1887 in sports

[American football]

• College football national championship – Yale Bulldogs

• The rules are changed so that gametime is set at two halves of 45 minutes each. Two paid officials, a referee and an umpire, are mandated for each game.

  [Association football]

• FA Cup final – Aston Villa 2–0 West Bromwich Albion at The Oval
• Barnsley FC and Blackpool FC are founded

• Hamburger SV founded as one of the oldest clubs in Germany

• Scottish Cup final – Hibernian 2–1 Dumbarton

  [Australian rules football]

• Carlton Football Club wins the Victorian Football Association premiership
• Norwood Football Club wins the South Australian Football Association premiership
• Unions Football Club wins the Western Australian Football Association premiership

  [Baseball]

• National League v. American Association – Detroit Wolverines defeats Saint Louis Cardinals 10 games to 5

• The two major leagues agree to a unified set of rules.
• The National Colored Base Ball League plays for a few weeks before folding.
• Five black men play in the International League, the highest minor league, the high-water mark in racial integration of professional baseball.

  [Boxing]

• World Heavyweight Championship – John L. Sullivan
• World Middleweight Championship – Jack Nonpareil Dempsey
• World Lightweight Championship – Jack McAuliffe

  [Cricket]

• The English cricket team in Australia in 1886–87, generally known as Alfred Shaw's XI, is described by Wisden as "one of the strongest that ever left England for the Colonies". The team plays 10 first-class matches, winning 6 with 2 draws and 2 defeats. England win both Test matches played by 13 runs and 71 runs respectively.

• Champion County – Surrey
• Most runs – W. G. Grace 2,062 @ 54.26
• Most wickets – George Lohmann 154 @ 15.61

• Most runs – Arthur Shrewsbury 721 @ 48.06
• Most wickets – Charlie Turner 70 @ 7.68

  [Gaelic football]

• 7 February — Irish forms of football are formally arranged into an organised playing code by the Gaelic Athletic Association, the rules being drawn up by Maurice Davin and published in the United Ireland magazine. The GAA seeks to promote traditional Irish sports, such as hurling and to reject "foreign" imports.
• Limerick GAA wins the inaugural All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.

  [Golf]

• British Open – Willie Park junior

• British Amateur – Horace Hutchinson

  [Horse racing]

• Grand National – Gamecock
• 1,000 Guineas Stakes – Reve d'Or
• 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Enterprise
• The Derby – Merry Hampton
• The Oaks – Reve d'Or
• St. Leger Stakes – Kilwarlin

• Melbourne Cup – Dunlop

• Queen's Plate – Bonnie Duke

• Irish Grand National – Eglentine
• Irish Derby Stakes – Pet Fox

• Kentucky Derby – Montrose
• Preakness Stakes – Dunboyne
• Belmont Stakes – Hanover

  [Hurling]

• Tipperary GAA wins the first All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

  [Ice hockey]

• February 25 - The Montreal Hockey Club defeats Montreal Victorias 1–0 to win the 1887 Montreal Winter Carnival Ice Hockey Tournament.
• March 11 - The Montreal Crystals defeat the Montreal Victorias 3–2 to win the inaugural 1887 AHAC championship on the final challenge of the season, despite having a record of two wins and four losses.

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• 26 March — Cambridge wins the 44th Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race

  [Rugby football]

• Scotland wins the 1887 Home Nations Championship, which is the 5th series

  [Softball]

• George Hancock invents an indoor baseball game that would become known as softball in Chicago, Illinois on November 24.

  [Tennis]

• American champion Richard D. Sears retires from the sport after winning the US singles title for the seventh successive time, a record that still stands

• Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Herbert Lawford defeats Ernest Renshaw 1–6 6–3 3–6 6–4 6–4
• Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Lottie Dod defeats Blanche Bingley 6–2 6–0

• American Men's Singles Championship – Richard D. Sears defeats Henry Slocum 6–1 6–3 6–2
• American Women's Singles Championship – Ellen Hansell defeats Laura Knight 6–1 6–0

  [Yacht racing]

• The New York Yacht Club retains the America's Cup as Volunteer defeats British challenger Thistle, of the Royal Clyde Yacht Club, 2 races to 0