalOld Carthusians 3–0 Old Etonians at The Oval in the last final to be played between two southern amateur sides.
  • Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers both change their venues to enclosed grounds where gate money can be charged, an increasing practice among clubs that are openly (or otherwise) professional.
  • Preston North End is founded and plays from the start at Deepdale, which holds the world record for the length of time a venue has been in continuous use by one major league club.[1]
  • Burnley FC founded as Burnley Rovers RUFC which decides in May 1882 to switch codes. The Rovers suffix is dropped two years later and the club renamed as Burnley AFC.
  • Newcastle United, which has a complicated early history, is founded as Stanley FC by a cricket club in the Byker area of Newcastle.

France

Ireland

Scotland

National championship

Events

  • Detroit replaces Cincinnati leaving Cleveland and Providence the southerly cities on the National League circuit. Four others lie on the northerly rail line from stalwart Chicago to stalwart Boston: Detroit, Buffalo, Troy, and Worcester.
  • In autumn, for the first time, all eight National League clubs prepare to continue next season.

Events

  • Paddy Ryan takes part in a number of exhibition bouts but does not defend his Heavyweight Championship of America title.[2]
  • John L. Sullivan continues his rise to the championship with a series of knockout victories, none of them lasting longer than eight rounds.[3]

Events

England

Australia

Major tournaments

Events

England

Australia

Canada

Ireland

USA

The Boat Race

Events

  • Wales plays its first international match but is well beaten by England

England

USA

World

  • The 6th pre-open era 1881 Men's Tennis season gets underway 65 tournaments are staged this year from 4 April to 10 November.

America's Cup

References

edit
  1. ^ Note that Bramall Lane is actually the oldest professional football venue but it was not adopted by Sheffield United until 1889.
  2. ^ Cyber Boxing Zone – Paddy Ryan. Retrieved on 12 November 2009.
  3. ^ Cyber Boxing Zone – John L Sullivan. Retrieved on 12 November 2009.
  4. ^ A semi-official seasonal title proclaimed by media consensus prior to December 1889 when the official County Championship is constituted.
  5. ^ "Epsom Derby | History, Winners, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 28 December 2021.