1948 Saskatchewan general election
In some ridings, the Progressive Conservatives appear to have run joint candidates with the Liberals in failed attempts to defeat the CCF. These candidates ran as Liberal-PC candidates. The successful Conservative Liberal candidate – Alex "Hammy" McDonald – immediately joined the Liberal caucus upon being sworn in as an MLA.


1948 Saskatchewan general election, Results
Note: * Party did not nominate candidates in previous election.


1948 Saskatchewan general election, Riding results
Names in bold represent cabinet ministers and the Speaker. Party leaders are italicized. The symbol " ** " indicates MLAs who are not running again.


1948 Segunda División Peruana
The 1948 Segunda División Peruana, the second division of Peruvian football (soccer), was played by eight teams. The tournament winner, Centro Iqueño, was promoted to the Primera División Peruana 1949.


1948 Seychellois parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held for the first in the Seychelles in October 1948. The Seychelles Taxpayers and Producers Association (STPA), which primarily represented the interests of large landowners, won all four seats.


1948 Seychellois parliamentary election, Electoral system
Constitutional reforms led to the creation of four elected seats in the 12-member Legislative Council, with the remaining eight seats appointed by the British authorities. However, the right to vote was restricted to citizens over the age of 21 who could write their name, paid income tax on an annual income of SR 3,000 or more, and could prove that they had lived in the Seychelles for at least a year. Only around 10% of the population were able to register.


1948 Seychellois parliamentary election, Electoral system
The four seats were elected from single-member constituencies; Praslin and La Digue, Central Mahé, North Mahé and South Mahé.


1948 Seychellois parliamentary election, Campaign
Only one of the four seats, Praslin and La Digue were contested, with STPA candidates running unopposed in the Mahé seats. In Praslin and La Digue STPA candidate Gustave de Comarmond was opposed by Arthur Savy, a former tennis professional and member of the Seychelles Progressive Association.


1948 Seychellois parliamentary election, Campaign
The STPA candidates campaigned on a platform of maintaining Seychellois traditions and customs, claiming they were "100 per cent Seychellois". They also called for a doctor for Anse Royale, a produce-stabilisation fund, better French language teaching in schools and reduced taxes.


1948 Siamese general election
General elections were held in Siam on 29 January 1948. Following the 1947 coup, the unicameral parliament elected in 1946 was abrogated. It was replaced by a bicameral parliament, with a 100-seat appointed Senate and a 99-member House of Representatives.


1948 Siamese general election
At the time there were no political parties, so all candidates ran as independents. Voter turnout was 29.5%.


1948 Siamese general election, Aftermath
In order to comply with the constitutional requirement of one member of the House of Representatives for every 150,000 citizens, supplementary elections were held in June 1949.


1948 Singaporean general election
General elections were held for the first time in Singapore on 20 March 1948, when six of the 22 seats on the Legislative Council became directly-elected. Voting was not compulsory and was restricted to British subjects, who constituted around 2% of the 940,000 population. Although various organisations called for a boycott of the elections, voter turnout was 63.1%.


1948 Singaporean general election
The Progressive Party (PP) was the only contesting party, winning three of the six elected seats.


1948 Singaporean general election, Background
The election was announced on 1 February, and nominations were due by 16 February. The campaign period lasted for 31 days. Polling was scheduled on 20 March 1948 and the First Legislative Council had its first session on 1 April 1948.


1948 Singaporean general election, Background
In this election there were 4 constituencies: Municipal North-East, Municipal South-West, Rural East and Rural West. Municipal North-East and Municipal South-West elected 2 members each. Singapore would not have multi-seat constituencies until 1988 and is the last time that multi-seat constituencies had their candidates chosen individually (as in 1988 when the GRC was introduced, the party with the most votes had their members elected en masse rather than the votes received by the candidates individually).


1948 Singaporean general election, Electoral system
Of the 22 seats in the Legislative Council, six were elected, three nominated by commercial organisations (the Singapore Chamber of Commerce, Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Indian Chamber of Commerce), and thirteen appointed by the British authorities; these included the Governor, Colonial Secretary, Financial Secretary, Attorney-General, Solicitor-General, two Directors, two ex officio Commissioners and four non-officio ones.


1948 Singaporean general election, Electoral system
The six elected seats were elected from four constituencies; two two-seat constituencies and two single-member constituencies. Parties had no fixed standard symbol and candidates had to ballot for one offered by the elections office.


1948 Singaporean general election, Results, By constituency
Rural West Constituency saw the highest voter turnout at 73.40% while Rural East Constituency saw the lowest turnout at 54.68%. In percentage terms, Sardon bin Jubir (the independent candidate who stood in Rural East) was the highest scoring candidate polling 54.93% of the vote while Progressive Party candidate Lim Chuan Geok who stood in Municipal North-East was the worst performing candidate by polling just 8.14% of the votes.


1948 Singaporean general election, Results, By constituency
In absolute numbers, Progressive Party leader Tan Chye Cheng who stood in Municipal South-West was the best performing candidate by polling 4,125 votes while Arumugam Ponnu Rajah of the Progressive Party who stood in Rural West was the worst performing candidate with just 460 votes. The narrowest margin of victory was that of Tan Chye Cheng who polled just 0.7% more than his own party's second candidate Nazir Ahmad Mallal (but both were elected as Members of Municipal South West as the constituency elected 2 members who polled the first and second most votes).


1948 Singaporean general election, Results, By constituency
3 candidates lost their $500 electoral deposits: Lim Chuan Geok, Valiya Purayil Pillai and Richard Lim Chuan Hoe. All 3 candidates were candidates contesting Municipal North-East Constituency. Only 2 candidates managed to poll a majority of the valid votes in their respective constituencies: Sirish Chandra Goho of Rural West (50.03%) and Sardon bin Jubir of Rural East (54.93%). PP's candidate Christopher John Laycock won with the narrowest margin of votes; polling just 5.48% over the third candidate in Municipal North-East whereas Tan Chye Cheng won with the largest margin of 26.18% over the third candidate in Municipal South-West.


1948 Slovak parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Slovakia on 30 May 1948, alongside national elections. They were first elections after the Communist takeover in 1948. All 100 seats in the National Council were won by member parties of the National Front. The elections also determined the composition of the Slovak Board of Commissioners.


1948 South African Senate election
For the fifth Senate of South Africa, the eight nominated Senators were appointed on July 28, 1948 and the Electoral Colleges met in the provincial capitals the following day. At the end of this process the government had 22 supporters (Reunited National Party 11, Afrikaner Party 2, Independent 1 and the 8 nominated Senators) and the opposition 21 (United Party 15, Labour Party 3, and Native Representatives 3). The fourth Native Representative seat was vacant.


1948 South African Senate election
The South West Africa Affairs Amendment Act 1949 added four additional members to the Senate, of whom two were to be elected, and two nominated by the Governor-General. The elected Senators were chosen by an Electoral College, composed of the members of South-West Africa's Legislative Assembly and the six members of the House of Assembly representing the territory.


1948 South African Senate election
Of the nominated Senators, one was to be selected mainly on the ground of his "thorough acquaintance, by reason of his official experience or otherwise, with the reasonable wants and wishes or the coloured races of the territory". All four Senators chosen on 29 September 1950 were National Party supporters.


1948 South African general election
General elections were held in South Africa on 26 May 1948. They represented a turning point in the country's history, as despite receiving just under half of the votes cast, the United Party and its leader, incumbent Prime Minister Jan Smuts, were ousted by the Herenigde Nasionale Party (HNP) led by D. F. Malan, a Dutch Reformed cleric.


1948 South African general election
During the election campaign, both the UP and the HNP formed coalitions with smaller parties. The UP was aligned with the left-leaning Labour Party, while the Afrikaner Party sought to advance Afrikaner rights by allying with the HNP. By legislation relating to franchise requirements, very few people of coloured and Asian descent were able to vote in this election; Africans had been banned altogether since the late 1930s, with the limited number of Africans meeting electoral qualifications voting for seven "own" white MPs separately.


1948 South African general election
The HNP, realising that many White South Africans felt threatened by black political aspirations, pledged to implement a policy of strict racial segregation in all spheres of living. The Nationalists labelled this new system of social organisation "apartheid" ("apartness" or "separation"), the name by which it became universally known. The HNP also took advantage of white fear of black-on-white crime, and the HNP promised whites safety and security from black-on-white crime and violence.


1948 South African general election
In contrast to the HNP's consistent, straightforward platform, the UP supported vague notions of slowly integrating the different racial groups within South Africa. Furthermore, white dissatisfaction with domestic and economic problems in South Africa after World War II, the HNP's superior organisation, and electoral malapportionment that favoured rural areas (where the HNP were traditionally stronger) all proved to be significant challenges to the UP campaign.


1948 South African general election
The elections marked the onset of 46 years of nationalist rule in South Africa.


1948 South African general election, Results
Together, the HNP and the Afrikaner Party won 79 seats in the House of Assembly against a combined total of 74 won by the UP and the Labour Party. By a quirk of the first-past-the-post system, the HNP won more seats, even though the UP received over eleven per cent more votes. The nationalist coalition subsequently formed a new government and ushered in the era of formal, legally binding apartheid. In 1951, the HNP and the Afrikaner Party merged, returning to the name National Party.


1948 South African general election, Reasons for the National Party victory
One of the central issues facing the white electorate in the 1948 election was that of race. The United Party (UP) and the National Party (NP) presented voters with differing answers to questions relating to racial integration in South Africa. Smuts and his followers were in favour of a pragmatic approach, arguing that racial integration was inevitable and that the government should thus relax regulations which sought to prevent black people from moving into urban areas.


