1938 in sports

	Years in sports
	← 1935; 1936; 1937; 1938; 1939; 1940; 1941 →;
	1938 in sports
	American football; Aquatic sports; Association football; Athletics; Badminton; Baseball; Basketball; Canadian football; Chess; Climbing; Combat sports Sumo; ; Cricket 1937–38; 1938; 1938–39; ; Cycling; Darts; Equestrianism; Esports; Golf; Gymnastics; Ice sports; Modern pentathlon; Motorsport; Racquetball; Sailing; Skiing; Rugby league‎; Rugby union; Shooting; Snooker 1937–38; 1938–39; ; Squash; Table tennis; Tennis; Triathlon; Volleyball; Weightlifting;

1938 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

Alpine skiingEdit

FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 8th FIS Alpine World Ski Championships are held at Engelberg, Switzerland. The events are a downhill, a slalom and a combined race in both the men's and women's categories. The winners are:

NFL Championship – the New York Giants won 23–17 over the Green Bay Packers at the Polo Grounds
First High School Oil Bowl is played.

World Cup

1938 World Cup held in France – Italy retain their title, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.

England

Spain

Germany

Italy

Portugal

France

March 3 – Glenn Cunningham breaks the world record for the indoor mile run by completing the distance in 4 minutes, 4.4 seconds.
September 4 – European Championships Marathon at Paris is won by Väinö Muinonen (Finland) in a time of 2:37:29

The Victorian Football Association legalized throwing the ball in general play, establishing its own code of Australian rules football which was distinct from the national code administered by the Australian National Football Council.^[1] It was the beginning of a decade-long schism which ran from 1938 until 1949.
Victorian Football League
- 24 September – Carlton wins the 42nd VFL Premiership, defeating Collingwood 15.10 (100) to 13.7 (85) in the 1938 VFL Grand Final
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Dick Reynolds (Essendon)
South Australian National Football League
- 1 October – South Adelaide 23.14 (152) defeat Port Adelaide 15.16 (106) in the 1938 SANFL Grand Final
- Magarey Medal won by Bob Quinn (Port Adelaide)
Western Australian National Football League
- 15 October – Claremont 15.11 (101) defeat East Fremantle 11.13 (79) to win their first WANFL premiership in the Grand Final Replay, after the Tigers had scored 13.16 (94) to Old Easts’ 14.10 (94) in the first Grand Final on 8 October.
- Sandover Medal won by Haydn Bunton, Sr. (Subiaco)

World Series – New York Yankees defeat the Chicago Cubs, 4–0.
Hall of Fame election – Continuing toward the goal of 10 initial inductees at the 1939 opening of the Hall, voters select Grover Cleveland Alexander. A special committee selects organizer Alexander Cartwright and promoter Henry Chadwick; selections of 19th century players are again postponed.
Starting pitcher Johnny Vander Meer (Cincinnati Reds) throws back–to–back no-hitters, meaning they came in two consecutive starts, something not accomplished before or since.
March 1 – Nankai Hawks, officially founded in Japanese Baseball League, as predecessor of Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.^{[citation needed]}