1881 in sports

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

Athletics

 * USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships

American football
College championship Events
 * College football national championship – Yale Bulldogs
 * Michigan Wolverines is the first "western" team to travel east and play against the established teams at Harvard Crimson, Yale Bulldogs and Princeton Tigers.

Association football
England France Ireland Scotland
 * FA Cup final – Old 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.
 * 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.
 * Foundation of FC Girondins de Bordeaux.
 * Moyola Park F.C. wins the inaugural Irish Cup final
 * Foundation of Berwick Rangers F.C..
 * 12 March — Andrew Watson makes his Scotland debut, becoming the world's first black international football player
 * Scottish Cup final – Queen's Park 3–1 Dumbarton at Hampden Park (replay after Dumbarton protests about the original match which Queen's Park has won 2–1)

Baseball
National championship Events
 * National League champions – Chicago White Stockings
 * 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.

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

Cricket
Events England Australia
 * Lancashire County Cricket Club wins its first outright title. At the end of the season, an English team led by Alfred Shaw goes to Australia for the 1881–82 Test series.
 * Champion County – Lancashire
 * Most runs – A. N. Hornby 1,534 @ 40.36 (HS 188)
 * Most wickets – Ted Peate 173 @ 12.68 (BB 8–30)
 * Most runs – Tom Horan 318 @ 35.33 (HS 113)
 * Most wickets – Edwin Evans 32 @ 11.25 (BB 5–34)

Golf
Major tournaments
 * British Open – Bob Ferguson

Gymnastics
Events
 * 23 July — the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, the world's oldest international sport federation, is founded.

Horse racing
England Australia Canada Ireland USA
 * Grand National – Woodbrook
 * 1,000 Guineas Stakes – Thebais
 * 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Peregrine
 * The Derby – Iroquois
 * The Oaks – Thebais
 * St. Leger Stakes – Iroquois
 * Melbourne Cup – Zulu
 * Queen's Plate – Vice Chancellor
 * Irish Grand National – Antoinette
 * Irish Derby Stakes – Master Ned
 * Kentucky Derby – Hindoo
 * Preakness Stakes – Saunterer
 * Belmont Stakes – Saunterer

Rowing
The Boat Race
 * 8 April — Oxford wins the 38th Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race

Rugby football
Events
 * Wales plays its first international match but is well beaten by England

Tennis
England USA
 * Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – William Renshaw (GB) defeated John Hartley (GB) 6–0 6–1 6–1
 * First U.S. National Singles Championship, precursor of the US Open, won by Richard D. Sears (USA) who defeats William E. Glyn (USA) 6–0 6–3 6–2

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.

Yacht racing
America's Cup
 * The New York Yacht Club retains the America's Cup as Mischief defeats Canadian challenger Atalanta, of the Bay of Quinte Yacht Club