1948 South African general election, Reasons for the National Party victory
Whilst still seeking to maintain white dominance, the UP argued in favour of gradually reforming the political system so that black South Africans could eventually, at some unspecified point in the future, exercise some sort of power in a racially integrated South Africa. In contrast to this seemingly vague ideology, the HNP advanced the notion of further strictly enforced segregation between races and the total disempowerment of black South Africans. There was a growing fear amongst Nationalist Afrikaners of black people taking their jobs, especially post Second World War. Rural to urban movement by blacks was to be discouraged.


1948 South African general election, Reasons for the National Party victory
The UP position was supported by the Fagan Commission while the Sauer Commission informed the HNP's stance. Another reason for D.F. Malan's success was the National Party's constant promotion of Jan Smuts to be similar to the British. Leading the United Party, Smuts proposed rather liberal policies, more out of necessity than kindness, in order to try get elected.


1948 South African general election, Reasons for the National Party victory
However, he was attacked by the opposition as similar to the 'enemy' (in this case Britain), an attack to try fear white and Afrikaner voters into voting for Malan due to their hatred of Britain following the mining of gold in the Transvaal region, following its discovery in 1886. Other reasons along this line was Smuts' former role in working for Britain and his decision to help Britain in World War Two. Arguably the most important reason for election success however, was the number of rural voters which voted for the National Party in 1948. Despite not receiving the majority vote and Smuts gaining 12% more votes, Malan benefited heavily from the Westminster Constituency System. This allowed Malan to form a government by winning lots of small constituencies and gaining 5 more seats than the United Party in a narrow victory for the National Party.


1948 South African general election, Reasons for the National Party victory, Economic reasons
The putative policy of apartheid proposed by the HNP served the economic interests of certain groups of white South Africans. Farmers from the northern portions of the country relied on cheap black labour to maximise profits while working-class whites living in urban areas feared the employment competition that would follow an urban influx of black South Africans. Many commercial and financial Afrikaner interests based on agriculture saw the value of apartheid in promoting growth in this sector. The UP failed to realise the enormous economic benefits of apartheid to these large and influential groups and did not prioritise segregation as much as the HNP.


1948 South African general election, Reasons for the National Party victory, Economic reasons
Smuts and his cabinet were blamed for many of the hardships that occurred as a result of South Africa's participation in World War II. During the war, petrol was rationed by means of coupons, and bakeries were ordered not to bake white bread so as to conserve wheat. After the war, some of these measures continued, as South Africa exported food and other necessaries to Britain and the Netherlands. South Africa even provided Britain with a loan of 4 million ounces (110 metric tons) of gold. These measures caused local shortages of meat and the unavailability of white bread. The Smuts government was blamed for this, as well as for the rate of inflation and the government's dismal housing record. All these factors provided ammunition for the HNP.


1948 South African general election, Reasons for the National Party victory, Race and ethnicity
As regards election tactics, the HNP was extremely adroit at exploiting white fears while campaigning in the 1948 election. Because the UP had seemed to take a fairly lukewarm stance towards both integration and segregation, the HNP was able to argue that a victory for the UP would ultimately lead to a black government in South Africa. HNP propaganda linked black political power to Communism, an anathema to many white South Africans at the time.


1948 South African general election, Reasons for the National Party victory, Race and ethnicity
Slogans such as "Swart Gevaar" ("Black Peril"), "Rooi Gevaar" ("Red Peril"), "Die kaffer op sy plek" ("The Kaffir in his place"), and "Die koelies uit die land" ("The coolies out of the country") played upon and amplified white anxieties. Much was made of the fact that Smuts had developed a good working relationship with Joseph Stalin during World War II, when South Africa and the USSR were allies in the fight against Nazi Germany. Smuts had once remarked that he "doffs his cap to Stalin" and the HNP presented this remark as proof of Smuts's latent Communist tendencies.


1948 South African general election, Reasons for the National Party victory, Race and ethnicity
The Smuts government's controversial immigration program served to further inflame Afrikaner disquiet. Under this program, numerous British immigrants had moved to South Africa and were perceived to have taken homes and employment away from (white) South African citizens. Moreover, it was claimed that the intention behind such plans was to swamp the Afrikaners, who had a higher birth rate than the British diaspora, with British immigrants so that Afrikaners would be outnumbered at the polls in future elections.


1948 South African general election, Reasons for the National Party victory, Race and ethnicity
In preparation for the 1948 election, the HNP moderated its stance on republicanism. Because of the immense and abiding national trauma, caused by the Anglo-Boer War, transforming South Africa into a republic and dissolving all ties between South Africa and the United Kingdom had been an important mission for earlier incarnations of the HNP. English speaking South Africans tended to favour a close relationship with the UK, and so the republican project became a source of conflict between the two largest white groups in South Africa.


1948 South African general election, Reasons for the National Party victory, Race and ethnicity
A staunchly pro-republic stance alienated moderate Afrikaners who had supported South Africa's participation in World War II and wished to achieve reconciliation between their own people and English speakers. When the HNP agreed to compromise its fiercely republican standpoint, conceding that South Africa should remain a Dominion in the Commonwealth, many Afrikaner UP supporters switched allegiance.


1948 South African general election, Reasons for the National Party victory, Rural/urban vote weighting
Demarcation of electoral district boundaries favoured the HNP. Most of the 70 seats won by the National Party during the 1948 election were in rural areas, whereas most of the 65 seats won by the United Party were in the urban areas. According to the Constitution that South Africa had at the time, the constituencies in the rural areas were smaller than those in urban areas. This meant that there were more rural constituencies than urban ones. This was to the benefit of the National Party since it tended to do well in rural areas in terms of votes.


1948 South African general election, Reasons for the National Party victory, Rural/urban vote weighting
Despite winning 140,000 fewer votes than the UP, the NP/AP coalition gained a plurality of seats in Parliament, and was able to enter into a coalition with the Afrikaner Party to form a majority government. It has been calculated that if rural and urban votes had been of equal value, the UP would have won 80 seats, the HNP/AP 60 seats, and other parties the remaining seats, thus giving the UP a majority outright and perhaps delaying or preventing apartheid from taking place.


1948 South African general election, Reasons for the National Party victory, Political organisation
The UP at the time has been characterised as cumbersome and lacking vigor while the HNP displayed energy and superior organizational skills. World War II had a bonding effect on the UP and white South Africans generally. Once this external uniting force fell away, Smuts lost a great deal of control over the UP as more and more voters considered alternatives to his tired regime; humiliatingly, the Prime Minister lost his parliamentary seat (Standerton) to an HNP challenger. As can be seen from the final tally of seats, Smuts and his party proved unable to counter the many grievances raised by the HNP in an effective way, and this inability led to a narrow HNP victory.


1948 South African general election, Reasons for the National Party victory, Political organisation
After the 1948 election, the ruling coalition succeeded in fully enfranchising the mostly Afrikaans- and German-speaking voters in South West Africa, later known as Namibia upon independence in 1990; the result being that this gave the National Party more or less six reliable votes in parliament.


1948 South American Basketball Championship for Women
The 1948 South American Basketball Championship for Women was the 2nd regional tournament for women in South America. It was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina and won by Argentina. Three teams competed.


1948 South American Basketball Championship for Women, Results
Each team played the other teams twice, for a total of four games played by each team.


1948 South American Championships in Athletics (unofficial)
Unofficial South American Championships in Athletics (V Campeonato Extraordinario de Atletismo) were held in La Paz, Bolivia in October 1948. The event was held in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the foundation of the city of La Paz. The games were dominated by Bolivian athlete Julia Iriarte winning five gold, one silver and one bronze medal.


1948 South Australian 100
The 1948 South Australian 100 was a motor race staged at the Lobethal Circuit in South Australia on 1 January 1948. It was contested as a handicap race over 12 laps, a total distance of 105 miles.


1948 South Australian 100
The race, which was the second South Australian 100 to be held at Lobethal, was won by Jim Gullan driving a Ballot Oldsmobile.


1948 South Carolina Gamecocks football team
The 1948 South Carolina Gamecocks football team was an American football team that represented the University of South Carolina as a member of the Southern Conference during the 1948 college football season. In their eighth season under head coach Rex Enright, South Carolina compiled a 3–5 record.


1948 South Dakota Coyotes football team
The 1948 South Dakota Coyotes football team was an American football team that represented the University of South Dakota in the North Central Conference (NCC) during the 1948 college football season. In its 11th season under head coach Harry Gamage, the team compiled a 7–3 record (4–1 against NCC opponents), finished in second place out of seven teams in the NCC, and was outscored by a total of 292 to 129. The team played its home games at Inman Field in Vermillion, South Dakota.


1948 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team
The 1948 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team was an American football team that represented South Dakota State University in the North Central Conference during the 1948 college football season. In its second season under head coach Ralph Ginn, the team compiled a 4–6 record and outscored opponents by a total of 203 to 107.


1948 South Dakota gubernatorial election
The 1948 South Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1948. Incumbent Republican Governor George T. Mickelson ran for re-election to a second term. He was opposed by Democrat Harold J. Volz, a businessman and the former Chairman of the Tripp County Democratic Party. Both Mickelson and Volz were the only candidates of their parties to file for Governor, ensuring that they won their respective nominations unopposed and removing the race from the primary ballot. In the general election, Mickelson had little difficulty defeating Volz. Though Republican presidential nominee Thomas E. Dewey only narrowly won the state over President Harry S. Truman, Mickelson's popularity allowed him to win re-election in a landslide, receiving 61% of the vote to Volz's 39%.


1948 South Korean Constitutional Assembly election
The 1948 South Korean Constitutional Assembly election took place on 10 May 1948. It was held under the American military occupation, with supervision from the United Nations, and resulted in a victory for the National Association for the Rapid Realisation of Korean Independence, which won 55 of the 200 seats, although 85 were held by independents. Voter turnout was 95.5%.


1948 South Korean Constitutional Assembly election, Background
The elections were a milestone in Korean political history. The Korean people had not previously experienced democracy under written constitutional rule; the very foundation of South Korean politics were still under construction and were unstable. The elections would lead to a constitution, roughly based on the constitution of the United States, and establish democracy in South Korea.


1948 South Korean Constitutional Assembly election, Background
In 1948, the subject of an election of any kind in South Korea was an issue worldwide. On 8 and 9 March 1948, UN delegates from Australia, Canada, India, and Syria expressed their doubts and some complete rejection of the elections on 10 May 1948 for South Korea. The U.N. delegates were concerned by Korea's political maturity at the time, feeling that the elections might not validly express the popular will in a country which had only been independent for four years. Some Korean politicians, such as Kim Koo and Kim Kyu-sik, denounced the election as it would dash the hopes of reunification with North Korea. However, a vote in the South Korean Interim Legislature on 10 March ruled 40 to 0 in favor of holding the election.


1948 South Korean Constitutional Assembly election, Background
The elections were originally intended to be held throughout the Korean peninsula, but Soviet Union forces and Kim Il-sung refused the UN supervisors entry into North Korea for the elections. They were therefore held only in the US-administered territory, making the elections a purely South Korean event. Because of this, Kim Koo and Kim Kyu-sik denounced the elections as they would dash hopes of reunification with North Korea, but could not prevent them from happening. The voters elected members of parliament, who then voted on the constitution and elected the president. At the proceedings, they left one hundred seats open in the South Korean Parliament for North Koreans to vote on when they were able.


1948 South Korean Constitutional Assembly election, Background
The election system corresponded to the same limited system that had been established under the Japanese. In larger towns, only landowners and taxpayers could vote, while in small towns, elders voted on behalf of everyone else.


1948 South Korean Constitutional Assembly election, Background
The elections were marred by terrorism resulting in 600 deaths between March and May. In April, North Korea, supposedly in an effort to delay the elections, sponsored a unity conference in Pyongyang to promote reunification of the two Koreas, which both Kim Koo and Kim Kyu-sik attended. The conference was inconclusive towards any upcoming reunification, and did not delay the elections.


1948 South Korean Constitutional Assembly election, Background
The people of Jeju island saw the election as a unilateral attempt by the United States military government under the flag of United Nations to separate a southern regime and to employ its first president Syngman Rhee, The Jeju uprising occurred, during which tens of thousands of Jeju people were killed.


1948 South Korean Constitutional Assembly election, Background
The elections were the first time in Korean history that the citizens were allowed to vote for a national legislative body. The Korean peninsula had been under Japanese colonial rule for thirty-five years (1910–1945), and for thousands of years before that, it had been governed by the (Yi Dynasty) Korean royal family and scholarly officials.


1948 South Korean presidential election
Presidential and vice-presidential elections were held in South Korea on 20 July 1948, following the Constitutional Assembly elections in May. The president was to be elected by the members of the National Assembly, as instructed by the 1948 Constitution. Of the 198 members of the National Assembly, 196 were present for the vote. A candidate required two-thirds of the votes cast to win. Syngman Rhee was elected with 180 votes, and took over the government to oversee the transfer of power from the United States Army Military Government in Korea.


1948 South Korean presidential election
An important role was played in the run-up to the election by the dispute between Rhee and Kim Koo over the issue of establishing a separate government in the southern part of Korea, instead of including the communist-controlled north. Kim rejected the idea of separate elections, and had boycotted the Constitutional Assembly elections in May, instead campaigning for a united Korea. He also split from the National Alliance for the Rapid Realization of Korean Independence to form the Korea Independence Party. Despite Kim's refusal to take any part in a South-only government and therefore in this election, 13 members cast their votes for Kim.


1948 South Korean presidential election
In the event, Kim's split allowed Rhee to consolidate power over NARRKI and, in 1951, form the Liberal Party, enabling his rule over South Korea until the April Revolution in 1960.


1948 South Korean presidential election, Results, President
In order to be elected, a candidate had to receive at least two-thirds of the votes cast, including blank and invalid ballots. While there were 198 members in the National Assembly, 196 members participated in the voting. Therefore, the number of votes needed to win the presidency was 131.


1948 South Korean presidential election, Results, President
Even though Kim Koo did not send his approvals for the new South Korean government and insisted that the lawmakers not cast votes for him, 13 of the 196 lawmakers who voted voted for Kim Koo. The election, however, ended as a landslide victory of the only candidate that actively sought the presidency, Rhee Syng-man, who received 180 of the 196 votes cast. One vote was invalidated, as it was cast for independence activist Seo Jae-pil, who at the time was a US citizen.


1948 South Korean presidential election, Results, Vice-President
Endorsed by Rhee Syngman and the Korea Democratic Party, former Finance Minister of Provisional Government Yi Si-yeong was elected vice president, but only in the second round. The Constitution stated that for the first two rounds of voting, candidates need to win 2/3 of the votes to win. Had Yi failed to win the required 132 votes in the second round of voting, a runoff election would have been conducted of him and runner-up Kim Koo, and whoever won the plurality of the votes would have become the vice president.


1948 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1948 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament took place from March 2–5, 1948 at Duke Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. The North Carolina State Wolfpack won their third Southern Conference title, led by head coach Everett Case.


1948 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
The top ten finishers of the conference's sixteen members were eligible for the tournament. Teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage. The tournament used a preset bracket consisting of four rounds, the first of which featured two games, with the winners moving on to the quarterfinals.


1948 Southern Illinois Maroons football team
The 1948 Southern Illinois Maroons football team was an American football team that represented Southern Illinois University (now known as Southern Illinois University Carbondale) in the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1948 college football season. Under ninth-year head coach Glenn Martin, the team compiled a 2–6 record. The team played its home games at McAndrew Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.


1948 Southern Jaguars football team
The 1948 Southern Jaguars football team was an American football team that represented Southern University in the 1948 college football season. In their 13th season under head coach Ace Mumford, the Jaguars compiled a 12–0 record, won the SWAC championship, shut out eight of 12 opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 395 to 33. The team played its home games at University Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The team was recognized as the black college national champion.


1948 Southern Rhodesian general election
General elections were held in Southern Rhodesia on 15 September 1948. They saw Prime Minister Godfrey Huggins regain the overall majority he had lost in the previous elections in 1946. Huggins' United Party won a landslide, reducing the opposition Liberal Party to a small minority.


1948 Southern Rhodesian general election, Background
The 1946 election had left the United Party in a precarious position in an overall minority in the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly, and reliant on the support of the Rhodesia Labour Party. Huggins was therefore seeking an opportunity to re-establish an overall majority. However, Huggins knew from his experience in 1934 that he needed to justify asking for a dissolution of the Assembly and a general election, as the Governor was not necessarily willing to grant one merely because it had been asked for.


1948 Southern Rhodesian general election, Background
Early in 1948, Huggins made his move by proposing that his own United Party merge with the opposition Liberal Party (which was a right-wing organisation). He then went to the Legislative Assembly and put down a motion of confidence in his government which endorsed all its policies for the full term of the Assembly. The Liberal Party, sensing a trap, agreed to the principle of fusion of the two parties but insisted that it be on the basis of Liberal Party policy. When the vote of confidence debate was concluded on 6 February, Huggins accepted an amendment moved by the Rhodesia Labour Party, and the confidence motion then passed without a division. Huggins had lost his chance for an election but gained endorsement of his government.


1948 Southern Rhodesian general election, Background
This situation did not last long. In July, the Coinage and Currency Bill was defeated by one vote on a clause which would have allowed the Currency Board to provide accommodation. Although this was a minor matter, Huggins argued that it was an issue of confidence because this provision had been agreed with the governments of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland in the Central African Council; as negotiations to form a new majority government failed, the Governor granted a dissolution.


1948 Southern Rhodesian general election, Background
Supporting Huggins' position, the South African general election in May that year had seen a win by the National Party which largely represented Afrikaners. This election marked a transfer of power away from the English-speaking South Africans and shocked the mostly British descended Southern Rhodesians, who recoiled from the Liberal Party who were backed by the small Rhodesian Afrikaner community; the Liberal Party's policy on race was similar to the National Party's policy of Apartheid.


1948 Southern Rhodesian general election, Background
Voters tended not to blame the government for the economic difficulties and petrol shortages which had affected Rhodesia in the years since the war, and the renewed push towards federation with Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland also encouraged support for the United Party. In the end, it delivered a landslide for Huggins; Liberal Party leader Jacob Smit lost his seat.


1948 Southern Rhodesian general election, Electoral system
A Delimitation Commission was set up to redraw the boundaries of the electoral districts. Although the previous districts had only been drawn up in 1938, owing to the major population movements in the war none of the districts were unchanged.


1948 Southern Rhodesian general election, Franchise and electoral procedure
Two Acts passed in the run-up to the election made changes to electoral procedure. The Emergency Laws (Repeal and Transitional Provisions) Act, 1946 repealed most of the Active Service Voters Act, 1943 and therefore removed the ability of Southern Rhodesians serving in forces outside the colony to vote. The provision allowing postal votes to those living more than 10 miles from the polling station was retained.


1948 Southern Rhodesian general election, Franchise and electoral procedure
The Electoral Amendment Act, 1946 made a further series of minor changes. It provided for a new full registration of voters once the delimitation had been completed, and facilitated the disqualification of imprisoned voters by requiring returns of those sentenced to prison. It also allowed candidates to withdraw before the poll.


1948 Southern Rhodesian general election, Changes during the Assembly, Bulawayo District
Alexander Magnus Flett Stuart died on 7 August 1949, and a byelection to replace him was held on 13 October 1949.


1948 Southern Rhodesian general election, Changes during the Assembly, Bulawayo North
Hugh Beadle resigned from the Assembly on 20 July 1950 to become a High Court judge. A byelection to fill his Assembly seat in Bulawayo North was held on 19 September 1950.


1948 Southern Rhodesian general election, Changes during the Assembly, Highlands
Robert Allan Ballantyne died on 5 February 1953. A byelection to replace him was held on 22 April 1953.


1948 Southwark Central by-election
A by-election for the constituency of Southwark Central in the United Kingdom House of Commons was held on 29 April 1948, caused by the resignation of the incumbent Labour MP John Hanbury Martin. The result was a hold for the Labour Party, with their candidate Roy Jenkins, who was to become a prominent figure in British politics throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.


1948 Southwestern Louisiana Bulldogs football team
The 1948 Southwestern Louisiana Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented the Southwestern Louisiana Institute of Liberal and Technical Learning (now known as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) in the Gulf States Conference during the 1948 college football season. In their second year under head coach Gee Mitchell, the team compiled a 6–3–1 record.


1948 Soviet Cup
The 1948 Soviet Cup was an association football cup competition of the Soviet Union. The whole competition was played in Moscow.


1948 Soviet Top League
14 teams took part in the league with CSKA Moscow winning the championship.


1948 Speedway National League
The 1948 National League Division One was the 14th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the third post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.


1948 Speedway National League, Summary
The entrant list was the same as the previous season. New Cross Rangers won the National League for the second time.


1948 Speedway National League, Fatalities
1948 proved to be the worst season so far in regard to fatalities. During the 1947 season two riders had died on the same day but 1948 saw three riders killed during the season. It started with 37-year-old Reg Craven, on his debut for Yarmouth Bloaters. Craven crashed with two Poole Pirates riders at Poole (on 26 April) during a National Trophy match and died eight days later (4 May) from a fractured skull in hospital. Billy Wilson of Norwich Stars and Eric Dunn of Hastings Saxons from the lower divisions were also killed.


1948 Speedway National League, Anniversary Cup table
On account of the small number of teams in the league the Anniversary Cup was run in a league format. Harringay Racers finished on top.


1948 Speedway National League, National Trophy
The 1948 Trophy was the 11th edition of the Knockout Cup.


1948 Speedway National League, National Trophy, Qualifying and Elimination events
The Qualifying event for Division 3 teams saw Southampton Saints win the final and qualify for the Elimination event. The Elimination event for Division 2 teams saw Birmingham Brummies win the final and qualify for the Quarter Finals proper.


1948 Speedway National League Division Three
The 1948 National League Division Three was the second season of British speedway's National League Division Three


1948 Speedway National League Division Three
The league had expanded from 8 teams to 12. Reigning champions Eastbourne Eagles were forced to close due to a petrol ban at their stadium, so their team moved a few miles along the Sussex coast to Hastings. The new entrants Coventry Bees, Hull Angels, Poole Pirates and Yarmouth Bloaters all struggled to make an impact and finished in the bottom five positions. Exeter Falcons won their first title.


1948 Speedway National League Division Three
Eric Dunn of Hastings Saxons was a third speedway rider (with Reg Craven and Bill Wilson) to be killed during the season. 34-year-old Dunn was riding in a meeting (on 13 June) at the Arlington track when he fell and was hit by a rider behind. He died two days later in hospital (15 June).


1948 Speedway National League Division Three, National Trophy
The 1948 Trophy was the 11th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Qualifying event for Division 3 teams saw Southampton Saints win the final and qualify for the Elimination event. The Elimination event for Division 2 teams saw Birmingham Brummies win the final and qualify for the Quarter Finals proper.


1948 Speedway National League Division Two
The 1948 National League Division Two was the third post-war season of the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. Edinburgh Monarchs were new participants as the league was extended to 9 teams.


1948 Speedway National League Division Two
Bristol Bulldogs were crowned champions, whilst Wigan Warriors were replaced by Fleetwood Flyers after just 3 away matches with their entire team transferring.


1948 Speedway National League Division Two
32-year-old Bill Wilson of the Middlesbrough Bears was fatally injured, on 3 July at Norwich and died two days later in hospital.


1948 Speedway National League Division Two, Final table
The Anniversary Cup for Division Two was run in a league format. Birmingham Brummies came out on top.


1948 Speedway National League Division Two, National Trophy
The 1948 Trophy was the 11th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Qualifying event for Division 3 teams saw Southampton Saints win the final and qualify for the Elimination event. The Elimination event for Division 2 teams saw Birmingham Brummies win the final and qualify for the Quarter Finals proper.


1948 St. Bonaventure Bonnies football team
The 1948 St. Bonaventure Bonnies football team, sometimes also referred to as the St. Bonaventure Brown Indians, was an American football team that represented St. Bonaventure University during the 1948 college football season. In its third season under head coach Hugh Devore, the team compiled a 7–1–1 record and outscored opponents by a total of 130 to 59. The team played its home games at Forness Stadium in Olean, New York.


1948 St. Louis Browns season
The 1948 St. Louis Browns season involved the Browns finishing 6th in the American League with a record of 59 wins and 94 losses. It was the first Browns baseball season to be telecast on local television, having debuted its game broadcasts that year on KSD with Bob Ingham on the commentary box as the play by play announcer, nearly a year after other MLB teams made their television debuts.


1948 St. Louis Browns season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1948 St. Louis Browns season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1948 St. Louis Browns season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1948 St. Louis Browns season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1948 St. Louis Browns season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1948 St. Louis Cardinals season
The 1948 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 67th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 57th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 85–69 during the season and finished 2nd in the National League.


1948 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season
Outfielder Stan Musial won the MVP Award this year, batting .376, with 39 home runs and 131 RBIs. Musial became the first player to win three National League MVP Awards.


1948 St. Louis Cardinals season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1948 St. Louis Cardinals season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1948 St. Louis Cardinals season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1948 St. Louis Cardinals season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1948 St. Louis Cardinals season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1948 Stanford Indians football team
The 1948 Stanford Indians football team represented Stanford University in the 1948 college football season. Stanford was led by fourth-year head coach Marchmont Schwartz. The team was a member of the Pacific Coast Conference and played its home games at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California.


1948 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1948 Stanley Cup Finals was a best-of-seven series between the Detroit Red Wings and the defending champion Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs won the series in four straight games to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup.


1948 Stanley Cup Finals, Paths to the Finals
Detroit defeated the New York Rangers 4–2 to advance to the Finals. Toronto defeated the Boston Bruins 4–1 to advance to the Finals.


1948 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries
This was the Stanley Cup debut series for Detroit's Gordie Howe, and the last for Toronto's Syl Apps who retired after the series.


1948 Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup engraving
The 1948 Stanley Cup was presented to Maple Leafs captain Syl Apps by NHL President Clarence Campbell following the Maple Leafs 7–2 win over the Red Wings in game four.


1948 Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup engraving
The following Maple Leafs players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup


1948 Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup engraving, Stanley Cup engraving
When the Stanley Cup was redone in 1957–58, Robert J. Galloway's name was engraved as P.J. GALLOWAY. The "P" should be a "R". This mistake was repeated on the Replica Cup created in 1992–93.


1948 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 1948 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL), began with four teams on March 4, 1948. It concluded on April 14, with the Toronto Maple Leafs defeating the Detroit Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup.


1948 Stanley Cup playoffs, Series, Semifinals
The first round of the playoffs saw third place Boston Bruins matched up with first place Toronto Maple Leafs and fourth place New York Rangers against second place Detroit Red Wings.


1948 Stanley Cup playoffs, Series, Semifinals, Toronto vs. Boston
Toronto beat Boston 4 games to 1. Although Boston kept it close. Three of the five games were decided by one goal.


1948 Stanley Cup playoffs, Series, Semifinals, NY Rangers vs. Detroit
It looked initially to be a close series as, after the Blueshirts lost the first two games, the Wings Production line got lazy. But wingers, Ted Lindsay and Gordie Howe chose follow Lindsay's recent quote —


1948 Stanley Cup playoffs, Series, Semifinals, NY Rangers vs. Detroit
“In this game, you have to be mean, or you're going to get pushed around.”


1948 Stanley Cup playoffs, Series, Semifinals, NY Rangers vs. Detroit
(Glenn Liebman, Hockey Shorts: 1,001 of the Game's Funniest One Liners" (Contemporary Books, 1996) ) —


1948 Stanley Cup playoffs, Series, Semifinals, NY Rangers vs. Detroit
Detroil was now pursuing Lord Stanley's Mug for the fourth time in six years.


1948 Stanley Cup playoffs, Playoff scoring leaders
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points


1948 Star World Championship
The 1948 Star World Championship was held in Cascais, Portugal in 1948.


1948 Star World Championship, Results
Legend: DNS – Did not start; DSA – Disabled; DSQ – Disqualified; WDR – Withdrew;


1948 Stirling and Falkirk by-election
A by-election for the constituency of Stirling and Falkirk in the House of Commons was held on 7 October 1948, caused by the death of the incumbent Labour MP Joseph Westwood. The result was a hold for the Labour Party, with their candidate Malcolm MacPherson.


1948 Stockholm Grand Prix
The 1948 Stockholm Grand Prix was a Grand Prix race held according to the then new Formula Two rules, at Skarpnäck Airfield outside Stockholm on 30 May 1948. It was won by B. Bira in a Simca-Gordini T15 entered by Equipe Gordini. At first he was stripped of his victory. This was due to the start, in which Prince Bertil had provided help by push-starting B. Biras car. First a year later, B. Bira was officially acknowledge winner again.


1948 Stockholm Grand Prix
The circuit was 1.37 miles (2.20 km) long and had five turns in an overall triangular shape.


1948 Stockholm Grand Prix
It was the only running of the Stockholm Grand Prix.


1948 Sudanese parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Sudan on 15 November 1948.


1948 Sudanese parliamentary election, Background
Constitutional reforms in 1948 replaced the appointed Advisory Council with a Legislative Assembly. The new Assembly had 75 members, of which 10 were appointed by the Governor-General, 42 elected by electoral colleges in northern provinces, 13 nominated by the provincial councils in the three southern provinces and 10 directly-elected in Khartoum and Omdurman.


1948 Sudanese parliamentary election, Campaign
The elections were boycotted by pro-Egyptian parties such as the National Front, leaving only the Umma Party and the Independence Front (which opposed union with Egypt) to contest the elections. Demonstrations led to the deaths of 10 deaths and 100 injured.


1948 Sudanese parliamentary election, Results
The Umma Party won 26 seats and the Independence Front four. Most of the remaining 44 members had been elected due to the influence of officials and sheikhs. Voter turnout in the directly-elected seats was only 18%.


1948 Sudanese parliamentary election, Aftermath
The newly-elected Legislative Assembly met for the first time on 15 December 1948. The Umma Party's Abdallah Khalil was elected Speaker.


1948 Sugar Bowl
The 1948 Sugar Bowl featured the fifth ranked Texas Longhorns and the sixth ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.


1948 Sugar Bowl
In the first quarter, Texas scored on a 99-yard touchdown pass form Bobby Layne to Blount, as Texas opened a 7-0 lead. In the second quarter, Alabama tied the game on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Gilmer to White. In the third quarter, Texas's Vic Vasicek recovered a fumble in the end zone as Texas took a 14-7 lead. Holder later returned an interception 18 yards for a touchdown making it 21-7. Bobby Layne scored on a 1-yard touchdown run making the final score 27-7.


1948 Sul Ross Lobos football team
The 1948 Sul Ross Lobos football team represented Sul Ross State University during the 1948 college football season. In their third season under head coach Paul Pierce, the Lobos compiled a 10–0–1 record, won the New Mexico Conference (NMC) with a 5–0 record against conference opponents, and outscored their opponents by a total of 452 to 133. Sul Ross was invited to the 1949 Tangerine Bowl, where they tied 9–1 Murray State.


1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus caused by the outbreak of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics held since the 1936 Games in Berlin. The 1940 Olympic Games had been scheduled for Tokyo and then for Helsinki, while the 1944 Olympic Games had been provisionally planned for London.


1948 Summer Olympics
This was the second time London had hosted the Olympic Games, having previously hosted them in 1908, forty years earlier. The Olympics would again return to London 64 years later in 2012, making London the first city to have hosted the games three times, and the only such city until Paris and Los Angeles host their third games in 2024 and 2028, respectively. The 1948 Olympic Games were also the first of two summer Games held under the IOC presidency of Sigfrid Edström.


1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Olympics came to be known as the "Austerity Games" due to the difficult economic climate and rationing imposed in the aftermath of World War II. No new venues were built for the games (with events taking place mainly at Wembley Stadium, also known as Empire Stadium, and the Empire Pool at Wembley Park), and athletes were housed in existing accommodation at the Wembley area instead of an Olympic Village, as were the 1936 Games and the subsequent 1952 Games in Helsinki. A record 59 nations were represented by 4,104 athletes, 3,714 men, and 390 women in 19 sport disciplines. Germany and Japan were not invited to participate in the games; the Soviet Union was invited but chose not to send any athletes, sending observers instead to prepare for the 1952 Olympics.


1948 Summer Olympics
One of the star performers at the 1948 Games was Dutch sprinter Fanny Blankers-Koen. Dubbed the "Flying Housewife", the thirty-year-old mother of two won four gold medals in athletics. In the decathlon, Bob Mathias of the United States became the youngest male ever to win an Olympic gold medal at the age of seventeen. The most individual medals were won by Veikko Huhtanen of Finland, who took three golds, a silver and a bronze in men's gymnastics. The United States won the most gold and overall medals, having 300 athletes compared to the United Kingdom's 404. France fielded the second largest team, with 316 athletes and finished third in the medal standings. The host nation ended up twelfth.


1948 Summer Olympics, Election as host city
In June 1939, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the 1944 Olympic Summer Games to London, ahead of Rome, Detroit, Budapest, Lausanne, Helsinki, Montreal and Athens. World War II stopped the plans and the Games were cancelled so London again stood as a candidate for 1948. Great Britain almost handed the 1948 games to the United States due to post-war financial and rationing problems, but King George VI said that this could be the chance to restore Britain from World War II. The official report of the London Olympics shows that there was no case of London being pressed to run the Games against its will. It says:


1948 Summer Olympics, Election as host city
In June 1946 the IOC, through a postal vote, gave the summer Games to London and the winter competition to St Moritz. London was selected ahead of Baltimore, Minneapolis, Lausanne, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.


1948 Summer Olympics, Election as host city
London, which had previously hosted the 1908 Summer Olympics, became the second city to host the Olympics twice; Paris hosted the event in 1900 and 1924. London later became the first city to host the Olympics for a third time when the city hosted the 2012 Summer Olympics.


1948 Summer Olympics, Organisation
Lord Burghley, a gold medal winner at the 1928 Olympics, member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and President of the Amateur Athletics Association was named Chairman of the Organising and Executive Committees.


1948 Summer Olympics, Organisation
The other members of the committees were: Colonel Evan Hunter, General Secretary of the British Olympic Association, and Chef de mission for Great Britain; Lord Aberdare, the other British member of the IOC; Sir Noel Curtis-Bennett;  Alderman H.E. Fern; E.J. Holt; J. Emrys Lloyd, who became the committee's legal advisor; C.B. Cowley of the London Press and Advertising; R.B. Studdert, Managing Director of the Army & Navy Stores; A.E. Porritt, a member of the IOC for New Zealand who resided in London; S.F. Rous, Secretary of The Football Association; and Jack Beresford.


1948 Summer Olympics, Organisation
Olympic pictograms were introduced for the first time. There were twenty of them—one for each Olympic sport and three separate pictograms for the arts competition, the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony. They were called "Olympic symbols" and intended for use on tickets. The background of each pictogram resembled an escutcheon. Olympic pictograms appeared again 16 years later, and were used at all subsequent Summer Olympics.


1948 Summer Olympics, Organisation
At the time of the Games, food, petrol and building were still subject to the rationing imposed during the war in Britain; because of this the 1948 Olympics came to be known as the "Austerity Games". Athletes were given the same increased rations as dockers and miners, 5,467 calories a day instead of the normal 2,600. Building an Olympic Village was deemed too expensive, and athletes were housed in existing accommodation. Male competitors stayed at RAF camps in Uxbridge and West Drayton, and an Army camp in Richmond Park; female competitors in London colleges. Lord Burghley unfurled the Olympic Flag at the Richmond Park camp at an opening ceremony in July as Minister of Works, Charles Key, declared the camp open.


1948 Summer Olympics, Organisation
These were the first games to be held following the death of Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee, in 1937. They were also the last to include an arts competition, which took place at the Victoria and Albert Museum.


1948 Summer Olympics, Opening ceremony
The Games opened on 29 July. Army bands began playing at 2 pm for the 85,000 spectators in Empire Stadium at Wembley Park. The international and national organisers arrived at 2.35 pm and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, with Queen Mary and other members of the Royal Family, at 2.45 pm. Fifteen minutes later the competitors entered the stadium in a procession that took 50 minutes. The last team was that of the United Kingdom. When it had passed the saluting base, Lord Burghley began his welcome:


1948 Summer Olympics, Opening ceremony
After welcoming the athletes to two weeks of "keen but friendly rivalry", he said London represented a "warm flame of hope for a better understanding in the world which has burned so low."


1948 Summer Olympics, Opening ceremony
At 4 pm, the time shown on Big Ben on the London Games symbol, the King declared the Games open, 2,500 pigeons were set free and the Olympic Flag raised to its 35 ft (11 m) flagpole at the end of the stadium. The Royal Horse Artillery sounded a 21-gun salute and the last runner in the Torch Relay ran a lap of the track – created with cinders from the domestic coal fires of Leicester – and climbed the steps to the Olympic cauldron. After saluting the crowd, he turned and lit the flame. After more speeches, Donald Finlay of the British team (given his RAF rank of Wing Commander) took the Olympic Oath on behalf of all competitors. The National Anthem was sung and the massed athletes turned and marched out of the stadium, led by Greece, tailed by Britain.


1948 Summer Olympics, Television coverage
The opening ceremony and over 60 hours of Games coverage was broadcast live on BBC television, which was then officially available only in the London area. However, the BBC's transmissions could be received much further away in the right conditions, and some of the Games was watched by at least one viewer in the Channel Islands. The BBC's official report on the coverage estimated that an average of half a million viewers watched each of their Olympic broadcasts. The BBC paid £1,000 for the broadcasting rights.


1948 Summer Olympics, Television coverage
Of the live television coverage, only a small section of the opening ceremony broadcast still exists in the archives. However, various filmed reports shot for the BBC's Television Newsreel programme do also still exist.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports
The 1948 Summer Olympics featured 136 medal events, covering 23 disciplines in 17 different sports and in arts.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports
In the list below, the number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Athletics
Empire Stadium was the venue for 33 athletics events at the Games; 24 for men and nine for women. Of these, four were making their Olympic debut – the men's 10 km walk, and the women's 200 metres, long jump and shot put. A total of 754 athletes from 53 countries participated in athletics. Fanny Blankers-Koen of the Netherlands, a 30-year-old mother of two children nicknamed "The Flying Housewife", won four gold medals, in the 100 metres, 200 metres, 80 metre high hurdles, and 4 x 100 metre relay.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Athletics
As world record holder in the long jump and high jump Blankers-Koen may have been able to win further medals but, at this time, female athletes were limited to three individual events. Duncan White won the first medal of any kind for Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) when he finished second in the 400 metre hurdles. Arthur Wint became the first Jamaican to win an Olympic gold medal, in the men's 400 metres; he also won silver in the men's 800 metres. Audrey Patterson became the first African-American woman to win a  medal, winning bronze in a track and field event.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Athletics
A few days later Alice Coachman became the first woman of color in the world and the first African-American woman to win a gold medal in track and field in the history of the modern Olympics with a jump of 1.68 m (5' 61⁄4"). She also was the only American woman to win an athletics gold medal during the 1948 Olympics.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Athletics
The marathon saw a dramatic finish with the first man to enter the stadium, Etienne Gailly of Belgium, exhausted and nearly unable to run. While he was struggling, Argentinian athlete Delfo Cabrera and Tom Richards of Great Britain passed him, with Cabrera winning the gold medal and Richards obtaining the silver. Gailly managed to recover enough to cross the line for the bronze.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Athletics
The decathlon was won by 17-year-old Bob Mathias of the United States. He became the youngest ever Olympic gold medallist in athletics and when asked how he would celebrate he replied: "I'll start shaving, I guess."


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Arts
Categories: sports-related architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture. These Olympics were the last time art competitions were considered Olympic events.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Basketball
Basketball made its second appearance as a medal sport, appearing as an indoor competition for the first time after poor weather disrupted the matches at the 1936 Berlin Games. The event, for men only, was contested by 23 nations split into four pools for the preliminary round; the top two in each pool advanced to the quarterfinals with the other teams entering playoffs for the minor placings. The United States and France reached the final which was won by the Americans 65–21 to claim the gold medal. This was the second of the United States' seven consecutive gold medals in Olympic men's and women's basketball. Brazil defeated Mexico 52–47 to claim bronze.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Boxing
Eight different classifications were contested ranging from flyweight, for boxers weighing less than 51 kg, to heavyweight, for boxers over 80 kg. South Africa, Argentina and Hungary each won two gold medals.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Canoeing
Nine events were contested, eight for men and one for women. This marked the first time that a women's canoeing event had been contested in the Olympics. Sweden won four gold medals (two by Gert Fredriksson) and Czechoslovakia three.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Cycling
Six events were contested – two road bicycle racing events and four track cycling events. No women's cycling events were contested. France won three gold medals and Italy two, while Great Britain captured five medals overall, but none were gold.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Diving
Four diving events were contested, two for men, and two for women. The events are labelled as 3  metre springboard and 10  metre platform by the International Olympic Committee but appeared on the 1948 Official Report as springboard diving and highboard diving, respectively. All four gold medals, and 10 out of 12 awarded in total, were won by the United States. Victoria Manalo Draves, who won both gold medals in the women's events, and Sammy Lee, who took a gold and a bronze in the men's events, became the first Asian Americans to win gold medals at an Olympic Games.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Equestrian
Six gold medals were awarded in equestrian, individual and team dressage, individual and team eventing and individual and team show jumping. Harry Llewellyn and Foxhunter, who would claim a gold medal in Helsinki, won bronze in the team jumping event.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Fencing
Seven events were contested, six for men and one for women. Ilona Elek, who had won the women's foil competition in Berlin, was one of only two competitors to successfully defend an Olympic title in London. Elek's sister, Margit, placed sixth in the same event. Edoardo Mangiarotti won three medals, two silver and a bronze, having previously won a gold medal in the 1936 Games. Throughout his career the Italian won 13 Olympic fencing medals and 27 world championship medals, both of which remain records.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Field hockey
Thirteen nations participated in the field hockey competition. The tournament was ultimately won by India, who defeated Great Britain to claim the country's first gold medal as an independent nation under captain Kishan Lal and Vice-Captain Kunwar Digvijay Singh.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Football
Eighteen teams entered the football competition at these Olympics. Due to the rise of the professional game during the 12 years since the Berlin Olympics the number of talented amateurs for teams to select from was reduced. The gold medal was won by Sweden, who defeated Yugoslavia 3–1 in the final. Denmark defeated hosts Great Britain, managed by Matt Busby of Manchester United, 5–3 to win the bronze medal. In the tournament's 18 matches a total of 102 goals were scored; an average 5.66 goals per match. The joint top scorers with seven goals each were Gunnar Nordahl of Sweden and Denmark's John Hansen. Nordahl and Swedish teammates Gunnar Gren and Nils Liedholm went on to play for A.C. Milan and together were nicknamed Gre-No-Li.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Football
This was the first international football tournament ever to be broadcast on television, with the two semi-finals, the bronze medal match and the final all being shown live in full by the BBC.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Gymnastics
Nine events were contested, eight for men, and one for women. In the men's pommel horse, a tie was declared between three competitors, all Finns, and no medals other than gold were awarded in this event. Finland won six gold medals overall, and Switzerland three.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Lacrosse
Lacrosse was an exhibition sport at these Olympics. An English team composed of players from various universities played a U.S. team represented by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at the Empire Stadium.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Modern pentathlon
Only one modern pentathlon event was contested, the five component sports– riding, fencing, shooting, swimming, and running- being held over six days. Scoring was by point-for-place system across the five phases with the winner being the athlete with the lowest combined ranking. The sport's international federation, the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne was founded during the Games, on 3 August 1948. Sweden won two medals in the event; William Grut won the gold, with a final points total of 16, and Gösta Gärdin took bronze. American George Moore won the silver medal.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Rowing
Seven rowing events were contested, all open to men only. Great Britain and the United States each claimed two gold medals. The events were held on the River Thames at Henley, over the same course as the Henley Royal Regatta.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Sailing
The sailing events at the Games took place in Torquay, in the southwest of Great Britain. Five events were contested, with the United States winning four total medals. One of host nation Great Britain's three gold medals at the Games came in the Swallow class from Stewart Morris and David Bond. In the Firefly class Danish sailor Paul Elvstrøm won gold the despite the Danish Olympic Committee having misgivings about sending him to compete as the 18-year-old could speak no English. This was the first of four consecutive Olympics with a gold medal for Elvstrøm.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Shooting
Four events were contested, all open to both men and women, although all medals were won by men. In the 50 metre rifle, prone position, only two points separated the top three competitors. Károly Takács had been a member of the Hungary's world champion pistol shooting team in 1938 when a grenade shattered his right hand – his pistol hand. Takács taught himself to shoot with his left hand and, 10 years after his injury, he won an Olympic gold medal in the rapid-fire pistol event.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Swimming
Eleven events were contested, six for men and five for women. The United States won eight gold medals, including all six men's events, and 15 medals in total.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Water polo
Eighteen nations fielded a team in these games, which were ultimately won by Italy, who were undefeated throughout. The tournament was conducted in a mult-tier bracket, with the best four teams from the group stages participating in a final round-robin bracket. Silver was claimed by Hungary, and bronze by the Netherlands.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Weightlifting
Six events were contested, all for men only. These games marked the addition of the bantamweight class to the Olympic programme, the first change to the programme since 1920. The United States won four gold medals, and eight overall; the remaining two gold medals were claimed by Egypt. Rodney Wilkes won the first medal for Trinidad and Tobago in an Olympic games, winning silver in the featherweight division; the featherweight gold medal was won by Egyptian Mahmoud Fayad, with a new Olympic and World record of 332.5 kg.


1948 Summer Olympics, Sports, Wrestling
Sixteen wrestling events were held, eight Greco-Roman and eight freestyle. All were open to men only. Both categories were dominated by two nations. Turkey was the most successful nation with six gold medals followed by Sweden receiving 5 gold medals. These two teams claimed 24 total medals, in other words half of the total medals given.


1948 Summer Olympics, Political defection
London was the first Olympics to have a political defection. Marie Provazníková, the 57-year-old Czechoslovakian President of the International Gymnastics Federation, refused to return home, citing "lack of freedom" after the Czechoslovak coup in February led to the country's inclusion in the Soviet Bloc.


1948 Summer Olympics, Media
For the 1948 Olympics, the Technicolor Corporation devised a bipack colour filming process – dubbed "Technichrome" – whereby hundreds of hours of film documented the events in colour, without having to use expensive and heavy Technicolor cameras.


1948 Summer Olympics, Venues
No new venues were built for the Games. A cinder track was laid inside Empire Stadium and all other venues were adapted. For the first time at the Olympics swimming events were held undercover, at the 8000 capacity Empire Pool. As the pool was longer than the standard Olympic length of 50 metres a platform was constructed across the pool which both shortened it and housed officials.


1948 Summer Olympics, Venues
In 2010 one of the last remaining venues from the Games, the Herne Hill Velodrome where cycling events were staged, was saved when a new 15-year lease was agreed meaning that repairs could take place. Campaigners and users of the track had feared that it would be forced to close as it was in desperate need of refurbishment.


1948 Summer Olympics, Participating National Olympic Committees
A total of 59 nations sent athletes. Fourteen made their first official appearance: British Guiana (now Guyana), Burma (now Myanmar), Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Korea, Lebanon, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. It was the first time that the Philippines, India and Pakistan competed as fully independent nations at the Olympic Games. Germany, Japan and Bulgaria,under Allied military occupations, were not allowed to send athletes to the games. Forced labour by German prisoners of war was used for the construction of the facilities. Italy, although originally an Axis power, defected to the Allies in 1943 following Benito Mussolini being deposed, and was allowed to send athletes. The Soviet Union was invited but they chose not to send any athletes, sending observers instead to prepare for the 1952 Olympics.


1948 Summer Olympics, Medal count
These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1948 Summer Games, ranked by number of gold medals won. The host nation was 12th, with 23 medals, including three golds.


1948 Summer Olympics medal table
The 1948 Summer Olympics (also known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad) was an international multi-sport event held from July 29 through August 14, 1948, in London, United Kingdom. It was the first Olympic Games to take place in twelve years, due to the Second World War (and was known informally as "The Austerity Games" - largely due to countries having to bring their own food due to shortages in Britain), with London being chosen as the host city in May 1946.


1948 Summer Olympics medal table
London had previously hosted the 1908 Summer Olympics, and was due to have hosted the event in 1944. A record 59 nations were represented by 4,104 athletes, 3,714 men and 385 women, in 19 sport disciplines. Following the Second World War, Germany and Japan remained under military occupation and had not yet formed their National Olympic Committee, and so were not invited. The only major Axis power to take part in the Games was Italy. The Soviet Union was invited to compete, but chose not to send any athletes, sending observers instead to prepare for the 1952 Summer Olympics. Following the threats of a boycott from Arab countries should an Israeli team fly their flag at the opening ceremony, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) excluded Israel from the Games on a technicality.


1948 Summer Olympics medal table
Several countries participated for the first time, including Burma, Ceylon, Lebanon, Puerto Rico and Syria. The Olympic medals themselves were the standard Trionfo design used for the Olympic medals between 1928 and 1968.


1948 Summer Olympics medal table
It was not until 2010 that Belgian Eugène Van Roosbroeck received his gold medal for his part in the cycling road race as there was no podium for winners following the race and the team returned to Belgium two days after the event having received no medals.


1948 Summer Olympics medal table, Medal table
This is the full table of the medal count of the 1948 Summer Olympics, based on the medal count of the IOC. These rankings sort by the number of gold medals earned by a nation. The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If, after the above, countries are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically. This information is provided by the IOC. However, the IOC does not recognize or endorse any ranking system.


1948 Summer Olympics medal table, Medal table
In the gymnastics events there were three athletes placed first for the men's pommel horse, with Paavo Aaltonen, Veikko Huhtanen and Heikki Savolainen all receiving gold medals for Finland in the same event, while no silver or bronze medals were handed out. Meanwhile, in the men's vault, three athletes finished in joint third place and so were awarded a bronze medal each, resulting in five medals being handed out for that one event.


1948 Summer Olympics torch relay
The 1948 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from 17 July until 29 July 1948, prior to the 1948 Summer Olympics, held in London, United Kingdom. The relay was nicknamed the "relay of peace". It was only the second occasion that a torch relay was held for the Olympics; the first was at the 1936 Summer Olympics.


1948 Summer Olympics torch relay
There were three types of torches designed for use on the relay: a standard solid fuel powered torch made of aluminium, a special butane gas torch used on board HMS Whitesand Bay, and a final torch used to enter Empire Stadium that was made of stainless steel and powered by a magnesium candle.


1948 Summer Olympics torch relay
The route itself was initially designed to be a direct one from Olympia to Wembley, taking in Italy, Switzerland and France. Belgium and Luxembourg were added to the route after those countries requested it. It was expected that the Greek part of the relay would be 750 kilometres (470 mi), but was reduced to 35 kilometres (22 mi) due to concerns over security. After the 12-day journey, the torch arrived at the Empire Stadium only thirty seconds later than expected.


1948 Summer Olympics torch relay, Background
Despite hosting the 1908 Summer Olympics, the 1948 Games was the first London-based games to have a torch relay after it was introduced at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Former British athlete David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter, and the rest of the organising committee for the 1948 Games agreed to continue the tradition begun by the previous games, and run a torch relay for a second time.


1948 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Torch
Each of the torches contained a solid fuel tablet made of hexamine and 6% naphthalene (following torch running tests in May 1947) that fuelled the flame itself. The solid fuel increased the distance each runner could run to 2 miles (3.2 km) over flat terrain, decreasing the number of torches needed to be produced, which in turn reduced the cost of the relay. There were eight tablets loaded into each torch, with the bottom tablets pushed up by the use of a spring.


1948 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Torch
The design increased the burning time of each torch up to around fifteen minutes, an increase from the four-minute torches of the 1936 Olympics. The torch itself was designed by Ralph Lavers, with the brief that it should be "inexpensive and easy to make, of pleasing appearance and a good example of British craftmanship". The torches were made from aluminium, with a long shaft holding a cup that contained the burner. "With thanks to the bearer" was written on the cup of the torch itself, along with the Olympic rings. The torches for the Greek leg of the relay were shipped to the Mediterranean aboard HMS Liverpool, along with a purpose built torch for the leg aboard a Royal Navy vessel from Corfu to Italy.


1948 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Torch
A differently designed torch was used for the final leg. It was made of stainless steel and was fueled by magnesium in order to ensure that the flame showed up properly during the opening ceremony. It was also designed by Ralph Lavers, with the frame for the torch created by EMI, and the magnesium candle supplied by Wessex Aircraft Engineering. Neither the suppliers nor designer charged a fee for the final torch.


1948 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Torch route
While the general negotiation with other countries and the specific route were handled by the Organising Committee for the Games, the detailed organisation was delegated to a subgroup led by F.W. Collins. Due to cost implications, the extensive route conducted by the 1936 Games was ruled out. Instead, the simplest route from Olympia to London was to be used, going by sea to Italy and then run through Switzerland and France. The route was modified only when Luxembourg and Belgium both requested that the torch travel their territories. A longer Greek route was planned, but reduced from an expected 750 kilometres (470 mi) down to 35 kilometres (22 mi) due to concerns over instability in the country and a lack of security.


1948 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Torch route
The torch lighting ceremony took place on 17 July 1948 in Olympia, Greece. As with the 1936 Summer Olympic relay, the torch relay was begun by focusing the sun's rays onto kindling using a parabolic reflector, which then lit the first torch. The kindling was conducted by a Girl Guide leader from Pyrgos, Elis. She was only chosen the previous evening due to the unsettled state of the country; the Athenian girl who was trained for the ceremony was unable to travel to Olympia.


1948 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Torch route
In a symbolic gesture, the first runner, Corporal Dimitrelis of the Greek Army, laid down his arms and removed his military uniform before taking his torch in hand. The kindling material for the first torch was handed over as a gift from the Chairman of the Greek Olympic Committee to Collins, for Princess Elizabeth. It was then run to the Greek coast at Katakolo, where at 7 pm it boarded the Greek destroyer Hastings bound for the island of Corfu.


1948 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Torch route
It stayed overnight in the city of Corfu, and boarded HMS Whitesand Bay at 1:30 pm the following day where the flame was switched to a specially equipped butane gas torch in order to ensure that there was a 48-hour lifespan available for the flame, despite the crossing only being expected to take 22 hours.


1948 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Torch route
The ship dropped the torch off in Bari at 12:30 pm on 19 July. It was run north through several Italian cities before crossing the Simplon Pass into Brig, Switzerland on 23 July. From there it was run west until leaving the country at Perly-Certoux, and entering France at Saint-Julien-en-Genevois. The route then detours from the direct route to take in Luxembourg and into Belgium before re-entering France at Lille on 28 July, finally departing the country at Calais. HMS Bicester carried the torch across the English Channel to Dover, arriving at 8:25 pm on 28 July.


1948 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Torch route
It travelled through several towns in the South East of England until it arrived at Wembley, where it arrived only thirty seconds late after the entire journey. That delay may have only been in the final few hundred yards of the relay down Olympic Way outside of Empire Stadium as the pressure of the crowds on the torch carrier and their escorts reduced the pace to walking speed. Special celebrations were held at each border crossing, and at Pierre de Coubertin's tomb in Lausanne, Switzerland.


1948 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Torch route
It was agreed for a secondary Olympic Flame to be lit in Torquay during the games, and a secondary torch relay was conducted to take the flame from Wembley south to the coast to Torquay. The arrangements were the same as from Dover to Wembley but in reverse.


1948 Sun Bowl
The 1948 Sun Bowl matched the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Miami (Ohio) Redskins.


1948 Sun Bowl, Background
Blackburn helped Gillman coach this game for a team that went undefeated and was champion of the Mid-American Conference. The team had four future coaches on their roster as players: Ara Parseghian (most famous for coaching Northwestern and Notre Dame), Paul Dietzel (who went on to coach LSU), and Hugh Hindman (who went on to be the Ohio State Athletic Director who fired Woody Hayes). This was their first and so far only Sun Bowl. Tech was going to their fourth bowl game in 10 years and going to their first Sun Bowl since 1938. Tech was champion of the Border Conference. The original Sun Bowl invitation had been extended to Lafayette, but was declined when the host campus refused to allow the participation of Lafayette star running back, David Showell, based on a University of Texas ban on black players.


1948 Sun Bowl, Game summary
Ara Parseghian scored for Miami on a 1-yard touchdown run to give Miami a 6–0 lead early. Tech retaliated with a Jim Conley touchdown run to make it tied at halftime. After Bill Hoover blocked a Red Raider punt, Paul Shoults gave Miami the lead with his touchdown run. Jake Speelman made the extra point this time to make it 13–6. But Tech had one more fight in them, as Bernie Winkler returned an interception 21 yards for a touchdown, as Tech looked to tie the game on the extra point. But Ernie Plank blocked the extra point kick, as Miami held on to win the game and the MAC's second straight Sun Bowl win.


1948 Sun Bowl, Aftermath
Gillman left the RedHawks after this game and Blackburn took over as head coach for the 1948 season. But after a MAC championship season, he left for Gillman's Cincinnati squad. The next coach was Woody Hayes, who would lead them to the 1951 Salad Bowl before he left in 1950 for Ohio State. They would not reach another bowl game until 1962. Texas Tech would go to the Raisin Bowl the following year, the last one with Morgan as coach.


1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament
The 1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the Sunday Empire News newspaper. The tournament was won by Joe Davis with John Pulman finishing in second place. The tournament saw the re-introduction of the popular round-robin handicap format had been used for Daily Mail Gold Cup before World War II. Thurston's Hall, the home of the Daily Mail Gold Cup, had re-opened in late 1947, although renamed as the Leicester Square Hall. It was the only time the tournament was held although the format continued with the News of the World Snooker Tournament.


1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament
In the final match of the tournament Fred Davis, playing without a points handicap, beat brother Joe 36–35. This was the first time Joe had lost a competitive match when playing on level terms. However, under the "sealed handicap" aspect of the event, Joe received 2 frames and won the match 37–36.


1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament, Format
The tournament was conceived by Ted Lowe, the manager of Leicester Square Hall. He suggested that Fred Davis, who was writing for the Empire News at the time approach the paper with the idea, and they agreed to sponsor the tournament with £1,000 prize money. The event was a round-robin snooker tournament and was played from 11 October to 18 December 1948. All matches were played at Leicester Square Hall in London. The competitors were Joe Davis, Fred Davis, Walter Donaldson, Sidney Smith and John Pulman. Each match lasted six days and was the best of 71 frames. There was a qualifying competition prior to the main event. This involved 5 players in a round-robin tournament with the winner, John Pulman, advancing to the main event.


1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament, Format
The event had two handicapping aspects. In each match a handicap could be given to one of the players, a given number of points start in each frame. In addition there was a sealed handicap for each match. This was an additional adjustment to be made after each match (a specific number of frames) which was kept secret until the end of the match. For the points aspect of the handicapping, Joe Davis, Fred Davis and Walter Donaldson didn't give or receive points when they played each other but gave points to the other two players. Joe and Fred gave 7 points to Sidney Smith and 16 points to John Pulman. Donaldson gave 14 points to Pulman while Smith gave 10 points to Pulman.


1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament, Results
Joe Davis beat Sidney Smith 49–25 in the opening match. Fred Davis beat John Pulman 39–32 in their match, having won 8 of the 11 frames on the final day, but Pulman received 9 frames in the sealed handicap and won the match 41–39. Pulman received 8 frames in the sealed handicap in his next match against Joe Davis but Joe, aware that a substantial handicap was likely to be given, had beaten Pulman 51–20. Fred and Joe Davis met In the final match. Fred won all six frames on the third evening to lead 20–16. Fred still led 31–29 at the start of the final day and eventually won the match 36–35. When the sealed handicap was opened it revealed that Joe received 2 frames and that he had won 37–36.


1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament, Results
Joe Davis scored his 300th century break in the first match against Sidney Smith, making 119 on 14 October. On 10 November Fred Davis in his match against John Pulman made a break of 139, just one short of the record of 140 made by Joe Davis on 9 February 1948. Fred had been unable to get on the black off the 14th red and had taken the pink instead.


1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament, Results
On 15 December, during the final match, Fred Davis made a break of 138, winning the frame 138–0, and then, in the next frame made a break of 84, winning that frame 129–0. Two days later Joe Davis almost beat his own record of 140. On 123, he missed the blue when a 141 break was possible.


1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament, Results
The "Score" column include frames received in the sealed handicap. Figures in brackets are the points handicap received per frame. Smith conceded his match against Donaldson before the start. He was suffering from tonsilitis.


1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament, Results
John Pulman won an additional £150 for winning the qualifying competition.


1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament, Qualifying
The qualifying tournament was played from 30 August to 2 October 1948. These matches were also played at Leicester Square Hall in London but each match only lasted three days and was the best of 35 frames. 5 players competed with the winner advancing to the final stages, The 5 players were: John Barrie, Albert Brown, Kingsley Kennerley, Sydney Lee and John Pulman. Players received points handicaps and sealed frame handicaps in the same way as in the main event. John Pulman won the qualifying with 6 points from his 4 matches ahead of Kingsley Kennerley with 5 points.


1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament, Qualifying
Sydney Lee needed to win the last match against Albert Brown but he lost 22–15. Lee had beaten Pulman in the first match of the tournament. Lee received a 5-point lead in each frame but Pulman had won the match 18–17. Lee, however, had been given 2 frames in the sealed handicap to win 19–18.


1948 Svenska Cupen
Svenska Cupen 1948 was the eighth season of the main Swedish football Cup and for the first time was not competed for by Allsvenskan clubs, because of the Summer Olympics in London. The Final was between two third division clubs and was held on 25 July 1948 at Olympia, Helsingborg. Råå IF won 6-0 against BK Kenty before an attendance of 9,852 spectators.


1948 Svenska Cupen, Second round
The 8 matches in this round were played on 4 July 1948.


1948 Svenska Cupen, Quarter-finals
The 4 matches in this round were played on 11 July 1948.


1948 Svenska Cupen, Semi-finals
The semi-finals in this round were played on 18 July 1948.


1948 Svenska Cupen, Final
The final was played on 25 July 1948 at the Olympia Stadium.


1948 Swedish Ice Hockey Championship
The 1948 Swedish Ice Hockey Championship was the 26th season of the Swedish Ice Hockey Championship, the national championship of Sweden. IK Göta won the championship.


1948 Swedish general election
General elections were held in Sweden on 19 September 1948. Despite a campaign by a large part of the Swedish press against socializing insurances, controlled foreign trade and rationing regulations still in use since the war, freshman Prime Minister and Social Democratic leader Tage Erlander managed to defeat the People's Party-led opposition under Bertil Ohlin by a higher election turnout. He maintained his government with only minor losses and the Swedish Social Democratic Party remained the largest party, winning 112 of the 230 seats in the Second Chamber of the Riksdag. Erlander was later to stay on as Prime Minister until 1969, in 1951-1957 his government included the party Farmers' League.


1948 Swiss Grand Prix
The 1948 Swiss Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Circuit Bremgarten, near Bern, on 4 July 1948. Despite racing for nearly two hours, at the finishing line Frenchman Jean-Pierre Wimille was only 0.2 seconds behind the race winner, the Italian driver Carlo Felice Trossi. Trossi's compatriot Luigi Villoresi finished over two and a half minutes behind the pair, in third place. Pre -World War II star driver Achille Varzi was killed when he crashed during practice, and the wealthy Swiss privateer Christian Kautz died in an accident during the race.


1948 Swiss sugar industry referendum
A referendum on the sugar industry was held in Switzerland on 14 March 1948. Voters were asked whether they approved of a federal resolution on the reorganisation of the Swiss sugar industry. The proposal was rejected by 63.8% of voters.


1948 Swiss sugar industry referendum, Background
The referendum was an optional referendum, which only a majority of the vote, as opposed to the mandatory referendums, which required a double majority; a majority of the popular vote and majority of the cantons.


1948 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
The 1948 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, was the fourth annual running of the "blue water classic" Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.


1948 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
Hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia based in Sydney, New South Wales, the 1948 edition began on Sydney Harbour, at noon on Boxing Day (26 December 1948), before heading south for 630 nautical miles (1,170 km) through the Tasman Sea, past Bass Strait, into Storm Bay and up the River Derwent, to cross the finish line in Hobart, Tasmania.


1948 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
The 1948 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race comprised a reduced fleet of 18 competitors. Wind conditions favoured the fleet, who found excellent going on their trip south.


1948 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
Morna, skippered by Claude Plowman won line honours in a time of 4 days, 5 hours and 1 minute - breaking the record they set the previous year, and going under 5 days for the first time. The victory also gave the vessel and skipper three wins in-a-row, a record that would not be beaten until Wild Oats XI won four-in-a-row from 2005 to 2008. Westward, skippered by GD Gibson was awarded handicap honours for the second year running.


1948 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, 1948 fleet
18 yachts registered to begin the 1948 Sydney to Hobart Yacht race.


1948 Syracuse Orangemen football team
The 1948 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented Syracuse University in the 1948 college football season. The Orangemen were led by second-year head coach Reaves Baysinger and played their home games at Archbold Stadium in Syracuse, New York. After a dismal 1–8 season, Baysinger was fired.


1948 São Paulo FC season
The 1948 football season was São Paulo's 19th season since club's existence.


1948 TANFL season
The 1948 Tasmanian Australian National Football League (TANFL) premiership season was an Australian Rules football competition staged in Hobart, Tasmania over fifteen (15) roster rounds and four (4) finals series matches between 24 April and 25 September 1948.


1948 TANFL season, Participating Clubs, TANFL Under-19's Grand Final
Note: Buckingham were affiliated to New Town, North West were affiliated to North Hobart.


1948 TANFL season, 1948 TANFL Ladder, Grand Final
Source: All scores and statistics courtesy of the Hobart Mercury publications.


1948 TCU Horned Frogs football team
The 1948 TCU Horned Frogs football team represented Texas Christian University (TCU) in the 1948 college football season. The Horned Frogs finished the season 4–5–1 overall and 1–4–1 in the Southwest Conference. The team was coached by Dutch Meyer in his fifteenth year as head coach. The Frogs played their home games in Amon G. Carter Stadium, which is located on campus in Fort Worth, Texas.


1948 Tangerine Bowl
The 1948 Tangerine Bowl was an American college football bowl game played after the 1947 season, on January 1, 1948, at the Tangerine Bowl stadium in Orlando, Florida. The game was the second annual Tangerine Bowl, now known as the Citrus Bowl, and featured the Catawba Indians against the Marshall Thundering Herd.


1948 Tangerine Bowl, Background
Catawba had appeared in the first Tangerine Bowl and beat Maryville College 31–6. This season, they were invited back to the bowl with a 10–1 record after having only one loss (to VMI) early in the season, and entered the game with an 8-game winning streak. They participated in the North State Intercollegiate Conference. Marshall was an Independent who was 9–2 on the year in Cam Henderson's tenth season as coach.


1948 Tangerine Bowl, Game summary
Indians’ fullback Lee Spears scored on a one-yard carry late in the fourth quarter to win the game. Despite outgaining Catawba in yards, 109–54, Marshall turned the ball over three times, which cost them the game. End Don Gibson for Marshall was named MVP of the game.


1948 Tangerine Bowl, Aftermath
Marshall joined the Ohio Valley Conference the following year, and would not win a bowl game until the 1998 Motor City Bowl. Catawba was the first Tangerine Bowl participant to have a shutout win, and the first to win consecutive bowls. Their head coach Gordon Kirkland retired after the game; Catawba has not yet played in another bowl game.